Team 8 walked past the last little farm hut and village gate heading further into the barren landscape of Training Ground Three. In front of them laid nothing but a few scattered trees and rocky hills. Sakura looked to her quiet teammates curiously, usually Naruto would be going a mile a minute but today he actually appeared deep in thought; it was a little unnerving.
"So what actually happened during Mizuki Sensei's betrayal?" The pinkette asked in hopes of breaking the silence.
Naruto blinked coming out of his head and focused on the girl. He thought about it for a second and asked. "What all did you hear?"
Hinata looked between her teammates curiously wondering the same thing. Throughout her recovery at home no one at anytime bothered to mention that Naruto himself had been accused of treason. The pale eyed girl was wondering what else people got wrong.
Sakura was a little taken back by the question. "Oh, ah, you know. It was rumors at first mostly. I think the most outrageous one I heard was Hidden Stone or Cloud tried to kidnap Hinata while stealing the scroll. Naruto and Mizuki were in the woods training and accidentally stumbled over the plot stopping it."
"It wasn't long before the official story came out though." The pinkette assured her stunned teammates. "Honestly I never heard of anyone accusing you, Naruto, of treason until today. I heard wild rumors regarding how you killed Mizuki since that part of the story was never fully explained; something to do with village security was the official reason given. The many ways you took Mizuki out ranged from casually ripping him limb from limb with brute strength to S Ranked Jutsu. I also heard someone say you turned into a monster and ate him. Several people also thought Hinata was a Jounin level Taijutsu Master and she actually took the traitor out all by herself, but that rumor died quickly since she was abducted by Mizuki so early in the day."
Naruto was going over what Sakura explained. Honestly the brute strength part was somewhat accurate, and he understood the dark idea of him becoming a monster so as to eat Mizuki, stupid fox. "Lord Hokage did teach me a strength enhancing jutsu, but it wasn't much help. If that bastard Mizuki would have held still long enough I could have caved his skull in with a single punch. His Taijutsu was just way better than mine."
"Don't get discouraged Naruto, he was a Chunin after all." Hinata comforted the blonde. "I don't really know if any of our classmates could have taken him one on one; or even two on one."
"Thanks, Hinata." Naruto said smiling. The young Hyuga smiled happily while blushing and looked away.
'Awe, their so cute together. I got a help Hinata land him; plus, he'll leave me alone.' Sakura thought gushing. Giving both her new teammates curious looks the Kunoichi asked. "So how exactly did you guys defeat Mizuki."
Hinata was unsure how to answer that question. She understood Naruto's Yumegan killed their former Sensei, even if the girl didn't know how it did so exactly, but it wasn't her secret to tell. The Hyuga looked to the blonde and waited to see what his answer would be.
"Not sure what happened really." Naruto began honestly confused. "One moment he had me pinned on my knee with a busted arm, the next I'm waking up in the hospital. I remember everything that happened up until a funny feeling in my head and that's about it."
Shocked, Hinata realized that the boy was being completely honest. 'That means he doesn't know about the Yumegan. No one has told him yet exactly what is going on with his body. Why would they do that? Should I tell him or wait and talk with Kurenai Sensei?'
Seeing Naruto's confused angry pout, Hinata decided that the blonde had a right to know. "Um Naruto, do you know how you preform Genjutsu?"
The Jinchuriki looked at his shy teammate asking. "What do you mean? I just mold my chakra, make the hand signs, sometimes I visualize what I want people to see and sometimes I don't need to because the Genjutsu can't be modified, and cast the jutsu. Oh yeah, sometimes I have to focus on an individual person's chakra or just the area their standing in."
Sakura was shocked by the back worded way Naruto described his abilities. Genjutsu was far more complex than that. You had to regulate chakra and release enough power to preform the jutsu but not so much it would unravel before actually doing anything; Genjutsu were very delicate.
"How did you place every Kunoichi under that illusion back in class?" Sakura asked curiously. It really just dawned on her that the boy had shown an incredible capability with Genjutsu back at the Academy; something that Sakura thought impossible. The pinkette had been so mad by the trick she hadn't really thought it all through until now.
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly Naruto apologized. "Yeah, sorry about that. It was just supposed to be funny and Iruka Sensei turned it into a big deal. Anyway, all I did was lock on to every Kunoichi's Chakra Signature in class and used my False Visual Jutsu in the form of a command to make them see Sasuke the way they would imagine him necked. Suppose I could have used my False Visual Jutsu in its illusion form but I would have had to actually envisioned necked Sasuke myself to create the image." With that the blonde gave a small shudder.
Sakura was completely shocked; Naruto was describing extremely advanced techniques that usually took some time to learn. Most people focused on extensive study with basic illusions before moving on to actual commands. Some people could attempt a basic low level command or two, but a command to make you see an actual image that wasn't true on someone else was Chunin to Jounin level; it was much easier to make them see something different about yourself than someone else.
Looking at both the shocked pinkette and confused blonde Hinata pressed on. "Naruto-kun, has anyone told you about the Uzumaki Clan's special abilities?"
"Uzumaki Clan?" The boy asked in wonder.
"Yes, the Uzumaki Clan that held from Hidden Whirlpool." Hinata clarified confused, didn't her crush at least know the basic history of his family. "The village itself was destroyed during the Third Great Shinobi War by the combined forces of Stone and Cloud. To my knowledge you are the last of your clan."
"Really!?" Sakura asked surprised. She had heard of the Hidden Whirlpool Village before but never made the connection to Naruto. She couldn't remember ever hearing about an Uzumaki Clan.
Naruto was also surprised to hear all of this. 'Why didn't anyone ever tell me this before? All the times I asked the Hokage about my parents and received no answers, why didn't he tell me about my clan?'
Shaking his head the blonde focused back on the Hyuga Heiress. "What about these special abilities?"
Hinata tried to remember every story she had ever heard. "Well I know the Uzumaki were exceptional at Fuinjutsu. They were said to make Masters outside their own clan appear to be no more than novices. However, some Uzumaki were born with special abilities associated with their unique chakra. You, Naruto, are one such Uzumaki. You possess a third eye in your head that utilizes a small amount of chakra every time you preform Genjutsu, so as to actually preform the technique for you. The chakra it radiates appears to be purple in my sight."
"There's a third eye in my brain!?" Naruto exclaimed shocked.
"Yes." Hinata assured him. "It's the Dojutsu called Yumegan. What I remember from stories regarding the Uzumaki Clan, some had special physical anomalies that could only be worked with the Uzumaki's unique chakra. That's what your third eye is; a special physical anomaly."
Sakura asked the young heiress curiously. "When you say 'only works with Uzumaki Chakra', you mean if an enemy removed the third eye from Naruto and grafted it to their body somehow, it wouldn't work at all?"
The Hyuga Heiress gave a confirming nod as she studied Naruto. The blonde seemed so lost in thought. However, the pinkette had another question. "What does it look like Hinata, with your Byakugan sight I mean?"
The small heiress explained the four tomoe and dawn colored flames. How the eye would focus on who Naruto was trying to sense so as to lock on to them; or so she figured. Sakura was very fascinated by this development while Naruto was more and more confused. 'Why didn't anyone tell me any of this dammit? I had a right to know!'
