PinkiePieParty122894: I'm happy that I've continued to impress and I hope it continues to impress you.
1995hzq: Glad that you liked it. At first I was going to try and make Orochimaru feel indifferent but secretly care but I decided to go down a path that showed that he was still human.
Animaman: I'm happy that you liked Orochimaru's path. As for the flashback, when it's Naruto's chapter right before he returns home, he will have to face some of his demons and you'll get to see in depth how his childhood was as well as more insight to Menma and Narumi. When Jiraiya finds the twins, things will come out that will kind of change Jiraiya's beliefs and open his eyes but I can't say whether or not Naruto will ever find out that Jiraiya is sorry for what he's done. As for Sasuke's pairing, I can't tell you who it is but I will go ahead and confirm that it is not Sakura. I think that who I have him paired with is kind of unexpected and I haven't found a lot of this pairing. It may be me not being able to search well enough but I think that a little bit of surprise will go through your mind when you find out who it is.
Faded-Dynasty: I'm glad that you've noticed. I think part of it has to do with me getting the feel of the story better. I hope that you like the story going forward,
(Streets of Konoha)
Yakumo walked through the streets of the village feeling fairly sore after her morning practice with Kushina sensei and Konan sensei. She smiled knowing that the hard training was only going to make her that much stronger. The thought of training slowly turned Yakumo's smile into a frown as she thought about her boyfriend and his training trip. He had only been gone for about two weeks and she was already missing him. Shaking her head to get rid of the lonely thoughts, she realized that she had unintentionally and unconsciously walked into an unknown training ground. The area was a small field surrounded by a fair amount of trees. Preparing to turn around, Yakumo stopped when she heard sniffles and quiet sobs nearby. Slowly walking in the direction of the sound, she moved through the trees so as to not alert whoever was crying to her presence. When she finally came across the individual that was crying, Yakumo was surprised to see the girl known as Hinata Hyuga. Narrowing her eyes at the girl that had taken her former teacher's eye away from her, Yakumo continued to look at the girl, searching for the cause of her sadness. She silently gasped when she saw a large purple mark on the right side of the Hyuga's face.
Biting her lip, Yakumo made the decision to confront the crying girl and stepped out of the forest. "Are you okay?" Yakumo asked softly but still causing Hinata to jump in fright. Hinata's eyes widened at the girl who stood in front of her. She had not spent much time if any getting to know Yakumo, but she remembered how vicious the brunette was in their match in the preliminary round of the Chunin Exams. Yakumo noticed the fear in Hinata's eyes and quickly put her hands up to signal that she came in peace. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just heard you crying and wanted to see if you were okay" Yakumo said calmly as she slowly approached the Hyuga. Hinata sniffled before wiping her eyes and nodded. "May I sit down?" asked Yakumo to which Hinata nodded again. Yakumo smiled and sat down next to the dark blue haired girl. "I take it that it hasn't been your day?" Yakumo asked causing Hinata to look at the ground and shake her head in sadness.
"I know that we barely know each other, but sometimes it helps to just talk about whatever's going on" Yakumo said in a slightly concerned tone. Hinata shook her head and wiped her eyes some more. "It's nothing worth concerning yourself over. I just want to be a strong kunoitchi and make my family proud, but I can't stop messing up. No matter how hard I try, I always find a way to fail" Hinata said staring at the ground. Yakumo looked at the Hyuga with a frown. It seemed like yesterday that her sole intention was to humiliate Hinata by wiping the floor with her in battle. Hinata had gained the attention and affection of her first teacher and a part of her resented the genin and her jounin sensei for it. Giving a sigh and looking at the pitiful state that Hinata was in, Yakumo realized that it was not because Hinata seemed to have more potential. It was that Hinata needed more guidance than she did. Looking forward, Yakumo took a deep breath. "I used to hate you, you know" Yakumo said causing Hinata to look up at Yakumo. "I don't know if you knew this, but Kurenai was my first sensei when I was a child. I tried to prove myself in genjutsu as best as I could but it wasn't enough to keep her from leaving me. Years later when I saw the way that she interacted with you, I got jealous, I got angry, and I got perplexed trying to figure out what you had that I didn't. Those thoughts could have started me down a dark path, but I had friends and people who cared about me to show me that I didn't need Kurenai's approval" Yakumo said.
A smile started to grow on Yakumo's face. "I found out what it meant to be a true kunoitchi with the help of my friends" Yakumo said turning to look at Hinata directly in her eyes. "All it takes is for one person to believe in you. That's all you need to discover what type of ninja you will be. Whenever you're in doubt, whenever you think that you can't go on, just think about that person who believes in you and show them that their belief is not misplaced" Yakumo said before her smile dropped a little. "I am sorry for the way I treated you in our battle during the Chunin Exams. I was still a little bit angry and I took it out on you. For that, I am sorry" Yakumo said looking down and shocking Hinata. Hinata quickly shook her head. "It's okay, it was a battle after all. I'm sorry that I stole your teacher away from you" Hinata said poking her fingers nervously. Yakumo smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Now let's get to work on cheering you up. First stop, lunch!" Yakumo stated as she dragged Hinata by the hand with her.
