AN: Before you read the chapter, I just want to clarify that what was previously chapter 7 has been replaced by this, which takes place before the original did.

Chapter 7

The More You Know

Kengen frowned in annoyance as he waited for his teammates on the usual bridge. After a week of being a genin, he could picture the day ahead. It was looking to be another boring late-spring day, probably filled with menial chores and annoying interactions. 'Hooray.'

Glancing up at the blazing sun, he sighed. 'It's got to be at least half past. They're late again.' Absent-mindedly, he got on his back and started doing sit-ups, contemplating his team. Omoide was… well, distant. He always seemed to be intensely focused or off in his own little world. It could be ridiculously annoying, but really, he'd always been like that. Half the time in the academy, his nose had been shoved in a book, so it hadn't been all that surprising when the same had been true on missions. Kengen had always seen reading as a necessary evil when it came to life, so he failed to understand why anyone would want to do it for fun. Of course, he knew about the guy's dad (really, who didn't?) but he also wasn't one to judge a person by their family.

Hiruzen was almost completely different. He was always focused, if a bit tired. His enthusiasm was good, but it also translated into the fact that he never knew when to shut the hell up. On top of that, he had a habit of getting between Kengen's foot and Omoide's ass. Admittedly, he was very talented, and the only person on the team who had learned any sort of elemental jutsu, but that didn't make him any less of a pain in the ass.

And then there was their jounin sensei. Uchiha Sasuke was one of the most famous shinobi in the Elemental Nations. Kengen hated him, just like everybody else. Well, everyone except Omoide and Hiruzen. Apparently, there was a history there, but Kengen wasn't interested enough to bother figuring it out. Just the fact that the bastard was alive was an insult to the good clans, both minor and major, that had been decimated in the War. It was common knowledge that Sasuke's heritage had saved him from execution; why else would such a famous traitor be allowed to keep living? It made Kengen sick.

The light tap of footsteps at the base of the bridge signaled Sasuke's leisurely arrival. 'Speak of the devil.' Kengen kept doing his sit-ups, ignoring his sensei. Or he did until he heard a single, almost silent grunt. Sitting up, he turned a glare on the last Uchiha. "What?" The bastard was grimacing and rubbing a spot at the base of his neck. He looked the spitting image of preoccupied. "Nothing, just old habits. I'd save my energy if I were you." Kengen kept glaring for a moment before turning back around and continuing with his workout. If the Duckass wasn't going to elaborate, he was going to be ignored.

Both Omoide and Hiruzen arrived within the next few minutes, together as usual. Omoide was reading a book as he walked and Hiruzen appeared to be practicing a series of hand signs. Omoide mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "good morning," but stayed firmly focused on his novel. The Sarutobi greeted their jounin with a tired smile. "Hey, Sasuke-sensei! What's on the agenda? More D-ranks?" Sasuke smirked to himself. "Actually, I was thinking we'd do some training today."

Hiruzen blinked, Kengen paused halfway through a sit-up and Omoide looked up over the top of his book. It was the Sarutobi who recovered first. "Really? Cool! What kind? Is it cool? I bet it's cool!" Sasuke raised an eyebrow and Hiruzen's mouth snapped shut. "I'll explain it when we get to the training ground. Come on, we're already late." He turned away from all of them and started walking away, quickly followed by Hiruzen. Kengen jack-knifed to his feet and walked off after them just behind Omoide.

Kengen contemplated Omoide's back as they walked. His clothes were the same as usual (though the shirt had changed to a dark blue that day) and he carried the same equipment. His nose was once again firmly in his book (which made it all the weirder when he neatly dodged a civilian jogger). 'All I have to do is get promoted at the next Chunin Exams. Then I can get off this damn team and start making a name for myself.' He figured with a group like his, it wouldn't be too hard to go far in such an event. Regardless of how annoying they were he knew his teammates were near the top of their class. Hell, Hiruzen had been third in line for Rookie of the Year and Omoide wasn't far behind. 'Piece of cake.'

Suddenly Sasuke's path branched from the usual way to Training Ground 3. Kengen frowned. 'Where's he taking us?' He didn't have to wait long to find out. About five minutes later, they arrived at a large clearing. Tall trees ringed a wide, stone-bottomed pool, and the grass was cut short. It was all very peaceful. "This is were we will be training today. A colleague and I got permission to throw it together a few days ago."

Sasuke walked calmly over to a tree and looked impassively back at his students. "In essence, this is a chakra control exercise. You will all be learning to climb trees without your hands." And with that, he quite calmly walked backwards up the tree, as though gravity's pull had decided to spontaneously rotate 90 degrees.

Both Kengen and Hiruzen were stunned, though Hiruzen hid it better. Omoide was all too calm, however. "Sensei, I already know how to do this." Sasuke nodded and pointed to the pond. "That's what the water is for. As you will know, the basis of tree climbing is channeling chakra to - and holding it in - your feet. To walk on water, you'll have to release a constant stream and modulate it to stay afloat." Omoide's brow furrowed in thought. After a moment, he put his book away and took off his equipment pouch and shirt before walking to the water and taking a tentative step onto the lightly undulating liquid surface.

There was a loud splash as he fell in, flailing in an attempt to keep his balance and ultimately failing miserably. After a second, he resurfaced and climbed out, soaked, shivering and glaring at his still-perpendicular teacher. "Is there a reason the water is freezing?" Sasuke developed a smirk. "I figured it would make you more inclined to get it right." While the young Uzumaki wondered how the water was even kept at that temperature at that time of year, Sasuke pulled out two kunai and threw them down in front of Kengen and Hiruzen's feet. "I suggest trying a running start on the tree-walking. Use these to mark how far you get up the tree and try the water walking if you get to the top. I'll be back in an hour or two to check your progress." With that, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Omoide took a moment to glance around before turning to his teammates. "So… Do either of you happen to have a towel?"