The group walked on in silence coming up on a hilly rocky area with very little vegetation. Standing in the middle was their new Sensei Kurenai Yuhi. She smiled at the group of Genin as they stood in front of her. "Glad you all got here so quickly and that you stuck together; shows unity. I thought we would start with simple introductions. Names, hobbies, something we hate, and dreams for the future."
However, before anyone could begin Naruto asked accusingly. "Sensei, did you know I had a third eyeball in my brain?"
Kurenai train of thought was derailed by the question. She glanced at Hinata to see the girl blushing while doing her nervous finger tap habit. Looking back to the boy the Jounin explained. "Yes, Lord Hokage informed me about the development when he made me your Sensei."
"When was someone going to tell me?" Naruto demanded angrily.
"Lord Hokage wanted me to tell you to go and meet with him later today." Kurenai lied smoothly. "I believe he wanted to get teams out of the way before telling you everything. He didn't believe the hospital was the best time as you were still recovering."
The Jinchuriki didn't look to convinced but let it go for the moment. Pouting he thought angrily. 'The old man better have a damn good reason for not saying anything.'
Seeing as the boy was placated for the time being the Jounin continued with introductions. "My name is Kurenai Yuhi. My hobbies include romance novels, sushi, and sampling different types of Saki. One thing I hate are men that look down on me because I'm a woman. My dream for the future is to one day have a family and see all of you become the best Shinobi you can be."
The mad blonde boy figured he might as well get it over with. He focused his grumpy face on his Sensei and said. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, hobbies are pranks and ramen, I hate it when people keep secrets from me especially if those secrets pertain to me specifically, my dream is to one day become Hokage and to find out why our current Hokage keeps lying to me."
Kurenai resisted the desire to roll her red eyes. Honestly, the Jounin never understood why his mom and his clan were kept secret from him. The worldwide irrational fear Hidden Leaf's enemies had of a resurrected Uzumaki Clan paled in comparison to a resurrected Yellow Flash. With that logic keeping Minato Namikaze a secret made sense but not the history of Hidden Whirlpool. Giving Naruto some knowledge of were at least half his blood came from would have provided some comfort growing up. For everyone's sake the Genjutsu Mistress hoped Hiruzen Sarutobi had a damn good explanation to give the angry Jinchuriki.
Looking to Sakura, mainly because she knew Hinata had a hard time talking to a group, the Sensei singled the pinkette to speak. The young Kunoichi straightened her shoulders proudly saying. "My name is Sakura Haruno. My hobbies are studying and um .. that's really all I got. Dreams for the future … being a strong Kunoichi and marrying Sas.. um .. whomever I fall in love with. Things I hate … Ino; kind of I guess."
Sakura was blushing slightly at her slip ups. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of an accomplished Jounin Kunoichi by saying her hobbies were studying and fantasizing about her future kids with Sasuke Uchiha. Also, though the pinkette would never admit this out loud, she was also a little afraid of what Naruto was capable of and didn't want to anger him by saying he was the thing she hated most; well found most annoying anyway. The Kunoichi didn't hate the whiskered blonde directly, just the fact he was always pestering her for dates.
Kurenai once more resisted the desire to role her eyes; she saw right through the pinkette's little speech. Giving Hinata an encouraging smile the Jounin signaled her to finish. "Um..my name is Hinata Hyuga. My hobbies are gardening and flower pressing. I can't really think of anything I hate but some stuff makes me sad; the seal my family uses to protect the Byakugan and the unfair way some people in the village are treated. Dreams for the future … to repair the rift between the houses of my clan."
Kurenai smiled encouragingly at the young heiress before addressing the whole team. "Good, you all have goals and ambitions; some have stronger meaning than others but that's ok. I truly believe this team has great potential. Now, do any of you know how the village structures teams?"
All the Genin looked unsure about the question. Finally, Sakura voiced a guess. "They try and balance the strength of each individual team, I think."
"Yes and no." Kurenai answered. "That doesn't always work even if it is what is more or less desired with each academy class. By balancing the strength evenly amongst Genin Teams you have a greater chance of each team surviving an unexpected mission event; a client lies about potential dangers to keep the mission cost low, rogue Ninja looking for a pay day by killing the Jounin Sensei for a Black Market Bounty, or some village hoping to acquire a Kekkei Genkia they don't have for themselves are a few potential unknown dangers you could face in the real world."
"However, when the Hokage and Academy structure teams they also look at each child's overall potential, especially in various areas of Shinobi duties. Think about it; almost all the majority 'known strength' of your class was put on Team Seven. That's not to say they are the strongest team of your class. I can almost guarantee you Team Ten has by far the greatest unity, or teamwork, which at times can overcome greater individual strength; divide and conquer if you will. If Team Seven and Ten were to fight right now, Team Ten has the better chance of victory; though only by a small margin."
"When the village structures Genin Teams they try and predict the future of each child's training and were it will take then within the Shinobi Fields. Team Seven has two boys with exceedingly high potential in tracking and all three boys have predicted strength in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu; one has strong predicated strength in Genjutsu as well. Overall, the team is well rounded with a high expectation of success. Team Ten has a Nara, a Yamanaka, and an Akimichi which is a tried and true method of overall success; even more so since all three are clan heirs with high predicted individual strength."
Naruto mood was souring as his Sensei kept talking. To him it sounded like this team was just a place for those with no real potential, but that couldn't be right. He remembered not only an hour ago Shikamaru himself praised him for the fact he had defeated an accomplished Chunin, Hinata was the Hyuga Clan Heiress, and Sakura was the smartest kid in their class. Looking at Kurenai the boy asked in a deadpan voice. "What about our team Sensei?"
The raven haired beauty smiled happily down at her students. Kurenai wanted no doubt in their minds that what she said next was an exact true belief. "This team Naruto, has by far the greatest potential of any that has come out of the academy in the last five or ten years."
All three Genin had shocked looks on their faces. Kurenai had just done nothing more than hype up Teams Seven and Ten only to say their team was potential stronger than them. It just didn't make sense to the kids.
Sakura came out of her confused shock first. "Hold on Sensei, you just said the three strongest Genin of our class all made the same team. How can we possibly be stronger than them?"
This time Kurenai didn't resist the temptation to roll her eyes while thinking. 'With that attitude you'll never get anywhere Sakura.'
Focusing back on her students she explained. "Because of their individual abilities combined with their overall teamwork capabilities, Team Seven will be trained as if they were a Tracking and Tactical Assault Unit. Team Eight will be trained as if they were a Live Capture and Reconnaissance Unit. However, each member of this team has potential to learn and possibly master Genjutsu. That is why you will be trained in Espionage, unless something changes."
"Something changes?" Hinata asked timidly.
The woman focused her eyes on the Hyuga saying. "You are going to be trained predominantly in Espionage because that is where your known potential lies."
Looking to the young pinkette Kurenai explained. "Sakura, your natural born chakra control combined with her intelligence makes her suitable for both Medical Jutsu and Genjutsu, but if you become more dominant in Medical Jutsu than the village could decide to switch the focus of her training to the Medical Corps."
