A/N: It's been a while since we've updated any story, let alone this one. However, that doesn't mean we weren't writing. We have Sixteen chapters written for this story at the moment, and we'll be releasing them as time goes on until FF is caught up. We're still writing other stories as well, it's just been a hectic few months for us with getting new jobs and university... anyway, enjoy these three chapters. - One
Hokage's Office 24: 21:25 - Friday | Same Day
Hiruzen gazes at the three shinobi standing before him, wondering what he is to do with two of them. None of them are shifting under his sight, they're too good for that. On the inside, however, both Daishin and Shikon silently plead for a simple punishment.
"So you fought. Not a spar, but a fight, in our training grounds. It elevated to such an extent where the fight almost affected the civilian housing nearest the grounds, so Hitomi had to stop you forcefully. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?" Hiruzen asks the two culprits.
"No Hokage-sama." Daishin answers with deep respect.
Shikon bows, and in a rare showing of maturity, apologizes. "Only that I regret it went so far."
Hiruzen lowers his head to think, the Hokage hat covers his eyes and the slight grin on his features leads truth to his desires. "You will restore the training ground to its original state. Your punishment will last one week, and you will clean the streets after you finish the training ground. Of course, you must still take on missions, so do not treat this as a break." He says the last sentence more pointedly to Shikon, who stiffens in his bow.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Shikon answers before standing straight. "I must also give you something."
The Hokage looks at Shikon with a quizzical eye before allowing him to come closer. Shikon hands him a scroll and returns to his spot before. With a curious mind, Hiruzen lays the scroll and unrolls it, noting it as a storage scroll. He pumps a minute amount of chakra into the seal, and a stack of papers as high as his desk pops out with a cloud of chakra smoke.
"Is this..?" Hiruzen begins, perturbed from the amount of paperwork that he would have to go through.
"Yes, it is my team request forms." Shikon answers. "I almost didn't have time to fill them out tonight, what with Hitomi's boyfriend coming over… and the fight."
Hiruzen's left eye begins to twitch. "You did this all in one night?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama. I thought it prudent." Shikon answers robotically.
The aging shinobi feels a shiver run down his spine, as this amount of paperwork would take him a few days to finish, let alone a single night. "I'm impressed to say the least. However, you're still on cleaning duty."
Shikon nods. "Of course, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen thought that it was obvious that the meeting was over, but apparently the shinobi before him couldn't pick up on that. He looks at the three with an impatient glare. "Then what are you all still doing here?"
At those words, all three dart out of the office as quickly as they could.
Training Ground 24: 2:15 - Saturday | Next Day
Shikon raises his right arm and makes his hand form into one half of the rat seal, forcing the earth in the massive crater to rise back into place. Daishin is pushing a wheelbarrow around, covering the smaller pot holes and craters and flattening the terrain. Both of them are taking their time as neither wants to be seen cleaning the streets. As it stands, they could just say they're doing the Hokage a service by fixing the training ground, but if anyone sees a shinobi cleaning the streets, they know that person has screwed up.
"I'm sorry Daishin." Shikon says simply, running through another rat seal and bringing up another small portion of the earth.
"Yeah, me too, though were the eight gates really necessary?" Daishin returns, shoveling dirt from the wheelbarrow.
Shikon shrugs. "Honestly, I just wanted to make a point. Looking back on it, I'm sure you understand where I'm coming from." Shikon begins walking to another portion of the large depression.
"I do, but my point still stands." Daishin voices as he kept up with his friends pace of fixing the training field.
"Do you think the academy students know about this?" Shikon asks innocently enough.
Daishin looks to Shikon with a 'what do you think, genius' face. "No..."
"I sure hope not. Man, that would be embarrassing!" Shikon returns, missing Daishin's scathing sarcastic facial expression entirely. "Especially since we're gonna be taking some of those kids on."
After a while, one of the Chunin from earlier body flickers into the training field. "How are you two holding up? The Hokage go easy on you?"
Shikon nods his head and shrugs his shoulders. "Eh, could've been worse. I just hope this doesn't get around the village."
"Don't you worry about that. We've told everyone." The Chunin supplies with a thumbs up and grin that belies his evil intentions.
Shikon stares at the Chunin with a facial expression of horror and betrayal. "You didn't." He gasps, scandalized.
"Sure did! Have fun with the whole Genin thing!" With those helpful words, the man disappears into the wind.
Shikon scrambles out of the crater, frantically searching for something and yet nothing. "What the hell did we do? Oh god, we're never going to live this down! My social status is ruined. Ruined!"
