AN: I would like to thank everyone whom read the first chapter and took the time to review the story; feedback is a key element in story telling, one I lacked on my previous attempts at writing a story due to the nasty habit I had of writing ten or so chapters per sitting (short chapters, but still). Adding the fact that I employed notebooks to write them and the level of difficulty and to attain feedback was pushed towards a whole new tier of troublesome. Needless to say I learned my lesson so here I am.

I will be blunt; there are bound to be grammar mistakes and the occasional spelling mistake; I am not a native English speaker and I am more used to using a single... let's call it manner of writing; that means the characters may sometimes feel off and so one, something I noticed when reviewing the first chapter after posting it. If any of you feel any of the characters is off, please let me know. I will try to remedy it.

I also noticed the last chapter alternated a LOT between the term 'Shinobi' and 'Ninja'... so I am going to be using Shinobi alone, unless I am referring to 'Ninja tools' (Shuriken, Kunai, Makibishi Spikes [caltrops] and so on). More Japanese-ness because why not? Feel free to let me know should you not agree with such decision.

Oh, yes; Naruto does not belong to me. Sad.

Chapter II

**Naruto's apartment, 5:50 am**

Naruto was bored, pure and simple; he had actually tried to allow himself to sleep for the first time since he had picked up the pace, having decided to rest in order to be ready for whatever came tomorrow. After keeping to the rough schedule for one year and a half, however, he felt restless, as if something was missing. Maybe he should actually be training, as missions, once they came, were bound to cut his training time considerably... or so he thought. He really had no idea regarding what to expect in what regarded missions and their objectives, as the Academy had been oddly vague about such subject, for some reason or another. As things stood, all he had to do was to drop by Hiruzen's office to know where he needed to be to take the required picture for his registration and he only intended to drop by at around ten o'clock, as he knew Hiruzen to be the busiest before then. That left him with a bit too much free time, which eventually made the blonde sigh despondently before he got up and left his apartment. After locking his door, he headed towards the more secluded training areas, not noticing he was being followed.

As he navigated through the alleys, he thought about what he could do now that he actually had sparring partners. He had made considerable progress wile training on his own.; adding something to actually fight made him salivate at the prospect, at the potential results he could get. Maybe his training would not differ that much if he were to actually gt some real fighting experience in. Only time would tell, really; he knew he would more than likely never surpass the so-called geniuses, but he had stopped caring about such high goals a while ago, opting to be the best he could be without actually comparing himself with someone else. He would probably only be disappointed if he kept on doing so.

Once he found an empty training field, he nodded to himself and performed a cross-shaped handseal, generating quite a dense cloud of smoke as he spawned two Clones; both nodded at him and charged without any prompt, knowing what their intended purpose was from the get go. As Naruto dodged and blocked, he found himself hard-pressed to land a blow on any of his assailants. Yet after five minutes, he began seeing a pattern in the actions of his Clones. That allowed him to gradually gain footing and to begin dodging more than he was blocking. A few minutes later, the clones had to begin dodging(blocking the occasional blow tossed by the original. Eventually, one of the Clones was dispelled, so Naruto just spawned another without skipping a beat and carried on. He widened his eyes, however, when the new clone began using his attained experience to push him back once more, moves he had used himself to dodge and launch blows of his own mere minutes ago. He chuckled as the implications became apparent, which made him falter and receive quite the nasty punch to his jaw, causing him to fall. He hastily tumbled, as to avoid leaving his chest exposed and leaped to his feet, grimacing as he was nailed with a kick on the chest. Regardless, he remained on his feet and proceeded to nail the offending Clone with a devastating punch, causing it to dispel. Grinning ear to ear, he continued the same routine, eventually discarding his jacket and t-shirt, as to avoid getting them roughed up. His observer, still there, cocked an eyebrow; while they had expected Naruto to have a considerable degree of development in the physical department, the lean muscle covering his frame was a bit too respectable for a twelve year old. He was lucky there hadn't been any mistakes in his training, as training the wrong way could lead to problems in the muscular tissue and stunt one's growth. Wait… maybe that was why Naruto was so short? Shrugging, the one observing Naruto left silently, leaving the blonde to his training. There were still things that needed to be done before tomorrow.

