Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto
Thoughts are underlined
Chapter 4:
"What! I refuse to be on the same team as him. Neither me or my family will stand for this!"
Beside Kiba, Akamaru barked agreement. Naruto snidely replied,
"Like I'm supposed to be happy I'm paired with some flea-bitten mutt?"
"Akamaru does not have fleas, and he's not a mutt!"
"Who says I was talking about Akamaru?"
Kiba's scowled, which emphasized a large faded burn scar on his right check and neck, a memento from the fight where Naruto hit him with a fireball at point blank range.
Naruto did not have any mementos from the fight, his healing factor taking care of all the injuries he incurred from Kiba when the Inuzuka was trying to rip his head open.
Akamaru started to growl and bare his fangs.
Before a fight could erupt, it was interrupted.
"Enough!"
Waisu's voice rang out.
"Kiba, you will have to in your life, work with many people you dislike. That is part of life. Get used to it. Both the Hokage and I agree that you and Naruto should be on a team together. Your skills complement each other's well. If you have a problem with your squad, you and your family can talk to the Hokage about it, but until then you will sit down and accept your squad placement and follow your orders. Naruto, don't purposely antagonize Kiba. Regardless of your feelings towards each other, you are ninja now. You are expected to be professional and keep your personal feelings and your duty separate."
When neither Kiba or Naruto responded, Waisu continued with reading out the squads.
After he finished reading the team placements he said,
"I wish all of you the greatest success in your ninja careers. Good luck. Please come to this classroom after lunch to meet with your Jounin instructor. Dismissed."
After lunch, the ninja gathered in the classroom waiting for their future Jounin commanders. Quickly the Jounin showed up and claimed their students, except for team 7 who just waited for their instructor who didn't show up.
"He's late!"
Naruto glanced at Kiba.
"Shut up Mongrel."
"What did you call me?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, do you not understand human speech? Must be all your clan's inbreeding. Or maybe there's truth to the rumor that an Inuzuka and their dog are closer than lovers."
Kiba leapt at Naruto with a snarl.
There was suddenly a blur, which grabbed Kiba and put him back in his seat. When the blur stopped moving, it was shown to be a tall man with silver hair. Strangely the man had a mask covering his lower face, and his hitai-ate was tilted down covering his left eye.
"Well this certainly isn't the perfect beginning to your professional careers. Meet me on the roof. Don't be late. That would be inconsiderate."
"But you were 3 hours late!"
"I had a good reason. I was attacked by an evil clown wielding a pie and a rubber chicken."
"What?"
"But it turns out the clown wasn't evil but merely misunderstood. In any case, to the roof."
He then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Team 7 made their way to the roof.
"Ok let's start with introductions. To get to know each other a little better, help develop a good team dynamic and so forth. Say your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, anything that you feel the rest of the squad should know about you."
"Why don't you start you start? We don't know anything about you."
"Ok. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like some things and dislike others. I have a few hobbies. As for dreams… I have one."
"You told us nothing. Why should we give you information, if you didn't give us any?"
"Because I say so… and that's a good enough reason right there. And I think you just volunteered to be first blondie."
Kiba chuckled a little.
"Fine. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like order, peace, and flames. I dislike any form of chaos or disorder, and I currently hate Kiba and his dog. As for hobbies I like fighting and gardening. As for dreams, I dream of peace, for order to be maintained and for innocent people to be able to live without fear. I dream of a world without monsters, and for no one to ever be unjustly attacked or murdered."
"Dogboy go."
"My name in Kiba Inuzuka and this is Akamaru. I like my family and Akamaru. I like my friends, and I also like good food. The best food is food that you need to really chew, stuff like jerky. I dislike soup and stuff you can't chew. I need food with texture. I loath Naruto. My dream is to be a great leader of the Inuzuka clan one day, and for Naruto to receive the punishment he deserves."
Naruto looked at Kiba.
"I was already punished for the incident."
"To the satisfaction of the village, not the clan."
"It was a damn dog. A mangy flea-bitten waste of oxygen filled with disease. It has a brain the size of a walnut, which I guess is why you two get along."
Naruto threw a few coins at Kiba's feet.
"There, now go to the pound and buy yourself a few replacement mutts in case something happens to your current one. Then get over it."
Kiba leapt at Naruto with a snarl, only for Kakashi to catch him and put him back in his seat.
"Yeah, this team is going to be a pleasure to teach. Moving to our next introduction. Let's go… um… just go"
"My n-name is Hinata Hyuuga. I like to press flowers, as well as to better myself. I dislike injustice. M-my hobbies are doing what I like. My dream is to be worthy of being heir to my clan and for the clan to get along."
