Drip..
Drip...
Drip...
Naruto opened his eyes, startled awake by the sound of running water. The smell of stale air greeted him, carrying along the faint scent of decade old garbage.
'What the hell?' He was lying on his back, water coming up to just beneath his ears, lapping gently against his sides.
Drip...
Drip...
Drip...
"Hello! Anybody there?" He called, pulling himself to his feet. The water was suddenly at his knees, the gentle waves gaining strength. Was this a dream? It felt more like a genjutsu than dream, and Naruto quickly gathered his chakra to himself, disrupting his natural chakra circulation to break the illusion. Nothing happened, save for several torches suddenly lighting along the walls. There were walls? Why was he in a sewer?
His voice echoed along the solid stone walls, seemingly going on and on without end.
A growing sense of foreboding swelled within Naruto's chest, a disturbing feeling. It was that of a prey being hunted, the quiet dread of being stalked by a creature beyond his capacity to understand. He reached for the kunai that he always kept holstered at his thigh, but found nothing. He was in his pajamas?
Drip...
Drip...
Drip...
The sound of running water was swelling in volume and frequency, becoming a dull rushing sound. It was muffled, distant, but growing all the same. Naruto faced the direction of the noise, neck prickling. Something was not right here, an urge to run suddenly screaming at him to flee.
"My jailor comes... at last."
He felt the words more than he heard them, a subsonic rumble that shook his chest and set his knees to trembling. The voice caused an epochal terror that was beyond his conscious mind's grasp, a primal, base instinct that willed him to leave the presence of a higher power, lest be utterly destroyed. Naruto could not even summon his own voice to answer, the supernatural horror that had consumed him robbing him of his ability to formulate even the simplest of sentences.
"Pathetic... to think I am shackled by nothing more than a child."
It was coming, oh it was coming and all Naruto could feel was existential, primeval terror. He fell to his knees, willing himself to end his own life to get away from the otherworldly thing, the eldritch predator that even now drew closer and closer to him.
A single, massive, slitted eye opened, catching Naruto in a stare that would have erased his very sanity. Naruto glimpsed eons uncounted of hatred, of malice and unshackled rage, felt raw, unadulterated, transcendental power, and then all was darkness.
"Naruto!"
Naruto snapped awake, staring at the ceiling of his room. He was still shrouded in darkness, his heart thumping harder than ever before. His breathing was ragged, irregular, and a lingering horror still echoed in his soul.
"Are you alright? Your chakra was going crazy." His Tou-san was by his side, kneeling by his futon, hand on his shoulder. Naruto scrambled into a sitting position, struggling to get his breathing under control.
"N-nightmare, Dad." He whispered, voice still unwilling to obey him.
"Must have been pretty awful." Kakashi soothed his son, rubbing his back.
"I-I don't know... I was in a sewer, and-and... it-it-it was coming for me." Naruto whimpered, the memory of that terrible dread almost causing him to hyperventilate.
"Calm down, calm down... tou-san is here... need some tea?" Kakashi passed him a steaming cup of ocha. Naruto grasped it with both hands gratefully, taking small sips of the hot liquid.
"Need to talk about it?"
"No.. I don't wanna think about it.. what time is it?"
"Four in the morning. If you can't sleep, we can go run it off, get an early start."
"Yea.. that sounds good. Thanks, dad."
Sunrise found the father and son resting against a tree, side by side at the Training Ground 39. It was a relatively small one, but rarely used and tucked away in a rather remote corner of the village. It was the stomping ground of the Hatakes, countless hours spent in training and sparring giving it a comfortable, familiar feel.
"So... two more days and you'll receive your team assignment. How're you feeling?" Kakashi asked his son.
"I'll be honest, kinda nervous. I don't know who's gonna be on my team, or who my sensei's gonna be. I just hope he or she's good."
"All jōnin sensei are perfectly qualified to teach, Naruto. Don't worry too much about that." Kakashi closed his good eye, breathing in the fresh morning air. The first birds had begun to chirp, a quiet song that only accentuated the tranquility of the Konohan sunrise.
"That's true... I'm just... dad, are you proud of me?" Naruto's voice carried a nervous tremble, something that Kakashi had rarely heard.