"Hinata." The red eyed Jounin spoke looking to the young heiress. "You yourself have the Byakugan and an almost unnatural flexibility that makes you ideal for Taijutsu as well the Hyuga's trained chakra control that makes you ideal for Genjutsu; plus, your overall documented imagination. However, during the course of your training it may become apparent that the Village Guard Unit is better suited for you opposed to field work. Nothing wrong with that at all dear, the weak and vulnerable need a strong Shinobi to keep them safe at times." (1)
Turning to the orange clad boy the woman finished her analysis. "It goes without saying that you Naruto have excessive potential in both Genjutsu and Ninjutsu. Your Yumegan may allow you to do things no one else can with the illusion art, and we have no idea what other abilities may come of it later on. Your reserves of chakra are larger than most Jounin I know even though you waist so much it hardly matters; but that can be easily rectified by training and learning better control which would allow you to use immensely more powerful Ninjutsu. Down the road of your career it may become apparent that Heavy Infantry is more suited for your duties to the village."
Addressing the whole group, the Jounin finished. "The village educates based on what is apparent in each individual student, doing its best to place you as accurately as possible for maximum effectiveness. As you grow and learn new variables may present themselves that place you in other areas. There is nothing wrong with this at all. However, it is extremely rare for a Genin Team to be restructured. I think it happened once fifteen years ago."
The three Genin thought about what their Sensei explained. It was Naruto that asked the first question excitedly. "So, we're going to do super cool spy missions!?"
"Ha!" Kurenai barked loudly. "Do you really think the village would let Genin right out of the Academy go behind enemy lines. This team has been structured to be an Espionage Until, that doesn't make you one right out the gate. It takes training and hard work before you guys get to attempt anything more than a C Ranked Mission, and you haven't even done one D Ranked Mission yet. You also haven't passed my final test either."
"Final Test!" Sakura exclaimed. "What do you mean final test!? We passed the Academy didn't we? That makes us Genin!"
"Congratulations." Kurenai mocked. "You memorized a bunch of facts, learned how to throw a kunai half straight, and you can make two or more illusions of yourself. I'm sure you'll be great entertainment at a little kid's birthday party. However, if you want to be a Shinobi you better learn how to apply that knowledge in the field. Otherwise all you'll be is dead. The Academy gave you headbands, but I can take them back."
All three kids gulped as their Sensei continued. "Your test is simple; all you have to do is touch me. The first two Genin to touch me pass and the last fails. Espionage Units work better in smaller numbers than other teams so I'm only teaching two of you. However, if all three of you fail to touch me than the whole team fails out right. You have until sunset, ruffly three hours. You may begin when ready."
With that the Kurenai talking to them faded from existence. Naruto looked around the empty field confused. "Wait what, was she an illusion the whole time or just at the very end?"
"I'm not sure." Hinata spoke up hesitantly. "I never thought to check with my Byakugan."
Sakura was quietly thinking about what Kurenai said. 'Only two of us will pass, that makes no sense when you factor in everything she explained about the teams and teamwork. All three of us must touch her but only the first two can pass also makes no sense, why should the last person in line bother trying to touch her just to help the two ahead of him or her stay Genin.'
Thinking it all through again Sakura came up with the answer. The Academy stressed overall importance on teamwork. Kurenai herself stated the teams themselves were structured based on how each kid fit with the others, who makes the strongest team. They had to work together as a team to pass, or they all failed as a team together. This test was structured to pit them against one another to see if they would value the team over themselves; basically, if one Genin would sabotage the others' attempts just so they would grab Sensei first.
"It's teamwork, this is a test to see if we can work as a team." Sakura explained out loud to Naruto and Hinata.
"But Sensei said only two of us can pass?" Naruto questioned confused.
Hinata nervously tapped her fingers together and explained. "Sakura is right Naruto-kun. I'm sure of it to. It's the only answer that makes sense otherwise the third person who has yet to touch Kurenai won't bother trying, thus the whole team fails."
Naruto thought it over and agreed, honestly had both girls touched Kurenai Sensei before him he still would have gone all out just to prove he could also grab her. Still it didn't solve the problem of actually finding their Sensei to grab hold of. Looking to Hinata the Jinchuriki asked. "Can you find her with your Byakugan?"
The girl was already looking around trying to do just that. It didn't take her long to spot the Genjutsu Mistress setting cross legged under a naturally made overhang at the bottom of a small stone hill. Hinata quickly relayed what she was seeing to her two teammates.
"Well I seriously doubt we could simply charge her and win." Sakura thought out loud. "Let's compare notes and see what abilities we can use.
Sakura proudly proclaimed her knowledge and strengths with the Academy's big three; Clone, Substitution, and Transformation Jutsu, plus she was the best trap maker in class next to Sasuke. Hinata kindly explained that she was proficient with the big three as well, plus her Juken. Naruto happily said he was very good with Clone and Transformation but not so much with Substitution; plus, he had the Shadow Clone, Shadow Weapon Clone, Giant Shadow Weapon, Divine Embodiment Jutsu, Rolling World View and False Visual Genjutsu. He also explained about his Exploding Shadow Clone Jutsu but said it was to dangerous to use unless there was a safe way of factoring it into a plan. (2)
The pinkette gave her blonde teammate an envious look. 'Since when did he get an arsenal of jutsu!?'
Hinata just looked at her blonde heartthrob in complete awe. 'Naruto-kun is so amazing!'
The three Genin hashed out their idea and plan of attack. As one they crept through the rocky terrain heading for their Sensei. The kids laid on their stomachs looking over a small hill towards the raven haired Jounin. Like Hinata had explained she was setting with her back to a straight slab of stone reading a book. Sakura grumble something inaudible when she saw the cover.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked in a whisper.
"It's nothing." Sakura whispered back. "That book she's reading is a really popular true story romance novel that my mom also likes. The problem is it was aimed at Kunoichi so possesses a lot of Shinobi terminology and lingo. My mom constantly bugs me with questions about stuff she reads and wondering if some things the Shinobi do are actually possible. It's really annoying."
"What's the book called?" Hinata quietly asked.
"Love Between Nations." Sakura answered still whispering. "It's about a Rock Jounin that feel in love with a Sand Chunin he captured during the Second Shinobi War. They tried to run away together and join up with Cloud but the Raikage betrayed them both, some bid for a peace treaty that failed, and Hidden Rock executed the Jounin before handing the Chunin back to Hidden Sand. It's very tragic; the author is the son of both the Sand Chunin and Rock Jounin."
"That sucks." Naruto said summing up the book nicely. "Asshole Raikage, you should never trust Cloud Ninja, or Rock Ninja Ninja for that matter."
Sakura said nothing as it didn't real matter at this point. The pinkette had a clearer understanding sense she had read the book. The Raikage had been hoping that his actions would lead to a ceasefire with Hidden Rock. Instead all it did was lead to a ceasefire between Sand and Rock. The Tsuchikage executed the Jounin and traded the Chunin back to Sand so they to could execute their own traitor, but the Kazekage gave the Kunoichi the benefit of doubt when she explained that it had all been a trick to escape and return home. She had been forced to denounce the man she loved most of all while pregnant with his son, just so they could both live. After she died the boy published the book in hope of honoring his parents forbidden love, he was a Civilian that lived somewhere in The Land Of Tea.
