"Talking"

'Thinking'

Jutsu/ Bijuu/ Summons

Flashbacks, Letters, and Setting

I don't own Naruto

Chapter 18: The First Steps

At the Academy, On the Rooftop

The 3 members of Team 7 ran up the stairs to meet their new sensei. A multitude of thoughts and emotions were running through their minds. Naruto was their sensei? How? Wasn't he in the ANBU? Did he quit? What kind of team were they? What kind of sensei would he be?

They arrived at the rooftop, and saw Naruto sitting there with 3 bentos he had bought.

"Good. You've all arrived. Why don't you take a seat? Let's have some lunch as we introduce ourselves." Naruto instructed them, as he gestured for them to take their seats.

"You're really our sensei?" Narumi asked, still not sure if her brother was actually her sensei.

"Of course. Why? Not happy with the selection? I could ask to trade with Kurenai if you want." Naruto asked Narumi, though obviously not seriously.

"NO! No. Of course I'm happy to have you as my sensei, but aren't you busy with ANBU stuff? Will you be splitting your time between us and the ANBU?" Narumi asked as she opened up her bento.

"Oh. That? I quit ANBU. I'm gonna be giving you three all of my attention, so you don't have to worry about that." Naruto assured the three students.

"So now that we've cleared that up, why don't we move on to introductions?" Naruto suggested, as he began eating his bento. "Why don't you start, Narumi?"

The redhead kunoichi stopped eating. "Eh? But I'm your sister! You already know me! You know all of us! What's the point of this?"

"Well, some of it is formality, as I'm now your sensei, and not just your brother. On that note, when we meet as a team or on duty, I want you all to call me sensei, not nii-chan or nii-san. At other times you can call me whatever you feel most comfortable calling me. Anyway, the reason for the introductions is to formally let your team know who you are and what your goals are as a new shinobi. Your team will help you stay true to who you are, and help you achieve your goals. At least that's what I intend for this team to do, and that's why I chose you three out of all the Genin." Naruto informed his students.

"Wait, I thought the Hokage chose the teams? What do you mean you chose us?" Narumi asked.

"Oh, let's just say I pulled a few strings here and there." Naruto said with a small smile, as he thought about what happened.

Flashback

"It's true. It is always easier to borrow, than it is to pay it back. I'll get them to see reason, don't worry." Hiruzen told Naruto.

"Of course, Hokage-sama. Though I do have a suggestion. How about I lower the debt or interest rate?" Naruto suggested.

Hiruzen perked up at the prospect. "And in return?"

Naruto gave the old man a mischievous smile. "I'd like a small favor."

The Third narrowed his eyes. "A favor? What did you have in mind?"

Naruto gave him a smirk. "Oh, nothing too major. I would like to be a Jonin sensei."

A questioning eyebrow rose on Hiruzen's face. "Jonin sensei? Are you sure? I mean, you would make a great sensei, if your track record in training ANBU recruits are anything to go by, but wouldn't that be a bit… you know… dull? You have the record of taking the most S-class missions for any 19-year-old, ever, and now you want to train three Genin?"

"Yup." The blonde in front of him replied. "That's exactly what I want."

"And in return you'll lower the interest rate or the debt?" Hiruzen seemed skeptical, but was still relieved. This was an easy request for such a big return. "Of course, then. I'll look for a suitable team. What kind of team were you looking for? An infiltration team? A frontline assault team? A sensory and tracking team?"

"Ah, now here's the catch. I want to pick my own team." Naruto revealed to Hiruzen.

"But the teams have already been mostly formed. And the senseis don't pick their teams. I chose the teams specifically for certain roles." The Sandaime told Naruto.

"I'm sure you did a fine job too. Nonetheless, that is my demand. Besides, it won't be difficult to find new roles. I have a certain role for my team too." Naruto replied.

"This is highly unusual… Seems like you already have certain Genin in mind? I'm assuming you would like to train your sister?" The old Sarutobi asked.

"Indeed. I'd also like Sasuke, and Hinata on my team." Naruto added.

"Well, that's an interesting combination… might I ask what role you intend for them to specialize in?" Hiruzen asked as he stroked his beard.

