Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, and neither is Final Fantasy. I just own my personal copies of the manga/games :)

Dance of the Pyreflyes, Chapter 29: Training clubs

by Chronodt

Naruto stood in the Hokage's office, where he was briefed about the patrol route he and his teammates would be following. He barely knew his squad, but he saw the supervisor during the battle at the arena. He was Yamashiro Aoba, special jonin and just looked like an ordinary guy you can meet in a pub or with a girl. He had black glasses, jonin vest and a stereotypical Konoha ninja wear. His Scan told him that he was an expert of fire jutsu and knew a sort of distraction technique with fake crows, similar to a mass clone technique. His team nominal leader was Gorai Tamami, a 19-year old dark-haired boy, a weapon specialist (with swords and kunai) who also had a bit of ability in water jutsu. He had been a chunin since he was 14. The last member of the team was Karemi Inuzuka, a 20 years old kunoichi and her dog companion Shiromi, chunin for 3 years, naturally expert tracker, Inuzuka family style taijutsu/ninjutsu and an unused fire elemental affinity. Naruto thought that sometimes having a clan wasn't that great a thing, if it made its members neglect classical ninjutsu.

Their patrol area was the route to Wave. The Hokage sure wanted to embarrass him, evidently, why else would he assign him to the one place where he was considered a national hero?

He prepared his pack, adding the Bingo Book he received together with his assignment, but he changed his mind, and sealed it in a quick-grab scroll in his flak vest. Shino was right, he should memorize it and he would use his spare time during the mission to do so or, even better, give that task to a clone.

-Naruto-chan, there is another thing you can do in Wave, since it is near the ocean. When you are there, you should contact Leviathan and ask him about his challenge.-

-Will I have the time to do it, mom?-

-Yes, don't worry. The patrol route to Wave is three day to reach the bridge, that is now the landmark of the border between Wave and Fire, one day to resupply and another three to come back. Since there are two patrols in each major route at every time, you don't have to worry too much about using your day off to summon the Guardian.-

Naruto nodded, glad to have packed a few extra soldier pills. He had no idea what sort of challenge would a Guardian ask of him, so it was better to be prepared.


Akiko hummed to herself while she went shopping. Just like last time, the Boss created her at his full power, and Hokage-sama told her that Shizune accepted her as an infiltration student. Akiko was surprised by the revelation, but was actually happy to be trained by someone she knew and trusted. Having managed to keep Tsunade in line all those years, she was clearly deserving of every praise the Hokage gave about her abilities, and she clearly couldn't wait until this afternoon, when she could start her formal training, naturally after Shizune's hospital shift.

Rumor-wise her tormentors were eerily quiet, maybe too much so, but with her workforce cut down and having passed most of the work to someone chosen by the Hokage (still unknown to her), she decided it was time to relax a bit. Maybe she could read some ninja novel to get some inspiration for some new technique, or simply look for a hobby, or just expand her little plants in her apartment into a true gardening hobby. She would surely never lack viable hands to care for them, even if the Boss was required outside the village, after all!

Gardening and plants also gave way to poison, since many of them were derived from plants, her natural healing abilities and the Esuna no Jutsu would help against accidental poisonings.

Leaving her groceries at home, she left for the library to get a ninja novel, to follow up on the previous thought. Ero-sennin and Shizune would surely help her if she somehow needed a little more poison training.


Sakura groaned and dried up her forehead from all the sweat coming down on her eyes. Kakashi sensei was a true taskmaster when she got one-on-one instruction. With Naruto away and Sasuke on a full-day training session with Anko-san, Kakashi-sensei was free to concentrate all his sadism on her person.

"Good, Sakura-chan, your physical abilities are steadily improving, I see you followed perfectly my schedule."

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei."

"A few more months of this and your stamina will reach Sasuke's level when he left the Academy."

Sakura's breathing slowly descended from heaving and panting to 'just' hard breathing. When she was sure she could complete a whole phrase without gasping, she asked: "Kakashi-sensei, should I get an internship in the new medical program Tsunade-sama is creating?"

Kakashi nodded immediately: "I was actually thinking about it, Sakura-chan. Your chakra control is almost perfect and that's the hardest requirement. You have a good theoretical preparation and learn academic material very easily, another requirement, and as I said a few weeks ago, your body structure is good for medical taijutsu. If you wish to join, you have my recommendation and blessing. But then, I will be probably short of a team after the Festival in any case."

"What do you mean, sensei?"

"Naruto will actually leave the village with Jiraya-sama, and Anko will train Sasuke exclusively for at least a few months, if not years. With just a single member, and a genin at that, team 7 will be disbanded and you will be placed in the reserve corps, unless you join the medical teams or another specialized division, that as you are now, don't have the qualifications to join."

