Make a Man out of me?


Not to far off from the Eastern Border Camp in a bamboo forest. Kankuro leaned against a rock chewing a bamboo leaf looking extremely bored as he watched Tenten trying to 'act' like a man and to be honest, he thought she was terrible.

"Ok, how about this!" tried Tenten clearing her throat loudly before sticking out her chest and strutting forward. "Excuse me!" she said deepening her voice trying to sound relatively boyish. "Where do I sign up? Aha! I see you have a sword! I have one too!" Tenten patted the sword at her waist. "They're very manly and..tough!" she said as Tenten attempted to unsheathe her sword with some difficulty and she finally did, it slipped out of her hand and fell to the ground with a clang.

Poor Kankuro couldn't contain himself anymore as he burst out and threw himself on the ground rolling in laughter until an annoyed Tenten took off her shoe and threw it at the horse, hitting Kankuro's head with great precision. Kankuro snorted as rubbed his head with his hoof while Tenten stormed up to the horse and picked up her shoe.

"I'm WORKING ON IT!" she yelled in frustration stamping her foot as she slipped on her shoe. The girl then sighed heavily as she walked up to a clearing and pulled back a few branches to see the camp just downhill from where they were. "Who am I kidding? I won't last three seconds in that place. It'll take a miracle to get me into the army..."

"Did I hear someone ask for a miracle-ttebayo?"exclaimed a new voice making Tenten and Kankuro whip around to see a monstrous Nine-Tailed shadow on a rock wall with flames bursting out the sides. "Come on! Let me hear you say 'ARRRRRRGH!'"

"KYAAAAAAAAAA!" screamed Tenten as she and Kankuro dived behind a large rock in fright.

The shadow looked at Tenten and shrugged. "That's close enough!"

"A ghost!" exclaimed Tenten as she and her horse poked their heads out.

"Prepare yourself Tenten! Your nine-tailed Salvation has come! For I have been sent by your ancestors-"the Shadow began to announce when he looked down and saw Konohamaru making a shadow puppet of a nude lady and quickly kicked him away before the girl noticed. "To guide you, through your masquerade-dattebayo!" he finished as Naruto ducked down and hand a leaf to Konohamaru. "Come on, you're gonna stay, you're gonna work!" he hissed in annoyance before getting up again as Konohamaru quickly fanned the fires they were using for effect.

"So heed my word, Tenten! If the army ever discovers you're a girl, the penalty is DEATH!"warned the shadow as the flames grew bigger.

"Who are you?"asked Tenten, standing up.

"Who am I? WHO am I?" exclaimed the shadow looking offended. "I am the Guardian of Lost Souls! I am the POWERFUL! The MOST AWESOME!" he began to say as started to step out with Tenten looking hopeful. "The incredible No.1 demon Fox, Naruto-dattebayo!" Naruto said finally revealing himself before the girl and her horse.

Tenten's face faulted heavily as she looked at Naruto incredulously.

"Haha, I'm pretty cool huh? ACK!" went Naruto when Kankuro suddenly jumped on him and began stomping him into the ground with his hooves.

"Stupid little-You nearly scared the horse crap out of me!"neighed Kankuro angrily to which only Naruto can understand.

Tenten quickly grabbed the horse's reins and pulled him away to reveal Naruto squashed like a pancake. The little fox coughed out a lot of dust and twitched in pain as he tried to peel himself of the ground.

"Um...my ancestors sent a little...puppy to help me?" she asked skeptically as helped Naruto up and poked him only to have her hand smacked away by one of the fox's tails.

"HEY! For your information, I'm a Kyuubi no Kitsune, A KYUUBI! Not puppy, I don't bark-ttebayo..." Naruto said indignantly when he suddenly coughed loudly which came out like a puppy bark.

Tenten sweat-dropped as she rubbed the back of her neck while standing up. "Um...you're..."

"Intimidating? Awe-inspiring?" suggested the fox scrambling up some bamboo to be at eye-level with her.