**Naruto's apartment, 9:30 am**

Naruto was in high spirits as he unlocked the door to his apartment and went in; Mizuki's treachery had to be his biggest lucky break yet. This had been the most productive training session he had ever had, which was saying a lot; ever since he had stopped messing around, he had used all resources an Academy student could feasibly use to try to improve; his grades had begun raising after one week of actual effort. That was how easy it had been; he had always preferred to mess around because people wouldn't notice him if he actually did well. Being anything but the best meant he would go by unnoticed, so he had opted to be the worst. He sighed; his train of thought tended to go down the same road as of late, which he found odd. Maybe he just needed something more to occupy himself with. Shrugging, the blonde took a quick shower, dressed and departed towards the Hokage Tower, using the alleys as he always did whenever he needed to move around.

On his way there, he actually felt like shouting, of releasing the pent-up energy he was feeling in his body; this was it! His first step towards becoming something more. While he no longer cared about being the Hokage, he wanted to be strong. They could despise him for all he cared; they could hate him and spit on his grave, trash-talk all they wanted… but they would acknowledge his power.

As he entered the Tower, he went straight to Hiruzen's office; past altercations with the receptionists had made Hiruzen just give Naruto a green card. There was always at least a hidden ANBU near the entrance anyways, which meant that Naruto would never interrupt anything he should not. He absently knocked at the door, his answer being a tired 'Enter.'.

"Ah, Naruto." Hiruzen greeted "I was not expecting you to be here this early. What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Good morning, Hokage-sama." Naruto said, bowing "Mizuki kind of dragged me away right after Iruka-sensei told everyone who had passed, so I don't really know where and when I need to be for the registration photo."

"Ah, yes." Hiruzen said "I completely forgot to tell you about that last evening... then again, we both had a lot on our plates. I am sure you are aware you should not disclose the information I am about to tell you, but Mizuki was executed. Breaking him did not take any strenuous effort, so we know under whose orders he was doing what he did. I will eventually tell you who, once you get a higher security clearance. It was your actions that prevented him from stealing one of our most prized treasures."

"If it is that precious, how was it so easy to get my hands on it?" Naruto asked, frowning.

"That's just it, my boy." Hiruzen said, actually chuckling "It was not easy. You made it look so, you think it was so... but all but the most expert of infiltrators would have struggled to break in. Thanks to you breaking in, security is actually reinforced and new measures will be taken to ensure that scroll remains where it belongs. If Mizuki had actually gotten away with it... well, it would have been catastrophic."

Naruto slowly nodded, still trying to wrap his head about the fact that he was actually good at something that did not take him a considerable effort to learn/master. Maybe it was the experience he had attained while laying low around Konoha? Meh. Didn't matter. He was apparently skilled at it and he would put it to good use, somehow, someway.

"I should get going, Hokage-sama." Naruto said "I would still like to train some more today, before tomorrow. We're probably going to be doing missions right away."

"Do me a favor before you go, Naruto." Hiruzen said after hesitating for a few seconds; the blonde nodded, looking uneasy "When we're alone or unless the situation demands seriousness, call me Hiruzen."

Naruto's eyes widened; his gaze then grew distant for some reason Hiruzen couldn't fathom. As good as he was at reading people, he was not by any means omniscient. And while he had been good at reading Naruto had one point, that was sadly no longer the case. He truly cared for the blonde, however, and he wanted to repair that lost connection between them, one that had been strong until not that long ago. It was not too late.

"I..." Naruto seemed at a loss for words, for the first time since they had interacted after he had grown colder, more distant; yet the beginnings of a smile told Hiruzen his gamble had paid off "...whatever you say, Hiruzen-sama."

"That's a beginning, I suppose." Hiruzen said lightheartedly "Move along now. You might as well ask to have your photo taken while here. I am pretty sure you can't wait to resume your training. You are actually in the possession of quite the advantageous tool to do so as well."

Offering a sly wink right before Naruto turned on his heel to leave, Hiruzen returned to his paperwork; he was expecting a batch to be dropped soon, so the sooner he got this done and over with, the sooner he would be able to relax for a while. His old bones needed it...