"At least you don't have your family to deal with after you get home." Daishin sighs knowing that Danzo will not be pleased.
"I didn't even think of that." Shikon returns. "You're going to be in so much shit! Ha!" He begins to laugh hysterically in an attempt to forget his own problems.
Daishin again looks to his friend, amusement evident in his expression as Shikon starts coughing violently. "Don't have to tell me, I'm predicting that I'll be on double duty until the damned academy graduation." As he pats the dirt down, he uses too much force and does more bad than good.
Wiping tears from his eyes, Shikon gathers his breath. "I shall see you in hell, my friend. I can already see you being worked to the bone."
With a collective sigh, the two return to their cleaning duties with varying degrees of intensity and emotion, both dreading their near futures. A long silence draws out before Shikon speaks up again with a slight chuckle.
"I'll give it to you though." He says with no further explanation, knowing that Daishin knew the context of his statement.
"Huh, I already thought it was obvious I was winning." Daishin replies without stopping his work.
"You will win every time in the village. Unless we're under siege I've been told never to go to the fifth gate." Shikon returns. "And that makes the count four hundred and thirty seven to me, and four hundred sixty nine to you."
"We'll find out one day, and I promise there's more to me than you've seen." Daishin promises with a hidden sly smile.
"Well… I've seen it all during one of our hotspring excursions. So I guess that means you're a grower and not a shower, then?" Shikon barks a laugh when he receives the most scathing of looks from Daishin.
Daishin shakes his head and sighs. "That's not what I meant and you know it."
"Yeah, yeah." Shikon waves a hand dismissively. "I believe in your ability." Shikon answers with a grin.
Daishin deadpans. "Which ability?"
Shikon wiggles his eyebrows. "I'll let you figure that one out yourself."
Leaf Academy: 15:15 - Friday - Graduation Day | Three Weeks Later
Shikon sits in the Jonin lounge surrounded by a few other Jonin, not limited to, but including; Hatake Kakashi, Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai and a few others. Shikon, however, notices a distinct lack of a certain Shimura. Slowly, steadily, Jonin begin to trickle out of the room as each team is called and Shikon begins to worry that his friend will not be present in time for his team call. Eventually Team Seven was called, and Kakashi was given notice, to which he acknowledged and continued reading his book on the lounge couch.
Team 8 was called soon after, and Shikon jumped up, glad to finally meet his team. As he stepped forward toward the door, it flung open fast enough to dent the wall as it swung around it's abused hinges. A rather livid looking Daishin steps into the lounge and all eyes rest on his form as he's unintentionally leaking killing intent.
"You alright, Daishin?' Shikon asks nonchalantly, noting the blood and dirt all over his uniform.
"Those Kusa fucks don't know when to stop flinging bodies at me. I swear I took on half their fucking village before they stopped." Daishin growls out, his eyes shifting to each of the Jonin still present.
The other Jonin regard him with a critical eye, but turn away as they understand his feelings. "Well, just stop that killing intent before you meet the kiddos." Shikon supplies before walking past him with a pat on the shoulder.
Daishin glares at his friend, but agrees and takes a seat. Shikon ambles down the hall to the classroom and pops his head in with a grin.
"Team 8, with me." After he speaks, he turns on his heel and begins walking down the hallway again, not giving the fresh Genin any time to react.
Eventually the Genin catch up to him, and a loud mouthed Inuzuka begins to bark. "Oh man, I'm so excited to be a shinobi now! Say, Sensei, what are we going to learn first?"
Shikon, continuing his walk, scratches his stubbled chin. "I need to learn some things about you before I can teach you anything."
"Like what? I'll tell you anything!" The fanged kid continues, eager to get things moving along.
Shikon stops abruptly and turns around. "Well, it's less something you can tell me and more something you need to show me. My test."
"Your test?" Kiba scratches his head. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that none of you are actually shinobi yet, and I won't teach you if you fail it." Shikon drops, a grin plastered on his features.
All three Genin gulp simultaneously. "You can't be serious!" Kiba exclaims.
"Something tells me he is, Kiba-san." The quiet Aburame returns.
Shikon smiles happily at his uncomfortable Genin.
Leaf Academy: 15:25 - Friday - Graduation Day | Same Day
About ten minutes pass as Daishin lounges in the waiting room while reading a legendary book in Konoha, 'Icha Icha Paradise' by the just as legendary Toad Sannin. While deeply engrossed in the book he is still aware enough to hear the call for Team 10. Most of the other Jonin had already been called and only one notable Jonin remains, Hatake Kakashi. Daishin closes the book and places it back in his pouch, stands and moves to the door.
