Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters used within the story.

I do hope you enjoy the new chapter, nothing much to say.


Team 6

Chapter 3


Passing the academy had been child's play.

Getting perfect grades in all theoretical subjects? Check. Beating up kids that were 3 to 4 years older than you (at least physically) in sparring matches? Check. Scoring a perfect 10/10 in shurikenjutsu and kunai throwing? Check. Setting the record for the fastest lap time in the academy obstacle course? Che-Fail.

Fucking Minato Namikaze with his genius mind surpassing mine. I'd surpass him however, in due time. Maybe not yet but it would happen in the future. Believe it!

Now I sound like Naruto, a certified dumbass I thought to myself with a bit of amusement. I may not have talked to the kid apart from sparring matches and neither had I helped him much, but he had a good heart. He'd do just fine without me.

"So who's team do you think you're gonna be in?" the boy next to me asked.

Torune Aburame, a ninja from the Aburame clan who graduated at the age of 11. Very good taijutsu and solid grades for his age. I had beaten him every match because of my Sharingan which I had hidden using the Henge.

When I first heard his name I couldn't believe the fact that one of Danzo's bodyguards during the Kage summit would be a classmate of mine. But I had already changed canon to some degree by early graduation at the mere age of eight and a half. It may not have caused that big of a difference, but the butterfly effect did exist in this world to some degree. The changes would be more visible in the future.

"I hope it won't be someone weak," I replied airily to him. Turning to face the goggle-wearing boy I continued, "I know it may sound arrogant, but the only students who could somewhat match me in this classroom are you and the brown-haired girl sitting in the top right corner." I may have sounded very cocky, but it was the truth. Smacking kids around a third of my age had inflated my ego immensely.

"Her name is Izumi you know," Torune replied to me with a slight smile on his face. "She's not that forgettable considering she is the top kunoichi of this class. Besides," his smile widened a fraction and you could almost taste the amusement in his tone. "Considering the near daily spats you two have, I thought you of all people would remember her name."

I groaned slightly being reminded of that. Izumi Hirai hated me for no other reason than I graduated early and beat her ass in a spar. She despised the fact that I, a 'snot-nosed brat' was better than her in everything.

Okay, well maybe that was a valid reason. I'd hate someone better than me in every single way too, although I wouldn't be too vocal about it, unlike the air-head. She was almost as bad as Naruto when it came to shouting matches.

Our 'spats' were not shouting matches however. It consisted of me ignoring her, and her screaming... something about me. Not that I paid much attention to what she yelled at me every second.

The door swung open with a creak, and our academy teacher which was a kunoichi named Mirai entered the classroom. Everyone quieted down, eager to hear what our team placements were.

"Alright, I'm sure you're all excited to hear about what team you'll be placed in," there was an excited 'yes' that followed the statement. Mirai-sensei's smile widened, "Before that however I would like to convey a message to every single student in this class. All of you have done extremely well and I'm sure you have done your best to excel in all the work that the academy has provided you. Throughout these years not only have you learned from what I've taught you, but I have learned plenty from my experiences teaching my beloved students. Thank you all and make me and Konoha proud!" she yelled that last part with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. I noted the stressing of 'and Konoha'. Seems like they want loyal soldiers.

A round of applause broke out at chunin sensei's 'heartfelt' speech. I had to admit that her talk-no-jutsu was brilliant.

"Now I believe it is time to announce the team placements, Team One..."

I listened with half my attention to the teacher, the other half on who I wanted my teammates to be. Torune Aburame was a perfect choice. He was quiet and reserved most of the time but was always friendly when he needed to be.

As for my third teammate... well as long as it wasn't a fangirl that was fine by me. Grudgingly I admitted that Izumi wouldn't be a bad choice. She was stronger than ninety percent of the class including boys only losing to me due to my superior speed and Torune because he was better in both strength and speed.