"Of course I'm.."
"No, you don't get it, you were a Jōnin by the time you were twelve, you were an ANBU Captain at fourteen, and one of the strongest ninja in the village by the time you had me. Dad, I just graduated from the academy! I don't..."
Kakashi remained silent throughout his son's sudden rant, letting his boy pour out his emotions.
"What if I don't live up to that? What it turns out I'm just not as good as you?" Naruto was suddenly fearful, struggling to find the words to express his anxiety.
"A-and..."
"You're my son, Naruto." Kakashi opened his eye, turning his head to look at his boy. His simple statement was met by silence.
"It doesn't matter how you turn out, you could've not even been a ninja, and I'd be proud of you all the same, Naruto."
"You'd never lie to me right, dad?" Naruto's voice grew quiet, a whispered plea for assurance and love.
"Do the right thing.."
Kakashi remained silent, and loathed himself for it. How could he? If he told his son the truth, wouldn't his son hate him for not telling him earlier?
Kakashi stood, staring at the blood splattered scene before him, uncomprehending. His father's White Light Chakra Sabre, buried up to its hilt in its wielder's gut, its pure, lily-white blade even now unstained by his father's crimson lifeblood.
"Why, tou-san?"
Kakashi warred with himself, paralyzed by indecision.
"so used to stealing what is other's that you had to steal your own sensei's son, Hatake?"
Had he not been lying to his son all the while? Kakashi's turmoil threatened to break him all together. He had hated his father, despised him with every fiber of his very being for never telling him the truth of why he had commited suicide. He still held on to that bitterness even to this day, more than twenty years later. Would Naruto not feel the same way? Feel the same betrayal and anger?
"Tou-san?" Naruto's hurting cry broke through his trauma induced paralysis.
"Never, Naruto. I love you." He finally spoke, breaking into an eye smile and wrapping his arm around his son's shoulders.
"Thanks dad. I love you too."
Kakashi truly never hated himself more.
"Team 7! Hatake Naruto, Hyūga Hinata, and Sai! Your Sensei would like to introduce himself personally, later, so please await his arrival." Iruka read off the file before him. Whatever followed was tuned out by the fired up Hatake kid.
"Yatta! We're teammates, Hinata!!"
"H-hai, Naruto-kun." Hinata blushed, smiling warmly at her friend. Naruto's cerulean eyes were almost glowing with happiness.
"I was afraid I'd be saddled with some awkward strangers, but we're going to make such a sick team, Hinata! With your Jyūken and my Kagekata, nobody can hang with us up close!" Naruto's excitement was infectious, and even the demure Hyūga was not unaffected.
"Good morning, Hatake Naruto, Hyūga Hinata. We are to be teammates, it seems." The pale faced, black haired Gēnin smoothly interjected into the conversation, taking a seat next to the childhood friends.
"Yup! What's up, Sai!" Naruto cheerfully greeted the newcomer.
"Hai, pleased to meet you, Sai-san. I hope that we will become good friends, as well as teammates!" Hinata spoke.
"That would be satisfactory." Sai's lips turned upwards in a rather forced expression. Naruto sweatdropped at the newcomer's awkward mannerisms.
"Say, we've never seen you around before. Everyone else our age pretty much grew up together, yknow." Naruto asked curiously.
"That is not unexpected, Naruto-san. I am an orphan, if you cannot tell from my lack of a family name. I was sponsored by the Village Orphan Fund to become a ninja and be of some value to Konoha, and took lessons from my own, private instructor." Sai explained, rather monotously.
"I think he doesn't have any friends.." Naruto leaned over, whispering into Hinata's ear. The Hyūga heiress nodded in agreement.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Sai-san. They say that Gēnin teams are like family, so I hope we can be yours!" Hinata, ever the kind soul, offered.
"That would be satisfactory, Hyūga-san." Sai intoned. Hinata looked a little taken aback by his response.
"Ooookay... so what do you do?" Naruto asked him, trying to break the ice.
"I sleep seven hours a night, consume three meals a day, and spend most of my waking hours in training or revision." Sai replied promptly. Naruto shared a confused look with Hinata.
