Chapter Four

"Team Five, consisting of Inuzuka Akiho, Tatsuna Hijiri, and Katsuya Matsuka?"

"Fail."

"Team Six, consisting of Nara Itsuka, Hyuuga Hitachi, and Matsumoto Genzo?"

"Fail."

"Team Seven, consisting of Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Pass."

Hiruzen looked up at the unexpected response, one eyebrow rising in shock. In the two years since Kakashi had become a jounin sensei, he'd never passed a single team. Most of the genin were too self-centered to figure out just what the hell he was pushing them to do and therefore they failed to work together to past his test. With Sasuke and Naruto on the same team, he hadn't expected them to pass. The rivalry between the boys was something he hadn't seen since his own days as a jounin, when he'd been training Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

"Explain."

The other jounins turned to their colleague each interested in what had convinced the copy-nin to pass this particular group. Each of them knew of his infamous failing streak.

"One of them managed to figure out the purpose of the test, however he waited until they'd already failed to tell his teammates."

Hiruzen's eyebrow rose higher.

"That's not like Sasuke." He replied and Kakashi chuckled.

"Exactly. Which is why the student I was talking about was Naruto, not Sasuke. Naruto and Sasuke both came at me independently during the test but both were holding back. Sasuke was purposely ignoring his bodies trained responses and overshooting moves and Naruto is much more intelligent than he seems. When I confronted him at the end of the test, he admitted that he'd known the true purpose of the test since I gave instructions but refused to elaborate on why he didn't work with his team mates."

The Hokage frowned, thinking carefully on what he'd just been told. He'd known that Naruto was more intelligent and perceptive than he showed, however to hear that the boy was still hiding this and to this extent made alarm bells go off in his head.

Just how bad did the villagers treat his surrogate grandson?

And why was the boy keeping it from him?

He looked up at Kakashi.

"Stay behind." The copy-nin nodded and moved back to his position by the wall.

"Alright Team 8, consistion of Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino..."


Fifteen minutes passed before the meeting came to an end and every other than Kakashi left. Once the door closed behind the last Jounin, the Hokage activated the privacy seals, his weathered features twisting into a worried frown.

"Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked curiously and his leader raised a hand.

"Listening to your explanation on how your team passed brought a few things to my attention." He paused and sighed.

"This village has changed. The people are colder and less understanding than they were years ago. When I was a child, Mito-sama, the first jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, was hailed as a hero for sacrificing herself as a jailer for the beast. Now it is the opposite. Naruto-kun is viewed with disdain and condescension for being sacrificed the same way and I fear that the villagers are worse than we've been led to believe."

Kakashi nodded, having seen the villagers' glares and whispers toward his youngest student.

"As of today, I am assigning you a new mission. This mission is indefinite at this point in time, but it is a S-rank mission."

The jounin straightened.

"Your mission is to watch over Uzumaki Naruto. Observe the villages behavior toward him as well as the way he interacts with his teammates. I'll expect a report every two weeks. Am I clear?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Dismissed."

Kakashi bowed respectively then left the room, thinking on his mission as well as what he'd already seen.


"Cherry Blossom in position."

"Raven, I see the target."

"Mischief in position."

Kakashi smiled slightly from his position in the trees above his students, watching as they all tensed in wait for his signal.

"Cyclops in position. Raven, Mischief engage."

Two blurs, one orange and one black darted from the bushes and in less than a minute their target was caught and subdued, cradled gently in Naruto's arms. Sasuke stood beside the blond with a triumphant smirk on his lips. Sakura and Kakashi joined them checking to make sure it was the correct thing then the cyclops smiled proudly.

"Good job boys. Sakura, excellent work with your traps." She blushed while her teammates, or rather Naruto, beamed at the compliment.

The three genin had come far in the four months that they had been a team and the team as a whole had grown closer. Sasuke started to talk a bit more, although he really only spoke to Naruto, Sakura stopped trying to blame Naruto for everything and Naruto allowed his guard to fall a bit every so often. Not enough to be noticed but enough that his teammates found themselves subtly learning more about him. He glanced at his youngest, noting that the shadows normally hidden behind his cyan eyes had lessened significantly since that first day.

"Alright Team, let's report back to the Hokage. We still have time for at least one more mission before we call it a day." The children nodded and he saw Sasuke and Naruto share a look. He frowned.

'Wonder what that's all about.'

Since becoming the Jounin sensei for this team he'd noticed that his eldest and youngest student seemed to share their own language. Subtle movements and glances that they used to communicate when they didn't want anyone to know what they did. He'd tried to catch on but the interactions were so subtle he never really caught on. It was irritating to say the very least.

He sighed, shoving the thoughts to the back of his mind to ponder at a later date. Instead, he focused on leading his students to the Hokage for their next mission.


"Congradulations on another successful mission, Team 7."

The Hokage paused, glancing down at the scrolls on his desk.

"Now, for your next mission you can walk the Inuzuka Dogs, weed Jineshi-san's garden, babysit the grandchildren of the Village Elders or-"

"NO!" Everyone turned at the outburst to find Naruto glaring at Hokage. "I'm sick of all these useless missions! Give us something worthwhile!"

"Naruto, show Hokage-sama some respect! " Iruka yelled, outraged. "You've only been genin for a few months! These missions-"

"Are designed to make sure that fresh teams are exhibiting the core values of Konoha and to improve the teamwork of genin fresh out of the academy!" Naruto interrupted and Iruka blinked stunned.

The Hokage leaned forward, clasping his hands beneath his chin as he stared at his surrogate grandson. This was his first glimpse of the hidden depths that Kakashi had spoken of and he was starting to see why the copy-nin had disregarded the academy reports. He glanced at the cyclops.

"Do you believe they're ready?"

Kakashi eye-smiled.

"I do, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi hmmed softly, sifting through the scrolls on his desk. After a moment he picked up one and smiled.

"Very well. I have a very simple C-rank. Its an escort mission. Send in the client."

The door to the office opened and a haggard drunk entered, scowling as he spotted the three genin.

"Team 7, I'd like you to meet your client, Tazuna. He is a bridge builder from Nami no Kuni. Your mission is to escort him home and remain in Nami no Kuni until his bridge is finished."

Tazuna sneered at them, taking another swig from his bottle.

"These brats are gonna protect me? The girl looks weak and the blonde looks stupid. The only on-"

"Tazuna-san," Naruto cut in, his voice sharp. Sasuke shivered slightly. That voice only came out when Naruto felt someone was being particularly insubordinate or ignorant. It meant one wrong move and you'll piss me off, something everyone knew not to do. The bridge builder froze, staring down at the slight boy in disbelief. Contrasting his sharp tone was a benign smile.

"Do not presume to know my skill level. Judging based on appearance could get you killed." His blue eyes flashed a deadly crimson. "And never call me stupid again. I've been told my anger is a very unpleasant thing to be subjected to."

This said he gave another smile, turned and left the room.

For a moment no one spoke, then Kakashi sighed, resigning to himself that Naruto would continue to surprise him. He turned to his two remaining students, one of whom was staring at the door Naruto had gone through with a worried frown.

"Pack for a month. Only necessities. We will meet at the West gate in one hour. Dismissed."

They nodded, although he noticed that Sasuke's gaze never left the door. Once he uttered the dismissal, the Uchiha scion disappeared after his friend leaving his sensei wondering just what was going on between the two of them.

TBC...