"Alright, remember the plan." Naruto said as he slowly began making his way towards his Sensei.
Kurenai was just getting to a good part in the story when she felt the presence of her Squad. 'Well damn, guess I could just be like Kakashi and read while fighting, but Juken hurts like hell.'
The Jounin put her book away and stood up stretching while discreetly sensing out for chakra signatures. 'Hmm, just Naruto. I was hoping they would figure out teamwork was most important, but it feels like he split up from the girls. With the way Naruto and Hinata help each other battling Mizuki you'd think … oh theirs the girls. I'll play along to see where this might lead.'
Faster than most eyes could fallow Kurenai spun around and caught Naruto's wrest easily as he tried a surprise attack. The boy tried to pull himself in to kick the woman in the shoulder but the Jounin flung him away with little difficulty. Sakura and Hinata appeared behind the raven haired woman just as she let the Jinchuriki fly. Quick as lightning the Jounin jumpy away to avoid a Juken strike to the spine that would have temporarily paralyzed her. The two young Kunoichi charged as Naruto returned to their side.
'This would appear to be a rather straight forward attack.' Kurenai thought smiling. 'However, appearance can be deceiving.'
An explosion came from behind the hill she had been resting under as one of Naruto's hidden Exploding Shadow Clones detonated. The entire hill began falling over as the shockwave shook the entire training field. Kurenai thought frantically as she back peddled. 'Son of a bitch, Iruka hadn't been exaggerating one bit. These kids are going to kill me one day.'
The woman watched as the three clones in front of her were buried under tons of rock and rubble. The two transformed to look like the girls smiled and waved as they were crushed. A thick cloud of dust and dirt covered the entire area as Kurenai began coughing while trying to look around. She felt a sharp pain in both of her thighs that was easily recognizable as Juken strikes. The Jounin grimaced and began trying to leap away to get her bearings back.
The dust appeared to be getting thicker as Kurenai's coughing lessened. 'Nice try Naruto.' The Jounin Kunoichi thought as she broke the illusion. 'Casting a False Visual Command against me to continuously be blinded by the dust while I was distracted by the explosion was smart, but you still have a lot to learn about Genjutsu combat.'
As the illusion vanished the Jounin found herself being charged by all three of her Genin, apparently the real ones this time. Naruto came at her head on with Sakura on the left and Hinata on the right. All three had at this time past the Teamwork Test but the woman wanted to see exactly what they were capable of. Grabbing Hinata's outstretched left arm as the heiress tried to Juken her Sensei's abdomen, Kurenai threw her into Naruto's chest while back flipping over Sakura, who was coming in low at the ground, and gained some distance.
'So far I'm not overly impressed by their individual and group hand to hand tactics and skills.' The woman thought as she looked down at her right foot amused. 'However, their individual abilities are pretty good. I'm guessing Sakura did this since her records say she had top marks in both books and traps.'
A thin wire snare was wrapped firmly around the woman's right ankle. Sakura had purposely come in low so Kurenai would back flip in the direction the pinkette wanted. The red eyed Jounin was about to snap the wire when she felt someone small leap on her back while wrapping their arm around her neck.
'I completely missed that.' Kurenai thought amused as she looked over her shoulder and into the grinning face of her tallest female student. 'It wasn't Sakura that leap at my feet but another transformed clone of Naruto.'
"Hurry up Naruto, grab her while she's pinned!" The girl screamed right in her Sensei's ear.
'0w.' Kurenai thought as she flipped Sakura over her shoulder throwing the pinkette hard into the arms of the onrushing knucklehead. Naruto skidded across the ground on his back protecting the girl from the rocks and rubble as Hinata leaped over her teammates and pressed an attack all by herself against the Jounin.
Ducking and weaving Kurenai analyzed the young heiress's Taijutsu. 'She's definitely lightyears ahead of both Naruto and Sakura, which sadly isn't saying much. All three need help in hand to hand combat. Sakura needs to get better stamina and Naruto needs better technique. Hinata's technique seems more forced and rigid than what I was expecting. It's possible the standard Juken doesn't work well with her body type. Didn't someone mention Hitomi had the same problem in her youth maybe? I'll have to talk with Hiashi at some point it seems.'
Growing tired of the exchange of fists the older woman spun around Hinata, grabbed a fist full of baggy jacket, and tossed her towards the returning Naruto and Sakura. The boy appeared to learn from his mistakes and centered his feet before catching the girl. Unfortunately, he decided to wrap his arms around the Hyuga's waist allowing her legs to wrap around his hips. This action placed his face directly in the middle of the mortified girl's more developed than average chest. The young heiress leaped of the blonde haired boy so fast you'd have thought he was scolding hot.
With a blush that scared Kurenai into thinking she would faint dead away, Hinata looked at Naruto while hugging herself tightly saying. "I'm s-s-so s-s-s-sorry N-n-n-n-Naruto-kun."
Naruto, how was determined to look at anything else but his friend, said bashfully blushing. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure these things happen to everyone."
'Yeah right.' Kurenai thought sarcastically while fending off Sakura. 'If the men in my life find out I help my only male student cop a feel they'll never let me hear the end of it; not to mention what Hiashi will do to me.'
"Hey love birds!" Sakura screamed while attempting a round house kick to her Sensei's temple. "We're still in the middle of a fight! Get over here!"
Both Hinata and Naruto snapped out of their embarrassed state at Sakura's scream. Rushing quickly as possible to the girl's side both got back in ready positions. Kurenai looked them over up and down judging their physical status. Sakura's red shirt dress was covered in dirt and had a small tear on the left shoulder. The pinkette was also huffing and puffy as if she had just sprinted a mile. Hinata's baggy beige jacket was also covered in dirt but her breathing was shallow and calm. Naruto's orange outfit was easily the dirtiest of all. Skidding across the ground earlier had torn a small hole in the left sleeve. Other than that, he was smiling happily and didn't appear to have even broken that much of a sweat.
Kurenai ran through hand signs while calling out. "Genjutsu Art: Hypnotic Body Armor."
The kids watched awed as the markings that decorated their Sensei's Ninja Wrap made shirt began moving. Some of the markings ran up the strap they were on and some down the other way. Each strap had a methodical speed to the movement but not one had the same level of movement. The Genin found it difficult to focus on Kurenai's person as the image made them dizzy.
The young students charged the older Kunoichi in hopes of somehow catching her off guard, but the more they tried to focus on her movements the more nauseous each child became; even Hinata's Byakugan wasn't helping much. Through her sight the markings continued to move even as she analyzed that Kurenai was covering herself in an illusion. The nauseating feelings they were being bombarded with came from what they were actually seeing, not a Genjutsu cast against them.
Growing frustrated Naruto produced a kunai and through it with all his might at Kurenai. The woman watched the boy make hand signs before calling out. "Ninja Art: Giant Shadow Kunai Jutsu!"
The lone nine inch long kunai expanded into a nine foot long kunai. Kurenai managed to bend backwards at her knees while keeping her feet glued to the ground with chakra allowing the weapon to miss her completely. She straightened up quickly and blocked Naruto's fallow up knee to the face. The Jinchuriki tried to grab hold of the woman's arm but she easily avoided him while retreating.
