Chapter 15 Team Days
The very next day Minato showed up at the Hokage tower bright and early. He took his picture for his form with minimal fuss and was soon sitting in front of the old Kage in a large open room to discuss his registration.
The old man looked over his papers once more and nodded at Naruto.
"It seems everything here is in order, thank you Naruto for completing everything on time and in an orderly fashion."
Naruto tilted his head in acknowledgement, "Of course, old man. Did you need me for anything else?"
"That shou-"
"On Guard, Old man!"
Suddenly the door to the room slammed open and a small figure darted into the room, shuriken in hand.
A dark haired child dressed in a yellow tee-shirt with the leaf symbol on it, pale green shorts, and an oversized scarf charged at the old Kage.
The child then promptly tripped over his own feet and face planted into the floor with a glorious thunk. A jounin dressed in a dark shirt and pants with a bandana hitai-ate on his head and round sunglasses ran into the room right after him.
The child rolled on the floor crying out in pain. When he finally stopped thrashing around he sat up and said, "I got it! It's a trap? Right?"
The jounin that dashed in after him adjusted his glasses and asked worriedly, "A-Are you all right, Honored Grandson!? And, for the record, There are no traps here!"
Minato didn't recognize either of the two but the small child immediately pointed at Naruto and yelled,
"Ahah! So you tripped me! It was you right?!"
Naruto sweat dropped, "You fell over your own feet…" he calmly replied.
"Honored grandson we must leave immediately, you must not consort with the likes of him!" The tall jounin yelled, pulling on the child's scarf to lead him out of the room.
Minato put on a polite smile. Ah. So the Jounin was one of those people.
The child struggled against the scarf, seemingly used to such treatment. "No! I'm not leaving until I beat the old man!"
Naruto watched in bemusement as the child was slowly hauled out of the room by the Jounin.
The Sandaime sighed and covered his face, "My apologies Naruto, that was my grandson Konohamaru's twentieth attempt on my life today. Ebisu tries to reign him in but it doesn't always work out."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at the man, his own grandson was after his life?
"A-ah. No problem… Is there anything else you needed from me?"
"No, we are about done here. Have a nice day Naruto."
"Yeah, you too old man."
Leaving the Hokage tower, Naruto dithered in front of the building for a while deciding on what to do for the rest of the day. There wasn't too much he had to do. All his chores had been taken care of by shadow clones and his preparations for any tests after team placements had finished. Leaning on a pole and watching villagers walk by, Minato idly wondered who would be assigned as his Jounin instructor.
Shrugging to himself Minato decided he would get some extra training in. More training was always good after all. He set off at a brisk clip in the direction of training grounds 44.
Even without using his enhanced chakra sensing abilities Minato soon detected a clumsy presence following behind him. He turned to look behind him since whoever was following him obviously couldn't be a ninja. Their steps were simply too loud and obvious. He caught a glimpse of Konohamaru just before the child drew up a sheet of camouflage and covered himself with it.
Minato was a bit bewildered by this turn of events. Why was Konohamaru following him? Was he going through a rebellious phase and doing exactly what he was told not to do?
Minato walked up to the sheet, he noted that it was held so that the pattern was sideways to the wooden wall behind Konohamaru and tapped on it.
"So Konohamaru-kun, can I help you with anything?"
The child smugly lowered the sheet, "So you managed to see through my disguise huh? The rumors of your abilities don't lie!"
Minato scratched the back of his head nervously, there were rumors? He'd been careful when training though? He made sure no one was around before doing anything too crazy… Had he slipped up somehow?
"Ah no, you were holding the camouflage sheet the wrong way… And what do you mean by rumors?"
Konohamaru looked down at his sheet and blushed as he saw it was indeed the wrong orientation. He threw the sheet away and pointed dramatically at Naruto.
"I heard you beat my grandpa with one technique! You gotta teach me that! I'll allow you to take me on as your disciple! So teach me your skills! Boss!"
Minato laughed nervously. There was no way he could teach a kid to do what he had done to the Hokage. Kushina would kill him in the afterlife for having come up with the idea in the first place. There was no telling what would happen to him if he taught a child the same trick…
"I'm sorry but that technique was an exclusive technique. I'm not allowed to teach it to anyone no matter what."
