You have Natural born Geniuses like Shikamaru

And Geniuses of Hard work like Lee...

Then you have Hard working Natural born Geniuses like Sasuke and Neji...

But the series likes to make it out that Sasuke and Neji are just getting by on their being prodigies when they work their asses off in training too. As much and as hard as Lee and with a better goal in some cases...

That always bothered me. I have see one fic, Dreaming of Sunshine, mention this, and that's it.

Aoba twitched his fingers, ignoring the ache in his chest as he stared at Yura across from him. He wondered if she'd impress him as much as Ami had. He hoped so, Ami had been incredible, just a few months shy of Chunin level. Naomi, like Sasuke, was only lacking in the needed experience to take the role of Chunin. So what would this girl bring, this last branch of the Hyuuga clan. As far removed as possible from the main branch while still being a Hyuuga, given the most limited training and exposure to the Gentle Fist. She was perhaps the scariest member of the team, for her skills were the most unknown.

He could not help but feel excited as he waited for the girl to make the first move.

Or perhaps he should go at her first, test her defense... he hadn't tested Ami's defense, a poor idea in retrospect, but he had a feeling it was top tier for her age as her offense had been.

'I'll let her go first.' He thought, falling lower into his stance.

He had no where to be at the moment, he was living on her time...

And apparently she realized that too, as annoyance etched ever so subtly onto her face. With great speed she reached into her pouch at threw a series of Kunai at him, all perfectly aimed. He decided to show off a little, reaching out he snatched on of the Kunai coming at him and used it to deflect the others into the air. Then, at about twice the speed she had, he tossed the Kunai at her, aiming for her foot. The girl, wisely, backflipped away...

Then grabbed the Kunai as her head was at foot level.

He couldn't help but gap at her, that wasn't an easy move even for a chunin. It took serious practice with evasion and reaction speeds, something fitting of a Hyuuga sure, but one with so little access to the Gentle Fist? Not so much.

With high speed, the girl charged him, Kunai twirled so she was carrying it backhand. She lashed out the moment she reached him, slashing hard. He stepped back but she wasn't done, she twirled as she landed, twisting and lashing out with a harsh kick to his chest that he just barely blocked. His forearms ached horrible as a shot of chakra shot through him sending him backwards several feet. His hands fell, dangling uselessly as his chakra points were blocked... all from a single kick.

"Your good, your parents trained you well I presume." The girl flinched, actually stepping back the mention of her parents. Her chakra shifted, reacting by lashing out of sheer defense. His Psycho mind transmission kicked in, from years of experience, and he felt the girls' fears. He saw her parents, tall and disapproving, heard their screams and felt their hands slamming into her with not to Gentle precision. Pain boiled in her very nerves and he knew that if he had her organs examined, there would be signs of trauma from years of abuse. "

He could do nothing to help her, clan laws were too tight. It was the reason the slavery of the Caged Bird Seal was allowed after all. Still, he vowed not to mention her parents again. That was the least he could do. Still, it made him wonder, perhaps her inability to use the Byakugan had less to do with genetics and more to do with her parents abuse.

He could look into that.

Knowing she needed a distraction, he decided to charge.

She dodged his kick by bending back, showing great flexibility, and used the motion to kick his chin hard. Or rather, clip the edge as he was still a special jonin and was skilled enough to take a step back and only get the edge of the attack. Still, it hurt quite a bit. Thankfully there was no chakra in that attack, he wasn't sure he'd be conscious for it.

