Praise Be to Jashin
Chapter 2: Wtfrofl? Time skip? I feel cheated.
Author's Note: Chapter 2! Sorry Chapter 1 was so rough and weird… I've had a hectic life lately, and I've been trying to write that for about 3 months now, so it's kinda like Frankenstein… or something. Just a note, Sasuke opening up might seem a bit abrupt, but I look at it this way: Sasuke has lived his whole life after the Massacre being pitied and looked down upon by those he would respect. When two people who have garnered his attention actually treat him like an equal, he doesn't know how to respond, and is forced to confront his problems and drastically change his outlook on life to explain this anomaly. It'd be like if you were crying and the President came and gave you a hug. What would you do?
Almost 7 years later….
Two unknown hooded figures stalked through the streets of Konoha, their black cloaks flapping in the light breeze. Night was falling, but that didn't stop the usual village gossips from running their mouths in earshot of everyone:
"I wonder who they are" one woman said suspiciously.
"I don't like the look of em" replied a short, mean-looking man, "they seem suspicious."
"Maybe they're here to assassinate the Hokage," said a lanky young man, "It'd be a help too; the man hasn't been the same since the Kyuubi left town, not that I blame it; I would've been scared too."
"Um," replied the woman, "They would probably sneak in if they were here to assassinate him."
"Oh, yeah… right." He said sheepishly.
Unbeknownst to them, the travelers had listened to their gossip, and had surreptitiously turned down a side street towards the Hokage tower.
In said tower, an aging Hokage sat at his desk, sulking behind an impressive stack of papers. Needless to say, all of the papers were horribly important to the safety, security, and happiness of the village, but somehow completely unnecessary at the same time, hence their important place at the desk of the most powerful person in Konoha, but also their arrangement, a seemingly unimportant pile. The Hokages, previous and present, had all been baffled many times over as to how long something could set on their desk without anyone giving a care at all, but then as soon as said paper was signed, controversy after controversy broke out.
This Hokage, the third Hokage to be exact, had been reinstated twelve years prior, and was thoroughly acquainted with the menace that was useless meaningful paperwork.
This, however, did nothing to quell his ever present boredom, or prevent the air of despair that constantly permeated the room. Yes, the title of Hokage was a prestigious title, one that almost everyone seemed to desire for, but inexpiably one of the jobs in the city with the least number of willing replacements. The Third had spent many a night perusing exactly why he had accepted the job from his successor, why he hadn't handed it off to some other poor person… like Kakashi… yes, Kakashi would do perfectly for the job, after all, all he did was sit and stare at the memorial stone all day… and that's no better than staring at whining bureaucrats and piles of paperwork all day… right?
The Third gave an audible sigh. Ever since Naruto's disappearance, he had lost faith in the village he was governing; he had lost his will of fire. The aging Hokage knew this, knew that his job would be no longer his quite soon, but could not bring himself to care about it. All he did anymore was sulk at his desk, and train for the day when his position would no longer be his, and he could go in search of the blond boy he had thought of as a son for so long.
Yes, the job of Hokage had taken an immense toll on Sarutobi; one that he was no longer sure that he could recover from. Sure, the villagers all adored him for the times of prosperity that he had brought the village, but his long reign had made him into somewhat of a god on earth, a man to be respected, but not one to befriend. Even his family had been alienated from him by his accursed job; he had never been there for either of his children, and now his remaining relation was in a state of professional loathing with him. No, Naruto was Sarutobi's lifeline to the world of the everyday, the one person who truly loved him, as a father and friend. He needed Naruto's companionship dearly; he yearned for it, and he was willing to go to whatever measures necessary to retain said companionship.
As he was deep in thought, he heard a light knock on his window. Used to the many bizarre entrances Ninja were prone to making, he absentmindedly flicked the latch open and opened the window behind him. Noticing the foreign chakra signatures too late, the Hokage looked up with battle-hardened determination in his eyes, ready to fight his assailants to the death. He gasped as one of the men, who were wearing black cloaks with hoods that covered their whole bodies, hurriedly slapped binder seals on his arms and legs, taking him by surprise. The other, shorter man applied an intricate seal tag to the window they had entered from, then the door leaving the office.
Turning to the other man, the short one said in a cheerful, melodious voice, "Seals are in place, no one can enter or leave, and the room's soundproofed."
Nodding to his companion, the other man turned to the Hokage and stared at him in silence, his unseen gaze unnerving the normally cool Hokage. A moment passed awkwardly between the two parties, before the Hokage spoke up.
"Now I know that you aren't here to kill me, so what do you want? Was this simply a demonstration of power? Or is it something deeper?" He paused momentarily, "Do you plan to try to interrogate me? If so, I must warn you that I am much too experienced for such actions to be fruitful."