"...Inuzuka. Team 6 will consist of Sasuke Uchiha, Torune Aburame..." the boy next to me gave me a nod and a slight smile. I offered a nod in return.

... and Izumi Hirai. Under Kakashi Hatake."

Okay, not bad. That was a solid team placement. Kakashi Hatake held the reputation as one of the strongest leaf ninjas that resided within the Fire Country. This coupled with the fact that he was a character that I was familiar with was good news.

A few claps on my shoulder alerted me that my future teammate wanted to speak to me. I locked eyes with him and cocked my head to the side asking him 'what?'. He smirked and pointed to the front right corner of the class to where Izumi was located.

I slowly turned my head, almost robotically towards the direction the Aburame pointed at, and she was glaring at me... like Naruto would in every spar he lost. Considering Kakashi's test was teamwork based, I had to form a decent platonic relationship with the girl, just so I could pass.

No, rather we could pass I reminded myself. It had been just two minutes since the teams were announced and I was already acting like a narcissist. I locked eyes with Izumi... her glare magnified ten-fold.

"Troublesome," I muttered out loud. Torune - the damn kid - chuckled at my misfortune.

Xxx-WiT-xxX

"What do you think?"

Kakashi observed the files of his potential future genin.

Uchiha Sasuke. Age 8, a genius in every possible way, nearly surpassing Itachi. It was almost scary just how fast the kid had progressed after the massacre. His demeanor was much more like that of an adult than a child. Kakashi felt that just like him, the last Uchiha had been forced to mature in this extremely grey and dark world. Pushing those horrible memories away he turned to the next file.

Aburame Torune, Age 11, the smartest shinobi produced by the Aburame clan since the second war. The boy used poisonous bugs as his main offense, except it was different from the usual Kikaichu bugs often found in the insect-infested clan. A single touch from the poisonous insects and a man could be killed if not given the proper antidote. If the one-eyed man was being honest, Torune was the most dangerous genin amongst his potential team.

Izumi Hirai, Age 12. The least prominent amongst the three may not have appeared to be something special, but she had beaten and outwitted every student within her graduating class barring the Uchiha and Aburame. Nearly solid grades in every subject, be it theoretical or practical.

"Maa... well they're an interesting bunch," the white-haired cyclops replied with his typical lazy drawl. However, he was anything but lazy. These three were brilliant for their age, with Sasuke being the most outstanding one amongst the three.

"Indeed they are. These three are all among the top shinobi produced since the end of the Third Great Ninja War," the Third Hokage said with a puff of smoke from his pipe. He could never get enough of the pipe considering it was a coping mechanism. "I trust you to do well and produce splendid results by the end of a year."

Kakashi scratched his chin in thought. Yes, these three were good, very good, but in the shinobi world where death lurked in every nook and cranny, would the trio survive for enough time to reach that potential? Even if they did, would he of all people be good enough for the job?

He had after all failed his team. Obito had to sacrifice himself for Kakashi's bad decisions, Rin had taken her life just to protect Konoha and had died on his hands, Minato-sensei had-

"No Kakashi, you won't fail them." The voice of Hiruzen Sarutobi broke him from his thoughts. How had he known?

"Maa... well they have to pass the test," Kakashi deflected the topic, his signature eye-smile in place, though it was slightly strained.

"That they do." Hiruzen agreed with the former ANBU captain. He had seen through Kakashi's deflection, but he knew not to prod. He didn't allow anyone else to bring up old wounds he had, Hiruzen extended the same courtesy towards his fellow Jonin. "Well, why don't you get going?"

"They can wait, I've got somewhere to visit," Kakashi replied. He needed to visit his old team before he met his wannabe genin. A seal-less body flicker and the office was void of his presence.

Hiruzen sighed. He hoped this team would be good for the young jonin if they passed the test. Truly survivors of war had always been inflicted with the deepest mental wounds. Speaking of mental wounds...

