Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.

Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), some moderate Dumbledore bashing (he's more manipulative than evil but mostly just stubborn), and who knows what else.

AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.

Chapter 33: Running the Gauntlet

Satoshi woke up early the next morning feeling only slightly tired and drank an Energizing Potion to wash away the lingering fatigue he felt after the mostly restless night. He was drinking a leisurely cup of coffee liberally laced with sugar, milk, and chocolate while eating a grapefruit when his father came in carrying Saki – the not quite two year old had woken up and gone looking for her papa only to find her grandfather first. Knowing that the boys would panic if they woke up to find his daughter gone; Satoshi made a shadow clone and sent it to let the boys know he had his daughter.

When it henged itself to look like Saki and snagged the fast drying paint kit on the way to the bedroom that Shino and Naruto shared; neither Shibi nor Satoshi said anything as they shared a conspiratorial grin and chuckle knowing that it was going to be a typically chaotic morning in the Aburame home. Twenty minutes later, Shino walked out carrying Saki at arm's length; their faces, hair, and clothes covered with multicolored hand prints and various after affects of several different Weasley products.

Behind them a similarly painted and pranked Naruto hopped along in silence as his arms and legs had been wrapped up in a Day Tripper and his mouth caught in a Lip Trap. Shino attempted to pass Saki to Satoshi only for him to pause in confusion when he saw a perfectly clean Saki perched in Satoshi's lap happily eating scrambled eggs riddled with chunks of cooked ham and topped with cheese. The brief flare of a camera flash followed by the clicking of a camera shutter had both boys glancing to where Shibi was grinning widely holding the camera he'd just used to take their picture. The Saki in Shino's arms then giggled manically before she disappeared in a burst of smoke.

Satoshi snickered into his daughter's hair as he got the memories from his clone; he couldn't believe those two (out of all the boys living in the house) had left their utility pouches down where Saki could get her hands on them. Yes, it had been Satoshi's clone that had gotten into them and found the joke products but he'd been able to do so in Saki's form which meant that it could have easily been her getting into them in the first place. Shino growled and promised revenge before he stomped off towards the bathroom, snagging the trussed up Naruto by the back of his collar on his way out of the room and pulling him along.

Satoshi's green eyes sparkled and danced with merriment as he gave into the laughter he'd barely been suppressing the moment the two boys were out of view. He then spent a few more minutes drawing giggles out of his daughter before he passed her to her grandfather so he could head out to set up the test he'd be running his two new potential Genin teams through. He still had a smile on his face when he finished setting the final trap an hour later; his turbulent emotions of the previous day temporarily forgotten.

Preparations complete, Satoshi created a shadow clone before he henged into Arashi while his clone took the visage of Aranami. The two of them then hid themselves in a nearby tree in order to wait for both teams to arrive. Team Fourteen arrived first and Satoshi took a moment to study the three ten year olds (the youngest graduates this year).

First there was Ando Kaito; a rather short and scrawny boy with short dirty blonde hair, pale blue-gray eyes, and a large red jacket that practically swallowed him whole. Then there was Taniguchi Daiki; a tall and lanky boy with long muddy brown hair, violet colored eyes, and an outfit that looked eerily similar to the one that Satoshi always wore when he was posing as Arashi. Lastly there was Sasaki Tsukiko; a slightly pudgy girl who was just a couple of inches shorter than Daiki with short green hair, wide hazel eyes, and a slightly more modest version of Aranami's outfit.

Satoshi felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as a shiver raced down his spine the moment he caught wind of the argument that the trio were holding over who was the better Jounin. He nearly growled when he realized that all three children were each an avid fan of the Jounin that they were defending; Jounin that just so happened to be Satoshi and both of his alter egos. He hated fan-boys and fan-girls. Satoshi immediately paled when it dawned on him that he'd never be able to escape from the trio if their team passed the test and that no matter which face he wore; one of trio would be star-struck with him.

The not-quite nineteen year old Jounin then narrowed his eyes as he considered the possibility that the Hokage had intentionally assigned him to take this team in order to pay him back for his comment about training the next generation to keep the old generations on their feet. He dismissed the thought a heartbeat later when he recalled that Team Fourteen had originally been assigned to Anano Mujini. That, of course, made him wonder how it was that those particular three children had been placed on the same team; given the fact that they didn't appear to get along at all.

Team Eight's arrival at that moment drew Satoshi out of his musings and he immediately focused his attention on the unfolding scene as the six Genin faced one another. He was rather impressed when both teams merely muttered greetings to one another after eying each other for close to five minutes in complete silence. It would appear that all six of his potential Genin were rather shy and quiet; except when someone pushed their buttons (as Satoshi would later learn). Deciding that he'd left the two teams to their own devices long enough, Satoshi signaled to his clone and the two of them Shunshined down onto the field in twin bursts of leaves.

