"Dismissed except for the future Jonin Sensei"
In the blink of an eye, the room was empty, all but four remaining.
"Asuma you will be responsible for the new Ino-Shika-Cho team."
Asuma gave a curt nod.
"Kurenai I am giving you a new tracking squad, that which includes a Hyuuga, Aubrame as well as an Inuzuka."
"Hai Hokage-Sama."
"Miko, you will lead a new assault squad including the Uzumaki, the Uchiha, and a civilian born."
"Hai."
"Kakashi. You will act as a supervisor over all three rookie teams as well as Gai's squad."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"What?.."
I am the first to speak because Kakashi has his nose stuffed in his porn. Kakashi looks up lazily and somehow nods even more sluggishly.
Kurenai and Asuma glance at me with the corner of their eyes but I catch it and glare. They both divert their gazes quickly and Kurenai turns to the left to hide a quiet chuckle while Asuma smirks.
I look straight at the Hokage and he gives me a warm smile.
"Do your best. Dismissed."
I turn and stomp out of the Hokage Office, mumbling under my breath but it is loud enough for all to hear.
"Stupid pervert, Fake Uchiha wannabe, Justu thief. Hedgehog, Baka Scarecrow."
Every word leaves an arrow in Kakashi's back. I slam the door and begin to make my way towards the academy.
'Look Miko I know you detest him but look on the bright side. At least he's not training a team by himself. You should just focus on your team.'
'Pft. I guess you're right. I bet it'd take a few weeks for him to teach basic chakra control.'
'See there's a positive side to this.'
'Yea, I suppose. Hey, come out.'
My shadow moves a little and a large black panther leaps out of it. Its bright orange eyes stare into my hazel ones. I reach towards the overly large cat and scratch behind its ear. It lets out a loud purr.
"Oooh." Yua begins to wag her tail.
"Seriously Yua are you part dog or something?"
"Dunno summoning clan bloodlines are weird and confusing." Shes responded her foot now twitching from the scratching.
"Wanna go now?" I ask as I stop
"Sure." She chirps. Her pleasant tone would make others think that she was not a huge predator who has scores of ninja on her kill count.
Yua has been with me for as long as I can remember. The Panthera Clan is ancient and is said to be an extremely rare summon. Having never had a summoner before me in their entire history. It was kinda nerve-racking when I first found out. Its Clan scroll is mentioned during the Warring-Clan era however it was never found until me. My memories take over as I recall the first time I met Yua. Being four and an orphan at the time.
~Flashback~
A team of leaf shinobi had arrived in town with a caravan and food. They had begun handing out rations. Peaking out of an alley, I stared at the villagers grabbing food and the elder talking to a tall man. I looked at the faces of the Shinobi. I saw a teenage girl with long red hair. Suddenly she met my gaze. Her steel grey eyes seemed like a void. I let out a startled squeak and stumbled back into the alley. I knew that even if I went to get food the older kids would just take it from me later and the elder would just look at me in disgust if I approached. I ran down the alley hoping that no one would come after me. I peered over my shoulder to see if anyone chased me not noticing the figure in front of me. I collided with them, running straight into their stomach and chest bringing them down with me. Scared, I scooted backward with wide eyes. The figure stood up and stepped out of the shadow of the tall buildings and into the afternoon sunlight. Long Red hair and The very same grey eyes looked down on me.
—
A slender teenage girl with a round face looked at me. My eyes were still wide as plates. She's really pretty I thought. She takes note of my scared face and crouches down slowly with her hands shown to me.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she says in a calm, warming tone that instantly eases my heart and adrenaline.
"Do you want some food?" She asks.
I nod slowly with a look of distrust on my face. She pulls out half a loaf of bread and an apple offering them to me. I slowly reach for them and as I come into contact with the food I snatch it quickly and scurry to the wall of the building and sit. I stuff my face and she begins to giggle.
"Woah slow down! It's not going to run away!"
"What I eat usually does," I say in between bites still stuffing my cheeks full.
"Is that so?" She asks
I nod.
"Well if you eat too fast you're going to choke."
As if on command I suddenly start to cough as some of my spit goes down the wrong end. She laughs and hands me a flask of water and I begin to chug it. She sits beside me watching me the whole time.
"You're fast miss." I say once I'm finished swallowing.
"Am I? All ninjas have to be."
I hum in reply.
"Are you the fastest?"
She chuckles "No not by a long shot."
Her cheeks blush a little and I catch it but it is quickly gone.
"I'm Kushina, what's your name?" She says
"Miko." I give a small smile with one of my sharp fangs showing and something in Kushina's eyes sparkles.
"You're so cute!" she laughs and begins to tug at my cheeks and poke my sides
I begin to laugh loudly and beg her to stop and she does.
"You're hair's so pretty Miko-chan!" She says
I play with my stray bangs of short auburn hair and blush at the honorific and compliment.
"Well if my hair is pretty then yours is really really really pretty." Kushina's smile grows larger.
"You're the second person to ever tell me that." She giggles.
"Who was the first?" A very visible blush covers her cheeks now.
"Minato-Kun," she says quietly
"Yes?" A male voice responds.
—
I look towards the entrance to the Alleyway and see the silhouette of another person. His blonde spikey hair is illuminated by the backlit sunlight. Kushina lets out a small yelp and ducks her face in her knees. I look at her with a confused face. He walks forward and crouches to my eye level.
"Hello." He says with the warmest smile I have ever experienced. I feel as if I am completely safe. He radiates the feeling of compassion.
"Hi." I finally say. Shying away from him in embarrassment
He nods then turns to Kushina, who is now peeking over her knees.
"Taicho told me we're leaving soon." He says to her.
"Okay." Kushina stands and they both make their way to the exit of the alley. Kushina only pauses when she feels a slight tug. Glancing down, her eyes go wide at my hand around her pinky and ring finger. She stops and crouches down,
"Miko-Chan? Do you want to come?"
I nod quickly and hug her. She glances at Minato who just smiles.
"Okay let's go."
We walk towards the convoy. Kushina carries me in her arms and I sit in them comfortably playing with her long hair. When we arrive two of the other leaf ninja approach us.
"Who's the gaki?" The shorter one says.
"She's Miko-Chan, And I'm going to take her to the Hokage when we get back."
Both of her teammates' eyes go wide and then Minato gives a happy smile to me as I look at their faces. The shorter one makes to say something but Kushina's face hardens and her glare obviously meets his eyes as he steps back. He turns around and mumbles under his breath.
"Troublesome."
Minato gives me a knowing smile that says Once Kushina wants something she will have it. I smile at this and me and Minato share a light giggle.
"Well, our return has been postponed. The elder has requested that we take care of a large animal that has been killing livestock before we leave." The taller man says sternly. I piece together that he is in charge.
Kushina sets me down. "Miko-Chan? Can you get me a pear from the cart over there?"
I look to where she's pointing "Haii." I overhear their conversation despite Kushina's efforts.
"The last kill was a chicken on the east end of the Village. There is no description and we don't know what type of animal it is." The Captain says
"Wolves?" Kushina asks
"There aren't any packs in this area," Minato replies
I take this chance to speak up as I return with Kushina's pear.
"The beast," I say loud enough so they all turn to me.
"The beast?" Minato asks.
