Shujinko Shippuden Chapter 11, a naruto fanfic

CHAPTER 11: BROTHERLY INTERVENTION

(Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OCs)

"Talking / Jutsu"

'Thinking'

'Flashback'

"Flashback talk"

"Demonic voice"

Letter / Emphasis

|Konohagakure no Sato|

The Hyūga District was regarded as one of the most elegant compounds of the village, and it wasn't hard to see why it had gained such a reputation. While ostentatious in its own right, the charm of the place resided in its immaculate simplicity, combining man's architecture and nature's grace in perfect balance. Several ponds and cherry trees surrounded the buildings, along with several plants and a wide variety of white flowers that added even more beauty to the scenery. Not a single leaf or pebble was out of place, and the air seemed to carry the enjoyable fragrance of summer petals.

As he stood outside of one of the houses of the compound, Shujinko took the time to observe and appreciate everything around him. This was his first time visiting the Hyūga District, and although he wasn't there to do some sightseeing, he allowed himself to marvel at his surroundings for as long as he could before meeting the person he was waiting for. For someone who had spent his life in a small household with three other persons, a place like this was almost like a palace in comparison, and it made Shujinko feel a bit jealous of his former classmate Hinata for living in such a wonderful residence.

His feelings of envy stopped the moment he heard the sound of a door sliding open. A man in his mid-thirties, who wore traditional, loose-fitting white robes and a grey sash belt around his waist, stepped out of the house. His physical features showed prominent Hyūga genes, with long, black hair parted in the middle and eyes that resembled pearls. The shinobi stared at Shujinko for a while, scrutinizing him with a serious expression on his face before breaking the silence. "I was told by the guards that a young man wished to see me. I take it that's you,"

Shujinko made a short bow of respect. "Greetings, Hoheto-san. My name is Ozuma Shujinko. Excuse me for coming here on such short notice, but I was hoping I could borrow some of your time to talk. I promise it won't take very long," he said, to which Hoheto raised an eyebrow.

"Considering the two of us have never met before, this is an unusual request, but I suppose I can entertain you," the Hyūga replied as he stepped out of the porch and walked past the golden-eyed Jounin. "Follow me. We may speak in private at the gardens,"

Hoheto proceeded to guide Shujinko across the Hyūga District until they reached a particular area of the compound where bushes that bore fruits grew in abundance. The Ozuma was tempted to pick a couple of berries for himself, but he feared that might make him look bad in front of Hoheto. After all, the members of the Hyūga clan were known for their strict etiquette and their strained social norms, and even something as trivial as grabbing fruit from one of their bushes without their consent could be seen by them as an act of discourtesy. It was better to be safe than sorry when dealing with these people.

Once they reached the center of the gardens, Hoheto turned around to meet Shujinko's gaze. "Now then, what is it that you wish to discuss with me?"

"It's about my sister, Ozuma Nanami, who happens to be one of your students," Shujinko responded. "I understand that this might sound strange to you, and I don't like having to mix family with shinobi affairs, but I don't know who else to ask. The thing is, my sister is… Well, she's not who she used to be. Her attitude has changed drastically and I have no idea what could've caused her to be like this. I get that teenagers are prone to mood swings and all that, especially at her age, but this is-"

"Allow me to interrupt you, Shujinko-san," Hoheto cut him off. "I ignore where this is coming from or why would you come to me with such concerns, but I am hardly the one you should be speaking to about this. As her sensei, it is my duty to instruct Nanami in the ways of us ninjas, not to meddle in whatever family fuss she's involved in. I advise you not to seek counsel from me, for in this regard, I can offer you none,"

"It's not like that. I'm not asking you to meddle in anything, much less act as a therapist for her. Forgive me if I'm not doing a very good job at explaining myself. All I want to know is what your opinion about Nanami is, how she treats her teammates, how she treats you, how she acts when she's on her own, that sort of stuff. I'm well aware that as her sibling, I should already know what's going on with her, but my training and my missions prevent me from being around her at all times, so your input would be of great help,"

Hoheto crossed his arms and furrowed his brow, making Shujinko feel uncomfortable. He was starting to wonder if talking to Nanami's sensei had been a mistake. Even worse, he feared what might happen if, for whatever reason, Hoheto told Nanami that her older brother was going around asking questions about her. This was why Shujinko preferred to keep family dramas away from shinobi affairs, but the situation with his sister had gotten to a point where he was forced to try his luck with outside sources.