"You better hurry Naruto." The Jounin taunted. "Sakura and Hinata have both touched me, but you haven't yet. Sun's going down and you all fail if you can't lay a hand on me."
"I know!" Naruto growled. Going for broke the boy spammed about fifty clones and charged. Just as the clones were almost upon her Kurenai turned invisible and began taking them out one by one. With her Byakugan Hinata tracked the Jounin's movement and placed herself in a good spot to intercept. Just as the woman vanquished a clone by dropping an elbow on its head the little Hyuga struck. A small wave of chakra left the indigo haired girl's palm with just enough strength to break the invisibility technique her Sensei was using. This allowed the remaining Naruto clones to dog pile on top of the Genjutsu Mistress; or so the Jinchuriki hoped.
"It won't be that easy Naruto." Kurenai called while casually standing ten feet away from the dust cloud the boy had created with his dog pile. The moment Hinata had disrupted her invisibility technique she substituted with a clone at the edge of the pack and retreated. "You'll have to come up with something better than that."
Sakura and Hinata had regrouped and were silently going over possible plans of attack. The pinkette urgently whispered to the Hyuga. "Maybe if we all tried transforming into each other we can confuse…."
However, the plan died on the girl's lips as she saw what emerged from the dust cloud. Sakura, Hinata, and Kurenai looked on stunned speechless as a completely necked version of the Jounin Sensei strutted out onto the battlefield and blew her real self a kiss. As the shocked and embarrassed woman looked on, Naruto came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hahaha. Got you Sensei!"
The woman looked behind her at the young prankster still shocked. She looked back up in time to see the transformed clone pop away in a cloud of smoke. Her mind started catching up to the fact her only male student had just past with a childish prank. Amused by the whole outrageous tactic, after all no one had ever thought to attack with a necked version of her own person before, the Sensei laughed. "Hahahahahaha. Ok you got me, now get off Naruto."
The boy happily let go and jumped back to stand with the girls; all three Genin looking at their Sensei expectantly. Kurenai happily said. "Congratulations, as of today we are officially Team Eight of Hidden Leaf. Will train out here in the mornings and try for a mission sometime after lunch."
Growing serious the woman continued. "I did see several problem areas that we need to cover. The biggest ones for each of you would be Sakura's stamina, Naruto's Taijutsu, and Hinata's stiffness while utilizing the Juken. I'm going to talk with Lord Hiashi regarding ways that I believe will help and we'll go from there. Sakura, I am going to set you up some additional training at the hospital since there's no reason you couldn't learn Medical Jutsu easily with your brain and natural chakra control. However, I want you to met me and Naruto here every morning at five o'clock for endurance training. Naruto, me and you will focus on chakra control, katas, and the proper ways to use a jutsu."
With that last statement Kurenai looked over to where the hill used to be. All that was left was a crater and scattered rubble. Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head at the woman's statement. Sakura however looked like a fish the way her mouth was opening and closing.
"Sensei, did you save met at five o'clock!?" The pinkette asked finally finding her voice. "That's a little early, isn't it!?"
"Yes, I suppose it is." The red eyed Jounin said rather uncaringly. "It's your own fault really Sakura. Had you been more worried about your strength rather than your slim figure, you'd be a much more decent Kunoichi. If I must sit at your dinner table and shovel food down your throat I will. You'll be doing extensive exercises that require you to have calories to burn; so, go get them."
Sakura gulped but said nothing more about it. Naruto himself wasn't that keen on a five o'clock start time either, but he'd do anything to get better. Hinata was wondering if she herself should also arrive at five with her teammates. Such an hour would cut into her time with Hanabi and breakfast.
Kurenai looked at each child's face and asked. "Do any of you have any questions before I release you and report to Lord Hokage."
"I got one!" Naruto asked excitedly. "Can you teach us that cool Hypnotic Body Armor Jutsu and that invisibility technique?"
"I can and will, I'll teach you those and much more." Kurenai assured the Jinchuriki. "If you really want to learn my self created Ninja Wrap Genjutsu you'll need an outfit like my own. There is a small Shinobi Outfitters clothing and basic weapon store I use called 'Gear Up'. You'll find it close to Memorial Park, just a block away heading back towards the Hokage Manor."
Seeing as no one else had a question Kurenai left by Shunshin. Team Eight walked up to the crater that Naruto's Exploding Shadow Clone had created. Shaking her head Sakura turned to her new teammates and said sarcastically. "Well, I suppose now we know why the village stuck our butts way the hell out here."
Naruto chuckled happily and said. "Oh, come on guys, you know my jutsu's awesome."
Sakura rolled her green eyes sarcastically. "Yeah, awesomely scary that an idiot like you has a technique that can level a small village."
"Hey, I'm responsible!" Naruto defended stubbornly. "Besides, that new pond by East River looks nice, much better than that small training area they had before."
Hinata giggled at her crush's childish antics while Sakura just shook her head once more at his stupidity. Smiling the pinkette said happily. "Well come on you two. Let's get to that clothing store that Kurenai Sensei mentioned. I want to learn that Hypnotic Body Armor Jutsu!"
Both Naruto and Hinata had uneasy looks for different reasons. The young Hyuga liked her baggy jacket for two very embarrassing reasons and the blonde was usually thrown out of most stores except for the few that would serve him. However, neither teenager really knew how to voice their concerns to Sakura so reluctantly fallowed the pinkette back to the village.
…. Gear Up ….
Sakura, with some relieved happiness, lead her two oddly quiet teammates inside the large store. She expected Hinata to be shy and awkward but silent Naruto was getting unnerving. The blonde hadn't said one real word since returning through the village gate and it was starting to make the pinkette anxious.
A pretty teenage girl walked up smiling. She had deep purple hair that was almost black done up in pigtails and was wearing Shinobi style pants with a black shirt, the store logo on front. "Hello everyone and welcome to Gear Up. I'm one of the assistants Mako, how can I help you?"
Naruto brightened up considerably at the girl's happy attitude. "We're looking for special shirts made from Shinobi Wrap. Our Sensei Kurenai suggested this place."
"Oh yes, I know her well." Mako said happily. "I believe she's an old friend of the owner. If you'll fallow me I'll show you our stock of Ninja Wrap for the shirts. You can pick out what wraps you want to use and comeback in an hour or two to get them; they don't take long to make."
The Genin fallowed the nice woman deeper into the store. As they made their way past a display of bo staffs and older man around fifty spotted Naruto. He straightened his skinny shoulders while narrowing his beady eyes upon the young blonde saying coldly. "I didn't know they allowed your kind in this store."
"Sir?" The store assistant asked unsure. "Is there a problem?"
"I just didn't know you allowed filthy traitors into your establishment." The sandy thin haired man said hotly. "Not to mention the other horrible things he has done."
"Oh please, don't tell me you're one of those idiots that thinks Naruto was the traitor and Mizuki was the hero?" Sakura asked disbelieving coming to her teammate's defense. "Trust me, I've known this guy my entire childhood. If he's the traitor than I'm a Sannin."
"I know things about him that would turn your pretty pink hair white you foolish child." The man said angrily rounding on the tallest member of Team Eight. "Don't speak of things you don't understand. What was the Hokage thinking making someone as fool headed as you a Kunoichi?"
