Code SIN - VI. Growing Up, Team Training
"speaking"
'thinking' - normal italics are just stressed words -
Jutsu
line ----- indicates scene change or major time skips
*~xXx~* indicates a slight break, no scene change, a little time skip
"To those who have passed, please return to room 207 in five days to find out the team placements. Thank you, and congratulations for passing!"
It was Friday, and finally time for the genins to all gather back at the Academy to receive their team listings. For the past four days, Ino had stayed with Naruto to take care of him while Anko and Ibiki had missions and work to do.
During Naruto's recovery time at the hospital, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Shino had dropped by often, spending most of their free time with the two blonds. Kiba had came over as well, once, claiming that he was passing by and visiting his family member in the hospital. Naruto knew for a fact that none of the Inuzukas were hospitalized at that time. Ino's parents had also visited Naruto several times before he was released, two days after the assault.
At first, Ino had jokingly said that he was discharged early because the medical personnel could not stand to look at Naruto's ugly face for more than two minutes at a time. She was revolted to find that that was part of the reason they refused to service him. Bthe vessel of the Kyuubi had its downsides, but it also had many perks. A huge amount of chakra, enhanced senses, fast regenerative abilities, are just some of the benefits of being a jinchuuriki. Really, the only disadvantages of being him were the chances of Kyuubi screwing him up mentally – which hasn't happened yet, thanks to the Yondaime's amazing sealing talent –, his chakra control being horribly affected by the constant influx of youkai, demon chakra, passing through his chakra coils, and the hate of possibly everyone in the village, bar a few certain individuals. Because of his amazing healing abilities, Naruto's injuries were fully healed in less than two days.
The same cannot be said for Mizuki, who was currently in a mild coma and suffering from numerous wounds, all superficial. Iruka was cleared from the hospital four days after the attack. He had minor injuries, thankfully not fatal or extremely dangerous, and suffered from mild chakra exhaustion. For Naruto, chakra exhaustion was rarely a problem because of his massive chakra capacity, but when it was reached, like during the fight, it only took around eighteen hours for his chakra stores to replenish. For normal shinobi like Iruka, chakra exhaustion can take almost five days to fully recover from. Losing too much chakra can even result in death. But Iruka was thankfully okay, and was ready for Friday and the meeting with the new genins.
Ino had stuck by Naruto while he healed, and had offered for him to stay at her place afterwards, seeing as Anko and Ibiki were rarely home to take care of him. Inoichi, Ino's father, had welcomed him with open arms. Naruto had marvelled at his amazing kindness. Hikari, Ino's mother, had some initial reservations about him being the demon he was, but her doubts were quickly dashed away when she started noticing the way Naruto would flinch around them when they made any sudden movements towards him. That made her feel guilty about the way they were treating him. He was only a ten-year-old boy, for Kami's sake! Her doubts were replaced with fondness and occasional bouts of motherly affection, much to the embarrassment of Ino.
'I feel this… warm, bubbling feeling in my chest. Is this what having a mother feels like? The warmth and security…'
Naruto had decided that he quite liked this feeling of love and protection.
When Friday rolled by, the initial awkwardness between the two friends had melted away, and they regained the close camaraderie they had shared prior to the incident. They had walked to school together that day, Naruto having spent the night at Ino's house.
As they entered the Academy, the two friends tried to sneak into the classroom without anyone noticing, but was intercepted by Kiba.
"Hey, Naruto! This is for Academy graduates only! What are you doing here?"
Naruto scowled at the Inuzuka. "I passed, dog-breath! See this hitai-ate?" He pointed at his forehead, where his Konoha headband shoved back his unruly blond hair from his face. "Don't tell me your eyesight is so terrible you can't even see this! Didn't you say that one time when Ino had walked in from the rain, that she was so soaked that you can see her wet, tan, supple-" Kiba paled as Ino shot him a murderous glare that promised retribution. "-New leather bag?" Naruto smirked at the terribly frightened boy. "Well, good day to you too!" The blond said with mirth as Ino dragged Naruto up to their usual seats along the back row.