"Ohayou, my little minions," Aranami burbled in a happy tone as she waved at all six Genin.

"Oi; don't you mean our little minions?" Satoshi demanded as he socked her on the arm before he grinned at the six children; four of whom were now staring at them with wariness while the remaining two had stars in their eyes.

"Of course, brother dear; what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine."

Satoshi snorted, of course everything they owned was shared; they were the same damn person. He then focused on the Genin once more as he declared, "It's a good thing the lot of you turned up on time. Bad things happen to those who always turn up late for everything."

Aranami snickered at the reference to Kakashi and the Sandaime's long-standing threat to do bodily harm to Kakashi's Icha-Icha collection. The poor Genin just looked bewildered as they glanced between the two red-headed twins.

"Anyway, it is time to see just how prepared the lot of you are," Satoshi interjected over Aranami's laughter. "Bring out your equipment and survival kits."

All six Genin were very poorly equipped and missing half the basics one would expect to find in a survival kit. Satoshi knew that the Academy was supposed to teach the students how to properly equip themselves and it bothered him that these six children didn't even know that their kits were lacking. All of the other fresh Genin teams he had worked with through the years had been far better equipped… though to be fair, most of those teams either had clan members or a Root orphan (who were themselves taken in by the clans) on the team and the clans tended to make certain their children and their wards were far better prepared for the life of a shinobi than your typical civilian parent did.

I'll have to write out equipment lists for the little roaches if they pass the test, Satoshi thought to himself as he signaled for the group to pack up their things.

"Such a shame; looks like we aren't going to have minions for much longer, otouto," Aranami dramatically stated as she pouted at the six Genin.

"What do you mean?" Sakura demanded in a bewildered tone as she glanced between the two Jounin.

"Not a single one of you are properly kitted out for a mission, let alone for the survival test that you're supposed to be taking today," Satoshi explained as he gestured to their partially filled utility pouches. "The only time our kits were ever so bare and empty was at the tail end of a mission that got shot to hell. A good shinobi is always prepared for anything and everything that could happen while on a mission."

"But there's not much room for us to store a bunch of stuff in the utility pouches," Tsukiko pointed out with a slight frown.

"Actually, the standard pouches have more than enough room to carry everything found in a basic kit; you just have to know how to pack your equipment properly in order to make everything fit. Something that you should have been taught at the academy," Aranami pointed out. "Nothing we can do about it now; you'll just have to take the test with what you have on hand and pray it will be enough to get you through."

"I suppose you're right, imouto," Satoshi sighed as he clapped his hands together to get the children's attention. "Here's the deal; in order to remain a Genin, you're going to have to pass our test. Fail the test and you will be required to hand over your hitai-ate and spend another year at the academy."

"Hidden within a two mile radius of this clearing are six treasures; one treasure for each of you to find," Aranami continued before any of the Genin could formulate a reply. "You will have exactly seven hours in which to find your treasure or you fail. If you find the wrong treasure you will fail. If you step outside of the four miles of forest that we set aside for this test you will fail. And if you die, you will fail."

"And before you open your mouths to start demanding answers to a hundred different questions, you should know that you will each only be allowed to ask us one question from this point forward," Satoshi interjected as all six Genin opened their mouths in order to start asking a slue of questions. "So, think carefully; because if you waste your question asking something stupid, you will not get another."

The six children closed their mouths and glanced uncertainly at one another before they tossed nervous glances between the two redheads. Satoshi wasn't certain if he wanted to snicker over their anxiousness or sigh over the fact that he'd managed to scare all six Genin to the point where they were afraid to even open their mouths.

"You know; I don't recall Toshi-koi ever driving his Genin into a stupor like this when he gave this same speech to his little termites. You think maybe we're doing something wrong, Arashi?" Aranami inquired as she pursed her lips.

"Nah, I think our minions might be broken," Satoshi quipped in return. "Think maybe we can trade them in for working models?"

That snapped the kids out of their shock as all six of them blushed furiously in both embarrassment and indignation over the idea that their Jounin sensei were looking to get rid of them so soon. Satoshi smirked inside as he watched the fear in their eyes morph into burning determination. The Jounin then felt a stab of guilt over the mere idea of encouraging these six Genin when their passing meant that he'd have less time to spend with his termites.

Satoshi stamped down hard on that feeling; he couldn't afford to let his personal feelings influence this test because it wouldn't be fair to the six children that he was currently testing. That was the only reason why he was testing the kids in the first place; to give them a fair chance at passing.

"Are the treasures hidden behind traps?" Kenichi finally ventured to ask when none of the other Genin looked like they were going to speak up.