The shorter man spoke, his voice loosing some of its cheeriness, "We want none of these things from you. In fact, we want something very different."
Lifting his hands, the man pulled back the hood of his cloak to reveal a head of unruly blond hair. The Hokage gasped, momentarily at a loss for words, for the surprise was simply too great.
The young man smiled, cocked his head to the side, and quipped, "I guess you remember me… Hokage-jiji."
"Naruto!" gasped the Hokage, this time using words, "You've returned!" He paused, "but, who is your companion? And, for that matter, why have you returned?"
Hearing this, Naruto's smile faded a little. "Him?" he said, pointing to the other cloaked man, "He's my mentor, Yakuro-sama." He paused for a second, as if to collect himself, "And as to why I've returned, I would like to ask a few favors of you."
The Hokage nodded happily, eager to please his 'son.' "Just tell me what you need, and I will strive to give it to you."
Naruto smiled again, happy to have the Hokage's approval, "Then here goes… Hokage-sama, would you like to formally step down from your position, and instate myself, Yakuro, and yourself as Konoha's primary strike team?"
"Primary strike team?" asked the Hokage, confused, "But that is simply an old formality used to recognize strong ninja who do not wish to be Hokage. I'm surprised you even know of it." He paused for a second, thinking this move over. His eyes widened as he grasped the meaning behind this act, "But being on the strike team does not require a specific rank, allows you to move freely in and out of the village, allots you the ability to deny missions with no penalty, and gives you full access to all knowledge stored within Konoha… you're after the benefits, aren't you?"
Naruto smiled, "As you can tell, the three of us are all perfectly capable ninja; completely prepared for the assassination attempts that come with this position, and the freedoms it provides are unrivaled with any other position in all of the Shinobi Nations. And I personally can vouch for all of us when I say that we would prefer these freedoms."
The Hokage nodded pensively. Puzzling over the proposition, he began to think out loud, "Well, I can tell from the feat that you just accomplished that you have at least ANBU level skills: sneaking past all of the guard ninja and incapacitating a Hokage is no easy business, and for that, I am impressed. Yakuro is an unknown, but due to the fact that he is still your mentor he must be stronger than you… and I am certainly no question. Kakashi would make a fine Hokage, whether he was willing or not, so we're covered there. I think that the village would have no problems with this request; many of my actions in office as of late have been less than satisfactory in their eyes, and they would be more than happy to see me leave, so we're covered there. Most people don't know the benefits of the position, and you've been gone so long that people should have no objection to giving you the rank; most of them don't know enough about you to even have a slightly valid argument against your instating.
Yakuro, however, is another story. He will need to be snuck in under the radar. We might be able to cover up his instating into the ranks by making him a Genin, not very hard to do, but it will raise questions later on. His instating into the team will not be as important or noticeable as mine or yours, as we are less unknown than him, me more so than you. This will still be a great undertaking, however." He paused for breath.
"No, the bureaucratic mess will be cleaned up by morning, but many on the council are opposed heavily to any action I take, and will fight this tooth and nail." He paused, thinking. Slowly, gaining certainty as he went, he said, "Perhaps this will be the final wish of an aging Hokage leaving office; something to remember him by….yes, that should work perfectly!"
He turned his head to look gently at Naruto, smiling as he did so. "However, I have the feeling that you had thought of most of this beforehand, and, for your perfectly crafted idea, I am truly grateful Naruto. I hope that we will get to know each other better once again, given that I will have so much future free time."
The Hokage looked away from Naruto, glancing around the room, knowing that, finally, it could no longer be his. Struggling to remove himself from his chair, he remembered that his arms and legs were still bound. Looking up at Yakuro in embarrassment, he said sheepishly, "Would you mind unbinding me? I have so much work to do now and so little time in which to do it."
Yakuro nodded, and then stepped forward, removing the seals from the man with a serious look on his hooded face. As he did so, the Hokage sighed, moving each joint independently, listening to them give the satisfying pop of old age. Standing from his chair, the Hokage walked across the room to a table next to the door. Picking up a stack of papers off the table, he said, "You two are in luck; with the loss of Sakura from our class due to her parent's dissatisfaction, your addition to the ranks of graduating Genin gives us even teams. Now, I have a lot of paperwork to do and red tape to cut through, and then I still need to complete the Genin teams." Motioning to the window, he said to the duo, "I require some peace and quiet. Please, leave me to uphold my end of the bargain."