"Tiny..." corrected Tenten making Naruto's face fault but he shrugged it off.

"Of course, I'm travel-sized for your convenience! If I was my REAL size, your cow here would die of fright!" exclaimed Naruto jumping on Tenten's shoulder to reach out and pat Kankuro's nose only to draw back his paw quickly when an annoyed Kankuro snapped at him. "Down boy!" scolded the fox before jumping onto another bamboo.

Kankuro narrowed his eyes. "I'm gonna get you for that..."

"My powers are beyond belief! For instance, my eyes can see STRAIGHT through your armor! ITAI!"he explained when Tenten suddenly felt offended and covered her chest while slapping the fox so hard he hit the ground with a thud by Konohamaru's feet. The cricket quickly pushed the fox back up as Naruto began to throw a tantrum. "OK, you know what? DISHONOR! Dishonor on your whole family-dattebayo! Make a note of this Konohamaru!" yelled Naruto as he gestured to the cricket who quickly picked up a leaf and a charcoal stick and began to write. "Dishonor on YOU! Dishonor on your COW! Dis-"

"Ok, STOP! I get it!" yelled Tenten holding the fox's muzzle shut before releasing it. "Gomen, gomen, I'm just so nervous, I've never done this before..."

"Nooo..., really?" said Naruto sarcastically. "Then you're gonna have to trust me! And don't you slap me no more!"

Tenten quickly nodded. Naruto smiled at the girl before turning to his cricket companion. "Then let's get this show on the road! Konohamaru, get the bags! Let's move it Cow!" he said making Kankuro snort and frown at the fox.


It wasn't long before the group were right outside the gates. Tenten looked in nervously and gulped. Naruto poked his head out of the satchel she was carrying. "OK, time to do your manly walk! Shoulders back, chest out, feet apart and strut!" commanded Naruto as Tenten began to walk looking more ridiculous rather than manly as everyone stared after her.

After a while, Tenten gave up on the walk as she walked by a tent where a couple of guys were hanging out. "Beautiful, ain't it?" whispered Naruto.

"They're disgusting!"she replied, wrinkling her face in disgust as Tenten spotted one picking his nose while another was using chopsticks to pick dirt from between his toes.

"No, they're men. And you're gonna have to act like them so pay attention!" said Naruto when Tenten suddenly stopped as she saw a random guy open his shirt to reveal a dragon tattoo to a couple of boys her age. One of them was around Tenten's height and had a bowl haircut and and bushy eyebrows while the other was slightly taller, brown spiky hair, slitted eyes, and red fang tattoos on his cheeks.

"This tattoo is guaranteed to protect me from harm!" boasted the man.

The brown haired boy and Bushy-brows exchanged sneaky glances with each other. Suddenly, the brown haired punched the guy hard in the stomach, knocking him out. Lee laughed out loudly in amusement. "I hope you get your money back! Everyone knows only the Power of Youth can ensure you survival!" exclaimed Bushy-Brows.

Tenten bit her lip. "I don't think I can do this..."

"It's all attitude! You gotta be tough like Fang-Face here!"replied Naruto as the said person suddenly spat at the ground much to Tenten's disgust.

"What are you looking at?" snapped the boy when he caught Tenten staring at him.

"Punch him, it's how men say hello!"urged Naruto.

Balling her hand into a fist, Tenten gave a hard punch to the back of the guy's head making him bounce against the stomach of a large, robust figured boy with long spiky brown hair eating a bag of potato chips.

"Oh Kiba, you made a new friend, how nice," commented the boy, munching on his chips.

"Good, now slap his ass!" whispered Naruto.

Tenten widened her eyes at the fox and blushed, looking incredulously at Naruto."What? No!" she hissed.

"Ok...then let dis-"

"Alright, alright! I get it!" WHAP! Went Tenten's hand making Kiba jump.