"What! No way! Please? Pretty please Boss? Please teach me something?"
Minato stared at the bouncing kid in front of him, he was distantly reminded of a young Obito. He had nothing to do for the rest of the day anyways… Playing along with Konohamaru couldn't be too bad he supposed. "Ahh… Well… I can't teach you the secret technique but I can teach you some Shinobi tricks I guess."
"What! Really!? You'll teach me stuff? You're the best Boss!"
The Sandaime watched as Ebisu ran off in search of Konohamaru again after the child had escaped during one of his lectures. He sighed. He seemed to be sighing a lot these days… He was getting too old for this job. He wished Minato were still alive so that he could return to enjoying his retirement. Considering the new generation and all their problems made him want to eat his pipe. All these issues should have been Minato's to deal with. Except the man had gone and sacrificed himself for the sake of Konoha.
Hiruzen sighed again as he considered Konohamaru's behavior again. The boy was being ruined by the village's over indulgence. His ceaseless surprise attacks were harmless but a menace to deal with. At least the boy had gone after Naruto who seemed to have his head screwed on right. Hopefully some of Naruto's composure and common sense would rub off on Konohamaru. Naruto would no doubt be extremely responsible and wouldn't take him on any hare brained schemes.
Meanwhile Minato was considering teaching Konohamaru how to play pranks on paranoid Shinobi. It would be fun to have an apprentice in the arts of undetected pranking. The boy had quickly picked up on his stealth tips and was now sneaking around in training ground 23, which was a generic forested environment, trying to avoid detection. Konohamaru was doing better than Minato thought he would.
"Alright Konohamaru! You can come out now!" He yelled into the forest.
Konohamaru tumbled out a bush to Naruto's left, "Yosh! Boss! What next?!"
"I thought we could take a quick break for a while! I'll treat you to something at the vending machine. Come on!"
Konohamaru happily chased after Naruto who led him back to a clearing with a small vending machine in the corner. The two boys picked out their respective beverages and took a seat on a fallen log in a distance away from the vending machine.
Minato let Konohamaru drink in peace for a while before he asked the question that had been on his mind.
"Say Konohamaru, what is your problem with your grandpa? Why do you want to beat him so bad?"
Konohamaru finished his drink and stared at the can with a solemn expression.
"My name… My Grandfather named me Konohamaru. Like the village right? He said it would bring luck. But even though. The whole village knows thats my name. No one ever calls me that. "
The can in Konohamaru's grip crumpled a bit. "It's always just 'Honored Grandson'. No one sees me for who I am. Just who I'm related to. And I hate it! You're different though! Just like Four eyes sensei said!"
Konohamaru looked up at Naruto with a determined expression, "But it'll be different when I become Hokage. And that's gonna be real soon!"
Minato considered Konohamaru's words for a bit. He idly wondered if his son would have felt the same way if he had grown up under the Namikaze name had he lived. Then he sighed and said,
"You know that's not what Hokage is about, right? Hokage is an important position where you are in charge of the well being of every member of the village. It's not about the acknowledgement of the people but the responsibility of the role. You don't become Hokage to earn acknowledgement, you become Hokage because others acknowledge you. Besides."
Minato patted Konohamaru on the shoulder and smiled at him. "I'm going to become Hokage first!"
"There you are!" A voice called out from amongst the trees.
Suddenly Ebisu was there in the branches, glaring at Naruto.
Minato sighed at the look he received and smiled politely back.
Ebisu scoffed and hopped down from the tree branches. "Honored Grandson, it's time to return home."
Konohamaru jumped up from the log, "No way! Not yet! First I have to kick the old man's butt and become the next Hokage! So get lost!"
Ebisu began walking towards Konohamaru, intent on dragging the boy home. "The Hokage knows and understands the eight principles that are the cornerstones of all knowledge of shinobi virtue. Justice, ceremony, wisdom, loyalty, faithfulness, prudence, and filial piety! He is a master of over a thousand jutsu and I can take you there! All you have to do is stick with me and you will have a shortcut to Hokage!"