With a nod, the two removed the seals they had placed on the room, and then promptly left through the window. The Hokage watched them leave the building, avoiding the guards with practice ease. He shook his head, knowing that no child should have that kind of expertise. Dodging ANBU was a feat that not even Itachi, the greatest prodigy to ever come out of Konoha, however sad the fact was, could have done at that age. The aging man could only wonder how strong Naruto's 'mentor' was, to have taught the boy so much in so little time. After seeing the impressive display of power the two had purposely put on for him, he was impressed with the level of skill the man displayed.
'And from what I saw, he looked almost young enough to pass as a late graduate Genin' thought the Hokage. 'This will certainly be interesting… I know exactly what team to put them on… and I think I'll appoint myself as the sensei. I'm the only man in the village powerful enough to teach them anything, as well as being a good enough politician to cut through all of the red tape that duo will cause.'
Turning away from the window, the Hokage picked up a pen and began to tackle the paperwork necessary to complete all of the changes he desired. He knew he would be up all night, but the paperwork would hopefully all be done by the team assignments… which were tomorrow.
The next morning dawned bright and early upon the village hidden in the leaves. All throughout the town, the thumping of running footsteps could be heard by those just waking up. Still wearing their cloaks, the mysterious duo that had arrived the night before were already up for a morning jog around the village. They both knew that they weren't expected at the academy for another three hours, but they still had an intense physical regimen to do, and they were determined to do it… while wearing cloaks.
Needles to say, they caught the attention of Konoha's many early risers, the shopkeepers and ninja who had to start early. Now, training was a fairly common occurrence, and many people in the town had seen the, to put it lightly, quirky Jonin Mato Gai jogging through the town with a shout every morning, but to see people doing it in cloaks? That was a new one.
Oblivious to the thoughts of their passers-by, the duo continued their training, stopping off at one of the more secluded training grounds after another hour of jogging, the ninja continued their training silently, focusing on other strength-training, and performing light Taijutsu spars, eventually completing a 4-hour morning warm-up that would leave anyone but possibly Mato Gai and his young apprentice gasping in exhaustion.
Each splashing some stored water on their hooded faces in turn, they walked briskly to the academy, eager to meet the Genin they would, almost comically, be paired with. Walking back through the town, the two surreptitiously smiled at one another upon seeing the glances that were being thrown their way. Sadly, the cloaks meant to conceal their identity were making them stand out that much more… not that they didn't expect that to happen. As they neared the academy, Yakuro took hold of Naruto's shoulder and quickly pulled him into a back alley. Turning to face the bewildered boy, he lowered both his hood and Naruto's, looking the boy straight in the eyes.
"Now, Naruto," Yakuro, who hadn't aged a day in seven years, said gently, "I know that this will be stressful for you, coming back always is. I know you didn't want to do this, but, despite what you think, it is necessary to slowly cut all ties you have with this village before leaving forever, or it will haunt you for all eternity."
"And how long will that take, Master?" asked Naruto, slightly irked.
"Depends," said Yakuro evasively. "Knowing you, probably until everyone you care about here dies… in short, a long-ass time. But truly, it all depends upon you." Naruto looked quite downtrodden at this proclamation; he obviously had no desire to remain in the village any longer than necessary. Yakuro, seeing that Naruto was not happy with what he had heard, tried to cheer him up: "You know… I was thinking of offering an invitation to the Hokage."
Naruto looked up almost immediately, clearly shocked. "When… and why?" he asked.
"I was going to ask him just before the Chunin exams. As to why, you should know that. He's one of the strongest ninja in the elemental countries, and if we could remove his physical limitations, he would have the potential to eventually reach my level."
Naruto stared at him, mouth agape. "You cannot be serious! Yakuro-sama, you're like a GOD in human form!"
"Close to it…" Yakuro agreed.
"And you're saying he could be at YOUR level?" Naruto yelled.
"So could you… eventually. You just need enough time, and preferably some implanted bloodlines. Not everyone is as lucky as I was. But, yes, Sarutobi has so much potential and dormant ability it's not even funny. He reminds me of me before I became immortal…"
Sounds drifting over the wind were caught by their ears. Apparently, school was starting. Yakuro turned back to Naruto, pulling up both their hoods and saying, "Just remember, no matter what happens, I'm here for you… and don't kill anyone yet. Some of them might be useful… Now let's go."
And with that, the duo headed to the academy, passing their fellow students on the way. When they reached the academy, they asked the receptionist for directions to their classroom, which were promptly given. Upon walking into the classroom, they immediately drew the attention of all of the students. Surveying the classroom and finding no one satisfactory to sit with, they navigated to the rear of the classroom. As they found their seats, both of them quietly noticed that they were under the watchful brooding eye of one the most angst-y people that either of them had ever seen. Nodding to each other that they had seen his lingering gaze, they took their seats so they could discuss his actions without drawing attention.