"Qualifications?" asked a surprised Sakura.

"ANBU, hunter-nin, Torture & interrogations and many others sometimes recruit even genin out of their teams in cases such as yours, when your other teammates receive apprentice-level single instruction or worse, are dead. This, however, happens only if you have the experience or an extraordinary already established ability pertinent to their particular field. For example if you were Ino, the Torture & interrogation division may have recruited you due to the Yamanaka's famous family mind jutsu, but only if you had a bit more experience than a single mission higher than d-rank. They would probably let you be in the reserve corps for a year or two and if you didn't get into a team or become a chunin by then they would approach to recruit and train you even further."

"But since I have no abilities that a specialized division needs..." began Sakura.

"Yes, they won't even think about making an offer to you. The new medical program, instead, would give you the abilities to get into the medic-nin corps. Naturally you will still be assigned a squad and go in a few missions once in a while, just like ordinary ninja, but instead of guard duties, when you reach chunin, you will get hospital shifts and such. So, instead of dull baby sitting, you'll get stuck taking care of perverted drooling old men..."

"Are you trying to encourage or discourage me?" asked Sakura, with a smile.

"I'm trying to give you options, Sakura-chan." he replied with a creepy eye-smile.


Ino walked furiously in circles in her room, while Sakura sat in the bed, trying to understand her ramblings. Apparently her training wasn't as fruitful as hers.

"... that lazy ass should shove his 'troublesome'..." mumbled Ino, in a not-so-quiet voice. Her irritation toward her teammates was evident, but Sakura still hadn't had the courage to ask what the problem was with her team.

After another fifteen minutes rant, Ino finally calmed down, and somehow realized Sakura was still in her room.

"Oh, sorry, Sakura. I was so completely pissed with my team, that I had to rant to someone, or I would have strangled them!"

Sakura tried to not imagine herself being subjected to her friend's anger...

"W-what did they do?" asked Sakura, who actually didn't want to know, but...

"Those good-for-nothing lazy asses replied to my request to a harder training with a 'why should we?'"

"Uh.. even Asuma-sensei?" asked a bewildered Sakura.

"Uh, no, it was just Shikamaru and Chouji. But Asuma didn't even correct them! He just looked at us and smoked those damned cigarettes! And continued playing board games with Shikamaru! What good are board games when a single ninja, no, a single academy graduate can come up and kill the three of us with a minimal effort?"

"Uh... now you are exaggerating..." said Sakura, but her words couldn't reach the ranting Ino.

"And after I made that very same observation, Chouji just shrugged, Shikamaru told me to shut up and Asuma-sensei ignored me!"

Sakura could not imagine the laid back Shikamaru telling her to shut up. He probably just mumbled something and Ino interpreted that in her own way, considering her mental state. She could do only one thing to calm her down. Tell her what she came here for.

"Uh, Ino... do you want to train with me?" asked Sakura, trying to look as sincere as she felt.

Ino turned her head so fast her (still not-too-long) hair almost whipped her face.

"Do... do you really mean it, Sakura?" asked the blond, bewildered and grateful.

"At the exam we were evenly matched, but my sensei recently started training me one-on-one, once or twice a week, while apparently your sensei barely gives you any training. Believe me, I know how it feels, Kakashi-sensei was like that until Naruto protested with the Hokage."

Ino slumped her shoulders. "For Asuma-sensei it may not work. He is the son of the Hokage, but they barely speak with each other even when they have to. I think he already tried suggesting to Asuma-sensei to make at least Shikamaru work harder, but he took that and he translated to himself to play longer with him! How can playing Shoji be 'harder training'? And what about Chouji and me?"

"That's why we'll train together, Ino. Chunin and above need the team leader's permission to train us, but other genin don't. If the two of us train each other, or if we can find a few other genin and form a larger group..."

"Yes, just like during the Academy days, when a few of the boys sparred after the lessons!" said Ino, getting a little enthusiasm about the idea. "Who should we recruit?" she continued, trying to think about the genin around their age.

Sakura said: "I'd say Kiba would gladly accept, but he most likely will have clan family lessons after his team meetings. The same could be said for the totality of team 8."

"Yes, you are right. I'd still ask them, however, they will have a few free days to use, once in a while." replied Ino.

"Of team Gai I'd say only Tenten could help us. Lee is still in the hospital, but when... or if.. he gets out he would be surely more than enthusiast to join us, if only to do even more training."

"Ugh.. If only he would just shut up about youth and get a decent wardrobe..." groaned Ino

"So, the only sure one is Tenten, right? Let's find her!" said Sakura, standing up.

Ino nodded and followed her newly regained friend.


"Naruto? What are you doing here?" asked a surprised Ino. "Weren't you away on a mission?"

