It was official. Menma hated Kakashi, he hated the Jonin with the passion.

After becoming an official Genin Team Menma had thought that they'd be doing actual missions. The missions didn't have to be too crazy, just something nice that pushed them but not too far.

And that was when Kakashi had come waltzing onto their training ground with Mitarashi Anko in tow.

Menma had met Anko back when Sashiko was just made into a Genin. The woman had apparently known Sashiko since the girl was four, mostly due to Sashi's godfather being the Snake Sannin Orochimaru, Anko's Sensei. Anko was a very eccentric individual who had a distinct view on the world of Ninja and how it should work. The woman was by no means a whiny person, as she had no tolerance for those people. Instead, Anko was a strong willed female that could knock anyone for a loop.

In fact, she had done just that once she and Kakashi had started testing their abilities.

Currently, Menma was dealing with her snakes, weaving around them and struggling to dodge with every jutsu he knew available without hurting the snakes or worse, hurting himself. Sasuke wasn't doing much better on Kakashi's course from hell, while Sakura was being tortured by Anko as well, only this torture involved not just running, but dodging Kunai while listening to Anko's sadistic laughter. All in all Team Seven felt screwed, pissed off, and rather vengeful toward their sensei.

Menma would prefer D-rank chores to this training session, even if he had already started to notice where and how to dodge lest he be cornered by too many snakes. Still, at the very least they weren't being hunted or put into the forest of death, made to defend themselves and each other with only the basic knowledge they were supplied with in the Academy.

"Hmm…I think we can do this again for a few more days, and then maybe after that, we can work on your guys' teamwork. Perhaps…a little survivor training is in order before we head out on a C-Rank."

Menma hated Kakashi. He hated himself for thinking because Kakashi had just read his mind and created an even worse scenario. Based on the cries from his teammates, Sasuke and Sakura agreed.

They finally finished the session several hours later as the sun was dropping low in the sky, each of their muscles aching horribly while they all leaned on one another, wondering what to do next. Anko had left with a friendly wave while Kakashi had talked about finding another Sensei to help out since Anko was busy the remainder of the week.

All three students turned to one another and agreed in silence to kill their Sensei the moment they had the chance. First, however, they needed some food and a good night's rest.

I~~~~I

The days passed by with more training, some of the sessions not nearly as bad as the first, others worse. At some point, Kakashi had remembered that he wasn't the only Sensei and had invited in the other Rookie teams that had passed so that they could all get to know one another. Often the teams from a single year would be put on the same teams when they reached a higher rank or went on higher missions. This meant that the teams had not only to focus on Teamwork between their immediate members but also the others in their passing class.

That left Team Seven to take their hand in introducing Teams Eight and Ten to their hellish regime.

The first day with the other teams wasn't as successful, but the next one went quite well.

I~~~~I

Menma ducked under the kick that Kiba directed at his head, swiveling around Akamaru as the dog tried to land a hit. He drew his fist up in order to strike Kiba's shoulder, only for the Inuzuka to grab his fist and send him over his shoulder with a harsh tug. The Namikaze Heir flew into the air, flipping around to deliver an ax kick to Kiba's back.

The blows continued, most of them being blocked or dodged. The two worked around each other while Kurenai watched them. Kakashi was watching Ino and Shino as they fought, and Asuma took note of the battle between Sakura and Choji. Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Hinata all sat off on the sidelines waiting for their turns with whatever opponents were needed. The first round was a simple warmup that had them working with someone with similar strengths to their own. The second would involve a much harsher match between their worst matchup, and after that, they'd all sit down and discuss the matches. The several matches going on at once were meant to gauge the other's awareness to the happenings around them.

"Alright, that's enough Kiba, Menma. Walk it off while I ask the others about what they saw."

Menma gasped, panting gently as he let go of the grip he had on Kiba's shoulder, the other male halting his fist from where it had nearly smashed into Menma's gut. The boys grinned at one another, both sweating to some degree, but rather glad to be working off their sore muscles with the light sparring.