They settled down into their seats, right as Iruka walked in. "Hey guys!" Iruka called out cheerfully. "How was your five-day break?" The new genins commented on their activities during the break. After a few minutes, Iruka cleared his throat, a signal for them to quiet down. "Now, onto more important matters. All of you are now responsible people, legal adults according to our laws. It is your duty to…"
Naruto dozed through Iruka's last lecture, tired from lack of sleep due to Ino. They had stayed up last night, discussing the possible team outcomes. They had concluded that Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino would probably be in the same team, most likely specializing in reconnaissance, as their family abilities greatly compliment each others'. Another likely possibility would be Hinata, Kiba, and quite possibly Shino, as a tracking team. Beyond that, they couldn't really predict.
Naruto started to pay attention as Iruka began to wrap up his speech. "Okay, now it's time to announce the teams! I'll only say this once, so you better listen! Team 1…" Naruto fidgeted impatiently, hoping for Iruka to hurry up with the team assignments.
"Team 4, Aburame Shino, Uzumaki Naruto, and Yamanaka Ino."
"YES!!" Naruto and Ino screamed in unison. Shino merely adjusted his glasses. But to anyone who knew him, they could tell that he was extremely satisfied.
Iruka smiled at their enthusiasm. "Your jounin-sensei will be Morino Ibiki."
Naruto suddenly paled and clammed up. "Oh no… it's gonna be Anko all over again…" he muttered depressingly, curling up into a ball in his chair. Ino hit him over what she thought was his head, slightly disconcerted by his reaction to Ibiki as their sensei. "Calm down, Whiskers!" She hissed. "I wanna hear the rest of the teams!"
'Haha! That means Ino-pig won't get to be with Sasuke-kun! True love will prevail, and Sasuke will be on my team, and we'll get to work together, then he's going to see what a great girl I am, then he's going to ask me out, then…' Sakura was lost in her own little world.
'Naruto-kun… I wanted to be on your team so badly…'Hinata thought sadly.
A couple of other teams were announced, but they were quickly dismissed by Naruto to be too weak to pass the second test. "Team 8, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Uchiha Sasuke. Your jounin-sensei will be Hatake Kakashi."
Sasuke 'hn'ed. All the girls in the class turned envious eyes at the Hyuuga heiress, but they couldn't really get mad at the soft-spoken girl. Besides, her father probably wouldn't hesitate in harming them for acting against the girl. But it didn't really matter, because she wasn't much competition seeing as she didn't even like Sasuke, a fact that was practically incomprehensible to them. They felt sorry for the girl for liking the class dropout, Naruto. They obviously thought that there was something wrong with the girl that she would choose Naruto over Sasuke, and so not a lot of people wanted to hang out with her. As a result, Hinata was often excluded and felt very lonely.
Naruto snickered at Team 8's misfortune. "What are you laughing at?" Kiba demanded.
"Nothing," said Naruto, trying to reign in his laughter. "Good luck with Kakashi."
Iruka coughed to get their attention. "Team 9 is still in rotation. Team 10, Akimichi Chouji, Haruno Sakura, and Nara Shikamaru. Your jounin-sensei will be Yuhi Kurenai."
Shikamaru groaned. "How troublesome. Looks like we're stuck with a female instructor."
Sakura glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?!" She screeched. For once, Ino agreed.
Shikamaru groaned again. "Girls and their temper. They're all upset that they can't be on the same team as Sasuke. And we get the worst end of the stick, being stuck with Sasuke's number one fan girl. Chouji, I feel so sorry for us."
Naruto placed his hands together in a praying fashion. "May Kami have mercy on you," he intoned.
The rest of the boys suddenly turned serious, and pitying eyes were directed to Shikamaru and Chouji. "Amen."
Lunch was uneventful for the most part. Everyone was abuzz about their new teams and what they would do with their jounin-senseis later on.
Team 4 had calmly eaten their lunch in the forests, away from the other students. Shino and Ino had watched and listened attentively while Naruto dissected apart each team, stating their possible weaknesses and strengths, and what roles they would be most suitable for.
"Team 8, consists of Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Uchiha Sasuke, and jounin-sensei, Hatake Kakashi. They will most likely be a tracking team. Hinata's Byakugan will enable them to quickly locate their targets. Kiba's from the Inuzuka clan, and their dogs and heightened sense of smell will also be useful for their purposes. Sasuke will most likely be the heavy hitting and support member of their group. I doubt the Sharingan would have much to contribute to the tracking aspect. He will most likely be the one to distract and disrupt possible enemies heading for their team. Their jounin-sensei is Hatake Kakashi, the Copy-nin, A-class ninja of Konoha. Rumoured to have copied over a thousand jutsus by use of his implanted Sharingan. Kakashi does not specialize in tracking, but rather in assassination, so my guess is that he is put onto Team 8 solely to train Sasuke, seeing as he is the last Uchiha and Kakashi does have a Sharingan eye, making him the only possible one to teach Sasuke."
