Chapter 3: Patience

Hinata Hyuga knocked on her father's study door, and waited for a moment, two, three, maybe he wasn't ho-

"Come in." The voice of Hiashi Hyuga said with the annoyance of interruption.

Hinata slid open the door before and entering the study and bowing. "F-Father I-"

"Failed your final exam." He said, knowingly and with a tone of disappointment. "Starting tomorrow we will double your training and begin review for the academy materials every morning. Understood?"

"F-Father," Hinata swallowed. "I-I passed my final exam, I came to inform you of my success." Hinata choked back tears. 'Why does he always assume I fail…?' She shook her head. "I w-won't be a-attending my training w-with you t-tomorrow… A-Anko-Sensei insists on multiple hours of training e-every day, 9 a.m…"

Hiashi studied his daughter as she spoke. She was shaking like a leaf, he had done it wrong again. Every time. The leader of the Hyuga Clan had left the raising of his daughters to his wife, but after her passing he had been forced to do his best. His hardened, grief stricken heart had not been what his daughter deserved, but it truly was the best he could do. "I see." He said.

He was proud of her, but how to convey it? He admired her sticking to her Sensei's orders too. Perhaps allowing Hinata to be more Independent would benefit her. "Very well, I entrust your training to your sensei. Good Work Hinata."

Hinata stood, and looked at her father. It was rare for him to praise her like that. "F-Father… I-I won't let you down." She bowed, turned around, and left the room.

"I… love you, my daughter…" Hiashi whispered to himself, he felt tears run down his face. A prideful smile on his face.

Shikamaru Nara was facing quite the dilemma, if he moved his Rook, his King had no deterrent to ward off his Father's Knight. But if Shikamaru didn't move his rook, his Dad's own tower would put him in check no problem.

Shikaku Nara smiled, having finally gotten the best of his son. "So, was it that bad?" He asked as if he didn't know the answer.

Shikamaru determined that it was time to sacrifice his bishop to keep the rook and the King safe. "She took our stuff, through us in the woods, and tried to kill us. More than anything it was just a drag…"

Shikaku grimaced at his son's move. "Well, you were able to think on your feet in a survival situation, so I'd say our training has paid off." The older man struggled to plan a next move, 'Maybe I've taught him too well…' He moved his knight back, and began working on new strategy. "From what you told me, it sounds like Naruto rallied you and Hinata into action. That's good."

"I feel a 'but' coming…" Shikamaru said.

"But" Shikaku said, "You threw your allies at a Jonin, and they were lucky to survive." He looked at his son seriously. "Those snakes don't exactly give little love bites. Was Naruto okay?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I told you, he was laughing at Anko. We had to draw attention to him so Hinata cou-"

"I know, Shikamaru. You did good, and I'm proud of you." The father still had a serious glare. "But sacrificing pieces won't always keep your king safe."

Shikamaru thought for a moment. "Yeah, I get it." He thought for a moment. It was odd for him to ask his Dad about his Colleagues, but he still felt guilty about what he was about to ask his Dad. "So, we're Anko-Sensei's first Genin team? Kind of odd they would break up the Ino-Shika-Cho just to give her a shot."

Shikaku nodded. "But, Anko is a skilled Shinobi. She knows a variety of… frightening Jutsu. She was Orochimaru's Pupil, before he betrayed the village, and her."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "O-Orochimaru? One of the Three?"

The Father nodded. "Back then, no one expected that he conducted his… experiments. Anko actually exposed him to the Hokage, and saved the village before he could corrupt it." He smiled at his son, "Try and learn something from her. Shadow Possession is fine, but you could use a backup Jutsu or two."

"Yeah Yeah," Shikamaru said.

Anko struggled to keep herself upright as she walked down the lonely street. The medical Ninja who had unsealed her chakra points said she would feel better in the morning, but her body still struggled from her students blow from earlier that day. Most of all, she was struggling with her pride.