Naruto smirked. "I intend to make them the face of Konoha's power. A deterrent for war if you will. A second Sannin, though a little less disappointing than them. Specialty? Hmmm… let's say kicking ass."

Hiruzen chuckled. "That's quite a declaration. You have high expectations for them. What makes you think they'll be able to stack up to the Sannin? You think they have that much potential?"

"I know they do. And I'll make sure they live up to that potential. If you're skeptical, how about a wager? If they fail to impress you at their Chunin Exams, I'll cut the debt by 25%. How does that sound?" Naruto offered.

"And if they do?" Hiruzen asked, seeing the offer as being too good to take it at face value.

"If they do, then I'll be proven right. I'll hang it over your head, but that's pretty much it. Come on, you know that's too good to pass up." Naruto tried to convince Hiruzen.

The old man laughed. "You're right. It is an offer I won't pass up. I'll take your deal. You're the new sensei of Team 7, just like your old man was back in the day."

Naruto grinned. "Heh, my team will blow his out of the water. Just you wait."

Hiruzen chuckled at that. "I'll make sure Kakashi knows how you feel about him."

"How about we keep this to ourselves for now. I don't need him pestering me any time soon." Naruto told Hiruzen before he turned around to leave. He smiled as he left. His plan went perfectly.

Flashback End

Sasuke had stars in his eyes. He was so proud to have been chosen by Naruto as a student, even breaking standard protocol apparently to get him on his team.

Hinata, likewise, was blown away that someone would go so far to have her on their team, even though she didn't think she was anything special. Didn't he see what a disappointment she was?

"Anyway, let's continue with the introductions. I want names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, skills, and dreams. Now start us off, Narumi." Naruto instructed his sister.

"Fine. Hi! I'm Narumi. I like ramen, my family, friends, and meeting new people that are, you know, cool with me. Training is pretty fun too. I dislike bullies and people who judge people without getting to know them. As for hobbies… I like trying out new ramen flavors or combinations, practicing my sealing skills and training. Also, I like hanging out with my friends. Watching movies is pretty fun too! I'm pretty good at sealing, taijutsu, and kenjutsu. My dream is to become the Hokage one day, and make the world a better place!" Narumi concluded.

"Very good. Now, how about you, Sasuke?" Naruto directed.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I like my clan, and I like loyalty. I dislike traitors, and a certain someone. My hobbies are training, and learning new jutsu. I'm good at kunai and shurikenjutsu, and also at using ninja wire. I'm also good at taijutsu, and my ninjutsu is also pretty good. I even know how to do a Katon Jutsu. My dream? My dream is to avenge my clan and to restore my clan to its former glory." Sasuke stated, a little darkly in some areas.

Naruto was a little worried. He knew what Sasuke was talking about. He decided he would have a word with him later in private. "Alright, that'll do for now. And finally, it's your turn Hinata."

"H-hai. I-I'm Hyuuga Hin-Hinata. I like my friends, and I like gardening. I di-dislike when people don't get along with each other, and I d-dislike a certain seal. My hobbies are gardening, and p-pressing flowers. I'm ok at t-taijutsu, and I can use the byakuugan. My d-dream is to unite my c-clan, and remove a certain seal." Hinata shyly introduced herself, as she picked at her bento with her chopsticks.

Naruto gave her a warm smile, which made her blush a little. "Very good Hinata. You have very admirable dreams."

"I guess it's my turn next then, isn't it? Hi, I'm Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. Narumi's brother. Also, your sensei. I like my family, well anyone I consider my family, as well as loyalty. I also love it when people get what they deserve. I dislike people who abandon their duties, or their precious people in their time of need. I also hate people who take advantage of those who can't protect themselves. Anyone who tries to hurt the people I care about are also on my shi-, I mean list of people I don't like." Naruto caught himself. He tried not to swear in front of his sister.

"My hobbies are to train and study and create new seals. My skills? Let's just say I'm good at everything." Narumi rolled her eyes at Naruto's humility, though she knew it was true.

"My dream?" Naruto paused to think for a second. "My dream is to help you all achieve you dreams, and to train you into the strongest team Konoha has ever produced." He said with a smile.

Hinata smiled at Naruto's dream, which warmed her heart. She liked her sensei already.