"Yeah, it's big, and it's really fast," I say
"I live in the east forest, i've never gotten a good look at it. The other kids in the village are too scared to go look for it. That's why I sleep there."
Kushina looks at Minato for what seems to be confirmation, and he nods. Minato bends down to look me in the eye.
"Do you think that if we took you to that part of the forest you would know where to look?"
I nod.
—
Zooming through the trees on Kushina's back for the first time was a feeling I'd never forget. Now all five of the leaf ninjas are with us and we make our way quickly through the forest. I feel as if I'm flying and can't stop smiling. Suddenly the air in my hair comes to a sudden halt as Kushina stops on a branch. I look around to realize that they have all stopped. The leader moves his hand in a funny way and the ninjas suddenly disappear. I look around again and only see Minato. He is far away and higher up. My nerves pick up as the forest has become deathly silent. My heart begins to race and it only stops when Kushina looks over her shoulder at me and smiles. The silence is broken by the whining sound of something through the air. It is getting louder and louder and Kushina's eyes go wide as she snaps her head forward. A kunai zooms towards my head. My eyes widen but my view of the forest is blocked in an instant as a figure appears in front of us. The sound of a metal clang rings through the trees. Peering up I notice that Minato is in front of us deflecting the Kunai with his own. At the same time, Kushina drops from the branch and begins to dash through the forest floor. I hug her tightly not knowing how fast we are going and how far we've moved when she suddenly slows down. She carefully pulls me off her back and walks over to a log that has fallen onto a few large boulders. A small cave like gap has been created between them. She places me into the gap and I look at her.
"I'll be right back. Stay very quiet and don't come out for anyone except me or Minato. Okay? Miko-Chan?"
I cover my mouth with both my hands and give a curt nod to tell Kushina that I'll be okay. She smiles and disappears in a blur.
—
A long time has passed since Kushina left and my heart has begun to race in worry. I hear a noise outside and slowly inch forward from my hiding spot to see the clearing ahead. Six people emerge from the treeline, all men, they are ninjas I can tell by their outfits and weapons but all of their metal plates are different except for a scratched line that goes through them. Two of them are bleeding one from a large gash across his chest and another from a hole in his arm.
"Shit! What the fuck is up with that blonde brat I can't even follow him!" the man with an injured arm yells.
"They have at least two jonin. The taller guy and that blonde brat are definitely elite."
"That's two-thirds of us gone including Raikou-sama"
"God Damn it, It was supposed to be an easy job!" Another shouts.
The largest man there is uninjured and suddenly looks in my direction. I flinch as his eyes meet mine.
"What's up Goro?" One asks.
"I sense two people. One has Jonin chakra and the other has Chunin level."
"Where are they?!" one of them asks hysterically
"I cannot pinpoint the Jonin but the Chunin is…" He points to the log and boulder where I'm hiding and they all turn to face it. I muffle my yelp and sink deeper into the gap but I hear footsteps approaching. A large arm suddenly grabs and yanks me hard. I cut myself on the splinters of the log and give a quiet scream. I am pulled completely out of the gap and he holds me up by my bicep. His hand easily wrapped around my arm.
"It's just a runt!" The man with the chest wound coughs.
"How the hell does a runt like that have so much chakra!?"
"Kill her and let's get an ambush prepared. We don't know where the Jonin will come from."
The large man known as Goro pulls out his wakizashi from his back and holds it high. My eyes go wide and I begin to cry aloud.
The rogue ninjas smirk at my crying and I see an opening when Goro looks away for a split second. Jerking my arm towards my face I bite on his fingers as hard as my small jaw can. Drawing blood he throws me to the side and holds his now wounded fingers.
"Little Bitch! You'll die slowly for that!" Goro yells
He takes a step towards me when sudden movement in the bush catches all of the ninja's attention. If you blinked you would have missed it. The largest cat I had ever seen leaps out of the bush and bites down on the jugular of one of the ninjas. Blood spurts everywhere and the ninja's corpse lies limp at the predator's feet. The eyes of the panther are quick as it assesses the situation making eye contact with me. It dashes to the right and a rogue nin attempts to pull out kunai but it is too slow and the beast's claws come down on him. Mauling him from upper shoulder to his opposite thigh. More blood flows but the Cat doesn't stop. It takes down another swiftly.
"What the fuck is up with that monster!?"
"Who cares! just kill it!"
Then the shout of the man with a chest wound yells out Water Style; Water bullet Justu! He brings his hand up to his mouth and shoots five bullets at the black cat that stands over its third kill. Just before the water shots reach it, a dome of orange and pink crystal rises surrounding and shielding the Panther. The water leaves dents in the Crystal but does not crack it. The Panther leaps through the crystal as if it were paper and bites down on the man's neck and he screams out. The last two ninjas back up. Goro now stands over me. He grabs me by my arm and puts me to his chest holding his blade to my throat. The cat stops approaching instead giving a dangerous snarl towards the man. Just then a three-pronged kunai goes into the forehead of Goro and he collapses to the ground. I'm dropped and land on my butt, I quickly scoot back from Goro's corpse not realizing that I am moving back towards the Panther. The other rogue-nin begins to make a break for it but is suddenly frozen.
"Shadow possession; Complete." And his head flies as the Captain of the leaf-nin cuts it off in one swing. I see all of the leaf shinobi appear from the tree line including Minato and Kushina. Then I hear the growl from behind me and my eyes go wide. I look over my shoulder and see the large panther is now only a few yards behind me
"Miko!" Kushina shouts
I quickly turn back to her and see that her grey eyes have turned red. The panther growls even louder when it sees this and I turn back to it as it lunges at me. Kushina makes a move to rush towards me but Minato blocks her with his arm. I close my eyes in fright. I hear a low growl and open my eyes slowly to see a tail hovering in front of me. I lean back and my head leans against black fur. The Panther surrounds me protectively growling at the leaf-nin. Their eyes widen this time and I am frozen in awe. The panther turns towards me and it realizes I have stopped crying. Reaching towards the panther, it looks at my hand approaching slowly. Leaning into my touch it lets out a quiet purr.
"It's okay they're friends," I say to it.
The panther gives a toothy grin. And I flinch at the blood dripping from its teeth. Then Kushina approaches and I stand up and hug her legs. I look back at the panther as Kushina picks me up into her arms. The panther sits on its hind legs coming at eye level with me due to its large size.
"I am Yua." It says in a surprising young female voice
A large puff of smoke appears around Yuas face. When the smoke dissipates a large scroll is sitting in Yua's mouth. Yua places it at her feet and gives another toothy blood filled grin.
~Flashback End~
I smile at the thought of Kushina-onee and Yua catches it.
"Whatcha smiling at?" Yua asks cheekily
"The day I met you." I say wit a small smile gracing my lips
Yua mock sniffles.
"Seems like just yesterday. Back then you were still pulling pranks and afraid of thunder" A stray tear rolls down the panther's face
"I never!" I defend. Half impressed by the actual good acting Yua just displayed. She sticks her tongue out and gives a shit-eating grin to her summoner.
We begin to approach the academy. Yua is larger than the average panther, on all fours she still manages to come up to my chest
"Hey, Shadow now." I said calmly yet with a stern edge
"Whaa come on!" she drags out
"You don't want to scare the children." I respond
"I won't! Children love me!" She exclaimed
I raise a pointed eyebrow at her, memories of the Anbu being called and a disturbing Hokage meeting flashes in my mind. The complaints were that Yua was casually walking through the busy market and scared half of Konoha. I just look at her.