For another few minutes they continued the exchange. He'd charge at her for a few seconds, getting most of his attacks easily dodged, or turned against him with a clever movement. Then she'd charge him when he leaped back, lashing out with chakra enhanced jabs and kunai swipes and even a few kicks. He ended up with more then a few bruises, and about ten more chakra points closed since his arms weren't working at the point. She had actually even managed to cut his chunin vest

Eventually he called out. "That's enough." And she stopped, eying him warily. The other girls leaped down, readying themselves to offer their own commentary. "Your taijutsu is easily chunin level, but that's to be expected from a Hyuuga. Your grasp on the Gentle Fist is actually pretty advanced if not a tad simple. Your only allowed the most rudimentary aspects of that style right. I recognized some of the academy taijutsu style in there too, so you've got a firm grasp on that. What really shocked me though was your use of Kunai, you actually tried Kenjutsu and you caught that kunai mid flip after I threw it pretty darn fast. Very impressive. I see why you mentioned weapon use earlier, very, very good. I see you being a kenjutsu expert if nothing else."

He kept his smile up, even though inside he was furious. 'A dead team, seriously all three girls could easily take the chunin exams and perform well. They just need experience! And that's just with Taijutsu and one other skill! How dare they be placed on such a team when their skills are so far above average. This team should have be considered a top contender but because their not clan heirs they were dismissed. Probably didn't help that their girls. Seriously this is disgusting, their amazing.'

Turning to the other girls, he offered them a warm smile as well. "What do you girls think?"

Ami, ever the smiling girl, started gushing immediately. "She was amazing, seriously you got a solid hit on him and several glancing blows. Why didn't you get a higher Taijutsu grade? I think even Sasuke and Naomi would have trouble! You got a lot of damage on him, and your so fast! Why don't you practice Kenjutsu, it's because of your clan right, well poo on them your good!"

He laughed a little at that last remark.

Naomi was beaming a smile, oozing just a little lustfulness. "We are going to spar so hard. Your so fast, I think your speed is as high as mine which means your faster then Sasuke which means your a real challenge... but you seem really tired. Your stamina isn't that high is it?"

Yura shook her head, letting out a long sigh. "No, my stamina has gotten better but like most girls my chakra levels are not the highest. It's stupid but that's how it is."

"Well you did amazingly well. Since you can't do the Byakugan, you definitely should learn Kenjutsu. I don't care what your clan says, you did insanely well with just a Kunai. I am trying to learn how to learn how to use claws. I need you to show me some tricks. Seriously your scary good, just imagine with you could do with a tanto or a pair of Sai? You would be twice as dangerous! I think even your stuck up clan would get theirs out of their asses enough to accept it."

"Careful girl." Aoba said, looking at his precious students. "Your good, but the Hyuuga have a lot of reach. They could prevent your rise through the ranks out of spite. They've done it in the past. You have no clan protection to be so smart mouthed... even if your right."

''''

Naomi cringed at that reminder, painful that it was. It sucked to remember just how disadvantaged she was without a clan, it even inhibited her speech... "I'll keep that in mind, sensei." It took everything not to pout and roll her eyes, she hated the power clans had in the village. It was filled her with impotent rage just thinking about it... so she didn't, turning her mind solely onto her upcoming battle with her sensei. She strode over to where Yura was standing, bumping her with her hip and giving her a smile. "My turn."

The girl smiled back, rolling her eyes for a moment before hurrying away, scooping up Mio and taking her into the trees with Ami. This left Naomi alone with her sensei, and boy was she ready to kick his ass.

Instantly she fell into her stance and pulled out a kunai. She didn't have any trick jutsu like Ami or amazing clan taijutsu like Yura but she had some talents that she was willing to let shine. She would not fail to impress her teacher... for once she would not hold back, for one she would show off.

Leaves fell from the trees as a wind blew threw the training ground. The moment they touched the ground she was off, shooting at her sensei with all she had. When she reached halfway, she tossed the Kunai. It became a blur, one her sensei dodged with ease. Focusing her chakra, she switched with the smallest object she had ever attempted.

And succeeded, but the cost was high, the technique cost twice as much chakra and she was already running mid level due to the earlier training.

Not wasting any time, she twirled around and wailed her sensei in the head with a hard kick that sent him flying away, rolling across the earth until he collapsed against a tree. Smoke and dust filled the air, fading as she landed and shot towards her sensei to kick his ass more. Only to hear a familiar, painful sound, the hiss of explosive tags.