"Alright, now that we've completed our introductions, let's finish up our lunch and head over to training ground 7. Not all of you might know where it is, so we'll walk over their together as we chat." Naruto told his students.

At Training Ground 7

"Alright, we're here." Naruto announced when they reached their training ground after their team lunch. "Now, usually, the Jonin senseis test their team to see if the team is good enough to be a team."

"Another test? You mean we could go back to the Academy, even if we pass the Genin Exams?" Narumi asked in shock.

"Well, if the Jonin senseis deem their skills to be subpar, that could happen. Though most of the time the sensei fails the team because they can't see them working together. In that case, they're sent to the Genin reserves, where they may be formed into different teams later, or be recruited into a different team if they lose a member." Naruto informed them.

The team gulped and prepared themselves for another test.

"So, what kind of test will you have us take, Naruto sensei?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto broke out into a grin. "Well, like I said, that's what usually happens. One of the reason's I picked you guys is because I already know you guys can work well together. I'm gonna pass you all."

The three Genin sighed in relief.

Naruto's grin became a little more mischievous. "But that doesn't mean I won't be testing you to see what level your skills are at." He said as he rubbed his palms together. "I'll be sparring with you guys, all at once."

The Genin looked to each other.

"Are you sure? Isn't that unfair? What if you get hurt?" Narumi asked.

Naruto laughed out loud. "Don't worry about me, if anything it'll be unfair for you guys. Now come at me!"

The three looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. They circled around Naruto, until they surrounded him. They planned on making him pay for underestimating them. They would soon learn it was them who was underestimating their sensei, who was probably the most powerful shinobi in the village.

Sasuke threw a barrage of shuriken to either side of Naruto, to prevent him from dodging to either side, as Narumi attacked him from the front, while Hinata attacked from behind. Narumi attacked him nonstop, throwing punch after punch, as Hinata did the same with her jyuuken strikes. Naruto ducked underneath one of Narumi's punches, and used her forward momentum to direct her towards Hinata, by elbowing her back once he passed her strike. The two Genin Kunoichi had to stop their attacks in order to prevent themselves from hitting each other.

Sasuke pulled his hands back, revealing the shuriken he threw had wires attached to them, and tried to use them to attack Naruto from behind. Naruto threw his body in the air, and dodged each one by twisting and turning his body between the wires and the shuriken coming at him, and landed on one foot near Narumi.

Narumi and Hinata had untangled themselves and had turned around to face Naruto when he landed, but he gave them no time to organize another joint attack, as he pivoted off of the foot he landed on, and delivered a roundhouse kick to Narumi's ribs, sending her flying into Hinata.

Sasuke decided to join the fray, and began attacking him with taijutsu, trying intercept Naruto's attacks like he did to Kiba. He immediately found out that Naruto was no Kiba, when Naruto threw multiple feints and switched up his attacks mid-swing to land several rapid strikes to Sasuke outstretched limbs that left them temporarily numb and limp. Naruto completed the combo with a side kick to Sasuke's chest which sent him flying into Narumi and Hinata who were both getting up after being sent to the floor earlier.

"I know you guys have more than that. If you don't come at me more seriously, I might consider actually failing you. Use your jutsu and other skills!" Naruto reprimanded.

The three students got up, Sasuke and Narumi gritting their teeth as they did so, and decided it was time for business. Narumi took out her new sword, while Sasuke decided it was time to show him his jutsu.

Hinata didn't really want to hurt her sensei, but was beginning to realize that she probably couldn't, even if she tried her hardest. She didn't have much other than her taijutsu, but if that didn't work, what was she supposed to fall back on?

Narumi charged in with her sword, swinging it in circular motions meant to slice opponents while preserving momentum. Naruto disrupted the flow of her movements by slapping away the flat sides of the blade with precise hits from his bare palms, before he got close enough to slam his palm on the side of her ear to disorient her, and send her falling to the floor.

Sasuke used the moment Naruto engaged with Narumi to go through his hand seals for his strongest jutsu. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)!" He had timed his attack for when Narumi was sent falling away from Naruto, so he wouldn't catch his best friend in the crossfire.

He saw Naruto get hit by his fireball and smirked for a second before getting worried that he hurt his sensei. When the flames died down, he saw a charred log, before he felt like his eyeballs popped out of his head when a palm slammed into the back of his head.