She snorts a laugh.
"Hai Hai" she pouts lazily, and disappears into my shadow.
'It's only for a while, I'll let you out during the bell test to scare the gakis'
'I accept your proposal'
I roll my eyes at her and begin to make my way up the side of the academy using chakra. Walking up I take notice of my undone tape around my ankles. When I reach the roof I adjust my outfit. I am wearing the standard black Anbu pants and sandals. I wear a cropped dark navy blue t-shirt with a tight fishnet shirt underneath, its sleeves going to my elbows. The standard jonin gloves and vest complete my outfit. My auburn hair is tied into a high ponytail falling to my upper back, two loose bangs frame my face and my hitai-ate is tied loosely around my neck. I begin to walk towards the door on the roof.
'Miko you should go late to see what they do.'
'Please I'm not Kakashi Yua.'
'I'm saying one hour no more no less. Just to test them!'
'Hmm.'
'Come onn' Yua eggs on
'Sigh…Yua you're such a bad influence.'
'You love me.'
'I do.'
—
"Ahh Where is our Sensei! She's late!" A short blonde haired boy shouts in frustration. He's wearing all orange with his headband tied around his forehead
"Naruto just sit down!" Shrieks a pink haired girl from her spot. She's wearing a red battle dress. Her headband also tied up but resting atop her head. Bangs framed her face while the rest of her hair falls freely down to her shoulders
"No way Sakura-chan! All the other teams already left!" The blonde shouts back heatedly. While he begins to place a small ladder by the doorway.
"Dobe what're you doing." Another boy asked with annoyance etched on his face most likely from all the noise. He has on white shorts with white arm warmers to match and a dark blue shirt with a high colour. His headband is dark blue almost black and can barely be seen in his raven spiked back hair, the metal plate only giving it away with its placement at the centre of his forehead.
"Shut it teme, this is what she gets for coming in late! Believe it!" The blonde now named Naruto, or Dobe to the others shouted back.
"Naruto don't talk to Sasuke-kun like that! And take that down you're asking for trouble." Sakura says as she gets up from her seat and walks closer to the door. The hint of smirk quickly overshadowed by a concerned look.
"So what! She's late!" Naruto shouts once more and grumbles in annoyance
"Our Sensei is an elite Jonin you really think that she'll be fooled by something so stupid." Sasuke A.k.a Teme says stoically with a deadpan face covered by his crossed fingers.
'Bleh..' Yua groans
'I know right…' I responded through our link.
"You'll see teme!" Naruto yells jumping down from the step ladder where he left a chalkboard eraser stuck in the top of the sliding door to the classroom.
"Hmm…Do you think it'll work?" I ask from beside Naruto and Sakura.
Sakura and Sasuke's eyes widen.
"Hell yeah! it'll work I bet we got the weakest Sensei!" Naruto says.
"Hmmm." I continue.
Sasuke's eyes dart to the window.
Locked?? How did she get in here? I didn't even feel her presence until she spoke; it was like she appeared out of thin air!
"N-N-Naruto!"
"Yea Sakura-chan?" Naruto turns to face her but is met with the side of someone taller. Glancing upward Naruto's face pales as he sees me squinting at the door holding my chin in question debating if the trick will work.
"What the? Who are you?!" Naruto yells
I smile and give a two-finger wave
"Hiya I'm Miko, Your new Sensei."
"How did you get in here!" Sasuke demands
"That's a secret gaki." I say with a wink. A tick mark appears on Sasuke's head.
"Hahahaha! She called Teme gaki!" Naruto howls. I walk over to the window and open it while Naruto continues to laugh.
"Meet me at training ground seven in four minutes if you're late there will be consequences." I smile and disappear in a Shunshin. Sasuke's and Sakura's eyes go wide and Naruto wipes a tear from his eye. His laugh dies down and he looks up.
"Hey? Where'd she go?" Naruto asked confusion on his face
"To training ground seven! It's halfway across the village!" Sakura yells.
"What?!!" Naruto shouts his face going white
"We have to go!" she continues
The newly-promoted genin rush out the door. Watching them from the roof of the academy I watch as they sprint out of the academy doors and down the street. Sigh..they'll be late at that pace. Oh well, more to work on I guess.
—
I sit on one of the poles in the middle of the training ground. With one leg crossed over the other, I wait and file my nails. A look of boredom stuck on my face.
'They're really late…'
'And whose fault is that? You gave fresh genin four minutes to travel across the village.'
'Pft at their age I was a hundred times better.'
'Miko you're not exactly normal.'
'Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!'
'Nothing. Bye.' Yua cut off the link and I glanced up to see my team rush into the training ground taking rapid breaths. They approach me with nervous faces.
"It's been eleven minutes and fifty-two seconds." The rookies' gulp I give them a wide grin.
"Well, punishments can wait. Let's do introductions!"
"What are we supposed to say?" Sakura asks.
"Likes, Dislikes, Dreams." I answer curtly.
"Can you go first so we know how to do it?" She asks nicely.
"Nope!" I say with a smile. Sakura just gapes at my blunt response
"I'll be going last. Now then, you first Blondie." I say pointing at him
"Right! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like cup ramen but what I really like is ramen from Ichiraku that Iruka sensei treats me to. I dislike the three minutes you have to wait after you pour water into cup ramen and my hobby is eating and comparing ramen. As for my dream…It's to surpass all the previous Hokage and get the village to acknowledge me!"
"I see…That's a good dream. Next is you Pinkie."
"My likes are… I mean, the one I like is… My dream is to.." Sakura Squeaks loudly in between glances at Sasuke.
'Bleh.'
'Bleh.'
"Okay! Stop! You failed introductions!" Sakura's jaw hits the ground
"Next! you! Over there, gloomy."
Naruto covers his mouth so he doesn't laugh out loud and even Sakura's mood rubber bands to that of cheerful.
'Is she Bipolar Yua?'
'Maybe..'
"My name is…Sasuke Uchiha, I have many dislikes and there are few things I like in particular. I don't feel like summing up my ambition as a dream. But I do have an ambition! That is to restore my clan and to kill a certain man."
'Yikes.' Yua compliments
'Yea he needs a lot of work.'
"Alright, then you all have goals despite how weird or edgy they are. Now then I would like you all to ask something you expect of me. Something you want me to do during your time under me."
"Help me become strong so I can surpass the Hokages!"
"Uhh… I would like to get to know you Miko-Sensei."
"Help me become strong to fulfill my ambition."
"Right as you current Sensei it is my responsibility to support these wishes and in return, I ask for respect and I don't want you to be late to any meetings during our time together. Any questions?" Naruto's hand shoots up
"Hai! Miko-Sensei!" He says in a pleasant tone
"Haii! Naaruto-Kuun!" I say dragging out the vowels
"You were late!" He said with a bright smile.
"..."
'Yua!!'
'Hehehehe'
I cough into my hand "That was a test of patience if you were to leave the classroom you would have failed. Any more questions?" They stare blankly at me as if not buying my excuse.
"Now then because you were late to this meeting there was mention of punishment," I state
Sasuke's hand raises
"Sensei."
"Hai Sasuke-kun."
"We were late because it was a test of patience." He states with a sly smile on his face.