With great ease, he strides to the room given to his team. Sliding the door open, he sees three very confused Genin, two of which jump back. After a moment the three regain their composure and sit on the first row of the desks. Only the male with a striking resemblance to the Jonin commander takes any interest in their new sensei.
"Are you kidding me? Why are we stuck with the poor sensei who can't even afford to wash their clothes?" The blonde haired girl asks aloud looking to her two teammates for an answer.
"Ino-chan do you really think it's wise to bad mouth him already?" The larger of the two males questions her all while eating a bag of chips.
Daishin merely stands at the door and waits for the two to silence themselves before walking to the podium in the centre of the room. Still the girl grumbles under her breath in what she believes to be quiet enough to not be heard. Daishin takes a moment to study each of his Genin, taking about seven minutes before finally breaking the silence he created.
"Interesting, I would have expected better manners from a Yamanaka." Daishin abruptly states while glaring directly at the blond haired girl.
She says nothing in return, and merely hangs her mouth open in surprise at her Sensei's harsh words. Meanwhile, the one Genin who has taken a lazy interest pipes up. "So you are to be our Sensei, Shimura-san?"
The corner of Daishins mouth curls up into a sly smile. "That I would Nara Shikamaru. Would that be an issue?"
"No it won't be." The Nara lethargically responds, keeping his hands arched.
"Good, now I believe it's time we went to a training field to conduct a test, not that it's strictly necessary for your three." Daishin explains, moving to the door that leads to the balcony. "Follow me, I want this over as soon as possible as I have not slept for a week."
Both the Yamanaka and the larger male recol in surprise, yet the Nara seems to fully understand and follows suit. Once all four of them are out on the balcony Daishin jumps onto the railing and turns to look at the Genin.
"We're going to Training Field 24 and we're going there via the ninja highway." Daishin orders and with that leaps to the next building and slowly makes his way to the training field.
The three look to each other and the Yamanaka begins a conversation. "I really don't like him, he's too bossy."
"Think about what you say before you speak." The Nara chastises his friend with a shit eating grin as he leaps to the building in pursuit of his sensei.
"What did you just say to me Shikamaru‽" The Yamanaka shrieks at the black haired Nara as he fades into the distance.
The larger male looks at her before quickly making the leap to follow Daishin. The last Genin sighs heavily before finally following suit with the rest of her team.
Training Ground 8: 15:45 - Friday - Graduation Day | Same Day
All three Genin stand in a small semi-circle around Shikon. "So, like I said, I don't care for introductions, and I won't care until you pass my test."
"Yes, Sensei, but you haven't explained the test." Shino points out, stoic as ever.
"It's very simple." Shikon waves behind him to the forest. "You will track me, and you will catch me. As you are trying to catch me, you will grab this." Shikon holds up a tag for them to see. "Are you all ready? You have until nightfall to accomplish this task."
All three look at each other and then back to Shikon, steeling their nerves and nodding. "Bring it on, Sensei!" Kiba roars.
"Good, I like that." In three swift motions, Shikon grabs all thirty seven Kikaichu beetles on his form, simultaneously creating seven Earth clones and dropping the beatles on the ground. "Now come find me!"
All eight Shikons disappear into the forest, each going their own path, leaving the three Genin to their own devices.
"He found all of my beatles." Shino supplies. "I will likely be unable to catch him, I believe one of you will have a more apt time finding him."
"Hell yeah! Me and Akamaru have this!" Kiba roars, with a yip from his head resting puppy.
Hinata gives a stern look of acknowledgement, and Shino nods his head, as all three Genin begin to chase after their potential Sensei. They keep their eyes open and ears listening. Minutes pass by as they continue to search for the disappeared Shikon. Akamaru and Kiba get increasingly more annoyed as time goes on as neither of them can get an accurate scent trail.
"He gave the clones scent." Kiba growls out.
Shino considers this. "I've never heard of something like that."
"Yeah, well it's happening now." Kiba snaps back.
Hinata silently listens as the two bicker for a bit, tree hopping along the way. "I-I think I can track him." She stutters out eventually.
Both Genin nod, not looking to her as they leap to another branch. They understand, even if Kiba is annoyed his nose couldn't follow him. Hinata activates her Byakugan and stands still on the next branch, causing both of her new teammates to stop. Her veins and arteries around her eyes bulge angrily as she searches the forest, finding all eight of Shikon.
