Akimichi Chouji; 5 Years Later

Age 17

-Sheer Determination-

Last night, I had made a list of reasons to join the Consolidation team.

I had also made a list of reasons to not join the Consolidation team.

And, even though both lists had turned out to be virtually even in length and importance to me, I had decided that I would join.

My decision was based on the flip of a coin.

I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.

As I got up that morning and got dressed, I looked around for my dad. I wanted some words of wisdom before I went off. It's not like I was even going off to the mountains for a year just yet… I was only going to go and meet my new teacher and teammates.

"Dad, are you ashamed of me?" I asked my father.

"Why would I be ashamed of you, Chouji?" said my dad as he made me some breakfast.

"Because I'm on the Consolidation team." I said, lowering my voice as if by being quiet about it, it wouldn't be so bad.

"Chouji," laughed my father. "I'll let you in on a little secret." He looked around and leaned over to me. "I was on the Consolidation team."

I froze.

"You?" I said, completely shocked. My father was an incredible ninja. How could he have possibly been one of the Consolidated ones?

"Yup!" he answered. "And look at me now! You don't have anything to worry about, Chouji!"

I suddenly felt so much better. My father had also become such a good ninja that he qualified to take Consolidated ninjas up into the mountains when he was younger. Of course, he doesn't do that anymore since he's getting older and weaning out of being a ninja, but that was certainly a fact I had never known about him.

I ate my breakfast quickly. I was running a little behind schedule.

"See you later, dad!" I called as I got up and ran to the door.

I felt better about the whole situation now.

"HEY CHOUJI!" I heard. I spun around to see Naruto, and I waved to him.

He was also still a genin, like me. I wondered if he was going to go to be Consolidated.

"Hi Naruto!" I said, figuring the best way to find out was to just ask. "Are you going to the Hokage's office for Consolidation?"

"Yeah!" Naruto answered. I felt even better that I'd be going with someone I knew as opposed to a bunch of stranger kids. "Are you too?"

I nodded. "I thought it over long and hard last night." I explained. "And I decided that I'm going to do it! And if it doesn't work out, I can at least say I tried!"

"Good!" said Naruto with a nod. "Let's get to the Hokage's office since we're going to be late if we don't go now."

The two of us quickened our pace as we made our way to the Hokage's office.

Almost as it seemed that this whole ordeal couldn't improve anymore, I saw Kiba waving to us in the distance. "Hi guys!" he called. Even though I wasn't really all that close with Kiba, him being there was still better than… someone else… who I didn't know at all…

"Are you going to the Consolidation meeting?" I asked.

"Yeah!" said Kiba. "You two too?"

"That's right!" said Naruto. "But we have to hurry or we'll be late!"

I wasn't going to argue with him as we all hurried to the Hokage's office.

When we got outside the Hokage's office, I saw Sakura standing there.

I never really liked Sakura, but I had come to like her even less recently after all the rumors that had been spread about her had finally reached me through the grapevine.

Of course, there's always the chance that some of them aren't true but I have my OWN opinions too.

Anyone who's that unconditionally mean to Ino for no reason whatsoever can't be a nice person. After all, Ino only did things to help Sakura and Sakura never did anything to actively repay her for her kindness. As a matter of fact, it's almost as if Sakura TRIED to do the OPPOSITE of repay Ino.

Even looking at her sort of offended me, so I tried not to look.

"Hi Sakura!" Naruto called.

"Naruto, don't you have someplace to be?" Sakura said.

"Yeah!" Naruto said. "I'm getting my consolidation teacher today! Do you know anything about Consolidation? All we ninjas that are still genin get assigned a new teacher and go off into the mountains for a whole year! A WHOLE YEAR, Sakura! Can you believe it?—"

It was then that I tuned out of the conversation. I looked at Kiba who looked like he was going to pass out if he had to stand there any longer. And I don't blame him. Whenever Naruto got going about Sakura, it got pretty annoying… and long… and never ended. It was only a matter of time before Sakura would shut him down and Naruto would be perfectly clueless about it all.

"Whatever Naruto." She said finally, interrupting him from his constant babbling.

We all went into the building. I felt relaxed now that I was away from Sakura even though I didn't know her too well. She still offended me…

"You can say that again Akamaru!" Kiba laughed randomly.

Kiba certainly seemed indifferent about what was going on. Sure, everything was a lot easier because of certain circumstances that had occurred just since I woke up this morning, but it was still hard.

I mean… a whole year? In the mountains?

We couldn't come home for a whole year!

That's a long time.

"Why so glum, Chouji?" Kiba said suddenly.