"..."
'Hahahahahaha' Yua roars in my head. 'I like these brats already!'
"Hmm. Okay, you win… no punishments today. Now then, as for my introduction. My name is Miko Namikaze. But you can call me Miko-sensei or Miko-chan~ on days off."
Sasuke's and Sakura's eyes once again widen. Catching Naruto's attention
"Hey what's with you guys?"
Sakura just points at me "She's a Namikaze!"
"What is that clan really cool or something?" Naruto asked unimpressed
"As in Minato Namikaze…" Sasuke replied, annoyed. Naruto's face scrunches up in thought. Where have I heard that name before…Oh!
"That guy across the street?!" Naruto yells confidently
"No you idiot the Fourth Hokage!" Sakura yells back. Naruto's eyes go wider. Then he chuckles embarrassed. He sheepishly rubs the back of his head.
"Oh yeah, that's where it's from…Wait are you related to that guy?!"
"Hm? No, but I was accepted into the clan by him." I responded with a smile.
"C-Cool," Naruto says in awe.
I smile at his antics and begin to question what he has been doing in class for the last eight years. Damn Minato and his will.
'You cannot tell him until he is fifteen Miko.'
'I know. I know very well.'
"Anyways I am your new sensei and this is my first time teaching a genin squad. I served during the third great ninja war and my favorite thing is ice cream… and Dango. I also have a summon but she will join us during our first mission tomorrow. Yes, Sakura-chan?"
"What type of summoning do you have?"
"That's a surprise~. Now, tomorrow I want you here at eleven in the morning sharp and make sure you eat breakfast and stretch before coming. I want you at your best, understand?"
"Hai!" the three say in unison.
"Alright then dismissed."
—
I walk to the dango stand with my hands in my pockets and look up to see Asuma, Kurenai and Gai sitting at the bar. Asuma notices me first and waves
"Hey Miko!" He calls me. Wearing the standard jonin outfit but his guardian twelve sash hangs from under his vest.
"Hey." I responded as I sat down beside him
"How was your team?" Kurenai asks as she is served a plate and unfolds her napkin.
"I guess what'd you expect from a fangirl, an emo and a class clown." I responded
"Yeah I understand you…I'm going to have to break one of my genin out of their fangirl faze as well." Asuma interjects dulley.
"They show potential…more than recent years, but they need a lot of work… How has your team been recently Gai?" I say towards the man on the other side of Kurenai, the green beast of Konoha still wearing the skin tight jumpsuit and bowl haircut.
"Yosh! Miko-Chan, I am glad you asked! My students are full of the burning flame of youth! Especially young Lee!" Joyful Tears run down Gai's face with each word.
"I see that you never change. Gai-san" I say with a smirk.
"Please don't remind me." Kurenai says annoyed. She wears a dress made of what seems like strands of paper and red sleeves it is all connected and fits her tightly showing off her curves.
"Hey, are you guys doing the bell test?" I ask.
Kurenai and Asuma shake their heads.
"I've got something else planned," Kurenai says with a shrug.
"I don't think the bell test would work with my group anyway. They are already close because of their families. So I'm doing something else as well. What about you?" Asuma asks me.
"Bell test with a twist," I smile evilly "Yua's gonna help out." I say with my jaw resting in my hand and one leg crossed over in my Bar stool.
Kurenai puts her finger to her chin in contemplation while Asuma and Gai slightly pale.
"I pray for your genin squad." Kurenai states coming to a solid conclusion.
"Mikoo-chan~" A singsong voice calls out and it is unmistakable. Arms snake around me quite literally as a familiar mess of purple hair nudges into my side.
"Hey Anko-chan" I say. She then snatchs a dango stick off my plate and consumes it as if it were air.
"Are you busy later? Wanna help me break in the newbies at interrogation?"
"Would I ever." Getting out of my seat and walking off with her We both laugh as we begin to head to the interior HQ.
"I also pray for those newbies." Asuma grumbles, earning quick nods from the
others.
—
I do stretches while waiting for my team to arrive. I look up to the sound of them approaching.
"Morning Gaki's!" I shout at them.
Naruto waves back eagerly while Sasuke and Sakura flank his sides with dull looks on their faces. I smirk slightly at this.
"Morning Sensei!" Naruto beams with a face of excitement
"Ready for your first assignment?" I smile at him.
"You know it! Dattebayo!"
"Right then! Today your task is to take these," I say while I hold up two bells.
They give me a confused look so I elaborate.
"Your task is to take these from me. If you don't have one by twelve o'clock then I will be sending you back to the academy." I say with a full smile
"Wha- the academy?!" Naruto shouts.
"…" Is she serious? There are only two bells which means one of us will go back no matter what. Sasuke ponders.
"If you do not come at me with the intent to kill me you will never be able to take them," I say with a wide grin. Sakura takes this chance to raise her hand.
"Yes, Sakura-chan?"
"Sensei? Um, what is this for? we already passed the genin exams."
"Well in all truth those exams are not your final exam, this is!" I say nonchalantly.
"Now I will give you all a five-minute head start to prepare while I wait here. When five minutes is up Yua will go and look for you."
"Who is Yua?" Sasuke asks.
"That'd be me~!" Yua hums from behind the genin casting a large shadow over the three. They turn slowly towards her, fright clear on their faces when they see just what is behind them. They don't realize but I notice the subtle killing intent that she emits.
"You will be tasked to hide from Yua and then come get the bells from me here."
Yua gives the genin a smile with her fangs showing on purpose.
"Don't worry I won't eat you…today," Yua says politely.
"Ready…Go!" All the genin disappear including Naruto who dashes to the forest. That thing is crazy big! I'm gonna be tiger lunch! Naruto disappears in the treeline and I glance at Yua.
"Was that really necessary?" I ask her.
"Quite." She states, her smile never leaving her mouth.
I suddenly sense as though I'm being watched and look to my right to the entrance of the training ground to see Asuma and his team at the fence. I see Asuma point at me. I read his lips,
'See? That thing's gonna chase them. So no more complaining. You're lucky you got me Shikamaru.'
I sweatdrop and look at the pale faces of the genin and wave at them. They return my wave back awkwardly and Asuma walks them towards the village.
"Hey, Yua, how long has it been?"
"Hm? Like thirty seconds."
"Okay, you can go."
Yua then dashes towards the forest. In a fit of speed and vanished in a blur, rustling the treeline only slightly.
—
Sasuke POV~
I see the panther start running in the direction Naruto left in. What the hell it's not even been a minute! I watch closely as Sensei reaches for her pocket. A weapon? I stare as she pulls out a scroll and begins writing. She's practicing calligraphy…What the hell. I continue to watch as she picks up the paper and the bells and pushes them together. The bells go up in a puff of smoke and the paper rolls back into a scroll. Sensei places the scroll on one of the poles in the middle of the clearing and then- What's she doing? I stare with a confused face as she lies down on the ground with her arms behind her head and closes her eyes. From my tree branch, I start to scan the area. I see Naruto start to cross the clearing from the opposite end of where the Panther left. He creeps slowly behind the pole and Sensei. As he inches closer and closer to the pole I wait for him to be caught. To my surprise, he jumps and grabs the scroll then dashes back to the treeline. She didn't react? it must have been a trap. My suspicions are confirmed when she pulls two bells out of her pocket and dangles them above her face like grapes. I begin to contemplate my options. Naruto took the bait and Yua is nowhere in sight so it must be after Sakura. If I face her now I can get them! I dash quickly off the branch and rush my new teacher. I throw a few kunai at her downed form only for her to disappear in a puff of smoke. Wha-
"You lack patience." She says from behind me.