Naruto and Tenten were in a little clearing beside training ground 17, sitting on the ground and 'playing' with scrolls and ink.

"I am a Shadow Clone of Naruto, Ino. Tenten and I are teaching each other a few things, so as long as I last I can continue with my half of the bargain."

Tenten nodded, and lifted an half-completed seal for them to see. "I teach him how to use the glaive he had at the exam and he teaches me a bit more about seals."

"Did you know about it, Sakura?" asked Ino. Sakura shook her head, she hadn't noticed at all. But, probably, she was too occupied in stalking Sasuke-kun...

"So, Naruto-kun" Ino started with a fake-sweet voice. "If I get you Asuma's permission could you teach me, too?"

Sakura said: "Ino, Naruto will leave the village in a few weeks with Jiraya-sama..."

"Oh..:" she said, dejected.

The clone raised his hand, bringing the focus of the girls to him: "Uh, there is another problem, I will only last a couple days at most..."

Ino thought about it. Her father often used seals in his work, but refused to teach her because they were too advanced for her. If she learned the basics on her own, or rather with Naruto's help, she could show it to daddy and demand a bit of his time...

"I only need the basics, Naruto-kun. And probably Sakura could use them as well."

Tenten looked almost mutinous. "And what about me? If he returns to the basics he will be gone before I can reach a good enough level to continue on my own!"

Ino snorted: "He is a clone, and has no duty to the village to take up his time. He can easily instruct all of us at different times."

"Uh.." started the clone, but was interrupted by Sakura. "Ino, didn't we come here to ask Tenten to train with us?"

"Did you?" asked Tenten, lifting an eyebrow and ignoring the clone.

"Oh, right!" said Ino, as if she forgot about it. "Amongst the remaining genin, only the three of us don't have any official additional training from apprenticeships or family, so we thought we could get together and spar after our team meetings..."

Tenten nodded. A few more pincush... er.. sparring partners were good, but they were clearly much below her level and experience. Such an agreement would give her very few benefits in the beginning.

"What do you have to share?" asked Tenten. If they wanted her to agree to it, at least they needed to offer her something of value.

Sakura said: "I know a few genjutsu, up to c-rank ones, though, but I have a few scrolls I still have to master. Kakashi-sensei told me to enroll as a medic-nin as soon as they start the new program, so I will have also a bit more than the very basic medical knowledge I learned from books. I am also earth-natured and I know a few defensive jutsu of that element, and a single c-ranked attack one."

Tenten nodded, they were very good trading chips.

Ino grimaced with envy. Sakura's training had been truly impressive if she learned all that after their match! "I'm afraid I know very little that I can share, and most of them are different kinds of restraining jutsu, to catch people with the Shintenshin no Jutsu."

"One of them with hair, maybe?" asked a smirking Sakura. Ino simply smiled.

"Alright, I'm bought. As you know, I can use most weapons found in the village with at least mild proficiency and now I know basic sealing, thanks to Naruto-kun. I have also a whole year of experience with the most insane taijutsu specialist duo you'll ever meet."

Sakura realized something, too. Turning to the clone, she asked: "Naruto, what are Ino and Tenten's main elements?"

Naruto replied immediately, having long since Scanned the two of them: "They are both Fire natured."

Sakura nodded, so she could not help them much on ninjutsu.

"Uh... how do you know that, Naruto?" asked Tenten. She knew of natural chakra elements, but she thought one's own element was only revealed to mid-level chunin...

"I cannot tell you, Tenten, sorry. But I can assure you that it is correct." replied Naruto.

Tenten then shivered and said: "I just hope Gai-sensei and Lee won't come up with my flames of youth or I'll scream!"

The other three tried to get that particular mental image off their heads, too.

"So what is your idea for a schedule?" asked Tenten, recovering from her self-inflicted mental damage.

Sakura took an empty scroll from the ground and wrote down her own schedule. Passing it to Ino, she did likewise, and Tenten followed their example. Naruto just observed. Taking the completed scroll, Sakura examined it; Tenten started training much sooner than any of them and ended at the same time, more or less. Each of them had the after team-training free, at least officially. Tenten usually trained by herself, but she guessed that she could sacrifice a bit of it to this group and Sakura instead would push her genjutsu training for when she returned home. Ino having no scheduled extra training was completely free. She summarized her observations and unfolded her plan: "Ok, I'd say 2 hours on alternate days at this time would be good, this way we can do our own personal training or have free time for ourselves in the remaining days. We'll ask team 8 tomorrow to see if they have time and are interested to join us, but for now it's just the three... or three and a half of us." she said, smirking at the clone. Then she turned again to Tenten "You can get Naruto to continue teaching you seals until he disappears, we will start when he... 'dies'." Tenten nodded.