(Yakiniku Q)
Hinata watched a little taken back as Yakumo ate plate after plate of meat that she cooked. Hinata was full after cooking her first plate, but Yakumo was on her fifth plate. Quickly finishing her fifth bowl, Yakumo looked up at Hinata. "So, what have your team and the rest of our class been up to?" Yakumo asked while tilting her head. The brunette had never been close with any of her fellow academy students, but she was curious as to how their careers as ninja were going. Hinata took a moment to process the question after witnessing Yakumo eat more food in one sitting than anyone whose last name was not Akamichi. "Um, they are good. Most of us are preparing for the upcoming chunin exams seeing as how you and your team are the only genin who made chunin last time" Hinata said causing Yakumo to blush and rub her arm. "Yeah, I guess we did rock those exams didn't we?" she said feeling some pride swell within her.
"If you ask me, the whole thing was just troublesome" said a nearby voice. Turning their heads, Yakumo and Hinata saw the figures of Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akamichi, Ino Yamanaka, and Asuma Sarutobi standing in front of their table. Shikamaru had a bored look on his face, Choji looked hungry, Ino had her hands on her hips and her eyes slightly narrowed at Hinata, and Asuma stood with a smile. "Hello, we were wondering if we could share this table with you since all of the others are full" Asuma politely requested which gained a nod from Yakumo and Hinata. The newcomers, Team 10, took their seats graciously. "So you are Yakumo Kurama. I've heard some great things about you from Itachi. I'm Asuma Sarutobi" Asuma said trying to introduce himself to the now well renowned genjutsu prodigy. Yakumo smiled and nodded. "I've had some great teachers and teammates to help me get to where I am" Yakumo responded with a smile. Asuma nodded at the statement. "Still though, when I watched you and your team slash through the competition during the Chunin Exams and hearing about all of your team's other deeds has caused me to alter my team's training regiment" the jounin admitted before putting his cigarette out. Shikamaru snorted. "Because of your team, being a shinobi has become even more troublesome" Shikamaru said causing Yakumo and Hinata to giggle, Asuma to smirk, Ino to roll her eyes, and Choji to continue looking for the waitress.
Choji's search for the waitress didn't last long as she soon made herself known, took everyone's orders, and later brought them the food to cook. At first, it was just a meal between comrades as stories and jokes were told but Yakumo and Choji quickly changed that. The two became engaged in who could eat the fastest which Choji won but just barely. As Choji patted his stomach, he looked at Yakumo, the only girl who wasn't an Akamichi to nearly beat him in an eating contest. Looking at the brown haired kunoitchi, Choji reached across the table and grabbed Yakumo's hand with hearts in his eyes. "Yakumo, you are the first girl I have met outside of my family to provide competition in terms of eating. You are truly a magnificent sight and for that I ask for you to be my bride" Choji said causing everyone at the table to grow large sweatdrops on their heads. Yakumo gave a small laugh and shook her head. "Sorry Choji but I've gotta say no" she said causing the hearts within Choji's eyes to shatter. Looking back up, Choji said "Why?" Yakumo took her hand back from the big boned genin. "Because I'm already taken, sorry" Yakumo said. Choji looked heartbroken before shaking his head and looking at the kunoitchi with determination. "Then I shall challenge whoever has tried to claim you in order to prove my worth and I will defeat him in battle" Choji said puffing out his chest which caused the table to move a little.
Yakumo blinked a few times before she started to laugh loud and hard. "Trust me Choji, it would be best for your health if you avoid challenging Naruto" Yakumo said with a smile. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at what Yakumo said. "Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze?" asked the Nara which got a nod from Yakumo. "I barely remember him from the academy. I know that he skipped a year and came back to graduate, but we never really talked" Shikamaru said. Choji looked down at what Shikamaru said because he knew that he had also never made an attempt to make friends with Naruto. Hinata looked at her plate as she thought about her history with Naruto. Before he had left the academy for a year, she was infatuated with the boy. She saw how he was treated and neglected by his family much like her yet he didn't cry. He kept moving forward and it encouraged her to move along as well.
Seeing the mood start to drop, Asuma changed the subject. "So Yakumo, would you and your team be interested in a joint training session with mine?" Asuma asked. Yakumo looked up for a moment before nodding. "I think that would be fun. Of course I would have to ask Kushina sensei, Konan sensei, Itachi sensei, and Sasuke, but it should be fine" Yakumo answered getting a confused look from Asuma. "What about Naruto?" the jounin asked. Yakumo shook her head. "He's kind of busy for the foreseeable future" Yakumo said giving a nervous laugh. Asuma was about to comment but Ino spoke before he could. "Well as long as I get to see my Sasuke, it doesn't matter. I haven't seen him in so long, he's probably missed me so much" Ino said with hearts in her eyes. Yakumo shook her head at Ino's display. It was so hard to be taken seriously as a kunoitchi, and fangirls impeded the progress of kunoitchi everywhere. "Sure. Well, we should get going. I'll make sure to mention the joint training session as well" said Yakumo as she left money on the table and left with Hinata quickly.
(Streets of Konoha)
Yakumo and Hinata walked through the streets without a word. The sun was close to setting and the two just continued to walk to the Hyuga residence since it was about time for Hinata to get home. "So things don't seem to have changed much from what I remember about those three" Yakumo said interrupting the silence. Hinata gave a subtle nod. "In terms of personality, they are still pretty close to the same as when we were in the academy. But they are a really strong team. My team has had joint practice sessions and spars with them and we have yet to win" Hinata said with a sigh. "Perhaps I'm doing something wrong. Sometimes I just think that I'm not cut out to be a ninja" Hinata said dejectedly. Looking up, Hinata realized that they were no longer in the streets but in front of a lake. Before she could make another comment, Yakumo started to laugh loudly beside her. Yakumo stopped walking causing Hinata to stop as well. "You know Hinata, it's uncanny how similar you and I were. Just like I told you earlier, I didn't know if I could be a ninja, but with someone standing behind you and a cause to fight for, you can become a great ninja. I don't know where you got the idea about being inferior but I can say that it's up to you to prove them wrong. And trust me when I say this, the feeling of rubbing your achievements in the faces of your doubters is one of the best you could ever feel" Yakumo said looking at the setting sun.