"Yes."

"Will we have to fight anyone in order to reach any of the treasures?" Kenshin asked next after sharing a quick glance with his brother.

"That will depend upon which treasure you find."

"If we find the wrong treasure, can we trade treasures with the person who found our treasure?" Sakura hesitantly inquired next.

"Ooo, what a very insightful question," Aranami cooed with a wide grin.

"And the answer is yes; providing the exchange takes place within the time limit," Satoshi answered when the clone remained hung up on the cleverness of the question and the loophole it represented in the rules that had been laid down for the test. Not unexpected given the pink-haired kunoichi's academic records.

"Are we allowed to work together?" Tsukiko asked next after she'd glanced between the three older Genin and the two Jounin.

"Yes," Satoshi replied with a grin of his own at the fact that the younger kunoichi had practically figured out the entire test with that one question.

"Are the treasures marked so we will know which is ours?" Daiki inquired after he stared at Kaito for a long moment.

"Yes."

"If we pass the test, will be get the chance to train with Aburame Satoshi?" Kaito asked in a serious tone as he ignored the groans of the other five Genin over the seemingly pointless question.

"Hai; we train with our littlest otouto almost every day," Aranami replied as she threw a smirk at the disguised Satoshi.

Kaito nodded solemnly before he glanced at his two teammates and sternly ordered, "We will pass or I will hurt both of you for making me miss the chance to train with Satoshi-sama."

The shortest ten year old then grabbed both of his teammates by the wrists and dragged them off towards the forest without waiting for 'Arashi' or 'Aranami' to officially start the test. Satoshi watched the three of them disappear into the trees with a bemused look as the kid reminded him of a younger Hinata dragging Shino and Naruto around.

"Well, what are the three of you waiting for? You going to let a group of younger kids beat you?" Aranami demanded as she propped her hands on her hip and glared at the older three Genin that were trying to figure out what just happened.

All three kids eeped before they took off at a run in the opposite direction as the three ten year olds.

"Betcha Team Fourteen finds their treasures first," Satoshi drawled with a laugh as he glanced over at the clone.

"No dice; I'm not stupid enough to take a sucker's bet from myself," Aranami shot back with a snort.

"Chicken."

"You do realize that you just insulted yourself, ne?"

"Technicalities; to the rest of the world we are just another annoying set of redheads at the moment."

"I am so telling Gred and Forge that you called them annoying."

"Pfft, no you won't."

"Yes, I will."

"No, you won't; because that would just be setting yourself up for a pranking."

"Yes, I will; because I'd be setting you up for a pranking."

"No, you won't; because by the time you have a chance to sneak away to tell them, you'll no longer exist."

"Chikushou, no fair! You have to be the clone next time!"

"You do know that that is impossible, ne?"

"Teme."

"Baka."

"You're insulting yourself again."

"No, I'm insulting a copy of myself that is currently lacking two brain cells to rub together."

"Don't make me hurt you."

"Don't make me laugh."

"It's no fun arguing with you; you cheat."

"You're just mad because you know I'm right."

"Creep."

"Cry-baby."

"You do know that the Hokage and the others are probably watching us right this minute, ne?"

"Undoubtedly; why do you think I let you draw me into such a silly argument in the first place?"

"You used me!"

"Uh, hello… do the words Kage Bunshin ring any bells? You were designed to be used long before I ever created you."

"I hate you."

"Don't worry; it will pass soon enough."

"Teme."

"Don't make me dispel you early."

"Whatever," Aranami huffed as she stalked off towards the forest in order to check on the progress of the two teams as they sought their assigned treasures.

Satoshi snickered under his breath as he watched his clone march away in a snit; he always got a kick out of the way some of his clones got a bit mouthy – so long as it wasn't while he was on a serious mission. He also knew the antics of his clones amused his teammates and his family while they exasperated the Hokage and Kasai; especially when he encouraged his clones to act out. The henged Jounin then disappeared from sight a moment later as a small emerald colored dragonfly took his place; it was time for him to get back to work.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again; that young man is a cheeky little gaki," Kasai muttered as he scowled at the Hokage's viewing sphere where Satoshi's animagus form quickly disappeared from view as the small insect moved far too fast for the monitoring jutsu to keep up with him.

"You'll not hear me say any differently," Sarutobi muttered as he drew deeply on his pipe while glaring at the small globe that now appeared as nothing more than a glass ball; the jutsu useless now that it had no target to hold onto.

"You can't deny that he is as entertaining as he is troublesome," Shikaku pointed out with a soft chuckle as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall.

