Chapter Eight: Genin

Note: The story is finally starting to move forward, but now that Zero is a genin, I really have to start making a decision on how Itachi and the Uchiha massacre will play out… If you have any ideas, please TELL ME!

Do you want Itachi to be friends with Zero and Kaname? Considering the fact that Itachi killed all the Uchihas, including the children, except for Sasuke, I feel like his way of thinking would be against Zero and Kaname's "protect the King"...

By the way, what are you guys' opinion on Sasuke and Naruto? Do you like the two?

To be honest, Sasuke and Naruto are both characters I dislike. I felt that Naruto was really annoying with how he skipped the academy and played pranks all the time, yet never really got into much trouble. And how his life plays out, its just too perfect.

Sasuke on the other hand, I feel, is just a spoiled brat. After seeing his brother kill his family, he decides to trust what Itachi said, about how he killed the Uchiha for power. Like, hello? this is the brother he lived with together for years, and he believes that so suddenly!?

Warning: AU Universe. Slight OOC.

The months flew by after Zero and Kaname became genin, and were placed in the same team as Takamiya Kaito. Both Zero and Kaname were busy training as a team, completing the occasional D-rank missions they took on, and looking after their little brothers. The two of them had also quickly gotten close to Kaito, because he also had a younger brother. The three often hanged out together, sometimes bringing their younger brothers with them, when they had spare time.

As a team, Zero, Kaname, and Kaito worked well together. Zero and Kaito were in charge of close-mid range combat, while Kaname provided back-up for the two of them as a long-range supporter.

Seeing how well the three worked as a team, it wasn't long before Inoichi decided that they were ready to take their first C-rank mission, about four months after they had become genin. It was a basic C-rank mission – delivering a package to Takeki Village, a town in Fire Country about one week travel away from Konoha.

Kaito was excited to finally go on a real mission, while Zero and Kaname were simply glad to get away from the boring D-rank missions that they had been doing – babysitting, painting fences, chasing after cats; basically, D-rank was another word for "chores".

Except, what was supposed to be a simple C-rank mission with little to no danger, soon escalated into an S-rank mission, when team seven led by Inoichi encountered one of the former members of the legendary sannin – Orochimaru.

Team Seven and Inoichi had travelled about half the distance to Takeki Village, when they were ambushed by a group of four strange people, each having a thick purple rope tied around their waists and a forehead protector with a music symbol on it.

Immediately, Zero and the others got into position, with Inoichi-sensei at front, and Kaname at the rear. The sounds of metal clashing filled the air, as team seven defended themselves from the barrage of shuriken and kunai thrown at them. The four of them separated and each took on an opponent individually without a word; all of them knew what they needed to do.

Zero found himself facing a fair-skinned girl, with long, untamed, dark pink hair. He held out Sode no Shirayuki in a ready position, and kept his body loose yet ready to react at any slight movement from his opponent.

Zero leaped up into the air, dodging the few explosive kunais that were thrown at his feet, and quickly brought his right arm up to block the powerful kick aimed at his head. He retaliated right away with a roundhouse kick of his own, before twisting in mid-air, and landing softly on the ground. Zero promptly launched himself at his opponent before they had time to recover, meanwhile executing one of his genjutsus, the Third Circle of Hell – Gluttony. Just as Zero was about to swiftly knock out his opponent, a wave of oppressive and malicious chakra made him freeze in the spot, before he spun around in a hurry to look towards the source.

Zero blinked in slight shock at the sight of one of the legendary sannin and now a nuke-nin of Konoha – Orochimaru. He quickly sprung back, to group up with the rest of his team, and he felt the others do the same.

"Inoichi-sensei." Kaito's asked, his voice filled with restrained fear. "What are we going to do, we are no match for one of the sannin."

Inoichi gritted his teeth and clenched his fists; he was at a loss on how his team could survive. Looking over at the three of his genin, Inoichi forced himself to remain calm so that he could reassure them. "Don't worry, I'll protect you three. I am your jonin-sensei, after all."

"Sensei..." Kaname said quietly.

"Zero, Kaname. How fast can you two do the shunshin?" Inoichi asked, as he looked solemnly at them. "If I grab Orochimaru's attention, can the two of you take Kaito and shunshin as near to Konoha as possible?"