The Hokage glared at the ever-growing pile of paperwork. When would this nightmare ever end?

Xxx-WiT-xxX

Izumi scowled at nothing in particular.

The reason for her growing ire? The shorty just had to be placed on the team she had been placed in and her new sensei.

It's not that she disliked the last Uchiha, she just hated how much better he was than her in everything. EVERY. SINGLE. THING.

Before the 8-year-old had joined her graduating class, she had beaten every one of her classmates except for the insect guy, Torune. The brown-haired girl had to admit that the Aburame was good, very good, but still, she was better than him in written tests, getting slightly better marks than him in all theoretical subjects. She wasn't second best for nothing.

Then one Uchiha Sasuke came in bulldozing through the class curriculum effectively displacing her from the second position and barreling towards first. But that was fine, as long as she wasn't placed on her team then it would have been a good thing, everything would be just fine... but of course, her expectations were thrown down the drain once again. Sasuke Uchiha was now assigned to a position on her team.

On top of that her new sensei was late. Not five minutes, not ten minutes, not even by an hour but three... hours! Three! Hours!

She hadn't even set any expectations for the jonin sensei Kakashi Hatake, but somehow he still managed to disappoint her.

"Ugh can you stop stomping around, it's getting on my nerves," the annoying voice of the Shorty reached her ears. Her scowl only deepened on hearing that remark. The boy's nose was buried in some book based on chakra control. She could give him credit where due, he was very good at his craft.

"Why do you care so much, Shorty?" She replied with a little heat in her voice. Mother had told her to be nicer to the boy considering he had lost his family, and yeah maybe she could treat him a little gentler, but he got on her nerves too easily.

Slowly the boy lowered his book just below his chin and raised a raven eyebrow. "Shorty?" He questioned sounding genuinely confused.

She scowled, "Yeah... Shorty. I've been calling you that for years."

Sasuke looked even more baffled before shrugging, his expression reverting to a blank face. "I don't know, I've never paid attention to any of the times you yelled at me."

He went back to reading his book without a second glance.

Izumi had just about enough of his flippant responses. She opened her mouth to-

The door swung open. Her mouth shut with a nearly audible click.

Izumi got a good look at the Jonin and his outfit. A black mask that covered his face until his ode, a black forehead protector that covered his right eye, white gravity-defying hair, a green flack jacket with a black full sleeve shirt underneath, and black pants with a kunai pouch tied around his thigh. His stance was lethargic, almost bored like he couldn't give a damn about the three genin that was now his responsibility.

His lone eye swiveled to take note of her and her teammates. He then adopted a faux thought pose, looking very amused. "Maa... how can I put this? You're all boring." She opened her mouth to remark about how late he was but he swiftly cut her off with his flippant response, "Meet me on the rooftop in 5 minutes. Don't be late."

The Jonin then disappeared in a puff of smoke. The class was silent for a few seconds before it was broken.

"You know Izumi, if you keep frowning like that you'll get wrinkles before you hit 20," came the mocking voice of the infuriating Uchiha.

Izumi felt that she cracked a molar with how hard her jaw clenched.

Xxx-WiT-xxX

Kakashi observed his newly minted genin with a bored slouch.

Sasuke with an intense look of concentration on his face and wariness scrutinized Kakashi. That was interesting he supposed. According to the files the 8-year-old was defined as arrogant, but his actions spoke differently. Well, for now at least.

Torune had a completely blank face, though the tension in his shoulders revealed his nervousness.

Izumi alternated between glaring at him or the Uchiha. Kakashi found it funny that she seemed the least team oriented out of the three despite having the most social connections.

He clapped his hands for them to focus their attention on him. "Alright, we'll start with some introductions. You, arrogant brat," he motioned towards Sasuke who looked mildly annoyed at the nickname bestowed upon him, "you're up first."

