It had been a month since Naruto had learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Sasuke hadn't taken much longer, though, as expected, he could only create one compared to Naruto's as of yet unknown limit. Just like he said, Naruto hadn't used more than one clone to help with training once Sasuke had finally gotten the technique down. Though multiple people had tried to convince him otherwise many times, Sasuke being one of them. Naruto, though, would always refuse, saying it was an unfair advantage. Every time the blonde had said this, his Uchiha counterpart would just bring up his Sharingan. Naruto's response to that was a simple question, "Do you ever use your Sharingan to train?" The answer was obviously 'No', so it usually quieted Sasuke for a few days. After trying for almost two weeks, Sasuke finally gave up. Everyone else had given up long before then.

During their month of being a Genin, Team 7 had only done 15 D-rank missions. The reason for their limited number if missions is because they only did one every other day, mainly focusing on training. One part of training was the testing of their elemental affinity. Sakura had Earth Style as her affinity, Sasuke had Fire, and surprisingly Lightning Style, and Naruto had Wind, which was quite rare, and Water Style. There was another part of their training that was just as, if not more, important. This training had taken them nearly the entire month, but they had done the impossible. They had done what not even the son of the Third Hokage had thought undoable.

They had broken Sakura of her fangirlism.

It was a testament to how skilled a teacher Kakashi was. When she told them she was dieting to 'keep her figure', Kakashi upped their training, forcing her to intake more calories to function. Or at least, that had been the plan.

Despite the increase in physical labor, Sakura had still not taken to eating the proper amount, Kakashi had all but force fed her. Despite fearing for her figure, she couldn't deny how much more energized she felt. Therefore, she continued to eat the proper calories. Though only after she had been given to Kurenai Yuhi, Jonin of Team 8, for the day.

Eating right wasn't the only thing that contributed to her being a fangirl. The object of her affections was, obviously, the cause of her ways. This was solved by Kakashi locking them in a closet, albeit a spacious one, wouldn't want Sakura "accidentally" feeling up Sasuke, and forcing the two to have a mature talk.

Sasuke explained to her in no uncertain terms that he had no romantic feelings for anyone at the moment, let alone her. He told her that he had one goal at the moment, and one goal only. He conveniently left the specifics of said goal out of the conversation, though she could tell from the tone of his voice that it had nothing to do with romance. He did say, though, that once he finished his current goal, he would be looking to rebuild his clone, but only with strong Kunoichi. He even specifically stated that he would most likely have more than one wife. After all, it wouldn't do to only have a few kids before a single woman became tired of going through labor.

Surprisingly, this statement didn't really deter her in her quest for his affection. It did, however, change her way of how she would go about getting them. Instead of dolling herself up and trying to look attractive to him, she threw herself into training. Taking the dietary tips Kurenai had given, though Sakura was more inclined to say beaten in, to her, she rapidly progressed in her training. Much more than Sasuke or Naruto, though that was most likely due to her lacking any previous skill.

Other than breaking her of her fangirl ways, Sakura trained heavily in Taijutsu, which brought her up to par. She also learned an Earth Style technique, Mud Wall. This, as the name suggests, creates a mud wall through the expulsion of the wet earth from the user's mouth. Other than a Ninjutsu, Sakura also leaned a Genjutsu. This one was Demonic Illusion: Hell-Viewing Technique. This Genjutsu subjects the victim to their greatest fear, or shows them the image they least want to see.

Sasuke had improved quite a bit, especially with the use of his Shadow Clone. He learned everything, quite literally, twice as fast as he normally would. He quickly learned the Body Flicker technique, along with two more Fire Style techniques. He also increased the efficiency of he Taijutsu style. Although his clone couldn't retain muscle, muscle memory was a whole other topic. As it is, essentially, memory, the Shadow Clone has no problem with passing the knowledge it obtained unto it's creator.

Despite already being mid Genin level when he left the academy, he was now approaching high Genin level, though his reserves were easily Chunin level. This most likely stemmed from his Ninjutsu training. Although he didn't increase the size of his repertoire too much, all the training he put into it raised his reserves quite a bit.

