A/N: Thanks everyone for reviewing! You have no idea how much you guys inspire me to keep writing. Writing this story has really allowed me to get my creative juices flowing again, meaning my Language and Composition class grade has gone up, thanks to you guys!
On another note, I received a review from an anonymous user "ims". First of all, I would like to thank you for reminding me to make something a little clearer. I did make the kids graduate at a younger age, and picked those characters and those characters only. I have specific reasons why I picked them, and I now figure that this would be the time to let you in on my little "secret." I have Sasuke graduating early because both he and Naruto train together, the Uchiha Clan is eager to produce another Itachi, and since they already succeeded once, they now know how to train them well enough, meaning they can proceed quicker. Naruto's reason is obvious: he is being trained by his father. I only threw in Neji because of his show of talent in the Genin Exams, and if he had proper training, I thought that this could be a probable result. Shikamaru is a trickier case. Shikamaru is a genius, yes. But, as he is 6, it might seem a little extreme, but I can explain (hopefully). With Minato and Shikaku being geniuses in their own right, to me the logic answer would be that both Minato and Shikaku would agree that Shikamaru should be trained younger than most.
Sorry for the rant, but it was something I was dying to explain.
Asuma nodded. "Yes, Shikamaru, the situation is indeed troublesome. The Hokage had an odd number of Academy graduates, meaning-"
"They either had to hold the worst two back, or do this." Shikamaru interrupted, waving his arms to himself, Naruto and Asuma to make the point. Asuma nodded in confirmation, before speaking once again.
"This team, as you know, is special. In more ways than one." At this, Naruto was curious, it could clearly be seen on his face. Shikamaru was also curious, but it was much harder to tell.
"This team, codenamed Epsilon, is a specialized cell. From what I have heard, this team will specialize in reconnaissance, infiltration, and possibly assassination. For now as Genin, I think I will train you more on the first two up until you reach Chunin rank. When we reach that point, I will then hand you over to the ANBU to take up assassination training. And anything past that point will be up to you. Any questions?" Asuma got nothing in response. "Good. Now that we have this out of the way, let's introduce ourselves. As you know, I'm Sarutobi Asuma. I like smoking, playing shogi-and-go. I dislike anyone who despises smoking in any form, and stupid shinobi. My dream is to become a father, and die of old age. You next, sleepyhead."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, and muttered, "Troublesome. My name is Shikamaru Nara, and that is all. The rest is too troublesome." And yawned, making everyone around sweatdrop. He then looked over to Naruto.
Nodding in recognition, Naruto began, "My name is Naruto Namikaze. I like ramen, playing pranks, and training. I dislike people who can't see people for who they are, but rather who they are related to. My dream is to become either the ANBU representative or the Hokage."
After a few moments, Asuma nodded and said, "Alright. Let's get down to business. Today marks the first day of your training, so I will be giving the two of you a benchmark test. You are to engage me in combat, and I will assess your skill and evaluate your weaknesses, and work from there. You first, Naruto. Shikamaru, you proctor."
Walking to the middle of a clearing, Shikamaru stood between the Genin and Jounin, and then waved his arm. "Hajime!"
Naruto instantly disappeared into the trees silently, leaving Asuma open at the middle of the clearing. Figuring that this was part of Naruto's show of skill, he decided not to go in pursuit. From what Minato told him, Naruto was incredibly talented at pulling plans out of his ass. To a logical combatant, such as Asuma, someone like Naruto was someone you feared the most. Unpredictability is an important trait for a ninja to have to be successful, and Naruto had unpredictability in spades. A lone kunai whistled its way past Asuma's ear, making him spin around, kunai in hand, to block the oncoming attack...which wasn't there. A shadow blurred on his right side, so Asuma rolled back, blocking the axe kick with this forearms, before retaliating with a few thrusts of his own, which were dodged. Naruto then jumped back a good ten feet before coming to a standstill, waiting for Asuma's next move. Asuma then accelerated quickly at Naruto, slightly startling him, and clipped Naruto's shoulder with a hard palm thrust, knocking him off balance and on to his ass. Naruto, inwardly frustrated, resituated himself by leaping off the ground from his back with some chakra, launching him up in the air, where, upon nearing the ground, missed Asuma's head by inches, before wrapping his legs around Asuma's neck, pulling him backwards. Recovering quickly, Asuma did a handspring and landed a good ten feet from Naruto, who was already standing back up. Deciding to pick up the pace, Naruto went back up on the attack. Launching himself forward, Naruto threw a wild punch at Asuma, which was blocked quickly. However, on mid 'wild punch', Naruto stepped on the inside of Asuma's left sandal, and pinned it to the ground using chakra. Not to leave any openings, Naruto took the quick moment and started a fast chop to the carotid artery in Asuma's neck, only for 'Asuma' to be replaced with a poof of smoke, revealing a log.
Asuma came out from the trees and clapped lightly. "Very good, Naruto. I'm impressed, although it's not that hard to comprehend figuring that it is your father that is training you. If you did not have those resistance seals on, it would have made this match a bit harder for me."
Naruto, looking shocked, asked, "How did you know?" To which Asuma chuckled and gave him his answer. "Kid, I'm a wind elemental. I could feel the air moving around you slower than air normally would. It didn't take too much time to figure out what was causing the disturbance."
Before Naruto could ask any more questions, he turned to Shikamaru and asked if he was ready, which earned him a "Yes, but this is just troublesome." as a response.
Naruto gave the quick "Hajime" and dashed off to watch. Shikamaru just stood. Asuma, knowing Shikamaru's clan techniques, knew that it would be unwise to approach. After about ten minutes, Shikamaru opened his eyes and threw kunai seemingly at random around the clearing. It was about ten til ten, meaning that the sun was at its peak, which meant smaller shadows. Shikamaru then started his approach, walking leisurely towards Asuma. "You know, this is really troublesome." Shikamaru stated, and then quickly attempted the Kagemane technique. Asuma, true to his rank, jumped back in time, but ended up landing on a tripwire, binding his feet. Before he could do anything, a shadow had reached Asuma's form, effectively freezing him in place. The odd thing was, Shikamaru was about 50 yards away, about 40 yards further than the Kagemane's range of influence. A quick double take later, Asuma noticed the kunais that were scattered around the training ground, and the thin shadows linking through about five of them, leading to a kunai about 6 feet to his right, and then to himself. Shikamaru had this planned out in only ten minutes, and executed in exactly 30 seconds. He felt the restraints loosen, and unwound the grade-9 (the highest grade of ninja wire available at low prices) wire from his feet.
Asuma chuckled lightly, and started talking. "Good job Shikamaru. The plan was excellent, but had I not landed on that wire, this would have lasted a bit longer, and you might have lost. But I must admit, I underestimated your strategy. I have a feeling both of you will work together much better than I thought you would. This will be all for today's training, I'll see you tomorrow morning."
MyPastLife out. Don't forget to read and review! :D