Turning to one another, the both prepared to talk, Naruto letting Yakuro, who was his senior, go first, "It seems we have caught the jealous eye of the last Uchicha, Uchicha Sasuke. I believe he has sensed a fraction of the chakra we are naturally bleeding off, and has gauged our skill accordingly."
Naruto nodded, "He seems as if he wishes to gain the power he senses in us… if only he knew what he was getting himself into."
Yakuro smiled, "Comical, isn't it? I sincerely hope we are placed on his team. I look forward to taking his ego down a notch… repeatedly."
Naruto smiled as well. Glancing at Sasuke, he noticed that the boy was staring at them intently. As if realizing something horribly amusing, his grin turned into a smirk, and he turned to Yakuro.
"I have an idea. On my signal, we lower our hoods, and you give him the 'look.'" His smile widened slightly, "See what that does to his ego."
Yakuro smiled, silently agreeing with his companion. "As long as no one else sees, it's fine."
Naruto nodded, and then proceeded to glance around the busy room. Apparently no one had been able to keep their attention on the duo, and had slowly sunk back into their own conversations. He noticed the watchful eye of Nara Shikamaru trained on him, but decided that the boy was smart enough to realize the gravity of the information he would receive. Turning his head to Yakuro, he nodded.
Simultaneously, the duo lifted their hoods off of their heads, revealing their faces. Yakuro had his eyes closed, but it didn't really matter, as Sasuke was staring in wonder at Naruto, who he remembered seeing as a child. As he shifted his eyes to Yakuro, Naruto lightly tapped the man's shoulder, causing him to open his eyes, a sight which left Sasuke in total shock. In one eye, the Mangekyou Sharingan spun lazily… in the other eye, pupil-less eye of the Byakugan stared at god-knows what. Shocked by this revalation, Sasuke almost fell out of his seat.
Regaining his balance, he looked at Yakuro once more… to see normal eyes. Wondering if he had imagined it or gone crazy, Sasuke turned to face forward, waiting for Iruka-sensei to come and start class, confusion and disbelief plain on his face. Yakuro and Naruto turned to each other and smiled in unison, Naruto trying to not burst out laughing, and Yakuro trying hard to hold the smile on his face.
"I think we broke the emo," said Naruto quietly.
"I agree." Said Yakuro dryly, "Now shut up and wait for the Sensei to show up and assign teams. I agreed to your antics on a whim, but I find their lack of humor disturbing."
"Aww… Yakuro, you're no fun," joked Naruto.
"Exactly." said Yakuro, smiling.
Just as the conversation finished, the class Sensei, Umino Iruka, walked through the door. His mere presence in the room drew the attention of the graduates, all of them quieting down almost simultaneously. Iruka smiled at the rare show of courtesy the class had given him. Clearing his throat, he addressed the class.
"Now, as most of you have noticed, we have two last minute additions to the class, Uzumaki Naruto and Yakuro. Regrettably, neither of them was in the village during the Genin exam, so they were not passed through normal means…"
"But that's not fair, Iruka-sensei!" shouted the loudmouth of the class, Inuzuka Kiba, "How come they get to skip the exam?!"
Staring coldly at Kiba for interrupting him, Iruka answered, "They are allowed to skip the exam because they have a handwritten recommendation from the Hokage himself as to their ability, and he assures me that they have more than adequate skills to be admitted as Genin."
"Then why don't they be admitted as Chunin?" asked Choji.
Iruka sighed, "If you listened to the lessons this year, you would know that we have already discussed this. Instating ninja at any other level than Genin requires intense loyalty affirmation and large amounts of paperwork, something that the Hokages have been reluctant to do, which is why it happens so rarely…."
Seeing that the class understood what he had said, and was dangerously close to going into lecture zone-out mode, Iruka stopped himself, deciding instead that time was of the essence; they were already behind schedule slightly. Picking up a paper from his desk, he smiled and faced the class, saying, "Now I will read off the team assignments, as well as the Jonin you will be paired with. Now, let's begin…"
With these words, the class immediately zoned out, none of them being interested in anything except their team placement. As each student's name was called, each would perk up momentarily, waiting to hear who their instructor would be. Eventually, all of the names but three had been read off. As Iruka read the first name on the team, everyone in the class perked up, wondering who the mysterious newcomers would be paired with.