"WHOA! Watch it!" growled Kiba as he grabbed the front of Tenten's shirt. The girl blushed, silently praying that he won't notice the slighty padded vest she wore under her uniform to hide her breasts and slender figure. "No one slaps my ass unless I say so!" growled Kiba getting ready to punch Tenten when Choji pulled the back of the boy's shirt and held him slightly off the ground.

"Let me go Choji! Let me at' im!" yelled a struggling Kiba.

"Calm down, Kiba! Remember your anger management song...Come on, sing with me! I feel happy! All so happy! I feel happy and I'm filled with JOY!"

Kiba grumbled loudly, going red in the face. "I feel happy, all so happy, I feel happy and I'm filled with joy..." he muttered lamely in a monotone voice but it seemed to have effectively calmed him down.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah..." replied Kiba still a little grouchy. "This guy ain't worth my time anyway...Sissy-Boy..."

Tenten heaved a sigh of relief and was about to walk away when Naruto yelled "Sissy-Boy? Say that to my face Jerk-Off!"

That did it. Kiba came running at Tenten to deliver a punch to the face when she quickly ducked in time. Lee, however who was standing right behind her got socked right in the face.

"Oops, sorry Lee..."

Lee rubbed his face as he looked at Kiba with fire in his eyes. "YOSHA! KIBA I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE TO A YOUTHFUL EXCHANGE OF FISTS!" he yelled giving Kiba a spinning kick, causing the guy to go spiraling into Choji who was about to eat the last chip in the bag when it got knocked out of his hands and broke on the ground.

"THE LAST CHIP! YOU MONSTERS!" screamed Choji as he joined in the fight between Kiba and Lee.

Meanwhile, Tenten had crawled away and was almost home-free when Lee spotted her. "OH YOUTHFUL NEWBIE! COME AND BE A PART OF OUR YOUTHFUL FIGHT!" he cried as he gave chase followed by Kiba and Choji.

"Oh hell no..." groaned Tenten as she ran into a nearby tent. The guys followed her and ran out the other end unaware that they had just missed her.

Suddenly the three saw a lunch line up ahead. Lee and Kiba managed to stop in time but Choji barreled through, knocking everyone over like dominoes. It wasn't long before Tenten found herself the target of many angry men.


At that moment Mizuki walked into a large tent where Hiashi was explaining a battle plan to a young man in front of him who also had pearl white pupils.

"The Akatsuki have struck here, here and here," he explained pointing out certain areas on a map. "I will lead the main troops to the Valley of the End where we shall ambush them. We will NOT let them reach Konoha!"

"Excellent strategy, Lord Hiashi! I do love surprises!" complimented Mizuki in an attempt to joke but was replied with blank stares.

Hiashi turned to the young man in front of him. "Neji, you will stay and train the new recruits. When Mizuki thinks your ready, you will join us, Captain,"he said picking up a katana and handing it to the young man.

Neji took the sword and looked at it in awe. Mizuki on the other hand, in disbelief. "Captain? But-but-but... this is an ENORMOUS responsibility Lord Hiashi! Perhaps someone a little more...experienced?..." suggested Mizuki gesturing subtly to himself, hoping Hiashi would get his drift.

"No.1 student in his class, a vast extensive knowledge of training techniques..." listed Hiashi before averting his eyes and smiling inwardly. "An impressive military lineage...I say Neji's more than qualified for the job."

"Thank you, Lord Hiashi," said Neji calmly as he tried to suppress his excitement while Mizuki's face faulted in disappointment.

Hiashi smiled as he tied on his Konoha headband and grabbed his Anbu mask (An eagle) before standing up. "Very good then, we shall toast our victory at Konoha," he said before turning to Mizuki who held open the tent cover. "I'll expect a full report in three weeks, Mizuki."

"Hai, Lord Hyuuga," replied Mizuki cheerfully before casting Neji a dirty look. "I'll make sure not to leave anything out," he said directing it more at Neji than Hiashi before walking out.

