Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Naruto.

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xXx-Chapter 14-xXx

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Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed as he looked over the list of newly graduated genin. He was finalizing the approval of the genin cells as suggested by their academy teachers and assigning them their jōnin sensei. It was a tedious but vital task that require him to go over all the notes he had received from the academy about each cell as well as his own personal knowledge of each shinobi that would potentially be involved, jōnin and genin alike.

Normally he would be doing this with the assistance of the village elders, his former teammates, Koharu and Mitokado, the three of them going over the pros and cons of each cell as well as what jōnin would suit their needs the best. However there was more at stake this time around than usual. He had finally come face to face with a decision he had been debating on heavily for a while now. He'd let his own personal feelings get in the way and had stalled on doing this for as long as possible, but now his time was up and he had to act in the best interests of the village.

The issue he faced came in the form of the recommended genin cell 6. It had been unanimously recommended by all of the involved instructors at the academy that Rin and Ino Yamanaka, as well as Sakura Haruno be placed on a single genin team. The three of them had shown time and time again during their time at the academy that they worked well together. And Hiruzen could see where they were coming from and large part of him was inclined to follow this recommendation.

After all, all three girls filled the top three spots in their graduating class, the first Kunoichi to ever do so. One spot occasionally, and twice before, two kunoichi had filled the top two spots, but never before all three. And they all worked well together too. Under normal circumstances, placing them together as a team would be a no brainer, however and rather unfortunately these weren't normal circumstances. Time was running out and he needed to start putting his plans into motion. For too long he had allowed himself to put off what needed to be done, but now he no longer had any time to waste.

He needed Rin to grow strong, and he needed it to happen as fast as possible. Luckily Rin was a prodigy, she had a natural talent for picking up and learning the shinobi arts. If he had more time to spare then placing her with her sister and her friend would undoubtedly allow her to reach her full potential, but it wouldn't be in time. It was partially why he had started tutoring her once a week, it was essential that she grow as strong as she could and as quickly as possible.

If time wasn't so important then this wouldn't be an issue, her progress under any other circumstances was above and beyond what would be expected of any ninja within his ranks and having her grow with a team would be perfectly acceptable. But this wasn't normal circumstances, he needed her strong and isolated and teaming her up with her friend and sister wouldn't do that.

He already knew what he was going to do with Rin, the problem came down to the other two kunoichi involved. Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno. He had no desire to stunt or challenge their growth. They were both becoming exceptional kunoichi who both had bright futures ahead of them. And he had no doubt that one day they would help guide and protect Konoha's future, hell maybe even lead it one day, and so he needed to find spots for them that would help them continue to grow.

But he couldn't just break cell six up. I mean he could, but he had to justify it, at least to himself. He had to change things around so that everyone had their best chance at success. His first move that he decided on was the removal of the current kunoichi from team seven, a young girl named Ami, and replacing her with Sakura Haruno. Making cell 7 Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki. They could work well together, if he remembered correctly Sakura and Naruto were even friends so that was a plus, and placing an up and coming kunoichi like Sakura under the tutelage of someone like Kakashi Hatake wouldn't raise any kind of suspicion.

That left him with figuring out what to do with Ino Yamanaka, fortunately for him this one was a little simpler. He switched her with the kunoichi on team 10, placing her with Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akamichi. Their parents, while not the first time these clans had been teamed together, were certainly the most famous. Recreating the Ino-Shika-Cho combination wouldn't draw the suspicion of anyone either. For that team… he chuckles, he would place his son in charge of them. Three clan heirs placed together under the tutelage of his very own son as they recreate the success of their parents, yes that seemed like the right decision.

All that was left on original team six was Rin, but not for long. He goes to his list of genin and finds an already graduated genin currently without a team and places him in it with the two new graduates. Crossing Rin's name off of the team in the process. The two new girls weren't spectacular but with a little training they would eventually make competent ninja. It takes him a while to decide who to team them up under, just because they didn't look to be anything other than ordinary didn't mean that they didn't deserve the chance to grow either. Ordinary could, after all, become extraordinary if given the chance… hmm, yes that could work. The woman had been bothering him for a while to give her a shot at being jōnin sensei, so why not give her a chance to prove herself here.

