I DO NOT OWN NARUTO/ Naruto Shippuden
Chapter 8
As soon as the final word was called, Sasuke and Sakura leapt away, on the other hand Sai and Naruto engaged the Jonin.
'Interesting, he's held onto his temper so far. Let's see what you two got' Kakashi went to reach to his back pocket but the pair were already on him. The pair swung tandem kicks, Sai sweeping at his feet and Naruto aiming to catch his side.
Kakashi hadn't expected the dual pronged attack, jumping to avoid Sai's attempt at his feet he turned and crossed his arms to shield the blows from Naruto's kick. As the kick met him with enough force Kakashi suddenly burst into smoke.
'Shadow Clone' The pair thought.
The two finally realised that they were stranded out in the middle of a clearing with a Jonin, and they had no clue where he was.
"Where is he?" Naruto growled out. "Where" gaining both boy's attention as hands gripped their ankles. "I'm where you least expect me" Suddenly they were pulled into the ground with only their heads visible. "Right under your feet, Earth style: Headhun-"
Kakashi was cut short as both of them burst, one in a cloud of smoke and the other into a mass of ink.
'Clones?' Kakashi thought, he hadn't seen anything about that on Naruto's record. Once again, he felt the two come at him, this time in front of him there were two lions, black and white, again, made of ink, behind him Naruto was steaming forward flashing through a set of handsigns.
While he could see Sai formed a half-ram sign Naruto was showing: Tiger, Ox, Dog, Rabbit, Snake.
"Wind style: Great Breakthrough/Ninja art: Super Beast Scroll" The two chorused.
'What the hell? Where did this come from?' The silver haired man thought.
The amount of chakra that had been put into the wind style jutsu had forced Kakashi to be propelled to the two raging lions. As one of the two lions went to swipe at the Jonin burst into a puff of smoke again, this time leaving behind a log.
'Replacement Jutsu'
Naruto growled "He's not even fighting back; he doesn't look like he's even remotely interested" he said under his breath.
Hearing a ruffle of grass Naruto's breathe hitched "Quite the contrary, I'm very interested. But in the future, don't let your enemy get behind you all the time"
Kakashi had formed the tiger handseal while being behind the exuberant blond.
The two spectators shock at the blonds skill dissipated instantly and both suddenly becoming worried for him.
'The tiger seal, he's not just kidding around, he's going to demolish him' Sasuke and Sakura thought.
"Naruto! Get out of there!" Naruto's head whipped around to where Sakura's voice was.
"Too late" slowly twisted his head to see Kakashi Naruto was met with a terrifying sight, the Jonin's eyes were glinting mischievously.
"Leaf Village Secret Finger jutsu: A Thousand Years of Death!" Prodding Naruto's rear with his fingers he was once again met with another cloud of smoke.
'Another clone? Who are you?' Kakashi couldn't get over the shock, he had to talk to someone about this.
Naruto and Sai thought this would be the best time to retreat, Kakashi was defending the bells, he was going nowhere.
Sai continued to watch from a nearby tree line, he the soft placing of feet on the branch next "Hello there Sunshine, you're not what I thought you were" Giving the same forced as ever.
That got a received a raised eyebrow 'Why does this guy know about me?'
"Well, hopefully I'm as awesome as you thought" Flashing him a toothy grin. "You are interesting, true. But you fight like a weakling, do you have anything between your legs?"
Steam was pouring out of Naruto's ears from this comment, he wanted to pound the kid into next week! "Sai, I recommend you keep those statements to yourself" Naruto growled out. "Sorry, this book I read recommended 'playful insults' as a way to become friendly. Was this the wrong course of action?" Sai had lost the smile and the blank stare was back while tilting his head to the left.
Naruto sighed; the trek that was called Sai would definitely take time. "Yes, that may work but you must pick your target better, you say that to the wrong person, and they might just beat you to death."
Sai gave a thoughtful pose. "While books may be good for learning this, something you could do is read the situation." Sai's pose remained, though he quickly grew confused. "How can I read something I cannot see?"
Naruto felt like he couldn't win "You know how to read facial expressions right?" receiving an agreeing nod he continued. "When someone appears happy, those jokes have a higher percentage of success, though watch out some smiles are fake" The pointed look told Sai that he had been seen through although he still took Naruto's words of advice.