Konohamaru promptly dashed away into the trees leaving behind a ranting Ebisu.
"Blast it! He's off again!"
Ebisu quickly gave chase, he found that it wasn't as easy as it was to catch Konohamaru now as it was earlier that morning.
Soon enough though, Ebisu was dragging Konohamaru back through the clearing by his scarf while yelling, "Honored Grandson! Do not be learning from creatures like him! He will only drag you down to his level! Come! We shall go home now!"
Minato calmly walked up to Ebisu and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey Ebisu-san? How about we have a bet?"
Ebisu paused in tugging on Konohamaru's scarf and adjusted his glasses, "A bet?"
"If you can catch me within an hour I will stay away from Konohamaru and he goes home with you quietly. But if you can't then he is free to do what he wants for the rest of the day and I can visit him in his free time."
Ebisu struck a pose, preparing hand signs. "Hah! Child's play! You are no match for a superior teacher like myself! I will take you up on this bet!"
Minato smiled ominously. "Good… Now then, we begin!" With those words Minato vanished in a shunpo leaving no evidence as to where he went.
Ebisu gaped in place for a moment, stunned by the speed of Naruto's technique. He quickly collected himself and set off to track Naruto down.
An hour later and Ebisu was panting and covered in a variety of substances, ranging from different colored paints, feathers, glitter, confetti, to toilet paper. The short moment that he had spent gaping was a few vital seconds that Minato had to rig up a few traps for anyone looking for him. The chase had devolved into a trapping course that Ebisu was hard pressed to navigate.
The man collapsed on the ground, utterly spent as he conceded his defeat.
"Blast it! I failed to defeat Four eyes sensei again!" Konohamaru cried out. "All I want is a name everyone will respect and I want it right now!"
Minato ruffled Konohamaru's hair fondly, "Haha! you think wanting is all it takes? Hokage means commitment! There's no shortcuts."
Konohamaru stood frozen as he thought back to Naruto's words before Ebisu showed up, then he slapped away Naruto's hand, "Shut up! How come you get to lecture me? He pointed at Naruto with an accusing finger, "I've decided! I won't be your disciple! I'll be your rival!"
Minato smiled fondly at the child and ruffled his hair again much to Konohamaru's annoyance, "Aah. But I'll be taking a step ahead first alright? But one day let's fight over the name of Kage together!"
Minato woke up the next day with a soft smile on his face. He would be getting his team today.
He put on his mesh armor undershirt and dressed up in a new jacket that was mostly black with navy blue sleeves and a white hood. He put on his standard shinobi pants and sandals. He tied his new Hitai-ate on his forehead and strapped his kunai and shuriken pouches on.
Feeling thoroughly prepared Minato made breakfast and ate with gusto. He made his way to the academy cheerily. Looking into the classroom he noticed not many students had arrived yet. He walked in and gave a nod of acknowledgement to Sasuke and sat next to him. Minato pulled out a book on sealing from his pouch and settled in to wait for the rest of the class to show up.
When Shikamaru arrived he was about to walk past Naruto to sit at the back of the room like usual, when he paused and did a double take at Naruto.
"Hey, Naruto I thought you failed? You walked out of the room without a Hitai-ate."
Naruto scratched his head awkwardly, "Ah there were special circumstances but I passed."
"Huh. Well okay, if you say so." Shikamaru said as he shrugged.
Once again Naruto settled in to wait for the rest of the class to arrive.
Suddenly there was a sound of a great stampede approaching. Sasuke groaned to himself and laced his fingers in front of his face. Minato looked at the boy curiously as the sounds of the commotion drew nearer. The door slammed open and Sakura and Ino squeezed their way through the entrance simultaneously. They were both panting heavily and slightly disheveled but they perked up the moment they laid eyes on Sasuke. Sakura barreled over Naruto to sit next to Sasuke who was subtly sweating and shooting desperate glances at Naruto.
Naruto could only shrug helplessly at Sasuke as he straightened himself up. Ino fumed and picked a seat to the right of Sasuke.
