Chapter 2 – Teamwork, Training, & a C-Rank Mission

As soon as Kurenai declared a start to the test, she immediately cast her first Genjutsu upon each of her three students in an effort to test their knowledge on her favorite type of jutsu. "Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique)!" Upon saying this, leaves swirled around all three of her Genin and she disappeared from view.

Naruto

Naruto had been prepared to attack Kurenai alongside Kiba and Akamaru before everything went dark around him. Suddenly he was reliving the worst attack of his life all over again. As he ran from the villagers and the various shinobi out for his life, Naruto shook his head and tried to tell himself numerous times that this wasn't real.

After being cornered, Naruto threw his arms up in defense to at least protect his head as attack after attack was rained down on him from the angry mob. Mere moments later, some words rang in his head that sounded very familiar.

'Remember this lesson well Naruto as it will help you later on after you become a shinobi. Genjutsu may seem like a worthless tool in battle, but it's actually quite effective if used properly in battle. I'm afraid that with your high chakra reserves, I am not the one to teach you the uses of Genjutsu, but I can certainly teach you how to break out of them. Now, sit down and I will explain to you in detail the various uses of Genjutsu and how to break free from them. To begin…'

Naruto's eyes suddenly shot open in realization. I'm trapped in a freaking Genjutsu! Dammit sensei, how can you send me back to the worst freaking night of my life?! Stupid psycho woman! Grumbling to himself, Naruto formed a single hand sign and calmed himself before spiking his chakra in his best effort to break himself out of his nightmare.

Sakura

As soon as Sakura was trapped in the Genjutsu, she began to hear the sounds of a fierce battle raging nearby. Despite her senses telling her otherwise, the pink-haired girl's curiosity got the better of her and she rushed off to investigate. Upon reaching the site of the battle, the sight before her caused her to let out a shrill scream.

Rushing over to the injured boy, she knelt down and instantly cradled him to her chest. "Sasuke-kun! What happened to you? Speak to me!" It was then that she heard somebody chuckling nearby. Turning her gaze, she saw Sean standing with a sword in hand. Sasuke's blood was slowly dripping down the blade and the look in his eyes sent shivers throughout her entire body.

After a moment of his taunting her, Sakura's eyes suddenly shot open in realization. Wait a minute. Why would Sasuke be here in our training ground? This doesn't make any sense. Then it all hit her and her eyes widened even more. That's right! Kurenai-sensei said she specializes in Genjutsu! Please let me be right!

Kiba

"Akamaru? Akamaru?! Where are you buddy?! Please speak to me!" Hearing a faint yipping sound off in the distance, Kiba's ears immediately perked up and he rushed off in the direction of his best friend. However, the sight that greeted him was far from what he was expecting to find.

Kneeling down, Kiba gently lifted the heavily wounded Akamaru into his arms and began to shed his tears. "Akamaru? Who did this to you?! Please, don't leave me!" With that, Akamaru strained to lick Kiba's hand and went limp in his arms.

As he continued to cry, Kiba listened as Kurenai began to speak to him. It was obvious to him without even hearing her words that she was mocking him for being unable to protect those precious to him. Glaring her way, Kiba snarled and prepared to attack. At least, that was the case until he calmed himself down and began to at least try to think rationally on the problem at hand.

This has to be some kind of trick. I'm dreaming, imagining all of this, SOMETHING! Well it's time to wake up dammit! Kiba shut his eyelids tight and prepared himself for what he was about to do. Reaching into his kunai holster, the young Inuzuka gripped one of his kunai tight and stabbed himself in the leg in an effort to break free from the Genjutsu.

Team 8's Training Grounds

Upon breaking out of the Genjutsu, all three Genin looked around to find that they hadn't moved from where they had been standing once the battle began. Ten minutes had passed since they had been trapped in the Genjutsu. Frowning, the three Genin looked to Kurenai and groaned.

