The New Team

It was a new day. Shivaroku woke up and looked out his window. He then looked at the lily that Ino picked out for him. Today was the first day he will be with his new team, and that team had Ino on it. Just the thought of being on the same team as Ino excited him. He sprung out of bed, quickly got ready, and put on his leaf headband. He looked in the mirror, admiring the way he looked with his headband. He pumped himself up and then headed out the door. He was told to meet his team at the training grounds, so he headed in that direction, but Yamanaka Flowers was on the way. Shivaroku thought that he could maybe pick Ino up and walk with her the rest of the way. As he was daydreaming though he crashed into another person. When he opened his eyes, he saw a pink-haired teenage girl sitting on the floor while rubbing her head. Instantly, Shivaroku got up and tried to help the girl to her feet.

"I'm so sorry about that. I should've been paying more attention!" said Shivaroku.

The girl took his hand as Shivaroku pulled her up. "No it's not your fault, I shouldn't have been standing in your way like that," said the girl.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just a bit shaken up, but I'll be alright." The girl smiled at Shivaroku, and Shivaroku was relieved he didn't hurt her. At the same time, Ino walked out of Yamanaka Flowers and saw Shivaroku.

"Oh hi Shivaroku, I thought you would already be at the training grounds by now," said Ino.

"Shivaroku?" asked the pink-haired girl. "Wait you're the new Genin everyone's talking about, aren't you!"

"Oh, Sakura I didn't know you were here!" said Ino

"Of course you didn't. You never seem to use those big bulbous eyes of yours," said Sakura jokingly.

Ino glared at Sakura and said, "Well at least my hair isn't a huge distraction that causes traffic jams!"

Sakura and Ino then started to argue with each other, as Shivaroku watched both girls go at it. Shivaroku made a confused face, but the argument was somewhat funny to him. After a couple minutes, Shivaroku realized that he had to go meet up with the team. "Oh Ino, we gotta go meet with Asuma sensei and Choji soon."

"Oh that's right. Well see ya later Crybaby Sakura," said Ino, thinking she would get the last laugh, but Sakura responded with, "Don't cause trouble, Inopig."

Ino ignored Sakura's last remark and then proceeded to walk with Shivaroku towards the training grounds. On the way Shivaroku asked if Ino and Sakura were friends and what the origins of those nicknames were. Ino tried to explain that the fact that they insulted each other so much was proof that they were best friends, but that just confused Shivaroku more. After a brief walk, Shivaroku and Ino finally reached the training grounds, where Asuma and Choji were already waiting.

"Took you long enough…I thought you were supposed to be fast and strong," said Choji as he glared at Shivaroku.

"Choji, be nice. He's your comrade now," said Asuma in response to Choji's comments.

"Yeah sorry about that, I got held up on the way…" said Shivaroku

"Held up?" Asuma looked at Ino. "What did you get distracted by Ino or something? HAHAHA"

Ino and Shivaroku both looked at each other and blushed, and then immediately looked away.

"N-No! It's not like that!" said Shivaroku in a flustered state.

"I'm just messing with ya. Anyway, I would like to formally welcome you to team #10," said Asuma.

"Thanks. Glad to be here!"

"It's been a while since we've had a full team! I'm excited!" said Ino. "But I'm still bummed we can't do the InoShikaCho formation anymore."

"Shikamaru mentioned that same formation yesterday…what is it?"

Choji smugly answered, "It's a formation that Ino, Shikamaru, and I create during battle. Our teamwork is perfect and enemies run in terror when they see it."

"Wow, it's that good huh?"

"It's the best! Our fathers created it and taught it to us. Whenever things seem bad in battle, we use that formation," said Ino.

"Yeah but now that Shikamaru isn't here, we can't do it anymore. I still don't get it. Why can't Shikamaru still be on our team? He's only a chunin! Instead we have to deal with this guy as our teammate!" said Choji angrily.

Shivaroku stayed silent, as he started to feel bad that he was replacing a teammate that was so important to them. Ino interjected, "Choji! We were all told that Chunin cant be in a team of Genin anymore unless they lead it. Besides, we can't always be together."

"But that's stupid!" yelled Choji.

Asuma tried to reason with Choji by saying that Shivaroku would be a great help to the team since he was so skilled, but Choji continued to be emotional. Choji then looked at Shivaroku and made some scathing comments. "You'll never replace Shikamaru. He's my best friend. You're not even from the Leaf Village! How can we trust you?! You should just go back to wherever you came from!"