"What…Inoichi-sensei, what are you saying." Kaito blurted out, unable to stay silent. "Don't tell me you plan to be the decoy? Surely there is – "

"I don't think that will work, Inoichi-sensei." Zero broke in, "With due respect, Orochimaru is an S-rank ninja, it will be hard for sensei to distract him long enough so that we can escape. I have a better plan."

Inoichi blinked in surprise, "a better plan? What is it, Zero?"

"I see. You are planning to use that then, Zero." Kaname stared seriously at Zero. "It's true that using that will take Orochimaru off guard long enough for us to use shunshin and escape, but are you really sure with using it?"

"It's the best choice we have." Zero nodded his head in reply. "Inoichi-sensei, there isn't much time to explain, so on the count of three, can you take Kaito and shunshin away as fast as you can? Make sure not to stop, no matter what you see."

"All right, I see no other way." Inoichi agreed wryly, "I'll put my life in the hands of one of Konoha's greatest prodigies."

"On the count of three, starting now then." Zero took a deep breath and gathered his chakra. He glanced at Kaname, who gave him a reassuring nod back.

Three

Team seven got themselves ready, staring at Orochimaru, who gave an amused smirk.

"Are you guys done with your planning? Either way, I think it's time for me to have some fun." Orochimaru questioned, his tongue coming out to lick his lips. His body leaned forward, and team seven tensed as a whole.

Two

Orochimaru launched himself towards Inoichi while laughing madly. Inoichi tightened his hold on his kunai and glanced over at Kaito.

One

Just as Orochimaru was about to land a hit on Inoichi, a wall of ice spikes burst out from the ground before him, causing Orochimaru to widen his eyes and stop in his tracks, and then he found himself trapped in one of Zero's genjutsus – the Eighth Circle of Hell.

Inoichi grabbed onto Kaito, with Kaname doing the same for Zero, and the two executed the fastest shunshin they had ever done before in their life.

The four of them collapsed on the ground, about fifty miles away from Konoha.

XXXXXX

"I think I just lost ten years of my life." Kaito groans from his spot on the ground. "What kind of genin team faces one of the legendary sannin on their first C-rank mission?"

Inoichi chuckles, "true, I think this definitely makes one of the most FUBAR missions I've ever heard or experienced. We can rest for a bit, I've sent a message to the Hokage for reinforcements."

Zero and Kaname just smile tiredly, their young bodies of six and seven years of age are not yet capable of taking so much strain in one day.

"So." Kaito looks over at Zero, and sits up. "What was that you used just now, Zero?"

"The hyoton – a kekkei genkai that allows you to control water and ice without seals, am I right?" Inoichi asks, his eyes staring seriously into Zero's. The hyoton was thought to be extinct or close to extinct in the world, due to the bloodline purges still currently going on in Kirigakure. The only and last person to hold the hyoton in Konoha was Senju Yukine. Was it possible Zero was his son? Inoichi ponders, glancing over at Kaname to garner his reaction.

Zero sighs inwardly, before looking seriously at them. "I knew this day would come sooner or later. From here on, what I have to say is an S-rank secret that only the Hokage or I can disclose."

Inoichi and Kaito straighten their position, while Kaname looks on, with a knowing look in his eyes.

"What I used just now was certainly the hyoton. I inherited that kekkei genkai, along with another – the Mokuton, from my father, who was Senju Yukine." Zero reveals gravely.

"Senju Yukine!?" Kaito sputters, "you are the son of the Silver Death?"

Inoichi lets out a deep sigh while face-palming. "I should have known, Zero and Ichiru, only that idiot would call his sons that." Yukine was famous outside of Konoha for his devastating use of the hyoton and seals, but within the elite ninja force of Konoha (jonins and anbus), Senju Yukine was known to be a clueless idiot that was obsessed with snow and the numbers zero and one, yet was a monster when it came to fighting. Considering Shikaku was one of Yukine's closest friends, it wasn't surprising that Kaname didn't seem shocked about what Zero just revealed. "Wait, the mokuton? Did I hear correctly?"