"Team 10, consists of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Haruno Sakura. Possibly a reconnaissance team. Shika's clan techniques are effective for capturing the enemy, though it is quite cumbersome if the opponent somehow deduces he is of the Nara clan, as then they will know to avoid the shadows. My guess is that Sakura will be the one to distract the target, probably with genjutsu as she has excellent chakra control and relatively small reserves. Chouji will probably fill in the heavy hitting support role, seeing as he is the only one in the group that will have the necessary techniques to be effective in a full-out fight. Yuhi Kurenai, recently promoted to jounin status, known as the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha. She will be teaching the three the art of stealth, as their retrieval missions and tactics will rely heavily on sneaking up on the enemy. Sakura will develop under her tutelage nicely.
"Team 4, consists of Yamanaka Ino, Aburame Shino, and Uzumaki Naruto. Specialization is unknown. Ino's clan techniques are good for finding information, but leaves her open to attacks as she will not have control over her body while performing the Yamanaka's most powerful technique, Shintenshin no Jutsu. Shino's bugs are also good for information gathering, as most people never notice the bugs around them. As for me, I guess I'm the support, since the only thing I've shown them is an uncanny talent to pull plans and techniques out of my ass at the most inopportune moments. Morino Ibiki, the Head of Konoha's ANBU Torture and Interrogating Department - though only chuunin-level ninja and up will know this - , known as the Interrogator. I have no idea why he's suddenly taking on a genin team, nor what role he will play in our squad. Do not mention anything I have just told you to anyone. Not even your parents. Actually, especially your parents. They are on the Council and will not hesitate to jail me because I have so much knowledge on our village."
Naruto's hidden intelligence never failed to awe Ino. Shino was used to how Naruto used so many different personalities to hide his true personality and talents. The blond boy's serious attitude was not lost on the two, and they knew this was an important matter. His teammates had wondered what Naruto meant when he talked about his own analysis and how he had so much information on these people, but they didn't bother questioning the blond boy about it. They'll never get an answer out of him if Naruto didn't want them to. "What about the other six teams?" Ino asked curiously.
Naruto gazed at her calmly, as if debating whether or not he should tell her. Finally, he reached a decision. "They will not become genin, and such, are not consequential," he stated calmly.
Ino gaped. Shino remained calm and stoic, but his bugs were buzzing and flitting around nervously. "What do you mean they won't become genin?!" Ino shrieked. "They passed the test!" Naruto chose to ignore her. Ino huffed, knowing that the blond will not reveal anymore.
They lapsed into silence once again as their brief conversation and discussion died out. The rest of their lunch break was spent in comforting peace.
Team 4 returned back to the classroom, just as the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. They were among the first ones there, as people started trickling in from their lunch break. The students settled down quickly next to their teammates as Iruka walked in. The new genins sat in tense silence, waiting for their jounin-senseis. Iruka supervised his students until their new teachers came and picked them up. So far, five out of the nine teams had left: Team 1, 2, 5, 6, and 10.
Kiba was bored out of his mind. His best friend and pet dog, Akamaru, was fast asleep on his head, and he had nothing to do while waiting for their jounin-sensei to arrive. He glanced over at Team 4, frustrated and noting that the three members did not appear to be as affected as he was about their late senseis. Naruto noticed Kiba staring at his team's general direction.
"What's the matter? Like what you see?" Naruto joked.
Kiba sneered. "As if, loser! I'd rather stare at an old guy's ass than look at your stupid face! I bet your sensei - Ibiki wasn't it? – took one look at your ugly mug and hightailed it out of here!"
"Well, I don't see anything wrong with Uzumaki's face, Inuzuka," a baritone voice behind Kiba commented dryly. The dog boy jumped, the voice had surprised him. Then he paled. Not many could sneak up on an Inuzuka's nose. This guy was the real deal. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll be taking my students." Kiba quickly moved aside for the imposing man.