As she contemplated her students victory, she noticed that the lights were still on at Ichiraku Ramen. Anko recalled that Naruto was a fan of this little shop, and Anko needed to sit for a bit so…

As she entered the establishment, the Jonin saw the orange clad Genin sitting at one of the stools, sitting over a bowl of steaming broth and noodles. Anko's stomach grumbled, and her thought process was interrupted by the old man behind the counter.

"Welcome young lady, come on in, we won't be closing for a while!" The old man said cheerily, he then turned to Naruto. "So, what'll it be next my boy? The Miso Chu special again?"

"Oh yeah, sure!" Naruto said happily. He felt the presence of another person and turned to see his sensei. "Anko-Sensei!" Naruto smiled. "Come on in, Its my treat tonight!" The boy snickered mischievously.

Anko raised an eyebrow before sitting beside her student. It was kind of awkward to think a kid would be treating her, but she didn't complain. "I'll have the Miso-Char, extra pork." She then remembered the early morning workout she had planned with the kids in the morning, "And a Dango appetizer, it can come whenever." She smiled at the old man.

Old Man Ichiraku grinned even brighter, "Sure thing! So you're Naruto's new Sensei? Well any friend of his is welcome here." The old man quickly got to work.

"So," Anko asked, "Where'd you get the cash for treating your sensei out to dinner?" She was surprised to see the Dango presented to her so quickly, but began to chow down on her favourite treat.

Naruto finished slurping down the rest of his current bowl, "Oh, Old Man Third is treating me!" The boy smiled as he spun his stool to face Anko. "He was here a while ago, but had to go, he told to get anything I like, skies the limit, you know?"

Anko swallowed her mouthful and nodded. "In that case, another order of Dango please, and one to go!" She felt some of her strength returning, and figured it would be best to get to know her new pupil. "Does Lord Third treat you out a lot?" She asked.

Naruto shook his head, "He used to, when I was little, but then I got old enough to take care of myself." He clapped his hands together as another bowl of ramen was placed in front of him. "Thanks Gramps! Oh, and make sure you put Anko-Sensei's food on Lord Third's tab."

The Chef nodded, "Don't worry, Lord Hokage said 'anything and everything' so that's what you get! You're keeping me in business here!"

Anko dug into her ramen, forgetting all table manners as her hunger overtook her. With a full mouth she spoke, "Well, I'm even happier you're on my team now, thanks kid!" She had read his file, knew about his past, so how did naruto keep that upbeat attitude?

Then again, Anko knew about growing up alone. Parents killed in the war, sensei turned traitor and branded her. After her reaction earlier, Anko was grateful to Kushina for placing such a powerful seal over her curse mark. 'What ever happened to her? Kushina Uzuma-' The Jonin almost choked as she made such an obvious connection. Naruto's Parentage had been redacted in his file, but how could Anko forget the Red Hot Habanero?

The Jonin watched Naruto a moment. 'Then his father…' It was undeniable. This was the son of the Fourth Hokage. Anko wondered again at how Naruto could stand not knowing. But maybe that was part of the wall he put up.

Naruto turned to his sensei, "Anko-sensei, is everything okay? You stopped eating?" The boy had a genuinely concerned look on his face. "You need to rebuild your strength so we can start training tomorrow!"

Anko smirked and rolled her eyes. "Kid, if you knew how many hangovers-" She cut herself off. This was her pupil, not a drinking buddy. Once more, this was the son of a Kunoichi Anko had admired in her youth. "You know, you're right Naruto." Anko said, "And you should probably get to bed soon. We're meeting at 9 tomorrow, and I don't tolerate tardiness."

The young Shinobi smiled at Anko. "I'll be the first one there, believe it!"

Shikamaru sat underneath a shady tree at the very familiar training ground 3. It was 8:45, fifteen minutes before their training session with Anko-Sensei. Naruto had been here and fast asleep by the time Shikamaru arrived, and it would've been too much trouble to wake him, so the young Shinobi would be content cloud gazing beside his snoring friend.

When the rookie Genin saw Hinata approach at 8:50. He held a finger up to his lips and pointed to Naruto.