"The gaki walks a fine line between presenting himself as entertainment and appearing insane," Inoichi snorted from where he was standing on the opposite side of the room as Shikaku. "If I didn't know just how grounded Satoshi was, then I'd suspect that he was suffering from a severe case of Dissociative Identity Disorder. I also know that most of the stunts he pulls while running around as his alter egos are intentional; he enjoys shocking people speechless."

A wave of laughter rang through the room before the group returned their attention to the viewing sphere as the Hokage activated the Toomegane no Jutsu in order to check on the next prospective team taking their Genin test; Team Seven. Sarutobi sighed when all that was shown was the three newly graduated Genin lounging around Training Ground Three; waiting for their perpetually late Jounin to arrive. He quickly moved to check on the next team, knowing that there was no point in watching Team Seven's test since Kakashi hadn't yet shown up.

A still disguised Satoshi sighed in irritation as he watched all six of the Genin on the two teams that he'd been assigned to test fight amongst themselves from his perch in the trees above them. The two teams had done well for the first five hours of the test as they diligently hunted down the 'buried treasures' and faced the many traps he'd set up. It wasn't until all six treasures had been found and the two teams actually needed to cooperate, not only with their assigned teammates but with each other, that the six children had taken to brawling with words and fists. They'd been at it for over an hour and a half now and it was looking more and more like neither team was going to pass the test.

That thought had just barely passed through his mind when Kaito suddenly snapped and loudly yelled, "Everyone just shut up! We're wasting time and we're all going to fail if we don't stop right now! And I'm telling you right now, if I fail because of any one of you, I'm going to make your lives so miserable that you'll have to hide your face, change your name, and move to a different village in order to escape the misery. I've been working hard for this day for three years now and I'm not going to let anyone else stuff it up for me."

"Tch, you're only saying that because you want to chase after Aburame Satoshi like a silly little fan-girl," Sakura retorted hotly.

"Oh that's rich, coming from you, Haruno," Tsukiko spat as she gave the older girl a disgusted look. "At least we picked proper role models to idolize."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sakura demanded as she curled her hand into a fist.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, look at me. Look at me, Sasuke-kun; I grew my hair out just for you. Do you like my dress? I wore it just for you Sasuke-kun!" the twins mocked in unison and Sakura looked like she'd just been slapped in the face as she stared at her teammates in shock.

"Role models…" Daiki repeated in a thoughtful tone; immediately drawing the attention of the other five Genin as his comment seemed so out of place give the current argument that had been brewing. The moment he noticed their attention on them, he asked, "What do Uzutsui Aranami, Uzutsui Arashi, and Aburame Satoshi all have in common?"

"They're all Jounin," Tsukiko automatically replied with a slight frown.

"They're all considered to amongst some of the strongest and smartest shinobi in the village; right up there with Hatake Kakashi, Maito Gai, and Sarutobi Asuma," Kenichi added as he exchanged a quick glance with his brother; the twins were well connected to the village's rumor mill due to their mother's job and therefore privy to a considerable amount of gossip about the village's shinobi.

"They are teammates," Kaito pointed out after a few minutes when no one else could think of anything else to add.

"Yeah, they work together," Daiki agreed, purposefully stressing the word together. "They are a team. Kaito, Tsukiko, and I are supposed to be a team. The three of you are supposed to be a team. Arashi-sama and Aranami-sensei do everything together… meaning that both of our teams will be working with their team, if we pass."

"How can we be a team, if we are always fighting amongst ourselves?" Kaito asked softly; all traces of his earlier anger gone. "What if, this test is supposed to see if we can be a team? Why else would they assign new Genin to teams, if we weren't meant to work together?"

"Do you think that's why we were allowed to work together to find the treasures and why they said we were allowed to trade if we found the wrong one?" Sakura asked timidly; the pink haired kunoichi still reeling from having her fan-girl tendencies thrown back in her face by her two teammates.

"If that is true, then we are in big trouble," Kenshin pointed out grimly. "We've just spent almost two full hours doing nothing but arguing with one another after we collected the treasures."

"We still have ten minutes left," Daiki reminded them. "All we have to do is stop fighting and exchange treasures so that we all have the correct treasure."

"Is that what we really want though? To work together?" Kenichi demanded with a slight scowl. "Can you honestly say that you want to train and go on missions with everyone here? Or even just with our assigned teammates?"

"It's better than being sent back to the academy, isn't it?" Kaito countered as he crossed his arms.

"The midget's got a point," Kenshin sighed as he ran a hand though his hair.

"There are also worse people out there we could end up being paired with if we don't pass this year," Tsukiko added with a shudder.

"So, are we all in agreement then?" Daiki asked when no one else had anything more to add.