Fortunately, Hoheto seemed to understand where he was coming from, for his facial features softened after a while. "Normally, I try to avoid sharing information and details regarding my team, but seeing as you are the brother of one of my students, I believe a small exception can be made on this occasion. Nanami is proving herself to be quite a capable young kunoichi. Her potential is evident and her dedication cannot be put into doubt. Whatever lesson I teach her, she accepts it and incorporates it into her knowledge without question. Furthermore, she's quite a perfectionist and never puts a limit on her abilities. I expect many great things of her,"

The Ozuma nodded in understanding, but he wasn't hearing anything he didn't already know. Nanami was a skilled ninja for her age and, just like her sensei, Shujinko also believed she'd grow into an exemplary kunoichi if she sustained her efforts. However, he wasn't worried over her development as a shinobi and was more concerned with her development as a person, which he found to be lacking if he was honest.

"That being said, I have noticed her behavior to be adversarial at times. She doesn't seem to place much trust in her teammates and she had berated them more than once. In response, their teammates don't get along with her most of the time and often exclude her from activities that ought to be done together. That doesn't seem to bother her as she would rather be independent of them and train on her own, which she does unless I order otherwise. If I am being sincere, I fear my team won't fare well in the Chunin Exams if they don't learn how to function as a unit, and as much as I regret to say this, Nanami appears to be the one who is driving this wedge inside the group, for both Saburo and Yudai are able to work together just fine,"

Although he tried to maintain a neutral expression on his face, each of Hoheto's words left a bitter taste in Shujinko's mouth. The part that stung the most was hearing that Nanami treated her teammates poorly and that they rejected her as a result. Under no circumstances could something like that possibly be beneficial or lead to a positive outcome, much less considering how young Nanami and her teammates were. He couldn't understand why his sister was so adamant about pushing everyone away when, not too long ago, she was the sweetest and friendliest girl in the world. Whatever the root of her problem was, Shujinko was determined to find it and do something about it, even if he had to confront Nanami until she got fed up.

"Thank you for telling me this, Hoheto-san. I appreciate your insight," Shujinko finally said. Seeing as there was nothing else to discuss, the Hyūga nodded and was about to finish the conversation, but the young Jounin decided to try his luck one more time, even if it meant overstepping some boundaries. "Before I leave, I want to ask one last thing of you. Could you please tell me when will your team have its next training session?"

Hoheto raised an eyebrow. "Three days from now. Why do you want to know?"

"Well, if it's okay with you, I'd like to make a request,"

|Three days later|

Two boys were currently sitting on the grass performing stretches as they got ready for another training session, which promised to be long and exhausting just like the others they've had so far. One of them was called Mitokado Saburo, who had spiky cedar brown hair, black eyes, and wore a sleeveless dark green tunic along with a pair of black pants and blue boots, his shinobi headband tied around his neck. The other one, Utatane Yudai, was a tiny bit shorter and skinnier than his teammate. He had jet black hair that he kept in a brush cut and a pair of brown eyes. With his headband tied around his forehead, he wore brown pants and a white shirt underneath a blue denim jacket.

"Hoheto-sensei better have something good for us today," Saburo grumbled as he spread his legs on the ground, having finished his stretches. "We've been doing the same drills for three weeks straight. Is it too much to ask to try something different every once in a while?"

Yudai rose to his feet and extended his hand to help his teammate get up. "I don't know what you're complaining about. Once you get used to them, those drills aren't all that bad. Besides, what are you going to do about it? Are you gonna stand in front of Hoheto-sensei and tell him to his face that you disagree with his training methods?"

"And risk getting a taste of his Jūken? Thanks, but no thanks. I've seen what the members of the Hyūga clan are capable of doing with their Byakugan. When it comes to Taijutsu, I can't think of anyone that can match their level of skill," Saburo said. After a brief pause, he smirked at his friend and flexed his biceps, puffing his chest out. "Of course, it's only a matter of time before the same gets said about me. Just give me a couple of years and I'll be at the top right along with them,"

"Oh, I'm sure of it. I bet you'll have the entire Hyūga clan kowtowing before you, begging you to teach them how to fight. Next thing you know, you'll be running your own dojo and making tons of money off of it. Then, the Daimyō himself will ask you to marry into his family and name you his successor, followed by-"

"Alright, alright, cut it out, will you? Man, I'll never understand why you drag your jokes so much all the time. It's super annoying. But anyway, Hoheto-sensei will be here any moment now, and when he shows up, I'll try to convince him to leave the training drills for another day and let us practice something else. I need you to back me up on this, Yudai," Saburo said before a frown appeared on his face, which he complemented by crossing his arms. "It's not like I'm gonna get any support from Her Majesty over there,"

The pair of Genins looked over their shoulders to see 'Her Majesty', otherwise known as Ozuma Nanami, working on her Shurikenjutsu a bit further away from where they were, occupying the three available wooden dummies at the same time. Her nickname had been given to her by some of her classmates, including Saburo and Yudai, even before their graduation from the Academy, and in everyone's opinion, it was an accurate one. The girl was cold, snobbish, and always had her nose in the air.

