3: New Teams! Same Style!
Kuso! Kuso! I'm gonna be late!" Hadoshi cursed silently as he ran toward the academy. His parents had gotten him up extra early and made him walk the whole way home. When they finally go there, he was instructed to get ready for school. He did as he was told, but figured he could catch a quick nap before classes officially began. Apparently he was wrong since he now had less than 5 minutes to make it on time. Of all days today Konoha seemed to extra busy. He had to weave in and out of people until he reached the academy doors. He ran into classroom to see everyone seated and staring at him.
"Class is about to begin. Please be seated Hadoshi." Iruka instructed. He took his seat beside his team members and waited for Iruka-sensei to continue. "Now that we're all here let's begin. Yesterday you found out who your team members were. Today you will meet your sensei. When he or she comes in, please do as they instruct. From this moment on, they are in charge of you. Well, do your best everyone." With his speech finished, he left the classroom.
Before anyone had a chance to speak, a few jounin came into the classroom. The first stepped forward and surveyed the room. "Team 3, follow me." Three students across the room stood up and left with the jounin.
Another male stepped forward and looked over. "Team 2." He simply said and exited with his genin.
Next was a face the majority of the room recognized. He wore a standard jounin uniform but had the fire temple cloth hanging in front of him. His eyes were crimson like his mothers (a major plus for many of the girls).
He looked at the first row and saw Hadoshi sitting next to the Uchiha twins Nagi and Hachi. Scanning the room further, he saw a plump boy with orange-red hair sticking up. Beside him was a boy with blonde shoulder length hair pulled behind his ears. Next to him was a girl with greenish-blue eyes. She had the front of her hair braided up with two spiky brown ponytails poking out. He recognized them from the times he'd go over to Shikamaru-sensei's house. Too bad they're not on my team. He thought as he acknowledged them with a nod of his head, which they returned.
Doing another scan of the room, he found the three he was looking for. "Team 8 follow me." Misoa instructed. Hyuuga Kenshin stood up with two others. One was a girl with a long-sleeve sky blue sweatshirt that could have passed for a short dress. Her hair had natural stringy curls, which by the way hung in her face. To add to her attire, she had on a pair of shades that she wore everyday. This girl was Shiobi, daughter of Aburame Shino and his wife Isarabi from the wave country.
The next boy beside her had light brown hair that looked a mess. It was spiky, yet it seemed to go everywhere. He had two maroon marks on each of his cheeks. His black under shirt was of average length and he wore a brownish overcoat that zipped halfway up. Beside him walked an off brown collie that came to his knees. These two were Inuzuka Kouga and his female nin-dog Michi.
As Misoa walked out the door, Konohamaru and Kimiko came in behind him. Konohamaru looked very tired so he didn't bother asking his cousin what was wrong with him. "Have fun." He said as he passed them with his team.
Konohamaru walked in first and immediately spotted his team. "Come with me Team 10." He said to the three as he waited for them to walk to him. They were the genin Misoa had acknowledged when he first came into the room. The blonde was Ino's son, the girl was Shikamaru's, and the 'plump' one was Choji's. Their respected names were Inoiki, Shikaru, and Chouza. Before leaving with his team, he saw Hadoshi out of the corner of his eyes. Do good kid. He thought as he exited with his team.
Hadoshi, Nagi, and Hachi felt someone staring at them so they directed their attention toward the door. There was a young jounin girl with the standard uniform on staring at them. So she's our sensei? They all thought at the same time.
"Come on." She said without asking what squad they were on. She knew of them, but she didn't know them. She didn't bother to look to see if they were following her, though she could sense their presence behind her. They continued walking until they reached the dojo that the academy used for kunai and taijutsu practices. Kimiko looked as if she was going to lead them upstairs, instead she sat on the third step and stared at them.
"So…" Kimiko started.
"So…what?" Nagi asked, slightly irritated.
"So…what do you plan on doing?" Kimiko asked the group.
"What do you mean by that?" Hadoshi asked. Hachi had yet to contribute to the conversation.
"What I mean is what are your future plans? Tell me what you wish to achieve/goals/ambitions/etc. You know, things down that line." She then darted her eyes to Hachi. "Starting with you, introduce yourself." Hachi made a grunting sound and stuffed his hands into his pants.
"My name is Uchiha Hachi. My goal is to be a better shinobi than my father."
"That it?" Kimiko asked
"Pretty much." He replied with a no caring face.
"Alright kunoichi, you're up." Kimiko addressed the female on her team.
"Uchiha Nagi. My goal is serve on the Konoha ANBU squad." Kimiko looked as if was mentally asking her if she was finished. "That's it." Nagi replied
"Alright blonde." She said to Hadoshi.