Hinata looked at the girl standing next to her. She beamed strength and confidence which was so different from back at the academy. Thinking about the words Yakumo spoke, Hinata looked at the brunette with a confused look. "Who are you trying to prove yourself to?" Hinata asked which got a chuckle from Yakumo. Turning her head to look at the Hyuga, Yakumo smiled. "At first, I wanted to prove Kurenai wrong. I wanted to prove that I could make it past my deficiencies and become a great ninja but I never truly had the resolve I needed to achieve my goal. When I met Naruto and became friends with Sasuke, I knew that I would attain my goal no matter what because I had them backing me up. Now, my goal isn't to prove Kurenai wrong because I don't need to. I've reached a level of power she could only dream of. No, instead of focusing on something so petty as trying to prove myself to someone who rejected me, I have dedicated myself to becoming the greatest genjutsu master of all time" Yakumo said with a smile. "And I know that it's a goal that I can achieve because I have people who believe that I can achieve it and I believe in myself. So Hinata, if you feel inferior, strengthen your resolve, believe in what you can do, and find people that care about you and want to help you achieve your dreams. One of them is standing right over there" Yakumo said pointing at a nearby tree.
Kurenai Yuhi stepped out from behind the tree after being revealed by her former pupil. Inside, she felt a deep sadness. Ever since she had abandoned Yakumo, she had been plagued with 'what ifs' that she still hadn't put to rest. But to hear that her departure had affected Yakumo in such a way made Kurenai feel truly ashamed. As she had listened to what Yakumo had said from behind the tree, it further reinforced the fact that she didn't have to abandon Yakumo the way that she did, but the girl's words to Hinata about how to become strong made her feel a curious sense of pride. So as the red eyed genjutsu mistress stepped out from the tree, she couldn't help but allow a small amount of water to form in her eyes as she looked at Hinata. The Hyuga was her second chance, her shot at redemption, and practically her daughter. Taking a breath, Kurenai walked to Yakumo and Hinata. When she arrived in front of the two, Kurenai gave a small smile. "She's right you know" Kurenai said making Hinata tilt her head. "Hinata, you have people who believe in you. I believe in you, Kiba and Akamaru believe in you, and Shino believes in you. All that's left is for you to believe in yourself" Kurenai said putting a hand on Hinata's shoulder before pulling her into a motherly hug. "I see so much potential in you Hinata, and I can't wait until you realize the potential you have. I believe in you Hinata" Kurenai said as a few tears started to drop while her waist wraps were starting to get wet from her student's tears.
Yakumo watched the scene with a small smile but deep down, a flurry of emotions such as envy and anger stormed around. "Kill them" said the dark voice of Ido which caused Yakumo to flinch. The brown haired chunin shook her head and turned to leave. "Well, I'll leave you to it. See you around Hinata" Yakumo said with a wave. "Wait" called out Kurenai causing Yakumo to stop in her tracks. "I know it doesn't mean much now, but I am sorry for how I departed from you" Kurenai said with remorse. Yakumo clenched her fists. "Let's call it what it is Kurenai, you abandoned me because you were like all the others. You could never see the real me, just my flaws and imperfections. I can't forgive you Kurenai, not yet and maybe not ever, but that's the way things go. Actions have consequences and sometimes a simple "I'm sorry" doesn't help. I do not wish any harm on you so do not worry about me taking some form of revenge. If you truly want to make it up to me however, make Hinata strong. She's gonna be pretty strong one day, I can tell" Yakumo said before taking off once again.
The words that Yakumo said were painful for Kurenai to hear, but they were words that she deserved and that needed to be heard. While it did hurt her that she would never be able to have a relationship with Yakumo ever again, she found solace in the girl next to her. She wouldn't abandon Hinata like she did Yakumo. She would help Hinata however she could.
(Yakumo's Room Six Hours Later)
Yakumo slept soundly with a twitch every few moments. When she had returned home hours earlier, she gave a quick "Good night" to her parents and went straight to her room. The moment that she shut and locked the door, Yakumo fell to her knees and started to softly sob. No matter how much time had passed, no matter how much had happened, she was still so angry and hurt by Kurenai's betrayal. It cut deeper than the pain of any enemy kunai and she didn't know why. Her life was so much better because Kurenai was not a part of it but seeing the red eyed woman share such a bond with Hinata that she herself wanted years ago clenched her heart. As the tears fell, all Yakumo could think of was her boyfriend and what he would say. Something about moving on and living your life. But Naruto didn't know that over their time together, Yakumo could see the true feelings that swarmed Naruto. He told everyone that he was over his past but all he really was doing was bottling it up and denying it, much like her. The thought made her chuckle. She and Naruto really were two of a pair.
Reaching up and wiping her puffy eyes, Yakumo stood up. She would no longer hold anything against Hinata, but Kurenai was not someone who she could forgive. She just didn't have the strength, patience, or understanding. Shaking her head, Yakumo got into bed without even changing into her regular sleep attire and quickly fell asleep. Not long after, the brunette was pulled into a dark, familiar, area of her subconscious that she tried to avoid as much as possible.