What cemented her nickname was the fact that, just like a privileged member of a royal family, Nanami barely acknowledged the presence of those who were supposed to be her peers. Case in point, she didn't even say hello to her teammates when she saw them arriving and kept practicing her Shurikenjutsu as if those two weren't there. In all fairness, neither Saburo nor Yudai had bothered to greet their teammate either, but that was because they knew Nanami would ignore them just like she always did. As far as they were concerned, Nanami wasn't a member of Team 4. She was just a girl who also happened to receive training from Hyūga Hoheto and who tagged along whenever a mission was assigned to them.

Before any other remark about Her Majesty could be made, Saburo and Yudai heard someone approaching them from behind. They were expecting their sensei to appear, but to their surprise, a young man who was only a couple of years older than them was making his way towards them, wearing a slightly modified version of the standard Jounin outfit. "Who is this guy?" Yudai asked, keeping his voice low. "Saburo, do you know him?"

"Nope, I've never seen him before. I wonder what he's doing here," Saburo replied before raising his voice a little. "Oi, you there, can we help you with something?"

"Thanks, but actually, I'm the one who's gonna help you boys today," the young man said with an easy-going smile, leaving the two Genins slightly confused as to what he meant by that. "You're the members of Team 4, correct? The ones under the tutelage of Hyūga Hoheto,"

"Yup, that's us. We're waiting for our sensei to show up so we can get on with our training,"

"Good. I had to make sure I hadn't found another team of Genins by accident. My name is Shujinko, and I'll be replacing your sensei for today's session. Don't worry, Hoheto-san and I talked about this and he gave me his consent, so I can assure you he's completely aware of this. I know this is a bit unexpected for all of you, but I hope we can all get along and have a great day together,"

Saburo and Yudai looked at each other, both of them caught off guard by what they'd just been informed of. Hoheto had never failed to show up to a training session before, and although it wasn't uncommon for a sensei to ask a fellow comrade to take over his or her team of Genins provisionally, it was strange that Hoheto hadn't told them about this arrangement beforehand. That man was very keen on punctuality and formalities, so for Hoheto to not let his team know of something like this in advance was rather uncharacteristic of him. "Is Hoheto-sensei alright?" Yudai asked. "Is he feeling sick or something?"

"No, not at all. There's nothing wrong with Hoheto-san's health, so please don't get the wrong idea. You'll have your sensei back by next week. However, on this one occasion, I'll be in charge of overseeing your training. I won't go into the details as they're not important, just know that Hoheto-san has his reasons and it's not up to us to discuss them. So tell me, are you okay with this or would you prefer to go home and miss the opportunity to learn something?"

Just by looking at them, Shujinko knew what those boys were thinking. They obviously had their doubts about him, and although they were all comrades of Konohagakure, Shujinko didn't expect them to trust someone whom they've never met before right away. The fact that he was only a couple of years older than them probably added to their suspicions. Fortunately, other than his real intentions, the Ozuma had nothing to hide from the members of Team 4.

"… Well, since we're already here, I guess we don't have much of a choice," Saburo said. "Alright then, let's do this. What do you have for us, Shujinko-sa… Errh, wait, how should we address you as? Shujinko-sensei?"

The golden-eyed Jounin chuckled at that. "Just call me Shujinko. I'm still too young to consider myself a proper sensei. As for what I have planned, it's a simple exercise that I once had to do with my team when I was still a Genin. I'll explain it as soon as-"

"Shujinko!" Nanami shouted as she finally joined the group, looking both perplexed and bothered by her brother's presence there. "What do you think you're doing? Our team is about to start today's training. We're waiting for Hoheto-sensei to get here, so could you please leave now?"

"Good morning, sis. It's nice to see you too," Shujinko replied, smiling as he ignored Nanami's less than respectful greeting, which only made his younger sibling grow even more annoyed. Meanwhile, Yudai and Saburo were gawking like fishes with their eyes wide open, clearly shocked to hear him call Nanami 'sis'. "Like I told your teammates, Hoheto-san saw fit to task me with the responsibility of conducting your training session for the day. Since I've been meaning to get a taste of what being a sensei feels like, I gladly accepted the offer and here I am,"

"Woah, hang on a second!" Yudai exclaimed as he turned to Nanami, whose frown kept getting heavier by the second. "Nanami, this guy is your brother? Like, your actual brother?" The young kunoichi didn't answer him, but for once, Yudai wasn't offended by her lack of response.

In reality, both he and Saburo were already aware of the existence of a certain Ozuma Shujinko, having heard a couple of things about him here and there. After the public scandal that was the desertion of Sasuke Uchiha from the village, the members of Team 7 became the target of numerous rumors, which reached the ears of even Academy students. Most of these rumors were little more than hearsay mixed with speculations, but every once in a while, something truthful about them got brought up in conversations. For example, it was widely known that, after the disbandment of Team 7, Shujinko became the only student of Hatake Kakashi, the legendary Sharingan Warrior.