"Now that that's all cleared up, let's look at this situation. One on one we have no chance against him" Sai agreed. "We need to work together; I think that's what Kakashi is pushing us to do."
"I concur"
"I doubt the other two will work with us willingly, so let's wait on Sasuke to attack, if we join, then while in fact we are not working together, it appears like it" After all, deception is one of a shinobi's greatest weapon.
"That would be best" Sai knew the team had to pass, otherwise he would fail his mission.
"Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" a final nod was given as the pair turned their attention to the man stood in the middle of the clearing.
~ With Sakura ~
She too was watching the lazy Jonin, seeing him put the book in his pocket she became curious. Keeping her eyes lock on his position she noticed his suddenly disappear.
'Body Flicker' She thought, as a citizen of a ninja village, she would often see jutsu just like this.
"Psst. Sakura, behind you" Sakura froze, her head slowly turned to meet the gaze of her sensei.
"Ahhhhh…" Sakura's screamed trailed off as her sensei formed the Rat seal. Suddenly all the leaves began swirling around her, finding herself now in the middle of the clearing she remembered what was happening.
"Oh my! Huh? Ahh… Someone there? Ahh, I think I found something, what was it? Ahh! What's going on?"
"Sakura" A voice wheezed out, clearly struggling.
"Sasuke!" She cheerfully called out.
She turned around, eager to see the Uchiha heir. She spun to see a Sasuke Uchiha riddled with kunai on his knees holding himself up by leaning on a nearby tree.
"Sa-Sakura! Help me, please!" he said with a puddle of blood forming around his knees.
The pink haired girl couldn't take it, she was frozen in place. How could that happen to someone like Sasuke?
Finally breaking out of her shock she screamed and flailed before passing out. The figure watching from the tree looked up from his book. His disappointment visible.
"I think I overdid it a bit. But she's got to learn to see through these things." Flipping the page of his book.
~ With Sasuke ~
'Sounded like… Sakura?' turning to face the source of the noise.
A noise broke the raven-haired boy out of his thoughts, a jingle of bells. The lethargic Jonin appeared in front of the boy. "Shinobi battle skill number 2, the illusion jutsu. Sakura studied it in class, but she still couldn't see it coming"
'Genjutsu' Sasuke thought, Narrowing his eyes at the Silver haired man. 'It's just simple mind control. I'm not surprised he caught Sakura with it but'
"I'm not like Sakura, Naruto and Sai" The Jonin was amused, Naruto and Sai appeared to be levels above expectations, but he humoured Sasuke.
"Say that after you get these bells. My Sasuke." Kakashi said in a teasing manner, hoping to provoke the boy's temper. Standing up off the tree that he was leaned against, two appeared to be in an intense one on one showdown. Well, that would be the case if Kakashi wasn't engrossed in his book.
A bored glance met a challenging one.
Preparing for combat Sasuke leaned forward, hovering his hand over his kunai holster. Quickly, he drew three shuriken and launched them at his opponent, the man in question simply leapt to the right before beginning a monologue.
"There's no point using normal attacks" In response Sasuke launched a kunai to his left, slashing through a rope it was quickly identified by the Jonin.
"A trap!" Still sliding from the initial dodge, the trap set firing a volley of kunai at Kakashi once more, leaving him to leap away again. As Kakashi landed Sasuke appeared behind him swinging his foot at Kakashi's head, catching the foot, Sasuke used the momentum for a right hook. This was caught once again, using the speed the two were moving at Sasuke brought his foot up and attempted to strike the Jonin on the top of the head.
Using the arm that caught the first attack, he blocked the downwards axe kick. Sasuke saw this as an opportunity as he once again maid an attempt at the bells. Smirking to himself as he brushed a bell with a fingertip.
'Another one' Kakashi thought as he pushed the Genin away from himself. Sasuke was lightly panting as Kakashi was still on his train of thought.
'He's fierce, I won't be able to read make out paradise with him either'
The two other boys who were watching the fight were still waiting. "Keep waiting" Naruto said to Sai. "we'll make it look like he chose to be a decoy, so when he's beaten, we'll step in" Sai nodded, agreeing with the assessment. Naruto nodded before creating a set of twenty shadow clones and they all began circling the duelling pair.
Back with Sasuke and Kakashi. "You're right, you are different from the other three, I'll grant you that." Sasuke gave a proud grunt as he began going through hand signs: Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He called out, then inhaling deeply he breathed out a fireball the size of an elephant.
