The newly formed team of Genin stayed in their places, staring up at the woman with a mixture of curiosity (Fu), amazement (Naruto), and mistrust (Gaara). This woman – Rin, she called herself – had suddenly appeared without sending any signal of her arrival and defused what would have been a terrible situation with only a finger. Gaara, the more observant person of the team, could tell that Fu was super-humanly strong given the way she destroyed the floorboard, even if she had been using Naruto as a base. So to be able to stop her and render Fu immobile by just poking her forehead, this Rin character couldn't have been an ordinary kunoichi.

'Somehow I get the feeling my father had a hand in this,' thought Gaara darkly. 'He wanted to make sure I don't run wild with my newfound freedom. Typical…'

"Hmm…," Rin hummed, chin on her fist as she looked at the three thoughtfully. "How can I put this? As for my first impression of you guys? Well…you're not much to look at."

That quickly shifted the mood. Naruto and Fu's faces dropped and Gaara made no visible expression, but there was a noticeable twitch in his right eye. Any sense of wonderment they had for their new instructor was immediately replaced with irritation.

"Okay, let's take this somewhere a little less stuffy," said Rin in a cheerful manner. "Why don't we all head up to the roof for some fresh air? See you in five minutes."

Naruto, Fu, and Gaara all blinked at the same time, almost as if they were compelled to, and suddenly their Jonin instructor was nowhere to be seen. Naruto and Fu looked around, open-mouthed at their teacher's sudden disappearance, and Gaara stared at the floor where she once stood as if expecting some kind of explanation to just show up.

"Well, that was rude," said Fu irritably, fists on her hips. "Who does she think she is, judging us like that?"

"Well, she's not entirely wrong," said Gaara. "At least one person here isn't worth paying attention to."

"Huh, there is?" said Naruto curiously. "Who is it? Is it Fu?"

Sweat drops formed over Gaara and Fu. The sand Genin sighed exasperatedly as he slowly marched down the steps towards the door, only stopping for a moment to look back at his team.

"Let's go," he said. "We're expected on the roof in exactly five minutes, and I don't feel like waiting around for either of you."

Though he was a little rude about it, he did make a point; Fu shuffled down the steps shortly after him and Naruto bounced over the desk to fall in line with the others.

Survival Test: Pass or Fail!

Since Naruto knew his way around the academy, they decided to let him lead for now, and in under five minutes as planned, they opened the door to the open rooftop. They found Rin leaning against the railing on the opposite end, the wind leisurely blowing through her hair as she stared out at the village, lost in thought.

Naruto hopped over and took a seat on the small set of stairs. Gaara and Fu took a moment to rest their gourd and clothed container off to the side before taking their own seats on either side of him.

"Ah, the fresh air is so much better, don't you think?" said Rin, sharing a small smile with the children. "But that's not what we're here to discuss, are we. Let see…since none of us know each other, this would be the perfect time to make some introductions. We're going to be spending a lot of time together, so we should take the opportunity to get to know one another."

"You make it sound so easy," said Fu, glancing upwards in thought for a moment. "What kind of things are we supposed to say?"

"Let's start with something easy," said Rin. "Likes, dislikes, hobbies, maybe even your dreams for the future – stuff like that."

"Hey, that's cool," said Naruto, "but before we say anything, why don't you tell us about yourself."

"I guess that's only fair," said Rin, nodded. "Like I said earlier, my name is Nohara Rin. My likes include strawberries and butterflies, but I absolutely hate tsukudani – can never get that horrible taste out of my mouth. My hobbies are reading and volunteering at the hospital. And my dreams for the future…well, I guess I never really thought of that. What else…oh, I also have a record of sixty-five C-rank missions, one hundred and sixty-one B-rank missions, eighty-five A-rank missions and six S-rank missions."

Fu whistled, very impressed, and said, "Wow, that's a pretty high record."

"Uh…B-rank? A-rank?" mumbled Naruto, having no clue what they were referring to.

'With a record like that,' thought Gaara suspiciously, 'she could easily be an S-rank shinobi.'