"I found the clones." She says quietly. "But I can't really tell which one is real."
"Does the Byakugan not show you which network is real?" Shino asks the Hyuga.
"I- well… It does. B-but he made the clones so perfectly that they e-each seem to have a n-network." She supplies, making the Inuzuka cuss like a sailor, and Shino to think about their next move.
"Then our only chance is to try them all." Shino brings up.
Training Ground 24: 15:50 - Friday - Graduation Day | Same Day
Daishin stands waiting in the center of the training ground, his book from earlier in his hand as he reads it intently. Another five minutes pass before the Genin show up, the Yamanaka still fuming from her teammates remark and her sensei ditching them.
Daishin snaps the book shut and looks at his team. "Well done, you made it here quicker then I thought you would."
"You ditched us on purpose!" The Yamanaka bellows at an unfazed Daishin.
He simply smiles. "I did. Now let's handle introductions as it's all but a conclusion that you are passing."
The blond haired girl's mouth for the second time is agape at her sensei's comments, while the larger Genin steps forward and introduces himself. "I'm Akimichi Chōji, and I really like food. I hope this test you mention involves some."
Next, the Nara speaks up. "I'm Nara Shikamaru as you said earlier, and I hope this is over soon, it's a drag."
Daishin's eye raises as he looks at Shikamaru but his thoughts are quickly pulled to the blond haired girl as she raised her voice. "I think you should apologise for being rude first!" She quickly slams both her hands on her waist and looks at him like Hitomi often does.
Daishin stifles a laugh at the thought before composing himself. "Make me, Yamanaka. It's the only way you will get one." His tone swiftly turns darker and his aura changes.
Ino begins to roll up imaginary sleeves on her arms and steps forward. "Bring it on! Choji, Shikamaru get him!"
The two male Genin look to each other, shrug then enter their respective combat stances. "Formation one!" Ino voices to her two teammates as the two Genin jump in front of her. "Mind Body Switch Technique!"
Ino's mind sends a wave a chakra at Daishin, entering his conscious and forcing him out of his own mind. As a result her body slumps over as she takes full control.
"You find anything of interest Yamanaka?" Daishin's mind asks the invading Ino.
"Be quiet! Your making this harder than it needs to be!" Ino's conscious growls at her Sensei.
A laugh resonates through Daishin's mind. "I'm doing nothing, you are merely too weak to make any progress, and too high strung to sense when you are outmatched."
"Shut up! I am the heiress of the Yamanaka Clan and I'll have what I'm looking for!" Ino's mind demands of Daishin's, showing her annoyance at her lack of progression.
A few minutes pass while Shikamaru and Choji stand in a protective formation around Ino's unconscious body, keeping their eyes on Daishin for any move.
"Do you really believe you can break me?" Daishin's mind asks with curiosity.
"Yes and I will! My Father himself taught me and he taught me well." Ino's conscious answers with pride.
"No you won't, you lack the strength of mind to best me. For once take a step back and truly look at the situation your in, you're not just outmatched, you believe your team is safe because you are in my mind." Daishin's inner self begins to explain to Ino's. "But they're not."
Daishin starts to move, reaching for his blade that lays across his back. He inches towards the two Genin, his blade in his right hand and the dart swirling around in his left from the ninja wire.
"Why the hell is he moving? Ino should have complete control over him!" Shikamaru states, looking to Choji for answers.
Leaves begin to blow and a mist forms around Daishin as he slowly fades from their view, to reappear in between them with the flat of his blade to Shikamaru's throat. He swings the dart around the three of them catching in his left hand and pulling it tight, letting it dig into Choji's and Shikamaru's necks.
"How did you do that!" Ino's mind exclaims with amazement.
"Your arrogance took ahold of you and look what it lead to, your team a moment away from death. Would you risk their lives in the field or will you concede and let me guide you on your path as a shinobi?" Daishin's conscious barters with the young Yamanaka's.
"I don't want to be the reason they die, I'll let you teach me." Ino's mind capitulates and begins the process of leaving his body.
A shiver runs down Daishin's spine signaling that Ino has finally let go of his mind and body. Her body sparks to life, her eyes opening to see her sensei still stood over her with both of her teammates held by his blade and wire.
"Welcome back Ino, you pass." Daishin lets go of his dart, using his left hand to swing it back around to let go of Shikamaru and Choji, who both fall to the floor. "Shikamaru, stand."