Pointing an accusing finger at Kurenai, Naruto grimaced and shook his head. "Kurenai-sensei, that wasn't cool! That was the worst night of my life! How could you pull that crap with me?! With US?!" Clenching his hands together in fists, the young, blonde Genin quickly tried to calm himself down. Taking a few deep breaths, Naruto steeled himself and glared at his new sensei before glancing to his teammates. I wonder if that guy would be okay if I used a few techniques now. He said to be careful about what I did during the academy, but technically I'm not in the academy anymore so it should be okay right?

Nodding to himself, Naruto decided to speak up. "Kiba, Sakura, let's try to work together to show her what we can do. All right?" When Kiba nodded in response, Naruto glanced to Sakura and groaned at her disgusted look at having to work with Naruto-baka of all people. "Dammit Sakura, now isn't the time for your "I hate Naruto!" crap. Just trust me okay?" Smiling at her, Naruto gathered them around him and began to explain his plan.

Off to the side, Sean found himself smirking. He had never informed Naruto of his identity, so it was obvious that the young Genin didn't recognize him. However, he was proud that Naruto was remembering everything that he had taught him. All right Naruto, show them what you can do. Looking towards Kurenai, Sean grinned as he began to ponder what she would do after she learned what the three Genin were about to do. Currently, she appeared to simply be waiting for them to make their move.

Sakura let out a frustrated sigh before finally conceding and agreeing to Naruto's plan. By now they only had fifteen minutes left, but Naruto seemed so positive that this idea of his would work to at least catch their sensei off guard. Still, after all she had seen from Naruto before, she didn't have much faith in his abilities.

Seeing how she was behaving, Sean couldn't help but chuckle from where he was standing. As the three Genin glared over at him, the blue-haired man threw up his hands and waved them in a manner as if he was asking for forgiveness. However, Sean's laughter belied the gesture's purpose and only infuriated the three Genin further.

Deciding to ignore their obnoxious sensei, the group of Genin quickly turned to Kurenai and began their assault. Naruto was the first to take action as he quickly threw three kunai in succession at Kurenai. Acting quickly, the Genjutsu Mistress quickly deflected two kunai and dodged the third. However, she ended up landing straight in the path of Kiba and Akamaru as they drilled towards her along the ground using their combination attack: Gatsūga (Fang Passing Fang).

Right as Kiba and Akamaru reached her, the crimson-eyed woman quickly used a Kawarimi (Body Replacement) to replace herself with a nearby twig that lay in the shade of a tree. Upon realizing that Kurenai had replaced herself, Kiba stopped his attack and smirked. "Sakura, now's your chance!"

As soon as those words left Kiba's mouth, Kurenai's eyes widened in surprise as Sakura's trap sprung from the ground. The Genjutsu specialist was quickly pinned to the tree by three long strands of ninja wire. When Sakura came out from behind the tree with a grin plastered on her face, Kurenai simply let out a heavy sigh as she shook her head. "All right, all right. You three did very well. Not only did you escape my Genjutsu, but you quickly came up with a plan and pulled through with it quite effectively. You all pass. For just becoming a team, you worked real well together. However…" Kurenai looked over at Sean as he appeared by her side, shocking the students as she waited for him to continue where she left off.

Sean sighed and quickly freed Kurenai before he began. "While Naruto and Kiba are naturally going to work well together due to their longtime friendship, Sakura's the weak link here. Despite the fact that Sakura caved in the end and decided to work with the rest of her team to prove her worth as a kunoichi, she still doesn't care much for the two males of her team. Until she learns to get over this supposed 'hatred' of her teammates, namely Naruto, we'll have to work on improving their teamwork. However…"

Before Sean could continue, Sakura began screeching at him. "Sensei! What the hell are you talking about?! Naruto-baka's a dead last, a LOSER! I should've been on a team with Sasuke-kun. At least then I could've been on a team of worth. We'll never get anywhere with these two on the team." At this, the four other members of Team 8 shook their heads and let out heavy, drawn-out sighs of frustration.

Sean grumbled and dragged a hand down the front of his face before he decided to speak again. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, it's actually a good thing that Sakura was placed on this team."

At this, Naruto's and Kiba's eyes widened and they shouted out in unison: "It is?! What the hell do you mean by that Sean-sensei?!"

