I don't own naruto. seriously i don't. if you don't believe me then just ask the evil squirrels, they never stop reminding me of it.

just kidding...about the evil squirrels i mean. however i still don't own naruto.

there is a summary of the summoning contracts at the end in case i didn't explain it enough within the chapter itself (which i seriously doubt i did, so please read it just to be safe.)

Itachi suddenly appeared behind them in a puff of smoke and said, "So you're supposed to be my new genin team? I have to admit, you don't look like much to me."

All three of them jumped at the sound of his voice and whirled around, weapons already out and ready for a fight, then they realized who it was that had scared them.

"Itachi!" Naruto shouted, " Did you really have to scare us like that? And what do you mean your team? I thought that lady over there was our Sensei!"

Itachi nodded, "Technically she is Naruto, and technically she isn't. In truth, I am your official Sensei, she is the one who will take over for me when Hokage business gets in the way of my training you three." Itachi explained. "Now lets get introductions out of the way so that we can get down to business. I'll go first. My name is Itachi Mamoru, I like many things but I especially enjoy spending time with my girlfriend Hana Inuzuka, I dislike those who would judge others before they know the full story and those who hate people for reasons beyond their control. My dream is to one day marry Hana-chan and establish the Mamoru clan as a force for good within the village. Now you go." he said, pointing to Kurenai.

She nodded and spoke up. "My name is Kurenai Yuhi, I like training my genjutsu skills and hanging out with my friend Anko while trying to keep her from killing every man who attempts to flirt with her. I dislike people who refuse to ask for help. My dream is to one day settle down and have a family." She finished.

Naruto spoke up, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like ramen, training, and hanging out with Hina-hime. I dislike those who feel that they are superior just because of their name, those who hate people for things out of their control, and anyone who tries to hurt my precious people. My dream is to become the Hokage so I can protect all of my precious people, and to restart my father's clan." He turned to Hinata, who was sitting next to him. She nodded and introduced herself.

"My name is Hinata Hyūga, I like pressing flowers, cinnamon buns and hanging out with Naru-chan. I dislike those who hate and attack others for stupid reasons. And my dream is to one day unite the Hyūga clan into one family. And maybe..." She glanced at Naruto and blushed. "Your turn Shino." She said quietly.

The silent boy nodded before speaking. "My name is Shino Aburame, I like collecting insect specimens for my family's insect farm, and observing human interactions. I dislike those who are prejudiced against others. My dream is to become powerful enough to protect my family and this village from those who would do it harm." Itachi nodded.

"Good job everyone, it seems we are all on the same page opinion-wise. Now on to the test." He was rather surprised when they didn't react at all like he thought they would, they just nodded in resignation, no shouting or whining or gnashing of teeth, just silent resignation and preparation for what was to come. Itachi was perplexed. "What, no reaction?"he asked.

Naruto shook his head. "We knew it was too easy with just that academy test, so we really expected some kind of twist before we were really allowed to be ninja. That's all."

Itachi nodded, "This is why I chose you three over all of the other teams, your analytical skills are superb. Very well we will proceed straight to the explanation of the test." He said before moving closer.

"This test is simple, all you have to do is successfully perform the jutsu I give you to do. Now pay attention to the hand signs I'm about to show you." He performed the hand signs, nicked his thumb with a kunai, placed his bloody hand on the ground and said, "Summoning jutsu!" In an instant there was a small red hawk standing in the spot where he had placed his hand.

"Did you need something Itachi-sama?" The bird asked.

The man shook his head. "No, I was merely showing my genin team how to summon." The bird nodded and disappeared.

Itachi turned to the genin. "Shino, you and Hinata are going to perform that jutsu now, without a summoning contract. Don't worry it's quite safe. And while you two are doing that, I have a different test for Naruto."

The genin nodded and separated accordingly, Naruto moving to stand next to Itachi and Shino and Hinata moving a small distance away from the group, just in case. They did exactly as Itachi said and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Itachi restrained Naruto as he made to run for their last known location. "Don't worry Naruto, I'm sure they're both fine. They just summoned themselves to the worlds of the summoning animal whose contract they are destined to hold."

Naruto didn't believe him. "How do you know?" He asked incredulously.