All the while Kakashi was calling out. "What! Genin can't do fire Jutsus, it takes too much chakra! There's no way" Feigning disbelief.
When the fireball dispersed the sight Sasuke was met with was an empty crater that was previously inhabited by his Jonin-sensei. Clearly shocked by the disappearance of his opponent he looked around. Kakashi used the same technique on Sasuke as he did the pair beforehand.
"Earth Style: Head-hunter Jutsu" Just as the hand gripped his shin, Sasuke looked down to see himself being dragged into the ground. Sasuke shouted as he soon found himself at eye level with the ground. Kakashi bet down to study the boy.
"Can't move huh? That was Ninjutsu the third Shinobi battle skill, you have talent and you are right, you are different from the others. But different isn't always better and in this case that's true." The infuriated genin struggled harder to move.
"They say, the nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down." Kakashi said while walking away.
Feeling the ground shake lightly Kakashi glanced up to see the same two ink lions charging at him. In an attempt to put distance between him and them he landed right where Naruto wanted.
"Now!" The blond called out; the sets of clones simultaneously went through the same set of seals.
Tiger, Rabbit, Boar, Dog.
"Earth Style: Mud-wall!" The clones chorused, Kakashi was stunned he was domed in, there were no gapes in the wall. Hearing the flap of a birds wings he looked up to dee a large bird, similar to the lines, it too was made of ink. Two more Naruto's leapt of the bird before calling out.
"Collaboration: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu! /Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" The pair shouted together. With the wind style jutsu enhancing the fire style a massive Fireball came down on the Jonin.
'Shit' was all the Jonin thought.
After half a minute of the fire scorching the terrain the pair looked upon the immense crater, they both caught sight of a human sized tunnel beginning from where Kakashi was stood.
"Again!" Naruto screamed, sighing to himself he walked over to the final male teammate.
Sasuke looked on in awe, when had Naruto gotten so good? The pair had worked so flawlessly, the efficiency was unquestionable. As he growled to himself a pair of feet covered in black sandals took up his view.
"How are you going down there?" Naruto joked. Sasuke's scowl deepened. "Whatever, just get me out of here!" He snapped back. Naruto brushed of the tone before helping him out of his situation.
Just as the Sasuke was dusting himself off after getting out of the ground the bell rung.
"Damn it" they both cursed.
~ After the Test, at The Posts ~
They four genin found themselves in a group with Sakura tied to the post. The four stomachs rumbled in unison.
"Uh oh, stomachs growling huh? That's too bad, oh by the way about this exercise, well, I've decided. I won't send any of you back to the academy." Sakura didn't even move.
"What? I passed? All I did was faint and fall over, do you get points for that?" While this was what she said inwardly she was pumping her fists. 'Love wins out! Cha! Cha! Cha!'
Sakura then proceeded to squirm in celebration, Sasuke gave a pleased grunt. Naruto and Sai however didn't take to Kakashi's tone, there was something else he wanted to say.
Kakashi gave his patented eye smile before continuing "Yes, all four of you are being dropped for the program… permanently" By the end of Kakashi was speaking with a tone racked with anger, it was clear that he was disappointed by the group's performance.
The three shocked faces of the genin were priceless, Sai was as stoic as ever. Still obviously quite stunned Sakura queried the Jonin. "How can you do that Kakashi-sensei?" The pleading tone in her voice was evident.
Raising his hands to his hips he answered her question. "Because, you don't think like ninja, you think like little kids, like brats" That final statement really irked the young Uchiha, he would not be talked down to by this condescending asshole.
He made a dash at Kakashi, this had been the wrong move. To attack an already angered Jonin, who was clearly above the level of the group. There was a sudden brush of wind and when the dust settled, the group laid their eyes on a frightening scene.
Sasuke was face down in the dirt, Kakashi sat on his back with his foot pushing Sasuke's head further into the ground. The lazy Jonin glanced at the boy underneath him.
"You think it's all about you" Kakashi stated.
Quick to protect her love interests pride Sakura called out. "let go of Sasuke! You can't step on him like he's some bug!" Kakashi didn't care what she had to say, he turned his accusatory gaze upon the rest of the group. "You don't know what it means to be a ninja, you think it's a game huh?"