"Alright, we have… a good mixture of personalities and goals here. I look forward to molding you into deadly ninja of Konoha. However, that will have to wait until you become Genin."
"I-I-I thought w-we were already Genin."
"No, you are potential Genin. The test at the academy was just to weed out the hopeless cases. I'll test you tomorrow. Show up at training ground 3 at 7:00 AM. I suggest you don't eat, or you'll likely throw up during the test. Dismissed."
Kakashi vanished with the three potential genin following suit.
"Well what's your appraisal Kakashi?"
"Permission to speak freely."
"Granted."
Kakashi and the Hokage were currently in his office, all guards were sent away and the privacy seals were activated.
"Well Hokage-sama, there is no positive team dynamic to speak of, Hinata has no spine, Kiba is so filled with hate that he might end up turning traitor for a chance at revenge and Naruto's… fanatically devoted to a belief system that matches the Firefly's perceived beliefs. Slight question here but why Naruto is still walking around free? How is there any doubt in your mind that he's the Firefly?"
"Many people believe Naruto's the Firefly, myself included. However, the law binds my hand. No action can be taken with concrete evidence, and unfortunately there isn't any. All we have are strong suspicions and some circumstantial evidence that could theoretically be coincidental, though that's unlikely. It's ironic that the law passed to prevent mistreatment of the village's populace is currently hurting them."
"Then the law needs to be bent or broken. I don't think you realize the effects Naruto is having on this village. He acts according to no one's authority but his own. The rules he operates under are not clear. He's a rogue agent who doesn't answer to anyone and there is no specific person to bring him to justice is he abuses his power, which he has. Around 25% of our civilian population has moved away in the last 2 years alone. They moved because they don't know whether or not this unknown individual will arbitrarily decide that they're guilty of something and then kill them. Naruto doesn't take things to trial and has killed people in every walk of life, some being under heavy security. So a civilian thinks, if I break some rule that this guy has, then he kills me, but I don't know any of the rules that this guy has and have no way of finding out. Also there isn't a damn thing I can do about it, because the Firefly's actions have proven very clearly that Konoha's police forces are incompetent idiots. Also there is a good chance that my business or home is going to be destroyed, because the Firefly loves arson. Therefore the terrified civilians run away. If we lose more civilians we might lose our critical minimum civilian capacity, which means Konoha loses its ability to be self-sufficient. If we are forced to become dependent on other powers, then that opens up vulnerabilities that our enemies can exploit. In addition, despite the best efforts of our propaganda agents, news of the Firefly's actions have leaked out into the world. The fact that we have a threat in our home that we have not been able to deal with makes us look weak. If potential clients think we're weak, they might not come to us for business. If the other nations think we're weak, they will seek to take advantage of our perceived weakness and attack us. And while our strength has recovered tremendously since the Kyuubi attack and the various wars and battles that Konoha has fought in, we are still only half as strong as what we should be and only about a quarter as strong as what the outside world believes we are. And while because of the strength of our ninja we might survive multiple attacks, the attacks will leave us weak and easy prey for the other nations, who will descend upon us like vultures. Also there have been talks recently among the people concerning your mind somehow being contaminated and under the Firefly's sway. They speak of doing what needs to be done. I worry in the future we might have mob violence to deal with. I care about Naruto, he is the only thing I have left of my sensei, I briefly held him in my arms when he was a baby… but for the sake of the village and all its inhabitants, we have do something about him now. It doesn't by any means have to be execution, but the threat that Naruto poses must in some way be neutralized."
"I know already about everything you're saying Kakashi, but there is more to this situation that you don't know. When Konoha was created, it was a scary concept for many people. It was taking nomads, independent clans, and soldiers for hire and binding them together in one society ruled by one man. People have long memories and remembered clearly the horrors of the Gouka Kingdom a century before. Therefore to reassure and ease the minds of the people, the Shodai Hokage passed into law a document. The document, the Konohagakure charter, among other things placed constraints and limitations upon the Hokage's power and it guarantees the rights that every citizen has. One rule was that the Hokage cannot take action against a person without proof. For over hundred years the charter has been obeyed and followed. It is in many ways the foundation that this village is built upon. It binds the village together, and it is what is allowing civilians to live in essentially a dictatorship without fear of my actions. If I were to take action against Naruto, several things would happen. Most people would be overjoyed; however some people would realize that to do so I broke the charter. People would realize that if I can choose to break the charter, I could break again. The essential human rights that they have taken for granted their entire lives they will no longer be able to count on. The Firefly may spread terror and might cause damage, but that will be nothing compared to what would happen if the people thought I was out of control. I am an extremely powerful person, physically and politically, and with an entire army at my call. If I were to, for a lack of better word, become evil there is not a damn thing anyone in Konoha could do to stop me. The only reason people are not terrified of me is that they take for granted the charter. If I took action against Naruto, the village as it is, the values it holds, would very likely be destroyed."