Both Shikamaru and Choji stand, leaving Ino still in thought on the floor. "Yes, Sensei?" The young Nara responds.
"Go behind that tree over there and wait until I call for you." Daishin points to a tree off in the distance, which Shikamaru does with a sigh. "Choji, I need you to go stand over by that tree and guard it." He then points to a second tree.
Daishin proceeds to grab Ino off of the floor and body flicker in his flashy way to the tree behind Choji. He rests the Yamanaka against it and proceeds to use the wire and dart from his blade to tie her to it, once done impaling the ground with the sword.
"Shikamaru, come out and rescue Ino from this tree. Choji will attempt to stop you." Daishin lays out simply, before turning into a leafy mist and disappearing from the plane.
Shikamaru stays behind the tree for another five minutes, before reappearing on the branch of the tree, with a kunai in hand. "Choji, I took some food from our Sensei's pouch when he was holding us hostage, I left your half at the bottom of the tree when he tied Ino up."
Ino looks from Shikamaru to Choji and sighs. "Well I'm screwed."
"What kind of food Shikamaru? Any of that fancy stuff, he is a Jonin after all?" Choji asks hesitantly, looking back at Ino then to Shikamaru.
The Nara smiles, and nods. "Yeah, it's homemade pot roast and it tastes better than the one at your family's restaurant."
Choji's mouth begins to water, and he starts to inch from his spot. "Really? You best not be lying!"
'I must admit I didn't think he'd fall for such a simple taunt.' Daishin thinks to himself from a nearby tree.
The Akimichi starts to walk faster and within a few seconds walks behind the tree, only to be caught in a basic pitfall trap where the food should have been. "Dammit Shikamaru, you lying ass!"
Shikamaru laughs as he leaps off of the tree branch and down to Ino's side, trying to cut the wire around her with a kunai. "Damn, why did Sensei have to use his damned sword wire? It's impossible to cut."
Choji scales the wall of the ten foot pit, taking a great deal longer then it should to free himself from it. He clambers over the edge, bringing himself to his feet and striding around the tree, only stopping once his eyes land on Shikamaru. The Nara sees him and already holding the rat hand seal, calls out a jutsu, while at the same time Choji begins enlarging his right arm for an attack.
"Shadow Imitation Technique!" Shikamaru shouts as he smiles, confident that his technique will land.
His shadow lurches across the ground straight at his teammate. To Choji's dismay he doesn't spot the attack quick enough and becomes ensnared to Shikamaru's will. To that end, Shikamaru begins to move himself and Choji, toward the tree, his arm still large from the use of the Akimichi hiden. Once he is in reach of the tree, Shikamaru simulates hitting the tree and watches as Choji does just that, toppling the tree and by proxy freeing his teammate. A leafy mist appears on top of the fallen tree, which Daishin appears out of with a sly smile.
"Well done Shikamaru, not only did you use your mind to trick Choji into your trap, you also laid a second without even letting anyone on to it, yet you rely too much on your clans Hiden, something we will work on. Choji you displayed a great deal of strength, but you need to think more often and forget food entirely when in a battle or it could be the end of you." Daishin comments while looking at his Genin with a sense of pride. "Now seeing as you all pass and know what to work on, let's eat."
Training Ground 8: 16:30 - Friday - Graduation Day | Same Day
"That's the fourth one!" Kiba yells to no one in particular, his human form Akamaru growling in agreement.
Shino nods, directing the team back to the treeline and falling in step behind the leading Hinata. "But we now know it is easy to defeat them. Our pattern is working." The stoic Aburame informs.
"I-I found a difference between the clones and the real S-Sensei." Hinata stutters, drawing both boys attention. "The c-clones have a rudimentary system, where Sensei seems like a s-shining beacon compared to t-them."
"Hell yeah Hinata-chan! Good job!" Kiba declares and Akamaru yipps happily in conjunction, making the individual blush.
"Then you can take us to the real one?" Shino asks, following the young Hyuga closely.
Hinata changes course abruptly. "Y-Yes."
The next few minutes of tracking are spent in silence, save for the nature around them. It slowly dawns on all three that they're going to fight a Jonin soon, and they start getting antsy. Kiba and Akamaru begin to hype themselves up, smiles dawning on their faces. Hinata hopes to pass and to impress her Sensei, while Shino's hive starts fluttering about in his system, getting ready for the plan he has laid out.
"We will execute the same plan as we used on the clones." Shino informs. "It worked on them after all, therefore it shall work on him."