Turning I swing a kick but she ducks. I throw a punch to her lower form only for her to divert my fist to the side. I leap back going through hand signs
"Fire style; Fireball Justu!" I shout
Her eyes look unfazed as the fireballs approach her. Her face falls into a smirk and she stands up straight. The fire balls collide with her in a large explosion. Assuming she got away I turned to see where. I hear a few coughs and look back to the smoke as it dissipates. She waves her hand to clear the smoke and emerges standing there completely unscathed. What'd she do? I didn't see any signs or hear anything!
"Pretty good gloomy… you surprised me," she says plainly. I stand straight up, a few meters separating us.
"What'd you do?" I ask. How can she be completely unaffected? She may be a jonin but that was an elemental jutsu! A grin appears on her face.
"Want me to teach you?" She asks me. To which I slowly nod.
"Then pass my test." She says as she pulls the bells out and attaches them to her waistline. I rush forward with a kunai in hand and swipe for her neck. She vanishes in an blury flash and appears behind me. My eyes follow but my body cannot. She grabs onto her right wrist
"Release" she says in a whisper I barely catch. A puff of smoke appears on her arm to reveal a long chain. My eyes widened. She disappears again. I blink and my stomach feels a slight pull. When I open my eyes I find myself upside down bound by the chains hanging from a tree branch.
"Don't worry you still have a hour so just hang out here." She gives a two finger wave and walks away.
—
Naruto POV~
Nice! This test is so easy! I push chakra into the scroll with the bells in it only for a net to spring out and pin me to a tree
"What the heck!" I squirm to try and loosen my bounds to no avail. I hear a rustling in the bush and my nerves pick up. The large panther hops out and looks me in the eye.
"Ah! Don't eat me!" I scream It gives a smirk and approaches me slowly.
"What do we have here?" It asks.
I squirm more, again, changing nothing. What is this net made of!
"Hello gaki." She says with a slight show of fangs
"H-hello, Yao." I say, A tick mark appears on the dark tigers forehead
"It's Yua brat." She says immediately now only a few inches from my face
"Uhh Sorry," I'm still squirming against the tree and I can't make any progress. This rope is seriously tight!
"Want me to help you?" Yua asks again as she stalks around the tree looking at me like a bowl of ramen.
"What really!? Sur- wait this isn't a trick is it?" I ask once she comes around
"No, I will free you in exchange for the pink one's location." Yua asked with a grin. She sat in front of me on her hind legs.
My face went blank as i processed what was proposed. All I have to do is tell Yua where Sakura-chan is and she'll free me.
"No way! I don't need any help!" I shouted back at the same time trying and failing to get out of my binds. Seriously how is this rope!?
"Suit yourself." Yua said as she stalked away from me.
—
"I see…Go find Sakura and do something similar Yua," Yua nodded then disappeared in a shunshin
"Now then," Perched up in a tree, Miko looked over the clearing at Sasuke still tightly bound by chakra chains hanging upside down. Waiting Miko watched closely as Naruto emerged from the end of the clearing.
"Where did sensei go! Dang! I need to get those bells."
"..." Sasuke looked up to the loud entrance with a glare.
"Oy teme! What're you glaring at!?" Naruto shouted
"Get lost dobe, Sensei went that way."
"Wait… are you stuck? Hahaha! Need help?"
"Like I would need help" was Sasuke's
cold reply
"Fine then! I wasn't gonna help you anyway! I'll get those bells and become the best ninja, dattebayo!" He said heatedly. Miko watched as Naruto ran away quickly in search of her.
These brats are hopeless.
—
Sakura POV
Where did everyone go? Gosh I need to find Sasuke-kun so that we can get the bells. My thoughts were broken by the sudden sound of growling. Turning quickly I came face to face with bright amber eyes complete with dark thin pupils. The larger panther leaped out gracefully landing a few feet away from me. I pulled out a kunai and held it protectively.
"What're you gonna do with that?" Yua asked
"F-F-Fight." I tried to say it with confidence but it came out in a stuttering mess. Who could blame me? This cat is as tall as me, no it's even taller! It's the perfect image of fear!
"That's what that gloomy brat said before I ate him." She replied in a bored tone
"W-W-What?"
Yua sat on her hind legs and lifted her paw to her mouth. She drew her claw and began to pick her fangs that had a slight pinkish color as if she had just hunted.
"I was gonna look for that loud brat first because he seemed to have the most muscle out of you three. Although I lost his trail."
I watched horrified until Yua began to cough. Yua coughed loudly then spat a hairball out. It landed closer to my foot and I looked down at it. My eyes went wide as I saw Sasuke's arm warmer mixed into the abnormally large hairball.
"N-No way." I said under my breath
I heard noise in front of me and turned up to be met face to face with a growling panther only centimeters apart. My heart raced and my muscles tensed. It was too much and my vision went dark.
—
Yua P.O.V
Did I take it too far? That was a lot of KI… Well whatever tehe~
Like I would eat any one of these brats, especially his brother. Now to find Miko-chan~
The time was almost up so I scooped Sakura onto my back and started walking to the main clearing. As I approached it my ears began to pick up shouting.
I stalked slowly into the open with an unconscious cub still on my back.
Hoh they're going at it.
~~~~
Miko swiftly dodged another uncoordinated punch to the side and pushed the follow up kick away. Naruto never letting up with his rapid attacks.
His fighting style is less of a style and more of an uncomfortable mess but he is still going for openings and seems to know when and when not to attack me. Miko thought. Interesting enough it's as if he taught himself. Every attack seems to work well with his build. Jumping back and creating distance Naruto brought his hands in a familiar sign.
"How about this! Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A large smoke cloud enveloped the clearing revealing at least fifty shadow clones. Miko's eyes slightly widened, Now that's a surprise. A smirk appeared on Miko's face and she brought her hands up and waved towards herself.
"Come." She said
——
"How much chakra does that gaki have!?" I heard Yua shout from the treeline.
Alot it seems. However, is it a result of his blood or tenant? I looked closely to figure out my situation. Sasuke is still bound over there, Yua just arrived with Sakura, so I can go all out. The clones circled me and began to charge. Might as well have some fun. Blocking attack after attack I quickly started to decrease the number of clones. Each target only getting a chance to throw a single attack before disappearing in a puff of smoke. I spammed handseals
"Fire style; Dance of the dragon" I whispered My fists became coated in a blue flame as I began to retaliate against the clones wiping them out in swift long arm movements destroying three at a time.
The clone's numbers began dropping rapidly until less than twenty remained. What is that technique? If I had that My fire style could become so mucvh stronger.
Sasuke thought. Jumping up into the air as the fire on my fists faded I threw a senbon needle that had paper wrapped around it tightly at a large bunched up group of clones. The Narutos all jumped back and watched as the senbon stuck out of the ground. It stayed there for a moment but suddenly seal markings sprayed out in a large array across the ground. A bright light came from the pattern and then a wave of vibration was shot out from the senbon. It forced many of the Narutos to cover their ears but the vibration eventually destroyed the clones as the wave after wave passed over them. A large cloud of smoke remained and as it settled it disappeared to reveal the real one knocked off his feet.