Sasuke gave a grunt that showed he agreed, Sakura had light gasp in shock, Sai, well… no one knows how he reacted, he didn't even blink. Naruto on the other hand was deep in thought, the closest he had been to a ninja was the encounter with Mizuki. Even then he had done nothing, the spar with Kakashi had been someone way above the others testing their skills.
He had treated it like a game, he never once thought about having to kill or the other gruesome truths of being a ninja.
Seeing that most of the group had thought about it he continued. "Why do you think we put you on squads? Did you consider that question for one moment?"
Naruto without skipping a beat answered the man. "Teamwork" The Jonin gave a long sigh. "Then why did you not act on it?" Inwardly he was happy that someone had figured it out.
"I did, I worked with Sai from the beginning and Sasuke at the end. He was the distraction" Sasuke to his credit didn't react, he knew that Naruto was lying but he thought it best to appease the angered Jonin, so he gave an affirmative grunt.
"I see, but you still excluded Sakura, in doing so you hurt the team, her analytical mind far out stretches yours" The three didn't have any response. "But if all four of you had come at me you might have been able to take them." Clearly indicating the bells. "Well anyway, it's over"
Sakura's mind was working, then it clicked. "You set it up with three people but only two bells, if we worked together and got the bells then only two of us would keep them. That would lead to group conflict and the squad would break up" She finished in an indignant manner.
Kakashi didn't even react before talking "Exactly, I purposely pitted you against each other. I wanted to see if you could overcome that and put the squad ahead of yourselves, a Genin should have a natural feel for teamwork. But you, it never even crossed you mind, to involve the entire team with a plan increases the success rate exponentially."
Turning to the pink haired girl "Sakura, you never even attempted to help a teammate, even with the Genjutsu all you did was fear for yourself. You Sasuke" He emphasised by rubbing the boy's face further into the dirt
"Thought that everyone so far beneath you that they were worthless, you must have worked with them for personal benefit, not for the team."
"Naruto and Sai, you two immediately worked together and remained like that for the entire test, but you ignored Sakura, that may lead to her being killed on a mission, could you live with that? Arrogance"
"Ninja Missions are carried out in squads, of course you need individual skill, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every shinobi understands this. Individuals that put themselves above the squad, this can lead to failure and death."
Kakashi breathed in after his speech, reaching into his back pocket the group tensed up. He slowly withdrew a single kunai before bringing it to Sasuke's neck.
"Naruto! Kill Sakura now or Sasuke dies!" Naruto blanched, he couldn't do that, this was supposed to be a training exercise, Sakura in the meantime was trying her hardest to escape while screaming at the top of her lungs.
"That's what happens on a mission" With that the kunai was pulled away from the boys neck and Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh boy, that was really scary"
Kakashi was now spinning the kunai on his index finger while continuing. "The enemy takes a hostage and you've got an impossible choice; someone ends up dead." Gripping the weapon, he placed it back in his pouch before removing himself from the disgruntled boy.
As he walked away from the group he continued explaining. "Every mission your life is on the line" As he reached the memorial stone, he questioned them "Did you ever look at this stone? The names engraved on it? They are all ninja who are honoured as heroes in our village, they are a special kind of hero. They're all K.I.A."
The group knew what this meant, Sakura was aware of the meaning but not the implications, Sasuke was aware as many Uchiha were engraved on that stone. Sai recognised that the ninja he knew would likely never make their way onto this stone, for once he felt hollow. Naruto had two thoughts going through his head 'Mom, Dad' His mood was instantly darkened.
"This is a memorial stone; the names of my closest friends are engraved here" Naruto thought back once more to the Third Hokage's words.
'When you meet him give him a chance, he has so many demons from his past that I'm surprised that he hasn't cracked, he needs people'
The three genin capable of showing emotion looked distraught, they couldn't believe the live some people had to live. After a short period of contemplation, he turned to face the Genin.
"Alright, I'm going to give you one more chance. But I'm going to make it much harder on you, you've got three hours to get a bell. Eat lunch now to build up strength, but Sakura doesn't get any" The girl dropped her head as her stomach rumbled further.
"It's your punishment for your performance, and if anyone tries to feed her, that person will immediately fail. I make the rules, you follow them, Got it?" Kakashi's tone left no room for questions, the man's judgemental stare.
The silver haired Jonin left in a body flicker, appearing behind a nearby to overlook the Genin's actions.