"I'm Uzamaki Hadoshi and my dream is to be a powerful juken user and make my family proud!" He said enthusiastically.
She inwardly raised an eyebrow at him then looked at her whole group. They've got big dreams. Big but realistic nonetheless. "Have you all eaten breakfast?" She asked them.
"Somewhat." Hadoshi answered, remembering he just grabbed a snack because he was running late.
"It's 8:30 now, so go eat and meet me at training ground 3 with your equipment and tools. I'd prefer it if you got there before noon." She then got up to leave.
"Hey! You didn't tell us anything about you!" Hadoshi yelled.
"Fine. My name is Hatake Kimiko. I have already met my goals and I don't have anything interesting to achieve. Well, ja ne!" She waved as she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"She didn't tell us anything but her name!" Nagi complained.
"Like we needed her to tell us who she was." Hachi agreed. Everyone in Konoha knew she was the only child of copycat ninja Hatake Kakashi and Mitarashi Anko. To add to that, his father was known as Konoha's White Fang while Anko had personally trained under one of the legendary Sannin- Orochimaru.
On a side note, they didn't really care about her lineage. They just saw her from time to time when their parents met up with her father, being he was their genin sensei.
Hadoshi felt the need to suddenly feed his stomach. "Have you guys eaten?" He asked.
"Yeah. Why?" Nagi asked.
"I was wondering because I was about to head over to Ichiraku."
"Well let's go then." She suggested as they began to walk.
"But…why are you two coming along if you already ate?" Hadoshi wondered.
Hachi scoffed. "We can all meet Kimiko-sensei at the same time. I know it won't take you long to eat so we can come up with a plan."
"A…plan? For what?" Hadoshi asked.
"Are you really clueless? If sensei wants us to meet her at the training grounds, then she must want to test our abilities. Why else would she tell us to bring our supplies? Besides, it won't take us long to get our weapons since we live within walking distance of Ichiraku." She explained. It's funny how he stays so close to us, yet we hardly ever see him. Nagi thought to herself. They walked in silence the rest of the way to the ramen shop.
Kimiko was standing on a tree branch monitoring the training grounds. She crossed her arms and leaned against the trunk, completely lost in her thoughts.
"Figure out what you're gonna do yet?"
Kimiko tilted her head slightly to the person who was talking to her. "Not yet." Her eyes went back to the training grounds. The branch she was standing on shifted slightly as the ANBU appeared in front of her. "You're in uniform? Where are you headed? Wait- take your mask off then tell me where you're going." She stated.
The mask was taken off and Korisa's face appeared. "I have to take off right after I tell you. The Kazekage of Suna sent a message that shinobi from his village are disappearing while traveling to Konoha. Likewise, some ninja from here also disappear, but nothing is being made public as of yet. We ANBU are to break into four groups of five with the ANBU from Suna to investigate. Hokage-sama instructed us to brief you all regardless if you pass the students or not. If you do, the chances of you getting away missions are likely so be careful until this is resolved."
"I will." She sounded a bit distracted by what Korisa had just told her.
"Reminiscing?" She asked slightly amused at Kimiko.
"If I didn't have these kids, I would be on your team still. Oh, who is on your team anyway?"
"Myself, Sakemo-niisan, June, and Zak. Kaa-san (mother) is the captain."
"Your mother is an advanced medic-nin, so why bring June?" Kimiko asked with curiosity in her voice.
"Extra precautions. We don't know what to expect." Korisa replied.
An amused expression fell over Kimiko. "I'll bet Zak is gonna take Kendo with him right?"
"Of course he is! What's an Inuzuka without his dog?" Korisa said referring to Zak and his white terrier pit.
"I'm not gonna hold you up. Thanks for the heads-up."
"No problem. Try not to kill the kids. You're still one of the strongest ANBU members we've got." With a giggle she disappeared in a poof of smoke.
Kimiko looked into the clearing and watched her 'team' walk toward her. A slick smile crossed her face. "I'll try not to kill them Korisa." She said to herself.
*Pant *Pant *Pant*Pant *Pant *Pant
Three sets of lungs labored as they waited for their opponent to make his next move.
They are pretty good. Misoa thought to himself. He was up in a nearby tree watching the rookies below him, forming a triangle formation so they could watch each other's back. He looked over his shoulder to see an ANBU personnel hovering above him. Beside the ANBU was a white terrier pit dog.
"I'm kind of in the middle of something right now." Misoa said in a hushed tone.
"I know but Hokage-sama dispatched us ANBU to give you 'sensei's' the updates concerning what's going on outside the village walls." He said in a young, but gruff voice as he leapt beside Misoa.
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu [Shadow Clone Jutsu]. Misoa thought as he activated the justu. He made his clone go and distract the students until he was ready for them. "What's up Zak?" Misoa asked eagerly.