**Training ground, 1:30 pm **

After he had gotten his photo taken and some minor paperwork filled (the Academy was in possession of all of his details already, so he only needed his registration number and to sign a few documents to make them official), the blonde had returned to the training ground he had occupied that morning and had resumed his training. As things stood, he was still at it; it was funny how dedicated the so-called loser/dead last could be once he actually had a manner through which he could train to his heart's content. He only knew of one other in their class who trained in a similar fashion, although he was sure that any attempts to get closer would result in nothing but wasted time. Thus he was never more glad once the full implications of the Kage Bunshin settled in, after the whole debacle with Mizuki. It was basically a jackpot, in more ways than one. He had overwhelmed a Chunin with numbers alone and a mind trick that followed the same principles as a prank, something he hadn't indulged in ages.

Deciding to take a break and get him some lunch, Naruto dispelled the two clones he had been fighting and proceeded to get his shirt and jacket, which he had discarded before beginning the session this time around, as he did not want to ruin them. He knew there were better colors for Shinobi to wear but he had better things to do with his cash other than indulging in a shopping spree. From one to ten, priorities were 10 on his list; that was how little he cared about it, although he could admit that he rather liked the color orange.

As usual, he used the alleys to get around to Ichiraku's, humming a jaunty tune for the heck of it; soon enough, he would actually begin learning more advanced stuff, which meant progress, more things to work with. He hoped that the new content would make up for the reduced training time he would be getting. It took training with such drive to understand how Sasuke managed to do it; it was almost addictive, to strive to better oneself and to surpass their shortcomings.

The blonde's musings were cut short as he arrived to his destination; he offered Ayame, who was behind the counter, a small smile; she and her father were amid the few he would actually do anything for, no questions asked. That was really saying something, considering he barely spoke with anyone. He had few who he treasured, so they were that much more important to him.

"Hello, Ayame-chan." Naruto greeted, still smiling; the girl, who had been spacing out, focused her gaze on him and proceeded to smile back, her cheeks flushing slightly had being caught daydreaming "How have you been?"

"Just fine, Naruto-kun." she answered, huffing, still embarrassed at being caught so unaware "Training hard as usual?"

"Of course!" Naruto said, a spark of his old personality coming to the surface as it usually did when he got enthusiastic "I wouldn't be much of a Shinobi if I did not train."

Ayame giggled softly, shaking her head; while Naruto was not as outgoing as he had once been, she still liked him quite a lot. He was like the little brother she had never had, which was saying quite a bit, as she did not have that many friends as well. She and her father had been worried once they had seen Naruto so despondent about his lack of progress regarding his training and his overall grades, coupled with the knowledge that he would not make it with his second attempt at graduating earlier than the rest of his class. Yet he had remained warm towards them, regardless of the fact that they began hearing whispers that the 'brat' had disappeared, which had confused them to no end until Naruto explained them just what was it that he was doing; it had actually unnerved quite a lot of people, the fact that he was only seen at the Academy and occasionally at Ichiraku's. Many people had been paranoid during the first month, thinking he had been preparing a massive prank. They could despise him for what he held inside of him, but they respected him for the pranks he pulled off whenever he felt like someone had crossed him. Begrudging respect was still respect.

"Anyways, Ayame-chan, I'll have two bowls of beef ramen." Naruto said, placing the money on the counter, as he usually did these days; he had once forgotten to pay due to being in a hurry, "There's no need to rush… still recovering from the beating I took."

Ayame cocked an eyebrow, intrigued at his choice of words, moreso because he appeared mostly fine, just a bit roughed up. Shrugging, she headed towards the kitchen, as to tell her father that their favorite customer was here and to prepare his order. Teuchi would probably want to speak a bit with him as well, not to mention taking a break; rush hour had ended not long ago.

As Naruto waited for his order, he could only marveling at how good he actually felt; he had felt an impending doom of sorts regarding the Genin exam. Now that it was done and over with and that he had actually seen his training pay off, he couldn't wait for his next test, be it what it may, his next chance at proving himself. That was the sole manner through which he could actually see if he had progressed, unlike what he had thought at one point. He had been disappointed whenever he trained, seeing no progress due to being unable to see beyond three days or so. It had taken him thee years to fully learn that lesson, but he had.