"Yakuro… Uzumaki Naruto… Uchicha Sasuke. Your sensei will be," he paused for a minute, and then walked out of the room, obviously confused with what was on the sheet. As he left, the class was sent into uproar, wondering who the Sensei was of this obviously powerful group. Many complained that they couldn't have one of the stronger graduates on their team, to help pick up slack, but most of them were simply joking. Sasuke spent the whole interlude glaring at Yakuro and Naruto, who were happily chatting with not a care in the world, as if trying to will them to make him stronger. Shikamaru also stared at the duo, but in a more contemplative fashion, wondering about the display of power that had gone on just minutes ago, and why he was allowed to witness it. After about five minutes, Iruka hurried back into the room, slightly flustered.
"I'm sorry," he said, placating the class, "But I thought there was a mistake in the team assignments, but apparently there is no mistake." He cleared his throat, then tried, and failed, to look important. "A very strange and unprecedented thing has occurred, and I am proud to be part of this no doubt historic moment."
He cleared his throat, and then read the final assignment, "Yakuro, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchicha Sasuke, you will be paired with… Sarutobi Hiruzen."
And with that, the class broke into a flurry of discussion. Sasuke simply sat in his seat, looking genuinely shocked for once in his life. Iruka had not been exaggerating, this truly was an unprecedented move by the Hokage, and most definitely a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the team. Did this mean that the Hokage had stepped down? Well, he couldn't hold both positions simultaneously, so, really, when did he step down?
The main question on everyone's minds after hearing the announcement was, 'Wtfbbq?' Seriously. No one knew what to think. Something like this had NEVER happened before. A Hokage didn't simply step down; a Hokage DIED. That was how you lost the job… you DIED. For a Hokage to choose to demote himself, that was just something that didn't happen. Many of the occupants of the room were horribly jealous of the three Genin. Who wouldn't be? A chance to train with the Hokage – oh, former Hokage, the man that had trained the Sannin, no less, was a chance many would kill for.
As the minutes ticked by and the noise level showed no signs of decreasing, Iruka grew more and more impatient, finally forming a few hand signs and yelling out, "SHUT UP!" And with that, the class was silent.
Iruka took a moment to compose himself, "Thank you. Now, before you leave with your teams, we will take a quick lunch break." He paused, "Before you leave, I would like to congratulate you all on achieving the rank of Genin. Good luck to all of you on the upcoming test."
He walked out of the room with a smug look on his face as calls from his former students assailed his ears, asking him what kind of test it would be, what it was for, things of that sort. As the students watched him leave, they gave up on their questioning; talking amongst themselves as they slowly left their seats and filed out of the room. After all of their classmates left to enjoy their lunch, the remaining students, who all happened to be on the same team, looked warily at each other.
Slowly, Uchicha Sasuke removed himself from his seat, and, for the first time in quite a while, humbily walked over to sit next to his teammates. As he did so, Naruto smiled warmly, enviting him into the group silently. Sasuke sat down silently, staring at his team members, as if willing them to speak first. After a few moments, Sasuke grew uncomfortable, then finally broke and initiated the conversation. "So… we're on the same team," He said, lamely.
Yakuro nodded in agreement, then spoke: "We will have to trust each other. All successful Shinobi teams trust one another and can work in tandem. No matter how strong one man gets, if his enemy is coordinated and has superior numbers, he will fall."
Naruto nodded in agreement, "We need to have more than trust: we need to be able to work together seamlessly, even to predict what each other will do. We need to have a level of intimacy that most people would not be comfortable having."
Sasuke nodded grudgingly, and then began to talk slowly, as if it were the last thing he wanted to do right now, "I understand what you're hinting at. Speaking from a professional standpoint, I need to let you all in, but, speaking from a personal standpoint, I can't do that yet. My whole family… died, and I still need to cope." He hung his head, obviously trying not to cry.
Naruto nodded in understanding, and then said gently, "Until you do, we can't function as a team, and you will only become more and more miserable. This is a problem that we have to correct early, as I expect that Sarutobi will start our team off with much higher ranked missions than normal. A sink or swim challenge; it's his style."
Yakuro piped in, "He does not yet know our skill level, and wishes to test us. I expect him to skip our entry exercise altogether, opting instead to begin with harder missions, which, although rare, has been done before."
Looking at his new companion, Yakuro noticed that Sasuke hadn't heard a word he had said, and was instead trying his hardest not to break down into tears. Yakuro got up and walked over to the shuddering Uchicha. He gently put his hand on the younger boy's back, then said, "I understand this is hard for you, but as soon as I walked in, I could see that the Massacre has consumed your life. You need to move on. Wallowing in self pity will get you nowhere, and revenge against someone as powerful as Itachi is a lifelong feat. If you continue down this path, revenge will consume you, and your entire life will be a complete waste."