(Within Yakumo's Mind)
Yakumo's eyes flew open as she looked around and took notice of her surroundings. It took a short moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness and when they did, she was met with the sight of her personal demon Ido staring directly at her with a satanic smile. "Well well, it's been some time since you have come to visit me personally. I suppose that I should thank you for the amusement that you gave me in Kiri. There is nothing more delicious than the taste of pure human horror. Anyways, I suppose you are curious as to why you are here?" asked Ido. Yakumo glared at the demon and gave no answer which caused the demon to chuckle. "Well Yakumo, I'm here to give you the way to get rid of the pain that you are feeling" Ido said making Yakumo's eyes widen slightly. Ido smiled as it saw that Yakumo was intrigued by what she was offering so far. "It's quite simple Yakumo. Release me. A part of me will exit your body just for tonight and pay retribution to the woman who caused you such pain. I will leave no evidence and the part of my presence will return after the deed is done. With her gone, you will be able to move on with your life and finally be truly happy" Ido said as it outstretched it's arm.
Yakumo looked at the arm for a long moment before bursting out in laughter. "HAHAHAHAHA. You really think that I would allow you anything? I thought that I made this clear to you already. In certain times I will provide you victims, but you will never take control of my body ever again. As for my pain, everyone deals with some sort of burden in life. I could send you after Kurenai but I won't because I don't want her dead. I don't care about her anymore and I will just move on with my life from now on" Yakumo said as she turned around to leave.
Ido scowled a little at Yakumo's declaration, but a smirk soon after. "Oh Yakumo, still so naive. Ignoring your inner darkness can have serious effects which I'm sure that your boyfriend can attest to" Ido said causing Yakumo to stop in her tracks and slowly turn around. "I must say that I haven't seen so much darkness and inner conflict within an individual in a long time. I can't wait to see what happens when it finally overcomes him" Ido said while laughing insanely. Before Yakumo could comment, she was thrown out of her subconscious.
(Yakumo's Room)
Yakumo sat up panting and sweating. Looking around rapidly, she took deep slow breaths to calm herself down. Ido was lying, it had to be. Sure Naruto was secretly conflicted within, but it wasn't like it was having any serious effects on him. Was it? Yakumo sighed and placed a hand to her rapidly beating heart which was starting to slow down. Looking out the window, she noticed that it was a full moon and the light from the moon seemed to shine directly on her. Yakumo smiled and whispered "I believe in you Naruto" before going back to this time an uninterrupted sleep.
(Team 11 Training Ground Two Days Later)
Yakumo was swinging her scythe and Sasuke was practicing his jabs for his spear when Itachi, Kushina, Konan, Team 10 and surprisingly Teams 8 and 9 arrived. "Yakumo, Sasuke, come on over" said Kushina. Both chunin sealed their weapons back into their usual spots on their arms and met up with the large group that was now gathered at their training ground. "Okay Yakumo and Sasuke, you should remember Team 10 and Team 8 but I'm not sure if you got to meet Team 9" Kushina said. Yakumo and Sasuke nodded at the implied question as they remembered the team from the chunin exams. Sasuke noticed that the Hyuga of the team was giving him a small glare so Sasuke just smirked as he still remembered the day he outclassed the Hyuga prodigy in taijutsu. "Hello Team 11, I am Might Guy and this is Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji Hyuga. I hope that we can all develop a youthful friendship" Might said as both he and Lee gave a blinding smile while giving a thumbs up. Yakumo took in everyone and noticed Hinata among the group. Giving Hinata a smile and a small wave, she was happy when it was returned in kind from the purple haired girl.
Sasuke however was dealing with the more pressing issue of having a kunai at the ready for when Ino pounced. Giving a sigh, Sasuke being the polite member of Team 11 said "Are we gonna train now or what? I doubt they could handle us anyway." This comment served to tick off everyone except Lee and Ino. Lee simply smiled at the challenge while Ino sighed thinking about how powerful her future husband is. Yakumo rolled her eyes at Sasuke's bluntness and smacked him on the head. "Shut up duck butt and be polite" Yakumo said which caused the genin and all of the jounin except for Itachi to start snickering and chuckling. Itachi looked at everyone chuckling and raised an eyebrow. "I don't get it. What does duck butt mean. I feel like I'm missing something" said Itachi as he looked to his blue haired girlfriend for some sort of explanation. Konan simply chuckled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "It's nothing sweetie, just let it go" she said. After everyone was finished with the joke, each of the genin and chunin prepared for a three team on one team spar. Just as it was about to start, a loud voice shouted "HOLD IT!"
Tsunade, Shizune, Ton Ton, and Sakura walked into the training ground. Tsunade stopped in front of the jounin and crossed her arms. "I heard about your little training session. My apprentice will be joining in as well. It's about time for everyone to shut up about the "Legendary Kage Killers" and start talking about my new apprentice" she said getting raised eyebrows from everyone in the area. Kushina sighed at the mention of the nickname that Team 11 had earned themselves. She had just recently found out about the title given to them the day before so the two chunin probably didn't get the significance of their tiles now, especially with their new Bingo Book entries. Looking at Yakumo and Sasuke, Kushina shook her head and said "I'll tell you later".