"Naruto, my boy!" Teuchi greeted, snapping Naruto out of his reverie "It has been a while since we saw you around. What have you been up to?"

"Teuchi-ojisan." Naruto said, offering him a small, genuine smile "I've been getting ready for the Genin exam. I finally made it."

Teuchi nodded, offering his favorite customer a fond smile; he knew that meant that he might lose Naruto, but that was his dream. He would rather have Naruto die young and working towards his dream rather than have him live a life he wished not, against his will. His Ayame had never expressed any desire in becoming a Shinobi... while he was glad, had that been her wish, he wouldn't have stopped her regardless of that potentially breaking his heart. People needed to be happy with the lives they led, like he was with his. He loved cooking; having his own stand, talking with customers over rumors and life in general while serving them a warm meal was his dream. Other people should also follow their calling in life... and he suspected Naruto would take to being a Shinobi like he had taken to cooking. It was one of those strange feelings one couldn't really explain.

"Congratulations, lad!" Teuchi said, smiling regardless of the unease he felt towards his choice in career "I'm glad to see your hard work paying off. Maybe you'll get to tell me about your missions somewhere down the line, as long as it doesn't get you in trouble."

"Sure thing." Naruto said, grinning "You know... it's funny. It's time sped up once I began taking things seriously. Next thing I know, I stop to think and I passed the exam that had been giving me nightmares for ages. It's really weird."

"Ah, the joys of being young again..." Teuchi said, a nostalgic smile illuminating his face "I once wanted to be a Shinobi, you know? I enrolled in the Academy, but I saw how hard it actually was and dropped out at the first year. I had a bunch of odd jobs all around the town, and did a bit of everything... then I discovered how much I loved cooking. The rest is history."

Naruto chuckled; it was funny to think that one of the nicest people he knew could have ended up being a Shinobi like he had just become; that'd also mean that he'd probably never have met them. It was a sobering thought... he might've never met Teuchi and Ayame had Teuchi decided to keep trying like Naruto had.

"I can't stop imagining you tossing chopsticks instead of kunai now." Naruto said, causing Teuchi to mock-glare at him "Welp. Looks like my order is here."

"Order up." Ayame said as she placed the blonde's order in front of him, giggling as he began to devour it as if it could disappear at any second "You should eat more slowly, you know? That can't be healthy."

Naruto finished it in what could be considered a record time for someone else and shrugged; he never seemed to get sick, at all. That alone was the reason why he did things most people would not normally do, this one being one such thing. It was almost funny to see the reactions he could get out of people whenever they saw him training his ass off in the rare times it was actually cold in Konoha, eating unhealthy amounts of food at a ludicrous pace and so on.

"Doesn't really mater, Ayame-chan. I can't get sick as far as I know." he said, patting his slightly dilated stomach "I will be back later, for my dinner. See you then!"

Father and daughter chuckled as their favorite customer left; it took a weight off their shoulders, to see Naruto's spirits lifted. The blonde had not been quite the same since he had realized he would be the so-called Dead Last once more. They doubted even Naruto realized how different he was from yesterday. It was almost like comparing night and day. There were still some reservations there, as one might imagine, but he was closer to what he had been one year or so ago; it was hard for them to tell, really. Snapping out of their reverie, the father-daughter duo went back to work. While rush hour was over, there was still plenty that needed to be done.

**Training Field, fifteen minutes later**

When Naruto arrived again, there were already two people there; he frowned, picking up the pace, for he recognized them: Hinata and Shino, i.e., his teammates. He eyed the inquisitively, since he had no idea regarding why they would be on the training ground he had occupied that morning. He was aware they were not exactly close, too.

"Hinata-san, Shino-san." Naruto intoned "What are you doing here?"

They both gave him a blank look; at least, he assumed Shino did so, because he was hard to read to his high-collared jacket and his sunglasses. After a few seconds, Shino surprisingly shrugged.

"We were asked by our new sensei to report to this training field." Shino droned "We were told you would be here after lunch and as such not to worry about your presence."