Turning on heel she shot away, turning back for only a second to see the source of the sound. A log covered in explosive tags where her sensei had been. It only lasted another second before the explosion filled the air, the force of it strong enough to push against her and force her into a roll. She was thankful for it too, as it allowed her to dodge her sensei's low kick.

Leaping up, she barely blocked a hard fist to her face, twisting her arm to use her superior strength to pull herself over the outstretched arm, she unleashed a kick to the main's shoulder. A loud crack filled the air, and she stopped.

"Sensei, I-ARCH!" She gasped as a strong fist slammed into her chest, sending her flying back, rolling across the ground. She managed to get up with flipping with the motion of the roll.

"That's enough." Her sensie said, halting her from retaliating. "I watched you training earlier, so I had a good idea how to fight you. Good thing too, you hit hard." He cringed holding his shoulder. "You dislocated my shoulder with a single blow, your strong. Very, very strong and with your speed you can do some serious blows. Your chunin level over all, period. We just need to flesh your style out, give you some justu and get you to use those claws and you'll excel like no one's business. Your stamina could use some serious work, as could your situational awareness. I put that on being a civilian born though, your not constantly sparring clan members so you don't develop the same instinctive awareness. You will with this team, I promise.

Don't forget that others can do the replacement, your never thought I'd use it... though to be honest your did clip my head, giving me a solid concussion. Your speed is fantastic but your a little hit with tunnel vision but again that will go away with sparring and missions but it can be fatal so we need to keep that in mind. That Substitution, while flawless and scary since you replaced with a freaking Kunai, wasted a lot of chakra that even a non sensor could have felt so be careful. Your also predictable but that's only as your style is just what you learned in the academy. That will change, I got a list of those books you took out so I know you will know the Shushin, Kunai Clone jutsu and a few others by weeks end. I also know and saw that you were adjusting your taijutsu style, so that will help your predictability. Overall I am impressed, your issues are mostly from a lack of access not skill. Be proud of that.

Now, Seriously I need to go to the hospital. Bruised ribs, dislocated shoulder, chakra points closed, a solid concussion. You girls did some serious damage, which makes sense as your all majorly focused on taijutsu and haven't spread your focus to other fields yet. I will report your progress to the Hokage... then I have to go to the IT Department... Yura, show them the tree climbing exercise, then Naomi I want you setting up a work out routine for your teammates. I saw what you did for yourself, it is remarkable. Do it for them too. I will see you girls here at nine every morning except Saturday and Sunday. It is my goal to have a D rank every other day, maybe a few in a day if time permits. We will group train in between. Sound fair?"

The girls all nodded, and even the Naomi seemed happy.

"Good... now I am going to go before I pass out... oh and girls give Naomi your perspective on her fight with me. Tata for now." Smoke erupted beneath him and he was gone, leaving them together and alone in the training field.

There was only a moment of silence before Ami threw herself at Naomi, her heft form almost a bit much for the much tinnier girl. "YOU WERE EPIC! Seriously I could barely keep up with your speed, your as fast as Yura is but so freaking strong. You dislocated a Jonin's shoulder, do you know how much force that takes. Your even stronger then I am. How?"

She flushed. " I punch trees. I wanted to focus on speed and strength since I am so small. It was helpful... no chakra enchantments either." She was rarely proud of what she had accomplished. Most of her classmates had sort of glided by through clan training, she had to work for every single ability and skill she had. She worked her ass off constantly, so getting some recognition was... beyond nice. Especially from people she would actually respect. "So... um... any improvement needed?"

Ami nodded. "A little, you out of breathe so I would guess that like Yura you need to work on your stamina and adding more flexibility to your style like Yura. I think some evasion training wouldn't be remiss, you look to comfortable blocking."

"I saw the same thing." Yura said, holding Mio softly in her arms. "Your over all defense, which is more a product of sparring then sheer training, could use some work. You seemed almost lost when acting on defense. That can be fixed easily."