Neji appeared a bit taken aback but shrugged it off as he tied on his new katana. "Hmm...Captain Neji...I like it..." he muttered smiling to himself as he stepped outside to find a huge riot going on outside.

One beat guy staggered up and saluted the three men before collapsing at their feet. "Most impressive..." commented Mizuki in a blunt sarcastic tone.

Hiashi shook his head before stepping over the guy and jumping on a white horse, slipping on his mask. "Good luck, Captain!" he said before prompting his horse to gallop followed by other Anbu members who galloped after them on their own horses.

"Good Luck...Uncle..." said Neji softly before bowing his head to avoid a flying shoe, hitting Mizuki in the face.

Mizuki made no emotion as the shoe slid off his face leaving a red shoe print. "Day one..." he told Neji.

The young man sighed heavily as he took a step forward towards the riot. "SOLDIERS!" he yelled making everyone stop.

Kiba gave the guy he had in a head lock a final punch before everyone backed away to reveal Tenten curled up on the ground trying to avoid the fight. "HE STARTED IT!" accused everyone in unison jabbing their fingers at Tenten.

The girl peeked out to see Neji looking down at her slowly, making her quickly stand up and dust herself. 'This is NOT my day...'she groaned in her head while Naruto kept still in her satchel.

"I don't want anyone causing trouble in my camp," said Neji in a cold voice staring hard at Tenten, making her nervous.

"Gomenasai...uh um , Gomen, gomen, Captain!" said Tenten making her voice deeper. "I just thought it be nice to make friends with a few youthful fist fights! Right?" she said looking at Lee who gave her a shiny grin.

"What's your name?..." demanded Neji, catching Tenten off guard.

Tenten swallowed as she began to panic. 'Crap, I haven't thought of that yet!'

"You're commanding officer just asked you a question!" said Mizuki sternly. "Or do you not have a name?"

"Uh...I've definitely got a name! A real boy's name! A manly one!" said Tenten hurriedly, though sounding completely ridiculous as she tried to think of a name.

"I know, how about Lee?" suggested Naruto in a whisper loud enough for Tenten.

"His name is Lee..." muttered Tenten gesturing to the said person.

"I didn't ask for his name I asked for yours!" demanded Neji once more.

"Uh...how...about Pikachu!"

"Pikachu!" said Tenten quickly.

"Pikachu?" echoed Neji incredulously.

"I Choose You!" joked Naruto chuckling to himself.

"Naruto..."growled Tenten in annoyance.

"Naruto?" questioned the Captain already beginning to lose his patience.

"NO!"

"THEN WHAT IS IT?"

"Ten..MARU! Tenmaru, go for it!" Naruto finally said.

"It's Tenmaru," said Tenten sighing slowly.

"Tenmaru?"

"On second thought...that name kinda su-OMPH!" Naruto was about to say when Tenten clamped his muzzle tightly in annoyance. "Yes, my name is Tenmaru," said Tenten firmly.

Neji eyed 'Tenmaru' before holding out his hand. "Let me see your conscription notice!" he ordered.

Tenten quickly reached into her satchel and pulled out Asuma's scroll before handing it to Neji, who unrolled it with Mizuki looking over his shoulder.

"Sarutobi...Sarutobi Asuma?" exclaimed Neji in surprise.

"I didn't know Asuma had a son!" exclaimed Mizuki as well.

Tenten averted her eyes a little. "Uh..he doesn't talk about me much! Heh-heh!" Tenten lied while trying to act manly by spitting only to fail when the spit just hung from her mouth.

Neji and Mizuki looked at the 'boy' strangely. "I can see why. The boy's an absolute nut-cake!" whispered Mizuki to Neji.

Kiba, Lee and Choji who were standing nearby heard this and laughed to themselves but quickly stopped when Neji began to walk forward. "Alright soldiers!" he said. "Thanks to your new friend, Tenmaru! You will all be spending tonight picking every, single, grain, of rice! And tomorrow, the real work begins!" he commanded walking away leaving everyone glaring at Tenten.