They both walked toward the other Genin, each calming down their bodies with the simple actions so they wouldn't shock themselves. It was never good to go from a workout to staying still, as it would do more harm than good. This was the reason why Kurenai had ordered them to walk it off rather than sit down right away.

"Okay, so what did you notice with their spar?" Kurenai questioned the unmatched kids, each of them still paying attention to the other fights that were drawing to a close, while also meeting her gaze.

Hinata tentatively raised her hand, earning a smile as Kurenai nodded to her. The shy girl blushed as she spoke, poking her fingers together to form diamonds, and occasionally, a heart.

"M-Menma-Kun tends to use his right m-more than his left…Kiba-Kun also likes t-to rush into t-Things."

Kurenai nodded, smirking while she glanced to the two other males, awaiting answers.

Sasuke sighed as he spoke up.

"In strength, Kiba has Menma beat soundly, however, when it comes to strategy and keeping his head above his opponents Menma is better. When Kiba charges Menma is already thinking about what moves he'll make and several ways to deflect, dodge, or parry each one."

Shikamaru nodded in agreement, closing his eyes tiredly as he added onto Sasuke's explanation. "Kiba doesn't think ahead and instead in the moment. Menma tends to use that to his advantage, but the further he gets into a battle the less he plans. He grows frustrated with his plans and resorts to instinct."

Kurenai nodded to both of the explanations, taking each one before she looked to Menma and Kiba. Kiba was flushed a little from the criticism, while Menma looked to be thinking over what they had said, nodding along with some of the points they had made. Obviously, the boy knew to take the criticism and use it to better himself, if at a slower pace than most.

Truly, Menma was both his father's child as well as his mother's. He had his father's critical thinking but also his mother's energetic style added to his creativity. Kiba had all of his mother's personality, fierce and headstrong right up until someone smacked some sense into him. After listening to not just Kurenai but also the other Rookie's for two days, he was slowly starting to accept what they saw and maybe even adjust his ways. Kiba would always be headstrong, but at least he would still know when to push harder and when to back off. Menma on the other hand just needed to know when to add force to the situation, since he was still quite docile unless provoked.

Kakashi and Asuma returned to the huddled group of students. Kakashi called Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Hinata forward so he could get them fighting, while Asuma started questioning the two returning groups.

They worked through the different weaknesses of the group before they waited for the last match to end so they could choose who happened to be the worst opponent that they could face.

Each student pressed themselves further, continuing to push until they all collapsed together near the end of the third match, completely exhausted.

It was quite the relief for all of them when Sashiko's team arrived with enough food and drinks for each person to come out of it energized.

The very next day when they had to paint fences, walk hellhounds, and take care of babies didn't even manage to dampen their moods.

I~~~~I

By the end of the fourth week of training mixed with one or two simple D-ranks, Kakashi decided to send his team out on a C-Rank mission. Kurenai and Asuma also took the liberty to take their own missions, Kurenai gaining a courier run while Asuma chose a simple escort mission for a goat merchant.

Kakashi's team had garnered a rather different mission.

I~~~~I

"Alright, so next to another merchant escort mission there is a mission to the Land of Hot springs to help out some farmers, and another to deliver supplies to the border patrol near Suna."

Iruka's calm voice did wonders for the slightly tired Genin. They had all rested well the night before, but there was still some tingling in their adjusting muscles after the training session two days ago.

As per custom, a Chunin officer that had been instated for over five years, in this case, Iruka, was overseeing the younger mission assignments. A Jonin covered the missions for higher ranking personnel, and any other missions were given in a different manner by other people. Iruka tended to be the chosen candidate for the missions desk when he wasn't teaching, which was over half the year.

Before Minato had changed the mission assigning and ranking system, he had to be there to oversee the missions that were assigned. After he had divided the responsibility to trusted individuals, other than S-Ranks and higher, the paperwork load had decreased. In addition to all of those things, the Police Force took care of the assignment of E-Ranks to the Academy. The Police Force also cycled the civilian and shinobi complaints through different circles, dividing them to other offices like Civilian legal, financial, and several other offices, or just the Genin, Chunin, or Jonin Commanders.