What had the pair of Genins baffled was the fact that Nanami's brother, whose name was mentioned in some of the gossips that circulated inside the village, was standing right there in front of them. Something equally as surprising was how different the two of them were from one another, for it didn't look like they had anything in common aside from physical similarities. Whereas their teammate was mostly apathetic and had a condescending air about her, Shujinko seemed to be a friendly and likable person despite barely having interacted with him. The contrast between their attitudes was striking, to say the least.

"Hoheto-sensei put you in charge of us?" The consternation behind Nanami's voice was more than noticeable, and so was her discontent. Neither Saburo nor Yudai could remember if they had ever seen such an open display of emotions from their female teammate, which only added to their amazement. "This is absurd. Why would he pick you out of everyone else? Is this some kind of prank?"

"Even if I wanted to pull a prank on you, which I don't, do you really think I would go as far as to get your sensei and your teammates involved?" Shujinko retorted, his voice neither harsh nor discourteous, but firm nonetheless. "If any of you wish to leave, I won't stop you, but keep in mind that I'm obligated to report whatever you chose to do back to Hoheto-san,"

Although he was talking to all three members of Team 4, that last sentence was especially directed at Nanami, and there was a good purpose for it. Shujinko knew that as a kunoichi, his sister respected the place of her superiors in the chain of command and followed their orders whether she agreed with them or not. If she chose to abandon the training session now because her brother was supervising it, it would be the same as abandoning any other training session presided by her sensei, an act of profound insolence that would speak ill of her as a student and a Genin. By giving Team 4 that soft warning at the end, Shujinko hoped to manipulate Nanami into staying, for she was the true reason he was doing all of this in the first place.

Shujinko waited in silence for a whole minute to see if the members of Team 4 had any complaints to make or if they simply wanted to leave. When none of them did, he had to suppress a smirk of satisfaction and proceeded to open his back pouch, sticking his hand inside. "Now then, what I want you to do is simple in theory, but not so much in practice. You have until the end of the training session to complete this exercise and you may use any technique or weapon of your choosing in order to do it. I won't go easy on you, so unless you're willing to give it your all, you won't have a chance to succeed,"

Intrigued by the Jounin's words and wondering what sort of exercise he had in mind, Nanami and her teammates kept their eyes peeled as they waited for Shujinko to continue.

Their curiosity turned into incredulity, however, once they saw him retrieve three small bells laced together.

…

|A few minutes later|

"So we just gotta snatch those bells from you before the end of the training session by any means necessary?" Saburo asked to see if he understood Shujinko's instructions. When he received a nod of confirmation, the boy crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, showing some of that light-hearted cockiness that he was known for. "Well, that doesn't sound so hard. Taking down a Jounin by ourselves would be almost impossible, but if those bells are all we need…"

"Exactly. It's not necessary to defeat me in combat in order to complete this exercise, though technically speaking, you're allowed to approach the problem any way you want," Shujinko responded as he pinned the bells to his left hip. "However, don't forget the most important part. I brought three bells, one for each member of the team. If even one of you is unable to get a bell by the end of the training session, all of you will fail without exception. I'm sure you understand what this means, don't you?"

After the conversation he had with Hoheto, Shujinko couldn't think of a better way to understand his sister's behavior towards her team than to replicate Kakashi's bells test, incorporating a few adjustments to make it more obvious that he was expecting a display of collective effort, not of individual skills. It was a rather bold move on his behalf, as he knew Nanami didn't appreciate him meddling in her personal life as a kunoichi, but to be fair, she hadn't left him much of a choice. If he couldn't reach out to her as a sibling, then perhaps he'd be able to do it as a fellow ninja.

Yudai raised his hand to gain Shujinko's attention. "What about clan techniques? Are those fair game?"

"Sure they are. In a real fight, you must use every advantage you have at your disposal. Don't take this the wrong way, but you're about to face someone who, at least on paper, is stronger than you, so holding back is a luxury you can't afford. Any other questions?" Shujinko sent a discrete glance at Nanami's way, hoping to hear her ask anything. When that didn't happen, the Jounin clasped his palms together and got ready to teach these kids a lesson or two about teamwork. "Good. Seeing as the instructions have been made clear to everyone, let's get this on with. I hope you're prepared because the exercise starts… now!"

Before any of the Genins could react, Shujinko threw a smoke bomb at the ground, performing the Shunshin no Jutsu immediately after. The smoke soon cleared out, but by the time it did, the Ozuma was nowhere to be seen.

Operation 'chibi-chan' had officially begun.

000

"You know what, Yudai? I was itching for something like this to happen. This exercise is just what we needed!" Saburo exclaimed with a broad smile on his face.