All three Genin give their own acknowledgement one way or another just before they burst into the area they started at with Shikon sitting idly on a throne of earth twirling the tag around on a finger. "'Bout time you all showed up." He yawns and stretches, feeling some joints pop back into place as he did so.
All three Genin fall into a combat stance. "Sensei, don't you think a throne is too narcissistic?" Shino wonders in his own stoic sounding way.
Shikon shrugs and stands, letting the throne crumble to dirt as he does so. "It's comfortable. Now, come at me with the intent to kill!"
Shikon launches forward at the three Genin, far slower than he would for any other opponent. Both Kiba and Shino dart to either side, letting Hinata take the front line. The second Shikon enters her sphere of influence, she begins her ruthless attack. She launches attacks at four different tenketsu, each miraculously missing from Shikon's slight movements. The surprise Hinata felt was short lived as a finger flick from Shikon makes her skid back a few feet and nearly fall down.
"Fang over Fang!" Shikon idly hears the Inuzuka call.
Two drills start their arc toward Shikon, each on their own side of him. Shikon grabs a Kunai in his left hand and raises his right gauntlet just in time to block the technique, leaving him open for a swarm of Kikaichu beatles to land on him and begin sucking his chakra. By this time Hinata had recovered and returned to the fight, and pounds the original four tenketsu she was after, this time hitting all four.
Shikon grunts in pain, for the first time in a long time, bar the fight with Daishin. He jumps back toward Shino, letting the two chakra corkscrews dig into the ground and a few beatles fly off. He starts flinging beatles off at an astounding rate, sheathing his kunai as if he had never drawn it. The Inuzuka duo recovers from their untimely smack into the ground after Hinata darts forward, hell bent on taking out her Sensei.
Shino runs toward the Jonin from his position behind him, intent on sandwiching the man. Shikon smiles and lets them edge toward him. The Inuzuka duo launches another fang over fang, effectively putting Shikon in the middle of a four pronged attack, all set to hit him at the same time. The moment before impact, Shikon jumps into the air slightly, and a four pronged attack now becomes a four pronged train-wreck. Shikon lands in between their sprawled limbs and jumps back to his original position.
Shikon grins. "I like your enthusiasm. C'mon don't stop. Show me your potential!" He eggs the group on.
"You asked for it!" Kiba declares. "Fang over Fang!"
Kiba and human form Akamaru start rotating quickly after launching themselves into the air, but this time their spirals seem more cone-like, signaling a larger amount of chakra being used.
"Oh come on! Is that your only technique?" Shikon continues to taunt.
Out of the corner of his eye he notices a single Kikaichu beatle make its way to his leg, and lets it happen. Hinata again runs toward him, but this time her facial expression is set in determination as opposed to hope. Shino stands in the back line, trickling Kikaichu beatles into the grass while amassing a swarm above his head. A look of pure elation covers Shikon's features as the Genin relentlessly assault him.
Shikon swats Hinata's attacks away deftly, but with how much he's holding back to test them, it takes everything he has to do so. The two Inuzuka's plow into his sides, stopped only by Shikon's willpower and it cuts into his reinforced vest. They drop to the ground after their attack fades, Hinata never once relenting in her assault. The two then start helping Hinata, able to work together but not seamlessly. Shikon notes that they need a lot of teamwork training, though they seem to understand each other's weaknesses and strengths.
The Jonin adds just a little more effort into the fight so he can block all three taijutsu opponents, but only because he wants to see what the Aburame has for him, considering the beatles on his body have not been leeching his blood or chakra. Then it dawns on him, the beatles were going after the tag, and just as he sees it float away his smile grows broader.
With a quick jump back and onto an earthy tower from a single half rat seal, Shikon claps loudly, grin large enough that his cheeks hurt. "Congratulations Team 8! You all pass!"
Kiba and Akamaru stop dead in their spot from confusion and Hinata falls to her knees from physical exhaustion. Shino takes the tag from his group of beatles, and if happiness could be seen from a stoic person, then Shino was showing it.
"Huh?" Kiba asks intelligently as Akamaru returns to his puppy self.
Shino shakes the tag. "I have the tag, Kiba-kun."
"Oh!" Kiba exclaims, taking a look at the tag. "Heh, we kicked your ass!" He continues, looking back at Shikon.
The Jonin shrugs and lets the earthen tower crumble to dust. "You certainly proved a point with that last attack, Kiba. Let's go for food, I'm a little starved." And as if to prove his point, a loud rumble came from his stomach.