"Be careful what you wish for Mitarashi Anko." The Hokage chuckles to himself, a genin cell was a lot of work. It would be hard for her at first, but he was confident that she could rise to the occasion.

Finally after going through and checking and double checking the team and sensei combinations he was satisfied. Yes, each team was going to be given the best opportunity possible to succeed and grow, and he had effectively cut Rin off from the pack. Now it was time to decide who would be training her. He had considered making her his own apprentice, which would not only have the benefit of giving him direct control over her training but it would also keep her close to him.

However his duties as Hokage left him with little time to train her properly. Plus he didn't want to put himself on Inoichi's radar any more than he was about to, the man was too clever and too good at his job at times. Taking even more of an interest in his daughter would draw attention from the man that he just didn't need. Keeping the man focused on Rin and off of him was his best bet.

No, unfortunately he couldn't be the one who trained Rin, at least not any more than he already had been. Fortunately he had a good idea of who it should be and he had specifically asked for them to be the only one guarding him tonight.

"Reveal yourself." He says calmly, and from out of the shadows, appearing from nothing without a sound was one of the village elite. They were currently a captain in the Anbu corps and someone who he knew was on the same level as Might Guy and Kakashi Hatake. The three of them arguably being the strongest active jōnin in the village.

"Lord Hokage." They say with a bow and in a monotone voice.

He slides Rin's file forward. "I have a request to make of you. You may of course refuse." He knew they wouldn't.

"Whatever it is Lord Hokage, I accept. I am yours to command." They say stepping forward and grabbing the file.

"Good, then remove your mask and reclaim the name you gave up in service of your village."

They remove their mask and stand before him. "Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen nods towards the seat in front of his desk, indicating that they should take a seat. "In that file contains the information of a young Kunoichi who is about to graduate. Her name is Rin Yamanaka."

"The girl you've been tutoring?"

"The very same. She is an immensely talented young woman with a strong desire to protect those she loves. I wish for you to train her, to take her on as an apprentice."

"Me? Lord Hokage, surely there are… better qualified ninja?"

"You are the best and this girl needs the best. She has an important role to play in the future of this village and she needs to be prepared and it needs to happen sooner rather than later. If I had the time I would take her on myself as a full time apprentice. As it is, I don't have the time and quite frankly you are my first choice in a very small list of people I would actually trust with this."

"I… I am honored sir, it's… it's a little sudden but I can certainly go and speak with Inoichi about this-"

"Don't worry about that, I'll speak to Inoichi in my own time. I just need to know if you will do this."

"I've never given much thought to being a sensei." they admit, "Although… helping to build someone up rather than tear them down might be a nice change of pace." They say softly.

"I do not exaggerate when I say that she is a genius. The shinobi arts come to her as easily as breathing. You will find her to be a willing and dedicated student. Though I do warn you, she has no love for the shinobi way of life. Her entire goal is the protection of those important to her. Which is why I must ask you to do something in addition to training her."

"What is it?"

The Third slides over a mission scroll, marked with the symbol S. Their eyes widen in shock, "Lord Hokage?"

"Everything you need to know about what I require of you and Rin Yamanaka is on that scroll. Read it, memorize it, and destroy it. Everything that I know about Rin is in that file you're holding. You would do well to memorize it as well. Her sensor gifts exceed even your own."

"It shall be as you command." They say as they open the scroll and begin to read, wondering to themselves just what the hell they were getting themselves into.

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xXx—xXx

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Author's Note: So I know this chapter is really, really short. Really important content to the overall arching story, but still really short. Originally this chapter and the next were both one large chapter, and I originally split them up because I wanted to expand on some things and I felt like the two halves didn't go well together anyway. Unfortunately I never really got around to typing up what it was that I wanted to go into when I first split the two chapters up. So to make it up to you for just how short this chapter is and the next one as well, I'll post chapter 15 tomorrow.