"So why don't you take an action against Naruto secretly. I mean what's one more secret within Konoha?"
"I realize that and I have a plan to that effect if it proves necessary. However, secrets have a tendency to be eventually brought to light, which would be disastrous in this situation. In any case, I will not give up on Naruto yet. I remember how he used to be, so sweet and innocent. Perhaps a little too loud to be an effective ninja but I am sure he would have outgrown that. That boy is still in there somewhere."
"That boy might be dead."
"I do not give up on people, as you should know."
"There is a big difference between his situation and mine Hokage-sama. Even in the very depths of the worst part of my episodes I was only a danger to myself. Naruto is dangerous to everyone around him. You know what he did to Danzo."
"Understood, but Danzo in many ways deserved what he got, especially considered what we learned about his Orochimaru connection. In any case, Konoha is hosting the next Chunin Exam in a few months. At the end of the examinations, if there is not a positive change in Naruto's behavior then he will be dealt with. My instructions for you are to keep your team busy, either training or on missions. Don't give Naruto time or opportunity to be the Firefly. This will hopefully cool the villager's anger a bit; get Naruto to get used to not acting like the Firefly, and for the team to bond. Perhaps doing so would cause Kiba to learn how to tolerate Naruto. Also this might help Hinata's confidence issues. Is there anything else you would say?"
"I still think that Naruto needs to be dealt with now."
"Well I don't. He hasn't killed anyone innocent and because of that I am willing to give him more time. Anything else?"
"No."
"Then dismissed."
The situation was awkward. It was 8 AM at training ground 3 and Kakashi wasn't there. The silence was very thick and it could not be expected to be broken any time soon. Kiba had a talk with his mom and was doing his best to ignore Naruto, Akamaru was sleeping, Naruto was randomly setting small plants on fire, and Hinata as shy as she was could not be expected to start a conversation. Finally Naruto spoke.
"Where do you think our teacher is?"
"No idea."
"I…I hope he's alright."
"Oh he's fine. He is just a pathetic and worthless waste of a ninja. He's got no skills and is going to teach us squat. We were probably assigned to him to get us out of the way. However, while myself being given this treatment is somewhat expected, I am not sure why you two are. You're both clan heirs, I would figure you two would be given better treatment for the political reasons alone. Perhaps your parents pissed off Sarutobi and this is his revenge."
"But he wouldn't do that."
Before Naruto could respond, Kiba interjected,
"Hey you guys smell something?"
"I swear if you make a fart joke I will kill you."
Akamaru woke up and both Kiba and his noses started to twitch.
In a puff of smoke Kakashi appeared and Kiba started gagging.
"You're late Cyclops".
"Sorry about that. It's a long story that begins with a pipe bursting in my house and ends with me being naked, painted blue, and neck deep in elephant manure. Had to run home to take a shower, guess I have to take another one. Anyway let's get to the test."
Kakashi put a timer on a nearby stump and pointed to his belt where two bells hung from a string.
"You have to noon. If you manage to get a bell then you pass, if not then I fail you back to the academy. You also don't get lunch. I will also tie you to a log so you can watch the others eat lunch. By the way, I am counting Kiba and Akamaru as one unit, so the pair of you only need one bell."
"But there are only two bells?"
"That is correct Kiba. It is only possible for at most two of you to pass, but of course another more likely possibility is that none of you will pass.
"But all Genin teams have 3 Genin, that's the rule."
"The potential Genin that pass the various tests the Jounin give will be combined and then split up again into 3 man teams. We want to make sure only the best and brightest get the chance to be ninja. I want you to come at me with everything you got. Lethal force is authorized. In any case, do your best and good luck… and go."
Kiba and Hinata quickly dashed off, but Naruto stayed still.
"You're not going to run?"
In response Naruto's hands erupted in flames.
"Now where's the fun in that sensei?"
"You honestly think you can beat me in a straight fight?"
Naruto's eyes flashed.
"Let's find out".
With that he threw his arms forward and launched the flames at Kakashi.
Just as the flames almost reached him, Kakashi dropped to the ground thus avoiding the flames unharmed. Naruto in response redirected those flames and they came at Kakashi's back but he effortlessly dodged it. Naruto suddenly rushed at Kakashi, his speed was incredible, but Kakashi was faster and calmly grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled his gut into his knee, transferred his weight and threw him behind him.