Sai and Naruto were sharing one bento while Sasuke was eating out of the final one. Looking at the others Naruto let out a sigh after taking in a mouthful of rice. He knew what he would have to do know, he wouldn't hold someone back if he could help them.
"Here" Sakura stared wide-eyed at the blond boy. "If he's giving us another chance you need to have eaten to perform at your best. If I was to exclude you again it would hurt the team and jeopardise the mission. So here" He gestured to the boxed lunch that was being held in front of her.
"You baka!" Naruto frowned at the girl the sent his gaze to the Uchiha. "Sasuke please feed Sakura, I doubt she will be fed by anyone else. I also know that you agreed with my previous reasonings" Sasuke secretly appreciated the 'please' he disliked being ordered around, by anyone. He knew that Naruto was right, he just didn't want to admit it as the blond had voiced it before him.
"Here" Sasuke said while holding the bento in front of Sakura. "Oh, Sasuke-kun!" she squealed, the boys, even Sai looked somewhat disturbed by the pitch of her scream. Sighing to himself he used the chopsticks to begin feeding her.
The second the rice hit her mouth, there was an explosion of smoke right in front of the Genin. The three who weren't tied to the tree all got into defensive positions as Kakashi face appeared through the smoke. Sakura meanwhile was kicking and screaming in terror.
"You!" He shouted. The wind picked up, nearly knocking the boys off their feet, if they thought the man was angry before that was nothing compared to right now, he was livid. "You broke the rules, I hope you're ready for the punishment"
He went through the hand signs: Ox, Boar, Rat. Dark stormy clouds formed in the sky, lightning leaking through them, it was a scary sight.
"Any last words?" Sakura was shivering in place as she answered, the ominous setting further unsettled the group "But sensei"
"Yes?" Kakashi pressure did not lift
"You said we're a team, didn't you?" Sakura asked. "We're all in this together, squad member or not"
"Indeed, as you three would say, the four of us are one" None of them were even slightly confused with Sai's language, how could he be so calm.
"The three of you are one? That's your excuse?" The Jonin studied them for a final time, then slowly closing his eye, he clearly smiled at the group.
"You pass" he said happily. They got it!
Sai's face was still set in stone, Sasuke continued in his bracing scowl, Naruto gave a look of realisation before a blank stare and Sakura just tilted her head to the side before muttering.
"Huh?"
"You pass" He repeated, emphasising the statement.
"What do you mean? How'd we pass?" Sakura's confusion was still evident.
"You're the first group that ever succeeded. The others did exactly what I said and fell into every trap, they couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception."
There was a gap in his speech, even Sai lent in to hear what he had to say.
"In the ninja world those who break the rules are scum, that's true. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum"
Sai was as empty as ever; Sakura breathed a relieved sigh and the final two boys had smirks plastered on their features. One smirk was of accomplishment, the other, of appreciation.
"The exercise is over, everyone passes. Squad seven and Naruto begin their ninja lives tomorrow!" Flashing a pose that would make a certain green clad Jonin cry out in happiness, Giving the group a thumbs up.
All four of them had reactions of happiness, they might for different reasons but for one point in time they were on the same wavelength. Naruto untied Sakura as he saw this was the perfect time. "Kakashi-sensei" The man in question smiled even brighter when Naruto said that. "Can we please talk? Alone" Sasuke narrowed his eyes for the briefest of moments before relenting, it was not his business. Sakura was too happy to care, and Sai had already vanished.
Kakashi saw the seriousness etched across his face. "Of course" Naruto walked up to the man before moving straight past him to look at the memorial stone. Kakashi simply followed, he would have also liked to get to know the boy.
"Do you mourn for them when you come here? I haven't been to seem them yet, have you?" Kakashi was confused, that was until he saw the names that were being brushed over 'Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki'.
His lone eye widened. "You… you know?" Naruto gave a solemn nod, not taking his eyes off of the engravings. "I do, I have known for a while, but I still haven't come to see them. Have you? Have you checked in on them?"
"Too often" Kakashi admitted, he often spent hours at this stone, he would stand deathly still and stew in his countless mistakes. "Well then, thanks for that, I'll carry that torch from now on. We wouldn't want you to waste time on this, now would we?"