"Um.. I meant, like, what do you do. Hobbies? Interests? Dreams?"
"I have no time for hobbies, as they distract me from more productive, worthwhile activities. I am interested in whatever is interesting in the current situation I am in, such as yourself, Naruto-san, and I do not dream often, due to my well regulated sleep cycle."
"Yo, this kid is hella weird." Naruto whispered to Hinata again. She discreetly kicked him under the table.
"That's nice, Sai-san!" Hinata attempted to be cordial with their socially awkward teammate.
"Oh, I do enjoy drawing, from time to time." Sai's expression morphed into that strange look Naruto assumed was meant to be a smile.
"Um.. well... What do you think our Sensei will be like? I hope he's as badass as my dad!" Naruto asked.
"All Jōnin are highly qualified ninja, and should have plenty of knowledge to impart to us, Naruto-san." Sai answered.
"Sai-san is right, Naruto-kun. But I do share your desire to have a strong Sensei. Neji-nii often shares with me how powerful Gai-sensei is, and how much he has learnt from him. It would be nice to have the same." Hinata tilted her head, deep in thought.
"Well, I hope I don't disappoint you, Hinata-chan. See me on the roof, all of you, two minutes. Don't be late."
"Tou-san? What the hell?" Naruto's shock was palpable, but Kakashi was already gone.
"Well then, my cute Gēnin, the three of you actually managed to get to the roof in time. Not bad at all.." Kakashi drawled, taking in the panting, sweaty forms of his three charges.
"Are you really our Sensei? Because this is a terrible time to play a prank, dad." Naruto's eyes narrowed.
"Yes, I really am. You all are Team 7, and I am Team 7's Jōnin Sensei, Hatake Kakashi. Or if you like to use some other name, Sharingan no Kakashi, the Copy-Nin, Thosand-Jutsu Kakashi, Hero of the Third War.."
"Okay, okay, we get it Dad! No need to show off." Naruto sulked. A pebble bounced of Naruto's hitai-ate, causing him to squawk in surprise.
"That's Kakashi-sensei to you, Naruto-kun. I may be your father, but I am now also your Sensei, and you three best believe I'm going to run you into the ground. I have a reputation of excellence to maintain, and I'll be damned if Gai's team is still the 'best' Gēnin squad in a years time." Kakashi suddenly came to his feet from his cross legged, sitting position.
"Team 7 has always been the best, going back all the way to the time of the Sannin, yes, that's right, they were Team 7 as well. I was part of a Team 7 led by the Yondaime Hokage himself, and we were good enough to fight in the Third War within a year of forming. This means that all three of you have some pretty damn big shoes to fill, but hey, no pressure." Kakashi gave them an eye smile.
"Now, shall we have a little bonding exercise? Let's start with our little Hyūga, why don't you share with us what your likes, dislikes, and dreams are?" Kakashi pointed at Hinata.
"Hai, Kakashi-sensei!" She paused, gathering herself.
"My name is Hyūga Hinata, daughter of Hyūga Hiashi. I like floral arrangements, my Clan, and my favorite food is the special Udon served down by the Akimichi District. I dislike people who look down on others, seeing my friends hurt, and hot springs. My dream is to make my father proud, and to be a worthy clan head of the Hyūga." She spoke clearly and confidently. Naruto was happy for his friend, she had grown so much from the shy, stammering young girl into a increasingly confident, strong young lady.
Kakashi nodded approvingly.
"Those are some lofty goals, Hinata-chan. I'm impressed. Okay you're next, pale face."
"My name is Sai." An awkward silence followed.
"So.. are you done?"
"Hai, Sensei." The awkward silence continued.
"Okay.. Naruto?"
"... right. My name is Hatake Naruto! I like ramen, dogs, training, learning new jutsu, making new friends, and ramen! I dislike cats, snakes, and foxes, cause they're creepy! Also, don't buy me dango cause I hate that crap! Hmmmm... I'll let you know what other stuff I dislike another time, it's hard to think of everything right now. My dreams? I'm going to surpass my dad, become Hokage.. and rescue a friend of mine." Naruto's voice trailed off a little at the end, bullet-train hyperverbosity derailed by the thought of his long-lost best friend.