"What the heck?!" The last Naruto yelled covering his ears while rolling on the ground.
"Like it? It's a new toy I made."
Recovering Naruto stood up quickly and bagan to dash for my still form when the timer went off loudly.
"times up!"
—
All three of my genin sat impatiently in front of me.
"Congratulations! you all failed horribly. You guys will never be ninja." I said loudly with a smile. They looked at me with shame creeping on their faces.
"Do you know why you failed?" I asked to which Sakura slowly raised her hand.
"Because no one got a bell." She stated
"Nope~!"
"…"
"Huh?"
"Hn"
"Because you all failed to figure out the true meaning." The collection of children stared dumbly up at me. A large tick grew on my forehead as I realized that they were hopeless.
"Everyone look at that stone, it has the name of many shinobi from our village. Each one of them are heroes of the leaf."
I glanced at my genin then my eyes landed on Naruto and was surprised by his sparkly eyed face. Wait, didn't they learn about the memorial in the academy? I thought to myself. I watched him as he leaped up onto his feet.
"Right! I'll make sure that my name gets put on that stone! Then everyone will respect me!"
"No!" Yua shouted in a low growl from the side causing the genin to startle and Naruto to cower a little.
"I will never let that happen, Naruto." I said solemnly "This stone is a tablet with the names of shinobi who have died for our village." Naruto was left speechless and just looked down
"Oh." Naruto said ashamed
I ruffled his spiky hair and he looked up at me. I gave him a small smile to comfort him before continuing
"I knew many people on this tablet all of which were true shinobi and knew what the will of fire ment." I looked at Naruto. "To protect those that are important to you and to never give up doing it." I walked over to the three poles in the middle of the training ground and leaned up against the centre one. The four there followed me. Yua lay down behind me while the three genin sat down in front.
"The test was for teamwork. Sasuke, you never attempted to work with your teammates and Sakura, you only tried to help Sasuke ignoring Naruto. Naruto, you came the closest to passing, when Yua questioned you and you refused to give away Sakura's position. However, I believe that was more because you wanted to prove that you could get free without help rather than your refusal being to protect her." The genin were looking at each other and then looked down trying to avoid My hard gaze.
"I will give you all a new task then. If you complete it by the end of the day then I will become your new sensei." The genin looked at up at me hopefully an evil smirk made its way onto my face.
"Find and retrieve this cat by the end of today and you will become genin." I handed each of them a flyer with a picture of Tora plastered on the front with the title missing. Yua's mouth dropped and she looked up at me. I noticed her shock and put a finger over my mouth to tell her not to say anything.
"Tora? This'll be easy let's do it guys I'm gonna become the Hokage! dattebayo" Naruto shouted excitedly, eliciting a hopeful smile from Sakura and a prideful smirk from Susake.
~~~~~
"I don't want to be a ninja anymore." Naruto said dejectedly with a pale face
"All that time spent…we finally get that demon back, then that lady dropped it and it runs off again." Naruto howls
Yua begins to chuckle. Me and Yua stand behind the three newly appointed genin and start to walk back to the training ground.
"Congratulations you three are now genin after completing your first D-rank, technically you found and caught tora…even if she did escape right away." I explained as we Arrived at the training ground. Seeing it was still bright out I had an Idea.
"Okay we still have a bit of time before we're done for today so let's do some basic training." I started.
"Sasuke and Naruto, you'll do thirty laps with Yua. Sakura you're with me." I said. Naruto grumbled and marched off with the two
"Oi teme! I bet I'll do my laps faster than you and your duckbutt hair!" Naruto said with a grin. An even larger grin began to spread across Yua's mouth as well
"What was that dobe?" Sasuke asked through grinding teeth as the three of then began running
"Okay Sakura. Tell me about yourself"
"Okay but what for Miko-Sensei?"
"Well during ice breakers I noticed the signs of fangirlism and didn't let you finish and during the bell test I couldn't gauge your skills. So let's restart okay?"
"Fangirlism?" She asks skeptically.
"Yes, a very serious disorder that if not treated early can be terminal." I said seriously, Maybe a hint of Bipolar disorder as well.
"You think I have this disorder?!" Sakura said in worry
"Yes, that is why we have to cure you. Firstly I'm giving you a food plan."
"Oh I'm already on a diet."
"This is worse than I thought."
"Huh?" She asked
"Alright Sakura over the next few weeks I'm rebuilding you from the ground up. Prepare yourself this is going to be a hellish bootcamp." I state. Standing up with my arms crossed, Sakura could only sit nervously.
——
A month has passed since the formation of team seven. Their days mostly consisted of training and D-ranks. Due to Miko allowing Naruto to use shadow clones during D-ranks they got through them much faster much to the benefit of Sasuke and Sakura albeit for different reasons. Sasuke so he could have more training time and Sakura so she wouldn't have to do 'such menial tasks'. Naruto was happy either way. He had begun to get along well with his team and would always have fun with Yua as they both cracked jokes at Miko-sensei's expense. She would usually let it slide but always reminded him that she was incharge of his training and could always increase the amount. Miko had started them on chakra control and all three of them were much stronger than they were a month ago. Sakura making the most impressive improvements. She was now low-genin level according to Yua and Mikos standards and could defend herself if she needed to. Naruto now had a proper teacher and a strict one that was more focused on his training. Miko had been quite pissed off when she had figured out that not only did the academy hold him back on purpose but they would also sabotage him by teaching wrong things or even just straight up changing his marks. There was no wonder the kid barely even showed up to class until later years. The first weeks of Naruto's individual training had mostly been catching up and studying stuff that he should have known. It also wasn't a surprise that the curriculum had seriously changed from how Miko remembered it. When the Hokage had allowed the civilian council an inch of power they had taken a mile. It was especially noticeable on the kunoichi side of things. The curriculum became filled with pointless things like flower pressing and other useless abilities. Lessons about being a good housewife. It was clear that the council was trying to appeal to more civilian backgrounds and stack the shinobi forces. Miko had made a point to bring it up at the next meeting. She was the Namikaze head after all. Besides all of the politics Naruto's ability had improved in leaps and bounds. Naruto was casily mid to high genin level in terms of strength. Sasuke had improved as well, easily being high-genin. Miko had conditioned them as well as worked on expanding their chakra pools. Taught them all new taijutsu styles and moves that fit each of them. All in all she had made great progress. They were more than ready for C-ranks but she wanted to do some different types of lessons before that.
"Alright today we don't have any D-ranks." I stated to them
"Yea! So what're we doin instead Miko-sensei?" Naruto asked
Pulling out a small piece of paper I ripped three pieces and gave one to each of them.
"This is chakra paper. It will tell you your elemental affinity, elemental training is usually a jonin technique." This gained Sasuke's attention. Miko-Sensei is going to teach us jonin techniques? Those teachers at the Academy slowed me down. I should have had her teaching me from the start!
"Now because Sasuke is an Uchiha he already knows some fire jutsu so I assume his affinity is fire but he might have more than one. The same goes for both of you." I said to the three.
"Each of you will push some chakra into your pieces. Sakura you first." She as told and most of Sakura's paper began to crumble away but at the opposite corner a tiny space became a little damp. I caught this instantly and Yua appeared from my shadow startling Naruto and Sakura.