"CHOJI!" yelled both Asuma and Ino.

Shivaroku put up his hand and said, "It's okay Ino and Asuma Sensei."

Shivaroku then walked up to Choji and said, "Yes. I wasn't originally from the Leaf. Yes, I'm not Shikamaru. Yes, I may not be as smart as him when it comes to strategy. BUT—I chose this village to be my home. My goal in life is to make the world a better place. One that isn't full of hatred and evil. One day I want everyone to live a life of love and peace. I can't do that without defending the Leaf first. I know you don't like me, but we're comrades now. So either you can just deal with it and work together with me, or you can continue to be hostile towards me for no reason. I don't care if you like me or not. I will lay my life down for this village and for the world."

Choji was at a loss for words, and Shivaroku sat down on the ground. Asuma had a sense of pride, since Shivaroku reminded him so much of his younger self and his late father, the 3rd Hokage.

"Now that we're all friends. Why don't we discuss our mission," said Asuma.

"Right," said the three Genin in unison.

"This is a B-rank mission. According to our intel, the daughter of the head of the Zamada River Village was kidnaped by some bandits. These bandits are holding her for ransom, but they are asking for more than what the village has. If they don't get their money soon, they will definitely kill the girl. Our job is to find the bandits, rescue the girl, and return her safely to her village. Use force if necessary."

"Where is this village?" asked Shivaroku.

"It's about a hundred miles West of here. It should take us about 1.5 to 2 days to get there. There, we will meet up with the village head and get any more information that can help us, and then we will set out to find his daughter."

"Do we know how many bandits we're dealing with?" asked Ino.

"Not yet. The village head will have more information for us. Right. Pack your things and meet me at the Gate in an hour," said Asuma.

Shivaroku, Ino, and Choji all went back home and packed their necessities, which included some extra clothes, a few summoning scrolls for weapons, some snacks, and a sleeping bag. Within an hour, they all met up at Aoun Gate and immediately set off for their mission.

Once it got to sunset, they decided to settle down and make camp. The team set out their sleeping bags and were ready to chow down on their disgusting food pills, but Shivaroku had a better idea. Shivaroku asked them to wait for a few minutes and he would be back with some food, and then he disappeared into the trees. After about ten minutes, Shivaroku returned with three rabbits and two ducks on his shoulders, all dead. He then started two fires with his fireball jutsu. He started roasting the duck on a spit over one fire, and he summoned a pot from one of his scrolls, which he would use to make rabbit stew over the other fire. After the meals were cooked, he shared his meal with the rest of his team. Asuma and Ino were impressed with how he was able to hunt so easily. Shivaroku explained that because he lived in the woods with his Grandpa for most of his life, he became proficient in surviving in the wilderness. Choji tried to act all unimpressed, but he was clearly enjoying the food. It was definitely better than having to eat food pills.

"Hey, Shivaroku. I have a question," said Ino.

"Yeah, what's up?" responded Shivaroku.

"It's very rare for someone from another land to come to the Hidden Leaf without being a spy or invader. I know Lady Hokage approved of you staying here, but what made her do it?"

"Well um—I"

"What are you hiding?" interjected Choji.

"Calm down, Choji. Simply speaking, Ino, that information is classified. All you have to know is that he was trained by some important people and was told to choose which village he wanted to be a part of. Be grateful he chose our village," said Asuma.

"Oh. I see. But why is it classified?" asked Ino.

"Because Genin aren't ready to know about something like this just yet. Once you become Chunin, Shivaroku can tell you all about it," said Asuma. "Now I think we should all get some sleep. We should be reaching Zamada River Village tomorrow."

"Okay…Good night guys!" said Ino.

As Asuma, Choji, and Ino drifted off to sleep, Shivaroku lay awake looking up at the stars. He was saddened that he couldn't tell anyone his story yet, but he just had to be patient.

The next morning, the team packed their bags and proceeded to the Zamada River Village. There, they met up with the village head, who told them that the bandits were expecting the villagers to pay the ransom this afternoon, a few miles up-river. Team #10 thought out a battle plan. They were going to hide and wait for the bandits to show themselves with the girl. Just before the ransom is paid, they would attack the bandits and save the girl.

After a couple hours, the time to pay the ransom came. The team hid in the trees. Shivaroku indicated that he could sense ten people, including the girl. But something wasn't right. The village head walked up to the bandit leader with a large box of coins. The leader then opened it and counted the money. In a disappointed tone, he said that it wasn't enough and raised his Kunai at the village head.