Naruto popped his head out and looked at Tenten clicking his tongue. "We're gonna have to work on your people skills!" he whispered bluntly to Tenten who glared at him before grabbing the fox by his scruff and shoving him back into the satchel roughly.

That night, Tenten, after setting up her tent sloppily and tying Kankuro to the tree next to it, the poor girl went to bed feeling extremely tired and miserable.


The next morning, while Tenten and Konohamaru were still sleeping soundly, Naruto grabbed the cricket and began twisting his wings like a wind-up toy. This caused Konohamaru to start ringing like an alarm clock waking Tenten up with a start.

"COME ON! RISE AND SHINE SLEEPING BEAUTY! COME ON UP, UP , UP!" yelled Naruto loudly while rapping Tenten's head.

"Urusai..." she muttered grumpily before pulling the blanket over her head.

Naruto frowned and pulled the blanket off Tenten, revealing the girl to be wearing nothing but her vest and shorts. "Come ON! I got breakfast!" said Naruto as the girl yawned loudly and sat up sleepily as the fox jumped on her lap and held a bowl of ramen with a smiley face made of fishcakes for eyes and a leek piece for a mouth in front of her face."Look, you got RAMEN! And It's HAPPY TO SEE YOU-DATTEBAYO!"

Suddenly, Konohamaru's head popped out of the noodles, licking his face.

"Hey get out of there! You're gonna make people sick!" yelled Naruto grabbing the cricket with his chopsticks and tossing him out.

"Ugh...What time is it?..." asked Tenten groggily when Naruto started shoving noodle pieces in her mouth.

"No time to talk! Today's first day of training! Ya' gotta pay attention and play nice with the other kids and no fighting! Unless one of them picks a fight, then you gotta kick the other kid's butt!" instructed Naruto continuing to shovel ramen in the girl's mouth.

"But I don't wanna kick the other kid's butt!" protested Tenten with her mouth full and ramen noodles spilling from her mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full! Now let's see your war face-ttebayo!" commanded Naruto, only to be replied with Tenten staring at him blankly with her full face. "Now you just look stupid... COME ON SCARE ME!"

"GRRRRRRR!" growled Tenten fiercely after swallowing the remaining noodles, knocking the fox on his back.

"YEAH! That's what I'm talking about! Now get out there and make me proud!" said Naruto quickly tying up Tenten's hair into a bun when Kankuro suddenly poked his head in.

"Hey get a move on! The other troops just left!" he neighed.

"What? What do you mean the troops just left-dattebayo?" demanded Naruto as Tenten was slipping on her martial arts uniform when she popped her eyes open.

"THEY WHAT?" she exclaimed as Tenten quickly tied on her belt and wore her shoes before running off suddenly, causing her sloppily made tent to collapse.

"Wait you forgot your sword!" yelled Naruto before smiling after the girl while Konohamaru hopped on his head. "My little Ten-chan is all grown up and learning how to kick ass...I'm so proud of her~!" he exclaimed tearfully while Konohamaru and Kankuro rolled their eyes at each other.


Meanwhile at the training grounds, the guys were fooling around when Mizuki came out. "ORDER! EVERYONE ORDER!" he yelled.

"I'd like a bowl of Fox Udon!" yelled one guy jokingly making everyone laugh.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh! Some Korean BBQ would be nice!" said Choji taking it seriously when Kiba tapped the guy's belly and explained to him the joke much to Choji's disappointment.

Mizuki frowned heavily as everyone began laughing and mocking him. "It's not funny..." he muttered walking away.

Suddenly Lee spotted Tenten running up. "Youthful new comrade! You are almost late! You should have awoken with the YOUTHFUL MORNING SUN!" exclaimed Lee loudly.