Satoshi froze in shock as he watched all six Genin nod before they shook hands, exchanged treasures, and offered stilted apologies to one another for the hurtful things that had been said during the long drawn out fight. He'd not expected them to actually set aside their differences after their teamwork had fallen apart earlier. A second later, his shoulder sagged in resignation as he realized that he was going to have to pass both teams. He let out a soft sigh a moment later and sent out a hundred Kikaichu to track down his wayward clone so he could wrap up the test.

Eight minutes later, Jounin, clone, and the six Genin were all gathered back at the entrance to the training ground he'd chosen to administer their test. Satoshi eyed the six of them carefully as he inspected their rather ragged appearances (they'd not only scuffled with one another, they'd each encountered at least one of his Konkurito Bunshin in their five hour long search for the treasures). As soon as the six kids began twitching and shifting nervously, Satoshi broke the silence as he addressed the group at large.

"A good shinobi is always prepared and always ready to leave on an assignment at a moment's notice; he (or she) does not rely upon others to hold their hands or provide their supplies for them. Unfortunately, all six of you failed to show up properly equipped to handle most of the missions that you will face as a shinobi. You did, however, show up on time and you did not waste time panicking or complaining about the lack of proper equipment and supplies. So, the six of you neither passed nor failed the first portion of this test."

"An important part of being prepared is gathering information since a lack of information or misinformation could get even the best of shinobi killed. Sometimes, even seemingly pointless questions and obscure or trivial facts can make a big difference when a mission goes wrong. All of you took the time to consider what you knew about the test before you asked your questions and you also paid attention to the questions everyone else asked. And while Kaito-kun's question didn't appear to have anything to do with the test, the answer he was given gave him the motivation he needed. All six of you passed the second portion of the test."

"Communication between team members is also very important when on a mission. If you do not know what your teammates are planning, then there is a greater risk that you will each get in one another's way and end up either failing to complete your mission or end up dying. Hand in hand with the need for communication is the need for cooperation since it will not matter if you know what your teammates are going to do if you aren't willing to work with them. All six of you failed both part three and four of the test because you not only failed to maintain the lines of communication, you failed to cooperate with one another once you'd finished retrieving all six treasures."

Satoshi watched all six Genin cringe as they immediately realized that he'd seen them fighting. He let them squirm a moment longer before he continued, "As a shinobi, you are expected to complete the missions you are assigned to the best of your ability. And while completing the mission is important, what happens in between the moment you are assigned to a mission and the moment that you complete the mission is far more important. It is an empty victory to deliver a document to a village on the other side of Hi no Kuni if along the way you lose your teammates because you were far too busy arguing with one another to see the ambush lying in wait for you."

"If all six of you had completed the test and obtained the correct treasure but failed to realize the need for you to truly work together, then all six of you would have failed the entire test. This test was not designed to test your skills; all six of you had already proved you knew the basics when you graduated from the academy. This test, and the tests that the other Jounin have administered to your former classmates, was designed to test for one thing and one thing alone. To see if you could work together as a team and understood what it meant to be a team."

"We were fully prepared to fail all six of you after we watched the lot of you fight for an hour and a half," Aranami interjected the moment Satoshi had trailed off; the clone needed to give the appearance of participating in the evaluation of the test. "If both teams had not set aside their differences and made the commitment to actually work together as a team, then you would have failed. As it is, the six of you did set aside your differences; even going so far as to agree to work together as a single team instead of as two separate teams."

"Er, what does that mean, Aranami-sensei?" Sakura hesitantly asked as all six Genin had exchanged confused looks.

"It means that the Kawarimi Twins now officially have minions because both Team Eight and Team Fourteen passed their final test," Satoshi proclaimed dramatically.

The six children stared at him for a full minute before they began whooping and cheering. Satoshi heaved a mental sigh that was tinged with both amusement and regret; he still didn't really want another team, let alone another two. He nearly groaned at that point as he realized he'd just saddled himself with a trio of star-struck fans and six kids that were not really prepared to handle the lifestyle of their chosen careers. After another minute, Satoshi shook away the feelings of despair (mostly for the idea of dealing with yet more fans) and brought the group to order with a sharp whistle.

"Oi, sit down and be quiet," Satoshi instructed once he knew he had their attention. "We've got things to discuss before we send you off to celebrate to your little hearts' content."

"The first thing you need to know is that there are rules you will need to follow," Aranami stated in a serious tone that immediately grabbed the attention of all six Genin. "First, when it comes to training and missions; you will do what you are told to do, when you are told to do it, and you will do so without complaint. If you need clarification, go ahead and ask your questions; we don't want you to get hurt because you didn't understand what we were telling or asking you to do. However, we refuse to listen to you whine about doing something you don't like or don't want to do."