Ino raised an eyebrow, nodded at the schedule, and had a sudden inspiration looking at the clone and asked him: "If I can get Asuma to let you teach me, can you come to sensei's home tomorrow just after lunch? Maybe seeing me at work will motivate the others."

Naruto scratched his head, and said: "I don't see why not. Remember that I just have one or two days left, then I'll be out of chakra until the original comes back in a week." Ino nodded, apparently happy and with a devious smile on her lips.

Sakura was a little unhappy about being excluded from Naruto's seals training, but if he learned from Iruka's book, she would ask him to let her borrow it, too. Unless she managed to be at Asuma-sensei's home as well. Surely Kakashi-sensei won't mind her missing a few hours for a couple days...


Sasuke avoided another snake, using a smell-masking jutsu he found in his Clan library just to escape them. Unfortunately it only worked on the youngest ones, the more experienced weren't fooled as much and Anko would learn of it very soon. He still hadn't managed once to reach the tower in time, and today he had the whole day! That woman was crazy, but she was good, so unbelievably good and he was learning fast under her... torture. She already warned him that within 2 months she would start using poison on her kunai, to let him build up a few immunities, as well as teaching him how to make poisons and antidotes. The way she threatened to use wasn't very sane, because poisoning him in the middle of the Forest of Death and having him search for the antidote's ingredients there to heal himself, before he died, was maybe a bit over the top!

He wondered if this was Orochimaru's training regime when she had been subjected to it...

Stalking around another very young snake, he jumped a few more trees, but his sharingan saw a network of wires before him that were very likely linked to traps. Anko was a truly hands-on teacher. She hated lectures, both giving and receiving them and her lecture on what Orochimaru likely wanted from him was short and gruesome. Her idea of training, too, was to throw you to the wolves and let you come out of your own. If she wasn't also insane it wold be a perfect way of training someone as independent as him...

He disarmed around 30 traps, when he suddenly was caught by a wire between two kunai that flew silently around him, tying his arms to his body and bringing him on the ground, a few meters below him with a painful thud.

"You got careless, brat. Even when concentrating in removing traps, you have to keep up your awareness. You did good, though, you lasted almost 8 hours. Maybe tomorrow I can add a few more things to my 'allowed' list, after the baby snakes, kunai and wires."

Sasuke smirked, Anko wasn't usually fond of giving compliments, and if she did, it meant he had somehow impressed her. It probably was the scent masking jutsu.

"Make your usual laps, then you can go until tomorrow." said Anko, leaving him still tied, as usual, despite this being the Forest of Death. He resigned himself to another long run an started freeing himself from the ninja wire.


Akiko entered Shizune's office, with an expectant expression. Shizune herself was looking at her Ninja Profile, shaking her head.

"Akiko-chan, you are a really naughty.... girl, aren't you?" asked Shizune, with mirth. "I heard from Hokage-sama himself of your self-imposed mission, and I must admit I found it really funny if it wasn't for your peculiar circumstances and the stupidity of a lot of people. Fortunately that brought us in your current situation. Unfortunately, it also mean that you'll have to get remedial lessons on what kunoichi usually are taught at the Academy, I hope you realize it..."

Akiko realized she had absolutely no more than a general idea of what kunoichi actually learned in their separate lessons in the Academy, so she stayed silent.

"Well, I'll begin by assigning you a few books to read, and you'll finish them within 2 days. After that I'll start drilling you in mannerisms, pose and etiquette of various social strata, both male and female, naturally. After that it will depend on what natural aptitudes I see from those lessons."

Shizune made a gesture toward a pile of 7 rather thick books, with titles regarding kunoichi lifestyle, tea ceremony, ikebana, seduction, acting and other similar stuff.

"Now take the books, and try to retain as much as you can. Rapid reading and information filtering are important skills in an infiltrator and this will help me gauge your current level as well as giving you a few starting points on subjects we will touch in the next weeks."

Akiko nodded, awkwardly gathering the large and heavy books in two piles, but before she could pull out a scroll to seal them, Shizune said: "No, no! The first thing you must learn is that using ninja skills in an assignment is taboo, unless you portray a kunoichi or a ninja. You will do everything related to my instruction as if you were undercover as a civilian, so no openly displayed ninjutsu!"

Akiko grumbled inwardly and gathered the heavy and bulky books in her arms. They weren't heavy, since she was as strong as always, but Shizune scowled and she realized that a civilian girl would never be able to lift all of them at the same time.

"So, I'll have to make a few trips, right?" said a depressed Akiko. Shizune smiled, and said: "If there were any boys around here you could have flirted with a couple of them for a little help..."

Shizune chuckled a bit at Akiko's horrified face. She would learn... sooner or later.

Akiko now was really glad that her mother was away with the original!

Gathering a couple books, acting as if they were truly heavy, she returned home, the first of a few round trips...