"Those are some difficult dreams to fulfil, Naruto-kun, maybe you'd want to start with something a little more realistic?" Kakashi deadpanned.
"What? Hey! Stop making yourself look cool!" Naruto protested, much to his teammates' amusement.
"Jokes aside, you guys are going to start your learning under me right now, with your real Gēnin exam. Every year we have a bunch of dimwits who pass the basic academy exam and immediately assume they're ready to be ninja. Konoha wouldn't have gotten to where we are today if that was the case. The final say on whether or not you three stay together as ninja comes from me, your Jōnin Sensei. Meet me at Training Ground 7 in an hour, and come prepared for a fight." Kakashi's tone was brisk, no-nonsense.
All three students tensed up at the sudden shift in their sensei's attitude, and even Naruto knew his usually relaxed father was serious.
"Your hour started ten minutes ago. Don't be late." Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves.
"Damn.. dad's not playing around."
"I can't believe Kakashi-san is our Sensei! Otou-sama said that he's the strongest Jōnin in the whole village!" Hinata exclaimed.
"Yea, your dad's probably right. Tou-san doesn't mess around when it comes to work. If we want to beat him, we gotta think of a plan." Naruto pondered.
"You are the strongest amongst us, Naruto-san. You have the highest chance of defeating your father." Sai observed neutrally.
"Yea... highest chance doesn't mean anything when none of us have a chance in the first place. I doubt he'll use his Sharingan, but I don't think he even needs to to kick all our asses. Unless anyone's hiding any secret super powerful techniques they want to share?" Naruto asked hopefully.
"Sorry, Naruto-kun, but you know everything I'm capable of. Shouldn't we be making our way to the Training Ground?" Hinata asked.
"Nope, dad's a sneaky bastard. He's not ANBU anymore, but he sure acts like it sometimes. We head in blind and he'll string us up before we even see him. Dad always taught me to have a plan, no matter what." Naruto straightened, standing up.
"I can scout the area with my Byakūgan, that'll give us some intel." Hinata was fully focused.
"Excellent. Sai, you got any skills you want to share?"
"I can draw."
"Yea... that could work. Dad's a massive pervert, if we can pin him down and ambush him with some Grade A hentai..."
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata smacked his shoulder.
"Ow! Okay, okay! Sorry!" He recoiled, rubbing his hurting arm.
"I'm not sure what this... hentai, you speak of is, but I can utilize my chakra to create ink constructs from my drawings." Sai demonstrated, pulling out his brush and scroll. An bird flittered off the page, twittering and flying about erratically.
"Whaddya know, that's actually pretty badass. How many can you make at a time?"
"I am limited to animating two constructs at a time, Naruto-san."
"Two's a party... okay here's the plan."
And with that, the latest iteration of the most legendary squad in Konohan history began planning for their first action together.
"So, you all took your time." Kakashi noted. Pakkun lay by his side, tongue lolling out, basking in the bright Konohan afternoon.
"An hour's an hour, Kaka-sensei." Naruto drawled, unconsciously matching his father's mannerisms.
"Fair enough. Test's simple. I have two bells, you have three people. Whoever gets a bell, passes. If you don't get a bell, you don't pass." Kakashi's masked expression gave away nothing.
"Bullshit, Gēnin squads always come in threes, Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed.
"You're right! Good job, Naruto-kun!" Kakashi eye smiled, before crushing one of the bells beneath his sandaled foot.
"One bell. Whoever gets it, you're my apprentice. The rest can go home."
"What the hell...?" Naruto whispered to his teammates.
"So. Who's first?" Kakashi asked.
"Aw hell, might as well soften you up first, ikuzo!" Naruto yelled, before exploding towards his father. Hinata and Sai scattered into the tree line, vanishing from plain sight.
The taijutsu exchange between the two Hatakes was brutal and swift, Naruto's speed and preferred tactic of blitzing his opponent finding no success against an opponent of Kakashi's level. The silver haired Jōnin merely blocked and dodged, shifting his weight ever so slightly from time to time to avoid the more unorthodox strikes from his son.