Tenten looked down at her feet and avoided looking at everyone else who was giving her the stink eye as she took her place by Lee and Kiba, who turned to her. "Hey Tenmaru! Are ya' hungry?" greeted Kiba placing an arm around Tenten in a friendly manner before suddenly holding her in a headlock. "Cuz' I owe you a knuckle sandwich!" he growled about to punch Tenten who shielded her face.

"SOLDIERS!" called Neji walking up to the group, prompting everyone to line up, thus, saving Tenten from a black eye. All Neji wore was a pair of black training pants and shoes with a vest over his shoulders, his long brown hair was tied up in a ponytail. "You will assemble swiftly and silently every morning!" he began to instruct as he took off his vest revealing his muscular upper torso. Tenten widened her eyes and blushed as her mouth formed a small 'O'.

"Anyone who acts otherwise," continued Neji grabbing a kunai and walking the whole length of the line. "Will answer to me!" he finished.

"Ooooh...tough guy..." muttered Kiba loudly.

"Kiba," called Neji who overheard him. Everyone quickly took a step back, singling the guy out. Neji quickly twirled the kunai in his hand and threw it hard, where it embedded itself at the top of a very tall, thick wooden post. "Thank you for volunteering. Retrieve the arrow!"

Kiba's eye twitched as he forced himself to bow slightly. "I'll get that arrow White-Eyes...and I'll do it with my shirt, ON!" he muttered under his breath as Kiba walked up to the post. Just as he was about to, he was stopped by Neji.

"One moment, you seem to be forgetting something," said Neji much to Kiba's annoyance as Mizuki walked up carrying a case with some difficulty. Neji opened it to reveal a pair of stone weights. "This represents discipline!" he explained lifting Kiba's left hand with one of them before dropping the weight, causing Kiba's arm to be weighed down. He then attached the other to Kiba's right, lifting the guy off the ground with the weight easily, making Kiba widen his eyes in bewilderment. "And this, represents strength!" said Neji promptly dropping Kiba who fell to the ground with a splat, much to the amusement of the others.

"You need both to reach the kunai!"

Kiba looked at the weights in his hands before looking up at the kunai, finally realizing how high it is. Wanting to save face, Kiba immediately began scrambling up the post. When he was some distance off the ground, the weights began to drag him downwards. Kiba tried digging his teeth into the post only to still get dragged down, this time with wooden shavings in his mouth. When he failed, the others began to try their luck.

Lee managed to get much higher than Kiba, but he threw out his arms to cheer about youth when the weights caused Lee to flop upside down hitting his head hard against the post as he continued falling in that fashion to the ground. When Choji tried, he fell so hard the post actually uprooted itself and landed back in the hole. Tenten went next but failed miserably as she fell hard on her butt. The girl slowly got up and rubbed her sore spot as she walked past an exasperated Neji who rubbed his neck.

"We've got a looong way to go..." he muttered grabbing some bamboo staffs and tossing them to the recruits. Everyone managed to catch theirs easily except for Tenten who had hers snatched out of the air by Kiba who used it to trip her before dropping it by her feet trying to look innocent.

Chinese drums began to play as Neji grabbed his own staff and took a stance. "Let's get down to business!" he sang tossing two clay vases into the air using his staff and brandishing it expertly, much to the amazement of the recruits, breaking the vases before they hit the ground. " To defeat the Akatsuki!"

"HOAH!" yelled the recruits taking their stances when as a joke Lee dropped a beetle down Tenten's back.

Neji:
Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?

Tenten immediately felt the beetle squirming as she involuntarily began to wriggle violently, accidentally taking down everyone else. Naruto and Konohamaru who were watching from afar slapped their foreheads in exasperation.

Neji frowned as he vaulted over the others with his pole to where Tenten was and quickly blocked a blow to the stomach and ducked another swipe. "You're the saddest bunch I've ever met, but you can bet before we're through.." he sang before grabbing Tenten's staff and glaring at her, making Tenten cringe while elsewhere, Konohamaru was doing his best grabbing on to Naruto's tails to prevent the fox from trying run out and attack the captain. "Mister, I'll make a man out of you!..."