"Yeesh I'll never get used to that" Naruto grumbled
"Miko-sensei what does this mean?" Sakura asked. Yua answered first.
"It means you have a strong element for Earth." She said
"And from what I can tell, You have a tiny affinity for water. Which is quite the surprise as well as impressive considering your background." I added on.
"Woah Sakura-chan that's cool you got two!" Naruto said excitedly Sakura smiled at the praise from her peers
"Unfortunately I can't help you with earth style however…" I said dragging on and side eyeing Yua.
"I have earth style and Use crystal release." Yua grumbled
"You can use Jutsu?!" Naruto shouted in surprise. Causing me to chuckle and Sasuke to hit his forehead in a rare moment of him genuinely being dumbfounded by how dumb Naruto could be.
"Most summons can?.." Yua trailed off in a thinking manner.
"Oi Gaki I've used jutsu in front of you before!" Yua said heatedly
"Huh really?" Naruto paused to think back to the times Yua would beat him up during training. Slapping his fist to his palm he remembers the time he was fully encased in an orange crystal much to my worry and everyone else's at the time
"Oh yeah." Naruto says
"Anyways." I interrupted.
"Sakura, once you get stronger that will be your next step in training. Also with your chakra control that water affinity might come in handy."
"Why's that sensei?" Sakura asked
"Well most medical justus are based on water techniques however, not all of them. We need support for this team. I know a few medical jutsu but I'm no tsunade." I said sagely
"Tsundere?" Naruto asked.
A very large tick mark formed on my forehead. Yua just burst out laughing
"Oh yes she is! hahahah!" Yua howled while rolling on the floor. One explosive tag later and Yua was sitting beside the genin again.
"Alright Naruto your turn." I said
Naruto did as told and everyone watched as his paper instantly split in two. One side became very damp while the other crumpled up. Yua's eyes and mine widened, then we looked at each other in surprise.
"Naruto it looks like you've got three affinities: Water, lightning and Wind. Wind being your strongest" I said with a warm smile
"Yata!" Naruto shouted in excitement
"Having three elements is incredible. Having two elements is rare enough and it was a huge surprise pinky over there had two. What's with these monster gakis?" Yua said.
Sasuke sat still Three affinities?! How is dobe that strong? It's not just that. Miko-sensei thinks I haven't noticed his healing but it's insane scratches disappear within moments. Narutos an orphan right? just who were his parents?
"Alright your turn Sasuke"
Sasuke pushed chakra into the paper and on opposite sides it instantly crumbled then burst into flames. The folds of his lightning being much more significant than Narutos
"Looks like you're Lighting and Fire, that makes sense as most in Konoha have fire affinity. It would seem you have more of a lightning affinity than Naruto." I said to him
"What are your affinities, Sensei?" Sasuke asked
A proud smirk made its way onto my face
"Oh here we go." Yua grumbled
"Hehehe. I'm glad you asked Sasuke-kun"
I then pulled out a piece of paper and pushed chakra into it. All of the genin watched expectantly only to be confused as nothing happened.
"Huh, did you do it yet sensei?" Naruto asked
"Yes! I have no affinity!"
"Huh! Really?!" All three of them yelled in unison
"Yep~!" I said in singsong tone with a peace sign
"But you've used elements before miko-sensei." Sakura said
"Yep! Having affinities does not mean that you are limited to your affinity or that you cannot learn elemental jutsu. All affinities mean is that your chakra is similar to the element and learning your attuned elements will be much easier."
"So what does that mean and what elements do you know Sensei?" Sauske asked
"What it means is that you will be able to learn lots of strong and different elemental jutsu Sasuke-kun." I said with a grin. This made Sasuke's interest only increase. 'I can already tell what's going through his mind.' I thought about sending it to the link between me and Yua. 'Yeah might become a problem soon.'
'I'll deal with it.'
"And to answer your second question I have mastery over water release, fire release and lightning release. I'm currently trying to learn wind release but it's quite hard to get the hang of honestly. I also have a Yin and Yang release but I'll get into that another day. I guess while I'm at it might as well talk about some of my other skills. I'm pretty adept at kenjutsu, though not as good as Hayate-kun or scarecrow. I'm Konoha's number one fuinjutsu specialist. My taijutsu is good but I'd probably lose to a specialist…"
——
"Now look at what you've done…" Yua grumbled, causing the genin to look at her all the while Miko kept talking "No wonder she's single, all she does is talk about herself." Yua said, causing sweat drops from all except Sasuke.
"..and as for genjutsu I can disable most but have too much chakra to cast. I usually rely on seals for protection from those, thinking of! I should probably fix up some of those seals when I get home…" Miko kept ranting on. The genin watched as Yua slowly walked around their chatting Sensei. Yua then bit on Mikos ankle
"Ow! What the hell Yua!"
"Are you done yet?" Miko looked back towards the genin
"Hehe yeah" she said sheepishly
——
A few days later
"What's this p-place Sensei?" Sakura asked
"This will be our last assignment after this I'm thinking about doing C-ranks"
All of the genin perked up at this.
"Welcome to the forest of death. Or training ground 44!" Their happy faces disappeared as if they never existed
"You all are much more advanced than the other rookie teams with more D-ranks under your belts as well as better individual skills. All thanks to my great teaching! Anyways today we're hunting. I want you all to bring back something the size of Yua by lunch." Yua just chuckled from inside the shadow
'That's a little much doncha think Miko-chan'
'I think I'm going easy. I made my first kill well before I was their age. This is so they don't get scared on real missions.'
'Why don't I just blast them with some KI then?'
'I want to teach them to not be scared, not knock them unconscious…'
'Hmph No fun at all'
'Come out your gonna trail Sakura in there' Yua leaped out of my shadow in a cloud of dark smoke.
"Alright you guys can start. The point of this experience is that you all have to make a kill. If you have a problem with that then you better pack up and leave right now." A look of determination made its way on the boy's face and they dashed into the forest. Wall running up the trees both Naruto and Sasuke raced through the branches. 'They must have turned it into a contest' Sakura ran off soon after and I nodded to Yua while I went after the boys.
~
Where is that late good for nothi-
"Yo Miko,"I turned quickly and came face to face with the cyclops.
"Hey." I responded. Kakashi just gave a closed eye smile
"So I'm following Sasuke?"
"Yes."
"Okay." In a swift flash Kakashi and had gone after the young Uchiha.
Honestly so annoying…
~Flashback~
Dashing past the trees and branches became a blurry mess of colours. Taking a small peak over my shoulder I see the Iwa Anbu forces hot on my trail.
Five, no six left.
Continuing my speed through the treetops of waterfall country a large tree suddenly appeared in front of me. Rotating my body forward, I angle my feet towards the bark and in a feat that few could manage I first flare a large portion of chakra to my feet to brace my contact. When my feet meet the tree there is no impact and I send another large impulse of my chakra in the same moment to launch myself 180 degrees directly behind me. Twirling with my chakra enforced blades I swing forward and cleanly decapitate two of the anbu. Not making any sound until the bodys and heads hit the ground. I continue forward now going in the direction towards Iwa. I stop in a small clearing and the remaining four land in a diamond shape putting me in the centre.
"Can't we come to an agreement boys?" I taunt.