Sighing once more, Sean looked to Kurenai and chuckled softly before he patted the two Genin on their heads. "Yes, it is. The Sasuke fan girls were not placed on a team with the Uchiha brat and I have to commend Hokage-sama on his choices. You see, if they had been placed on a team with their precious 'Sasuke-kun', they would NEVER have focused on training or on their missions. Instead they'd be doing their very best to try and get them to notice him. Therefore, their missions would have, quite possibly, ended in failure and could have resulted in not only themselves, but their sensei and their precious Sasuke-kun being injured or possibly even killed. Having Sakura and Ino apart from Sasuke Uchiha allows them to focus instead of becoming great kunoichi and growing stronger."

Looking down at Sakura, Sean kneeled down and smiled kindly at her. "Sakura, you are an intelligent young woman. You don't have to stop chasing after Sasuke or trying to impress him later on, but Kurenai and I are going to work you hard so you can become what you were meant to be: an intelligent, wonderful ninja with skills to rival even the strongest kunoichi in existence no matter who that might turn out to be." Smirking a bit, he patted the pink-haired girl atop her head. "I'm sure Kurenai can teach you some Genjutsu, and the two of us together will help you learn more ninjutsu and even help you find the perfect Taijutsu style for you."

Looking to the others, Sean smirked and poked Naruto in the forehead. "As for you Mister, I'll continue to train you to perfect that Taijutsu style of yours. If you ever want, I can teach you Kenjutsu as well. I'm afraid I'm not a Fuinjutsu master, but I can help you with more of the basics and easier seals. You'll have to show your teammates what you've learned over the years as well." When Naruto frowned and looked the strange man up and down for a moment, Sean chuckled quietly and turned to Kiba.

"You, on the other hand, I plan to work with you and your family to help you become even more proficient with your Taijutsu style. On top of that, we'll figure out yours and Sakura's elemental affinities. Depending on what they are, Kurenai-sensei and I shall work with the three of you and teach you what we can. Perhaps we can even help you, Kiba, to implement your elemental jutsu into your Taijutsu style." Smiling kindly at the three Genin, Sean rose and nodded his head as he folded his arms across his chest.

The three Genin smiled at him and looked between their two senseis before resting their gazes upon Sean. "Okay, we know Kurenai-sensei's main forte, but what about you? What do you specialize in?" Sakura asked curiously.

Sean smirked and held out his right hand, palm up. Suddenly the wind swirled around the five ninja in the training ground and began building up in his hand. When it finally settled down, the four of them looked at the assistant Jonin instructor and the three Genin widened their eyes. "I've never heard of wind manipulation to such a degree! It's a sword of pure wind!" As Sakura reached out to touch it, Sean stopped her and waggled his finger in front of her face.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. When I create weapons of pure wind, the wind continues to move around at such speeds that it cuts through pretty much anything like butter. Of course, when going against fire jutsu or fire-imbued weapons, wind is practically useless. That's when I switch to using ninjutsu or my katana. As for my control over wind…I suppose the best explanation is that I've always had an unusually strong affinity for the wind element. My secondary elemental affinity is water, but it's nowhere near as strong as my wind affinity."

In an instant, the wind sword was dispelled and Sean smiled happily as he turned to Naruto. At the look of recognition on his apprentice's face, the assistant sensei smirked. "I see you recognize me now Naruto Uzumaki. It's been a while."

As his two Genin teammates glanced at Naruto, they were shocked when the blonde-haired young man glomped Sean and held onto him tightly around the waist. "Wind-sensei! Why didn't you tell me that you were him?! I was so worried that you weren't going to teach me anymore!" At his tears, Sean chuckled and softly wiped them away with his thumbs and poked him in the forehead again.

"Now listen here Naruto. I won't have you crying on my watch. Kurenai-sensei and I are going to train you even harder from now on. I promised that as soon as you became a Genin that you'd undergo even rougher training than before and I meant it. Now calm down all right? I'll treat all of you to dinner. Because you did so well, I'll let you choose where we go to eat okay?"