"Well, now you know a little about me," said Rin, gesturing a finger to Naruto. "And since you were the first one to ask, why don't you go next?"

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto!" said Naruto excitedly, fidgeting with his forehead protector. "I like instant ramen, but what I like even more is the ramen from Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei treats me to! What I dislike is waiting for the three minutes after pouring hot water in the instant ramen! My hobby is eating and comparing ramen!"

'How the hell has he not had a heart attack yet?' thought Rin, a sweat drop forming.

"And my dream for the future…," said Naruto, pausing for dramatic effect, "is to become the greatest Hokage in history! And so, I'm gonna get the entire village to acknowledge my existence!"

"I see…," said Rin with a small smile. "He's a lot like you in so many ways, Kushina-san.' Her eyes then glanced over to his right side, directed at Fu. "Okay, next. How about…the person who is obviously a girl."

"Thank you," said Fu, shooting a pointed look at Naruto. "My name is Nagare Fu. I like making new friends and visiting new places, but I definitely love my village the most. I hate people who think I'm a boy" – once again, she shot a glare at Naruto - "my hobbies are swimming and bug collecting, especially rhino beetles - they're so cool. And my dream is to make everyone acknowledge the Hidden Waterfall are a Great Shinobi nation and become the first Takikage!"

"Well, that's certainly an admirable dream," said Rin approvingly.

"More like an impossible dream," said Gaara in a hollow tone. "The Hidden Waterfall is a small nation with a weak military base. Their inferior strength is the reason why they're forced to hide the location of their village from other nations. The Hidden Waterfall is filled with nothing but cowards."

"What was that?!" Fu snarled, jumping to her feet. "Take that back!"

"You know it's true," said Gaara disinterested. "Why else would they send only one Genin to the Selection."

Fu growled and grinded her teeth furiously, but could not say anything in response. Naruto stuttered with his words, trying to quell Fu's anger, but the mint-haired kunoichi walked around until she was standing directly in front of him. Gaara didn't even bother looking up, just staring ahead at Fu's navel. This made Fu even more pissed off. And just as Fu started to pull back her fist, Rin stepped in and held the girl back by her wrist.

"Let me go!" Fu howled. "I'm gonna slap that tattoo straight off his face!"

But Rin didn't share her opinion on the outcome. Her eye glanced towards the gourd Gaara had removed, noticing that it had shifted half an inch closer without anyone touching it.

'So that's the trick, huh?' thought Rin. 'Kakashi was right to be worried about this one.'

"Stop looking so smug, you son of a – "

"Okay, that's enough," said Rin with a tone of finality. She pulled Fu away from her teammate and forced her to take a seat again. "Obviously we have some issues to iron out, but Gaara, you shouldn't be so rude."

"Whatever," said Gaara uncaringly.

Rin let out a sigh and said, "All right, why don't you go next then?"

"My name is Sakabu Gaara," said Gaara, his voice barely a whisper. "I like nothing and dislike everything. Hobbies are meaningless, and there's no point in having a dream."

'Well, he's just a regular ray of sunshine,' thought Naruto drearily.

'He's a downer on top of being rude,' thought Fu. 'I bet he's like this because his eyebrows got burned off or something.

'This one might be the worst case yet,' thought Rin seriously. 'I read the reports about the boy's history, but I thought they were mere exaggeration. Clearly, I was wrong. He's going to need a lot of help.'

"All right, that was good!" said Rin, brushing off the tense atmosphere he created. "You three are definitely unique and interesting. So, I'm just gonna cut to the chase: we'll be having a mission tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am!" said Naruto eagerly with a salute. "What kind of mission?"

"First, we'll do what we can with just four people," said Rin.

"What? What? What?" Naruto jabbered repeatedly.

"…a survival exercise," said Rin.

"Survival exercise?" Naruto repeated, confused.

"Why are we doing an exercise even though this is supposed to be a mission?" asked Fu, frowning in disappointment. "We've already done tons of exercises when we were in school."