Sasuke hit the ground on his belly, and saw his sensei's foot coming down to stomp on him, and he braced himself for the hit. Naruto pulled his foot back as Hinata came flying at him with rapid jyuuken strikes aimed at his leg. Hinata attacked as quickly as she could, deliver strike after strike, hoping to hit him at least once, before her advantage of taking him by surprise faded.

Naruto smiled seeing his Genin trying to cover for each other, and trying to attack in some sort of combination, even though they were having no success. He easily dodged and parried all of Hinata's strikes, before he slapped her hands aside and dropped for a sweeping kick to sweep her off her feet. He had to dodge immediately after tripping Hinata by rolling away, when a thrust came from his side from his younger sister's katana.

Sasuke began to throw shuriken towards Naruto's feet to take away his base for dodging or attacking, while Narumi tried to keep him busy with her kenjutsu skills. Naruto had to exert a little more effort than before, trying to find some footing while parrying and dodging Narumi's blade.

Hinata soon recovered as well, and began to weave in and out between Narumi's strikes to deliver her own, reducing the amount of time Naruto had between each defensive maneuver. Naruto smirked. His team had good teamwork, and all without active communication. It was probably because of all the time they spent training together in the past.

"Not bad, but if this is all you got, you won't land a single hit on me!" Naruto mocked them to rile them up, and it worked on Narumi and Sasuke.

"Oh yeah? Then dodge this!" Narumi yelled out as she took a step back to go through a few hand seals, while Hinata took over pressing the attack. Soon, 4 golden chains made of chakra shot out of Narumi's back, shocking Hinata and Sasuke, who hadn't seen that before. When did she learn to do that?

Soon Naruto found himself dodging attacks from close-range, mid-range, and long-range, dodging Hinata's jyuuken, Narumi's chains which struck at him from multiple angles, and Sasuke's shuriken which kept Naruto's feet busy with constant movement.

His students were performing admirably. They probably would have taken out most Chunin with this kind of teamwork. But he hadn't used anything other than his taijutsu, besides for the one Kawarimi he performed to dodge Sasuke's fireball.

"Very good, you three have excellent teamwork." Naruto commented as he dodged the numerous attacks coming at him from all angles. "It was good enough to give me a slight warmup."

He soon stopped merely dodging, and decided to go on the attack. He grabbed Hinata's wrist, and threw her towards Narumi, who was slightly less mobile, as she had to focus on directing and controlling 4 chains from various angles. It made her lose her focus, and her attacks with her chakra chains became less crisp, which gave Naruto the opening to throw several of his own shuriken, which knocked all of Sasuke's incoming shuriken out of the air with pin-point accuracy.

Naruto flipped through several hand seals in a split second, much too fast for the Genin to see anything other than a blur. "Futon: Toppa (Wind Release: Breakthrough)!" Naruto said, trying to channel as little chakra into his attack as possible. The two kunoichi were still blown away into the woods.

Sasuke used the opening from Naruto blowing the wind jutsu out of his mouth to leap towards Naruto with a kunai from behind, hoping to slash him.

Naruto sensed Sasuke coming from behind and turned to face him. "Kanashibari no Jutsu (Paralysis Technique)!"

Sasuke froze mid-air, and fell on his front. Naruto walked over and stepped on his wrist to make him drop the kunai, before grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and throwing him towards where the other 2 Genin were.

The three slowly got up, now having taken a fair bit of damage, mostly from falling down so many times.

"Alright you three, I've seen enough." Naruto said as he stopped the fight.

The three were among the strongest in their class, and had never lost this badly before. They hadn't been able to hit him even once, even while working together, and Naruto barely used any true offensive jutsu. They were disappointed in themselves, and it showed on their face, especially Hinata.

Naruto noticed this, and decided to break them out of their funk. "Don't be too hard on yourselves. You guys actually performed quite well. You've shown a fair amount of talent in your individual skills, but what impressed me the most was your ability to work together on the fly."

The Genin lightened up a little from his praise.