Naruto nodded absently and looked around him; their sensei appeared not to be there still, so he shrugged and created two Kage Bunshin, preparing to resume his training. He failed to see his teammates' reactions once he did so, a reaction that was ten times more noticeable once he actually began hitting what they thought to be clones and the clones actually hitting back. Hinata even activated her Byakugan, while Shino discretely sent one of his Kikaichu towards the fighting trio. They were actually impressed; they had never heard of solid clones. While Shino was familiar with his Clan's Mushi Bunshin, it was not the same because Naruto seemed to be using nothing but Chakra to shape the Clones.

Naruto remained oblivious to this, of course; he was having a ball, devising new moves on the fly, evading in any way he could and trying to land a single blow against the offending clones. He had managed to come up with a few moves while eating, moves that actually needed to be tested... and what better way to do so than using his never-ending supply of training dummies? Unbeknownst to him, his teammates were observing his training regime, mesmerized; Naruto had just taken a rather nasty combo and was sent tumbling back. As his clones high fived, he narrowed his eyes and discarded his jacket and shirt, charging at them and unleashing a torrent of blows, to which the clones' answer was blocking or dodging. Naruto finally managed to land a hit on one of them, which caused it to dispel. He merely made another one yet again and kept going.

He suddenly halted as his clones were dispelled by two swift blows, not delivered by himself; he eyed his teammates quizzically, thinking it had been one of them. Seeing them so far away, however, he figured it hadn't been any of them, which meant there was someone else nearby. Naruto sighed and dusted himself off and heading towards his clothes, proceeding to dust them off as well and to put them on. Their sensei was probably nearby.

"Why hello there." a female voice called out, mirth as clear as day present therein "I can see one of you is quite enthusiastic about training."

Seemingly out of nowhere, a female in her twenties appeared, literally; she seemingly faded into reality before their very eyes. Her fashion sense was quite exotic and consisted on a bandage dress or whatever one could call it. She had long black hair and, oddly enough, red eyes. She gave each one of them a once over and nodded, seemingly satisfied, although Naruto seemed flustered about being singled out.

"I am your Jonin sensei, Yuuhi Kurenai." she said pleasantly "There would normally be an extra test in order to weed out the ones who would not become a team, but due to reasons that were not disclosed to us, the test was changed. We were given orders, however, to assess your skills in order to ascertain what kind of pointers we should be giving you."

Naruto, Shino and Hinata looked at one another, frowning; while the two latter had already been assessing somewhat what Naruto could do, the same could not be said for the blonde. As much as he had changed, he was still him and some things took time. At least he was more than willing to admit so now, a considerable change.

"For example, I can see that Naruto and Hinata will be our heavy combat specialists..." Kurenai said, eyeing them both "... while Shino will cover them from a safe distance. Of course, none of it is really set in stone. It comes down to personal development, since I am not here to tell you what to specialize on. I am here to help you with gaining experience and to know the roads you can follow. I am curious to see how you will develop, really. A clan heiress who improved drastically in the past year and a half... a silent, introverted heir who is stronger than he lets on... and a former prankster and once known dead last with an A Rank Kinjutsu at his beck and call."

They all shifted uncomfortably; those calmly delivered facts made the three Genin aware that she had snooped around for information; Naruto was quite sure she knew of his furry little secret as well. Naruto would have cared if he had discovered before he had stepped his game up. Now, however, he simply couldn't find it in himself to care. He was above it. It was actually better they knew now rather than after establishing a connection with them and have them turn their backs on him. As such, he shrugged and spoke up.

"You forgot one thing, Kurenai-sensei." Naruto drawled "You forgot to tell them I am the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. That is an S Rank secret, though. Don't go around telling it to anyone; pretty sure you know what'd happen."

While Hinata was seemingly frozen, Shino's eyebrows actually became visible from behind his sunglasses; that had to be the most expressive things Naruto had ever seen Shino do. They both looked towards a pale Kurenai after a few seconds, as if to check the veracity of such claim. The Jonin nodded before eyeing Naruto warily.

"Why did you feel the need to reveal such sensitive information now?" she asked "I was not even aware you knew about it."