"You really should have thought of a plan".
Eyes flashing red, Naruto threw an enormous 5 meter wide fire ball at Kakashi, which connected.
As the smoke cleared instead of seeing a burnt Kakashi, all Naruto saw was a 2 square meter wall rising out of the ground.
Behind the wall, Kakashi kicked the wall and it broke free of the ground and flew at Naruto, who dodged it by flying up. Hovering in midair, Naruto flew until he was right above Kakashi and threw another fireball, this time Kakashi didn't dodge it but rather performed some jutsu that caused it to be bounced back at Naruto though it was bounced back twice as fast and twice as strong. The fireball connected and Naruto was knocked out of the sky. Kakashi then stomped the ground and the ground beneath Naruto's falling body liquefied and flew at Naruto's body. Wrapping around his body like sheets, they solidified then slammed him into the ground. When the dust from the collision cleared Naruto was buried neck deep in the ground with just his head sticking out. He immediately tried to escape but couldn't move. With a roar he summoned a large amount of chakra and tried to get out but his body didn't budge.
"You sure got a lot of fire and passion kid, keep it up and I'm sure you'll become ahead in life."
In response to the joke, Naruto shot a gout of flames at Kakashi through his mouth, who dodged it. He then with a gesture erected a thick tall wall a few centimeters in front of Naruto's face.
"Word of advice, never performed such an obvious attack when you're in such a compromised position unless you are absolutely positive the attack will work. So who's next? I am a bit surprised Kiba hasn't attacked yet; I have heard such great things about the Inuzuka clan. About their bravery and courage and strength… guess it's just hot air."
Kakashi faintly heard a growl and under his mask he smiled. He then bent his entire body back to a 90 degree angle as Kiba flew over him passing through the space his head was.
Kiba snarled, his fangs and claws gleaming as he attacked Kakashi, but the Jounin dodged every blow effortlessly. Suddenly Akamaru appeared behind Kakashi and bit down hard on the man's throat, which was followed up by Kiba's right claw sinking into the man's face.
For an instant, a moment of panic went through Kiba's mind as he realized what he had done, but then Kakashi's body dissolved and a bright green liquid splashed over Akamaru and himself. The pair instantly collapsed to the ground and started throwing up.
Kakashi rose up from the ground, completely unharmed and said,
"It was supposed to be a surprise but I underestimated the Inuzuka sense of smell. This is actually what you were smelling before, because confidentially speaking I wasn't really neck deep in manure. Though there is manure in it. What else did I put in there… let see some skunk juice, spoiled milk, some stuff from my septic tank, a few more odds and ends, and some odd gunk from the north wall of my basement. Given your enhanced sense of smell, this must be excruciatingly painful for you. You really should work on not being goaded so easily. Come on Hinata, let's go! I got a book with my name on it… quite literally in fact. Should I? Why not? It's not like anyone here can give me a challenge."
Kakashi takes an orange covered book from a belt pouch and opens it up. He starts reading and chuckles.
"Oh you naughty and bodacious vixen, you're making that poor man blush."
Then he noticed a smoke grenade heading towards him.
"Finally some strategy. We might have an actual ninja here. You should take note boys."
The grenade exploded in midair bathing the area in smoke, which quickly cleared with a hand seal from Kakashi. As soon as he did so he noticed Hinata heading towards him, her eyes bulging with her clan's Byakugan, her hands packed so intensely with Chakra that the energy was clearly visible to the eye.
Side stepping the blow, Kakashi struck her softly (for him anyway) sending her flying forward into the ground. When she got up a moment later she noticed 4 Kakashis standing around her. There was then a blinding flash and Hinata screamed and dropped to the ground, with her hands over her eyes.
"Four extra strength flash grenades, activated simultaneously from 4 different directions. Particularly painful and disabling for someone with extremely sensitive eyes, which … you do. Oh just a quick note, I modified the grenades to not produce sound as I want you to be able to hear me. Speaking of which, listen up my aspiring genin, got some words of wisdom for you. I have taught you all some valuable lessons. Lesson 1: If you act without a plan, you will lose. Lesson 2: If you lose your head and allow yourself to be manipulated/goaded into doing something stupid, you will lose. Lesson 3: I am sure you have all noticed and appreciated that I have defeated all of you by using your greatest strength against you, Naruto's flames, Kiba and Akamarus' noses, and Hinata's eyes. Every object, every person, every technique, every strategy, everything in life, no matter how powerful or perfect it seems, is not infallible. Everything has flaws. It is our jobs as ninja to manipulate and exploit those flaws to accomplish our objectives. But please realize that while it is a good ninja who can exploit their opponent's weaknesses and subvert their strengths, it is a great ninja who can prevent their weaknesses from being taken advantage of. This is a very difficult task, as often our strengths and weaknesses are intertwined, the latter cannot be eliminated without removing the former. Sometimes you can't cover your weaknesses alone. And as you all reflect upon my sage words of wisdom, I shall continue my book. One last note, tick tock, tick tock, time's running out on the clock. Bye."