"Yes. I do have the mokuton, which only the God of Shinobi – Shodai Hokage, Hashirama-sama was able to use so far." Zero answers, holding out his left hand and allowing a wooden flower to form.

Inoichi and Kaito stare speechlessly at him for a few seconds; after all, they had just witnessed Zero using an extinct bloodline that only one person was capable of using in the history of Konoha. No wonder Zero's identity of being a Senju was an S-rank secret.

Zero relaxes and smiles softly in amusement. He had been a bit worried that the two would have some negative reaction towards being kept in the dark for so long, but it seems like he thought too much.

A flicker of chakra off in the distance makes Zero pause and get up in a crouch, causing the others to become quiet and reach for their weapons. "The reinforcements from Konoha will be arriving any moment now, and Orochimaru is also closing in."

As soon as Zero finishes talking, an ANBU team arrives in the opening, with Hatake Kakashi in the lead. Team Seven automatically stand up and greet them, recognizing Hatake Kakashi's distinctive white hair.

"Approximately five minutes ago, our team's C-rank mission of delivering a package to Takeki Village went FUBAR when we were ambushed 167 miles away from here, by one of the legendary sannin's, Orochimaru." Inoichi reports. The ANBU team stiffen, and their hands twitch towards their weapon holsters, when they hear about Orochimaru. "Zero, how far is Orochimaru away right now?"

"At the speed Orochimaru is travelling, he will reach this opening in about 1.2 minutes." Zero answers, causing the ANBUs to scrutinize him with a contemplating look with his direct and clear response.

"I understand. We will take over from here on." Kakashi's voice sounds out from behind his mask. "Head back to Konoha immediately, at top speed, before Orochimaru arrives."

Team seven nods in agreement and the four of them push chakra to their legs and race towards the direction of Konoha, just in time to miss Orochimaru's unique chakra approach the clearing. The four reach Konoha, and continue moving to the Hokage's office, with Inoichi flashing his chakra three times in a row as an emergency signal so that they are not stopped by other shinobis.

"Report." The Sandaime greets them, with his usual pipe in his hand.

The four kneel down in front of him, with Inoichi in the lead.

"Team Seven returning back from an incomplete C-rank mission to Takeki Village, due to encountering Orochimaru. We managed to escape and meet up with reinforcements approximately five miles away outside of Konoha, though Zero was forced to reveal his hyoton." Inoichi relays to the Hokage.

Hiruzen tenses at hearing his former student's name and then sighs deeply. "I see. Good job for making it back, team seven." Once again, he came very close to losing more of his shinobi to his former disciple. There was no doubt to Hiruzen that Orochimaru now knew who Zero is, but at least he doesn't yet know that Zero also has the mokuton.

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Considering the circumstances, you will receive the pay for an S-rank mission. Don't worry about the C-rank delivery mission to Takeki Village. I will put it down as an A-rank mission, in case that it was the package that Orochimaru was after. Also, I don't think I need to say this, but Zero's parentage is considered an S-rank secret." Hiruzen continues. "Thank you for your hard work. I am glad that you managed to survive an encounter with Orochimaru."

Team seven bows and then exits the room, acknowledging the Hokage's clear dismissal.

XXXXXX

Six months had passed since Team Seven's disastrous first C-rank mission, and it was now early July. Spring was coming to an end, and the warming weather showed signs of summer being on its way.

Kaname and Kaito had turned eight and thirteen, respectively, and Zero was soon turning seven years old.

Team Seven's name had rapidly spread throughout Konoha. Starting from the fact that their team faced one of the legendary Sannin's, Orochimaru, and managed to survive, to the numerous C-rank missions that they all completed successfully, the civilians and especially the shinobis, had started to pay more attention to their team. Luckily, none of the missions they went on in the past months went FUBAR, team seven didn't come into contact with anymore S-rank missing ninjas either.