"Discovered it yesterday." Naruto said as if it didn't matter "Otherwise everyone else would know at this point. Hiding it and making revealing the secret punishable just drew more attention to it anyways."

The way the blonde emphasized the word 'secret' let Kurenai know exactly what Naruto thought about the whole thing; while the intentions were good, it sounds like it wasn't really enough. Kurenai knew that if Naruto hadn't been there, the village could have been razed to the ground and most, if not all, of its Shinobi killed off like mere insects facing a wrathful god.

"At least that explains why the adults do not seem to like you." Hinata said idly, seemingly recovered from the shock "I'll have to ascertain what it means, but it should not matter as long as we can complete the missions we get assigned."

"Indeed." Shino droned "The fact that Naruto-san holds the Kyuubi does not mean he is the Kyuubi. Me and those of my clan would know so better than most."

Kurenai nodded, although Naruto's expression denoted surprise; it actually hurt Kurenai to see him so surprised at seeing people accept a part of him he was clearly still trying to come to terms with. It actually made her feel pity and her gaze probably revealed it because Naruto slumped his shoulders and shook his head. He clearly did not want pity; he wanted true recognition, something Hiruzen had told her yesterday. Out of the little information gathering sessions (spying) she had done on her students, Naruto's had been the most unexpected. She only remembered seeing him as a prankster; she had admittedly failed to take note of the fact that she had stopped seeing him less and less, with other people hot in his pursuit. She also remembered being surprised over the fact that he managed to lead quite the chases around town. All of a sudden, she was his student and all previous notions she had had of him were swept with the wind after seeing a simple training session, one he had been conducting with such ease that she'd have thought he had known the Kage Bunshin for weeks or even months as opposed to having stumbled on it by accident the day before. She was beginning to think he would be the most versatile of the team still; unless Shino went over a stricter Taijutsu regime, he would remain a mid to long range combatant. The same thing applied to Hinata and close range; unless she learned Ninjutsu or Bukijutsu, a short to mid range combatant she would remain. Naruto was a blank slate in most cases, however; he could potentially fulfill any role and fight at any range with adequate training. Plus there was the Kage Bunshin memory transfer. She actually shivered. Naruto could actually become a monster, in the S Rank sense of the word.

The discomfort Kurenai was feeling over such prospect was probably showing, because she could feel the tension in the air. It didn't matter anyways. They ere a team, for better r worse, and they would remain together unless something unexpected occurred. Of course, one should always expect the worst; things could go south in the blink of an eye, especially for a Shinobi. The fact that Hinata and Shino accepted him regardless of him dropping such a bomb on them out of the blood made her actually believe they might be able to become a great team regardless of the rather unique make-up. She had thought her team would be a tracking team with Hinata, Shino and Kiba regardless of the fact that Kakashi would have made an infinitely better Jonin sensei for such role. Then all of the sudden, the exams were completely overhauled and Kiba actually became the dead last, more likely than not due to his sub-par Genjutsu and Ninjutsu (outside his clan's Jutsus, at least) coupled with a worse understanding of the theoretical aspect than Naruto, who had apparently become slightly better at everything.

Hiruzen had also given them orders to have their teams ready to participate in the Chunin exams, for some reason; that alone raised the alarm amid the Jonin. Rookies participating in the Chunin Exam, while not unheard of, was quite rare. Of course, in the end it all came down to political reasons, so they would need to make do and actually train them at a rather fast pace (for peaceful times, at least; nothing beat the necessity of having strong soldiers to defend your village's interests as motivation to train them, since failure could make the difference between victory and defeat). The fact that the Uchiha was in the graduating class was probably part of it; they needed to show their strength someway, somehow... and the Uchiha had been quite powerful and revered as feared foes across the Elemental Nations.

"I will be blunt." Kurenai said, composing herself; this had been quite the surprising day after all "I will be pushing you. We were told you had to be ready for the Chunin exams in five months. Not accomplishing that goal will make you look inferior to your ex-classmates. This is the real world now and you will discover just how much of a slave driver I can be if pushed far enough."