With that Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.
The wall of earth in front of Naruto dissolved into the ground.
It was the worst smell that either Kiba or Akamaru had ever encountered. It felt like someone was stabbing their brain through their noses. They tried to use the techniques they were taught to dampen the smells, but they couldn't concentrate. They both felt their pain and because of their bond they felt each other's pain. Also because of their bond they felt their own pain again reflected through the other.
Kiba was collapsed on the ground, every once in a while his body going into dry heaves, his stomach has long since emptied. He was vaguely aware of Naruto screaming profanity and breathing fire. Strangely he didn't feel any hate, probably due to the smell distracting him.
One spark from Naruto's fire fell on the liquid on his arm and Kiba watched and grinned as the liquid that it came in contact with dissolved and the smell reduced a little bit. He had an idea.
"Hey Uzumaki, breathe fire on me."
"This some kind of trick?"
"No, your fire dissolved the liquid."
"Why should I help you?"
"Think of it this way, you help me out, I'll get you out of your little predicament."
"I don't need you Inuzuka."
"I think you do. Also think of it this way. I am asking you to attack me with fire when I can't protect myself. When is this ever going to happen again?"
"Good point."
Naruto carefully burned off the liquid on Kiba and Akamaru.
"Thanks for helping Akamaru too."
"I'm generous that way; now get me the hell out of here!"
Kiba then smelled something.
"Akamaru, you help Uzumaki, I got to take care of something." Akamaru went to Naruto and after a brief tense stare down started to try to dig him out.
What Kiba smelled was Boushi, an herb that if he remembered right from his woods lore knowledge, was very effective at healing eye injuries.
After a few minutes he found a small patch of the herb half buried under some tree roots.
He grabbed some, mashed it up, mixed it with some water to create a paste, and ran to Hinata.
To the doujutsu user clans, the clans with special genetic abilities related to the eyes, the health of the eyes and the ability to use their abilities was very important. While the degree of how much varies, the individual's ability to use their doujutsu determined status, a critical part of their clan's identity, and their ability to fight and function. The Hyuga were no exception. While not quite to the extent of the nearly extinct Uchiha clan, utmost importance was placed on a Hyuga's ability to use their Byakugan, the legendary eyes of the clan.
Hinata was the heir to the clan though she really never felt that way. She has always felt weak, stupid, and undeserving of her position as heiress. She felt like she was a loser, and that everyone saw her the same way. Her insecurities were exasperated by an overly demanding and harsh father who seemed to enjoy yelling. She can only imagine how he would yell now. She was blind. It hurt to open her eyes, she couldn't activate her bloodline, and when she did open her eyes she only saw the color white. She could imagine his reaction.
"You were practically worthless before! Now what use are you? What use is a blind Hyuga?"
"Hey Hinata."
Kiba?
"I know you can't see me but listen for a second. I got something that I think will help your eyes."
Hinata felt something being applied to his eyes and slowly her vision started to improve. After 10 minutes she could see again and activate her bloodline, though her eyes still stung a little.
"So any progress over here?"
Akamaru barked a negative and continued to dig but his claws were not sinking into the ground, just bouncing off the dirt.
Kiba grabbed a branch of the ground, used Henge to transform it into a shovel and started digging, only to have no progress.
From behind them came Hinata who said softly.
"The dirt is bound together and protected by chakra. The chakra sustains itself by feeding on Naruto's chakra."
"You mean like a damn parasite?"
"Y-yes. Um… I think I can help. I can disrupt the chakra."
Hinata slammed her hand into the dirt next to Naruto's head, and there was a blue flash of light. Suddenly the dirt around Naruto disintegrated to dust leaving him in a pit, which he was easily able to jump out of.
"Damn, Kakashi is a jack-ass. Given what happened, I think the bastard is trying to tell us something. I think he wants us to work together."
"Why the hell would we work together? Only 2 of us can pass, no matter what at least one of us will fail."
"I think that's the point; he's testing whether we have the ability to sacrifice ourselves for the mission."
"I don't want to work with you."
"Is the smell out of your nose yet?"
"Point taken. You got a plan?"
"Not yet".
Hinata tried to get their attention, but they didn't hear her and continued talking.