"This is no ordinary exercise," said Rin.

"Then…then what kind of exercise is it?" asked Naruto.

"Well…actually, I kind of feel bad for having to tell you this," said Rin, tilting her head, her sweet smile becoming somewhat smug. "Because I know if I tell you, you'll go flying into a panic."

"Huh?" said Naruto and Fu together.

"The truth of the matter is," said Rin in an ominous voice, "out of the eighteen teams deployed today, only three of them will remain Genin. The remaining teams will be sent back home and back to the academy. In other words, this exercise is an extremely difficult test with a failure rate of sixty-six percent or higher."

"That's such a ridiculous bluff,' thought Gaara disbelievingly. 'If only three teams get to stay as Genin, then that would defeat the entire purpose of the International Selection. What would be the point of assigning teams to other villages just to make them come back? And it would hardly improve relationships with other nations. Only an idiot would fall for such an obvious trick.'

'No! This can't be happening!' Naruto screamed in his head, sweat pouring down like bullets. 'I can't go back to the academy! Not after the way I showed off in front of everyone! I'll be humiliated!'

'Why didn't Shibuki-kun tell me this was a thing!' Fu squeaked. 'You'd think that was the kind of thing you would tell someone, especially your own little sister!'

"Hah! You see?" Rin chuckled amusingly at their varied expressions. "I said you would panic!"

"That's crazy!" yelled Naruto. "Why do we have to suffer like that? What was the whole point of the graduation tests, then?"

"Oh, that," said Rin casually. "It was just to select those who have the potential to become Genin.

"Whaaat?" Naruto whined.

"Well, that's just the way it is," said Rin, shrugging. "Personally, I would love to pass each of you, but there are rules for a reason. It's my job to determine whether you all have what it takes to be real shinobi. You have permission to bring any shinobi tools you wish. We will meet at five in the morning."

'N-no way am I going to be dropped now,' thought Naruto, trembling. 'I've got to have my strength recognized for real.'

'If I fail this test, Shibuki-kun will never let me leave the village again,' thought Fu, clutching her fist determinedly. 'I'm putting my future on the line!'

Gaara, as always, seemed impassive to the whole thing and just stared at the Jonin unblinkingly.

"Okay, you're all dismissed," said Rin. "Oh, and one more thing: you'd best skip breakfast tomorrow. You'll just throw it back up."

That night, Naruto and Fu had the most restless sleep of their lives, while Gaara, on the other hand, didn't sleep at all.

The sand Genin stood atop the pinnacle of a large building overlooking the Hidden Leaf market street, his eyes wandering over the few remaining people that lingered in the night as the pale moon glowed behind him. The chatter was short and full of drunken slurs from men out late at night drinking themselves out of their paychecks. One of the drunks stumbled off on his own, hobbling into a dark and deserted alleyway, leaning against the wall just to keep himself from tipping over.

Gaara could feel the blood pumping in his veins. It would be so easy…the man was so drunk out of his mind that he wouldn't feel a thing…all it would take was one twitch of the finger and no one would be any wiser….

But Gaara restrained himself, resisting the natural impulse and watched the drunken man stumble out of the alley into the village streets. He sighed exhaustedly…it was a lot harder to resist than he could have believed….

Gaara decided to head back to his new apartment before his old habits got the better of him.

The sun was barely starting to come up by the time Naruto and the others needed to be at the designated training grounds.

Naruto had spent a good thirty minutes sleepily stumbling through a barely lit street, getting himself lost at least four times before he figured out where he was going. The trio came from different directions; Naruto with bags heavy under his eyes and Fu's hair disheveled with hints of drool plastered on her chin; Gaara was the only one that looked decent.

"Morning…," Fu mumbled tiredly.

"Eeehhhh," Naruto slurred.

The three finally came together and they waited for their teacher…and waited…and waited…and waited….