She actually smirked at this point; while surprised that none of them were nervous at the prospect, she did not let it show. She had already had her composure broken for too many times. She needed to look professional in order to be credible to her team. They needed to respect her, to see her as a good leader... otherwise they would not follow her without reservations, something that would be needed for the months ahead. The less they questioned her and her methods, the more headway they would be able to make in what regarded their training. She wanted nothing less than their best.

"I was under the impression rookie teams were not expected to participate in the Chunin Exams, much less ones this soon after the Genin Graduation." Shino said, his tone neutral as usual "Is there any specific occasion?"

"Not that I am aware of." Kurenai lied smoothly, without remorse "I can only speculate at this point, although I am sure information will eventually be forthcoming, both to me and you."

Shino nodded and left it at that, prompting Kurenai to motion them to sit down/get comfortable; Naruto plopped down whilst his teammates sat down in a far more graceful manner. This team would be interesting, she was sure now.

"My name is Yuuhi Kurenai, I am 27 years old and I am a Konoha Jonin." she said "I am Genjutsu specialist, although that does not mean that I am defenseless in the other Ninja Arts. My likes are drinking tea, studying Chakra Control theories and refining my Art. My dislikes are slackers, dishonest people and traitors. My dream is to become the best Genjutsu user in the world. Hinata, carry on."

"My name is Hyuga Hinata, I am twelve years old." she droned "As a Hyuga, I specialize in close range combat. I like training and studying the Juken (Gentle Fist), I dislike weakness and pettiness. My dream is to be the best clan leader I can be."

Kurenai nodded, having been expecting something along those lines. She then eyed Shino and motioned him to carry on.

"My name is Aburame Shino, twelve." he answered "My interests include studying different species f insects and evolutionary process of the Kikaichu. I dislike brash people who think illogically and cannot see life through different perspectives other than their own. My dream is to develop the ultimate Kikaichu subspecies."

Kurenai nodded, motioning towards Naruto, who sighed; he was not used to this sort of thing anymore, of having attention n him, if the tension on his posture was anything to go by.

"Name's Naruto, twelve." he said, rolling his eyes as he said the second part "I like training, laying low and studying new ways of getting something done. I dislike people who think they know everything and bigots. My dream... to be the best Shinobi I can be."

Hinata and Shino eyed him quizzically; they had thought his goal had been to become Hokage; he had made it known way back then, since they could remember. Then again this was hardly the Naruto they had met. He had changed, for better or worse, and it showed. Maybe their team would actually go further than they had discussed while waiting for their sensei and teammate.

"I already have a vague idea abut what we will be working on tomorrow." Kurenai said "I went over your results and know what you need to be even better than you are. You will be ready for the exams and you will show everyone else just how far you can go."

The three Genins nodded, knowing that the following months would be exceptionally difficult; Naruto honestly did not mind, because he was already used to training his rear end off. Shino and Hinata looked neutral but the tension in their shoulders told Kurenai everything; they were apprehensive. Yet whatever they felt mattered not. They were, for all intents and purposes, soldiers. Their duty was to be ready in five months, no questions asked. If they failed, it would not be due t lack of effort from their part.

Kurenai was satisfied; they were not complaining... nor was their demeanor denoting any unwillingness. Anything aside from their very best would not be tolerated. First, they were expected to represent their village in five months time. Second, they were soldiers, for all intents and purposes and while they were not at war, a fourth war could be sparked in the blink of an eye; third, Kurenai was bound to be betting on them in the Chunin Exams, a tradition of sorts amid the Jonin with participating teams. Granted, making money was not as much in her interest as it was showing them just how much of a good teacher she was. She was a rookie compared to Kakashi, Gai and Asuma... yet she would show them what sh and her team were made of.

A.N.: And done; while it took me more than I first thought, I also had matters to attend to in the Embassy and college stuff. Granted, I also procrastinated some, an issue that I have been trying to fix for years. I already have up until chapter 10 outlined, meaning I have a general idea about where the story is going. I try to shed some light between the way characters think, as a manner of establishing them. That will more likely than not become less of an 'issue' in future chapters as the cast is presented after the big change that made the plot deviate from canon. On that note, I thank you all for reading; have a good one and see you next time!