Naruto didn't seem fazed at all when the man stepped up towards him. The occupants of the room shivered in fear at the sudden drop in temperature. Naruto stared at his sensei defiantly, bright blue eyes drilling into the other's eyes. The man suddenly broke into a grin. "Been practicing, I see."
Naruto smiled right back. "Of course, nii-san. Or should I say, Ibiki-sensei?"
Ibiki gave him an amused smirk. "Don't think I'll go easy on you, Naruto. I know how much you can take. I promise you, what you did with Anko will be a cakewalk compared to what I have in mind for you." Naruto suppressed a shiver at the glee in Ibiki's voice.
Ino stared at Ibiki. This was a totally different man from what she had seen from him at the hospital visits. The cynical and slightly melodramatic man was gone, replaced by a cynical, slightly melodramatic, sadistic, and deadly shinobi. Actually, his previous persona reminded her of Naruto. She hoped that Naruto wouldn't grow to be like his nii-san. Kami knows that there are enough weird and strong shinobis in their village. A strange combination, but Ino was forced to abandon her stray thoughts as Ibiki motioned for Team 4 to follow him.
Kiba gave an involuntary sigh of relief as the man left with Ino, Naruto, and Shino. 'I hope our sensei's not creepy and weird like that,' he thought apprehensively. Boy was he in for a big surprise.
Two hours later, a really pissed off Kiba was found pacing the floor of the classroom, further irritating Sasuke, while Hinata glanced at the door several times, playing with her fingers nervously. A previously asleep Akamaru whined on Kiba's head as he tried to calm his master down.
"Where the hell is that lazy bastard! Even Iruka-sensei left and he's still not here!" Kiba shouted in anger.
'Hn, our jounin-sensei must be very weak for him to not want to come and teach ME. Must be afraid to embarrass himself in front of the last Uchiha,' Sasuke thought arrogantly, though very frustrated at a day wasted, waiting for someone inconsequential.
'K-Kakashi-s-s-sensei m-must th-think I'm t-too w-we-weak…' Hinata sighed in depression. She suddenly whipped her head up us someone slid the door open. A silver-haired head poked in, a mask hiding the lower portion of his face. A gray eye blinked lazily.
"YOU LOSER OF A SENSEI!! YOU'RE LATE!!" Kiba screeched loudly at a volume that would impress Sakura. Akamaru growled at the man at the door.
Kakashi stared at the three in contemplation. "My first impression of you guys… I hate you. Come meet me on the rooftops in five minutes." With that, he shunshined away.
Kiba growled angrily and stomped off to the rooftops, as per Kakashi's instructions. Hinata followed hesitantly, while Sasuke snorted, walking at a leisurely pace. The three gathered at the rooftops, waiting impatiently for their sensei to show up. Half an hour later, Kakashi leapt up from a lower level. "Hey guys!" He said cheerfully, curved eyes the only indication of a smile.
"What the hell!! How can you be twenty-five minutes late!! It's a straight walk up the stairs from the classroom!! Argh I swear, you do that just to piss us off!!" Kiba complained. The dog jumped down from his head and whined, licking Kiba's hand.
Kakashi opted to ignore him. "Alright, now that we're all here, why don't you tell us something about yourself? Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, those sorts of things."
Hinata fidgeted. "A-Anou… K-K-Ka-Kakashi-s-sensei w-why do-don't you g-go f-first?" She whispered.
Kakashi blinked. "Um… sure why not? My name is Hatake Kakashi, hmm I like a lot of things… dislikes… hobbies," A perverted giggle, "You're too young to know about them, dreams… well…"
Kiba stared at Kakashi. This was their sensei?! He face-palmed. 'I think I preferred Ibiki…'
Hinata squirmed in her spot.
Kakashi picked up on Hinata's obvious discomfort. "Well, Kiba-chan, ladies first!" His eye curved up into the annoying eye-smile. Hinata giggled nervously while Kiba's face started to turn an interesting shade of purple.
"Well, my name is Inuzuka Kiba!" He puffed up his chest. "And this here is Akamaru!" The small dog beside him barked in greeting. "I like, well dogs I guess, gentle people who try to care for everyone," he blushed and shot a sidelong glance towards Hinata, who remained oblivious, "and playing with my family. I hate people who don't like dogs, who are mean to those who can't protect themselves, and late people." He glared at Kakashi before continuing. "My hobbies are training and playing with Akamaru. And my dream is to be the best Inuzuka tracker ever!" Kiba pumped his fist into the air enthusiastically at the mentioning of his dream.