Itachi chuckled. "Because this is exactly what happened when Jiraiya of the Sannin tried to summon without a contract. Don't worry, with both of your teammates' gentle dispositions and their desire to protect others above all else, they should wind up in the worlds of some of the kinder and more gentle warrior summons, ones with that same desire to protect those precious to them."

Naruto visibly calmed when he heard this, then he asked the question that had been nagging at the back of his mind, "Why didn't you have me do that? What are you going to have me do instead?"

Itachi looked very grave, "We are going to have a chat with the kyubi," he said, "You are going to meditate and try to contact it, and I will assist you using my Kanryō sharingan to enter your mind scape."

Naruto nodded and followed Kurenai's instructions on how to meditate. After about five minute he realized that something was different, he was in a sewer, and Itachi was with him but he was only an image at the moment. "So this is my mind? Oh my gosh this means that my mind really is in the gutter!"

"Calm down you stupid kit, this isn't your mind, it's the link between your mind and the seal holding me in." Said a menacing voice from right in front of him.

That was when Naruto finally noticed the large cage in front of him. "So you're the kyubi?" he asked, slightly in awe. "I gotta say, I thought you'd be a bit bigger."

"Naruto," a voice said next to him, he turned and saw that Itachi was no longer an image. "We should really try not to taunt the ten thousand year old demon sealed in your stomach, it really isn't polite, or conducive to our continued presence here."

Naruto nodded, "And why are we here? You never did tell me."

Itachi pushed him slightly forward, "The same thing Shino and Hinata are doing right now, obtaining a summoning contract."

Naruto nodded in understanding. He turned to the kyubi to ask for one, but then he noticed that the demon was laughing. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"You are kit" The old demon said, "You two actually believe that I can give you a summoning contract? I'm a Demon! I'm not one of those wimpy summoning animals who need a human's chakra to come to this world! Go find one of them to get a contract from!"

And with that both Naruto and Itachi were forcibly ejected from the seal. Itachi got up from his sitting position and brushed himself off.

"Well so much for you being the fox summoner, I guess you'll have to obtain a summons the hard way like Shino and Hinata. Perform the seals and get going. Oh, and good luck impressing your summons."

Naruto performed the seals and vanished just as Hinata and Shino had twenty minutes earlier. "Well, all we can do now is wait." Itachi said to Kurenai, who was sitting nearby. They weren't waiting for long before a poof of smoke appeared twenty feet in front of them.

Shino was surprised at the sight before him, it was a city, that much was sure, but it was like no city he had ever seen. Instead of buildings there were thousands upon thousands of anthills, home to every species of ant imaginable, all of them coexisting and even helping each other. It was like no insect colony he had ever seen, and that was leaving out the fact that there were ants the size of people in some of the hills. And, judging from the size of several of the hills there were some that were even larger, if the hill itself was any indication then its inhabitants were most likely fifty or sixty feet tall.

Shino turned when a flying ant as tall as he was landed next to him.

"Kumazu-sama wishes to speak with you." It said simply. "Please follow me." Having said that, it set off down a path that Shino hadn't noticed before. He followed reluctantly, and was glad that he did when several minutes later they came upon a clearing in the forest that surrounded the city of anthills. Standing in the clearing was a sixty foot tall Bull ant, a very imposing sight indeed, but a welcome one, considering his task here.

Shino bowed to the giant ant. "I take it that you are the leader here? Or at least someone in a position of power."

The ant, Kumazu, inclined his head. "I am." He said. "Only the queens are able to over ride my decisions. Now, tell me why you have appeared here."

Shino nodded, "I am seeking to make an alliance with your society, a summoning contract, so that I may better protect my family and my village from harm. Will you aid me in my quest?"

The large ant looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yes, this is an honorable request, and I can sense something different about you, something the others lacked. An insect like quality."

Shino nodded. "You are most likely sensing my kikaichuu, I am their host and they are my greatest weapons, we live in a symbiotic relationship with each other."

The ant nodded absentmindedly, apparently in telepathic discussion with his queen, "Hmm, you are an unusual little ninja, very well, my queen says that we will give you a chance. A summoning scroll is being created as we speak by the woodcarvers, it should be done in a few minutes. Once you have signed it I will explain the finer nuances of being an Ant summoner, and then we will send you back where you came from."