The sun was starting to come out in full, appearing over the surrounding mountains and casting a brilliant light that burned the Genin's retinas. When the first hour passed, Fu feel asleep on her feet and woke up when she fell on her face. By the second hour, Naruto had slumped to the ground and was staring up into space half asleep, mouth agape with drool crawling down his chin.

It wasn't until the third hour when Rin came into view, looking fresh as a daisy, hands folded behind her back with a serene smile.

"Hey, kids, did you all have a good night sleep?" said Rin innocently.

"You're late!" Naruto and Fu bounced up, pointing accusing fingers at their teacher.

"I know," said Rin calmly. "That was intentional. I wanted to get you kids up early so that you would be dead on your feet by the time the exercise started."

"That's a dirty trick!" yelled Fu.

"No, that's being smart," said Rin. "A true shinobi always makes the situation favorable towards themselves, no matter how little the advantage may be." The Genin growled, but did not argue with her logic. "Anyway…let's get straight into it, shall we?"

Walking over to a wooden post in the ground, she reached into her waist bag and pulled out what looked like an egg timer. She turned the dial and set it on the log in plain view.

"All right, this timer is set to go off at exactly noon," said Rin. She reached into her bag once more and pulled out a pair of silver bells. "This is a little exercise my former teacher once used to train me and my friends back when we were kids. This assignment is quite simple: take these bells away from me before noon. Simple, right? By the way, those who can't complete this exercise won't be getting any lunch." Fu gasped horrifically. "And I bought you all special bentos on the way over. If you fail, you'll be tied to the post over there and I'll eat it right in front of you."

'The horror!' Naruto wailed in his head.

'This woman is a sadist!' Fu cried.

'So that's why she told us not to eat breakfast,' thought Gaara, unable to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in his own empty stomach.

"Hey, hold on a minute!" called out Fu. "Why are there only two bells?"

"I'm glad you asked," said Rin. "The reason is because even in the most favorable circumstances, at least one of you will be tied to the pole. That person will be disqualified for failing the mission and will be sent back to school for more training. On the positive side, that means only one of you will be eliminated at a minimum. But in the worst-case scenario, all three of you will be sent home. You're allowed to use any tools available. Unless you come at me with the intention of kill me, you'll never be able to take the bell, let alone even harm me."

"So all we gotta do is take some stupid bell and we pass?" said Naruto, grinning self-confidently. "This is gonna be a breeze."

'Is this guy being serious?" thought Gaara incredulously. 'Does he not sense how powerful she is? Even I find myself hesitating.'

'Yeah, he's going to get his ass kicked first; I just know it,' thought Fu.

"They say that those who talk the loudest are the ones overcompensating for their lack of skill," said Rin. Naruto jerked, his eyebrow twitching. "I read your record, Uzumaki Naruto. I can say without a doubt that you are by far the worst ninja I have ever seen."

Naruto gritted his teeth, his clenched fist shaking furiously

"All right, you three, we'll start when I say go," said Rin brightly

Without warning, Naruto reached a hand into his leg holster and whipped out a kunai, charging at the Jonin before his teammates had a chance to stop him. Rin smirked and when her student was within a foot of her reach, she slapped the kunai from his hand, sending it flying uselessly into the grass. Before Naruto could get his wits about him, Rin thrust her open palm into his face, throwing the boy back on the ground and sliding back to his original starting point.

"Don't be so hasty," said Rin. "I didn't say go yet. But I guess that's fine. At least you came at me with the intention of killing me."

Naruto pulled himself up, frowning as he wiped a small smear of blood that dripped from his nose. Together, the three Genin focused all their attention on their Jonin instructor, who was smiling at them like she had just heard a mildly amusing joke.

"No surprise that she was able to kick Naruto's butt so easily,' thought Fu. 'But she did it without even moving a step.'

'I haven't gone against an S-rank Jonin since my father,' thought Gaara. 'I can't afford to let my guard down.'

"It looks like you kids are eager to begin," said Rin. "Very well then…we will begin the survive exercise…NOW!"

And in a blur of motion, Rin suddenly found herself alone in the middle of the field.