Sakura was so stunned by the man's rudeness she couldn't argue back, but Hinata could. "I know exactly what you're referring to sir, Mizuki explained it all when he was trying to kill me and the boy you're disrespecting in the woods. You yourself are bordering on treason right now and might want to be quiet before I carry out the Hokage's law to the letter."
The rude man looked at Hinata shocked. By her eyes and uncovered forehead, it was easy to determine that she was a Main Branch Hyuga. "How could one such as you defend this monster when you know exactly what he is, what he's done? Have you gone mad girl!?"
Mako looked between the Genin and older man worried, the last thing she wanted was a fight to break out on her watch. "I'm going to have to demand you leave right now."
The children looked at the purple haired girl shocked while the old man gave her a triumphant grin, until he noticed the assistant was looking at him with a stern face. This teenage brat had the audacity to throw him out before the demon, what was this village turning into. "Fine, I'll go and believe you me I'm telling everybody about this joke of a shop. I'll see it shut down for this, I swear!"
Naruto watched the mean man leave still in shocked silence. Not only had his teammates stood up for him but also the store assistant. Hinata wasn't surprising because of what happened with Mizuki, but he didn't think Sakura would bother; at least not to the degree she had. It made him feel warm inside. "Um guys, thanks."
Sakura looked at Naruto. "You don't need to think us idiot. That man was just flat out stupid." Giving her teammates curiously looks the pinkette asked. "What was he talking about though? He said facts that would turn my hair white. You know what he meant Naruto, Hinata?"
The blonde hero scratched the back of his head nervously; Naruto wasn't sure he wanted to answer that right now. The young heiress noticed her crush's nervous attitude and came to the rescue. "Um, I was serious when I spoke of treason Sakura. The secret pertains to Naruto directly but could endanger the whole village if it got out. For now, it would be best to let it go."
The young Haruno crossed her arms with a huff. "Fine, but you two know how much I like to gossip; this is going to bug me so much."
Not much longer the group came to a rack of Ninja Wrap samples. Looking around the young Genin saw several with traditional designs similar to their Sensei's, but also some that had more personality. Hinata was drawn to one with multicolored small birds while Sakura found one with actual Sakura Tree petals. Naruto, however, found one that was a little more daring; at least for him. The strap he was looking over was covered in what was easily distinguishable as fox footprints.
Mako noticed what Naruto was looking at and came over. "Ow yes, possibly one of our least favorite sellers for obvious reasons. We actually sell it in a variety of colors, well actually changing the strap coloring isn't so hard really, just a basic chakra control technique. What you see on display is just the most appealing color…"
"Does it come in an orangish red?" Naruto cut her off determined thinking. 'If people want to associate me with the damned fox I'll give them a reason.'
The assistant was taken back for a second because of such an unusual request but quickly recovered. "Yes, like I said changing the color is a simple process. Is this the wrap you want for your shirts?"
"Not just shirts!" Naruto said excitedly. "I want to cover myself from wrests to ankles; a complete suit made of Ninja Wraps!"
"Somewhat unusual but doable." Mako explained while playing with her dark purple pigtail braid. "Making the actual outfit is simple since we just sow it over pre-made fishnet under-armor. The wraps themselves have metal mesh sown into them already making them like cloth armor, the fishnet just provides the actual form and extra protection from small weapons. When most people get Ninja Wrap articles of clothing it's usually just arm or leg guards, not many want entire articles of clothing made from wrap. Still an entire suit won't take but a few minutes with chakra control applications; a store secret I can't go into. What are your sizes?"
Naruto went ahead and payed for the suits after giving the girl his sizes. The teenage assistant walked up to Hinata to see if she needed anything. The young heiress showed her the colorful bird decorated cloth and asked. "Can I get five long sleeved shirts made from this, only I want the birds to match my lavender eyes. Also, the same kind of Ninja Wrap Shorts Kurenai Yuri wears."
Mako wrote the order down on her pad as well the heiress's sizes and walked over to Sakura. The pinkette had found a different wrap design that she liked better. Seeing the assistant approach, she inquired. "This wrap has a design of a continuous vine traveling over it with red rose blossoms. Can I have the green vine turned into brown bark and the rose blossoms turned into Sakura Tree Blossoms? I'll keep my black shorts though."
The assistant happily wrote the order down as well and took each child's advanced payment, it was unfortunately but these purchases were nonrefundable as the articles of clothing made became permanent. Mako explained their orders would be ready in an hour or so and to come back later. Team Eight left back out into the street not really knowing what to do.
"You guys want to go grab dinner?" Naruto volunteered. "There's a restaurant close that Choji likes, Yakiniku Q, or we could go get Ramen."
Sakura was about to say no until she remembered Kurenai's warning about calorie intake. The pinkette shrugged her shoulders and said "I'm down for Yakiniku Q."
Hinata was torn between her own like of Ramen and love of the boy she knew wanted Ichiraku, against the fact if she agreed with the blonde Sakura would embarrass her by saying she only wanted Ramen to make her crush happy. A little reluctantly the heiress spoke. "I'm also good with Yakiniku Q."
Naruto sighed a little disappointedly but resigned himself to a ramen less dinner. "Yakiniku Q it is."
Walking two streets over the kids came to the restaurant. It had big open windows and a lovely atmosphere. Walking through the front door they asked the hostess for a table. The older woman took one look at Naruto and was about to throw the Genin out until she took a closer look at Hinata. The Hyuga were part owners in the establishment and she didn't want to anger her bosses by kicking out the clan heiress. Reluctantly she showed them to a table while allowing her distaste to be known.
"What a rude woman." Sakura commented angrily throwing her hair over her shoulders. The pinkette sat down across from Naruto and Hinata. "I wonder what her problem was?"
Hinata shrugged not getting it either. The young heiress had never experienced life with Naruto and didn't fully understand the widespread hatred so many people had for him, so overlooked the obvious. The young Jinchuriki didn't miss it though. He was getting tired of people hating him for something the Fourth Hokage did; not that he hated the man, but it was hard to have some resentment.
A waiter walked over with menus for everyone. Sakura read it over pondering out loud. "I wonder what's good here?"
"Try the salted beef tongue with onion." Someone said walking up. "Though the short ribs are good to."
Team Eight looked over to see Team Ten approaching. All three looked slightly dirty but happy. Well Ino and Choji looked happy, Shikamaru looked like he was struggling to stay awake. Naruto smiled excitedly and exclaimed. "Hey guys, what are y'all up to!?"
"Well isn't it obvious." Shikamaru said with a tired groin. Naruto could be way to loud and obnoxious at times and the Nara just knew Ino and Choji would want to set with the other Genin Team. "We just passed Asuma Sensei's damned exhausting test and now we're hungry."
"It wasn't that bad." Ino said setting next to Sakura fallowed by Choji. "It was just a basic skill assessment fallowed by an all out spar. We had to attack him at full power continuously to prove we were ready to be Genin."
"Yeah, like I said, exhausting." Shikamaru grumbled as he sat next to Naruto.
Chuckling Choji said. "Anyway, the best thing here is their salted beef tongue and onion but the short rib is arguably the second best. I get both every time I come. Usually with a side of Soy Sauce for dipping."