"Second, you will put forth your best effort when it comes to training and missions; we will not tolerate any of you taking a half-assed approach to improving yourself or when performing your duties," Satoshi continued as six pairs of eyes swung back to him. "And third, you will conduct yourselves in a manner befitting a Shinobi of the Leaf; how you behave from this point forward, good or bad, will reflect upon Konoha so long as you wear a hitai-ate."

"As with all rules, there are consequences for breaking them," Aranami interjected next and Satoshi nearly snickered as all six pairs of eyes immediately bounced back to his clone in perfect unison. "We will not hesitate to assign extra laps, disgustingly horrible chores, or embarrassing tasks in order to break you of your bad habits."

"Any questions so far?" Satoshi asked after giving the kids a moment to digest the rules and punishments; all six Genin shook their head no. "Perfect; your first official assignment as a shinobi is to fill out the questionnaire you will find inside of the 'treasures' that you collected. You will need to bring the completed questionnaire with you to Training Ground Sixteen tomorrow morning; you'll need to be there at six sharp so that we can introduce you to Satoshi and his termites since we'll be training with them on a regular basis. We'll also be evaluating your current skill levels, so make certain you get plenty of rest tonight and do not eat breakfast before arriving; we'll provide breakfast once we finish your evaluations."

"Hai, sensei!" all six Genin replied in sync.

"See you tomorrow, little minions-in-training," Aranami cooed as she dropped her serious demeanor and shooed the six kids off.

Satoshi watched the little roaches jump up onto their feet and scamper off to go celebrate two seconds later. He and his clone then Shunshined to the roof of the Hokage's Tower where he'd agreed to meet up with Kakashi before joining the rest of the prospective Jounin sensei in the Hokage's office. He was more than a little surprised to find Kakashi already perched on the roof waiting for him with his favorite Icha-Icha book in hand; the older man looking as if he'd gone swimming through a pool of mud.

"I was wondering how much longer it was going to take the two of you to finish testing your assigned teams," Kakashi commented as he pulled his nose out of his book and glanced up at him. "How did it go? Did either of you pass your team?"

"They both passed," Satoshi wearily admitted as he turned his head to stare up at the Hokage Monument.

"You don't sound too happy about that."

"I… I wasn't ready to take another team, let alone another two teams; I'm not ready to let my termites go," Satoshi softly confessed as he dropped his gaze and glanced at Kakashi from the corner of his eyes. "I expected to have them to myself for another year and now I'm going to have to dedicate my time to six kids that I don't really know. I'm also going to have to build their teamwork and skills from the ground up because they don't appear to have a solid foundation of the basics and chances are they aren't going to be familiar with any of the chakra control exercises that the others have been using for years. Hell, they didn't even have properly kitted out survival kits."

"So you're saying that you have your work cut out for you, ne?"

"Yeah… and I'm supposed to start my lessons with Kasai and Inoichi on the first of next month."

"You've been cleared to use the Kage Bunshin; why don't you just send clones to all your lessons? You never had any problems using them in the past in order to be twenty places at once and that will give you time to train your new teams and still work with the termites without worrying about attending your lessons while still allowing you to collect, organize, and commit those lessons to memory."

"If the Hokage and the others will agree to it, they initially didn't like the idea of me using clones to attend those lessons; not even a shadow clone."

"I'm certain they'll agree once they know you passed your teams; can't hurt to ask either way. The Hokage is bound to allow it now since he knows that you weren't originally scheduled to take on a new team, let alone two."

"True enough, I suppose. What about you? Did Team Seven pass?"

"They passed, by the skin of their teeth, but they passed."

"Did you give them the bell test you tried to talk me into giving the termites two years ago?"

"Yeah, but they failed that part of the test and Kiba-kun ended up being the one tied to the training post. I had to give them one last chance."

"I bet he loved you for that."

"Akamaru bit my ankle and I summoned Buru to sit on the pup to teach him some manners," Kakashi confessed with a laugh. "Are you ready to join the others or do you need another couple of minutes?"

Satoshi glanced sideways at his clone as he asked, "Are you going to behave or do I need to replace you?"

"I'll behave but I still hate you," Aranami declared as 'she' pouted.

"Don't worry, that will pass soon," Satoshi assured the chakra construct as he swung his gaze back to Kakashi. "Shall we get this over with so I can go home and start writing out equipment lists for my new little roaches?"

"You know what, I'm not even going to ask," Kakashi muttered as he glanced between Satoshi and his clone before he headed down the side of the tower.

Satoshi snorted in amusement and shared a smirk with his clone before they followed after the older man. The three of them slipped into the room through the window one right after the other at the same time as Asuma stepped through the door. The rest of the Jounin that had been assigned to take teams this year were standing around looking bored; all of them had been waiting on the four of them. Satoshi and his clone immediately set about greeting everyone with kisses and hugs (bar Genma as the man rolled his toothpick and arched an eyebrow at them in silent question).

