Chapter Five: Hospital, and Revelation

"Hiromi!"

I jerked awake, disoriented for the moment. Wasn't I just in the stadium? Then it hit me. White walls, bed, the lighting, the fact that I was hooked up to life sign monitors.

What am I doing in the hospital…and why do I feel so tired? It's like all the chakra has been drained out of me. I don't even have enough in me to activate my Byakugan.

Slowly, it came back to me. The walk, the match, and the hostage scene… but that still didn't explain why I felt so tired, nor why I was in the hospital. I remember using the Rasengan, but I was fifty meters away from the guy. How did I do it? More importantly, is Hiromi all right? The sun's angle says it's been more than four hours.

The door opened, and in walked a small crowd. There was Mom, Dad, a nurse, Kentaro and… Hiromi! She's okay!

"Son, we're going to need to talk." Dad started his usual direct way. "I recognized the Rasengan in what you did, as did about a third of the crowd. You didn't mention that you'd figured out how to use it."

The Nurse quickly left, at this point.

"I didn't? Well, I've known how since before I came home from that mission. I used it to defeat that Rock nin I reported."

"Shien," Mother interjected "Do you know what you just did? You threw a Rasengan. That's not supposed to be possible, but you did, and everyone in the arena saw it."

Suddenly, the last moments before I fell unconscious came to me. "I think I remember how. I was just so MAD, I poured so much power into it… that must be why I fell unconscious. I'm not sure if I could explain it to anyone who hasn't used it themselves, though"

"Shien-kun, that must have been more than you think. You've been out for just over a day, now."

Huh?

"Yeah, Shien. Don't you want to know how the tournament came out?"

"If you're saying that, Kentaro, I assume you did at least somewhat well."

"I'll let your friends explain it, son, but once you recover, you're going to have to explain to your mother and I just how you did what you did. We'll be back later, but there is business to attend to. By the way, did Hiromi and Kentaro pass the test?"

"Yes, Dad. You can tell Shikamaru-san that they're trustworthy."

"Good! I will see you this evening, then." My parents left the room.

"Shien, what was that last part about?"

"It's simple, Kentaro. You know how I was bugging you guys for info all month?"

"Yeah, it was getting annoying"

"Well, if you'd have given it to me, it would have disqualified you from the Chuunin Selection debates, no matter how well you did."

Both of my teammates looked at me quite sharply.
"What? It wasn't MY idea. So, how did the tournament go?"

"Kentaro and I ended up drawing in the final round. It took about fifteen minutes and two iterations through every Jyuuken form, but it just got to the point where neither of us could fight anymore."

"I STILL can't believe that you just got up from that Genjutsu and kept on fighting, once Mom broke it."

"Why shouldn't I have? It was just a sleep-spell."

"Hang on, slow down, guys. Why don't we start from the beginning? Now that you can tell me, what was the deal with the opening phases of the Chuunin Exam?

Hiromi smiled. "Simple enough, really. None of the tasks in either of the first two phases could be accomplished by fewer than six people working in concert."

The sheer simplicity of it stunned me for a second. There was Shikamaru's hand in it, all right. No matter what, if you came to the event, you'd HAVE to be able to not just work as a team, but to do so with people you hadn't trained with. Perhaps even people from another village, or even a RIVAL one.

"Yeah, the written test was kinda weird. It had questions about stuff I've never even heard about, history of other villages, seal sequences to strange techniques, the WORKS. Then, after they explained it all, Shikamaru-san said they'd be back in an hour, and every one of the examiners left the room. Turns out, the only trick was to find people from places that would naturally know the answer to a given question, and ASK them. That's it." Kentaro explained.

"Then, in the gauntlet part, there were all kinds of devices set up, requiring four to six people to pass." Hiromi said. "The last one was at the door to the tower in the middle of the Forest of Death, requiring that three people keep their hands on a seal to open a door. There was a similar mechanism INSIDE, which would also keep the door open. Long and the short of it was that someone had to trust someone else to hold the door open from the inside so that they could get through, too. As it turns out, the ones who betrayed their allies got knocked out by an observing Jounin. Kentaro and I found a trio from the Sand and one from the Grass, and we made our way through as a 6-man cell."