"What, you thought you could beat me since you outnumbered me? I'm a Jonin. If some Genin freshly out of the Academy were able to keep up with me, I shouldn't deserve to be a sensei. So don't use this fight as a benchmark for your skills. I'll have you know you guys are much more skilled than most people your age." Naruto told his team, which put a smile on their faces again.

Naruto didn't tell his team, but he thought if they were able to catch most Chunin, or maybe even a Jonin like Kurenai off-guard, they might have been able to do a serious number on them. He held back that thought from them though, as this whole exercise was meant to gauge their skill level, but also to show them that there were ninja that were much more powerful than them, so they need to be humble and work hard.

"Now that I've seen what you can do, I want to hear your thoughts on a few things, before I dismiss you for the day." Naruto told his students, as he motioned for them to come closer and take a seat in front of him.

"Alright, so you guys passed, and now you're officially Genin of Team 7. What do you think this means?" Naruto asked.

"Ummm, that we're ready for missions?" Narumi suggested.

"Yes, that's true too, but before that, it means you guys are now no longer civilians, but shinobi of Konoha." Naruto explained. "So, what do you think that means? Being a shinobi of Konoha? Sasuke?"

"Hmmm…" Sasuke thought for a second. "It means that we'll be doing missions for Konoha?" He answered, though it almost sounded like a question.

Naruto nodded at his answer, but looked like he wanted Sasuke to say more.

"And that means… we will be doing dangerous things potentially?" Sasuke answered, trying to understand what Naruto was looking for.

Naruto nodded, and looked over to Hinata, indicating that he wanted her to expand on that.

"Umm… it m-means… that we will be representing K-Konoha?" Hinata reasoned. Naruto nodded.

"What you all said was right. Now that you're part of Team 7, it means you guys are officially shinobi. This means you'll be doing missions on behalf of Konoha, representing it, as you guys said. However, there's more. In the words of my senpai in the ANBU, "Look underneath the underneath." Can any one tell me what you think this means?" Naruto asked.

"Ummm… to check things twice?" Narumi replied to the question.

Naruto chuckled a little. "Sort of. But not really. It means in the shinobi world, there's always a hidden motive or meaning behind everything. For example, let's say someone like a politician treats you well, doing favors for you, and being extra nice to you. Now at face value, it's just a nice guy, but as shinobi, we need to be able to see underneath that face, and try to see why he's being nice. Does he want something from you? Does he want you to drop your guard around him? Maybe he's trying to project some sort of image to others? These are all things you should try to be aware of, lest you be caught off guard."

The 3 Genins' minds were swimming. It sounded complicated, trying to figure out the hidden meanings and motives behind everyone's actions at all times.

"The life of a shinobi is not all fun and glory you know." Naruto told his students. "It's a brutal and dangerous life. You mess up once, and you might die. Or worse, maybe your mistake will kill your loved ones. You'll be dealing with the threat of death on any mission. Even a D-rank mission can suddenly turn into an A-rank mission at the drop of a hat." The 3 Genin gulped. They hadn't really been told this, or thought about this before.

"Not only that, you'll be doing your share of taking people's lives too. You think that's easy? Sure, sometimes you'll be killing real scummy people, maybe a serial killer or a rapist, and you can tell yourselves that you did the world a favor by getting rid of a bad person, so you don't feel as bad about yourselves. But what if you the village tells you to kill someone who seems innocent? Maybe the mother of 3 children? Maybe a baby? Do you think you can do that?" Naruto asked.

"NO! I'll never hurt an innocent baby! That's disgusting! And I won't be making 3 children orphans either! That's an evil thing to do!" Narumi shouted out in disgust.

"Oh yeah? What if that baby ends up wielding a dangerous kekkei genkai that is later used against our village, killing hundreds? What if that mom you spared just stole valuable intel from our village, which let's other villages invade our village to kill hundreds of families? That's ok? Are you gonna ask each enemy if they have children?" Naruto asked. The Genin were unable to reply.

Naruto sighed. "Look, it's true that shinobi wield awesome powers, and can seem to have exciting lives. But nothing is all rainbows and butterflies. That's why you need to be able to see underneath the underneath. In a perfect world, everyone would get along, and there would be no need for violence amongst each other. Sadly, our world isn't like that. The best we can do is try to keep our friends and families, our loved ones, safe. This is the life of a shinobi. We're basically tools used to keep the village safe. If that's not the kind of life you want to live, I suggest now is the time to back out. I won't judge you. In fact, I'll respect you for following your own beliefs, and not falling to pressure from others."