Sasuke nodded sullenly, grateful for the advice, no matter how hard it was for him to face his faults. "Thank you both," He said quietly, "For telling me this. I know my change in behavior is kind of abrupt, but no one has ever tried to comfort me before."
Yakuro smiled and nodded, "I expected as much. Now, since we're a team, let's find a nice place to sit and talk while we wait for everyone to come back."
The trio resituated themselves to a group of desks at about the center of the room and began happily chatting. After about thirty minutes, clusters of people started filing back into the room. Just after the last Genin entered the room, Iruka casually strolled in, most of the Jonin-sensei following behind him. He waited for the instructors to look over the prospective Genin, then turned to the class, motioning for them to be silent.
"You will now be leaving with your respective Sensei. Starting from the end of the row, each sensei will announce their team, and then that team will follow them out the door." The Genin jittered with anticipation, all eager to start their Ninja career.
The old man on the end stepped forward. "I am Sarutobi Hiruzen. Team 7, please come with me." And with that, Sasuke, Naruto, and Yakuro got up and followed their new sensei out the door.
As Team 7 arrived at one of the more remote training grounds, the former Hokage turned around and faced his new students. Seeing Sasuke's confusion as to why he was their teacher, he addressed the group.
"Before we begin, there is something I must tell Sasuke. I would like it if you two were here as well." Turning to face just Sasuke, the aged man began: "I know this is going to sound a little harsh, but, sadly, it is the truth, and you need to hear it. I was not placed as the head of your team by the council, who all seem to adore you for the genes you carry and bend over backwards to your will. I will not favor you, nor will I pamper you; you are a Ninja now and I will treat you as such. You were only placed on this team for the benefit of Yakuro and Naruto." He paused, catching his breath, and then began speaking again, in a slightly lighter tone, "They are, in actuality, at at least ANBU level, of this I am sure."
Sasuke's eyes widened, then he opened his mouth, preparing for a flood of questions. Sarutobi motioned for him to stop, then continued, "I did not introduce them at that level due to the stir it would create. Additionally, I needed to introduce them in an inconspicuous form for one main reason: we will be re-forming Konoha's Primary Strike Team, and I want to do it as quietly as possible."
He continued, falling into a longer explanation, "You see, as the strike team we will be able to act independently of the Hokage and all other governing bodies, including the Council. That is the reason it was originally created; as a team that could do risky stuff and take the fall for it themselves. They didn't need to cut through red tape, they just went under it. As such, the re-formation of this team would have been heavily opposed if I had made it so public. Right now, it will be covered up by the announcement of my stepping down and taking a Genin team."
He paused, allowing a stupefied Sasuke to soak all the information in, "This team was not created for you, as you probably believe. It was created for Yakuro and Naruto. You are the only current Genin strong enough to not hamper them in their activities, and to not literally kill yourself while trying to train with them. The reason I have placed myself as your sensei is simple, I am probably the only person in the village who is strong enough for them to take orders from."
He turned to Yakuro and Naruto to confirm this fact. They nodded in agreement, then came back to stand with the other members of their team. They turned to Sarutobi expectantly, waiting for him to issue orders.
"Now," Sarutobi said, addressing them all, "I need to gauge your skill. I propose that we have a simple series of duels. I will provide for you between 1 and 50 solid Kage Bushin opponents. As you destroy them, I will gauge your skill level, and then adjust the number of active clones in the fray accordingly. Hopefully, I will receive enough information from them of your fighting style to discover weaknesses, or maybe just weaker points. From there, we can work up. Sasuke, you can go first."
With that, Sasuke did a quick stretch and moved to the center of the training ground. One copy of the old Hokage appeared, decked out in battle armor, actually wearing a headband. As Sasuke shifted into a tense fighting stance, the clone charged him, dancing around the boy with a series of light punches, testing his guard. After a good fifteen seconds of light sparring the bushin backflipped away, throwing three Kunai at Sasuke, who backbended under them. As he came up, a fist connected with his chin, as the bushin had jumped back towards him. Flying backwards, Sasuke brought his knee up sharply, connecting with the surprised bushin under the chin, causing the clone to dispel.
As the clone dispelled, Sarutobi nodded, the influx of information showing him weak points in the boy's style. "He is overconfident." Sarutobi muttered to himself, creating another bushin.
"I agree," said Yakuro from well out of earshot of the mumbling, before turning back to the fight.