Soon enough Iruka walked in and the class slowly quieted at his presence. He took up his spot at the front of the class room and began,
"From this day forward you are no longer students, but full fledged Shinobi. But even amount the ranks of Shinobi you are the lowest of the low, you are mere genin and simple novices. Your greatest challenges all lie ahead." He waved the clipboard he held in his hand around. "The next step to your career is to divide you all into three-man cells. Each team will be supervised and mentored by a Jounin. These Jounin will serve to guide you as you become familiar with your various duties and missions. Selections have been made so that each cell's abilities would be approximately equal. Now beginning with team one who is…"
Minato then zoned out as Iruka droned on about the different teams. He was struck by a bout of nostalgia as he considered the first genin team he had ever received. It was such a shock learning he had been assigned to one of the three great Sannin…
"Next, team number seven, Inuzuka Kiba, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke!"
Minato smiled, so he would be team seven again huh? He hoped that Kakashi was doing well…
Kiba stood up in protest, "Hey how come I get the team with all the dudes!?"
"Kiba! You have the worst grades of the class while Naruto and Sasuke are ranked at the top! The idea was to balance the teams and your abilities! This is all done to match your abilities with those of your jounin sensei! That's why you are together!"
Kiba huffed a breath and sat back down as Iruka continued with his assignments. Making team eight Sakura, Hinata, and Shino and team ten the classic Ino-shika-cho combo. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't with any of his fangirls… And Naruto was pretty strong so that should cancel out Kiba some what. Sakura and Ino both wilted as they realized their chances with Sasuke had lowered.
"Your jounin senseis will be introducing themselves this afternoon. So please return here after lunch! Until then you are dismissed!" Iruka said.
Naruto turned to Sasuke and asked, "Do you want to eat lunch together today?"
Sasuke grunted in return so Naruto took that as a yes. Minato then turned to look for Kiba, who was at the back of the room sulking.
To Kiba, it simply wasn't fair that Shino got a team with a bunch of girls while he was shoved into a team with Naruto and the asshole. Naruto was decent but he couldn't stand Sasuke!
Naruto walked up to Kiba and asked,
"Hey, Kiba? Wanna eat lunch with me and Sasuke?"
"Hmph. Fine."
The Sandaime and Kakashi both walked into a small apartment on the outskirts of Konoha. It was an out of the way apartment building that was slowly falling into disrepair. Cracks went along the walls and mold was growing in the corners.
"So he doesn't live here anymore?"
"No, he used to live here and then he moved to his parent's house a few years back." The Sandaime took a puff of his pipe. "I don't think we could break into Minato and Kushina's seals so this was the next best thing for you to get a glimpse into his personality."
"Aah. That was a good call."
Kakashi wandered around the small apartment looking around, he was glad that Naruto was no longer living here. It wasn't the greatest of places to live. He also noted that it was still fully furnished so that someone could return to living in it at anytime. The rooms were perfectly clean and organized, it seemed obvious that Naruto hadn't been living here for a while. It seemed Naruto was just as meticulous as his father.
What Kakashi did find interesting about the apartment were the fading signs of fuinjutsu wards on the walls. So Naruto knew some fuinjutsu huh? He was really taking after his parents after all.
"He's a responsible child, very well behaved according to his academy teachers. Didn't stand out too much in classes though, you should have the easiest time with him." The Sandaime said watching Kakashi walk through the apartment. "Another member of your team will be Uchiha Sasuke. Come. Let's go look at his room in the Uchiha compound."
Kakashi nodded and followed the Sandaime out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.
As they walked through the streets of Konoha in the direction of the Uchiha compound Kakashi asked the Sandaime,
"So what inspired this last minute team change? I thought I was supposed to have Haruno Sakura?"
"Taking into account the specialities of each Jounin teacher, it was decided that Sakura with her high charka control would be better suited under a genjutsu mistress like Kurenai. Kiba would also learn better under your instruction, Kakashi, as you have experience in training ninken."
"I see…" 'Kurenai must have been overjoyed to hear of this change' Kakashi thought sullenly.