He and his friend were making their way across a small forest that was filled with tall trees and thick bushes, as well as an ample variety of wild plants of all sizes and natural properties. This made the forest an ideal place for a ninja to hide in, and since it was close to the spot where Shujinko had disappeared, Saburo suggested they should start looking for him there first. Yudai agreed with him, and surprisingly enough, so did Nanami, though the latter was keen on searching for her brother all by herself.

"I'm happy you got your wish, but there's still the question of how we're gonna get those bells," Yudai responded. "Don't forget who we're dealing with here. While that Shujinko guy is older than us just by a couple of years, he's still a Jounin. No one obtains that rank without the skills to earn it,"

"I know that, but it's not like all the odds are stacked against us. There are three of us and only one of him. Besides, he doesn't know what our abilities are. All we need is a decent strategy and some luck. If we trust in ourselves, I'm sure we'll get our hands on those bells before time runs out," Upon hearing her teammate's assessment, Nanami let out an audible snort, something that bothered Saburo. "What? Did I say something funny?"

"None of what you said was the least bit funny, just stupid. The superiority in numbers doesn't give you the upper hand in a battle if the skill gap between opponents is too big. For a Jounin, having to handle three Genins at once is barely any harder than handling a single one of them. As for my brother not knowing our abilities, it's not a real advantage given how you don't know his abilities either. Oh, and if your 'decent' strategy depends on luck to work, then it's not a decent strategy at all,"

Saburo's face turned a light shade of red, annoyed and embarrassed by how easily Nanami had rebutted all of his arguments. He had to recognize that his female teammate was most likely in the right. After all, despite his aversion towards Her Majesty, Saburo couldn't deny that Nanami was a smart girl. However, that insufferable, disregarding attitude of hers was something he couldn't put up with, which was why neither he nor Yudai could bring themselves to openly admit the worth behind any of the things she did or said. In their opinion, Team 4 would be much better off now if a less capable, but more friendly kunoichi had taken Nanami's place instead.

"Yeah, well, who asked you anyway?" was the only response Saburo managed to come up with. When he turned his head around to face her, he saw that Nanami was no longer there, having disappeared before he could notice her leaving. "Gaah! I hate it when she does that! Can you believe this girl, Yudai? She didn't even hear what I had to say to her!"

"Really? What did you have to say to her? You know, besides 'who asked you anyway',"

"… Shut up,"

000

As he sat on the ground with his back leaned against a tree, Shujinko took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, putting all five of his senses to work.

Since the challenge had just started, he decided not to make it too hard for Team 4 to find him by not hiding deep into the forest and not covering his tracks. After all, he wouldn't be able to witness the Genins' teamwork in action if they couldn't get to him first. As the challenge progressed, Shujinko would increasingly conceal his presence and add more difficulty to the test, thus forcing all of them to come together as a squad and collaborate. He wondered if this was how Kakashi felt when Team 7 tried to go after his bells three years ago.

Even though it wasn't a thrilling experience or anything like that, the golden-eyed Jounin had to admit he was having a fun time. Maybe it was because he was getting a break from his usual routine, or maybe because he would finally get to interact with his sister through something they both had in common. He had to remind himself he was doing this for her and that he couldn't mess this up. It didn't matter whether if Team 4 ended up getting the bells or not, so long as Nanami got a valuable lesson out of the challenge and, quite hopefully, lose some of that icy attitude of hers.

Naturally, he would have to make sure that Saburo and Yudai also participated in this, even if those two weren't his main concern. By the end of his meeting with Hoheto, the member of the Hyūga clan allowed Shujinko to go through with the proposed arrangement under the condition that he would include all three of his students and not focus only on Nanami, as Hoheto wasn't someone who looked kindly upon favoritism. The Ozuma was in complete agreement and promised Hoheto that every member of his team would learn from the bells test.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a distant movement that grew slightly louder as someone approached his position. Judging by the number of footsteps he was hearing, Shujinko estimated the arrival of a single Genin from Team 4, and he already had a pretty good guess of who it might be. The footsteps came to a halt somewhere near his hiding spot, indicating the Jounin that his chaser had most likely noticed his presence.

There was a brief moment of silence, until…

SWOOSH

A shuriken tied to a wire string was thrown at an angle, bending the weapon's trajectory until it ran circles around Shujinko, pinning him against the tree from behind.

'Got him!' Nanami thought as she embedded the kunai that held the other end of the wire string into the wood of the tree limb she was standing on. With her target immobilized, she jumped down and drew another kunai before approaching her brother, ready to take the bells from him before he could escape. When she got to the other side of the tree, Nanami saw that the only thing the wire string was restraining was a simple log of wood instead of Shujinko, which caused her to grow annoyed rather than surprised. "Tch, Kawarimi no Jutsu. Of course,"

"Attacking your enemy from his blind spot is a smart tactic, but it doesn't work if you're not fast enough," Nanami turned around to see Shujinko standing only a couple of steps away from her, with a look in his eyes that, although not challenging, still wanted to see her try something on him. "You know, I just realized you and I have never fought one another before, either as training or in a sparring match. I guess there's a first time for everything, huh?"