It was a rare privilege to be given an audience with the fifth Hokage considering his busy work schedule, but Iruka had the advantage of being close acquaintances with the masked man to earn himself a private chat. The two men had found a secluded place in the teacher's lounge of the Academy where the fifth Hokage sat patiently as Iruka pour him a cup of tea.

"Thanks for the Hospitality, Iruka," said Kakashi as the scarred man took a seat across from him. "But you didn't call me just so we can have tea, did you?"

"Should have known you would see through me, Lord Hokage," said Iruka. "Honestly, I was hoping to talk a little about Naruto's team. Given Naruto's…condition, I was worried if his teammates might be a problem. And I was also wondering if their Jonin instructor knows about it as well."

"Ah, I had a feeling it would be something like that," said Kakashi. He then reached inside his coat and pulled out a thick file envelope with Naruto, Gaara, and Fu's pictures paper-clipped on. "If you're really that worried, have a look for yourself. I think you might be pleasantly surprised."

"These are…," Iruka murmured, but nonetheless accepted the file.

He opened the first fold and almost immediately came upon Naruto's papers. It was exactly as he expected it to be: reports on grades, his relations, his personality, his abilities, and his performance. There was also a column that briefly mentioned Naruto's…inner demon, as it were. This was nothing new to Iruka, so he moved on to the next file, which belonged to Gaara. Right from the get-go, he could tell that the boy from the Hidden Sand was a genius level prodigy that was every bit Sasuke's equal. Reports on his performance and grades were phenomenal; it made sense why they would put him together with an academic catastrophe like Naruto. But when he saw the extra column, he was unable to withhold his gasp and his eyes went wide as dinner plates.

"This…this is…," Iruka stuttered.

Fearing the worst, Iruka moved on to Fu's file, completely skipping all over her information and going straight for the extra column. The moment his eyes fell upon it, his heart immediately sank.

"Dear god…what have you people done…?"

It's been twenty-two minutes since her students scattered. Rin had wandered around for a little bit, marching out into a small clearing near a river. As she walked around, her eyes moved around subtly, taking notice of the surroundings.

With her sharp perception, she zeroed in on a patch of recently upturned soil nearby. Someone had taken to hiding underground; Rin could only assume it was Gaara. It was a clever hiding spot for normal people, but very predictable to those who knew about the Sand Shinobi. Rin's eyes also spotted a small, almost unnoticeable piece of wood bobbing in the water. That had to be Fu – she was hiding in the water, using the wood as a breathing tube. Again, clever, but predictable.

'Fundamentally, shinobi must mask their presence and hide,' thought Rin. 'They could use a little work, but overall, not bad for Genin. That just leaves….'

Naruto suddenly jumped out into the open, perching himself on a rock with his arms crossed smugly. Rin tripped over her foot and nearly face-planted. She stared at the boy with a look of disbelief. He wasn't that stupid, right…?

"All right! Let's face off fair and square!" Naruto proclaimed loudly.

"Huh?" said Rin, tilting her head with the same expression.

"That idiot…," Gaara sighed irritably.

'What the hell is he doing?' thought Fu.

"Uh…not to be rude or anything," said Rin slowly, "but you're not exactly the brightest bulb, are you?"

"Shows what you know!" shouted Naruto. "I'm not gonna go run and hide like a little baby like the other two! I'm gonna take you down and show you who's the top dog around here!"

"Number one, the whole point of a ninja is to hide and be stealthy," said Rin blankly. "If you just go running out in the open screaming your head off like a monkey, it kind of defeats the purpose. Second, I'm a Jonin and you're a Genin. There's only one way a fight between us is ever going to end. If you were smart, then you would know that the best option would be to relieve the bell from me quietly without notice. But I'm getting my hopes up a little. I shouldn't expect anything more than someone who could only pass the graduation exam because the teacher likes to play favorites – "

"Shut your damn mouth!" roared Naruto!" I'm gonna freakin' pound you into the ground!"