Although my smirk is invisible behind my hunter mask they are probably picturing it with the sound of my voice. When Sarutobi had decided to create a mock division of Kuri's prized tracker-nin. I volunteered immediately. I always liked solo missions although technically it's a duo if I counted Yua. A couple years in I still loved these missions but half a platoon of Iwa nin could really change your thinking. If I'm being a hundred percent honest a mission like this might make someone retire, if they even lived.
They don't physically react to my verbal taunting so I decide to keep at it.
"Were You guys close to anyone back there? Any family on those squads? Friends? Lovers? I saw some nice kunoichi bodies in that group." The guy to my right flitched slightly. But he quickly attempts to hide it.
My smirk widened a bit and I dashed at him with all my strength. All of them began dashing in on me in response. Now in a mix of emotions and being caught off guard the anbu in front of me yelled out and threw a kunai at me. With a slight tilt of my body I side step the flying metal and it sores past and lands into the forehead of another. I block his punch and grab his fist and with one hand I start zooming through signs. I breathe out and his body is enveloped in a large aqua blue flame. Leaving his corpse charred in ash. By studying the black flames of Amaterasu I learned to adjust my fire style and chakra. These flames won't burn forever but they'll be a real bitch to try and put out and if a jutsu hits your upper body it's pretty much Hisshi.
I turn quickly and get locked into a taijutsu battle with the last two.
Tch. Not my strong suit. One sweeps their leg and I jump but the other quickly capitalises with a high kick. I bring up my arm and block the foot heading towards my temple but am still launched to the side. In mid air I flip and throw an explosive note wrapped kunai to their position making them both leap away. I land on my feet and start on another set of hand seals taking the moisture out of the humid jungle. I spit a huge water dragon at the two. They each counter quickly by making two large earth walls. As soon as the dragon starts flying at them I go through another set and send lightning to my hands. The dragon becomes charged in a mass of sparkling water and electricity. It completely demolishes the two walls and burn marks appear across the foliage. I hear the muffled scream of a man and the debris settles and I see one of the two being electrocuted. I jump when I sense chakra under me and two arms miss as they try to grab me.
"Wow you survived that?" I ask in mock awe.
And quickly equip my tanto and stab downwards with a jerk my blade plants deep into his neck. He dies instantly and I land again. I fling the blood off my dual Tantos and sheath them. I look around the clearing at each of the bodies. 'Yua wake up. Lunch. Leave equipment I can resupply and if they have a seal on them don't eat'em you'll get stomach ache again. The large panther leaps out of my shadow and lands sitting and licking the back of her claws.
"How dirty eating fresh Iwa scum. They leave an aftertaste of sediment."
"You're such a princess. Would Her highness like some wasabi with that?"
"You have some?!" Yua chirps completely seriously.
I give her a deadpan stare and she turns with a click of her teeth annoyed at my lack in preparedness. But still strolls off to feast. I Slide my mask to my forehead and bring out my supplies to count my rations and chart my location when I feel a familiar chakra signature closing in on my position. I don't react physically and just keep setting up what I'm doing. Four Anbu appear out of the treeline
"You're late Dog. I'm done already."
"I can see that." The gravity defying mess of silver hair speaks out loud.
"Impressive Namikaze-san"
A short darkhaird anbu bearing a weasel mask states. I look up and behind them to see two more anbu looking around the clearing. And turn my glaze back towards the shorter one that stands beside Kakashi.
"Ohhoh? You know me weasel-kun? You seem pretty young. Are those freshies Dog?"
"Yes, all three." The addressed man responded. He reached and took off his Dog mask to reveal another black facemask.
"They sent freshies as backup for me?"
"Well I'm here now and it's not like you needed it." His mask slightly turned up and I can tell that he was smirking at me.
"I didn't know that at the time. Can those brats even handle Iwa-nin? Weasel-kun is straight out of the academy." The female and male Anbu standing behind seem to get ticked off by my remarks and the kunoichi raises her hand half up.
"Your file said that we're the same age, Namikaze-san."
"Your file say to address your seniors in such a familiar way too? neko-chan?" I say sternly as I walk up to the group.
The other anbu guy in a tiger mask, and the now named Neko, stiffen and she quickly straightened up as if to salute.
"N-no I apologize I did not mean-"
I wrap my arm around both of their shoulders and laugh.
"lighten up! what? Is the dog too strict or something? Ignore him! Dog-senpai has a kunai up his ass."
The tiger masked anbu lets out a small chuckle but quickly turns to cover it. Neko seems shocked by my friendly nature and Dog and weasel remain blank canvases. I wrap my arm around the two older aged but new anbu and walk them into the clearing
"I like these two. Oi! Dog! don't you dare corrupt them with your apathetic gaze."
Dog or as I know him, Kakashi just shakes his head in mix of annoyance and disappointment.
"Namikaze-san. How did you do that." Neko asks
"Hm? What?"
"That's the most emotion I've ever seen taicho express. Ever." Tiger clears up to which Neko nods slightly
"Hahaha! Hear that dog-senpai!"
"Interesting." The short dark haired boy says simply and follows after the three of us. And Kakashi soon follows.
~flashback end~
Soon everyone returned with their own carcasses. Leaning against the chain link fence beside Kakashi we watched as Naruto and Sasuke argued over who won. Sasuke had killed a bear at least four times his size and from its burned skin and charred fur it's safe to assume that he handled himself. Naruto presented the group with three panther like animals all piled on one another. His argument was mostly the fact that quantity was a far more impressive feat compared to size. Then Sakura emerged from the bushes.
"Hey Sakura-" I began but was halted by Sakura's appearance. Her usual pink hair was completely drenched in a viscous green liquid and her clothes didn't seem much better.
"What happened Sakura-chan?"
"Not much Naruto" Yua grunted with a muffled mouth, all the while emerging herself. Yua's Jaw was wide and in it she clutched a large hairy stick like object. The stick seemed familiar to me and the familiar feeling I got sent a shiver down my spine as I remember a visit with Anko and a certain part of the dark forest. As Yua kept dragging the very, very, large corpse of a dark brown and burly spider corpse ws revealed. Its jugular leaked the very same green ooze that covered Sakura's pink bangs. The spiders body was easily double the size of Sasuke's bear.
Our group just stay there gawking until surprisingly Kakashi spoke
"How?"
"She used a genjutsu to put it to sleep aftee it got the jump on her I almost had to help but she handled herself." Yua said happily looking around the group until someone's prey caught her attention
"Oi! Gaki you got some repressed rage towards me or something?!"
"Huh me?" Naruto asked then glanced to his kills. "Oh No no! It was just a coincidence! I swear"
"Yeah yeah. Like its a coincidence that you might have to run a few extra laps during practice" Yua muttered under her breath only to receive a sharp glare from me.
"Alright looks like everyone did well. Thats all for today we'll go on our first C-rank tomorrow."
"Yatta! Miko-sensei, are we gonna escort a princess?! Or maybe meet a ninja ostrich?!"
"Wha- no! What are you even talking about gaki? Im pretty sure ninja ostrich's don't exist…anyway please rest and pack up some scrolls tomorrow."
"What time are you going to the office for briefing Miko-san?"
"Nin-… Six"
Kakashi then disappeared in a flash of leaves. And the genin looked slightly sceptical towards him.
"Got it! Later little genin."