Hinata looked around, she was deep inside a forest somewhere. She could see shadows moving around the clearing, never coming into the dim twilight created by the forest canopy. There were whispers all around her, she could tell that she was surrounded, but one question still remained. What was it? What was surrounding her at this very moment? She wanted to activate her byakugan to find out, but she was afraid that it would be misinterpreted as a hostile act. So instead she waited, something would happen soon, she could feel it.

She was right, a movement off to her left caught her eye, she turned to face it, whatever it was. But was surprised to see...a rat. Scurrying towards her was a cobalt blue rat, showing no fear whatsoever. She squeaked when the rat jumped onto her sleeve and started to climb.

The rat paused when it heard the sound and said, "You know I'm not going to hurt you. We rodents just get a bad rap from the humans because they don't understand us."

Hinata was shocked to hear the rat talking to her, let alone trying to reassure her. "Um, yeah, well I wasn't scared really. Just surprised when you jumped onto my arm."

The rat sighed, "That's what they all say. My name is Nezumi, and I'll be your guide while you're in the forest. And you can relax a little you know, I don't bite...much."

Hinata was only slightly reassured by this. "I-I'm H-Hinata Hyūga. I came here to request that I be allowed to sign your summoning contract."

The young rat on her shoulder looked thoughtful. "Well I don't think that should be a problem, our last summoner died twelve years ago, and we've been waiting for a new one to show up. Let's find Sukuroru and have you sign the contract."

Just then a small rat with a scroll behind it's back appeared in the clearing. "Ah here he is now. Sukuroru, this is Hinata, she wishes to be our new summoner." Nezumi said to the newcomer.

The new rat inclined its head. "I see no problems, anyone brave enough to seek out the rodent contract is truly worthy of it." Sukuroru said.

Suddenly he increased in size until he was the size of an adult human holding a three foot long scroll.

"Can all of you do that?" Hinata asked in surprise.

Nezumi nodded, "Yes we can. It's one of the things that makes us powerful, yet underestimated at the same time, but it is only the rats who can do it. The other rodents have other abilities to bring to the table."

Hinata nodded before she went to sign the contract. She pulled back in surprise when she read the name of the last summoner. It was Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto's mother. She got over her shock quickly and signed the contract. Once she was done, Sukuroru shut the scroll and left. Nezumi then turned to Hinata and explained the intricacies of being a rodent summoner. Apparently the contract extended to all species of rodents, not just rats, who were the keepers of the contract. Once she understood everything that her new ability entailed she was sent back to Konoha.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto was in awe. He was standing before a giant...bear? No it definitely wasn't a bear, the markings weren't right. It was brown, with an oily coat of fur and silverish markings around the eyes. Naruto had to know what it was, so he decided to ask in the politest way possible. "Umm...i hope you don't mind my asking this. But...what exactly are you? I mean.. I've never seen an animal like you before."

The bear-like creature threw back his head and laughed. "I didn't think you would. I could tell the minute you got here that you weren't used to this kind of weather." The bear-like animal said.

And he was right, Konoha's location in the Land of Fire precluded it's getting colder weather, such as the snow that was gently falling at the moment. "If you aren't used to this climate then you've never seen one of my kind before. We like to live in the northern regions where it gets rather cold sometimes." the thing said. "Then what exactly are you?" Naruto asked, getting fed up with the creature's avoidance of the answer he sought.

"I am a wolverine." The creature, now identified as a wolverine, said. "I am the boss summon of the weasels. Not the weasels summoned by those sand ninjas mind you, that family left us long ago. We are the creators and maintainers of the true weasel summoning contract. Which I assume that you wish to sign." Naruto nodded his head. "You are correct." the wolverine nodded. "I will allow you to sign for now, but you must pass my test before you can summon me to fight with you." The big summon said. Naruto accepted this, mostly because he had to. "Do I at least get to know your name?" The big animal shook its head. "No, you do not deserve the honor of knowing my name until you pass the test and become the true weasel summoner. Though you might want to come up with a better name then that." Naruto nodded and turned to leave. "Don't worry, by the time I pass your test I'll have come up with an awesome name for myself." He said, "Now how exactly do I get back to Konoha?"