The rest of the walk was spent in a calm silence as both the Sandaime and Kakashi simply enjoyed the quiet.
Having reached the compound's largest house, Kakshi knocked on the door and was met by a tired Izumi.
"Hello Izumi-san, how are you?" The Sandaime said.
"Ah. Sandaime-sama? Kakashi-san? What can I do for you today?"
Kakashi waved at her casually, "Yo."
"Kakashi just wanted to see the rooms of his genin so he could get a measure of their personalities. Please excuse us for a moment."
"Oh of course please come in."
"Sorry for the intrusion." Said Kakashi as he walked in.
Sasuke's room was similar to Naruto's apartment in that it was perfectly clean and organized. There were a few books and scrolls on fire Justus that were stacked on his nightstand and a few wall scrolls. Otherwise, there wasn't much to say about the room other than the fact that it belonged to a generic Uchiha due to the many fan symbols scatter around the room.
"I'm kinda surprised he decided to continue living here…" Kakashi said to the Sandaime.
"Indeed. I was as well. Though I suppose it helps that many of the survivors are living in the same house now."
"Ah, that's right."
"Keep a close eye on Sasuke will you? He has been asking about the Massacre recently."
"I see…"
"I would have assigned him to Izumi, but Izumi decided she would rather continue taking missions for awhile before becoming a jounin teacher to some of the even younger Uchiha."
"I understand."
The two men then paid their respects to Izumi as they left to the Inuzuka compound.
At the Inuzuka compound the Sandaime and Kakashi were accosted by Tsume and forced into having a cup of tea before visiting Kiba's room. The boy's room was surprisingly clean, it was to be expected from having a mother like Tsume. Though there was a rather messy hamper in the corner. There was a small dog bed in the corner of the room and a few dog toys on it. The walls were covered in posters and various pictures of members of the Inuzuka clan.
The Sandaime and Kakashi bid goodbye to Tsume and continued their talk in a park with a few drinks from a convenient vending machine.
"Best of luck Kakashi, you will have quite the team if they pass your test."
Kakashi nodded at the Sandaime.
"Why exactly did you assign me these three as a team though, Sandaime-sama?"
"I believe that these children have great potential. I also believe in you Kakashi, just like Minato. It's all about the right man for the right job." The Sandaime took a sip of his canned coffee. "Rivalry matures people as well, Sasuke will push Kiba to do better, Kiba will one day teach Sasuke the importance of team work as he understands the pack better than anyone else. Naruto will act as the glue to keep the two together."
"Is that so…"
"To believe in and watch over one's student is also part of being a teacher, Kakashi." The Sandaime set his can down. "Now I believe it's about time for you to meet your team. No?"
"Maa… Well they can wait a while longer I have somewhere to visit."
The Sandaime smiled at Kakashi wryly and stood to return to his paperwork.
Back at the academy Minato was waiting with an impatient Kiba and Sasuke wondering just which jounin was so irresponsible in their duties to leave their genin waiting for so long. He himself had been extremely excited when he received his first genin and showed up rather early to meet them. He was mildly disappointed when Obito had arrived rather late but it was still forgivable as he was a genin. A Jounin sensei arriving late though? Not so much.
"Ahhh… They're late they're late!" Kiba yelled, ruffling his hair. Akamaru barked to show his agreement.
"Calm down Kiba, I'm sure they'll be here soon…" Naruto replied. It had been three hours past lunch and each passing second had only increased Kiba's ire. Sasuke merely brooded harder in the corner as time passed. Naruto thankfully had a book with him to read while waiting.
A few more minutes passed before Naruto sensed a distantly familiar signature approaching the academy at a slow lope.
He straightened and said to Sasuke and Kiba, "Ah, they're here…"
Soon enough a tall lanky Jounin pushed open the door. He was wearing the standard Jounin uniform with navy shirt, pants, and flak vest. He also had a face mask that covered the lower half of his face and a tilted hitai-ate that covered his left eye.
'Kakashi? Why was he so late? He's usually early to everything… Has he changed since I died?' Minato thought to himself.