Zero had become excellent in incorporating his genjutsus and kenjutsu skills together, and it was almost near impossible for an enemy to have any time to react before they found themselves trapped in one of Zero's genjutsus, and then finished off by Zero's prized wakizashi. Zero's prowess in ninjutsu had also skyrocketed, to the point that he could perform jutsus using one-handed seals. Kaname had furthered his skill in the Nara jutsus, and most of the time, he didn't even need hand seals to control the shadows. His expertise in strategizing had also been sharpened to the point that he could lead opponents around like a puppet-master without them realizing so. Although Kaito had not made such drastic leaps in his shinobi skills, like Zero and Kaname did, his taijutsu and ninjutsu had improved spectacularly; In fact, Inoichi-sensei himself had said that Kaito was definitely chunin material already.

Inoichi-sensei had also tested them in chakra affinities, so they could start learning elemental jutsus. Zero had, as expected, wind, water, and earth affinities, Kaname had wind and lightning affinity, and Kaito had fire and lightning affinity. Inoichi was surprised that all three of his genin had more than one elemental affinity, as normally genin start out with only one, and it was only through hard training that shinobi gained more than one affinity. But then again, two of his genin graduated the academy in one year, and all three of them survived an encounter with Orochimaru on their first C-rank mission, so his genin were probably more on the abnormal side.

Soon, it would almost be a year since Zero and the others became a genin, and it was only recently, that Zero finally found some spare time to spend with Ichiru. Being a genin, along with the numerous team trainings they had, and the desserts Zero needed to make for Rose Blossom Bakery, there hadn't been much time for Zero to spend with Ichiru. So Ichiru had been extremely ecstatic when he learned that Zero would be free for most of the day.

"Nii-san! Welcome back!"

Zero stopped once he entered the house, hearing the pitter patter of feet as Ichiru raced to greet him. He instinctively caught Ichiru, who jumped to hug him tightly, snuggling Ichiru's small body into his chest, breathing in Ichiru's calming smell. He smiled softly, seeing Ichiru's bright, innocent, lilac-eyes, and lightly patted Ichiru on the head before putting him down.

"What do you wish to do today, Ichiru?" Zero asked.

"Potion making, can you teach me the theory? Kaa-san says I'm still too young to brew them." Ichiru pouted.

"Of course." Zero laughed gently, caressing Ichiru's cheek. "What potion are you learning about now?"

"The Draught of Living Death!" Ichiru answered, making Zero blink in slight surprise. The Draught of Living Death was quite an advanced potion, to think that Ichiru had reached that level in theory when he wasn't even three years old yet.

"The known ingredients are wormwood, valerian root, sopophorous bean, and a sloth brain. The Draught of Living Death's main characteristic is that it turns…" Zero smiled as he listened to Ichiru list out information about the Draught of Living Death. Compared to him, whom the Senju blood ran strongly in, the Giou blood seemed to run stronger in Ichiru.

One month after Zero and Ichiru turned seven and three years old, respectively, team seven was given the mission of guarding the Fire Daimyo during his annual trip every September, as team seven's genin had distinguished themselves the most during the year. When they returned from that successful mission, Inoichi-sensei gave them surprising news.

"The Chunin exams?" Kaito repeated. "Are we really ready for them? It's only been a bit past a year since we became genin."

Inoichi nodded, "there's no worries about that. You three are past the level of genin, for sure."

Zero exchanged a look with Kaname, before turning to reassure Kaito, who still looked a bit hesitant. "It will probably be fine, Kaito. Inoichi-sensei wouldn't recommend us if he didn't think we were ready."

"Yes, I doubt we will meet any S-rank missing ninjas in the Chunin exams." Kaname spoke amusedly, making Kaito snort in remembrance of their first C-rank mission that went FUBAR.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Kaito ruffled his hair. "Let's do it then, Inoichi-sensei. Team seven will dominate the exams."

"Very well. The Chunin Exams will start next month on October 15th." Inoichi-sensei continued. "This time, the exams will be taking place in Konoha, so we will soon be seeing shinobi from other villages arrive. Until then, we'll all be undergoing hard training in preparation for the exams."

Kaito groaned at hearing how they would be training even harder for the exams, while Zero and Kaname just sighed inwardly. The three weren't against training hard, since they all had personal reasons to become strong shinobis, but they disliked how strenuous training sessions always made them extremely busy and tired, that they wouldn't be able to spend time with their younger brothers.

I hope you enjoyed the new chapter, and please feel free to give me your comments about my story! ~~~