Things tended to work smoother with the newer system, and it left Minato to deal with far more important matters. Menma had seen his father's paperwork before and after him and his advisor, Orochimaru, had tackled the problem, so he knew.

"Mah…Maybe the delivery mission would work." Kakashi idly commented to Iruka, drawing the brunette's attention to him.

Iruka huffed at Kakashi, his warm hazel eyes narrowing into an icy glare as he hissed out an accusation at the Jonin. "Only if you actually do the paperwork, Hatake-San."

Kakashi laughed sheepishly behind his mask, rubbing his head of silver hair in a familiar manner while his closed eye turned into its dreaded 'n' shape.

"Aw, Iruka-Kun, you wound me. I would never give you so much trouble.~"

Kakashi tried to placate the Chunin that had been his Genin's sensei, neither his students nor Iruka buying a single second of his bullshit. Iruka had dealt with Kakashi's late paperwork long enough to know, while the Genin had come to understand that their Sensei was an asshole over the past weeks working with him.

The Jonin seemed to realize that he wasn't going to fake his way out of this situation, and he grew rather fidgety next to his glaring Genin and the deadpanning Iruka.

"Uh huh, sure Hatake-San."

Iruka commented blandly, looking to the three Genin for their input. While it was true that the Sensei often selected the mission, Iruka wasn't in the mood to deal with Kakashi's eccentric Jonin nature.

Least of all when a Jonin rushed into the room with a hard expression on his face.

"Jonin Hatake, the Hokage demands your presence. Chunin Iruka, send a notice to all available Genin Teams quickly, there is a code crash."

Kakashi's mind froze, each thought bouncing toward the teams he had seen leave with missions. One, in particular, caught his attention. A team with a certain blue haired Oreshizoku, heading to Wave on a B-Rank with an order to remain on guard. Things hadn't gone well in Wave recently, and a Bridge Builder coming over requesting help had made things worse. The Jonin these days weren't really available to go on such missions alone, and so Team Six, or Team Yamato as they were known now, was picked.

Code Crash meant an expected, but still, the dangerous event had happened. Considering that Yamato was one of the strongest Jonin that Kakashi knew, that something had to be much bigger than the rumored Seven Swordsman under Gato's thumb.

All of Team Seven was on alert and marching quickly to the Hokage's office after they realized what the Jonin had just said.

In the Academy, students were taught several basic codes. Crash happened to be the most stressed code to all students after so many mishaps happened on simple missions. In layman's terms Crash meant that the mission had an unexpected element in a known to be a bad situation.

It seemed that Minato's strange orders for him to make the Genin wait in the village a few more days than he had originally wanted to wait started to make sense.

I~~~~I

That's a wrap. I enjoyed writing this after the hectic time I had. The first day of school is today, which is horrid. I'm sorry the update is a day late too, but it slipped my mind. I have all honors curses this year, which is just lovely, but Student Council seems to be an easier and fun interlude to my day. Our homecoming though is a week earlier, so I'm not really looking forward to the scrambling.

Anyways thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed, and I also hope you continue to!

Omake- Time Travel, Again

Akihane raised a brow, staring down the familiar face of her double, Naruto.

Naruto looked at her, then he turned his head to the other blonde, this one female, and he began to sweat.

"H-Hey…I-I really didn't mean to summon you guys, b-but the jutsu w-went wrong a-and…"

Akihane huffed, turning to the female Naruto beside her.

"So, are you a part of a powerful bloodline, have the tragic backstory or did you not grow up in Konoha?"

The Naruto wearing an Iwa Headprotector laughed softly, smiling sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head.

"All of the above, actually."

The Narutos sighed together, bowing their heads in exasperation.

"Whoever is twisting these things around…"

They all nodded in unison, scaring the pink haired woman and her raven haired partner as they watched.