The boy from the Hidden Leaf blindly charged at his instructor, but Rin made no visible effort to move out of his way. As Naruto takes a swing at her head, she effortlessly caught the fist in her palm and closed her hand around his knuckles. Naruto tugged back on his arm, but Rin's hand was like a steel vice; he couldn't move.

"Since we're here, how about I teach you the three basic shinobi battle techniques?" said Rin. "Lesson number one: Taijutsu – the art of empty-handed combat."

Rin threw his hand to the side, making him spin around until his back was facing her. Then she slapped her open palm into the back of his skull, sending him flying into the ground much like she did earlier. Naruto lifted his head from the grass and pounded his fist furiously. He was not gonna let her get away with this!

Naruto jumped to his feet, rushed back at his instructor, and threw another punch at her head. Rin stopped the punch with her open palm and pushed him back a little. With a frustrated growl, he swung his leg around for a spinning kick, but the experienced Jonin casually ducked under the sweep, staying in a crouched position as she watched her student return both feet to the ground.

By this point, Naruto was losing all sense of tactic and just wanted to beat the crap out of his instructor. But as he swung around for another punch, he suddenly realized too late that the area he was striking was completely empty. Even if Naruto wasn't the smartest Shinobi, he could tell right away that Rin was crouched behind him; he could feel her breath on his ear, sending a cold shiver running down his spine.

"A shinobi should never allow the enemy to take them from behind multiple times, you fool," whispered Rin.

'Holy crap, she's good!' thought Fu impressively.

'Fighting an idiot like Naruto wouldn't be an issue for her,' thought Gaara. 'But every move she's made has been carefully calculated. She never leaves herself open for Naruto or the rest of us. That means she must be conscious of our whereabouts.'

"Are you ready for your punishment, Naruto?" Rin continued to whisper in his ear. "You won't learn your lesson if you're not properly handled."

"W—what are you going to do?" said Naruto. He was so scared of the woman that his body seemed to freeze up.

"Hmm…there is a technique that the Fifth Hokage created that is said to be the most terrifying technique in human history," said Rin slowly. "A technique so immoral, so horrifying, that the Fifth Hokage banned it usage. Maybe this will teach you to pay attention."

"No, sensei, please," said Naruto, whimpering. "Please, don't, I'll be good – "

"Too late," said Rin darkly, folding her hands into a seal. "Secret Ultimate Taijutsu!"

Naruto had experienced his fair share of painful moments growing up in a village that despised his very existence, but none of it could compare to the unbearably excruciating pain that he flared in his ass. On the positive side, at least he was still alive. Unfortunately, the blonde shinobi was sent rocketing through the air like a bullet that had just left a gun, screaming in pain as he held his butt.

"ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!"

For the first time in Gaara's life, he actually got hurt…from slapping himself in the face.

'How?' thought Gaara, groaning. 'How has this become my life?'

Rin was certainly enjoying herself, laughing freely as Naruto was sent flying into the river, nearly landing on top of Fu as he came crashing down. As for the Waterfall Genin, she accidentally sucked up a large amount of water when she started laughing and flailed her arms towards the surface. She took a deep breath as she breached, coughing a little bit as she waded to the shore. Once her lungs were clear, she started laughing again, slapping the ground repeatedly.

"That's the greatest Jutsu I've ever seen!" chortled Fu. "You've gotta teach me that one!"

"If you pass the exercise, it'll be the first thing you learn," said Rin playfully.

"Yay!" Fu cheered.

'They're both idiots' Gaara groaned.

Meanwhile, Naruto sank to the bottom of the river like a rock, feel an unusual assortment of pain, humiliation, frustration, and anger. The pain in his butt had subsided quickly, but there was still the shame of knowing how easily Rin had gotten the drop on him. And then she poked him in the butt…god dammit!

'It wasn't supposed to be this way!' thought Naruto. 'This can't be how it ends!'