"What gave me away?" He asked in good humor as he removed his mask. He knew it wasn't his scent, because he masked it and Kendo's to keep Kouga from smelling them- being from the same clan and all.
"The dog." Misoa smiled at him.
"Figures. Alright here's what's up…" Zak then replayed to Misoa the same words Korisa had said to Kimiko just seconds prior. Misoa was silent as he digested what Zak said. "You alright?" Zak asked after a few moments of irritating silence.
"Not really." He then looked down at the Fire Temple cloth on his thigh. "I should be helping you guys right now!" Misoa grunted as he dug his nails into the tree bark.
"Shoulda, coulda, woulda are three different things. Right now what you're doing is important. If you pass them they'll have to be ready for what's ahead of them. What's the purpose of passing them if you can't teach them to stay alive on away missions?"
"Who said I was passing them?" Misoa asked.
"No one…just saying in general." Zak stated as he placed his mask back on his face. "Let's go Kendo." The dog nodded his head and leap over to his master.
"You Inuzuka's have a lot in common. But you're a bit…off." Misoa said to the 16-year-old ANBU member.
"Yeah. Uncle Kiba said I get it from my mother. Mom said too bad it didn't rub off on him since she's his older sister." Zak chuckled from behind his mask.
"I just hope it rubs off on his son, because right now, Kouga is a spitting image of Kiba."
*Humph* "Don't hold your breath, you'll pass out." Zak raised his right hand to his midsection to form the designated seal and disappeared with Kendo.
I won't. Misoa thought as his attention once again went back to his students and his clone.
"Is that so?" Konohamaru asked.
Sakemo nodded his head while his ANBU mask hung by his hip. "Hokage-sama's orders."
"How long will you guys be gone?"
"Hard to say. Depends on what we come up with. Anything else you wanna know? I gotta fly." Sakemo asked as he replaced his mask.
"Nothing right now anyway. You and your team; be careful." Konohamaru cautioned.
"Sure thing." Forming the sign of the sheep, Sakemo disappeared.
"What's going on Konohamaru-sensei? Are you coming with us?" Chouza asked when he noticed Konohamaru was more than 100 ft behind them. Surprisingly enough, they had passed his test with flying colors. They had begun their decent back to the village when Konohamaru noticed Sakemo following them. Konohamaru purposely slowed down to speak with Sakemo without his students noticing. Concealing his chakra, Sakemo appeared beside Konohamaru and quickly hold him what the Hokage had said.
For a split second, Inoiki thought he felt someone's presence, but when they turned around, Konohamaru was the only one there. Shikaru knew she felt another presence and was irritated when she too only saw their sensei.
Jogging, he caught up with his students. "You changing your mind about passing us?" Shikaru asked after she noticed he had a concentrating expression on his face.
"Actually I was wondering if I should treat you all out to eat for passing or should I just let you pay for your own meals? What say you all?" He said with a smile on his face.
"Really? You rock Sensei!" Chouza shouted. Like every Akimichi, he had a soft spot for food.
Figures you'd get excited over food. Inoiki thought with a smile. "I'm in if you're paying Sensei."
Shikaru knew that wasn't the only thing he wanted to say, but she decided to humor him anyway." Doesn't matter with me." Shikaru said as she put her arms behind her head, making her elbows stick out. "You guys wanna train more after?" She asked her teammates.
"Sure!" Chouza chipped up.
"If they don't need help in the shop, I'm in." Inoiki stated referring to the Yamanaka family's flower shop.
Konohamaru was a bit shocked to hear them talk about training. When he was younger, Team 10 was infamous for not caring to train. Yet, here another generation later and all are changed. Maybe they're not so much like the loudmouth, lazy, and glutton before them.
"Hey Sensei? Are you gonna supervise our training?" Chouza asked with innocence in his voice.
"I'll take a rain check this time. I have to report to the Hokage as soon as we are done eating. Besides, we have plenty of time to train together."
The three nodded their head as the new Team 10 entered the village gates.
"This is bogus!" Hadoshi struggled from behind his binds. Like his father, he was tied to the log after not being able to retrieve one of the two bells. Fortunately for him, Nagi was tied to his left and Hachi to his right- all on the same log!
Kimiko had an annoyed look on her face. She looked from Nagi, to Hadoshi, then at Hachi. Sharigan/ fire jutsu mix; Juken/ kage bunshin combination; and Sharingan/ taijutsu blend…and they still can't touch me! She thought to herself in frustration. At this rate I'll have no choice but to fail them. They'd better come up with something quick!"Are you ready to listen?" She asked as she sat Indian style in front of them.
"You said whoever didn't get a bell would be tied to the log! So why are all three of us tied up!" Nagi yelled.