Suddenly Akamaru barked once very loudly and Naruto and Kiba's conversation stopped and they turned to Akamaru who pointed his paw at Hinata.
With everyone's attention on her, she blushed slightly and said,
"I have a plan."
Kakashi smiled, it looks like they might get it. This team might be the one. He had honestly never left the three potential genin and had watched them escape, realize to some extent the purpose of his test, as well discuss a plan. He didn't actually listen to their plan, (leaving as soon as they started discussing it), because he wanted to allow them to have some chance at success, but he reminded himself to tell them later the importance of discussing strategies and plans more covertly than they did.
"Hey!"
Kakashi turned to see Naruto standing at the edge of the clearing he was currently in.
"Ready for round 2?"
Naruto's response was a fireball, which he dodged, only to find himself having dodged into the path of Kiba's claws. Kakashi grabbed Kiba's arm to throw him but detected Akamaru heading towards him so he threw Kiba at him and leapt back to gain some distance only for his journey backwards to be cut off by a wall of flames. Ahead of him he saw Kiba and Akamaru heading for him, and the wall of flames folded in on itself trying to entrap him.
Behind his mask, Kakashi smiled.
For all his character flaws, Hiashi was an extremely skilled and powerful man, both politically and physically. He believed strongly in the importance of being prepared. While he believed that the Hyuuga style of fighting was vastly superior to outsider techniques, he demanded of his daughters a certain level of proficiency in those techniques. For all skills can be useful, and he felt it was better to have a skill and not need it than to need that skill and not have it.
Therefore Hinata had some skill in archery, though she didn't think she was that good. However, her part in the plan required her to be good so she needed to concentrate. With a bow and an arrow in her hands she carefully aimed. Her Byuugan activated, she stared at her target. Her vision was still slightly painful but it was bearable and ignorable. She saw everything going on with Kakashi. He saw his heart pumping, his muscles twitching, his blood moving. She carefully watched him in order to find a pattern in his movements; her first shot had to be right.
For a moment, indecision and panic raced towards her at the thought of missing and thus failing Kiba and Naruto but she pushed through it and fired.
The arrow headed for Kakashi's head, but an instant before contact Kakashi caught it… as expected.
The arrow instantly exploded as a result of the contact activated explosive tags on its shaft. Kakashi was thrown off balance and was temporarily disorientated. Almost immediately after the explosion a narrow and intense fire beam severed the strings connected the bells to Kakashi's belt, which caused them to fall into Akamaru's waiting mouth. Akamaru then brought the bells to Kiba. Holding the bells up, Kiba said loudly,
"We win!"
"Congratulations. You are the first team to ever get the bells from me. It is an impressive achievement, but there are still only two bells. So who gets them Kiba?"
"Myself and Hinata."
"What!"
"I see."
Naruto was tied to a wooden post, the other two members of the team sitting on the ground next to it.
Kakashi said,
"Now listen up. I have good news and bad news for you three. The good news is that only Hinata will be sent back to the academy. The bad news is the rest of you fail and are being kicked out of all the military branches of Konoha permanently."
"Why, we got the bells?"
"I lied, it's another one of those things that ninja do. The reason I am having you two booted out is that you missed the most important point of your assignment completely. You don't care about each other. You helped each other in order to help yourselves."
"But that how human interactions work. Altruism is a myth; all so called selfless acts are done in order to promote a person's self interests."
"I disagree and I'm in charge here. Hinata is only sent back to the academy because she actually cares. She didn't actually do anything with it, but 15 years of observing people and deciphering their emotions has lead me to the conclusion that she does care."
"But Uzumaki and I hate each other, how can we care about each other?"
"The thing about teams bound together by chains of greed, the chains are strong but at the same time fragile. They break, which endangers everyone. I grew up in war, and saw many teams like this and I saw the members of those teams die as the teams broke apart when they were faced with the hardship that befell them. I witnessed people die as a result of those teams failing. A person motivated to help others to help themselves cannot be counted on to help others when that action endangers themselves or they have found a way to help themselves more by not helping. Behind me is the memorial stone that lists the people of who have died for this village. Many died as a result of problems within the team, when a person hesitated to save a teammate because individual reasons. To allow you two to be ninja would be to endanger this village, this country, and yourselves."
"That still doesn't explain how you expect us to care about each other."
"I expect it because you're ninja. Regardless of your feelings towards each other off duty, when on assignment, you're family. I have worked alongside hundreds of people that I didn't like. Some of those people I actually hated. However, the instant we went on the field, they became my brothers and sisters. I was willing to die for them and vice versa. It is only a team bound by love, affection, and true loyalty that can theoretically withstand the storm that life throws at them. It is only this kind of team can function at its best. I learned these lessons on the battlefield. However, I realize you're young, in this time of peace you have not had the chance to learn this lesson. So I am giving you three another chance. But it will be much harder this time. Better eat your lunch. Oh and don't give Naruto any food, for he did fail to get a bell. If anyone disobeys I am failing the entire team on the spot."