"Not using your kagekata? You don't stand any chance without it, Naruto."
"Nope! Don't need it!" Naruto huffed, spinning into another rising kick that Kakashi easily parried away with his forearm.
"I didn't train you to be so foolhardy... unless..!" Kakashi turned his body just in time to avoid a falling axe kick from another Naruto that smashed a hole into the ground with its force. Kakashi narrowed his good eye, before lashing out with a straight kick into the second Naruto's unguarded side. The expected puff of smoke did not follow.
'Not a clone? Wait a minute...' Kakashi's mind raced.
"Now, Sai!" Naruto's distinct shout caught his attention.
Both Narutos before him discolored, turning into strange, dark looking figurines. They still bore the likeness of his son, but it was as if somebody had sketched a caricature of his boy and animated it. Both the inky constructs detonated in a shower of blotting ink that blinded him momentarily, catching him off guard.
"Hinata, go for it!" Kakashi, eyes still closed, reacted to the sound of whistling air, instincts honed by the heat of battle guiding him. He dodged, flipping to a handstand before turning sideways, narrowly avoiding a barrage of palm strikes. He regained his feet, vision still obscured by the inky substance that covered him from head to toe.
'This isn't normal ink... definitely some sort of chakra infused shinobi weapon.' Kakashi noted. It seemed the Sai kid had a bunch of tricks up his sleeve. His instincts screamed at him to duck, and he did, narrowly avoiding a blow that would have incapacitated him.
"Aw come on, that was perfect!" Naruto's whining gave away his position.
'Time to go on the offensive...'
Kakashi blurred into motion, homing into the sound of his son's voice. His first knife strike connected solidly with flesh, the sharp exhalation of breath confirming he had landed a solid hit.
The ink finally slid from his eyes, revealing his target, and Kakashi took advantage of his reeling son, unleashing another series of blows, he was, however, interrupted by a Jyūken strike that could have sealed off his left arm, had he not substituted himself with a log.
'She's fast, and sneaky. Seems like Hiashi's been training quite a deadly daughter...' Kakashi was pleased.
"Thanks for the cover, Hinata. We can take him, together. Let's go!"
The childhood friends moved together, Naruto creating three more clones and Hinata flowing into her graceful Jyūken stance easily.
'And here we see his prized Kagekata. Let's see how good he's gotten with his little shadow clone trick...' Kakashi was getting excited. His three kids had already shown the willingness to work together and improvise, and all three were already exhibiting potential and strength far beyond normal Gēnin.
"Ikuzo!" Naruto's battle cry was echoed by his clones as they charged Kakashi, as one. Kagekata, Naruto's own deadly taijutsu concoction, was born from his own constant sparring with what was basically himself. Continually battling his Kage Bunshin had given him the inspiration to integrate his clones into a fluid, rapid blitz style of taijutsu, relying on the fact that with his clones, he could multiply the amount of hands and feet available to be thrown at the enemy. It was rudimentary at the start, Naruto basically just swarming his opponent with hordes of shadow clones, but continual refinement and practice had created his own unique, dangerously effective style of brawling.
It was inspiration drawn from the Hyūga's graceful, elegant Jyūken that Naruto had gained from watching Hinata and Neji spar that had taken his Kagekata to the next level. Naruto's clones constantly ducked and weaved in and out of combat, always repositioning themselves to come at his opponent from an unexpected, unorthodox angle. They did not remain in combat for too long at a time, for only single hard blow was needed to dispel them. Naruto used them as extensions of his own relentless style, additional fists and kicks that alongside his own assault, combined to be difficult for even some Jōnin to deal with.
Unfortnately for Naruto, Kakashi was not just some Jōnin. Therein lay the weakness of Naruto's style, if his opponent was faster than him, he could go for the clones, dispelling them one by one, before isolating and beating him down.
Kakashi did so, taking apart the clones with sharply timed counter strikes and the deadly precision of a man who had once specialized in taking apart entire teams of ninja on his own. Within two minutes it was down to the real Naruto and Hinata, both twelve year olds battling with everything they had. Their perseverance was admirable, Kakashi noted, but perseverance alone would not defeat him. He absently parried away another haymaker from his son, turning his body to absorb a pair of Jyūken strikes with the meat of his arm, where the loss of the tenketsu was negligble. Hinata had the speed, and a beautiful Jyūken technique, but yet lacked the stopping power of a true Jyūken master. He would have to work on that, Kakashi mused.
