Disclaimer I don't own Naruto, or Naruto Shippuden. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, and this fan fiction is for entertainment purposes only. That said, please enjoy!
Chapter 1
Sensei You're Late!
Kakashi stared at the man standing before him. His friend and team-mate Obito Uchiha. Obito was wearing his Jonin long-sleeve shirt and black pants, and had a toothbrush in his mouth (likely he was just now getting to brushing his teeth - he'd probably just got up,) as he stared right back at Kakashi, just as surprised to see him there. Kakashi just didn't know what to say… but he had a bad feeling that he knew exactly what had happened.
Why did his friend have to be like this?
"Kakashi? What're you doing here at this hour?" Obito asked him, cocking his brows in curiosity.
At this, Kakashi quickly composed himself, standing up from his surprised hunching stance, "I… could ask you the same thing, Obito." He said, holding back a sigh. 'Oh boy…don't tell me.' He thought to himself.
"Didn't you tell me that today was when you were greeting your Genin Squad?" Kakashi asked his friend.
"Nn…? Yeah." Obito murmured and took the toothbrush out of his mouth, "What're you getting at? I've still got time." He said cautiously.
"Actually, no, you don't." Kakashi corrected him nonchalantly, "What time did you think the meetings were, out of curiosity?" he asked Obito.
"It was…" Obito paused to think, "At 2.15pm, I think. Why?" Obito replied.
Kakashi allowed himself an exasperated sigh, slapping his forehead, "I knew it. Obito, I wasn't even at that meeting and even I know that the Jonin instructors were to meet their squads at 12pm sharp! Asuma and Kurenai told me." He said, and Obito began to feel a distinct feeling of dread creep over.
Don't say it… oh god.
"You're LATE, Obito!" –Ah… he said it.- "You'd better head over to the Academy fast, and hope that your team hasn't left you behind." Kakashi said to him.
"Wh—" Obito stammered, taking a step backwards and dropping his toothbrush, "Wha—" the toothbrush hit the ground with a clatter, "WHAT!?" Obito finally yelped out, and he was gone from the porch area in the blink of an eye, and Kakashi watched as clothes were thrown about the house, his friend dashing back and forth trying to gather all he needed.
"Sorry Kakashi! But I gotta-!" the sound of Obito colliding with the floor came to the silver-haired Jonin's ears and he sweat-dropped. "Gotta go! Damn I can't believe this is happening! Where are my goggles!?" he cried.
In no time at all, Obito was dressed in his Jonin garb; a long-sleeve black shirt with the red and white fan of the Uchiha adorning them, a green flack vest, black pants, kunai pouch and tool bum-bag, ninja sandals, and of course, the standard Konoha forehead protector. Over his forehead protector, sat his favourite pair of goggles with orange lenses.
He rushed past Kakashi, intending to book it straight to the Academy. Kakashi watched him, swinging his copy of the house key on his finger; "I guess I'll lock up for you," he said with an amused tone. 'He never changes,' he thought
"Yeah! Thanks Kakashi!" Obito gasped, jumping on top the barricades and taking to the roofs of the buildings adjacent to his apartments.
As he jumped from roof to roof, Obito bit his finger anxiously, 'I hope they're still there…Please let them still be there…!' he wished, thinking back to a week ago, when the third Hokage called he and a group of other Jonin to his office.
Obito flinched, eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't believe what the Third had just said. He'd thought he was going on a joint mission or something, but this… this was…!
'Hokage-sama…! Forgive me but… I… I don't think I'm the best choice for a teacher…' he stammered to the third, disbelief apparent in his eyes.
Sarutobi smiled slightly, 'On the contrary, I have every faith in you. There are some lessons a shinobi must learn above all others to survive in this kind of life.' He told the Uchiha, 'And I believe you to be one of the best Jonin available to teach the new Genin these lessons, Obito. You've already done very well with Sasuke, after the fall of your clan. At first I had been worried, but you've handled yourself splendidly.'
'I think you'll be a fine mentor. Have more confidence in yourself.' The Third finished and Obito bowed his head slightly, eyes closed.
'Yes…Hokage-sama.' He nodded.