Without thinking, Shivaroku sprung out of hiding and kicked the bandit leader away. Asuma, Choji, and Ino followed suit, as they stood in front of the village head and defended him.

"I'll handle this," said Shivaroku.

"Shivaroku, wai-!" said Asuma, but before he could finish his sentence, Shivaroku already lunged at the rest of the bandits. Shivaroku aimed for the bandit holding the girl. In a flash, he sliced that bandits throat and then took hold of the girl. The bandit leader got up enraged, and he yelled at the rest of the bandits to kill Shivaroku and the girl. The bandits began to run at him, some of them throwing shuriken at him. Shivaroku raised his chakra and, while holding the girl, dodged everything. He then set the girl down next to the village head, who ran up to her and held her in his arms. Shivaroku then pulled out his shuriken and threw them at the bandits, hitting five of them straight in the head. Shivaroku then lunged at two of them and punched them so hard they fell dead to the ground. He then pulled out his kunai and ran at the remaining two, subsequently slicing their throats. However, Shivaroku did not notice that the bandit leader tried to sneak up on him. Fortunately, Asuma quickly threw his chakra-infused kunai, which went straight through the bandit leader's chest, killing him instantly.

Shivaroku walked back towards his team with a smile on his face, but instead of praise, he was met with the usual glare from Choji, a solemn look from Ino, and a disappointed look from Asuma.

"We'll talk about this later," said Asuma. He then turned to the village head and asked if his daughter was hurt. The village leader thanked the team profusely and handed them a scroll of approval, signifying that the mission was successful. The team packed up their things and started to make their way back towards the Hidden Leaf. On the way, Shivaroku could feel he did something wrong, so he openly asked about it. Asuma told the team to stop, and they followed his directions.

"Do you know why you were put on a team?" asked Asuma.

Shivaroku didn't know the answer and didn't respond.

Choji interjected, "Why did you do everything on your own? Do you realize that you could've gotten that girl killed? Then the entire mission would be a failure! You see! This is why you are nothing like Shikamaru! He wouldn't have been so hasty. You're just lucky."

"Choji…calm down. Remember he's new to all of this," said Ino. Ino then turned towards Shivaroku and said, "Choji is right, though. We're your comrades. We're here to help. You don't have to do everything on your own anymore."

Shivaroku finally realized the blunder he committed. There was no teamwork. He only thought of himself and the mission. They were right. What would've happened if he made even one error? The child might have been killed, one of his teammates may have gotten injured or even killed, and the entire mission would've been a failure. Shivaroku looked at Ino and then down at the ground in regret.

Asuma walked up to Shivaroku and put his hand on his shoulder. "Look Shivaroku. I know you're powerful. You're very skilled. What you did back there was nothing short of extraordinary. But you have to remember that you're on a team now. You need to work together to assure success. The more you try to take on all the burden, the more you will become like him…"

Ino looked up and new exactly who Asuma was talking about. Meanwhile, Shivaroku was still confused and asked, "Him?"

"I'm sure you were told about the Uchiha who went rogue recently," said Asuma.

"Yeah. Ino told me about him when she gave me a tour of the village," said Shivaroku.

"His name is Sasuke Uchiha. His entire clan was wiped out by a rogue shinobi…all except for him. He spent the last few years of his life training to become stronger and stronger. He was put on a team as well, but he had a habit of going off on his own and trying to finish the mission all by himself. He felt that the burden of the entire Uchiha clan was on him, that he had to get vengeance. Problem is, he felt that he had to get vengeance on his own. He started to feel that his comrades were holding him back. Eventually in his lust for power and revenge, he deserted the village and joined one of the Leaf's most formidable enemies."

Shivaroku didn't respond.

"Shivaroku. I don't want there to be another Sasuke Uchiha. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sensei…I understand. I'll be better, I promise." Shivaroku looked at Asuma and then at Ino and Choji. Ino was still saddened after hearing the story of Sasuke and Choji tried to comfort her.

The team set up camp for the night, and then the next morning they reached the Hidden Leaf Village. Shivaroku re-entered the village with a new goal: To be the best teammate he can be, which meant working together and helping the team as a whole, not putting them at risk by trying to do everything on his own. He was no longer training alone with his Grandpa or Master Roshi or Master Popo. He had a team…a spectacular team.