Kakashi disappeared and Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata dug into their lunches, which were provided to them by Kakashi on the ground nearby.
Naruto's stomach growled and everyone slowly stopped eating. Hinata started to extend her food to Naruto but lost her courage part way through and withdrew. Kiba sniffed the air and started to extend his food as well but then Naruto spoke,
"I will not fail because of your stupidity. I can deal with a little hunger. Why do you want to help me anyway?"
"I don't want to help you. It is just that if you're hungry, you're going to be even more useless than you already were. Also there is no way we can overpower Kakashi-sensei and we obviously can't sneak up on him if your stomach is sounding like a damn lawnmower."
Naruto's stomach growled again very loudly.
"Well Kakashi-sensei never said you had to stay tied, so you could escape any time."
"True."
Naruto tried to escape, but 5 minutes later was still tied.
Kiba looked at the knot.
"This is a first year knot. 4 year olds could escape from this. How the hell did you pass the escape classes at the academy?"
Naruto ignored him and continued to try to escape for another 10 minutes.
"This is pathetic."
Kiba undid the knot.
"Now I just realized I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be the woods for a few minutes. I'll leave my food right here. Nobody better steal any of my food or I'll be pissed."
Kiba ran off. Akamaru looked at Naruto, growled softly, and curled up to take a nap.
Naruto quickly ate half of Kiba's food. He was going to finish it but Hinata whispered,
"You can finish mine. I ate breakfast so I'm really full."
"You're not allowed to give me food."
Hinata then fainted, but when on the ground she gave a quick wink.
Naauto proceeded to eat the rest of her food.
Kiba returned a minute later.
"Hey someone stole my food. How involuntary. I didn't want this at all. I clearly did not give my food to anyone, as I was clearly stolen from."
"Shut up Inuzuka."
"Ahem!"
Naruto and Kiba turned to see Kakashi.
"You can get up Hinata. I appreciate that you guys have some creativity that you tried to circumvent the spirit of the law by finding loopholes in the letter, both things having value to a ninja. You just didn't do it that well. Kiba, you have no acting ability. Hinata, you were a little better but I noticed you releasing chakra when you fell to cushion your head. Also you all disobeyed me. I explicitly ordered you to not give Naruto food, but you did. Why?"
"Because you make no sense. You lectured us about teamwork and treating your teammates like family, and then you asked us to allow Uzumaki to starve. That's not what you do for family. You protect your family, regardless of whatever the hell anyone says about it. I hate him, I'll bluntly say it, but we're on the same team and I guess teams stick together always, no matter what."
"Do you agree with your teammate Hinata and Naruto?"
"Y-yes."
"I suppose I do, except for the parts about hating me."
"Then you all… pass."
"What!"
"Kiba says it best. Your teammates are your family. You protect your family, regardless of whatever the hell anyone says about it. Rules are important, but you need to have to have to put your team above them in order to truly be great. People who break the rules are trash, but people who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."
"So we're trash right now?"
"Yes. While not as bad as abandoning your team, breaking the rules is a very horrible act. It can be insubordination at the very least, but it could be treason, which means execution. I am not condoning breaking the rules, but merely stating it's the lesser of two evils. If possible don't do either. Our first team meeting is tomorrow, right here, at 6 am. Now I got to go, so dismissed."
He disappeared and Kiba said,
"Hey Hinata, my clan always throws a big party at this time, a way to congratulate the Genin who passed and a way to console the people who didn't. I can bring guests, you want to go?"
"I'm sorry Kiba, I have a training session with Father. Bye"
She then disappeared.
"I would invite you Uzumaki but I really don't want to. You wouldn't like the party anyway. In case you don't know, the entire clan hates you. Also there tends to be a lot of alcohol at Inuzuka parties, so there is good chance that someone will get drunk enough to attack you."
"Inuzuka, wait a second, I got a question for you."
"What?"
"Why didn't you ask me to burn the gunk off Akamaru?"
"Because I didn't trust you enough not to burn him. It didn't even have to be on purpose, you were so pissed you could have accidentally killed him."
"The same logic would apply to you, weren't you worried I would accidentally kill you?"
"Yeah, but 1. I'm bigger so would be able to handle a fire attack better, also 2. I care about him more than I do myself."
"But it's just a dog."
"Maybe to you, but not to me."
"Wow you're a freak."