With a nod, Sarutobi lifted his documents, 'Alright then, now we shall proceed to the team arrangements. Team 1 will be…' he went on to list teams 1 through 6, assigning them to the other Jonin gathered in the room with Obito.
Eventually, his name came up, 'Obito Uchiha, you will be in charge of Team 7.' Hiruzen told him, and Obito looked up with eyes widened in surprise. Images of Kakashi, Rin, and their late sensei Minato Namikaze flashed through his mind. His breath caught, and his lips twitched to a slight smile.
'Team 7, huh…' he whispered.
'Your Genin team will consist of Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha,' Obito nodded; of course he'd get Sasuke, because of the Sharingan. That made sense… '…And Naruto Uzumaki.'
Naruto…Obito widened his eyes…Sensei's son…?
As Obito mulled over the team assigned to him, Hiruzen went on to call out the remaining three teams. Team 8 was assigned to a Kunoichi called Kurenai Yuhi, Obito remembered from his graduating class. So she'd become a Jonin huh…? Team 9 was given to someone Obito wasn't familiar with, and Team 10 to the Hokage's son Asuma. All 10 Jonin nodded, and took the files on their teams. The Third told them that they were to return tomorrow to view their students-to-be before meeting them after lunch. Obito absently noted this, before bowing and leaving the Third's office.
Obito was now rushing through the corridors of the Ninja Academy, there faster than he'd thought while lost in his thoughts. He looked around for room 301 where he'd been told to meet Team 7.
Picking up his pace, he raced to the door, which was slightly ajar. He slid it open with a crack, putting his head through and putting on a shaky grin. Sitting at the desks were a pink haired girl and his nephew, and standing nearby was his sensei's kid, a blond kid with an expectant…look on his eyes…?
"Hey, you guys are Team 7, right!? Sorry I'm late! You see, this was this old lady and her shopping…Heheh—" he cut himself off, surprised to feel a thumb on the back of his head, followed by a cloud of white chalk dust surrounding his head.
As Naruto Uzumaki laughed at him, he cautiously put his hand back to retrieve the item that had hit him.
Pulling a chalk-board eraser from atop his head, he looked at it without a word.
"S-Sensei!?' the pink haired girl gasped anxiously, watching him.
"Hahaha, you totally fell for it you loser!" Naruto laughed obnoxiously, pointing at him and holding his stomach, "That's your punishment for being late!' he said as Sasuke shook his head with a sigh at the desks.
Obito watched as the pink haired girl suddenly became angry, yelling at Naruto, and bopping him on the head, to which the boy yelped.
"Uhh…yeah." Obito mumbled, frowning a bit. He knew that sensei's kid infamous as a prankster, but he never expected to be on the receiving end of his pranks. He caught the attention of the two squabbling 12 year olds, "Meet me up on the roof, and we'll have a chat. Introductions, and what-not," he said and the pink haired girl nodded hesitantly, before turning to Sasuke to tell him.
Naruto followed Obito out of the room, hands casually behind his head.
His would-be students followed him up to the roof, where they all took a seat again.
Obito leaned casually against the railings trailing the edges of the rooftop, looking to the three twelve-year-olds before him.
The pink haired girl, Sakura, sat on the left, Sasuke in the middle, and Naruto sat on the right. Sasuke looked bored like always, no surprise there.
Sakura was staring at Sasuke like a lovesick puppy; it kinda reminded him of Rin when they were younger. Only this girl was more obvious about it!
Sasuke was looking disinterested in anything that didn't involve killing his missing-nin brother as usual. He sat with his fingers laced together in front of his mouth.
Naruto couldn't sit still. He was torn between looking at Obito with a mix of excitement and anxiety, and stealing glances at Sakura.
Oh, just great. A love triangle? It's just like our old team, Obito sighed out, and straightened up.
"Ok, let's get this started. Introduction time! I need to know a bit about you guys if I'm gonna be training you. Things like… what you like, what you don't like… hobbies and interests… oh, and dreams for the future! Go!" Obito said, and gestured for them to talk.