As the second bushin appeared, looking the same as the first, Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Jumping away from the clone, he began a string of handseals, then sucked in a breath. He shouted, "Fireball Jutsu!" and began expelling chakra from his mouth. As he released his Jutsu, he noticed the clone forming a string of handseals as well. Just as his fireball was about to hit the clone, a geyser of water shot out of the ground, putting out the fireball before it could reach the clone. Said clone smirked, then drew his katana and charged. Sasuke drew a pair of Kunai, preparing for a blade fight. As the clone's blade flashed towards him, he parried the strike with his kunai, surprised by the force behind the blow, as they deflected one another instead of holding. Crossing his blades in an x, Sasuke waited for the clone to strike again. As the clone struck, Sasuke captured his blade between the kunai, and then twisted, wrenching the blade from the clone's hands. Dropping the blade, Sasuke took one of his kunai and jammed it into the eye socket of the defenseless clone.
Sarutobi, upon receiving the influx of information, motioned for Sasuke to return to the rest of the group. When the boy arrived, the aged Ninja gave him a congratulating smile, then addressed the group.
"I know enough now. I should be able to correct many of your problems, the main one being the integration of your various skills into one another. Naruto, you can go next."
Naruto walked out onto the field, smirking all the way. As the clone appeared, he made a clone of his own, sending it to fight instead of doing it himself. As the clones began a fairly predictable taijutsu battle, the Hokage became irked.
"Naruto," he called, "Please fight the battles yourself."
He heard shuffling behind him, then a quiet, "OK", as Naruto walked out onto the field, dispelling both of his clones. The Hokage frowned at this action, wondering when Naruto had replaced himself with a clone. Nonetheless, Naruto still walked over to where the Sarutobi clone was situated and dropped into a lax battle stance, his feet shoulder width apart, his left foot shifted slightly back, but not much, and one hand held out behind him.
Sarutobi immediately frowned, "I've never seen that style before, but the stance is flawed." Turning to Yakuro he asked, "Did he invent that style?"
Yakuro shook his head, "No, I invented it, and the form is not flawed. I call it the False Fist, and for good reason. Watch."
They turned back to the fight just in time to watch the confused clone make the first move. Charging toward Naruto, the clone performed a right hook, attempting to smash through a break in the boy's guard. Suddenly, the boy shifted. All Naruto's weight was instantly shifted to his back leg and he bent backwards, avoiding the fist. His hands darted out and grabbed the offending arm at the wrist and elbow, and then he flipped the clone over his head and slammed it into the ground, the impact causing the clone to disappear.
The Hokage's eyes widened. The move he just observed rivaled in power and usefulness that of any other move he had ever seen. He glanced over at Yakuro. This young man had INVENTED this style? For that matter, there was more of this type of move? The Hokage had certainly seen moves like it, but the sheer fluidity and surprise of the move astonished him. It reminded him slightly of Orochimaru's style, in that the moves weren't telegraphed. But, unlike Orochimaru's style, which simply relied on the element of surprise, this style centered on it. It was obvious form that simple move that the style would be deadly to anyone who had not encountered it before. In a duel, its supremacy would be unrivaled. Without any other opponents, all one would have to do was wait for the opponent to attack, then BAM, instant kill.
He shook his head. There was no possible way anyone below the level of one of the Sannin could have come up with a style like that. There was obviously no point in continuing this examination after Naruto was finished. A ninja like Yakuro would end up winning this fight and telling him almost nothing about his skills. Hopefully he could rely on the man when he needed him, but he was almost certain he could. Besides, if Naruto could trust the man with his life, then he could too.
He turned back to the match, creating another four Kage bushin, which all rushed at Naruto and engaged him in taijutsu. Much warier this time, the clones struck quickly, leaving him plenty of room to dodge, but almost none to counter. Finally, his foot slipped and his form faltered, and the clone that was coming in with a simple punch shifted his weight and came in for an uppercut. Naruto followed the force of the uppercut, rolling his head backwards and jumping slightly for momentum. Pulling his feet up, he squeezed the clone's neck between his feet and used his momentum to flip the clone over his head, slamming the clone into the ground and allowing him to land lightly.
The Hokage froze upon seeing this move, practically salivating with anticipation. This style was AMAZING!! It took the idea that most Shinobi are inherently cocky and would capitalize on a perceived advantage and exploited it. Using unpredictable and unorthodox moves, the style allowed the user the constant element of surprise. And, from what the Hokage could see, the moves were diverse enough to combat any single assailant with ease. Screw teaching the team; let Yakuro teach HIM. If this was the kind of goodies that the man gave to his students, Sarutobi couldn't wait to grill the man for techniques himself.
As if sensing his thoughts, Yakuro shifted uneasily between his feet. Looking over at his Sensei, he smiled and nodded his head towards the match. Sarutobi paused for a second, then, remembering his words from earlier, shook his head exasperatedly and formed five more clones next to Naruto, all of which immediately drew swords.