At the looks of horror on Sakura's and Kiba's faces, Sean gave them a knowing smirk. When Naruto immediately shouted out "Ichiraku's Ramen!" Sean laughed heartily and began walking with them to Naruto's favorite ramen stand.

The Next Day – Team 8's Training Ground – 2:00 PM

The three Genin from Team 8 collapsed to their knees and groaned in agony. After catching her breath, Sakura grabbed Naruto by the collar of his loose, black shirt and shook him like crazy. "Why the hell didn't you tell us he was such a slave driver?! At this rate we're going to end up dead before we even get our first REAL mission! The stupid D-ranks we've done are ridiculous. If we even try a C-rank…" Sighing heavily, Sakura shook her head and lowered it slowly. "We just won't have the energy necessary…will we?"

Naruto simply chuckled a moment before prying his teammate's hands from his shirt and patting her on both of her shoulders. "He was never this hard on me before. I'm a stamina freak and I'm STILL exhausted. Trust me though; all of this training will pay off in the end dattebayo!" When all he received was a light smack to the head, the blonde-haired Genin sighed and looked to Kiba and Akamaru. The two of them were lying, panting on the ground. Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto looked over to Kurenai and Sean as they both walked over.

Smirking, Sean folded his arms across his chest and stopped a few feet from his team. "You can rest for ten minutes. By then, Kurenai has some teamwork exercises she'd like you to try out. After that, we'll take on a few more D-rank missions. Finally, before you're allowed to return home for the night, we'll try and help you out with some chakra exercises. Kurenai and I have both agreed that we'll train you in tree-climbing first before we move you on to water-walking. Afterwards, depending on how well you've been doing, we can work on teaching the three of you more jutsu. Though, of course, we'll have to figure out what your elemental affinities are." Reaching up, Sean lightly scratched his chin and shrugged. "Have fun with your teamwork exercises. I'm going to get myself something to drink and check up on a few things. Meet you in the Hokage's office in a couple of hours." With a nod, Sean quickly shunshined out of the area.

The three Genin turned to Kurenai and scowled. "We're really starting to HATE him Kurenai-sensei. Between these gravity seals, the physical exercises, and everything else he's had us doing, how the heck are we supposed to last?" When Kurenai simply chuckled and shook her head, the three Genin lowered their heads and sighed heavily.

With Sean

After stopping at home and picking up a small bottle of water, Sean disappeared again and reappeared at the Inuzuka compound. Walking up to the front door, he knocked and waited with a smile. Moments later, when the head of the clan opened the sliding door, Sean bowed to her with a smile. "Good day to you Lady Inuzuka. May I come in, please?"

When Tsume nodded and stepped aside, Sean stepped in and joined her on a simple-looking couch. "What brings you here Sean? I thought for sure you would be busy with your team." Glancing over at him out of the corner of her eye, Tsume noticed that he was simply grinning as he fiddled around with his bottle of water. Shrugging, she decided to wait and hear what he had to say.

"Inuzuka-san, I wanted to talk with you about your son, Kiba." Turning his head to her, Sean simply smiled and nodded his head. "He's quite strong for his age, and his techniques are very powerful. However, I would like to request that you and Hana-san up his training regimen here at home. It would be great for him to learn more techniques and continue his training here at home. Kurenai-san will speak with Sakura's parents and request their permission for private lessons with Sakura. Thus, I agreed to come speak with you about Kiba's training."

Tsume nodded her head as she took in everything that Sean had to say. Turning her head, the Inuzuka clan head leaned back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. "I can only imagine the kind of training you're putting your team through. Are you positive that Kiba has the stamina to last throughout the day and then train even more upon returning home at the end of the day?" Glancing over at Sean and seeing him smirking, Tsume barked out a laugh and shook her head. "All right, all right. If you think he can handle it, I'll test my son to see what he can do. Afterwards, I'll teach him what I can. Some techniques might be a bit hard for him to learn until he grows stronger, but I'll do the best I can to help my son out. Is that all you needed Sean-san?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Sean rose and offered his hand to Tsume. When she took it, he helped her up off the couch and grinned. "Your son will do great; I can assure you of that. As soon as they master the tree-climbing exercise, Kurenai-san and I plan to request a C-rank mission. Of course, throughout the training regimen we have planned for our team, we're going to see what their elemental affinities are and begin teaching them jutsu according to those affinities. Whatever affinity your son has, I'm hoping that you can help him incorporate some of his elemental jutsu into his attack style. If anyone can help him do that, it would be you and Hana-san. Also, I would like to request that you don't take it easy on him. If he's to grow stronger, he needs you and Hana-san to be serious with him. Other than all of that…"