The three genin were silent, before Sakura spoke up, "Why don't you go first sensei? We don't know anything about you…" she said, and she thought she imagined it, but she heard Sasuke snort discreetly in front of her. She raised her eyebrows, 'Though now that I think of it, he kinda looks a bit like Sasuke…just not as cool looking.' She mused.
Obito hummed, before seeing what she meant, and conceding, "Alright then!" he grinned in agreement, "My name's Obito Uchiha, but you can call me Obito-sensei," he began and Naruto and Sakura quickly looked to Sasuke, who ignored them.
'This guy's related to Sasuke-teme!?' Naruto thought, slightly alarmed. And he was a Jonin too! He hoped this Obito guy didn't hold it against him for the eraser trick back in the classroom.
Naruto gulped.
Meanwhile Obito continued speaking, "I like training, my friend and team-mate Kakashi, and…a certain girl." He paused to cough, blushing discreetly, "I don't like people who don't think looking out for their team is important. People like that piss me off… my hobbies, hmm, I don't really have one. I usually just hang out with friends when I'm not training. Dreams for the future…Hmm, dunno." Obito shrugged, and pointed to Naruto,
"Okay, you go!" he said, and Naruto blinked, 'This'll be a chance to get to know him…haven't really done such a great job so far.' He thought, pushing back guilt.
After sensei had died, he admitted, he'd been a little on the depressed side. Looking at Naruto had only brought back memories of Minato-sensei; he was a splitting image, give or take a few details. But he was startlingly like his mother, that crazy redhead Kushina Uzumaki.
Then…after what happened to his family, as well…Obito bowed his head slightly…he was just making excuses, he guessed.
He'd make up for that from now on.
"Okay! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! What I like is Cup Ramen. I like the Ramen that Iruka-sensei buys me even more! What I don't like is the 3 minutes it takes for the Ramen to cook." As Naruto said this, Obito stared blankly.
'Jeez, does he have Ramen on the brain or what…' he thought to himself.
Naruto continued, adjusting his headband with a look of confidence and determination, "And my dream… is to surpass all the previous Hokage and have the entire village acknowledge my existence!" Naruto said loudly.
Obito couldn't help but smile, "That's a big goal there…" he pointed out.
"I can do it, just you watch!" Naruto insisted, and while Sakura and Sasuke scoffed at his statements, Obito only nodded. He turned his nephew.
"Next, it's your turn." He said to him, and he gave him a look of annoyance that said 'you already know who I am'. Obito didn't back off, giving him a look of stubbornness that said 'Do it anyway or no tomatoes for a month.'
Sasuke rolled his eyes, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There's not a lot a lot of things I like, but there's plenty of things I hate. I don't have the time for hobbies. And I wouldn't call it a dream, more of an goal since I will achieve it. I'm going to revive the Uchiha clan…and kill a certain man." The way his nephew said it threw chills down his spine.
Obito had tried, he really had, but the kid was determined to kill his brother for what happened. He tried telling him two wrongs don't make a right, and it wouldn't make Sasuke truly happy to do it…but Sasuke wouldn't budge. He was set.
At least for now. Obito hoped that this increased time together, and through associating with his team-mates and such, would help Sasuke along.
And if it really came down to that, perhaps his nephew could be persuaded to let them help him. Taking on the responsibility of taking down an S-Class Missing-Nin, let alone your own brother, is a daunting and difficult task.
Obito observed his students, who were equally as taken aback about Sasuke's goals as he had been, and coughed into his hand to get their attention.
Giving them a grin, he said "One more left. Your turn," to Sakura. She nodded.
"My name is Sakura Haruno… what I like, w-well more of who I like is…" she stole a glance at Sasuke. Obito had to stop himself from slapping his forehead.
'Don't tell me…'
"My dream for the future is… umm.." she continued to look at Sasuke discreetly, while said Uchiha paid no attention to her. She suddenly squealed, startling Obito. She then took on a disdainful expression, "What I hate is… Naruto!" she snapped, and the blond flinched, donning a hurt expression.
Obito frowned…it was kinda sorta like Rin.. Just way more exaggerated. Poor Naruto… He'd been in that situation once too. Maybe somehow he could bring Sakura around somehow…
'But at least Rin took interest in her role as a Kunoichi, too…instead of being simply boy crazy! Oh boy…' Obito sighed, and pushed himself off the railings.