"Sounds good to me." Naruto said simply. Hinata agreed as she anticipated the wonderful food.
Ino began scanning the menu for a salad along with Sakura, until the pinkette remembered Kurenai's warning about force feeding. She placed the menu down resigned to the tummy ache that was coming. "Just order a large helping of tongue and ribs for the whole table to share."
"Really!" Ino exclaimed. "Have you finally given up on Sasuke-kun!?"
"Never Ino-pig!" Sakura shot back. "Kurenai Sensei just threatened to force feed me if I didn't stop dieting. I'm quite sure she meant it to."
The Yamanaka was surprised by this but was interrupted by the waiter returning. "Are you ready to order?"
"Yep!" Choji said for everyone. Thinking about the pink haired Kunoichi the boy ordered. "We'll have two extra large orders of salted beef tongue, short ribs, vegetables, and plenty of onion with two large pots of honey green tea."
"I'll take the blue cheese salad." Ino said quickly. (3)
The waiter left to place the order and soon returned with seasoned raw meat and Ino's salad. He prepared the chakra grill on the table after placing a tea pot at either end, leaving with a bow. "If you need anything else please let me know."
The Genin silently volunteered Choji to be the table's chief since he knew what he was doing. However, Hinata grabbed the vegetables and started grilling them herself. It wasn't long before everyone had a plate full of food. Naruto grumbled to himself when his lavender eyed teammate placed a generous portion of the grilled green hated enemy on his plate. Like most little boys the Jinchuriki avoided vegetables at all cost, unless Ichiraku snuck them into his ramen when he wasn't looking.
"You need to eat vegetables Naruto." Hinata said somewhat sternly. "If you don't you'll never reach your full height. Do you want to be short forever?"
"I'm not short." Naruto grumbled. "Old man Hokage says I'll have a growth spurt any day now."
"Yeah right." Ino scoffed after a bite from her salad. "The only person at this table smaller than you is Hinata, and that's because she's naturally petite."
The boy shot his fellow blonde a dirty look and shoved a full grilled cucumber into his mouth. It was surprisingly good as Hinata was an excellent cook. The little green circle was seasoned to perfection and grilled just right. "Wow Hinata-chan, this is amazing!"
The Hyuga blushed scarlet at the blonde's praise. "Thank you Naruto-kun. It wasn't really that hard to do though."
The boy said nothing as he quickly piled more cucumbers and asparagus on his plate along with tongue and ribs. Soon even Choji was eating vegetables as well, shocking both Ino and Shikamaru since they knew the boy well. His mom usually had to give him the sad puppy eyes to get him to even touch something green.
As the pile of food began to grow smaller and smaller talk returned to teams and tests. "So, how was your first team meeting Sakura?" Ino asked excitedly. "What is Kurenai Sensei like?"
"She's cool." The pinkette said simply. "Apparently she knows a lot about Genjutsu, but she didn't really show us much except this cool Hypnotic Body Armor Technique. She promised to teach all of use the jutsu but we will need clothing like her's, so we just went shopping and bought some. We're going after dinner to pick them up, their being made right now."
"Oh, can I go with you!?" The blonde asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I don't see why not." The pinkette said uncaring. Both Naruto and Hinata didn't have an objection either.
Shikamaru just closed his eyes thinking relieved. 'I'm so glad I'm not on that team. Ino's bad enough but Sakura, this Kurenai Sensei, and even Hinata are already trying to control Naruto. Making him eat vegetables and dragging him shopping to change his look. This guy doesn't know the hell he's in for, pore idiot.'
Leaving the restaurant Choji and Shikamaru said goodbye and left, the lazy genius leaving faster than his friend out of fear Ino would force him to hangout longer. Naruto and the girls made their way to 'Gear Up' to see if the Ninja Wrap Clothing was ready. Walking in they saw Mako behind the counter reading a magazine while absentmindedly playing with her pigtails.
"Oh, hello again." The purple haired girl said when they came up to her. "Your clothing is all ready. Please fallow me to make sure they all fit."
The group walked with the older teenager to the back of the store were fitting rooms were located. Naruto went first happily bouncing inside to change. When he emerged, the girls were all impressed. The entire suit looked to be just one giant onesie since it was impossible to tell were the shirt ended and the paints began. The wraps were done up in a crisscross pattern all the way up his legs, down his arms, and across his torso. The orangish red fox paw-prints were easily recognizable on the white straps.
"What do you guys think." He asked checking out his own threads. Getting an idea, the Jinchuriki created a Shadow Clone to view himself.
Ino was a little shocked by the technique. She had enough education and knowledge to know the clone was real and not an illusion. Still she voiced her opinion seriously in a joking voice. "You look much better in that than you do that orange disaster of an ensemble."
"Yeah I got to agree with Ino on this one." Sakura said looking her teammate up and down. "It's a definite improvement."
Hinata looked at the clothes a little concerned. Unlike her two fellow Kunoichi and the store assistant the Hyuga Heiress understood the symbolism of the fox footprints. Still the outfit did look much more professional than the jumpsuit, so she smiled approvingly. Seeing as the girls all liked it Naruto returned to the changing room to put his original outfit back on; store policy was you couldn't wear clothing purchased out the door.
Sakura decided to go next after the blonde boy. It didn't take her long to emerge in her new threads. Like Naruto the straps were done up in a crisscross pattern, but the sleeves only went to just past her elbows. The sides of the shirt hung down to the bottom of her black shorts just above her knees. The pinkette's collar was a V-cut that showed the fishnet armor underneath. The redesigned image of a continuous tree branch and Sakura Blossoms looked beautiful going along the straps.
"Well?" The pinkette asked striking a poss with her left hand behind her head and her right hand on the hip.
"You look great Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed happily. Ino and Hinata both gave nods of approval and the young Kunoichi returned to the dressing room to put her red dress back on.
Next was the young Hyuga herself. Mako stood of to the side trying not to laugh as the shy girl walked into the dressing room. The three remaining Genin waited outside what seemed like ten minutes before Sakura impatiently shouted. "What's taking you so long Hinata."
"I … I'm not coming out!" Came the young girl's nervous reply. The older teenage assistant snorted and covered her face with both hands.
"Oh yes you are!" Sakura shouted back. "We all showed off our outfits and now it's your turn."
"Yeah Hinata." Naruto said encouragingly. "If there's something you don't like we can always have it fixed."
"Ok." Hinata called unsure after another minute. "I'm coming out."
Slowly the changing room door open and the heiress reappeared. Just like her teammates the wrap was done in a crisscross pattern with the lavender birds drawn all over the surface. Unlike Sakura her Ninja Wrap Shorts were much shorter, stopping at the top of her thighs like Kurenai's. The sleeves of her shirt also went to the palm of her hands with the crook of the girl's thumb covered by wrap as well, the thumb and four fingers still fully exposed. The same V-cut the pinkette had was also at Hinata's neckline showing off the fishnet armor. However, thanks to the indigo haired girl's natural born attributes the material fit her form much tighter than her two friends, showing everyone exactly what her baggy jacket had been hiding for the last few months.
Hinata tapped her fingers together nervously before folding her hands behind her back, fully showing the uniform off. Mortified the Hyuga asked blushing. "So, h-how d-do I l-l-look?"