Kakashi gave Kiba a strange look. 'Hmm… seems like he's not as big of an idiot as I thought…' He gestured at Sasuke. "Okay brooding brat, your next."
Sasuke humphed. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't have many likes, and I dislike everything else. My hobby is training, and my dream… well, it's more of an ambition... to revive my clan and kill… a certain someone."
Kakashi rolled his eye, but no one noticed, eyes still riveted on the Uchiha while the brat sat there trying to look 'cool and mysterious'… failing badly. 'Hm, just as I thought. turned his eye towards the lone female member of the group. "What about you, Hinata-chan?"
"A-Anou, m-my n-n-name is H-Hyuuga H-Hinata… I l-like c-cooking a-and I-I ad-admire p-people who t-try th-their h-h-hardest no m-matter w-what… I-I d-don't l-like p-people w-who b-b-bully o-others b-because t-they a-are w-w-weak… a-a-and I-I d-don't l-like the H-Hyuuga m-main b-b-branch…" she blushed self-consciously, hoping that no one would mention that to her family. Kakashi's brows rose in surprise. "M-My h-hobbies a-are c-cooking a-and m-making s-s-salves, a-and m-my d-d-dream i-is t-to be s-strong, s-someday t-take o-over the H-H-Hyuuga c-clan, a-and b-b-bring b-back the f-f-father I-I k-knew," she finished, her stutter taking over her speech.
'Hmm, this group is certainly not what I had expected… especially the Hyuuga… I think I'm going to have fun with this bunch…' Kakashi cackled evilly in his mind as he regarded his students with his eye. "Well, now that we know each other, we'll meet each other tomorrow at five A.M. at Training Ground 11 for survival training. Be sure to not eat breakfast! Well, unless you want to throw up! See you there!" Kakashi shunshined away, to the annoyance of the rest of Team 8.
"Survival training?! Again!? Kami I'm starting hate that bastard!!" Kiba screamed.
Kakashi suddenly shunshined back. "Oh, I forgot to mention. The mission is actually a test with a sixty-six percent fail rate. If you fail, you'll get sent back to the Academy! Ja!"
Kiba smacked his head repeatedly on a nearby railing. "NOW I REALLY HATE THAT BASTARD!!!"
"My name is Yuhi Kurenai, and as you already know, I will be your jounin-sensei. Now, why don't you introduce yourselves? The boy on the right?"
Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome… My name is Nara Shikamaru…"
Kurenai waited. As seconds ticked by, she realized that that is all the boy had to say. "And…?" She prompted him. "Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams?
Shikamaru sighed again. "I like peace and quiet, I dislike loud people, my hobbies are cloud-watching and playing shogi, and my dream is to become an average ninja, marry the least troublesome woman I can find, retire from shinobi life, raise a few kids, and spend the rest of my days cloud-watching. Happy?"
Kurenai stared. 'This guy has to be the laziest genin I have ever seen! Sure he's a Nara, but he's lazy, even by their standards! How did he even pass the Genin Exam?' The red-eyed jounin pointed at the pink-haired girl. "How about you?"
"My name is Haruno Sakura! The things I like, well, it's more like a boy… his name is…" Sakura started giggling and blushing. Kurenai coughed loudly. "Please continue, Sakura-san."
"Please don't encourage her, Kurenai-sensei," Shikamaru mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for Kurenai and Chouji to hear.
"I hate people who look down on kunoichi because they think girls are weak, and bullies! My dream is for the person I like to…" At this point, Sakura was blushing madly, trying in vain to staunch a massive nosebleed.
Kurenai sighed. 'Typical fan-girl. After the Uchiha, no doubt.' "Okay, the last person?"
Chouji continued to chomp on his chips. "My name is Akimichi Chouji," he said, his mouth finally empty as he swallowed to speak. "I like eating. I hate people who make fun of others just because of how they look. My hobbies are eating and hanging out with Shikamaru. My dream is to open my own restaurant and become the head chef!"