"I wouldn't be so confident if I were you," Nanami replied, placing her kunai back inside its holster while keeping her brow furrowed. "I have no idea why you're doing all of this, but you can explain it to me after I'm done taking those bells, and I'm not holding back,"

"What are you waiting for, then?"

In response, Nanami threw a shuriken at her brother, and as soon as the weapon left her grasp, the kunoichi made a beeline towards him. Shujinko drew a kunai and swiftly parried the shuriken before diving to the side, dodging a leaping kick from Nanami that missed by a couple of inches. As momentum pushed her body forward, the young girl twirled around in midair and stuck her hand out to steal the bells, but her attempt failed after her brother grabbed her by the wrist and delivered a sideways kick at her torso. Nanami managed to block his attack using her free arm, though she was still sent tumbling back, her feet sliding across the ground.

Undeterred, Nanami quickly regained her balance and charged at the Jounin once again. A battle of Taijutsu ensued between the siblings, with Nanami on the offensive and Shujinko holding his ground as he evaluated his sister's moves. Although it didn't come off as a shock for him, the older of the two Ozuma was pleasantly surprised with the kunoichi's level of ability in hand-to-hand combat, showing a fair amount of proficiency for someone her age. He suspected she was slightly more agile than he was during his Genin days, though his younger self still outmatched her in speed and strength.

As for the kunoichi, it was almost insulting for her how none of her kicks, feints, or punches were effective against her opponent. Shujinko was blocking and dodging each of her attacks while barely making use of the space around them, taking a few steps to the sides at the most. It wasn't as if she was expecting to best her brother in a straightforward Taijutsu fight, but seeing the skill gap between them for herself was rather exasperating. Realizing that she wasn't going anywhere, Nanami drew a kunai and went for a stab.

CLAAANG

The tip of Nanami's weapon got stuck inside the ring of Shujinko's own kunai, who was applying a reverse grip on the handle. Nanami used both her hands to try and push the blade further while her brother matched her strength with just one arm. "You know, if you had your teammates backing you up, you'd have less trouble keeping up with me," Shujinko said in hopes to advise her. "Are they hiding somewhere near or are they on their way?"

"I don't need their help," Nanami replied through gritted teeth as her arms began to tremble due to the struggle, but still refusing to give up. "Those two have their own way of doing things, and I have mine,"

"So far, your way of doing things isn't proving to be very effective, is it? Maybe you should consider another approach,"

"And maybe… you… should… shut… up!"

Nanami suddenly let go of the kunai and jumped back, weaving the Dog, Horse, and Bird hand signs in fast succession. Shujinko recognized the jutsu that was being performed and immediately understood why his sister had kept fighting him from up close despite being futile. After all, Fūton was most effective when the distance between the user and the target was a short one, and right now, Nanami was only a few steps away from her.

"Fūton: Toppa!"

000

"Okay, this is getting annoying," a frustrated Saburo said. "Where the heck is this guy? I know we're the ones supposed to look for Shujinko, but he could've left behind something for us to track him down. Even a lousy footprint would be appreciated,"

Although he was less vocal about it, Yudai shared his teammate's sentiment. So far, not only had they not seen Shujinko, but they also hadn't found a single clue that could lead them to his whereabouts. While they were aware that this exercise was meant to be a challenge, the fact that they hadn't been able to make any progress rubbed the pair of Genins the wrong way, as now they were asking themselves whether if Shujinko was making things overly complicated for them or if they just sucked at tracing people down. Yudai sincerely hoped that the first possibility was the answer to their question.

"Keep your eyes open, Saburo. We could bump into him at any given moment,"

"You've said that like five times already. Look, if you're gonna give me obvious advice, at least be a little more original and stop repeating yourself. You're supposed to be my teammate, not a broken record,"

"A broken record? Wow, now that's creative. What's next? A cracked window? A chair with only three legs? Or maybe a cart without wheels? No, wait, how about a book that has no pages?"

"Yudai, I swear to Kami that if I hear another one of your stupid jokes, I'll grab a kunai and shove it up your-"

A sudden gust prevented Saburo from finishing his indecorous threat. Both boys felt the air rushing their way and stopped on a tree branch to wait it out, their senses now on full alert. The wind wasn't strong enough to knock them back or make them lose their balance, but it came fast and out of nowhere, to the point where it didn't felt natural. Besides, the sky remained as sunny and as cloudless as ever.

Once the wind settled and the leaves began to fall from the trees, the two Genins gave each other a look of understanding, suspecting the same thing. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Yudai asked. "That felt like…

"… Ninjutsu," Saburo replied as he grew a smirk. "Come on, we must be getting close,"

000

CLANG

The reiterating sound of metal clashing against metal spread across the forest as one Ozuma tried to hunt down the other. Each shuriken thrown by Nanami was met with another shuriken from Shujinko, who kept evading her while alternating between jumping and running, switching directions at a moment's notice.