The pair worked very well together, driving him back, Kakashi observed. Naruto provided a constant, relentless barrage of blows, ever the irrepressible avalanche of energy and stamina, while Hinata remained at the fringes of the fight, waiting for the openings that Naruto's onslaught created to go for fight-ending strikes. He backpedaled a little more, freeing up more space to move. Was he being corralled?
'Where's the third kid?'
"Come on Sai!"
Kakashi had allowed himself to be driven back towards the ink stains on the ground, and to his surprise, the ink coalesced into the form of his third student, lunging up from the ground. It was at that moment that Naruto literally threw himself at Kakashi, latching on to one of his arms and going limp, holding his Sensei in place. Hinata took the opportunity to hit him in three different areas with her Jyūken, and the entire right side of his body went temporarily numb. Sai grasped for the bell hanging from his flak jacket, reaching out and touching it.
Kakashi exploded into a puff of smoke, causing all three Gēnin to stumble back, coughing. A blur of movement, and all three were on the ground, unconscious.
They awoke, tied to a tree stump at the center of the training ground.
"You know, I taught you Kage Bunshin. You should've seen it coming, Naruto. Good plan though." Kakashi drawled.
"Well, it was worth a shot." Naruto grumbled, wincing at the throbbing headache he had just acquired.
"Naruto-kun came up with the plan. If anyone deserves to pass, it's him, Sensei!" Hinata pled for her friend.
"Sorry, but none of you got the bell. It's a shame, the three of you really are promising. Shame you got me as your Sensei." Kakashi crossed his arms
Naruto coughed.
"It was never about the bell, Kaka-sensei. I know this test. I saw your photo album and the notes your Sensei wrote after I did some snooping around. It's about teamwork, isn't it?"
Kakashi's good eye curved into a smile.
"Indeed. And you worked together superbly. But, as I said, I'm only going to teach the best. You three failed to even touch the real bell, how can I be sure you won't disappoint me in the future?"
The three were silent.
Naruto coughed again.
"Check your flak jacket, tou-san."
Kakashi looked down, and the bell was gone.
"...how?"
Pakkun lazily trotted over to Naruto's side, dropping the bell from his mouth by Naruto's feet.
"While you were busy with and blinded by the Ink Clones, I bribed Pakkun to steal the bell. You're so used to fighting alongside him you barely noticed him while being so engrossed watching your clone being blitzed by me and Hinata. You underestimated us, Sensei."
'...sneaky little rascal.' Kakashi lamented raising a mini version of himself.
"So, we got the bell. Do we pass?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi stared accusingly at Pakkun, who merely shrugged.
"He's cuter than you, boss, and his belly rubs are better."
"I suppose so. Well done, Team 7." Kakashi gave them a thumbs up, before vanishing with another shunshin.
"Naruto-san, I believe your father did not untie us on purpose."
"Can it, Sai."
A/N
What a chapter... Naruto's first encounter with the Kyūbi was a pretty traumatic experience for him. Remember Jiraiya did mess about with the seal... which may have some side effects in the future.
Some of you may be frustrated with Kakashi, but this version of the man has crippling father-son trust issues. His dad basically left him to grow up alone and then committed suicide without explaining why. Any boy growing up like that into a fucking war zone and then losing all your friends, and accidentally murdering the girl that liked him is bound to have utterly delibitating relationship problems. Naruto has helped him a great deal, that he can even express his love for him, but he can't bring himself to even risk losing his son. As I said before, a central theme to this story will be the father-son relationship between the two Hatakes, so don't expect it to be sunshine and rainbows all the way.
But there you have it, Naruto's Gēnin Team has taken shape. Excited to move forward with the story!
Really overwhelmed by the reception this story has gotten, 100 favorites and over 150 follows, it means a lot to me, and it's the reason why I keep pumping out these chapters almost daily. Thanks guys (and gals).
Till the next chapter!
Read and Review!