Hinata saw Shikamaru's signal, and her eyes passed over to Naruto, who was sound asleep against the shady tree with Shikamaru. She smiled at her team. It was exactly how she had imagined it from the moment they were declared as Team 1. Naruto looked so peaceful as he napped, and she felt a haint heat rush to her face.

Shikamaru moved away from the tree, toward Hinata. "So," He said softly. "Why don't you tell him?" He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked back toward their sleeping teammate. "He's not going to figure it out unless you just say it."

Hinata blinked, was it that obvious to everyone else. She had always thought her crush had been so subtle no one could have ever noticed. Then again, Shikamaru was far more intelligent than his test scores showed, and Hinata knew this. "I-I couldn't," She said, her face started to glow a light pink, "N-Naruto d-doesn't feel the same way. It would be too awkward for the team." It was a sad pain in her chest that came when she said that.

"Maybe."Shikamaru said. "Maybe Naruto's never known what its like to have someone feel that way for him." The genin continued, "But if you hide it, if he never figures it out, it may just end up dividing us more." He looked up at a cloud passing over head. "Its a drag, I know, but if you love him-"

"L-love?" Hinata's face was now a deep red. "It-its nothing like that, I just have a little crush, t-that's all!" She tried to defend herself, but she knew Shikamaru could see right through her.

"Right." He said with a sarcastic tone. "And I'm going to be Hokage one day." He shook his head. "Listen, Naruto's always early to these things, right?" Shikamaru looked over the orange snorer. "So, I'll start showing up just before training starts, you two will have plenty of alone time if you start showing up early too.

"A-alone time?" HInata asked. "W-what are you i-implying-" But she was cut off as a flash of smoke and light appeared behind them.

Anko-Sensei was here. Training begins now!

The three Genin were out of breath. Anko had created two Shadow clones to begin their taijutsu workout. Hinata was able to fend off Anko fairly easily, but It seemed Taijutsu was an area that Shikamaru and Naruto were lacking.

"Not bad," The Sensei said. "But if this were a real fight, Shikamaru, you'd be out on the floor in no time." Her eyes panned over to Naruto, "You've got strength kid, but your technique is sorely lacking. You won't become Hokage swinging wildly at your opponents."

Anko then looked at Hinata, and smiled. "You, on the other hand Hinata. You've got your technique down! The Hyuga Clan must be pretty impressed by you."

Hinata didn't say anything, she just looked at the floor. 'No, no they are not.' She thought, but then continued to listen to Anko's lecture.

From now on, they would start with intensive Taijutsu training every day. Anko's clones retreated back to her and disappeared. "I got a good sense of your ninjutsu strengths with our little spar in the forest of death."

"You mean when we kicked your butt?" Naruto asked with a childish grin on his face.

Anko's faced tensed up. "Yeah, you guys caught me off guard." She sighed. "Most Genin do end up failing their final test, but your teamwork during that exercise was…" She thought of the right word. "Well, it was better than a lot of Chunin working together."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "Really? Well gee, thanks Anko-Sensei." He didn't think their performance before was anything special. They just played to each other's strengths and followed a plan.

"But," Anko said dryly, "I also saw your limitations." She pulled out a scroll, sat cross-legged, and displayed it for them. "This is a list of every Jutsu you all used during our exam. And I have to say, its all pretty basic."

Naruto: Shadow Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu

Shikamaru: Shadow Possession Jutsu

Hinata: Byakugan

The Jonin looked at her students. "You all know more than this right?"

Hinata blinked, her father had always permitted the use of other Jutsu by main house members, but he often talked about how all Jutsu were inferior to the strength of a Hyuga with the Byakugan and the gentle fist. She had never truly believed it this, but it was true, Hinata didn't know anything beyond what her father had trained her in. "N-No… I don't know any other Jutsu.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but his father's words echoed in his head. A secondary Jutsu would be useful in surprising enemies, should he ever be separated from his allies. "Alright, I get it… No, Shadow Possession is pretty much all I've got.

Naruto looked discouraged and remained silent. Unlike Hinata and Shikamaru, all Naruto really had going for him were his Shadow Clones. He thought about how many Jutsu Anko must know, how many Jutsu a Hokage must know...