Nanami cursed to herself as she watched all of her weaponry being countered by her brother, who wasn't even trying to fight back, just responding to her attacks. Prior to the chase, the kunoichi had attempted to launch a wind-based technique at Shujinko, an element which they both shared a natural affinity towards due to their Ozuma blood. However, despite the wind being released nearly at point-blank, a swift Shunshin no Jutsu took care of the young Jounin's problem, which led to him escaping and Nanami going after him.

'Just what is he up to?' the brown-haired girl thought, keeping her gaze locked on Shujinko. 'He's clearly not running away from me without a reason. Is he stalling for time? No, that doesn't seem right, it's too early for that. Likewise, if he wanted me to lose track of him, he would've made it happen already. The only possibility left is that he's trying to-'

Suddenly, her brother performed a summersault and landed on a small dell, a reduced open space within the forest where nothing but grass grew. Upon landing, Shujinko turned around and adopted a fighting stance holding a kunai, inviting Nanami to come and get him. The kunoichi was about to do that, but just as she was going to enter the dell's perimeter, her eyes caught sight of a thin gleam spread across the ground like a thread. Letting out a shocked gasp, Nanami managed to grab onto a tree branch with both her hands, swinging her body in 180 degrees to get on top of it like a bar gymnast.

"What's wrong? I thought you wanted to take these bells from me," Shujinko said out loud. He felt a little strange taunting his sister, but he had to push her buttons any way he could in order to see how she dealt with it. "You're not getting cold feet, are you?"

"Not at all, but I'm not falling for any of your cheap tricks either,"

"Cheap tricks? What cheap tricks?"

"Do you think I'm stupid or something? I can see the wire string in front of you all the way up from here. You didn't exactly do a very good job at covering it," Nanami replied as she stood up and stared down at the Jounin, a cold look in her eyes. "However, that wire string you set up is probably just a decoy. The sealing tags placed on the surrounding trees are the real trap. From the looks of it, they must be binding seals that restrain movement, which would've paralyzed me if I had come anywhere near you. It's the Fūbaku Hōjin, isn't it? Yeah, I know all about it, and you're not gonna catch me off guard that easily,"

Once again, Shujinko was pleased with Nanami and her skills of observation. Everything she had just pointed out, from the wire string to the Fūbaku Hōjin, was correct. The wire string had been purposefully set up in a way that even most Genins could see it, but he had put more effort into hiding the sealing tags so that they wouldn't be spotted at first glance. His sister had not only located the sealing tags fairly quickly, but she had also figured out what they were for. Hoheto was right: Nanami was quite a capable young kunoichi.

"I gotta hand it to you, Nanami. Your eyes and your mind are sharper than a sword," the Jounin said as he placed his kunai back into its holster and retrieved a single shuriken from his back pouch. "But as the saying goes, a ninja must see underneath the underneath, and luckily for me, I didn't underestimate you,"

To Nanami's surprise, Shujinko threw his shuriken, but not at her. The metallic star spun across the dell until it hit a hidden target, cutting the rope tied around it. The kunoichi heard the sound of something snapping, and before she fully understand what was going on, she felt a tight grasp getting a hold of her arms and waist before getting pulled upwards. In a matter of seconds, Nanami found herself suspended in the air, dangling like a pendulum with a rope tied around her from the hips to the shoulders, trussed up like a prize chicken.

When she finally stopped swinging around, her eyes met Shujinko's, whose lips were curled into the smallest of smirks. "Weren't expecting that, were you? See, I had faith that you would notice the wire string as well as the binding seals, so I placed a third trap right where you were previously standing on, as it was the most likely spot you'd stop at once you detected the first two tricks of my three-layered plan. It never hurts to be extra prepared,"

Nanami was clenching her teeth so hard, that if she had a bone in her mouth, she'd snap it in half. She was positively seething at her brother for the embarrassing position he had put her in, but her anger was also directed at herself for her lack of foresight. Being played like a fool wasn't something the kunoichi was used to, and the fact that Shujinko out of all people had done that to her just now made everything that much more humiliating. Not wanting to lose what little dignity she had left, Nanami refused to shout in anger, but nothing stopped her from giving the Jounin the most murderous glare she could muster, her face burning red.