The 3 Genin each took a moment to think about the implications, and to consider if this was the right life for them.

"I still want to be a shinobi." Narumi said with resolve. Sasuke and Hinata soon said the same thing too."

"Is that so? Why is that? If you don't have a good reason, you'll break under the pressure. It's better to quit now and avoid all the emotional and mental damage and trauma." The blonde sensei asked his students.

"Well, I want to be strong enough to protect all the people I care about. I don't want to be a helpless victim, who has to depend on others for protection. I want to be strong enough to make a difference in this world, so people don't have to live in fear of being hurt by others. I can only gain that strength if I walk the path of a shinobi." Narumi told her team.

"And you?" Naruto asked the others.

"I-I'd also like to become stronger to protect my precious p-people. I-I have to be stronger so I can help my c-clan." Hinata said shyly, though her resolve still shone through.

"I need to be stronger, so I can avenge my clan, and restore my clan to it's former glory. I'm one of the last Uchiha, and the only one left from the main family. I'll lead the clan one day, and if I'm weak, the clan will fizzle out into a pathetic existence, or disappear altogether. I'll need to be strong enough to protect it from its enemies." Sasuke told his team as his face darkened, it was clear to Naruto that he had specific people in his mind.

"I see. Those are good reasons. I hope you all understand what you're getting into then." Naruto told his team. "It's not gonna be easy from now on. There'll be times when everything is going great, but there'll be times that are so hard, that you want to quit everything, and just cry in some dark corner. But as shinobi, it's our duty to endure, for the sake of what's important for us."

The Genin of Team 7 nodded.

"Good. I know this was kinda dark for your introduction into shinobi life, but I didn't want you to have the wrong ideas coming into it, and being caught off guard when the realities of this life come along, and end up getting hurt." Naruto concluded his speech.

"Alright, now that we got that out of the way, I'll be telling you what our days are going to look like from now on, and then I'll dismiss you, and you guys can go do whatever you want until we meet again tomorrow." Naruto informed his Genin.

"From now on, we'll be meeting at Training Ground 7 everyday, besides for the weekends, at 8 in the morning. We'll do a little training until 10, where we'll do a D-rank mission. If we finish on time, we'll have lunch as a team, and then get some more training in, before I dismiss you for the day. Is that clear?" Naruto asked, and the Genin nodded at their sensei.

"Good. You guys both know where me and Narumi live, so feel free to come by and ask me if you need any help, or want to talk about anything. I want our team to be a second family for you guys, so drop by whenever. Now, you guys can go do whatever you want." Naruto dismissed his team, and they began to leave.

Naruto called out to his Genin. "Sasuke, I'd like to talk to you for a moment. You two can leave. Sasuke will join you later."

Narumi and Hinata shared a confused look, but nodded and went off to see if their other friends passed their sensei's evaluation.

"Naruto nii-sa-, I mean, Naruto sensei?" Sasuke corrected himself as he tried to get Naruto's attention.

"I've dismissed you all for the day, so you can call me nii-san if you want, you are like my little brother anyway." Naruto told Sasuke warmly.

Sasuke broke out into a smile. "Hai, nii-san. So why did you want me to stay behind?" he asked.

"I just wanted to talk to you about something. Let's go sit over there, by the creek." Sasuke nodded, and the two walked over to the creek.

"So, what's up, nii-san?" Sasuke asked his sensei.

"I just wanted to talk to you about that dream of yours." Naruto started.

"Huh? What about it?" Sasuke asked cautiously. "Is there something wrong?"

"Well, your dreams are mostly pretty good or understandable, but I just wanted to talk to you about your dream of avenging your clan." Naruto told Sasuke. "The person you dislike and want vengeance on, it's your brother Itachi, isn't it?"

Sasuke paused for a second, and turned away to stare into the water of the creek. "…yes."

Naruto sighed. "Sasuke…"

Sasuke interrupted him. "I hate him! He ruined everything! Our clan was so strong! He was so strong and respected! And he threw all of that away because he went insane! He killed tou-san, and even tried to kill kaa-chan!" Sasuke yelled out as he stood up and threw a rock into the water.