The big wolverine chuckled and slammed his paw on the ground, throwing up a large cloud of snow and dust. When it cleared Naruto was standing in the training ground staring at his teammates.

"Good job everybody." Itachi said after a second. "I assume that you three were all successful?"

"H-Hai," Hinata answered.

"You assume correctly." Shino said in his monotone voice.

"Well duh, why wouldn't I?" Naruto said, elated. "But I do still have to pass a test from the Boss summons to be the 'true summoner' as he called it."

Itachi nodded, "Then I assume that you were sent to the home of one of the more prominent summons. Which one was it?"

"The weasels, but this one has wolverines too, and some sort of gray tunneling animal that led me to the boss." Naruto answered. "What did you guys get?"

"I made a deal with the ant summons, but I don't need to pass a test. It seems that anybody willing to look past the stigma surrounding their species is deemed worthy to be their summoner." Shino said, "and what about you Hinata? Which animal did you encounter?"

"I-I was sent to the rodents, where I encountered a rat named Nezumi. I believe that the same reasoning the ants used was also employed by the rats, they didn't require a test, only that I didn't run away when I found out what they were." she said quietly.

Itachi nodded. "It seems that you three were each sent to the home of the summons that most resembles your mindset at the moment."

He turned to face Shino directly. "Shino went to the ants, who have a hive mentality and strong desire to defend their homes, just as he does."

He turned to Hinata. "Now Hinata,on the other hand, went to the rodents, and more specifically the rats, who display the same habits she does, often hiding in plain sight and shying away from confrontation unless absolutely necessary. But, they are also fierce fighters when they or their homes and families are threatened, just like you Hinata."

He turned towards Naruto. "And last but not least, Naruto. You went to the home of the weasels, but more specifically the territory of the badgers and wolverines, both of which are fierce fighters any day of the week, but even more so when threatened or protecting something. They are capable of taking down opponents three times their size. In much the same way you can do the same, you are a fierce fighter with exactly the same qualities that your new summons possess." Itachi said.

Then he backed up a step, so that he could look at them all. "You three have just succeeded where most ninja would have failed, you have obtained summoning contracts, and you did it as genin. I think I can be confident in stating that we will see big things from you three. And the fact that your summons are all considered weak will make your success all the sweeter. Now, if you only remember one thing that you learned today, be sure that it is this: separately you three may seem weak, but together you can become a force to be reckoned with. It doesn't matter if you lose a fight or two, or even two hundred, as long as you have each other, nothing can truly defeat you." Their Sensei said.

"That's all for today, just remember to practice your summoning, and if possible, try to do it without hand signs. Now, go celebrate with your families."

Having said his piece, Itachi vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving them with much to think about for the rest of the day.

A/N:Thankyou to all those who reviewed and told me their ideas for the team's summoning contracts. And congratulations to Balatros for submitting the initial idea for shino's summons. I elaborated and expanded alot on it but I would never have thought of using ants as a summons. Somehow it just seemed right with his character as soon as i read the review. I had several requests for falcons as summons, so i gave Itachi the raptor contract (Birds of prey, ie: eagles, falcons, and hawks). A reviewer known as TL suggested mongooses, which set me onto the right track for Naruto's summons being weasels/badgers/wolverines, don't ask how because i don't know how i made it from mongooses to wolverines. I'm going to give The Unknown Twinkie an honorable mention because they suggested a wolverine summons for shino, even though i read the review after i had already written the chapter the idea was a good one, great minds must think alike.

And to address some worries expressed by naruto7332: i seriously doubt that the toads are the only ones who can use senjutsu. they are just the only ones that the writers have shown using it. so don't worry. if and when i find a way to make it happen I'll let naruto become a sage. but having a toad summoner on a team with an insect summoner/user wouldn't be a very good idea. somehow i doubt that shino would take too kindly to naruto's summons trying to eat him, or his little friends. the minute i decided to have shino on the same team as naruto i had to get rid of naruto's toad summons. sorry.

So here's a list of the known summons and abilities so far:

Itachi: raptors (birds of prey)

-his usual summon is a hawk but the boss summon is an eagle (think Lord Of The Rings in terms of size) most likely either a golden eagle or a bald eagle, but if there is a species that would fit better let me know.

Shino: Ants, any species.