Before Sean could continue, the front door flew open again and Hana rushed inside. She was obviously eager to do something, but what that was, neither Tsume or Sean knew. Cocking his head to the side, Sean found himself chuckling and waving at her. "Yo Hana-san. You seem to be in a hurry. Any particular reason for that?"

Hana, rushing past them into the kitchen, found herself chuckling and shaking her head. "I missed lunch. I'm planning to eat lunch and get back within the next forty-five minutes." Beginning to prepare herself something to eat, she glanced over at her mother and Sean, a man she hadn't seen much of throughout his time in Konoha. "It's been a busy day at the veterinary hospital. Anyways, what brings you here Sean-san? Is something wrong with Kiba? He's not causing you too much trouble is he?"

Chuckling softly to himself, Sean shook his head and smiled at her. "Nah, Kiba's doing great. I simply came by to discuss an advanced training plan for your little brother. Your mother can explain the plan to you after you get home from work again, I'm sure. For now though, I need to get to the Hokage's office. I've spent too much time here already. Catch ya later Hana-san!" Waving good-bye to both Hana and Tsume, Sean shunshined out again.

When Hana turned to her mother, she frowned and shook her head. "He could have stayed for a little while longer. I would have liked to hear about Kiba's training a bit. Oh well, perhaps next time?" With a shrug of her shoulders, Hana sat down at a table and began eating her late lunch.

In the Hokage's Office

"Ugh! Not that damn cat again! Please, anything but that Jiji-san! Pleaaaaaaaaaase!" Naruto pleaded, but to no avail. Feeling defeated, the young blonde-haired Genin groaned and began to pout. This so isn't fair. Sean-sensei says we have to wait until we've mastered this so-called tree-climbing exercise to go on C-rank missions, but he's already got me practicing water-walking! The others are the ones that need to master tree-climbing. Naruto thought to himself as he walked out of the office with his team.

Sean reached down and patted Naruto gently on his shoulder. "Calm down Naruto-kun. I know how anxious you are for a real mission, but these missions are important as well. Believe me, I know how much it all sucks, but this does help to build teamwork. Now, let's go out and catch that cat again. Then I plan to have a few words with that woman. You've already seen how she treats that cat. It's amazing it isn't dead yet." Sighing heavily, they prepared to leave the building when Team 7 walked up. Immediately Naruto and Kiba groaned while Sakura grew hearts in her eyes. Great, this is just what we need. Sakura's been making such great progress, but seeing him again is going to screw things up again. Sean thought to himself.

Sasuke smirked as he looked at Naruto Uzumaki. "Dobe." "Teme." Was Naruto's simple response. "I'm still amazed a dobe like you ever became a ninja. Somebody must have taken pity on you or something. You're just not ninja material. Now scoot out of the way Dobe, you're in the way." When Naruto started growling and went to attack, Sasuke's smirk grew wider as Sean gripped Naruto's shoulder tight. "Looks like your sensei has the right idea. Still, it's pointless trying to teach a dobe like you anything. After all, once a loser, always a loser. Whoever this guy is, he'd do better teaching this wimpy girl on my team something. At least then she might actually prove to be worth something. So far all she's done is hold me back."

Growling at this, Naruto glanced up at his sensei and smiled when Sean released him with a smirk. With this action, the blonde Genin approached Sasuke and gripped him by the collar of his blue shirt before slamming him into the wall. "How can you talk about your teammate in such a way?! She's from a great clan, just like you, and I'm sure she's really great. Plus, she's been nothing but kind to everybody, even you Teme! You're lucky I don't kick your ass right here, right now! We've got a mission to do, so I won't waste my time teaching you a lesson about respect!" Choosing instead to punch Sasuke in the stomach and dropping him to the ground, Naruto glanced at Sakura as she began to yell at him.