Sasuke's battle Jutsu was at a total of seven. It would be eight, but Kakashi had expressly forbidden Sasuke from using the Shadow Clone Jutsu in battle. Along with his previously known jutsu, Fire Style:Great Fireball Jutsu and Fire Style:Phoenix Sage Fire, Sasuke also learned Fire Style:Flame Bullet and Fire Style:Dragon Fire. Great Fireball Jutsu shoots out a large fireball. Phoenix Sage Fire on the other hand, shoots out multiple small fireballs. Both of these use approximately the same amount of chakra, though Phoenix Sage Fire has more versatility. Flame Bullet, at its base form, which is about a foot in diameter, uses substantially less chakra than the other two, as it's basically a smaller Great Fireball. Dragon Fire is the oddity in Sasuke's new repertoire. Instead of a ball, or even a shape for that matter, this jutsu is just a stream of fire that is expelled from the user's mouth. Though Sasuke, being an Uchiha, excelled in Shurikenjutsu, and quickly thought of a way to use the two in conjunction.

By tying wire to shuriken, Sasuke could use the shuriken to wrap them around a target, restraining them in just the wire, or even against a vertical object such as a tree or rock. Sasuke could then place the wire in his mouth and use the wire to direct the Dragon Fire to his opponent, burning them.

Sasuke decided to use his Shadow Clone separate from his training. While he would work on one Jutsu, his Clone would work on another. Sometimes while he worked on his Jutsu, though, he would have the Clone work on increasing his Taijutsu. He didn't have a set schedule, so he just worked on whatever he felt needed the most work on that day.

Instead of delving into different kinds of Chakra-based techniques like his teammates, well, except for learning Wind Style: Gale Palm, which shoots a blast of condensed air from the hand, Though this did bring up his battle repertoire to four, as he was allowed to use Shadow Clones in battle/ Naruto decided to pick up a different type of technique. Kenjutsu. It wasn't even a planned out decision. It was more of a spur of the moment kind of thing.

Naruto and Sasuke had just got finished with training and were walking through the village together. They were much more use to Kakashi's style of training than they had been a month prior, therefore, they still had energy to peruse a few shops. It was at one one of these shops that Naruto saw a wakizashi that, for lack of a better term, spoke to him.

When he saw it, it was out of its sheath. The handle was a nice red, a shade which he had seen somewhere, but couldn't exactly remember. The cloth strips that were wrapped around the handle were black, but still left plenty of the red to be seen. Unlike most wakizashis, or even japanese swords, for that matter, it didn't have a guard, so his hands wouldn't be as protected. That, however, didn't detract from the lure, or at least to Naruto it didn't. The blade was a dark gray that marked it as Chakra-conductive. The sheath of the sword itself matched the cloth wrappings of the handle.

It was love at first sight. When he saw how much it was, his heart almost broke from the price. It was nearly the cost of a B-rank mission pay. He had about half that, so the next day when they were at team training, Naruto begged Kakashi to take them on some of the harder D-rank missions. Since they only took missions every other day, It took Naruto three days before he had the necessary funds. On the third day after their mission when they broke for lunch, Naruto rushed straight to that store, Random Shinobi Store, and bought the Wakizashi.

Once the sword was paid for, and after suggesting to the owner that they change the name of their shop, Naruto met back up with the rest of his team.

That day, Naruto asked for some scrolls on Kenjutsu from Kakashi. Since he couldn't just up and leave in the middle of training, Kakashi promised to bring some the next day. Once he received the scrolls, Naruto took to his Kenjutsu training with renewed vigor. He was in no way a master after only a few weeks, but he felt he could utilize it as well as he could a kunai. Naruto, unlike Sasuke, focused on one thing at a time. The first few days, he focused on his Taijutsu, as did his clone. Though once he got his wakizashi, he and his clone practiced with it for the first week, then he worked on the Jutsu Kakashi had shown him. The week after that was his Taijutsu once more, and for the final week of the month, he practiced his Kenjutsu again.

It was after this month of training that Kakashi asks the Hokage for a different kind of mission.

"Ah, Kakashi and Team 7. Here for another mission," asked the aged Hokage.

"Yes, Lord Hokage. But today, I was hoping you could give us a C-rank mission," informed Kakashi, much to the delight of his Genin.

"Really now? They've only been Genin for a month, are you sure they're ready," inquired Hiruzen.

"Without a doubt. All three have risen above my expectations of them," declared Kakashi.