Anko sighed, "You're all just Genin so I guess I should have suspected as much." She rolled up the scroll and stood up. "Well, I need some time to think on this… I think its time for our first mission."

Naruto's eyes widened. "First… Mission?!" He started hopping around excitedly. "I can't believe it! Our first mission together! Believe it!"

The Jonin rolled her eyes. 'Oh, if only he knew…'

The 'mission' was actually nothing more than clearing some weeds out of an Old lady's garden. The garden itself had been overrun, as the old woman had no ability to do this kind of work herself.

Naruto grimaced. "Since when is picking weeds a job for a Ninja, you know?"

Shikamaru grimaced, "This is such a drag… but I guess it makes sense. We're just starting out after all."

Hinata nodded and continued her work diligently. Although it was very warm today, she kept her tan jacket on, and completely zipped up sweat had begun running down her brow.

Anko had not lifted a finger, as far as she was concerned, she did her time as a Genin all those years ago. Right now she was focusing on how to improve her students skills. She figured that a good step would be identifying each of her students Chakra Nature and work to teach them Jutsu that would be easiest for them to learn. But what about strengthening their physical skills?

Hinata had powerful taijutsu, but couldn't close in before her opponent could get off a ninjutsu. Naruto had heart and was tough enough, but he was mentally unfocused, and behind in terms of rudimentary ninjutsu technique. And Shikamaru... he had a mind for tactics, but not the will to lead... It would be easy to just play to their strengths, but that wouldn't make her students well rounded Ninja.

Shikamaru would need more than jumping shadows to face down an opponent. If he fancied himself a tactician, she would give him as many tools at her disposal to help him.

Hinata needed more confidence, especially around Naruto. It was obvious that she was head over heels for the knucklehead ninja, but that wasn't really Anko's business. Still, it might help both of them to sneak a few kisses here and there… But what was most important would be helping her break out of her shell.

Naruto... he needed something to motivate him, something to make him feel special among his genetically gifted teammates...

The mission progressed until the sun had sunk behind the treeline, the woman's backyard was immaculate, completely clear of the foot high foliage that had plagued the garden. In fact, the old lady was so grateful, she begged the team to stay for dinner.

"Its not much, but I've had a roast going since around 3." The sweet Old Woman said, "I just need to roast the veggies, make yourself at home!"

Anko looked down to Hinata, "Why don't you give the old gal and a hand? You like cooking, right?" The Jonin sat at the table and leaned back into her chair.

Hinata, who had gotten her second wind, nodded before heading off to the kitchen. It was very old fashioned, with a wood burning stove. Hinata's body was starting to overheat, and it seemed that the old woman took notice.

"Oh, my dear, please take that off, its too hot in here for a coat like that!" She patted Hinata's shoulder. "A pretty girl like you shouldn't have to hide behind your clothes." She turned to the veggies.

Hinata hesitated, but had no choice but to agee. Her coat was hot and coated in dirt from the day's work. She unzipped it, and went to hang it up near the front door. Her tank top wasn't anything special, but with her shoulders and arms exposed, she felt a little awkward. The kunoichi shook her head as she returned to the kitchen.

As Dinner was served, Naruto remarked, "Wow, it looks great! Thanks Granny!" He eagerly began chowing down. But he paused as Hinata joined them at the table. Naruto's eyes couldn't help but look at her without her jacket on, it was odd but not unwelcome. 'She's really pretty, you know?'

Hinata noticed Naruto looking at her, and their eyes met for just a moment before both of them looked away. She blushed, but couldn't help but smile. Maybe that old coat was hiding a pretty girl behind it. She wanted to say something, but it would just embarrass both of them in front of their team.

The old woman smiled, "Thank your friend Hinata too, she seasoned the vegetables herself, and they're a might tastier than what I usually make."

"R-really?" He asked. Naruto was never the biggest fan of vegetables, but he didn't want Hinata to be said. He took a roasted brussels sprout and cautiously popped it into his mouth and..