A well of respect washed through her through the burn of criticism no matter how genuinely kind and helpful it was. "Thank you... now, Yura, what is this tree climbing exercise?"

Her new friend smiled and placed Mio back on the ground. "Well, my dear, it is this." And without hesitation she walked straight up the closest tree as easily as walking on the ground. " Do you think you girls can keep up?"

''''

"... team Thirteen passes." Aoba enjoyed the looks of confusion on the faces of his fellow Jonin. Each seemed baffled at this damaged, roughed up appearance. He relished in that, in the undervaluing of his team.

The Hokage, having been the worst at undervaluing them, frowned around his pipe. "And they did this level of damage to you? Naomi may be more talented then I realized for her to be this much of a threat to even a special jonin."

His eyes widened, though none could see it behind his glasses. "Oh this?" He gestured to his body, to the wounds and bandages. "Naomi dislocated my shoulder and gave me a concussion that's true, the girl has a rare gift for combat and insane strength I fear will rival Gai's someday... but no, my entire team contributed to this. Each one of them."

Kurenai, ever the one to stand by her fellow Kunoichi, smirked. "All three of them were well trained then?"

"Exceptionally so. Honestly, I can't say who's most talented. All three girls have vast potential, they might very well be the next Tsunade's, all of them." It was delicious, tasting the hypocrisy of the bullshit those girls had experienced. "Why they were placed on a dead team is... confusing. All three are some of the most capable of peace time Genin I have ever seen. I shudder at that they would be like if they grew up during a war.

Ami is a beast with incredible strength and great tactics. I need to expand her jutsu reservoir so she has more to use then just her family jutsu, that way she can really utilize her tactical skills. Yura has a talent for Kenjutsu and weaponry that goes beyond what they teach in the academy and her taijutsu is nothing to laugh at. She is gifted even for a Hyuuga despite her limits. I can see her being a finer swords wielder then Hayate if only I can get her to not be punished by her clan for practicing in it. Then there is Naomi, with super strength and raw skill, she is a tad predictable due to her lack of access to other styles but I know that will change. Her defense could use some work too, but that's due to a lack of sparing, same with her reaction time and situational awareness. Still, all three girls could manage in the chunin exams, they might not win and it would not be easy but they could do it. That much is obvious.

I don't care if they were a dead team originally, they are so much more then that now and they definitely are going to excel. I have no doubt they are going to be remembered for their skills. I am already thinking of the chunin exams, that is how impressed I was and am."

Maybe it was due to the irritation of his team being labeled a dead team, or maybe it was that he was genuinely that impressed, but he was bragging far more then he ought too. It was more then a touch cocky and would paint a target on the girl's backs...

Yeah, maybe he screwed up ever so slightly...nothing he could do about it now.

Hiruzen let out a puff of smoke. "If you feel that firmly about it, then I look forward to seeing them participate in the chunin exams."

"So do I Lord Hokage." He realized, more then ever, that he definitely just added a bit too much pressure to himself and to the girls. They had to show their potential in the future, less he look like a fool. That would not do his or their careers any service...

;;;

Hiruzen loathed making Dead teams, it was a sign that he had no faith in the team that he was assigning. Many saw it as a waste of resources if put energy into a team that was going to fail, hence the creation of Dead teams. He had brushed off those three girls and apparently, they had all shown signs of incredible skill. He doubted it a bit, they hadn't stood out in the academy but many things about the academy inhibited the reveal of a shinobi or Kunoichi's real skills so there was a large chance they may have simply not had the chance to showcase their skills to the level they could have.

'I hope, for their sake and yours, that they really are as skilled as you say Aoba. Your future as a Jonin Teacher may very well depend on it... as will there as Kunoichi of the Leaf.'

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was beyond fun to write, I think I am getting the hand of these combat scenes... maybe a bit too much praise but in part that was part of the point of the chapters so... it works for now so long as I don't let it get out of control.

Up next, Mio and Hana! YEAHHHHHH!

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.