Sakura walked over and stood next to Ino in her battle stance. Ino looked at Sakura with narrowed eyes. "So forehead, you gonna try and steal Sasuke away from me today? If so, I can already tell you that it won't work" Ino said. Sakura sighed and kept her focus on the Team 11 members. "Take him if you want him Ino, I'm focused on other things" Sakura responded. In front of the two, Shikamaru muttered "Troublesome" since he already knew that he and Choji would never hear the end of how Sakura seemed like she was disrespecting Ino from the blonde. Shaking his head, Shikamaru announced his plan. "Choji, I want you to attack Yakumo and keep her busy until I'm able to trap her in my Shadow Imitation Jutsu. When I do that, Ino it's up to you to knock her out. After that we can move on to Sasuke and help out since I'm sure that Neji will want a rematch with Sasuke. This will give us the opportunity to take Sasuke by surprise and give us the best chance at beating them. All we have to do is take them one by one, got it?" Shikamaru asked which got nods from Choji and Ino. Shikamaru looked over his shoulder at Sakura. "Sorry to say this Sakura but you will have to figure things out by yourself" Shikamaru finished, missing the determined look on the pink haired kunoitchi's face.
Tenten, Lee, and Neji examined their opponents. "How should we do this guys?" asked Tenten. Lee got a concentrated look on his face but a scowl appeared on Neji's. "Do what you want, I will fight the Uchiha" growled out Neji. Lee smiled as he misunderstood Neji's thirst for payback as excitement to fight such a youthful opponent. "Then I shall go with you to join in your youthful battle" Lee said with a smile. Tenten examined the Uchiha and then her view moved to the brown haired girl of Team 11. "I'll take Yakumo and help out against Sasuke afterwards" Tenten said as she thought about the best way to go about this battle. Neji clenched his jaw. "Don't bother because the Uchiha will have already been dealt with" the Hyuga said.
Kiba stood with Akamaru beside him who had started to grow lately. Shino and Hinata stood beside the two as Team 8 thought of a plan. "I've got it" Kiba said clapping his hands. "Me and Akamaru will go after Sasuke and you two can go after Yakumo" Kiba said getting a confused look from Hinata and a raised eyebrow from Shino. "I understand myself being sent after Yakumo since it would be counterproductive to try and fight Sasuke, but what is your reasoning for Hinata?" Shino asked. Kiba snorted and raised his head. "Listen Hinata, I just think that the fight with Yakumo will be a lot easier. Sasuke might be a challenge but Yakumo is just a kunoitchi so it should be easy pickings" Kiba said. Because he was facing forward, the Inuzaka couldn't see Shino with a hand on his face, Akamaru shaking his head, or Hinata's face which was red from anger instead of embarrassment for once.
Asuma blew a puff of smoke. "How well do you think that they'll do?" asked Asuma to Kurenai, Guy, and Tsunade. "It will be a youthful battle, but I believe that my team will prevail through the power of youth!", "My apprentice is gonna kick ass, after all, I trained her", "I suppose we will see" were the responses that Asuma received. The man chuckled at the different opinions and let out a puff of smoke. He already knew what the result would be. He just hoped it opened the eyes of their teams.
Once everyone was situated, Kushina shouted "BEGIN". Out of everyone there, it was surprisingly Sakura who was the first to act. Raising her fist and slamming it onto the ground, the pink haired genin sent a large fissure towards Sasuke and Yakumo, shocking everyone except for Tsunade, Shizune, and Ton Ton. As the fissure approached, Yakumo and Sasuke looked at each other quickly before nodding and jumping away from each other. The rest of the teams took this as their cue to attack.
(Yakumo)
When Yakumo landed, she immediately unsealed her scythe and leaned on it while she waited for the opposition to make their move. It didn't take long for her to find herself surrounded by Team 8, Tenten, Shino, and Hinata. Looking at her opponents, Yakumo giggled creepily. "So I take it you guys thought I was the weakest of the bunch and maybe you could take advantage of that. Well, let's go fresh meat" Yakumo taunted and was a little surprised when Hinata attacked first. Seeing that Hinata had activated her byakugan, Yakumo smiled at the futile effort. One by one, she easily dodged each of Hinata's palm strikes through the use of her flexibility alone. Bending back and forth, moving left and right, Yakumo started to become entertained. It was as if she was in a dance with the Hyuga. But the dance came to an end when she bent backwards and saw a swarm of bugs flying right at her.
Yakumo jumped backwards and started to go after Shino. Just as she started to get near him, another swarm of bugs flew out of Shino's jacket at her. As Yakumo went to jump backwards again, she tripped and the multitude of bugs swarmed over her body. Yakumo's body however quickly revealed itself to be a multitude of sheets of paper, each with a seal on it. Shino looked at what his bugs were attached to and before he could order them off, a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders. "Oh, so close Shino" Yakumo said before the pieces of paper exploded in small bursts of flames, just enough to kill all of Shino's bugs. "Never throw out everything you've got at the beginning of a battle" Yakumo said sweetly before knocking him out with a hit to the neck.
After Yakumo knocked out Shino, she tried to readjust herself in battle but found herself unable to move. "Not bad Shikamaru. Way to take advantage of the situation, but not enough I'm afraid" Yakumo said with a smirk as her real body was thrown out of a paper shell of one releasing her from the hold of Shikamaru's shadow technique. Taking her chance, she dashed towards Shikamaru and sent him flying with a punch to the face before anyone could react. Once she landed the punch, Yakumo moved out of the way just in time to avoid a punch from Choji. Jumping backwards, she got into a position where each of her opponents were in front of her. She watched as Choji, Hinata, and Ino prepared to charge her but Tenten stopped them. "Hey you three, let me take this. I'll end it quickly" Tenten said as she pulled out and used a sealing scroll that made a ninjato appear in her hand. Seeing what Tenten was getting at, Yakumo laughed and summoned her scythe, "Graceful Lily". "Arrogance will get you killed. I should know, I've killed and seen many be killed simply out of arrogance. I guess I can't blame you though, the excitement of battle is a pretty strong temptation" Yakumo finished, placing her scythe on her shoulder much like her boyfriend did with his sword. Tenten snorted at Yakumo's words. "From where I'm standing, you and your team are the arrogant ones. You get lucky on a couple of missions and you think you're above all of us? You're right that I'm excited for this battle because it's my chance to knock you down a few pegs and teach you some humility" Tenten said clenching her ninjato tightly in her grip.