Kakashi resumed his confusion, he was still too stunned to reply "Kakashi, I do not want you to come here again to mourn for them, or any others. You are disgracing their memories by doing as such. Now by no means should you forget them, but from what I've read you would be disgracing a former teammate of yours by leaving behind the friends you have now, no?"
'Obito' Was all the man thought, was he really doing that? "I know how hard life has been on you, my life is a stroll through the meadows in comparison. But for those who still care about you, please put in the effort for them, don't abandon them."
The grey-haired man was carefully studying every blade of grass in the clearing, he knew he wasn't being scolded but it sure felt like it. "And, if you don't think that anyone cares or will be there for you, know this: I will be there for you. You were supposed to be family to me, my fathers student, so how about this, let's make up for lost time. What do you say Kakashi-nii-san?"
Without another word being uttered Naruto flashed away, Kakashi was too stuck in his thoughts to even notice. The once lazy Jonin, spent the next few hours at the memorial stone.
Do not be mistaken, he was not thinking of who he had lost, he was thinking of who he still had.
~ The Next Day, Hokage's office ~
It was nine o'clock in the morning, and all of the Jonin who were assigned a team recently were in to give their verdict on their genin. All of the Jonin were there, this baffled a few as many thought they would be waiting for hours on end for squad sevens Jonin.
Said Jonin sighed at the response, he clearly had work to do. Hiruzen smiled, something had changed, he was happy, to have arguably their most skilled Jonin making a positive change could be monumental.
Silencing the murmurs with a raised hand he looked upon his subordinates. "As we are all here, let us proceed in the Genin teams results. Aoba Yamashiro of Squad '1' please begin" The man stepped forward providing his verdict.
"Squad '1', Fail"
And so, this continued until Hatake was brought forward.
"Squad '7', pass" No one moved a muscle, not only had the copycat ninja arrived on time, he had passed his first squad. The old Sarutobi was ecstatic, not outwardly of course.
"Explain"
"Squad seven with the inclusion of Naruto Uzumaki were unsuccessful in the initial attempt to retrieve a bell. Sai and Naruto showed a clear ability to work together."
"Sai showed his skill in Super Beast Scroll and ink techniques, Naruto showed skill in his Earth, Fire and Wind styles and the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Both appeared adept in their Taijutsu from the brief encounters with me. Sasuke showed clear skill in Taijutsu and Fire style techniques, he had a ferocity in his attempt to retrieve a bell."
"Sakura was a disappointment, her only achievement was breaking out of a Genjutsu, even that was only because of the pain caused by fainting and hitting her head."
"While they didn't work together properly in the first attempt, Naruto figured out the role of the test, the team put aside their differences to increase their chances of success by feeding Sakura"
When he was done, he was met with faces of shock, and a content smile. The sensei assigned to squad '10' broke out of his stupor the quickest, slapping the previously speaking man on the back in jest he spoke. "Good one, now what actually happened Kakashi?" The man's eye travelled to meet the ones who just spoke.
"I did, if you want proof, bring your team, see how they compare" For most they would expect a harsh tone to accompany those words. But once again the onlookers were shocked, the Kakashi Hatake returned the humour, though there was still an undertone of seriousness. He grunted before finishing.
"Well, send the Uzumaki my way, I'd like to work with that Wind style if you don't mind"
"You've got to talk to Jiraiya about that, but I'll let him know Asuma" The Hokage smiled fondly before gesturing to squad '8''s assigned Jonin.
The female Jonin stepped forward, it was a composed voice, but it held an etherealness to it.
"Squad '8', pass"
"Explain"
"The team worked well together, the use of Kiba's sense of smell, Shino's insect's and Hinata's Byakugan were able to quickly locate the subject."
"Kiba Inuzuka showed skill in his Taijutsu, Clan Ninjutsu, he was however caught in a low level Genjutsu that was identified and broken by Hinata. His teamwork with his ninja hound Akamaru was commendable, Tactically, inept but otherwise impressive."
"Shino Aburame was impressive in formulating a plan as well as his use of his families insects. His Taijutsu was poor but he amended this by keeping his distance. He was quick to identify teamwork as vital; he overall was also impressive."