"That's enough you two," Sarutobi ordered sternly as a ghost of a grin flickered across his face. "Now that everyone is present we can get this meeting underway. When I call out your team number please declare whether or not your team passed their final test so we can determine the final count of new Genin joining the force in order to balance out the mission distribution so there are enough to go around. Numbers One through Four are still in circulation so we'll start with Team Five?"

"Pass."

"Number Six is still active from last year, so next is Team Seven, Kakashi?"

"Pass."

"Number Nine from last year is also still active, so, Team Ten's status?"

"Pass," Asuma replied while Satoshi frowned slightly at Team Eight being skipped over by the Hokage.

"Team Eleven?"

"Fail."

"Team Twelve?"

"Fail."

"Team Thirteen?"

"Fail."

"That brings us to Teams Eight and Fourteen?"

"Pass," Satoshi and his clone crowed out as one. Aranami then began cackling as Satoshi added, "We now have minions at our beck and call."

A wave of shudders and groans passed through the room and Satoshi felt a small spike of pleasure wash through him as he and his clone smirked at the Hokage. If he was going to have to train another two teams, he was going to make certain that they would be pranksters on top of being damn good shinobi; even if he had to drag the six Genin along kicking and screaming to do so. Oh yes, he was going to enjoy making the Hokage regret roping his alter egos into taking on teams.

"Moving on," Sarutobi insisted quickly before the implications of the Uzutsui twins having impressionable young Genin to train could fully sink in. "Genma, what was the outcome of Team Fifteen's test?"

"They failed."

"And Teams Sixteen and Seventeen?" Sarutobi asked in rapid fire after glancing at briefly at the notes he'd taken based upon what he'd seen through his scrying jutsu.

"Fail," both remaining Jounin called out as one.

"So, we have five passes out of eleven possible? That's a higher percentage of passes than expected; though part of that is because this year we had a rather small graduating class since a large number of those who normally would have graduated this year, graduated a year or two earlier while the two previous years' class sizes were above average due to the assimilation of a number of orphans with prior training," Sarutobi mused as he chewed thoughtfully on his pipe stem before continuing, "I'd like to thank each of you for volunteering your time, those of you who did not pass their teams are free to go; those of you who passed your teams will need to remain behind so we can discuss team dynamics."

Once it was just the five newly created Jounin instructors present, Sarutobi quickly got down to business, "I need to know your thoughts on the direction you see your newly assigned teams taking and if their dynamic designations were accurate based upon what your Genin demonstrated during their tests today. Iwashi, please start with Team Five."

"Hayase-kun and Oukei-kun got along well enough with Kichida Taichi while Taichi-kun seemed overly nervous at being assigned to a team with two older, more experienced Chuunin. Once the young Genin gets used to working with the two older boys, I can easily see them becoming a good support team as Hayase and Oukei came from an Infiltration and Intelligence team with outstanding stealth skills while Taichi has the potential to be a heavy hitter."

"That is about what was expected from those three. Kakashi, what did you make of Team Seven?"

"If they can be convinced to consistently to set aside their differences and work together, then they could easily form the powerful offensive team that they were projected to be. The trouble is that they don't trust one another and they instinctively go their separate ways until they have no choice but to work together or fail. I was tempted to fail them but because they demonstrated that they will work together when all else fails and they do have both talent and potential I let them pass."

"You have your work cut out for you then," Sarutobi declared before he glanced down at his list (unknowingly repeating the words that Kakashi had directed at Satoshi earlier. "Asuma, what did you make of your team?"

"They got along far better than I expected considering how Ino-chan runs roughshod over both boys; but that is not unexpected as those three have known each other since they were little. Chouji-kun and Shikamaru-kun have a firm friendship and Shikamaru looks out for Chouji and encourages him without seeming to. They would currently fit best as a support team, though with proper training they'd make an excellent intel team due to their family techniques. All they really need is a little motivation and something to knock Ino out of her frustrating obsession with the Uchiha; she is like a chicken without its head whenever that boy is around."

"Fitting considering the Uchiha looks like he's wearing a chicken's butt on his head," Satoshi murmured under his breath with a snicker.

"It looks more like the crest on a crested tern, actually," Kakashi corrected around a snort.

"I don't see it," Aranami countered as she glanced at Kakashi. "Unless you were viewing it from the backside; what with the way the kid's hair sticks up and forward in the back. Even then, I still say it's a chicken's butt. He's even got that irritated flustered look when riled up that wouldn't be out of place on a chicken recently disturbed from its nest; you know the one… when its tail feathers are sticking out in every direction and it will glare at anything that moves before attacking. Just think; you could call him the foul fowl whenever he gets in a snit and you'll confuse the hell out of him long enough to escape."