"Hinata, this is amazing!" The orange clad ninja said. "I normally hate green stuff, but this tastes great!"

Hinata was dumbfounded and at a loss for words. She couldn't help but give the boy a bright smile. The kunoichi took her own plate and the group began to feast.

The old woman sighed happily as she saw everyone enjoy the fruits of her labor. "My, it hasn't been this lively in this house in many years. I forgot how splendid Konoha Ninja are, too many walk around with grumpy expressions." She took a sip of water.

Even Shikamaru had to admit that this was a nice of pace from fighting off Anko and pulling weeds. "Was your husband an artist?" He pointed toward a shelf filled no with scrolls, brushes, and small pots of ink.

The Old woman shook her head, "No, My Yanna was a Shinobi, a Sealing Jutsu specialist." She began telling a story of one her late husband's important mission for the village.

Ankro raised an eyebrow, 'Sealing Jutsu... just like...' The gears finally clicked into place for the Jonin, the Uzumaki were a clan known for their specialty in Sealing Jutsu! A coy smile grew on her face as she thought 'A little studying wold discipline his mind, and learning those techniques would make him unique...' "Perfect!" Anko stood and shouted, interrupting the old woman's story, and surprising everyone in the room.

As the evening progressed, Team 1 had to depart, and thanked the old woman for the meal and for the work. As they 4 Shinobi walked down the dusty road, Anko spoke.

"I need to pick up a few things for our training session tomorrow." She stretched her neck and looked at her students. "Don't forget, 9 a.m. training ground 3" With that their Sensei vanished.

Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata continued walking down the dark road toward the center of the village. Exhausted, dirty, but somewhat prideful of a job well done.

The next morning seemed to come too soon for Naruto, as his body was heavy with the weight of yesterday's endeavors. He got dressed, had a quick bite of leftovers the Old Lady had sent with him the night before. It was 7:59 a.m. when Naruto left his apartment, and it didn't take him long to return to the familiar training ground.

It was difficult for him to get up this early, but when he thought about training, and about becoming stronger. His excitement flowed through him, and he had to get there early. Most of the time he fell back asleep once he arrived, but today was a little different.

Hinata Hyuga was standing there, dressed differently than normal. Her jacket was different from the fur lined one she normally wore, in fact, had Naruto not known any better, he would've thought it was the same coat their sensei wore. In fact, her whole outfit was bizarrely similar to Anko's, barring the Jonin's orange skirt, Hinata had retained her knee ankle length pants

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto called out. "You're here pretty early, I'm normally the first one to arrive."

Hinata turned to look at the boy. 'Wait, didn't Anko sensei get all of us new training clothes?' She wondered, as Naruto had been dressed the same as he always did. "G-good Morning!" She said nervously. "I- I was waiting for you." a light blush crossed her face. "Shikamaru s-said you're a-always early."

"Oh." Naruto said. This was definitely a little strange, Hinata had never really wanted to talk to Naruto all that much before, but he wasn't about to embarrass her on purpose. "So, whats up? You sound like you want to ask me something."

Hinata's eyes widened, and her words turned to ash in her mouth. She couldn't do this, not today, probably not ever. Her confession could wait, it had to wait. "I-I-I" She stuttered more than usual. "T-t-training?" Was all she could say.

Naruto blinked for a moment. "Oh, like you want us to train together?" That made sense to him, they could probably learn a lot from each other.

Hinata had no backup plan and so, just nodded. "I-It might be g-good to work t-t-together on our o-own."

Naruto nodded. "Shikamaru would probably think 'its a drag'." He smiled as Hinata giggled at his impression. "Sure Hinata, we can train whenever you like."

As Anko arrived, she was surprised to see Hinata and Naruto already at it. From a distance it looked like Naruto was trying to teach her the Multi-Shadow Clone jutsu, and progress had been made, but Hinata's clones weren't solid enough to take a hit yet.

"Nice work!" The Sensei called out, it was kind of a nice surprise to see them working so hard, but with Naruto and Hinata here, that left one lazy student of hers. "Shikamaru! Where the Hell are you?"