Tenten sped towards Yakumo aiming for a quick strike. Yakumo chuckled at the simple attack. Lifting her scythe off of her shoulder, she swung it in Tenten's direction causing the girl to jump up and throw her shurikens. Yakumo raised her scythe and deflected all of the shurikens with another simple swing of her weapon. Tenten landed and stopped for a moment, trying to formulate some sort of strategy to get inside Yakumo's guard. Yakumo watched as her opponent thought of a plan and also watched the other three genin who stayed out of their fight. She shook her head in disappointment, one of the cornerstones of Konoha was their teamwork, something that she wasn't seeing any of at the moment. Giving a sigh, she looked back at Tenten who seemed to have come up with a strategy. "Are you ready now because I'm becoming bored" Yakumo said which pissed Tenten off. "Fine, you asked for it" Tenten said with a fire in her eyes as she threw three kunai at Yakumo. The brunette genjutsu master watched the kunai come and noticed that they were off target. Just as the kunai flew by her head, she noticed something. There were tags on each of the kunai. Yakumo's eyes widened and before she could react, the kunai exploded.
Tenten, Hinata, Choji, and Ino looked at the smoke that covered where Yakumo was, and when it cleared, it revealed Yakumo lying on the ground with obvious burns to her face. Seeing what the result of her attack had done, Tenten, Hinata, Choji, and Ino each started to run towards Yakumo in order to help her but for some reason were unable to move. As they realized that their legs weren't obeying, they also came to the realization that their breathing was becoming more and more labored. The world in front of them started to grow hazy and distort as each fell to their legs no longer supporting them. Their breathing started to become so labored that each of them were only able to take small breaths. Just as they were were about to pass out from lack of oxygen, the distortions in their world ended and Yakumo was no longer lying on the ground. Instead, she was standing in front of them without a scratch on her, her arms crossed, and a disappointed look on her face. "I expected more. A Konoha ninja is supposed to value teamwork but I've seen none of that so far. Two of you are out of the fight and if I had wanted, each of you would be dead right now. Hinata, Choji, Ino, you three let Tenten face me alone. Tenten, you let your emotions control you from the very start of the battle and told your fellow ninja to not assist you. Mistakes like these get you killed out there. Now get up and try to work together when you fight me" Yakumo said as she walked back to her starting position. Tenten, Ino, Choji, and Ino slowly stood up and regained their bearings.
Yakumo waited and watched as her opponents huddled together to come up with a quick strategy. When they broke the huddle, Yakumo raised an eyebrow as Hinata and Choji stepped forward. Choji acted first when he shouted "Multi-Size Technique" and immediately grew significantly bigger and rounder. Beside him, Hinata activated her Byakugan and prepared to attack. Choji in his expanded form shouted "Human Bullet Tank" and started to spin quickly but didn't move forward, he just spun in place as his speed rapidly increased. Once Choji started to spin, Hinata rushed towards Yakumo and started to attack using the Gentle Fist, this time with more determination and energy. So much so that Yakumo was now actually using effort to dodge Hinata's attacks. So began the taijutsu match between Yakumo and Hinata in flexibility vs. technique. Hinata attacked quickly but Yakumo was faster as she bent, moved, and twisted to avoid the strikes aimed at her tenketsu points. Just as Yakumo prepared to strike Hinata, the Hyuga jumped away which slightly confused Yakumo until the brunette looked behind her. A massive speeding ball that could only be Choji was rapidly approaching. Thinking quickly, Yakumo jumped and started to actually fly as wings made of paper sprouted to help Yakumo avoid Choji. Once Choji passed and stopped spinning, she landed in front of Choji and prepared to give a knockout blow but was suddenly grabbed by her ankle tightly. Looking down, she saw her ankle being held by a string of chakra that seemed to be going through a trail of blonde hair. Before Yakumo could act, she was swung by the chakra hold and slammed into the ground and on top of a small amount of hair which held her down. That's when a shadow came over her.
Looking up, Yakumo saw a giant scroll hovering high over her. Behind the scroll, Tenten shouted "Heavenly Chain Disaster" and a swarm of weapons from kunai to katannas flew down to impale the genjutsu user. Yakumo smiled as she was actually impressed with the teamwork. There was definitely potential. Still smiling, Yakumo whispered "Dance of the Shikigami" as her body dispersed into hundreds of sheets of paper allowing her to once again escape a suspension jutsu. As she dissipated, hundreds of weapons impaled the papers. When Yakumo reappeared, she had a smile on her face and started clapping. "Good teamwork you guys. As Leaf shinobi, one of the most important parts of our job is teamwork. If your teamwork is strong enough, you can be a threat to anyone" Yakumo said.