The next form of training required everyone to lanch tomatoes into the air and pin them to drawn targets on a tree using kunai or shuriken. Neji demonstrated by pinning three tomatoes with three thrown shuriken, hitting the targets perfectly. When everyone else tried they either missed their target due to bad timing or they threw their projectiles wrongly. Naruto tried to help Tenten cheat by stabbing one of her kunai with the tomato but Neji caught her and glared. Tenten could do nothing but force a grin at the captain.

Neji:

Tranquil as a forest,
But on fire within!


Later, the troops were brought up to a cliff's edge where Neji made everyone throw stones at him as he balanced a bucket of water on his head. The recruits pelted the guy hard with stones, but Neji easily deflected them with his staff with even spilling a drop of water.

Once you find your center,
You are sure to win!

When Tenten was made to do it, not only did she had trouble balancing the bucket, she flinched when everyone threw stones at her, causing the bucket to splash and upturn on her head. Tenten wildly swung her staff, deflecting one stone which came flying at Neji but he shifted to the side so the stone smacked Choji square on the forehead, knocking him out. Neji furrowed his brows while Tenten meekly peeked out from under the bucket.


"You're a spineless, pale pathetic lot, and you haven't got a clue. Somehow I'll make a man out of you!" sang Neji while the group was training to catch fish in the river with a single swipe. Kiba and Tenten tried to copy Neji after watching him, but Tenten accidentally caught Kiba's foot instead and pulled him under water. Tenten grinned sheepishly when Naruto popped his head out of the water and held out a fish for Tenten.


During night time, Kiba and Choji were paired up to run through a field where blazing arrows were fired all over the place.

Choji: I'm never gonna catch my breath! (Narrowly dodges an arrow by a hair.)

Kiba: Say goodbye to those who knew me! (Trips and gets shot in the butt by a flaming arrow, making him jumping into the air yowling in pain).


Lee: Boy, was I a fool for cutting GYM! (Tries to break a large cinder-block with forehead by crying about Youth only to knock himself out as blood gushed from his head like fountain)


(Taijutsu practice with Tenten against Neji)

Naruto: This guy's got'im scared to death!

Tenten: Hope he doesn't see right through me! (Weakly blocks a palm thrust from Neji, causing her to slam into a tree with a black eye, half-consious. Naruto tried to wake her up by splashing water on her face and pushing her out again.)


"Now I really wish I knew how to swim!" sang Choji during a training excercise where they were required to hop over a line of wooden posts but because he hesitated everyone collided into each other and fell into the ocean.


(Bombing Pein practice)

Everyone tried firing canons at a scarecrow of Pein albeit unsuccessfully. Tenten already had her target locked on but Lee accidentally knocked her canon off course causing it to go firing at Mizuki's tent just as the said person was walking out of it. A scorched Mizuki narrowed his eyes as he scribbled on his notepad furiously.

Guys: Be a Man!

Neji: You must be swift as the coursing river!

Guys: Be a man!

Neji: With all the force of a great typhoon!

Guys: Be a man!

Neji:With all the strength of a raging fire

"Mysterious as the dark side of the moon...!
" sang Neji as he looked at the kunai from the first practice still embedded in the post and sighed hopelessly as he sat on a rocky edge.


Early next morning when the troops were doing stamina training by carrying weights and jogging up the mountain, Mizuki riding a horse at the front of the line with Neji tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to Tenten who lagged all the way behind and collapsed due to fatigue.

Neji:

Time is racing toward us
Till the huns arrive.

Naruto tried to help the girl up but quickly hid when Neji approached them. Tenten quickly tried to pick up her weights but Neji snatched them from her and carried them along with his own as he rushed to catch up with the rest leaving Tenten looking dejected.

Heed my every order
And you might survive.