"…and now? Our clan is barely a shinobi clan. Including me, we've got 3 shinobi in the clan. How is that any better from a civilian ninja family? He betrayed all of us! He betrayed our family! He betrayed me!" Sasuke began to cry. All of the emotions he had bottled up began to bubble up, now that the dam had burst.

"I thought he cared about me. He said he'd always be there for me, but in the end, he hurt me the most. He probably would have killed me too if you didn't show up." Sasuke said between sobs. "I'll never forgive him! I'll- I'll kill him!"

Naruto stood up too, and placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulders. "Sasuke, I know Itachi hurt you a lot, and let you down big time. But I don't want you to be consumed by your hatred of him. There's more to what happened than what you and I know, but remember what I told you and your team earlier?"

Sasuke sniffled a little, before looking up at Naruto. "Always look underneath the underneath?"

Naruto looked down at Sasuke with a smile. "Exactly. Now tell me, does insanity run in your family?"

Sasuke thought for a moment. There were a few people in his clan who were a little quirky or more violent than others, but even they were still loyal to the clan, and would never think of attacking their family members like that. "Umm… not really?"

"Exactly, and tell me, was he the kind of person that enjoyed killing?" Naruto asked the young Uchiha.

Sasuke shook his head.

"Exactly. I was Itachi's best friend, and I went on close to a hundred missions with him. I've seen him under pressure, and I've seen him when he was stressed. That's not something he would have done normally." Naruto said as he looked out into the water.

"So, what does that mean then?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm not 100% sure, but there's more to what happened. We can't just assume things. Who knows? Maybe he did go insane. But I don't want your life goal to be driven by something that might not even be true, especially such a dark one. Sasuke, I don't want you to dedicate your life to being an avenger. I don't want your dreams to be decided by outside forces. I want you to dream your own dreams. What did you want before all that happened?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke thought back to his younger days. "I… I just wanted to be seen for me. I didn't want to be compared to Itachi, or just seen as his younger brother. I wanted to be acknowledged for my own skills."

Naruto smiled at him. "We can do that. I'll promise you I'll do my best as your sensei to train you three into the strongest shinobi Konoha has seen in years. If you do your part, I'll do mine, and we can work together on making you stronger than Itachi. I just want you to do it for yourself, or to protect the clan, instead of making it all about him."

Sasuke nodded. "I-I think I understand what you mean. I'll try to do that nii-san." Sasuke replied. He decided what Naruto said had a point, and he'd work on changing his views on the matter.

"I'm glad to hear that, Sasuke. I know it's tough, but it shows how mature you are. I'm proud of you, and I expect great things from you. I can already see glimpses of it." Naruto said encouragingly.

Sasuke loved to hear praises, having been compared to his prodigious brother for most of his childhood. He beamed at the praise from someone he looked up to. He promised to himself that he would never let his sensei down.

"I'm glad we were able to talk. Now go. Join your friends. I'll be heading to the Hokage's office to tell him Team 7 is officially available for missions now." Naruto told his only male student, who nodded and ran off to look for his teammates.

Naruto looked up at the sky. 'I'll keep my promise to you, Itachi. I'll watch over him and guide him. I'll even do your share. Just keep yourself out of trouble, you idiot.' Naruto thought to himself, as he remembered the last conversation he had with his best friend on that fateful night.

*Author's Note*

Back with another chapter! Not too much happened in terms of events, but I felt like it was a needed chapter for character development, especially as many of the characters in my story are different from canon. I felt like a sensei for a job that involves killing and risk of death should give a more serious introduction.

I hope you still liked it though. I'll try to be back with an update soon!

Anyway, here are the results of the votes so far. I'm surprised that Shizune is leading by so much (she more than doubles Izumi and Mei).

Shizune 169

Samui 114

Izumi 84

Mei 83

Anko 89

Pakura 22

Thanks again for reading another chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Please leave a review or comment to let me know what you guys think, or if you have any questions. I try to answer most of your questions through either the Author's notes, or through PMs, if I can do so without giving away spoilers.

Team 7's first missions are coming up in the next chapter! Hope you guys have a great day! Until next time!