In response, the boy drew two shorter katana from their scabbards hidden in his cloak. Both were curved slightly more than normal katana, as if designed for a specific style, and were crafted out of pure steel with a sealing array etched into them in gold. Sarutobi widened his eyes again as he realized that the seals gave the metal chakra conductive properties. Naruto held his left sword out in front of him sideways, and dropped the second sword to his side in a reverse stance. Once again, Sarutobi was confronted with a style that he had never seen before.
Nonetheless, the clones simultaneously dashed towards Naruto in a zigzag pattern, swinging their blades into striking positions. Once again, Naruto stood immobile until the last moment, when his blades became a flurry of movement, the blade held in front smashing through the clone's attacks one by one, and the other blade following up with a quick, surgical strike to the neck, severing the muscles and arteries there. There was a micro pause, with Naruto left wide open to attack, and then the clones simultaneously burst into smoke.
Sarutobi motioned for Naruto to return to the group. As he approached, Sarutobi called to him, "A little risky, letting your opponent that close before truly analyzing their strengths, but effective nonetheless."
Naruto smiled, "It may be risky to you, but not to me or Yakuro."
Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, "And what does that mean, young Shinobi?"
Choosing to not respond to the question, Naruto turned to Yakuro, asking, "Should I demonstrate?"
Yakuro simply nodded in return. Naruto took a kunai from his holster; then spoke to the remainder of the group, "See this kunai," he tapped it against the hilt of his sword, "It's real, see." Sarutobi and Sasuke nodded. In one motion, Naruto plunged the kunai into his temple, causing blood to spurt wildly from his head. "And I'm still alive, right?"
Sarutobi nodded dumbfoundedly, and Sasuke stared at Naruto, salivating slightly at the idea of having that much power in his grasp. Waiting for them to respond, he pulled the kunai out of his head. "Me and Yakuro are immortal. That's what that means. We don't take risks; we just screw up and end up pretending to be dead. In fact, Yakuro is…" he turned to Yakuro for help.
Yakuro nodded slightly and said, "5168 years, 147 days, 13 hours, 35 minutes, and 21 seconds old, and I've been 'killed' 347 times. I keep track for kicks."
Sasuke nodded sullenly and said, "That's an understatement." Naruto snickered slightly at this comment, and Yakuro simply rolled his eyes
Sarutobi nodded slowly, watching the wound on Naruto's head stitch itself up before his eyes. He had heard of immortal Shinobi wandering the earth in times past, worshippers of a god named Jashin, but that one of the followers had killed off all the other members. "In that case," he said hesitantly, "I shouldn't need to test either of your skills. With that power alone you become at least B-ranked Shinobi, and that doesn't factor in any other skills or training."
Yakuro nodded. "I personally took out an entire invading army in the Land of the Waves during the first Shinobi war, so I shouldn't be a problem. Besides that, I can vouch for you that Naruto is definitely strong enough to take on anyone in the village, so we should be good. Sasuke, however, might need some training."
The former Hokage turned to Sasuke. "Well, young Uchiha, it looks like you've got very good luck. You are currently on a team with, I am assuming, the three strongest Shinobi in the village, and you will be training with them. No doubt you will soar to great heights, no doubt at all. In fact, you should be ready for the Chunin exams by at least the next one."
The Hokage took out his pipe and lit it, staring at the clouds pensively. He glanced around the training ground, and then, spying a flat rock, went and sat down. His team followed eager to hear what he had to say to them. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Yakuro piped in, asking, "So, what are we going to teach our young apprentice?"
Sarutobi shook his head, "I do not know… I was thinking starting with basic Chakra exercises, which you will not be needed for. If you would like, you may head over to the tower." He paused for a second, then handed him a handwritten note from his robes, "You can give this to the receptionist. It will allow you full access to our archives. Feel free to add some of your, most likely, vast wealth of knowledge as well."
He turned to Sasuke, eyeing him critically, "If you need me, I will be out here with Sasuke, working on some serious ego issues." He smiled briefly, "Now, as Sensei, I call the first official meeting of team 7 to a close."
And with that, the group dispersed, Naruto and Yakuro headed to the Hokage Tower to study, and Sasuke and Sarutobi headed to a more secluded portion of the training field to begin training.
Final A/N: *Huff, Huff* Finally done. Sorry for the wait, this chapter's about 4 times longer than one of my normal ones. I hope you like it. I tried to not spring any surprises, but maybe I got someone. If you have comments, feel free to post. If you see a grammatical error, or have a better wording for a phrase, feel free to post that too. Once again, no flames, please. They're really stupid. Really.