"Ugh…" Shikamaru groaned, he was napping besides the shady tree. "Can we skip the taijutsu today? It such a drag."

Anko rolled her eyes, "You know what, fine. Fine." She huffed before swinging a bag out from behind her. "...Ungrateful... I have some gifts for you all." She glared at Shikamaru, before reaching into her bag and tossing the lazy Genin a scroll, "Some basic Genjutsu theory for you to start wrapping your mind around. Get studying..."

Anko turned to look at Hinata, a knowing smile on her face. "Oh Hinata, the training gear I picked out for you fits perfectly!" The Jonin raised an eyebrow, "Did uh, anyone special notice?" She winked at Hinata before reaching into the bag and pulled out her gift for Hinata. "Here, these for you. Be careful."

Hinata blushed, did her sensei know about her crush too? How? Shikamaru wouldn't say anything, and Hinata could've sworn that she'd been even more subtle since Shikamaru's discovery.

In surprise looked down at what her Sensei had passed her, A pair of incredibly heavy weights that looked liked they were to be strapped to her ankles. "S-sensei?

"That's right," Anko said. "You're ability to pinpoint chakra points is impressive Hinata, but the problem is that you have to get close to do it." Anko looked at her pupil sternly, "But there's a Jonin in the village who swears that these will improve your speed by 100%, money back guarantee if not satisfied! So, go ahead and get them on, I need to talk to Naruto... privately.

Anko walked Naruto over near the three training logs. "Naruto, do me a favor and shut up for a minute, this is serious."

Naruto scratched his head but nodded.

"I'm about to break one of the biggest rules in the village. I could lose everything if this ever got out to anyone." Anko herself had several Shadow Clones patrolling the area, making sure no one was listening in.

"Y-You're making me nervous Anko-Sensei..." Naruto muttered, "Whats going on?"

"Naruto." She looked him dead in the eyes. "I knew your mother..."

Naruto stared at Anko for a second. He knew the words were real, but he had never heard them, like that, in that order. "You... what?"

"I looked up to your mother when I was your age, she was a brave Kunoichi." Anko told Naruto. "Naruto, in the Ninja world, those who break the rules, like I just did are considered scum." She turned away from him, "But those who abandon their comrades are considered even worse than that... I won't abandon her memory, Naruto." She handed him a selection of scrolls. "Her Clan, your clan, were renowned for their sealing Jutsu... I think that with hard work, and a little studying, that you could carry on that legacy."

Naruto looked down at the scrolls, then back to Anko. "I..." He felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes. No one had ever spoken to him like that before, talked about his mother before, his family. "T-Thank you... Big Sis Anko..." He sniffed, "I-I'll try not to let you... let her... down..."

Anko nodded, "Take some time to yourself, Naruto. We'll talk more about it later." She couldn't reveal everything to him, she knew that. But leaving a boy thinking he was born with no connection to the world... Anko thought it was cruel, and not in her particular brand of cruelty. "I'll be back after checking on the others, we can start talking about what exactly Sealing Jutsu are."

Naruto would nod, taking a minute to sit with his back against his the center training log, 'I did have a mother... I'm not just a monster. Anko Sensei... thank you...' As the boy cracked open the scroll, he was less grateful as he saw the complex drawings, formulas, and theories already listed in the first few inches of the scroll. "Oh... oh boy..." Naruto said with a very faked enthusiasm. "I'll wait for Anko Sensei."

When Anko returned to Hinata and Shikamaru, she could see the boy reading over the scrolls to her surprise. Meanwhile, Hinata was struggling to keep her balance as she tried to walk with the ankle weights, Anko went to her first. "Hmm, looks we like we should start lighter and work out way up..." The Jonin moved to Hinata's side, and knelt down to unstrap about half of the weights. "Here, give that a go."

Hinata was grateful that the expectations of her were suddenly lowered. Taking a few steps, Hinata could walk somewhat normally, though she had to put more effort into each step. The Genin took a deep breath, and began to try and reach her top speed, the result looking like someone who had never been trained as a ninja going for a jog. "Uh... sensei...?"