"Hinata Hyuga, she is very adept in her clan's Taijutsu style, the gentle fist, her Byakugan is well developed and her work with medical salves was impressive in helping the injured Kiba. Due to her lack of self-confidence, she nearly cost her squad as she was indecisive. Otherwise, impressive"
"The three worked well together and were efficient in their capture of the subject"
Hiruzen nodded to her before setting his gaze upon the final man, his son. Asuma Sarutobi stepped forward, devoid of emotion he stated.
"Squad '10', pass"
"Explain" The Hokage's tone held sadness.
"The new Ino-Shika-Cho formation showed teamwork reminiscent of their fathers, through the use of the respective clan's techniques. They were quick and decisive in my capture."
"Ino Yamanaka, her Taijutsu was above average, she used her clan's techniques to mentally connect her teammates, her stamina was impressive as she continued to attack to provide openings for her squad mates."
"Shikamaru Nara was as lethargic as expected, but his tactical mind is stunning, his use of the Shadow Possession Jutsu on Ino to make contact with my shadow was ingenious."
"Choji Akimichi was skilled in his Taijutsu but also impressed in his Partial and Expansion Jutsu's. He was hesitant in attacking me when I was caught in Shikamaru's Jutsu as he thought he might hurt Ino."
Hiruzen was impressed, the crop of Genin this year had a lot of potential.
"Thank you all, you're dismissed"
They all nodded, Kakashi turned to the two other Jonin that had passed their teams. "Hey, do you guys want to get some food, dango?" The other two hid their shock at the offer as for the last few years he had completely ignored the others. Both agreed to which Kakashi eye-smiled.
"Great and can you invite Guy too, I need talk to Hokage-sama" And with that the pair vacated the office leaving Hiruzen and Kakashi.
Team '8''s Jonin cracked first. "That was Kakashi, right?" Asuma didn't answer her as he robotically walked out the door.
~ With Kakashi and Hiruzen ~
Kakashi strolled up to the desk, he needed to know something. "Hokage-sama, can we talk?" Hiruzen knew that it could wait but that might lead to issues further down the line.
"Of Course" The lazy Jonin eye smiled while talking "After the exercise today I had an enlightening talk with Naruto-kun, it appears he knows of his parentage, may I ask why he was told? I do believe we were supposed to be waiting until he was more of age weren't we?"
Hiruzen didn't even falter with his smile, if anything it became livelier. "We had decided to tell him when he was able to defend himself and that's what he did" He said cryptically. "As good as he is now Hokage-sama he won't be able to keep himself safe if he is in danger!"
Kakashi wasn't angry about the boy being told, he was worried what would happen should this knowledge escape and reach other villages. "I understand your concern, but this boy is by far in a way the most dangerous person in the village." Kakashi was a little irked by not receiving a straight answer, so he questioned this statement.
"Why is he dangerous? Is the seal weakening?" Hiruzen chuckled to himself. "No, the seal is not weakening, you along side Jiraiya and I know of Minato's skill. No, he is the deadliest due to his speed, he is currently the fastest ninja in the ninja world."
Kakashi didn't believe it, he had seen the boy's speed in action during the bell test, he was low level Jonin at best. The aged Sarutobi saw the scrutinising gaze of the other man so he finished his point.
"He can cover kilometres of ground instantly, Minato was very famous for this" It instant, Kakashi's eye shot wide open, the boy had been able to use that jutsu?
"How?"
"Through sheer luck, he stumbled across a seal that was located in the south of the village, it was the backdoor to Minato's old apartment, he studied it for years. Then he changed the seal to incorporate his chakra, when he showed me this, I told him of his parents." Kakashi's disbelief did not leave his face, but there was also a look of understanding.
"You know, I should be angry at you." At this Hiruzen hung his head, he knew keeping a secret from Kakashi could be disastrous. "But right now, I'm too happy for that, when me and Naruto-kun spoke, he talked exactly like his parents, even Obito and Rin too. When he called me big brother, I don't think there have been times where I've felt so happy, so as he said, I no longer need to fight myself about my mistakes. I have people here who are still with me, so I'm going to make the most of my time with them."
By the end of the short monologue Hiruzen was beaming, to hear his surrogate grandson help Kakashi was a great feeling.
"But know this Hokage-sama, keep something like this from me again and there will be problems." The Hokage couldn't even respond as Hatake had left in a swirl of leaves, he knew not to push his luck and to not underestimate the lazy Jonin.
I've always wanted Kakashi to be happy, i felt like he deserved it after what he's been through, so this is me living vicariously.