"Sorry Nanami, but I'm afraid you'll be staying there until the end of the exercise unless your teammates find you first. Maybe now you'll learn how it feels like having to place your trust in your comrades,"

|Meanwhile, back in the village|

"For the last time, stop staring at me with those big doe eyes and learn to take no for an answer. Tsunade-sama herself has put me in charge of the upcoming Chunin Exams. If I just dropped everything and went with you, my head would be on her desk soon enough and I simply don't want that to happen. That's all there is to it,"

Naruto, who have had enough of friends turning him down, crossed his arms against his chest and looked away with his nose high in the air. "Sure, whatever you say. I see what's going on. Now that you're a Chunin and Tsunade-no-baachan has you doing stuff for her, you're just too important to help your friends out, even those you haven't seen in three years. Be careful, oh Shikamaru-sama. If you stand too close to me, you might catch some of my lameness or something,"

Despite the sarcasm and the excess of drama, Naruto was genuinely disappointed. It was great to meet his old classmates after so long and he had no trouble recognizing them right away (except for Shino, but Naruto didn't blame himself for that one. How the hell was he supposed to recognize a guy who had never shown him his face? Well, he hadn't seen Kakashi's face either, but that was completely different… somehow). However, as soon as he asked them to join Team 7 in its upcoming mission, they all excused themselves saying they had obligations of their own and whatnot. Hinata was the only one who hadn't said no to him, but that was because she had passed out before Naruto could get an answer from her.

"Don't worry Naruto, I can help you out," Chōji offered as he handed his old friend a bentō box while placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Just like the rest of his peers, the son of Chōza had grown up quite a bit over the course of three years. Even though he was still on the chunky side, Chōji had grown taller and had put on some muscle, which helped conceal some of his plumpness. "Let me talk to Asuma-sensei. Once I clear it with him, we're good to go,"

"Really? Thanks, Chōji! You're the man!"

"Chōji, have you forgotten all about tomorrow's mission? Besides, even if you somehow manage to clear it with Asuma-sensei, he's still gotta clear it with Tsunade-sama. Why do I have to explain this to you?"

Chōji let out a laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "I know, I know, but I haven't seen Naruto in so long. It'd be great to go out on a mission with him like we used to back in the old days. Even if I don't get permission from Tsunade-sama, it wouldn't hurt to try,"

"See, Shikamaru? You should be more like Chōji, with a heart just as big as his fat stom-"

"WATCH OUT!"

Before Naruto could finish his sentence, he was thrown to the ground by Shikamaru, who protected him as Chōji suddenly formed a huge fist. For a split second, the Uzumaki thought that Chōji was about to hit him, but his surprise only increased when instead of that, he punched and obliterated something else. Naruto wasn't able to see anything other than ink getting splattered all around them, but once his fighting instincts kicked in, he got up and started looking for whatever it was that was attacking them.

A roar was then heard, and this time, the Kyūbi Jinchuriki managed to lay eyes on the threat. It was a white beast whose outlines were pitch black, as if a komainu had been drawn on paper and then brought to life. The komainu jumped and tried to land on Naruto, but was caught in midair by Chōji's gigantic hand and then squashed like a bug, spilling ink everywhere once again.

"The hell is going on?" Naruto asked, looking left and right for whoever was responsible for what was happening. "Is the village under attack?"

"No, or at least it doesn't feel like it. There would be a lot more noise and destruction if an invasion was taking place this very moment," Shikamaru replied, frowning as he caught sight of someone who was staring back at them in the distance. "However, something tells me that guy over there is the one who's causing this mess,"

Aaaaaaand that was chapter 11. Hope you all liked it.

So, this chapter is a bit different compared to the previous ones. I wanted to focus on the relationship between Shujinko and Nanami, as well as her relationship with her teammates. After all, before leaving the village on his latest mission, Shujinko promised himself he'd try to do something about Nanami once he got back from Sunagakure, hence the name of this chapter's title.

A bunch of characters were introduced. Hoheto Hyūga is actually a canon character while Saburo Mitokado and Yudai Utatane (Nanami's teammates) are OCs. I apologize if their introduction to the story felt a bit rushed, but if I'm being honest, I didn't want to spend too much time fleshing out OCs that won't have a lot of participation in this story, though I still gave them some personality traits so that they don't seem so blank. Fun little fact: Saburo and Yudai belong to the Mitokado and Utatane clan respectively, which makes them related to Homura and Koharu, the members of the Konoha Council.

Were you expecting Shujinko to do the bells test? I thought it would be a nice little callback to OG Naruto and we get to see brother and sister duking it out. The end of the challenge and Sai's formal introduction to Team Kakashi/Yamato will take place in the next chapter.

Also, in case you were wondering, a komainu is one of those lion-like statues found in Japan and China. I can't say for sure if that's the creature Sai draws, but the resemblance is pretty strong, so I suppose that's the case.

Glossary:

Shunshin no Jutsu – Teleportation Jutsu

Kawarimi no Jutsu – Substitution Jutsu

Fūton: Toppa – Wind Style: Breakthrough

Fūbaku Hōjin – Capture and Arrest Jutsu

Don't forget to Review, Favorite & Follow

Ja ne!