"Very well. What mission would you like? We have a merchant that's looking to be escorted to Shihon City, there is a large tiger that escaped the Training Ground 44 and is skulking around the surrounding area, there is a small bandit camp that is terrorizing merchants nearby, and there is an ostrich that has run away from its owner. These are, of course, the easier C-ranks," the Third Hokage explained.

'We'll take the bandit mission," Kakashi decided.

The Third looked surprised. He then asked, "Are you sure? There's almost a guarantee they'll be Blooded on this mission?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage. That is exactly why I took it. I would prefer for this to happen while I'm nearby in case they freeze up. If it was a large bandit camp, I most likely would have chosen the escort mission," spoke the Jonin.

"Very well then. Here are the mission details," Hiruzen said this as he handed the scroll to Kakashi. "I expect you all to leave within the hour. You're all dismissed"

"Yes, Lord Hokage," spoke three of the four ninja there. The fourth one, though..

"Alrighty, Old Man. We'll get this done in no time. See you later," spoke Naruto loudly before leaving. All the Hokage did was chuckle.

"Alright, team," Kakashi began once they left the tower and he had read the scroll. "We';l meet at the gate at 11:00, don't be late. Pack for a three night trip and the usual C-rank supplies."

"Yes, Sensei," spoke the Genin, this time all of them. With that, they all went to their separate homes and began packing for their first excursion out of the village.

"Good, you're all here, and early at that," spoke Kakashi.

"Of course we are! This is our first mission,"shouted an excited Naruto.

"No it's not, Loser. We've had multiple missions before this," Sasuke pointed out.

"Those weren't missions, those were chores. This is a real mission," declared Naruto.

"Alright, that's enough," interrupted Kakashi before they could argue any more. "You may want to take this a bit more seriously, Naruto. This may be your first time out of the village, but it is also your first look into the real world of the Shinobi. This is the mission you will get Blooded,"

At this, all three Genin paled a little. They were well aware of what that term meant. There were countless stories told in the academy of how Genin would freeze up after their first kill and die at the hands of an opportunistic enemy. They all knew they would have to kill at some point, but they never knew it would be so soon after the academy.

"A-are you sure we should be doing it so early? We just left the academy," Sakura pointed out.

"I know it's a bit early for you three. Most teams don't get Blooded until almost a year after their graduation. I don't even think Guy's students have been Blooded," stated Kakashi, much to his Genin's surprise.

Over the course of the last month, Teams 7 and 9 have done several joint training sessions at the behest of Guy to see how well he his 'Eternal Rival' has trained his Genin. They all thought Guy and Lee were fairly nice, if not very weird, Tenten was also a nice person to speak to, and she loved talking to Naruto about his sword. Neji, on the other hand, had been unanimously voted as the largest prick any of them had ever met. He went on and on about Fate and how he was 'fated' to beat every single one of them in combat. Though all of their spars were interrupted due to how serious they got.

"And you actually think we should be Blooded already? We've been a Genin for a fraction of the time they have." Naruto was a bit confused as to why they were going to have their first kills so soon.

"Yes, I do. Now let's get a move on. Lord Hokage said within the hour, and we're pushing that," Kakashi instructed. With that, they all left for the bandit camp.

A few hours later finds Team 7 scouting out the nearby bandit camp. The sun was well on its descent, but they still had a few hours of sunlight to watch their targets.

"Okay team, what do you see," asked the Jonin of the group through the radio.

"There are around 10 tents around one large tent," began Sakura through her mic.

"There are also 20 bandits, two for each tent, and one leader, he resides in the large tent," continued Sasuke into his piece.

"At any one time, they have four guards, one for each direction, though they don't have guard towers. This seems to be hastily put together," finished Naruto.

"Very good. All of you are quite perceptive. But can any of you tell me what you missed?" All the Genin were confused at this, as they thought they had covered everything.

"Damn, we missed the hostages," realized Sakura.

"Right you are, Sakura," congratulated Kakashi. "They have a cage full women. It is pretty hard to see, especially from where you boys are positioned."

"Now that we're done with our observations, let's all meet back up at the appointed area, Gray out," ordered Kakashi, using his codename. The Genin then followed his example.

"Pink out."

"Black out."

"Yellow out."