Ino thought stunned. 'How is this fair!? She gets the Byakugan and those! If Juken doesn't work she can always smother her enemy to death! Seriously, how does she not have back problems!?'
Sakura was looking between her two teammates while remembering the incident that happened during the Teamwork Test. 'Thank you higher powers Hinata doesn't have a thing for Sasuke-kun. Honestly, I wonder what's going through that blonde prankster's head right now?'
Naruto stood petrified trying to find the words to not sound like a pervert, he hated perverts. However, as he took in his shy teammate's figure his mind kept going back to the Teamwork Test incident. 'So squishy and soft. I had no idea. Mustn't look, mustn't look, focus on Hinata's eyes, her nose, her mouth, anything above her neck. Look up, look up, dame stupid eyes look up already. I have to say something nice dame it!'
"You l-l-look l-l-lovely Hinata-chan, real big-beautiful." The boy stumbled out with a bright red blush finally tearing his eyes upwards to the young heiress's face. Mako stood of to the side laughing silently while desperately staying upright; these guys were the best customers she ever had. Having gotten Naruto's complement Hinata bolted back into the changing room desperately hugging her beige jacket.
Silently the Genin left the store. On the way out Naruto bought a pack of Senbon Needles because he had never seen any before, also because he wanted something else to focus on besides the image in his head. The four Genin said goodbye and left to go their separate ways.
.… Jounin Lounge ….
Kurenai sat drinking her saki in a corner table while waiting for some of the other Sensei. She knew it wouldn't be much longer. A few had given their teams the final exam today, but most would do it in the morning. The Genjutsu Mistress was wondering who all past so far.
"Hey Kurenai!" The raven haired woman heard someone calling. Looking towards the door she saw Anko Mitarashi walking in from outside.
"Hey Anko, just have dinner?" Kurenai asked curiously.
"Just Sweet Dumplings and Red Bean Soup." Was the Snake Mistress reply as she grabbed the bottle of saki. "Still waiting on the others, I see. How did your team of Espionage Experts do?"
"They did ok, but there's definite room for improvement." Kurenai said taking her bottle back. "Get your own."
Anko smirked at her friend while signaling the bartender for a bottle. "So, Battlefield Confession; spill, spill."
"Not much going on in that department." Kurenai answered honestly. "If anything, Naruto's trying to get to know Hinata better so they're talking more, but not much else."
"Oh, come on!" The Special Jounin wined. "No kissy kissy smoochy smooch!? Nothing at all!?"
The Sensei of Team Eight shrugged her shoulders uncaring. It wasn't like Kurenai herself hadn't been hoping for fireworks as well, mainly because the Jounin was always rooting for Hinata, but that didn't mean she wasn't a realist. Both kids were still a young thirteen and had plenty of time for sugar sweet nothings.
Both women looked up at the sound of the door to see both Asuma and Kakashi enter. The two men came and set with the two women, Asuma next to Kurenai and Kakashi next to Anko. The Snake Mistress slithered up to the famous Copy Ninja and wrapped her arms tightly around his torso. "Hello Kakashi-kun."
"Anko, lovely as always. Kurenai, the same." The masked man said offhandedly.
"Always such a charmer Kakashi." The red eyed Kunoichi said sarcastically. "Please stop your making me blush."
"Hey." Asuma said in mock outrage. "That's my job."
The masked Jounin gave his friends a look over and asked. "Well, how did everyone do?"
"Team Ten passed. I just gave them a basic skill assessment while having them attack me full out." The bearded Jounin said while placing an arm around his girlfriend. "They could do with some conditioning but otherwise their teamwork is flawless for Genin."
"Team Eight also past." Kurenai said brushing back her raven hair. "Naruto proved just as impossibly gifted with Genjutsu as promised. He also proved just as destructive as promised. Sakura needs about ten pounds of solid food daily shoved down her throat and she'd improve in a few weeks. Hinata was easily the best at Taijutsu but that wasn't saying much; honestly Naruto's hand to hand training will be the most difficult. I noticed several ingrained bad habits I need to break."
Anko shrugged saying. "You won't believe it but Team Six also past."
"Your right, I don't believe it." The former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja said while lighting a cigarette. "They were predicted to fail horribly."
"Don't dismiss a scary kid with a large sword." The Special Jounin Kunoichi said humorlessly. "Toru Fuse strong armed his two teammates into compliance. They just pulled of enough passable teamwork to defeat my snake summons in the end."
"You should have given them a harder test Anko." Kakashi reprimanded while signaling the bartender to bring him a bottle. "Those three aren't ready for the Shinobi World. Maybe Toru but not Hibachi Adachi or Ami Seta."
Kurenai looked at the Snake Mistress sadly. She fully agreed with Kakashi and knew so to did Asuma. Anko had read the team wrong and given them to easy a test as she hadn't wanted to hurt them to badly, definitely not something one would expect from the Special Jounin. The red eyed woman asked cautiously. "What did Lord Hokage say when you told him?"
"He told me pretty much what all of you have said so far." The woman explained pulling off her coat exposing her tight form fitting fishnet shirt. "Told me to whip Hibachi and Ami into shape pronto. They will be doing D Rank Missions for a while." Sighing sadly the soft brown eyed woman finished. "That also means I'll be doing nothing but supervising D Rank Missions for a while."
"Suppose you'll give Team Seven their test in the morning, right Kakashi?" Asuma asked his old friend.
"I told them in the morning but really sometime around noon." The famous man said with an eye smile. The four friends continued talking about their students late into the night.
Author's note:
(1)- Documented Imagination. Even from a young age kids are evaluated for potential strengths. Hinata has retained her child like wonder and innocence that could represent a strong application to Genjutsu opposed to other Hyuga.
(2)-Shadow Weapon Clone and Giant Shadow Weapon Jutsu are just the Shadow Shuriken Clone and Giant Shadow Shuriken Jutsu. I changed it to weapon in Naruto's description to the girls to symbolize that it works with any available weapon. If your using a kunai knife when attacking you would call out Shadow Kunai Clone Jutsu or Giant Shadow Kunai Jutsu. I could be wrong as I've yet to see the technique used with anything other than shuriken, but I've also not seen anyone say it can't be used with other weapons either. Maybe it's a chakra cost issue; takes less energy to clone a small shuriken rather than a larger kunai, but if that's the issue why not use Senbon Needles.
(3)-Not completely sure about the foods I'm describing, looked online and it's the best I could find. I've actually had cow tongue in a taco and it's pretty good.
Also- I promise the Ninja Wrap Clothing has a strategic purpose for a multitude of Genjutsu Techniques, it wasn't just for the jokes. I want each Genin to have a unique style of illusion visual based attacks, which is why the individual patterns they chose will come into play. More on that in next chapter.
Still not sure what I'm going to do with Anko and Team Six, making that one up as I go along kind off. Got ideas for their jutsu and so forth but don't know if their going to Chunin Exam; might have them fail in second half or just not qualify all together.
Yes, I know I covered a lot in this chapter but I'm trying to get the training out of the way somewhat, still got fluffy chapters ahead but hopefully not many. I want to get to the missions and good stuff. More on the talk between Naruto and the Hokage next chapter. Felt this chapter was long enough.