Once again, the simplicity of it was what got to me. Loyalty, teamwork, use of resources, EVERYTHING was tested, and three-man teams were not rewarded at all. Just like Shikamaru. When he finally decides to do something, he does it thoroughly, but with as little complication as possible to be able to do so.

"Your turn, Shien. What did you do to that guy? All I saw was a glowing ball shoot from the stands and slam into him. Hiromi probably didn't catch it, though" Kentaro smiled.

"Like I said, I'm not too sure, myself. All I knew was that he had to go down, that he'd see a seal or physical weapon coming, and that I was in the best position to do something about it. I just couldn't let him keep Hiromi-chan as hostage, so I did what I did. I'm not going to do it again any time soon, though, it took too much out of me to do so."

There was a knock on the door, and Kakashi came in, carrying a small, sealed tube. "Ah, you're all here. Good, I'll be able to explain things to you guys, all at once." At that, he took two others out of his belt pouch, and proceeded to hand each of us one of them. "Go ahead, read the message."

I opened up mine, and saw Dad's seal on the scroll. Whatever it was, it was official. VERY official, if he hadn't told me in person.

Uzumaki Shien;
The Council acknowledges your following actions: First, the rapid action to save a Leaf Gennin and end a hostage situation. Second, that this action resulted in the acquisition of vital intelligence. Third, your contribution of a new technique, the Hougen Rasengan, to the archives of Konoha.
For these things and more, you are now officially nominated for Jounin rank, pending further trials. Congratulations, and continue to make Konoha proud of its choice.
Signed,
Uzumaki Naruto, Hokage

I stared at the note for a while, not comprehending the words. I looked up at Kakashi, smiling again (and again, I had now idea how he managed to give the impression). "I…"

"You don't need to say anything, Shien" Kakashi said. "You've earned it, all of you."

All of you? That means…"I guess you guys are both getting a promotion, huh? Hiromi, Kentaro, congrats."

Hiromi was the first to break the spell. "YATTA!"

Ow, that was loud…

"Shien, looks like we're going to be coming along with you next time you head out!" Kentaro exclaimed. "Lemme guess, that message of yours is a team assignment saying so?"

"Close, man. You know how I only had to contribute a new Jutsu to the archives to complete my nomination?"

"Yeah, so?"

"They're calling what I threw off the 'Hougen Rasengan"… the Cannon Rasengan. You might be coming with me, but I'll still be in command. I got nominated for Jounin!"

The looks on their faces in that moment would forever sustain me through the roughest times of my life. The cheers that came afterwards made sure of it.

"I hate to interrupt the celebration," Kakashi said, "but I'm still here, and I'm not done. Not all of my news is good, unfortunately. The man Shien disabled so thoroughly was a Rain Jounin. Your next mission starts in five days, and it is to investigate some information he had. I don't know all of it, and I will not be coming with you. You will all receive necessary intelligence sometime within 48 hours, and Kentaro and Hiromi will also get their Bingo Books. Recover well, my former students, and may your mission go swiftly and safely. By the time you guys get back, I'll probably have another team."

Interlude Five: On the Composition of Shinobi Teams

Shinobi teams are grouped together as they become Gennin. This is an important process, since the team will be doing everything together while on the job. The way the teams are put together are by academy grades, so that each group will be initially balanced.

At least, that is what the rising Gennin are told. In truth, this is the last thing on the minds of those assigning the groups. If grades were the sole determination of grouping status, then most teams would have imbalanced skills, not to mention personality conflicts, and would fall apart in the field.
Many things are considered. Foremost among them is a balance of specialization, such that a team will usually include a Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu type. Another thing to consider is how the students worked with each other during their time at the academy. Even lineage plays a part, as students whose parents were on the same team are often grouped together, usually to good effect.

However, the student's assumption that grades lead to groups provides a valuable filter for their selection. Some particularly bright and precocious students have been known to manipulate their own grades, just to be able to team up with their friends. In these cases, and other similar ones, the trio is almost always put together, regardless of their success in their endeavor. Inevitably, the teams formed this way are the best of the best at working with each other, and trust each other implicitly. This degree of cooperation has seen many missions through, where otherwise they might have failed.