"This…this can't be – " Iruka sputtered. He had laid out all the paperwork of Naruto's team, taking in the information it shared. "It wasn't enough to form a team with just one, but you made an entire group filled with them? Do you understand the dangers of allowing such a – "

"The Five Kage are fully aware of the threat they might pose, Iruka," Kakashi interrupted him briskly. "We aren't stupid. The Five Kage spent months deliberating on the matter. We hadn't planned on going through with it until Naruto graduated. The timing was perfect – there was never going to be a better moment to bring them together."

"But even so," said Iruka, "what are we going to do if even one of them runs out of control? It will be the Nine-Tailed Fox incident all over again – "

"Calm yourself, Iruka, you look like you're going to have an aneurysm," said Kakashi calmly. "Like I told you, the Five Kage spent months deliberating what to do about this specific team. We have developed countermeasures to ensure that they are contained. That is why we were very particular when it came to choosing their Jonin sensei."

"You mean this Rin woman?" asked Iruka, sliding the file of the woman in front. "What makes her so special?"

"Well…let me tell you a little story about Rin…," said Kakashi.

Fu pulled herself to the shore on all-fours, ready to pounce away the moment Rin took her eyes off. There was a long moment of pause where the two women just stared at one another until something shot out of the river – a pair of shuriken. Rin's eyes followed the flying ninja tools, giving Fu the perfect chance to run away before the Jonin realize what happened. Rin herself didn't need to move as the shuriken flew harmlessly over her shoulders.

Naruto finally breach and pulled himself to the shore, leaning over the rocks and pausing to catch his breath.

"What's the matter?" said Rin tauntingly. "You won't be able to eat lunch if you don't take the bell by noon, which should be about" – she took a moment to consult a pocket watch on the time – "less than two hours from now."

"I know, I know," Naruto whined.

"Huh, you're not very energetic anymore," said Rin, "considering you said that you would be the greatest Hokage in history."

And right at that moment, Naruto's stomach made a loud, grumbling sound, which earned a laugh from Rin. He wasn't the only one; Gaara and Fu's stomach's also felt uncomfortably empty and were voicing their displeasure.

"Damn it!" yelled Naruto. "I can still fight even if I'm hungry!"

'I stayed up all last night that I didn't even eat dinner,' groaned Gaara. 'Damn it, if Temari and Kankuro saw me now, they would never let me hear the end of it.'

"I just got careless earlier!" shouted Naruto as Rin started to walk away. "But…I'm going to take that bell, not matter what…. No matter what…I'm not…going to turn back now! I'm going to be a shinobi!"

The river rippled and suddenly exploded as six orange blurs took to the sky. Rin used her hand to shield her eyes from the sun in the background and make a noise of being mildly impressed. No less than seven exact copies of Naruto were soaring overhead, each one with a confident grin.

"Haha! Security is your greatest enemy!" shouted Naruto. "Now for my favorite Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

'So he made seven clones; how's that going to help anything – they're just fake images,' thought Fu, until she noticed that each of the clones were dripping water and leaving wet marks in the grass. 'Wait a minute. Those aren't just images. They're solid clones!'

'Most cloning techniques use the elements as a base to support their structure,' thought Gaara, masking his surprising very well. 'But shadow clones are composed entirely of chakra. Creating even one shadow clone requires a lot of concentrated energy. Even Jonin level shinobi can make a dozen at most. But for someone like Naruto – a Genin – to make large number of copies at his current level and not even showing signs of exhaustion…. Perhaps there is more to him than I realized.'

'Not just clones, but shadow clones,' thought Rin. 'A highly advanced ninjutsu that even the most potent of the Hidden Leaf shinobi struggle to achieve. Given his history, it makes sense that someone like him would be able to master a Jutsu that requires astronomically large chakra reserves.'

The Jonin gazed around the half circle of Naruto clones, the smile now wiped from her face and replaced with a calculative look.

"Judging from your ability," said Rin thoughtfully, "that Jutsu should have a one-minute limit. Even after all your trash talk, Naruto is still Naruto after all is said and done…. You still can't beat me with that skill."