-unlike other summoning contracts this one varies in use. shino can either summon entire colonies consisting of millions of smaller ants to help him fight, or one giant ant. the smaller ants he summons will usually be either army ants or bullet ants ( bullet ant idea courtesy of Balatros). the army ants have the ability to construct anything using their own bodies as the building tools. (some species actually do this, using worker ants to create temporary nests known as bivouacs). and bullet ants have a freaking painful sting so they are used as the weapons. as shino gets more experienced in summoning he will be able to mix the species he summons to get the greatest effect. because of his summons' small size they require less chakra than most summons. the only exception being the giant bull ants, since they are so huge, even still the bull ants require less chakra than most boss summons.

-altogether the at summons are not seen as a very powerful contract, but in the hands of an experienced bug user they can be just as deadly as the more famous ones, such as the snakes.

-when he summons an ant colony he is able to use his queen kikaichu to communicate with the queen ant, giving him great control over the ant colony. the queen ant seeks refuge within his body during the fight, his queen kikaichu allows this only temporarily to ensure mutual survival. they use numbers to overrun an enemy.

-their skills are best used in conjunction with one of the other summons.

Hinata: rodents, more specifically Rats at the moment.

- there are other species involved with the contract but for the moment she is only able to summon rats. they give her a tracking ability much like kiba's. the only known ability of the rat summons is that they can change their size to fit their siituation. but due to their association with the uzumaki family which came out of the whirlpool village it is assumed that they have an affinity with water jutsu, which they can use due to their dexterous forepaws (they function much like human hands, just without the thumbs).

- they are good for use as scouts, messengers, and trackers.

-much like shino's ants, they can be of some use in a fight but their skills are best used in conjunction with one of the other summons.

-rats have a bad reputation, but have a temperament very similar to dogs, they are very loyal and will do anything to protect their pack. the rats that hinata summons are more similar in temperament to the domestic rats (known as Fancy rats) that are popularly kept as pets in many countries.

-you may not like it but hinata's temperament is very much like a rat, very meek and shy, but once she gets to know someone she will never be scared of them again. this is a small part of why i gave them to her as summons. that and i think it would be cool and ironic to have a giant rat fight manda, since his species usually eats them, how would he react to being beaten by one? plus nobody has done rats before, so i'm safe from anybody getting pissed at me for stealing their ideas.

Naruto: the hokage and itachi wanted him to get fox summons, but who really can summon demons? they are too arrogant to listen to anyone and the chakra requirement would be too big even for him.

-he gets wolverines/badgers/weasels.

-technically they're all in the weasel family, but what powerful predator wants to be known as a weasel? so they try to differentiate a little. naruto's summons include the entire weasel family but he will usually use either a badger or a wolverine in a fight. he can summon ferrets but they really are only good for tracking and just plain hanging out. he uses them as scouts and messengers and trackers.

-naruto's summons are the only ones who work well with or without one of the other summons to work with. their skills and power will be increased by the presence of one or both of the other summons, but their presence is not completely necessary for a victory.

-his summons are the front line fighters, while the other's concentrate on hit and run attacks (Shino's smaller ants, itachi's birds) and bombardment (Hinata's rats using long range hijutsu specifically made for rats and their summoners)

-they are also capable of working in concert with the other heavy hitters (shino's bull ant, hinata's giant rat/unknown giant rodent summon to be used/revealed later, and itachi's eagle)

Kurenai: ? it is unknown whether or not she has a summoning contract with a species (example:jiraiya's toads, orochimaru's snakes) or with a specific family of select animals (example: Kakashi's dog contract).

-While it is not a requirement to have a contract in order to be a jonin, it is a very big help. let me know if you think she should have summons, at the moment i'm leaning towards not giving her one, at least until much later.

I don't really care whether i get flames for the animals i chose. i have reasons for choosing them. most of them stemming from the leaf villages emphasis on teamwork. if one contract was too powerful

then there would be no need for teamwork. all the same, their contracts don't require teamwork, they just encourage it. all three animals i chose either use teamwork in some way (hinata and shino's

contracts) or have a link to a species that does ( some of the smaller species covered by naruto's contract). only itachi's contract pertains to loner animals, but then again, bird's of prey are rather bad at ground fighting so he needs a team with a good ground attack variable to balance out his rather high aerial attack ratio.