Kakashi looked at the three students who were watching him expectantly, he hummed and said, "Based on my first impression of you guys… You guys bore me."
Minato sweat dropped. Kiba snarled. Sasuke brooded harder.
"Meet me on the roof in five minutes." Kakashi said before disappearing in a poof of smoke.
And so the trio of boys gathered on the roof of the academy. Kakashi was sitting on the railing so the three boys sat in a line in front of him.
"Now, I'd like you all to tell us something about yourselves,"
Kakashi said as the three boys got settled in.
"Like what?" Kiba asked sullenly.
"You know, like the usual. Favorite things… Dislikes… Dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that."
"Why don't you go first then." Kiba said.
Sasuke nodded along with Kiba. Naruto just stared fondly at Kakashi. Minato was glad that his student would be teaching him, he would have liked Kakashi to teach his actual son but this was fine too. He would be able to ask Kakashi to teach him the rasengan and thus have an excuse to use the technique. He hadn't left many notes on the rasengan and thus couldn't really say that he'd learned it from his own notes.
"Oh me?" Kakashi scratched his mask dully, "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I don't feel like telling you guys about my likes and dislikes… My dreams for the future… well they're none of your business… I have lots of hobbies I guess…"
Kiba and Sasuke sweat dropped at the dull introduction that said nothing while Naruto smiled at Kakashi.
"Now it's your turn, let's start with you on the right."
Minato started and pointed at himself in question before beginning, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like Ichiraku ramen, training, fuinjutsu, and my friends. I dislike traitors and rumors. My dream is to one day become a great hunter nin and eventually take the position of Hokage. My hobbies are pranks and training."
Kakashi gave no reaction to the introduction and simply said, "Next!"
Sasuke grunted and then spoke "My name is Uchiha Sasuke and I have a lot of dislikes, I like my family. I have an ambition and that is to learn the truth one day. My hobby is training."
"And finally, you. Dog boy."
Kiba bared his teeth at Kakashi before he said, "I'm Inuzuka Kiba, I like dogs, girls, and my family. I dislike assholes and stuck up pricks," At this he sent a sharp glare at Sasuke "My dream is to become a strong Shinobi worthy of the Inuzuka clan and to become Hokage! My hobbies are playing with Akamaru and training I guess."
"Alright that's enough." Kakashi crossed his arms "I believe we all understand each other. Training starts tomorrow. Our first mission is a survival exercise."
"What like the ones we did in class?" Asked Kiba.
"It's not your typical exercise. You'll have to survive against me." Kakashi then snickered to himself.
Kiba looked confused and yelled "Hey! What's so funny about a survival exercise?"
Kakashi merely waved his hand and said, "Oh, it's nothing. If i told you, you would chicken out."
Kiba tilted his head while Naruto smiled knowingly "Chicken out? Why?" Kiba asked.
Kakashi leaned against his hand, "The test we are about to perform has a 66% chance of failure. Of the twenty seven members of your graduating class, only nine will actually be accepted as Genin. The other eighteen will be sent back to the academy."
Kiba's jaw dropped, Sasuke's sweating increased and Naruto didn't react.
Kakashi laughed at them while Kiba protested furiously. "Wait! What about our graduation? What was that all about then?"
"Oh! We eliminated all the hopeless ones. The ones left over are the ones that have the potential to make it as genin." Kakashi crossed his arms again. "In any case. We'll meet tomorrow at five am at training grounds seven so I can evaluate your skills and weaknesses. Bring all your tools and weapons. Also, don't have breakfast before hand… Unless you enjoy throwing up. Don't be late!"
With that all said and done Kakashi promptly vanished in another poof of smoke.
Kakashi was much more sadistic it seemed. Naruto quickly turned to Sasuke and Kiba and said, "No matter what, eat breakfast tomorrow. You will need the energy and it's better to have eaten and throw up than it is to fight on an empty stomach."
Kiba snorted, "As if my mom would let me leave the house without eating breakfast."
Sasuke nodded in agreement, Izumi was fierce when she wanted to be, and she wasn't a morning person.
And thus the three boys separated for the day to prepare for the test ahead of them.