-G

It was a warm day, bordering on uncomfortably so, but Sasuke didn't feel it. He'd never quite been able to articulate the feeling of shunshin. It only took a fraction of a second, but for that short time, the constraints of existence seemed to be gone. He reappeared in a crackle of lightning a ways back up the trail and was immediately beset by waves of burning pain and directionless anger. He gritted his teeth and did his best not to split a few trees open. 'Note to self, chakra use is a bad idea.'

A hand appeared before him and he looked up into the emotionless masked face of Tenzo. He accepted the hand with a muttered, "Thanks." He nearly fell over again, only for the man to save him. He could see a protest forming on the last Uchiha's lips and quickly silenced it. "Don't worry, I'm just a wood clone. The original is back watching the squad."

Sasuke nodded and finally brought himself back to his feet with a groan. "I need to get to the hospital. I don't know how, but I think the Cursed Seal is acting up." Tenzo's eyes widened behind his mask. "Guess we should hurry, then." They set off at a brusque walk. 'Dammit, why now?'

-G

SPLASH! Omoide muttered something uncomplimentary about cold water and Uchihas as he climbed out of the pool for the umpteenth time that day. Hiruzen was lying on the ground, panting like he'd just sprinted a marathon. Sweat rolled down his forehead into his eyes and he wiped his face. "Why is this so damn hard to keep up? I mean, the idea's simple and it's fairly easy to do, but I can't figure out how to stay stuck!"

With a cracking sound, Kengen shot backward off of his tree and landed in a three-limbed crouch next to his Sarutobi teammate. He smirked. "Thinking about giving up, weakling?" Hiruzen glared and pushed himself to his feet. "Please." Kengen did likewise and, almost in unison, they charged at their trees, running over the cut marks of their by now innumerable previous tries. A few seconds later, they were both falling again, cutting another groove into their trees as they felt their control slipping.

Meanwhile, Omoide was taking a moment to study his problem. His exercise was far more chakra-intensive than his teammates'. If not for his naturally larger reserves, he might have been nearing exhaustion. 'A constant, modulated stream is hard to keep up mentally. I just need to make it instinctual… But how do I do that?' Deciding that for the moment, exercise was a better option than contemplation, Omoide stood back up and took a step onto the clear liquid surface. Ripples spread out from the point of contact and his foot became flat against the water. He tested his footing for a moment before moving his other foot to join the first.

'I'm standing on water.' It was a strange thought and the young Uzumaki looked down at his feet and the sunlight undulating on the bottom of the pool. He felt a slight shift in the liquid and put a bit more chakra into his output. It was a strangely relaxing act, and he closed his eyes to get a better handle on the feeling. It was like a gentle tug on his being, almost calming…

'I bet dad got this down without a problem.' Omoide's eyes snapped open and the good feeling was gone. It was times like this he really hated his dad, or the image he'd built of him at least. 'Great, I'm having random thoughts about living up to the standards my dad manages to set despite the fact he's been dead since before I was born. Does that mean I have an inferiority complex, or is it a different thing if it's just focused on one person?'

Omoide's thoughts stayed with his father. The man cast a shadow a mile long and his mom talked constantly about him. The way she went on, it had been easy to just assume their relationship had been sunshine and daisies, until a few years ago when he'd finally done the math and realized something: he was a mistake. There was no other explanation, and what was worse; his parents had barely any time to be in a relationship beforehand. The time between the Pain Invasion and the Fourth Shinobi World War wasn't especially large. When he'd asked his mother about it, she'd brushed it off with something about his father being over-zealous in everything. For once, she wasn't talking.

With a sigh, Omoide turned his eyes skyward, gazing at the clouds rolling slowly by, but not really paying attention. His teammates continued to work on their tree running, occasionally letting out a yell. He wondered whether his father would be proud of how he was progressing. He'd been told more than once that Uzumaki Naruto had been one of the most loving, dedicated people ever to grace Konoha with their presence, but surely a person of such ridiculous power would have high standards for such affection. His best friend had been the last Uchiha, he'd been dating the Hyuga heiress before his death and his teachers were nothing short of legends themselves. Meanwhile, Omoide was a taijutsu-focused genin with few skills who constantly over-thought things. Would he be a better ninja if the man had been around to help him? Maybe he'd have been able to help him get this exercise down… 'The exercise.'

Omoide looked down at his feet, thoughts racing. 'How long have I been standing on the water? Five minutes? What did I do?' The answer came slowly, but when it hit, it was like a hammer. 'Nothing. I didn't do anything. All I had to do was stop thinking about it.' With a rare grin, he ran a few laps around the pool, reveling in the feeling of success. "Hey guys, I did it!"

A loud "Oof!" was the only vocal response he got as Hiruzen plummeted to a hard landing. He quickly stood up, breathing hard and giving his friend a wordless thumbs-up before running at the tree again. Kengen came down soon after and inspected his teammate's progress before letting out a low growl and shooting up his own tree. Omoide's grin became more of a contented smile. 'Maybe I'm doing okay after all.'

AN: So, more of a transition chapter than anything. I realized shortly after posting what was chapter 7 that it was terrible… Like really terrible, it jumped the gun completely. For people that saw it, you get a preview of what's to come. Please leave a review, favorite or follow (reviews preferable, they are my crack). See you next time!