"Okay, now that we all know each other a bit more, it's time for the first mission!" he said, stretching a bit.
Naruto definitely found that exciting, "Aw yeah! A Mission! What kind of mission, sensei!?" Naruto saluted enthusiastically.
"Well, actually, first we have to do something with just the four of us." He said, and the three of them listened intently, "The real Genin Test. None of you are actual Genin unless you pass this one." He said, alarming the twelve-year-olds.
"WHAT, WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?" Naruto shouted. Sasuke glared at the blond fore his volume, but couldn't deny he was puzzled too.
"Well… You see, out of the 27 graduates, only 9 will be chosen to become Genin. The rest are sent back to the academy for more training. The test I'm going to give you has a failure rate of over 66%!" Obito told them seriously.
"What…" Sakura looked a little discouraged.
"B-But we worked so hard! What was the point of the graduation exam in the first place, if you were gonna give us another test like this!? Why get our hopes up!?" Naruto gasped at Obito.
Obito sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "I thought Iruka would've told you guys this. The graduation exam is to choose students with a chance of becoming Genin. The test your Jonin squad leader gives you is the real test." He told them, 'Thanks a lot for leaving this to me, Iruka,' Obito inwardly groused.
"For the test, you'll be facing me. It's not any ordinary survival training you might've had at the Academy. Tomorrow we'll meet up at 6am, at training ground 7. You guys know where that is, right? Bring all your tools with you, and be prepared to show me what you've got. Got it?" Obito said and the three of them nodded.
They were about to part ways, until Obito remembered something. He grinned cheekily, "Oh yeah, and you guys better skip breakfast tomorrow. You'll throw up if you don't!" he said, and with that, he disappeared in a flicker.
Seen as though he was gone, Naruto took this chance to ask Sasuke, "Hey, hey, Sasuke-teme.." he said in a hushed voice, "That Obito guy…he said his name was Uchiha, so is he…?" he asked.
Sasuke didn't look at him, but Sakura perked up, "I was wondering too… s-since I thought they said Sasuke-kun was the only…" she trailed off as Sasuke glared at her, flinching.
She shrunk away.
Sasuke turned his back on Naruto and Sakura, and before he went on his way, he muttered, "My uncle…" only loud enough for them to barely make out.
'Ehhh, Sasuke-kun's uncle…!' Sakura thought to herself, excited. Maybe he could help her out with Sasuke! Like with what he likes, and such! Sasuke didn't exactly reveal all today after all…even though his goal to kill someone kind of spooked her.
Meanwhile, Naruto was pouting at the news… If this guy was Sasuke's uncle, he was bound to play favourites tomorrow, surely. Well…doesn't matter! Naruto made up his mind, he'd show Obito-sensei what he was really made of so he'd have to sit up and pay attention to him, and not that stupid Sasuke!
With a nod, Naruto went home to prepare for tomorrow, while Sakura decided to follow after Sasuke.
The next morning, all three Genin-would-be's had been waiting at Training Ground 7 for their sensei since the arranged time. It was no 7.45am, however. Nearly 2 hours later than Obito had told them.
Naruto irritably tapped his foot, arms folded. With a growl, he turned to Sasuke, "Sasuke-teme, where the hell is that 'uncle' of yours!? Don't you guys live together or something? Why didn't you arrive together!?" he snapped.
Sasuke frowned at Naruto, before turning his head away, "Don't ask me. He was gone before I got up." He muttered.
That didn't help calm Naruto down at all.
"Then what the hell's taking him so long!?" he yelled at the sky, causing birds to fly away in surprise. Sakura followed this up by smacking him across the head,
"Shut up you idiot!" She was also pretty annoyed about their sensei being late for the second time in the row.
She had a feeling this'd become routine if they passed this test.
And she hated it.
Kin Sorry that it took so long - about two months! I really didn't plan on it taking that long, and I have no excuses...I was definitely too lazy.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next time, it's the bell test! :)
Thanks for your support so far. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter as well. Last time you gave me some great points to consider which I'm really grateful for! xxx