Kurenai sighed in relief. 'Finally! A normal one! This team is not too… motivated. I mean, the girl seems okay, fan-girlism aside. One boy likes eating, the other is lazy. Sure, I'm supposed to pass them, but their making it kind of hard for me to do so. Let's hope they do well on my test.'
Kurenai clapped her hands together. "Well, now that the introductions are over, it's time to move on to the important things! First, you will be administered a test."
Shikamaru groaned. "Not again… how troublesome…" Sakura shushed him, eager to listen to Kurenai's next instructions.
Kurenai glared at Shikamaru. "As I was saying, this test determines whether or not you will become genin."
Sakura gaped at her. "But didn't we already pass the exam? We have our hitai-ates, see!" She said, pointing at the ninja headband tied on the top of her head like a headband.
Kurenai shook her head. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, Sakura-san. This is the real test, and only three out of the ten teams that passed the Genin Exam will become real genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. Usually, the test is given to you a day after you receive the teams, but I decided to do things a little differently this year. Anyways, your task is to find me and 'tag' me with one of these." She handed them each a little black sticker. "You are not allowed to leave the training grounds during this test. Other than that, there are no rules. You can use anything you like, as long as you don't run off. Alright? Begin!" Kurenai suddenly disappeared from sight. Sakura jumped as their sensei's voice seemed to echo from the trees. "I am known as the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha. If you don't see me, you can't catch me. How are you going to find me now?" Sakura placed her hands together to form the ram seal, yelling out 'Kai!'. Kurenai's laughter began to fade. "How are you going to find me when I'm already gone?"
"How troublesome… okay, I have a plan. Chouji, Sakura, come over here."
Chouji finally packed away his chips when he saw that Shikamaru was actually serious for once. Sakura looked at Shikamaru with curiousity. "A plan? Already? No offense, Shikamaru, but you're academic grades are terrible. I don't think your plans will work."
Shikamaru ignored her. "This is what we'll do…"
Sakura stared at him with amazement. "And you thought of that just now? Are you sure you didn't know of this test already?"
Chouji smiled at her. "Shikamaru was always a genius; he was just too lazy to pay attention in class."
Sakura continued to stare at Shikamaru, disbelief in her eyes. "You mean to tell me that he didn't do well in class because he was too lazy to do anything?!"
Chouji nodded sheepishly, embarrassed for his friend. "Pretty much. Now, let's start the plan…"
*~xXx~*
"Your efforts are admirable, but you still haven't managed to tag me. Are you ready to give up?" Kurenai tried to steady her breathing as she taunted her students. Truth was, the three was surprisingly good. She was actually breathing hard from their attempts.
A voice behind her spoke. "Sorry, sensei. We win. Kagemane no Jutsu success."
Shikamaru stepped out from the trees smirking, forcing Kurenai to walk up a few steps. Sakura appeared in front of her and slapped a black sticker on her wrist, a huge grin on her face.
"Clever. Using those traps to distract me while manoeuvring me to the perfect location, then having Chouji engage me in taijutsu while Sakura places a genjutsu on me. Then, while I was fighting against Chouji, you were secretly behind me hidden in the trees and under a layer of genjutsu. Your shadow crept up on me from behind so that I couldn't stop it, not without Chouji also sticking a black sticker onto me. You utilized my weakness in close combat to its fullest. Brilliant tactics. The Naras do have a brain after all." Kurenai sighed in defeat. "Fine, you win. Team 10, pass."
"YATTA!" Sakura screamed, rushing over to her other two teammates to share a group hug. Shikamaru quickly disengaged his jutsu and, just as Sakura tackled them. As soon as the three got out of the hug, they dusted themselves off. Sakura and Chouji continued to cheer loudly, while a small satisfied smile was seen on Shikamaru's face.
"Alright, team! You will have the rest of the day off to prepare for tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow?" Sakura echoed. "What are we doing tomorrow?"
Kurenai gave them a cheeky grin. "You'll find out tomorrow."
Shikamaru groaned. "How troublesome."
Back with Naruto, Ibiki had taken the three through numerous alleyways and secret passages that had Shino and Ino thoroughly confused by the time that they reached their destination. Naruto had recognized the route and had kept quiet.
"Aha! Here we are! Welcome to the Head Quarters of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Department!" Ibiki gestured grandly.
Ino blinked. "Uh… Ibiki-sensei… you do know that's just the side of the Hokage Mountain, right?"
