Author's Note: Next chapter. Just trying to get into the first major section of the story.

ps. I know there's some trouble with the punctuation, I'm not sure how to fix it.

Chapter 2 Survival Training Redux

At the Jounin's signal, the three young shinobi sprung into action, drawing kunai and flinging them directly into the face of-

A poorly made scarecrow.

"Tch! Kawarimi no jutsu" grumbled Shikamaru, spitting to the side. "Figures. Man this is way troublesome." Shikamaru leaned back and regarded the clouds.

"BAKA!"screamed Sakura, clouting both Naruto and Shikamaru over the back of the head.

"Owww..." moaned Naruto. "Hey, what'd you hit me for, Sakura-chan"

"Sorry...reflex."

"Right" said Shikamaru, rubbing the lump on his head. "This is gonna take more than just a simple combo attack."

"Sounds like you have a plan."

"Damn right." Shikamaru leaned in. "Now, I'm sure that Kakashi knows about my signature technique. That means he'll probably be on the lookout for any Shadow Bind attempt I make on him. If he can't see me, he'll assume I'm nearby, waiting for him to let his guard down. This will make it extra hard to catch him."

He turned towards his partners. "This is where you come in."

A few minutes later...

"What's to stop him from seeing through my part in this" asked Naruto.

"It won't fool him for long, so you'll have to be quick. Oh, and Sakura? Don't forget to give him 'the heel'. That should provide us with extra insurance."

"Right." Sakura grinned.

(All Right!) crowed Inner Sakura. (Time to show just how strong I've become. Konoha's number one pink-haired beauty is ready!)

In a small clearing, deeper in the forest, Hatake Kakashi lay in wait. Well, not exactly "lay in wait", more like "sat reading". The sun was warm on his exposed eye as his gaze covered every facet of the page before him, taking in every pruient detail. Despite appearances, however, Kakashi knew that he was being watched. He however, could not tell where his watchers were. They could be anywhere. Perhaps in the trees ahead, or the bushes behind, he didn't know. This worried him and made him proud at the same time. Kakashi would wait. He would let them come to him. After all, time was on his side, and the longer they delayed, the longer he had to finish reading this chapter.

Suddenly there was a flurry of movement as five Uzumaki Narutos leapt out of the brush and formed a semicircle before Kakashi. Without a word, they charged. Quickly putting away his reading material, Kakashi flipped and dodged, evading most of the strikes, and blocking the rest. However, the strikes forced Kakashi backwards, towards the bushes at the edge of the clearing. As he dodged, Kakashi noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A sable, undulating black shadow, reaching hungrily across the ground towards the Jounin's legs. Kakashi smiled.

"Sorry. Afraid that little trick won't work on me." With that, he flipped fowards, over the Narutos' heads, and landed in front of a tree. "Better luck next time."

"Shit, abort" came Shikamaru's voice from the bushes. With that, Shikamaru's lithe form jumped from the vegetation and went for Kakashi, circling to the right so as to reach his blind side. As Kakashi prepared to meet Nara and Uzumaki assault, a pink-haired kunoichi leaped from behind the tree, leg raised high like an axe. Kakashi's eye widened.

"Oh crap! 'the heel'" Kakashi dodged desperately away. He knew of 'the heel'. A brutal attack he had heard horror stories of from his sensei, who had heard them from his sensei Jiraiya, who had experienced it firsthand. Ever since Tsunade had come to Konoha, Kakashi had been extremely careful not to incur the Godaime's wrath. Despite all this, here he was, facing a close encounter with the new generation of 'the heel'.

As Kakashi desperately backpedaled, Sakura brought her leg down brutally. The earth around the site cracked and split, and a powerful shockwave shot out, causing the Jounin to stumble.

"Crap! I missed..." growled Sakura. Had the shot connected, Kakashi would have been buried up to his chin and numb for weeks. As it was, he had got off easy. Kakashi skidded towards the end of the clearing. Shikamaru and the Narutos rushed him, pressuring him with a constant barrage of strikes. Suddenly they broke off the attack, leaping back.

"Wha" said Kakashi, his visible eye widening violently as he realized he could no longer move.

"Confused" said a voice behind him. "Let me enlighten you." Kakashi felt himself turning around of his own accord. There behind him in the shadow of the trees stood Shikamaru, his mouth a smirk of triumph.

Poof! With a puff of smoke, the five Naruto clones vanished, and the Shikamaru standing with them vanished as well, replaced by a madly grinning whisker-faced ninja.

"Well, now, that's interesting" said Kakashi, embarassed.

"It was simple enough" Shikamaru explained. "I was over here the whole time. I simply sent my shadow around the long way through the undergrowth, and had Naruto and his clones drive you this way. Sakura was there to keep you pressured and unable to focus properly while I struck the final blow."

Naruto stepped forward quickly and relieved Kakashi's belt of its two bells. Deftly, he tossed them to his partners without looking.

"Not quite the final blow" Naruto said, an evil smile creeping over his face.

Kakashi sweatdropped.

"Just a little bit of payback for our original survival training."

Kakashi sweatdropped heavily.

"And for all the times you were late." Suddenly Naruto was crouched behind the silver-haired ninja, his hands together in the tiger seal position.

"Konoha Ultimate Taijutsu Technique: Sen Nen Goroshi"

Kakashi's bellow of pain could be heard throughout all of Konoha. From the Hokage's office to the Hyuga estate, shinobi stuck their heads out of windows, noses wrinkled in confusion. Maito Gai stopped his one-legged, blindfolded jumprope training and looked towards the training area.

"Ahhhh, the fire of youth" he said, nodding sagely.

Half an hour later, after Kakashi had recovered from 'the power of youth', the three young ninja sat around the Jounin, who had decided to remain standing for reasons of health.

"So, Kakashi-sensei. What's this big new mission? Huh? Huh" queried Naruto excitedly. The genin was bouncing back and forth, his eyes wide. Sakura was sitting quietly and collectedly, her hands folded in her lap. Shikamaru was on his back staring at the clouds, hardly listening.

"Well. The Hokage has decided...that its time for the three of you to become Jounin."

Next Chapter: Exciting New Mission