But even as she said that, Rin heard the bells strapped to her belt jingle and felt a pair of arms wrap around her underarms and pair of legs wrap around her waist like a bony squid. Rin snapped her head over her shoulders and saw the whiskered face of Naruto, grinning mischievously as he pulled at her arms, keeping her hands stretched outward and leaving her front wide open. The other shadow clones then jumped onto her limbs, fully pinning the woman in place.

"A shinobi should never allow the enemy to take them from behind," said Naruto sarcastically. "Isn't that what you said, Rin-sensei?"

"How did you get behind me?" asked Rin.

"When I threw those shuriken from the water earlier," Naruto explained, "one of them was actually a shadow clone using a transformation Jutsu. So while you were distracted from the front, I had that one sneak up from behind." One of the shadow clones broke off from the group and started winding up their fist. "Here's one for that attack on my butt earlier!"

'Wow, so cool!' thought Fu excitedly.

'So he does have it in him to plan a diversionary tactic,' thought Gaara, even more surprised that he found himself smiling. 'This guy isn't so bad after all….'

The separate Naruto bounced forward and threw his fist at the woman's face, landing a solid strike against her cheek…or at least that's what he thought. The small unit of Naruto's cried out in surprise and jumped away when their Jonin instructor suddenly exploded into a blob of water, spraying the clones and surrounding area. The Naruto clones groaned as the water dripped from their soggy cloths.

"Aw, man," Naruto moaned. "What the heck was that?"

'Was that a water clone?' thought Fu, surprised. 'When did she have time to do that?'

'She must have substituted while we were busy hiding,' thought Gaara. 'She sent the clone out in her place while she remained hidden to gather intel on our techniques and strategies – a commonly used tactic ideal for infiltrating enemy strongholds without the risk of capture. And she used water as a base…that must mean specializes in water-style ninjutsu. Rin-sensei's ploy was a double-edged sword – now I know a little about her and she has learned nothing about me….'

"Oh man, this is so lame…," Naruto mumbled, dispelling his shadow clones.

Just then, he saw something glinting out of the corner of his eye. He leaned in closer and saw, right there, lying in the grass underneath a thick tree, was a silver bell.

"No way!" Naruto shouted in surprise, which quickly shifted into a cocky grin. "She must have been in such a hurry to get out of here, she dropped one of the bells. Lucky…."

He dashed over to collect the bell before Rin would realize what had happened, completely overlooking the possibility of any traps like Gaara and Fu were plenty aware of.

Just when he was within reach of the trinket, something snapped at his ankle and Naruto suddenly felt his legs being pulled out from under him. He hit the ground hard before he was lifted backwards and suddenly found himself dangling by one of the tree's branches.

"What the hell is this?" cried Naruto.

'Did he really think a capable Jonin would make such an obvious mistake?' Gaara thought exasperatedly.

Hanging several feet off the ground, Naruto made a valiant effort to reach the bell, which was directly underneath him. Sadly, Rin chose that moment to appear and pick up the bell, dangling it tauntingly right in Naruto's face; Naruto tried to swipe at it, but she pulled away.

"You need to think about how you plan to use a Jutsu before you put it into effect," said Rin. "Otherwise, the enemy will turn your advantage into their own. Also…don't get caught up in the obvious traps, you fool." Naruto growled and flailed even harder, reaching for his teacher. "A shinobi must see through deception. That's one of the basic principles of ninjutsu."

"I know that already!" yelled Naruto.

"I'm telling you this because you don't," said Rin. "Listen carefully – "

But while Rin went into full teacher mode, Gaara suddenly perked up in his space underneath the dirt. For the first time since the exercise started, Rin had dropped her guard. This was a golden opportunity – he couldn't waste this moment!

"Sand Impalement Jutsu!" shouted Gaara.

"Are you listening to me, Naruto," said Rin sternly. "You're too – GURK!"

Rin's voice became lost in her throat and Naruto's eyes became wide as dinner plates, his mouth opened in a silent scream. A pointed pillar of condensed sand had jutted from the ground, entering Rin through the back and exiting between her breasts.