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto approached Hinata and gave her a gentle hug. At this kind gesture, her face lit up a bright red and she started to feel faint. All the strength in her body began to give out, but then her crush released her and she took calming breaths in an effort to stay conscious so she could listen to what Naruto had to say. "Hinata? I'm sorry the Teme is such a jackass. Don't listen to a thing he says. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei is doing his very best to help you and Shino-san out as well. I'm actually amazed the Teme wasn't sent back to the academy with such a terrible attitude. I bet TEAMWORK isn't even in his vocabulary, right Teme?" Shooting a real nasty glare Sasuke's way, the blonde young man turned back to Hinata and smiled at her. "Hinata? If you ever need somebody to talk to and I'm around, just find me and I'll hang out with you for as long as you want. Okay?" Waving good-bye to her, Naruto rushed past Team 7 and left the building.

Smirking at that action, Sean walked up and patted Hinata on the shoulder. "Naruto's right Hinata-chan. You shouldn't listen to a word Sasuke-teme says. A guy like that doesn't belong on a team until he can learn to respect his teammates. Anyways…" Turning to Sakura, Sean gently gripped her shoulder. "Leave Sasuke Sakura and let's get going. Mister Kitty seems to like you, so let's go and get this mission over with. Plus, it seems Kurenai-san and I are going to have to drill a few more lessons into your head. You may have a thing for Sasuke, but you need to learn when he's in the wrong. In this instance, Sasuke was in the wrong and Naruto was in the right in defending Hinata-san. You're blinded currently by your fan girl tendencies. C'mon and let's go." Glancing towards Kakashi for a moment, Sean smirked and bowed his head for a moment as his fellow sensei did the same back to him and Kurenai. With that, Team 8 left the building while Team 7 went to request another mission for themselves, Sasuke grumbling the entire time.

2 weeks later

"All right! You three have improved quite a bit. You've actually progressed faster than I expected. Sakura. Your skills with Genjutsu and your water jutsu have improved tremendously. You still need work on your Taijutsu, but all-in-all, Sean and I are impressed. Kiba. Your Taijutsu is exceptional. Your skills with your earth-based jutsu are also quite impressive. Your speed has also impressed us. It's amazing, especially with how much weight those gravity seals add to your body. However, you still need a bit of work when it comes to Genjutsu. You are still unable to escape the higher level Genjutsu and the last time you went up against Sakura, it was honestly a little sad to watch. You still need work in a few areas, but we're very proud of you. Finally…"

Looking towards Naruto, Kurenai smiled sweetly and patted him kindly on the head. "Naruto, I'm amazed with your progress. I never expected you to know the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. With that jutsu in your arsenal, your training has progressed much faster than would be possible without it. You have mastered water-walking, numerous jutsu, and with all those books you've been reading your intelligence has increased at an alarming rate. Your private training sessions with Sean have also helped tremendously. However, you too are in need of further training. Still…"

Smiling at her Genin team, Kurenai nodded proudly and glanced over at Sean. Seeing him nod at her, Kurenai turned back to her team. "With your progress, I do believe it's time that we request a C-rank mission. You've been begging for one for a while, and now it's finally time. So, let's visit the Hokage and see what he has for us!" Smiling happily, she walked off with her team proudly.

Hokage's Office

"You truly believe they're ready for a C-rank mission? Then I'll give you one. I trust your judgment Sean, Kurenai." Smiling kindly at them, old Sarutobi dug through the papers on his desk and grinned as he pulled out a scroll and handed it over. "I believe this is right up your alley Team 8. This particular mission requires you to deliver a scroll to a man near the border of our dear country. From there, he and his team will make their way back home. Here." Reaching into his desk, Hiruzen Sarutobi pulled out a thick scroll and handed it to Kurenai. "This is the scroll you shall be delivering. Within is important information that is precious to our allies in Wind Country. How they lost something of such importance has yet to be clarified, but we recovered it from a group of bandits within our borders. As such, be on the lookout for more of their group. It's almost guaranteed that they will try to recover said information. Now, you are dismissed." Gesturing with his hand for Team 8 to leave, the elderly Hokage looked at his paperwork and groaned.