The Uchiha took a moment to think. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like watching the Sunset, reading, and cooking. I dislike-no I hate drunk people. I guess my hobby is to train and sleep? Never really thought about it. My dream is to kill my brother and make a name for myself in the shinobi world."

Well, that was just as expected Kakashi presumed. The Hokage had told him about how the 8-year-old liked observing rooftops to copy various jutsu's and chakra application techniques. That was how the Uchiha learned how to use chakra to increase the speed and power of his limbs along with water-walking.

His dream was pretty obvious too. Itachi had murdered Sasuke's family in cold blood after all. Anyone would want revenge against a despicable person like the kin-slayer (although Kakashi hoped Sasuke's revenge goals wouldn't force him to do anything drastic).

Still there remained one question. Why the strong hatred against drunk people?

He tilted his head towards the Aburame boy asking him to continue with his introduction. The boy cleared his throat before speaking.

"My name is Torune Aburame. I like insects and my little brother. I dislike people who harm insects unnecessarily. My hobby is collecting different types of insects. My dream is to protect my family and be the best possible heir for my clan."

That introduction had been exactly as Kakashi assumed after reading through the boy's file given by Mirai. Nothing different.

"Last but not the least, you, the bipolar one," he pointed at the brown-haired girl. The girl glared at him for the nickname and Kakashi gave her a condescending eye smile in return.

The girl huffed exaggeratedly and spoke. "My name is Izumi Hirai. I like my parents and my little brother. I hate Sasuke and lazy asses. My hobbies are reading and gardening. My dream is to be the strongest kunoichi in Konoha."

Once again, just like the Aburame boy, the introduction was exactly as predicted.

Kakashi clapped his hands once again. "Alright, I'll start with mine. My name is Kakashi Hatake, I like some things, I dislike some things. You are too young to know my hobbies. As for dreams, well... never gave it a thought."

He smirked at the outraged expression of wannabe kunoichi. Even Torune was starting to get annoyed at his antics judging by the twitch of his eyebrow. His lone eye turned to take in the hopefully angry face of the Uchiha, but to his surprise, the kid was amused by his antics and had a slight smile on his face. What?

He'd have to file that for later on. Time to intimidate the brats first.

"Now, as much as I'd hate to say you're all genin now, none of you are worthy of the headband." He silenced the outburst from the girl by leveling a glare at her, creating a foreboding atmosphere. "Unless you pass the test tomorrow, none of you deserve to be Konoha shinobi. Arrive at training ground 6, 6 AM sharp. Be warned, this test has only a thirty-three percent pass rate which means losers like you three will fail anyway." He made sure to project a small of killing intent to properly intimidate the genin. Each of them had their back straight, postures stiff. Kakashi's voice grew three octaves deeper, "Don't eat or you'll vomit." The former ANBU Captain reined in his killing intent and eye-smiled, effectively destroying the oppressive atmosphere. "Don't be late."

He vanished in a seal-less Body flicker.


AN: I'm going to say it now... my upload schedule isn't consistent. I'll only update when I have free time. So if I haven't updated in like a month or so, then it's most probably exams or college work.

Yeah, Sasuke's the shortest in his team:

Sasuke Uchiha: 136 cm. Wears a long sleeve navy blue shirt, black trousers, black ninja sandals, black clothed forehead protector.

Izumi Hira: 145 cm. Wears white long sleeve top, grey shorts, black ninja sandals, black clothed forehead protector.

Torune Aburame: 143 cm. Search up kid Torune Aburame on google.

Hatake Kakashi: 181 cm. You're not a Naruto fan if you don't know what he looks like.

The next chapter will be the bell test, after which a C-rank will proceed within the same chapter (at least that's what I plan to do I have enough time).

Iskandar Hero: I like your suggestions but I have a different plan on how I want the Itachi fight to go. I won't disclose anything yet but I have already constructed a plot for this story (don't want to repeat the same mistakes as my last one). Once again thank you again for your kind reviews and hopefully... you did enjoy this chapter :)