Hinata, Choji, Ino, and Tenten each smiled at their lesson. Their smiles died however at Yakumo's next words. "Now that you've learned your lesson, I suppose it's time I end this" Yakumo said before bringing her hands together and shouting "Peaceful Lullaby" casting a genjutsu that sent each of the ninja into a dream filled rest. When each of her opponents fell completely to the jutsu, she decided to leave and go watch Sasuke's fight.
(Sasuke)
Sasuke stood with his arms crossed and a cocky smirk on his face as he faced his opponents. Kiba and Akamaru, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and Sakura Haruno. Not a very interesting challenge in the Uchiha's opinion. Sasuke did raise an eyebrow however when Sakura stepped forward as if to call out the Uchiha herself. Still smirking, Sasuke walked towards Sakura until he was standing right in front of her. Looking down at her, Sasuke grinned in amusement. "My my Sakura, so bold. I'll tell you what, I will give you a free shot right now. Maybe that will make you see the consequences of being a stupid fangirl" Sasuke said. A second after he finished speaking, Sasuke was sent flying from a punch to the face courtesy of Sakura's chakra enhanced punch. Sasuke kept flying until he collided harshly with a tree. Getting up with a groan, Sasuke raised his hand to his lip to see that he was bleeding. Wiping his lip, he walked back to his opponents, chuckling the whole way back. When he reached them, Sasuke shook his head. "Nice punch Sakura. Serves me right for underestimating my opponent" he said before getting into his battle stance. "It won't happen again I promise you" Sasuke said no longer grinning. Before Sakura could attack Sasuke, a shout of "Fang Over Fang" came from beside her. Kiba and Akamaru who were now in the forms of rapidly spinning spirals sped toward Sasuke. Sasuke sighed before jumping up high and summoning his double sided spear. After Kiba and Akamaru impacted Sasuke's previous position, they quickly adjusted and spun upwards towards Sasuke. In the air, Sasuke gave a small shake of his head before raising his spear and shouting "Lightning Rain". Bolts of lightning flew from the spear and right into the incoming forms of Kiba and Akamaru. The lightning stopped the spinning ninja and dog and shocked them to the point of unconsciousness. Once Kiba and Akamaru were out of it, they began to fall towards the ground and would have been hurt from the landing, but Sakura was able to make it under the two and catch them.
Sakura laid the bodies of Kiba and Akamaru gently on the ground before examining them quickly. Both had burn marks from where the lightning bolts had hit their body, but luckily for them the electricity had not been too intense and had left their bodies quickly. The pink haired aspiring medic turned her head and looked as Sasuke landed gracefully on his feet in front of her. "It's your turn now Sakura. Get up and I'll end it as quickly as" Sasuke started but was interrupted as he narrowly dodged a gentle fist strike from Neji who had his byakugan activated. Turning his attention to the Hyuga, Sasuke smirked. The Hyuga and Uchiha had been rivals since the beginning of Konoha history, both fighting to be the signature dojutsu of the Hidden Leaf Village. "Have you learned from our last fight?" asked Sasuke making sure to remind Neji of his loss to Sasuke in the chunin exams. Neji narrowed his eyes and entered the Gentle Fist pose. "Your fate is to be defeated by me, and you can't fight fate" Neji said as Sakura and Lee stood by his side. Sasuke rolled his eyes at Neji's words. "I really had hoped that you learned, especially with that teammate of yours" Sasuke said looking at Lee which elicited a surprised expression on the taijutsu specialist' face. "Lee was labeled as the deadlast of his class yet he has surpassed most of you genin. Through determination and hard work, he defied your so called "fate". But if you believe that my fate is to lose to you right here, then prove it" Sasuke said stabbing his spear into the ground. With a smirk, Sasuke got into the Uchiha Interceptor pose and activated his three tomoed sharingan.
Neji rushed at Sasuke trying to land a strike to one of Sasuke's tenketsu points in his chest which the Uchiha easily avoided. Neji tried to follow up his attack but missed again. One after another, Sasuke was dodging each of Neji's attacks. Seeing the situation, Lee took it upon himself to enter the fight. Rushing towards the two, Lee threw a punch at Sasuke just as he dodged another one of Neji's strikes. Noticing his new opponent enter the fight, Sasuke dug his heel into the ground and pushed off to narrowly avoid Lee's attack. Unfortunately for the Uchiha, he had forgotten all about Sakura during his unfinished scuffle with Neji. When Sasuke pushed off and went backwards, he went right into the vicinity of Sakura who landed a chakra enhanced kick to Sasuke's side sending him back towards Neji and Lee. Seeing their opportunity, both Neji and Lee prepared their attacks. As Sasuke neared Neji, the Hyuga got into his stance and said "Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation" before spinning and creating a dome of chakra. Lee meanwhile, backed up and waited on his teammate to land his attack so that he could land his own.