Anko gave Hinata a thumbs up, "No, thats perfect! Okay Hina, give me a couple laps around the training grounds!" Anko knew Hinata would need to acclimate, but after the demonstration Might Gai had given her with his student Anko knew she could mold Hinata into something great, and maybe help her with her self confidence.

Hinata nodded and began her slow jog around the training course. Despite Anko being so hard on them at first, Hinata felt like they were all starting to warm up to eachother. 'Wait... Hina?' Only her sister ever called her that... still, Hinata did not protest.

With Hinata on her way, Anko turned toward Shikamaru, who was still reading the first scroll. "So you like reading?"

Shikamaru smirked, "Beats taijutsu training, that's for sure. Plus... I agreed with you. Having only the one Jutsu may not be enough..." He rolled out more of the scroll.

Anko scratched her head, she hadn't seen her lazy student actually putting effort into something before. "Do you need help? I know the foundations can be pretty-"

"Nah, I'll just reread it from the beginning if I get stuck." Shikamaru then lounged on the ground, still reading. He felt Anko's eyes still on him, and he looked up at her, "Look, I won't slack on this, even if its a drag, it'd be even more of a drag to weigh down Naruto and Hinata."

Anko slowly nodded. "Well listen... If we- When we're on a mission," She began, giving him a stern look, "If something happens to me, I'm counting on you to lead the team. Hinata's too timid, and Naruto is too brash, I'm counting on your level head, Shikamaru."

Looking at Anko, Shikamaru didn't expect that she would ever admit to being a mere mortal, it was a little refreshing but the seriousness of her nature was weighing on him. He would be a leader? Thats a good joke... "Okay, Anko Sensei."

"Good. Now I'm going to go give Naruto a crash course on... being a Ninja..." Anko stood.

Naruto looked over the rest of what Anko had given him. Along with 'Introduction to Sealing Theory and Practical Application' Anko had given him three blank scrolls, as well as a small pot of ink. When he saw his Sensei approaching, Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Am I really supposed to draw pictures in the middle of a mission?"

Anko sighed, and shook her head. "No, Naruto. You're going to prepare them before we go on actual missions. Part of using Sealing Jutsu is being able to plan ahead." She would have to help him with that as well, but for now a demonstration. Anko pulled out a few scrolls. "Watch..." She unfurled each, and with a quick handsign, she released her seals from each.

The first scroll was a pile of Shuriken, stationary.

The second Scroll held a variety of weapons, all of which shot out of the scroll, high up into the air, before their arc completed and landed back on the scroll, tearing it to pieces.

The third contained... a clone of Anko, which appeared standing, smiling at Naruto.

"Sealing Jutsu are difficult to learn, I won't lie Naruto. The most basic of the techniques are Chunin level." Anko's clone said, before vanishing. The real Anko took over, "But its incredibly versatile. There's very few limits on what you can seal."

"I have one!" Naruto said excitedly. "A sealing Jutsu, I have one!" The Genin lifted his orange jacket and dark undershirt, revealing the seal on his stomach. "H-How do I make it work? What does it do?!" His excitement was overwhelming.

'Shit... How could I forget...' Anko's eye twitched. Why had Lord Third thought that this was a good idea? Why had she thought giving this kind of knowledge was a good idea? She had to think fast. "Naruto, you can never, ever, ever, try to do anything with that Seal. Its there for a very good reason... its one of those things we'll talk about later..."

Naruto's expression waned, and he looked down as lowered. "O-Okay Anko Sensei."

She nodded, "Good, now, the Enclosing Jutsu is the first diagram. I want you to Practice drawing the first formula, we'll go from there..." Anko thought that one day, it might be a good idea to tell Naruto about her Curse mark, how she too had a power she forbade herself from using. 'Maybe one day, kid.'

A/N: Folks, here we are at the end of Chapter 3! I'm not very good at writing training sequences, but let me know what you thought by leaving a review! Next Chapter we'll finish up Team 1's initial training, and move on to the good bits, the first C-rank mission!