"Well at least I have someone who cares about me. If you were to die right now, would anyone give a shit, would anyone attend your funeral? Hell would you even get a funeral, or will you be thrown away with the rest of the trash? People might actually celebrate, yay the evil demon monster is gone, we no longer have to worry about our homes, our lives, or our children."
"You know?"
"About what? The fact you're the container for the Kyuubi or that you're the Firefly?"
"Both actually. So that's the real reason why you hate me, you think I'm the Kyuubi or something like that?"
"Not at all, I couldn't care less about what you are, I care about who you are. And who you are is a psychotic, sadistic bastard who deserves to die."
"If I am so evil then why don't I just kill you right now?"
"Because you're loyal to Konoha. It's a twisted and perverse loyalty, but everything you do in your mind is for the village's benefit, and you know I would benefit this village more alive than dead. Same reason the demon didn't make an appearance against Kakashi-sensei. And you're not even going to deny you're the Firefly?"
"Why bother? We're the only people around, and you're not recording the conversation. You can say this conversation happened, I will deny it, and without hard evidence nothing will happen. The thing is I have always been able to tell when someone is watching/listening to me either directly or indirectly through electronics. My apartment has been searched, I have been followed, my phone has been tapped, and I have never been caught. So I'm not worried."
"So given your apparent loyalty to Konoha, I have to wonder how the hell you think what you do is helpful?
"Why do you think it's not?"
"Let's see… property damage, less business for the village, people moving away, people living in fear of being killed. I don't see any positive aspect."
"How about the reduction in the crime rate? I only target criminals and as the crime rate plummets the Firefly as a result makes fewer appearances. I attack properties when I haven't killed a criminal for a while, to remind any potential criminals that I'm still around and so they know the consequences of any illegal acts. It is an unfortunate fact of human nature is that fear is the only thing that people understand."
"So what, you are still causing far more harm than good."
"Perhaps in your opinion, but I'm not doing this for you. I am not doing it for the rich spoiled spawn of the clans who get everything they want. I am doing it for the unfortunate souls who fall through the cracks of the system of an uncaring and corrupt government. There are people who live in absolute terror of being murdered, of being raped, of being abused everyday and the government does nothing. They say they care, but they don't. They arrest the criminal, slap him on the wrist and let him go to continue to brutalize innocent people who just simply are not important enough for the government to care about. To protect those people I will do whatever it takes and I will let nothing get in my way. For my way, through the application of fear is the only way to create peace and to keep the innocent people safe."
"But the government is not like that at all."
"And how would you know, clan heir, nestled in the protective grasp of one of the founding clans, behind gilded gates, separated from the realities of life. But even if my work is doing more harm than good, it is merely a transition and every transition has its rough spots."
"Transition to what?"
"Peace. A utopia where no one will ever be hurt. You see eventually the people will conditioned into behaving properly."
"But it's just a peace born from everyone being in abject terror."
"So? It's better to be afraid than dead. Eventually once I gain enough power I'll close the borders to prevent any outside influences from entering and thus damaging the conditioning. As the country will then be cut off it will be necessary for us to increase our agriculture yield as we currently do not have enough resources to feed the populace. So I will have to conscript many people into being farmers. I also plan to dissolve the military, it won't be necessary anyway, and since they are the people who were most benefited from the old way they would be the most likely members of a rebellion, so I will kill them. I will also kill the Hokage for any potential rebellions would rally behind him. I would also kill any family or friends of his, to prevent any type of revenge from occurring. There will be no need for the current government administration so I will dissolve that too, certainly not a big loss. I would then step back and let the people govern themselves without any interference from a government. I will of course step in if absolutely necessary, but I think after a few dying gasps from the fools stuck to the old ways, people will settle into a glorious new world of no strife, no crime, and no problems."
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"Verbalizing your plans makes them feel more real, more concrete. It is not like you'll do anything about it. I will not anyone get in my way, especially not a small-minded fool who can't see the bigger picture. If you even try to stop me, I'll kill you. I'll creep into your room and slit your throat, then I'll kill your mother, and your cousins, and everyone else within your clan walls, man, woman, and child. So unless you want to cause the deaths of everyone in your family, which I expect you don't, I would suggest staying quiet. I am actually hoping you'll try something; it will give me a good excuse to rid myself of a nuisance. But don't worry about it. If you don't try anything, there is no reason why we can't get along. Enjoy your party."
Naruto disappeared in a flash of flames.
Kiba looked at his right hand and noticed it was trembling.
He took a sniff to check if Naruto was nearby, and when he confirmed he wasn't he sent a thought to Akamaru.
The clan needs to know about this.