The other Jounin in the room chuckled at the description while Kakashi shook his head and Satoshi just knew that the older man was picturing a chicken in his head and comparing it to the back of Sasuke's head. He knew the exact moment that Kakashi finally saw the imagery as the man slapped his face while trying desperately not to laugh.

"See… chicken butt," Satoshi smugly repeated. "If he grows it long enough he might eventually qualify for an upgrade to rooster butt." Kakashi parted his fingers and mock glared at the disguised Jounin through his fingers though not even he could deny the resemblance the last Uchiha had to a poultry's behind any longer thanks to the earlier description.

"If the three of you can stop fooling around now, I'd like to wrap up our meeting," Sarutobi dryly interjected before Kakashi could come up with a retort. "Thank you, Aranami and Arashi; will one of you please give me a report on Team Eight?"

Satoshi sighed as he scowled briefly before he obligingly stated, "Overall, both Team Eight and Fourteen are nothing special and they have no glaring talents that make any one of them stand out. They aren't really certain what to make of each other and while they are all normally rather shy and quiet individuals, they each have volatile tempers that can be triggered without any notice if you happen to push the right, or rather, the wrong buttons."

"The best thing, or possibly the worst thing, is that they are all from civilian families; meaning that they have not learned any family techniques and have no preconceived ideas on what it means to be a shinobi," Aranami interjected as she shot a pouting glare at Satoshi for taking charge of both teams. "It also means that they are not as prepared for the life of a shinobi and we will have to drill the basics into them before we can get a clear idea of where their strengths lie."

"They work well enough together, both in their individual teams and as one large team; so long as an argument doesn't break out between them," Satoshi continued as soon as his clone fell silent once more. "As I said earlier, they don't have any special talents (unless they were hiding it) so there isn't a category they can automatically be tossed into like those with clan techniques or a Kekkei Genkai would be. Aranami and I can mold them into whatever type of team we need them to be."

"So we have at least one potential fighting unit, one intelligence team, and three teams that could fit in anywhere. Does that about sum it up?" Sarutobi inquired once it was clear that Satoshi (and his clone) were finished.

"Sounds about right," Kakashi agreed with a nod.

"Arashi and Aranami, I know the two of you often work with Aburame Satoshi in training his division; how well do you think these five teams will fit in with the original six?"

"Team One is a heavy hitting stealth team with the potential to become an assassination squad due to their talents and skills, Team Two is an intelligence and infiltration team that can provide support when needed, and Team Four is exceptionally versatile in addition to providing leadership to all five of the other teams," Satoshi answered after giving the matter a bit of consideration. "From last year's crop; Team Three, Team Six, and Team Nine are all fighting units with different strengths. Team Three is easily able to fall into a supporting role and the other two are working in that direction. Between all six teams there were only two potential medics in addition to Satoshi's quasi status as a field medic who is mostly self-taught."

"The new teams are diverse enough that they should fit in easily so long as they are willing to be team players as Satoshi stresses teamwork and trust in addition to demanding their complete and utter attention during training exercises. He will expect nothing less than their best efforts. The addition of another intelligence unit and three teams that can be trained to cover those areas that are weak (such as tracking, intelligence gathering, and medical support) are especially welcome since those three areas were fairly weak in the original grouping if only because Team Four can't be everywhere at once to fill in all the gaps."

"Good, that is what I was hoping to hear. Please see to it that Satoshi knows what he is getting and all five of you should expect to hear from Satoshi sometime this week in regards to introducing your teams to the rest of the division and making arrangements for them to join in on the training exercises. Do any of you have any questions? No? Then you are dismissed. Arashi and Aranami; please stick around for a moment longer, there are a couple of things that I wish to discuss with you."

Translations: Japanese to English

Imouto – younger sister
Otouto – younger brother
Toomegane no Jutsu – Telescope Technique (the Sandaime's viewing/spying technique that allows him to track an individual or group.

Notes:

* And before anyone points out the obvious; I intentionally had both Aranami and Arashi refer to each other as the younger sibling because they were technically both 'born' in the same exact instant and therefore neither one is older than the other. Their personalities are also stubborn enough to argue about who is older/younger despite the fact that they are in fact the same person.

AN: Not sure what else there is to say about this chapter... Anyway, the next chapter is going to be delayed by a week or two due to a problem I am having with the last half of the chapter and another chapter or two that follows. The problem rises out of the differences between the two versions of the story that I have written and the way the differences kind of twist the timeline in different directions. Once I can finish smoothing out the rough spots, I will resume the normal posting schedule as I still have well over 30 chapters of this story written. You can expect to find a progress report on where the next chapter stands to be up on my author's profile by the end of the week. ~ Jenn