Sasuke quickly flew right into rotating dome of chakra and was knocked upwards by the impenetrable barrier. As he went up high, Lee appeared right behind him in the air and shouted "Primary Lotus" before using the wrappings on his arms to grab and hold Sasuke. After the bushy browed ninja had his opponent restrained, the two began rapidly spinning towards the ground. When the two made impact, a large cloud of dust covered the dust began to slowly clear and it revealed Lee on one knee breathing hard and Sasuke lying on the ground looking at the sky. Sasuke was harshly breathing and quickly trying to mentally assess the damage he had received. His body hurt bad, but he didn't think that anything was broken or that there was any significant injury to be worried about. Slowly getting off of the ground and standing up, Sasuke grinned. "It's nice to see teamwork in action and I respect that you have each given me your all. To show my respect, I will try not to hold back as much as I've been doing" Sasuke said as he rolled his neck. Raising his arm, Sasuke said "Solar Destruction" before launching his signature golden fireball at the trio. Lee and Sakura jumped to the side to avoid it, but Neji used his "Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation" to defend against the attack. The ball collided with the chakra dome and after immense effort, Neji's dome was able to outlast Sasuke's fireball. Seeing the result of his attack, Sasuke smiled and started running towards Neji. "Well done Hyuga, but I want to test your impenetrable defense myself" Sasuke shouted before jumping up and slamming his fist into the spinning dome. The Uchiha let chakra flow and cover his fist as he could feel the dome tearing it. Noting the heavy resistance, Sasuke pushed harder against Neji's dome. Neji continued to spin, even started to speed up in order to end his foolish opponent right here and now. Sasuke noted the increased intensity of Neji's rotation and simply increased the amount of chakra in his fist and pushed harder. Pushing with all his might, Sasuke yelled out as he finally broke through the Hyuga's impenetrable defense and slammed his fist into Neji's face hard, effectively knocking the boy unconscious.
Sakura and Lee were speechless at what they just witnessed. Nothing was supposed to be able to breach the Hyuga impenetrable defense but Sasuke had done it. Meanwhile, the black haired Uchiha regained his breath and looked at his right hand. It was quite bloody and completely numb. He couldn't even feel his right arm anymore which he attributed to the dome hitting every tenketsu point in his arm. With a sigh, Sasuke turned around knowing that he had to end this quickly. When Sasuke turned around, he looked at Lee and Sakura before slowly walking over to his spear. Sakura and Lee just watched, wondering what he had planned. As Sasuke reached his spear, he started to laugh loudly. "You three almost had me. I'll admit that I didn't expect much and I will probably get a lecture from my brother and Yakumo about underestimating your opponent" Sasuke said before smiling at the two remaining ninja. "I've had fun and you both deserve to be ninja" Sasuke said before his smile vanished. "But it's time that I end this" Sasuke said before going through a quick series of one handed handsigns and shouting "Meteor Rain". Sasuke launched ten fireballs from his mouth instead of the usual twenty into the air and when they reached their peaks, Sasuke removed his spear from the ground. Each fireball broke off into smaller ones and landed creating small explosions where Sakura and Lee had been. Seeing the attack, both had jumped into the air to avoid the fireballs from landing on them. When they did however, the last thing they heard was "Lightning Rain" before they too were taken out of the battle.
Sasuke stood up examining his work and deactivated his sharingan when he heard clapping. Turning around, he smiled as he saw Yakumo walking towards him. "Nice job duck butt" she said causing the Uchiha to clench his jaw at the jab. "Now come on, we should get your girlfriend healed" Yakumo said making Sasuke look very confused. Tilting his head, he was about to ask what she meant until he saw where her gaze was directed at when she said that. Looking at his hand, Sasuke got angry and embarrassed quickly causing Yakumo to laugh. Sasuke walked past the girl mumbling about staying out of his business and personal privacy while Yakumo followed, laughing the whole way back.
(An hour and a half later)
Each of the genin were conscious and healed up as they sat eating lunch with Yakumo and Sasuke. "How did you guys get so strong?" asked Choji making everyone lean in to hear in hopes of finding out how to become that strong. Sasuke and Yakumo looked at each other and looked back at the crowd of genin before simultaneously shrugging which caused everyone to fall over. "Don't worry about our training, just worry about yours. Different ninja grow stronger from different training. All you have to do is find the best way to train for you and find your reason for being a shinobi. Isn't that right Sasuke?" Yakumo asked to which Sasuke only grunted and nodded. Lee stood up with a smile and shouted "Your words are so youthful. I will train nonstop everyday until I am as strong as you two." Lee smiled widely but everyone else sweatdropped. "We should do this more often" Sakura said voicing her opinion. Yakumo nodded with a grin. "That sounds like fun. It would be nice to have someone other than his lame ass as a training partner" Yakumo said elbowing Sasuke as the boy grew a tick mark on his head.
Away from the group of genin and two chunin sat their senseis, each one smiling. "It's nice to see everyone getting along. Maybe we should make this a regular thing?" suggested Kurenai as she watched the group of kids laughing and enjoying everyone's company, especially Hinata who was smiling a real smile. Each of the senseis nodded. "Training together will make their youth burn hotter and hotter" said Guy with a grin that showed off his sparkling white teeth. "It would be nice for Sasuke to get some friends besides Naruto and Yakumo" Itachi said. At the mentioning of Team 11's leader, Asuma turned to Itachi and Kushina. "Speaking of which, where is Naruto? I actually wanted to see how my team stacked up against him but Yakumo said that he's unavailable" Asuma said. Kushina, Itachi, and Konan each shared a look. "He's in a crucial part of his training so he will be unavailable for a while" said Konan. Asuma nodded at the answer. All of the senseis returned their gaze to their students and how good of a time they were having socializing with one another and vowed to make this into a more regular occurrence not only to make their students' abilities stronger, but to increase the strength of their bonds as well.
Author's Note: Sorry it took so long everyone. Classes have been crazy with exams coming left and right which hasn't left me with a whole lot of time to update but I'll try and keep getting these out as quick as possible. So this was the first chapter of three before Naruto returns to the village. The next one will deal mainly with Sasuke and his training. Anyways, thanks for all the support. I hope that you liked this chapter and make sure to LEAVE A REVIEW! See you soon.