I hadn't realized that I was expressively looking 'glum'. I shrugged and tried to put my thoughts into a short sentence so I wouldn't babble like Naruto usually did. "I guess I'm just nervous." I said.

"Nervous?" Kiba laughed, pushing the door open as we reached the top of the stairs. "Seriously though… training in the mountains is going to be great."

"Imagine the three of us getting on the same team!" Naruto said. It was nice of them to be so supportive.

"I wonder who our teacher will be." I wondered.

"What are you three doing here?" I heard.

I looked over to see Ino and Sasuke standing there in what looked like brand new jounin vests.

"Consolidation." I answered, trying not to be affected by the vests I was incredibly jealous about. "We were put on a team and told to come here to meet our teacher."

I was happy for her…but how can someone help being jealous?

"Ohh…" Ino nodded. "So it's you three on a team now?"

I nodded and gave out a slight sigh. She smiled and then laughed out loud, not in a cruel manner, but in sort of a happy manner. It didn't make me feel bad.

I had seen her fight in the jounin exam and I was about to ask her how it felt to be a jounin now, but the door to the office they were standing in front of suddenly swung open.

I turned around to see someone I recognized standing there. It was the teacher of Neji, Tenten and Lee…

Gai, I believe?

"Welcome students of mine!" he cheered. "I am your new consolidation teacher. MAITO GAI!"

Well, I guess that answered my question. He WAS Gai.

It was pretty obvious though. He had an unusually unique look.

"Five students?" he asked. "I was told that I was to be assigned THREE but if that is the number then so be it!"

Ino waved to me quickly, grabbed Sasuke and left. I had forgotten Sasuke had been there.

But now it was just Kiba, Naruto and me there with Gai. I would be spending an entire year with these three guys up in "the mountains", wherever that may actually be.

"This mission in the mountains will be a test of your youth on a new Consolidation team!" Gai announced. "It will be hard and awkward at first, but you will slowly become accustomed to it! Mind you, it will ALWAYS be a difficult journey but as long as you have an overqualified, enthusiastic and youthful teacher like myself then no harm shall ever come to you!! Now, follow me off into the sunset!!"

I hardly understood a word he said so I just tentatively followed after him.

I saw Shikamaru as we left the building. "Shikamaru, guess what!" I called, trying to get his attention. "Shikamaru!! Hey! Shikamaru! Remember Gai?" He nodded. "Well, he's my teacher now!"

"Really Chouji?" said Shikamaru. "Good luck."

"Thanks Shikamaru!" I said as Gai called to me to hurry up.

"Now!" he said as he jumped up on a rock and instructed us to sit down in front of him. Probably to establish his alpha position. "Introduce yourselves to me and tell me one thing about yourself!"

Naruto and Kiba simultaneously began to state their names.

I had previously decided to wait until the end and give the other two their space. I know how passionately they both wanted to be the leader.

Gai pointed to Kiba.

"You go first because you're on the end." He said.

"My name is Inuzuka Kiba." He said, standing up. "This is Akamaru."

"I remember you." Gai interrupted.

"As I was saying…" Kiba said with a cough. "And someday, I plan to be a great ninja."

Gai nodded and pointed to Naruto.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto bellowed. "Someday, I'll be the Hokage! I'm going to work hard on this Consolidation team and show everyone that even if you're on the Consolidation team, you can still be a great ninja and Hokage!!"

Gai laughed.

"I like your spirit!" he said, and then he turned to me. "And you?"

"I'm Akimichi Chouji." I said. Then I hesitated slightly. What was I going to say? Kiba had already said that he was going to be a great ninja and Naruto already said that he was going to prove himself. Those were the two things that I wanted to do, but I didn't want to say that they had taken my idea.

So, after quickly thinking, I finally came up with an answer to complete my statement.

"And I'm going to work hard to become a good ninja just like my former teammates, Shikamaru and Ino!"

Then came Gai's long and drawn out talk. Just when I thought it ended, it kept going. It went on and on and on and I thought I was going to rip out my hair if he continued for just one more minute.

"With that being said," he said finally. I blinked many times to try and make it look like I hadn't almost fallen asleep. I hoped we wouldn't have to deal with a lot of talks like this. "As the sun sets, travel back to your homes! I will see you youths on the day we depart from the village!! What a glorious day that will be!! You are dismissed!!"

And with that, Gai was gone.

Kiba looked at the both of us and then left with his dog.

Naruto and I waited around for a minute. I looked at him. Then, since I couldn't think of anything else to say, I stood up and left him there.

The next year would be very interesting.

But I was determined to become a great ninja! Just like Ino and Shikamaru are!