Ibiki scowled. "Silly girl! This is a high level genjutsu to conceal our hideout. You don't think the HQ of T&I would be in plain view of anyone, did you? Well, technically it is, as many people pass this point every single day. No one but the people in T&I and clan members with special doujutsus can detect this level of genjtus." He did a complex string of handseals too fast for the three to see, before the wall shimmered, revealing a hidden doorway. "Now follow me," Ibiki commanded.
As Team 4 made their way through the HQ, they received many odd looks from the people inside. Ibiki shot them all a cold glare. He informed the trio that he would provide a map of the HQ for them to memorize later. "Except for Naruto," he amended. "He's been here a lot of times," Ibiki grinned at the blond boy.
Ino and Shino gave Naruto a weird look, before shrugging. As Team 4 was ushered into a large office, Ibiki placed a silencing jutsu over the room. "Now that we're here, no one can listen in on us. Now, I'm assuming that Naruto has analyzed the teams already, correct? Good. I am also assuming that he has left a couple of teams out as unimportant, am I right?" At their nods, he continued. "Well, the real reason why he did that was because I told him to. Those teams will not become genin."
As Ino opened her mouth to protest, Ibiki silenced her with a glare. "Let me finish. They will not become genin because everyone who have passed the Genin Exam will have to go through a second test staged by their jounin-sensei. These tests will be centered around a characteristic or important value of being a shinobi of Konoha, most likely teamwork or some such. Only three teams will pass, which is predetermined by the Council."
"But that's not fair!" Ino blurted out.
Ibiki stared at the girl. "We're ninjas, girly, not fucking saints. We're not paid to be fair," he stated bluntly. "As I was saying, the teams are predetermined. The teams with the most influential connections, mainly the ninja clan heirs, are definitely going to pass. As for our group, you guys were handpicked by me, to be an extremely specialized and unique group. For the next few years, you will be training under me to be the first torture and interrogation team. The Council has no say in what I do with you three, and I have free reign over our activities. Now, any questions?"
Shino raised his hand. "Sensei, as you have revealed the jounin assessment, are you implying that we do not have to take this test?"
Ibiki chuckled. "There would be no point. Even if you failed, the Council would've forced me to pass you guys anyways."
The three nodded in understanding.
Ibiki reached over to a nearby bookshelf and pulled out three scrolls. He tossed them to his students and grinned, sending shivers down their backs. "These are the maps of the HQ. The handseals to the entrance I will show you myself, after you guys have had more experience and gained my trust. Even Naruto doesn't know them. Hehe, I expect these maps memorized, or else you're going to experience our profession first hand… Feel honoured. You'll be the first ones to suffer my methods and live." He gave the three a hungry stare.
His students gulped.
"I knew it, I just knew it," Naruto muttered under his breath. "What did I tell you Ino?"
Ibiki smirked triumphantly. Oh, wait 'til they see what he has planned for them…
Jutsu Used/Mentioned
Shintenshin no Jutsu - Mind Body Switch Technique; the user's consciousness leaves their body and transfers to another person or animal, in order to control their mind. This technique leaves the body defenseless, and any damage taken by the victim will similarly be inflicted on the user. The mind transfer is slow and moves in a straight line, which means that this technique is best used on stationary targets. Though it is very rare, if the victim has a strong will, they might be able to force the user out of their mind.
Kagemane no Jutsu - Shadow Imitation Technique; allows the user to extend his or her shadow as far as possible. When the user's shadow comes into contact with the shadow of the victim, the two shadows merge and the victim is forced to imitate the user's movements. This technique uses up a lot of chakra, and as with the Shintenshin no Jutsu, a strong will might be able to overpower the shadow imitation.
Thank you Narutopedia!
A/N: whaatt?? it doesn't feel like anything happened in this chapter… iunno :P I dun wanna write the next chapter… cuz I'm tired… and school sucks… and… and… other reasons… just because we have a four-day break doesn't mean that we have nothing to DO in those four days… teachers are evil DX three projects EACH for two subjects, a French write-up, a lab report, and a math assignment due this week… so I'm uploading early... 'cause I'll probably forget to do it this week anyways -.-
EDITED: because i was a fail and uploaded the incomplete version =.=" also, who knew hinata's part would be so hard to write?? stutters are annoying to type..
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