Naruto, snickering at his Jiji's misfortune, found himself feeling a little sorry for his grandfather figure. Walking up to him, the blonde-haired boy whispered into his ear and watched at Hiruzen's face lit up in realization before he lay his head upon his desk and began to weep. "Why did I never think of such a thing? All this time…all this TIME!" Laughing at Sarutobi's reaction, Naruto rushed out of the office with his team and went home to pack his things for a five day trip like Kurenai-sensei suggested after they left the building.

1 Day Later, on the road

Team 8 was on edge. They could each sense that something was wrong. It felt as if they were being watched. Kurenai and Sean were calm, but the Genin were each clutching kunai tightly in their hands, ready for the attack that they were sure was coming anytime now.

Suddenly, Sean stopped and grasped the handle of his katana. Drawing it quickly, he deflected a number of kunai aimed straight at him and Kurenai. Moments later, a group of bandits and a couple of shinobi stepped out of hiding, each one smirking at the group of ninja. "Well, well, well, lookie at what we have here. A bunch of kids, the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha, and Sean, the Wind God. If we can take him, we'll be rich! All right men, attack!"

Sighing at the idiots and their foolish endeavors, Sean and Kurenai issued their orders to their Genin team and watched as they took their formation and began plowing through their enemies quite easily. Once all the bandits were defeated, three laying dead due to simple accidental blows to vital locations, Sean stepped forward and pointed his katana at the shinobi brothers. "Genin, step back please. These two are beyond your current abilities. No offence intended, of course." Bowing his head to them, Sean watched as they nodded and quickly took up positions around Kurenai who was ready to cast a powerful Genjutsu if need be.

"Ah, the Wind God wants to challenge us by himself. Well then, we shall not disappoint him, will we brother?" The brothers simply smirked and withdrew their weapons. One wielded a scimitar; the other carried what appeared to be a trident of some sort. With a shrug of his shoulders, Sean moved his left hand to his side and smirked as they neared him. Whispering lowly so they wouldn't hear, he decided to use a powerful wind jutsu to test their abilities. "Kaze no Yaiba (Blade of Wind)." With a smirk, Sean watched as the elder brother's right arm was severed from his body by an invisible blade of wind.

The Genin winced as they listened to the man scream out in terrible pain. It wasn't long before the younger brother snarled and used a jutsu of his own as a means to counterattack. "You bastard! Suiton: Teppōdama (Water Release: Gunshot)!" Sean watched as three bullets of water shot out of the man's mouth and flew at him at high speeds. Grumbling, Sean quickly went through a series of hand signs and opened his mouth. "Fūton: Shinkūgyoku (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere)!" In an instant, the water bullets were not only stopped, but sent flying backwards towards their user.

Growling angrily, the younger brother grabbed his brother and quickly shunshined away. Grumbling, Sean turned and looked around. Unable to sense his opponents in the vicinity, he sighed and sheathed his katana once more. "Tch. Cowards. They ran away. Are you all okay?" Turning around with a smile, he looked at his shocked Genin team and a sighing Kurenai. "What? What'd I do?"

"Don't you think you went a little overboard Sensei? With one technique, you cut off that guy's arm, and with another you completely overpowered the other one's Water Release jutsu. You were playing with them weren't you?!" Sakura shouted at him. When Sean simply chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, the team sighed and shook their heads. "You're such a showoff Sean-sensei."

"Regardless of all that, it seems that this mission is more than just a C-rank now. It's at least a B-rank with this new development. Two Chunin level shinobi is cause for concern. It makes me wonder what's so important that the enemy would hire ninja to assist them in retrieving this scroll." Kurenai stated, gently patting the scroll in her pouch. Sighing, she looked at her team. "Let's get moving team. We've got four more hours of daylight at the least. Hopefully we can make some good progress. Deactivate your gravity seals everyone and let's go." After the three Genin deactivated their seals, the team set off at high speed towards their destination.