It then took just over ten minutes for them all to meet back up. Kakashi took the longest, as he was on the other side of the camp.

"Okay, we're all here. Now, let's start planning." As Kakashi spoke, he started drawing a circle before putting multiple X's, a smaller circle in the middle, and a square near the smaller circle. He then continued, "As I'm sure each of you can guess, these are the small tents," Kakashi pointed to the X's as he said this, "this is the big tent," the smaller circle, "and this is the cage of women." the square.

"So what's the plan," asked Sasuke. "How do we take out the bandits?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that," Kakashi shot back.

"What? Why don't you make the plan," asked Sasuke.

"You each will have to make plans and strategies at some point in your career. I just figured the sooner you start, the easier it'll be," explained the man with strange hair.

"But what if my plan is bad and it gets everyone killed," asked Sasuke with trepidation.

"Don't worry, I will be adjusting your plan where it is required. I wouldn't send you all in with a faulty plan," Kakashi said. "Now, get started on that plan. And keep in mind it's just you three, I'll be here in case you need help, but I won't be and actual factor in your plan." With that, Sasuke began making a plan. It took him about thirty minutes before he felt that he had a plan that was able to get the job done.

"Okay, so here is the plan," began Sasuke.

Night was well underway. The moon was nowhere in sight, but it had to be around two in the morning. After having been on watch for the past six hours with nothing to do, the guards were all starting to get tired. Nothing interesting ever happened at night. Who would even attack this late? It's not like anyone even knew they were there.

'Why do we have to-' Before the guard could finish his thought, his head was severed from his body. The first stage of Sasuke's plan was now in effect.

Within the first five minutes, the guards were taken out. Since there were four and they only had three operatives at their disposal, Naruto had to create a Shadow Clone to take out the extra watchman. They all froze for almost ten seconds before they shook themselves out of it. They had a job to do.

They each began their own missions anew. The bandits didn't have any ninja, so Naruto just made four Shadow Clones and sent them off to take out his section of bandits. They each had seven hostiles to take out, and since Naruto already took out two, he only had five left. He decided to take the one he did himself out with his wakizashi, feeling like it needed to be blooded just as much as he did. After he killed the man, he received his clones' memories. He felt like the demon sealed inside of him. Naruto soon collapsed, hugging his knees to his torso.

Since Sasuke was the leader of this mission, he felt it was his duty to take out the leader of the bandits, just in case he was stronger than the others. With permission from Kakashi, he made a Shadow Clone to go take out his other targets while he took out the lead bandit. Luckily for him, the leader was also asleep and didn't seem to notice them. With a quick slice to the man's throat, blood gushed from his Carotid Artery and onto Sasuke's hands. It was at that moment that the Uchiha received the memories from his clone and had to run over to a nearby waste basket to vomit.

Unlike her two teammates, Sakura didn't have the ability to create Shadow Clones. Therefore, she had to keep moving even when she wanted to break down. But once she finished killing the last sleeping bandit, she collapsed and started bawling. She stayed in this state for almost an hour. Nothing her teammates, though it did take some time for them to get their after their own reactions, or sensei said to her got through. Finally, she pulled herself together and they soon set out, Kakashi having taken over Sakura's duty of setting the captured women once he saw the state she was in.

With the mission complete, Team 7 set off back to the Hidden Leaf, all of them wanting to sleep in their own beds after the ordeal they just went through.

I finished another chapter. Yay! Though this did take over a month, sorry about that. Half of this is just talking about their previous month of training, and the other half is a pretty boring mission. This all together was a pretty bad chapter, so sorry about that.

Onto other news, I'm thinking about starting a new Naruto story. I have an idea for three separate ones. Ones is where Kushina lives, becomes strong to protect Naruto, and becomes the Fifth Hokage. I have quite few idea on this one, lots of deaths and the like. Then I have a story idea of Naruto having two Tailed Beasts sealed inside of him. I don't have much for this one, but I still think it's a pretty interesting idea. The final idea I have, though it's not original, I just want to try my hand at it, is Naruto is born five years earlier, is a prodigy, and is friends with Itachi. Like usual, he has a younger brother that is the Jinchuriki and his parents are alive, though in this, they don't neglect him. Anyways, I want to ask you all which one I should do.

Until next time, R&R.