(Later that night, when Tenten got called out to the training spot)

"You're unsuited for the rage of war, So pack up, go home you're through!" sang Neji frustrated while leading Kankuro and handing his reins to Tenten before walking away. "How could I, make a man, out of you?"

Tenten hung her head as she was about to leave with Kankuro when she turned and looked at the kunai up high on the post. Wanting to give it a final try, Tenten sent kankuro back to her tent before returning and picked up the weights lying at the base, tied it firmly to her wrists and jumped on to the post only to lose her grip. Tenten looked at the kunai in frustration when an idea struck her as she looked at the weights.

Guys: BE A MAN!

(As the sun began to rise,Tenten gripped the weights tightly as she threw them around the post so that they twirled around each other tightly and held in place. Tenten tested them by pulling before beginning to climb, this time with ease as the weights allowed her to grip the post tightly.)

Neji: We must be swift as a coursing river...

Guys: BE A MAN!

(At that moment, the others had woken up and looked up in amazement to see Tenten already getting close to the top.)

Neji: With all the force of a great typhoon...

Guys: BE A MAN!

(Tenten almost slipped but quickly regained herself as she pulled herself up some more with the guys below shouting words of encouragement while Lee kept shouting "Let the Youth be with you Tenmaru!")

Neji:

With all the strength of a raging fire,
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!

Just as Neji emerged from his tent to see what the commotion was about when the kunai suddenly flew down and struck the ground by his feet. He looked up in amazement to see Tenten sitting on the very top of the post and looking down at him smiling with everyone else below cheering loudly. After Tenten's success, everyone became more motivated to train.


(Target practice: Everyone successfully pinned their tomatoes to the tree with their kunai with Tenten becoming the top student of the class.)

Everyone: BE A MAN!

Neji: We must be swift as a coursing river!


(Stamina training and Taijutsu practice: Not only was everyone able to keep up, Tenten ran ahead the fastest and was actually able to kick Neji's ass in taijutsu training.)

Everyone: BE A MAN!

Neji: With all the force of a great typhoon!


(Water Walking: Instead of hesitating like before, Choji confidently flipped and hopped onto each posts ahead of everyone else.)

Everyone: BE A MAN!

Neji: With all the strength of a raging fire!


(Other training: When Neji threw the staffs to the others, Tenten frowned as Kiba caught hers once more, but this time he smiled and handed to her nicely while they began their training. Lee became the top student in taijutsu and was able to break the largest cinder-block they had with his forehead easily. Tenten caught the most fish during the river training in one swipe. Kiba succeeded in running swiftly through the flaming arrow field unscathed while everyone else hit the Pein scarecrow accurately all at once with their rockets.)

Everyone plus Neji: Mysterious as the dark side of the MOOOOOOOONNN!...

"HOOO-AH!" cried everyone as they jumped into the air brandishing their staffs fiercely.


Elsewhere in the mountains, there was a loud slashing sound as the top of a pine tree fell to the ground revealing Pein. At a distance, Sasuke screeched and flew towards Pein dropping something in his palm. Pein looked in his hand to see a small rag doll, he took a quick sniff of it before widened his eyes in realization. He quickly leaped of the tree and landed on the ground loudly where the Akatsuki members waited.

"What do you see?" asked Pein tossing the doll to Kisame.

The shark-man caught the doll with both hands and rubbed the residue it left on one of them. "Black Pine...from the high mountains!" he said before Itachi took it from him and plucked a short white hair from it.

"White horse hair, Imperial Stallions," he analyzed after looking at it closely before Deidara took it from him and sniffed it.

"Sulfur...from cannons," he noted before handing the doll back to Pein.

"This doll came from a village near the Valley of the end where the Hokage's troops are waiting," concluded Pein looking towards the mountains.

Deidara scoffed loudly. "Please! If that's the case, we can avoid them easily, un!"

Pein shook his head before gripping the doll. "No. The quickest way to the Hokage is through that valley and besides, a little girl must be terribly missing her doll. We should return to her..." he said smirking evilly.