"You know you just answered that question with your first statement?" Kimiko asked. Not waiting for a smart remark, she answered instead. "None of you got a bell so you all were tied up. I never said I was going to just tie up only one. You all assumed one since you only saw two bells."
Hachi growled as he craned his head to try and face Kimiko over his right shoulder. "Like it'd matter! One of us would have ended up tied up because there are only two bells to begin with!"
15 or so minutes ago
"You want us to what?" Hadoshi asked with his eyes wide. Nagi stood to his left and Hachi was on her left. They too had slight looks of disbelief on their faces; not to confuse it with fear.
"You heard me. Come at me with the intention of killing me if you plan on getting these bells from me. Whoever doesn't get a bell will be tied to the log over there and fail. Any more questions before we begin?" Kimiko asked the genin as she tied the bells to her waist.
"You got a time limit?" Hachi asked.
"Until you get the bells or whenever I feel like stopping."
"We can use any weapon we have at our disposal?" Nagi asked with a grin.
"Yup. Why else would I tell you to bring them?" Kimiko asked with her arms now folded in front of her. "Anything else?" No one spoke up. "Alright then, let's begin." Then she disappeared in a poof of smoke.
All three of them were still in the same spots, but took on fighting stances. Where is she? Nagi thought as she tried to pinpoint their sensei's chakra. They all stayed that way and waited.
I guess they want me to make the first move. Kimiko thought as she watched in annoyance at the genin that were still at statues. Oh well, don't want to disappoint them. She thought with a sneaky smile.
What the… The three genin thought as kunai shot through the air. Lucky for them, their bodies reacted quicker than their mind did. They jumped away from the kunai far enough for Hadoshi to accidentally step on a trip wire. Once again, numerous kunai shot from a direction that caused them to avoid getting hit.
By now, they were a good 20ft from each other but the kunai from the trap almost did them in. The fabric on Hachi's right thigh was ripped, Nagi's left arm was almost grazed, and Hadoshi's torso looked like a tiger had dug his claws across his chest.
Perfect position! Kimiko thought as she looked at their placement. They were gaped apart, but they still slightly managed to form a small triangle formation. Well at least they're not standing beside each other. "Glad I got your attention." Kimiko appeared, standing on a tree branch facing her students. "Now then, first ninja art…" She then appeared on the ground between them and began a fighting stance. "Taijutsu!"
At a high speed, she sped to her first target: Hadoshi. She threw a few practice punches that he easily blocked. Hadoshi quickly got tired of being on the defense and began to strike back. Kimiko was impressed by how fast he threw his punches, but they weren't fast enough. As his juken was thrusting forward, Kimiko grabbed him by the wrist with her left hand and pulled him forward.
Great! She's gonna flip me like Kenshin did yesterday! Hadoshi yelled in his head; but he never flipped over-worse. As his body was going forward, Kimiko released his wrist and brought her knee up to drive it into his stomach. Just as quick, she bolded her right fist and backhanded him across his face, sending him sliding on his shoulder. As he slid, he managed to turn on all fours and stopped himself by digging his nails into the ground. Freakin' déjà vu! Man she's worse than Kenshin. He thought as he held his stomach in his hand.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nagi racing forward with a kunai in her hand. Going through a few seals, she activated a jutsu before Nagi reached her. As Nagi got closer to Kimiko, the ground below them shook violently. She jumped back in time as an anaconda erupted from the ground. Before she could think, it was wrapped around her, squeezing the life out of her. She dropped her kunai as she felt it about to crush her bones. But…how? How did she do a summoning justu without… Nagi blinked and saw Kimiko as she rammed her fist into her stomach. Nagi instantly dropped to her knees and tried to find air to fill her lungs. That snake was a…Nagi was thinking before Kimiko's voice cut her off.
"Second ninja art…Genjutsu!" Kimiko yelled over her shoulder to Nagi as she began her fight with Hachi. Both were fighting with kunai in hand. As they were trying to overpower each other with kunai to each other's throat, she saw he had his Sharingan activated. Took him long enough. She smiled smugly at him. She purposely withdrew her weight and leap backwards. Going quickly through the seals, she performed a jutsu: Tiger, Ox, Sheep, Horse, Dragon, Tiger. He may be able to see what move this is…but let's see if he can stop it.
"Earth Style! Rising Earth Jutsu!" She yelled from the spot she was in, still having her hands a seal.
Earth began to rise from the ground into pillars. From those pillars, earth poked out like spikes that caused Hachi to be careful how he ran toward his target. Before he got to her a pillar of earth popped out from under his feet. It carried him a few feet in the air before he saw Kimiko jumping over the pillars making her way toward him. Unable to move, he brought his arms in front of him to counter any move she may throw at him.
She was at least 5ft in front of him when she suddenly appeared behind him. Shunshin no Jutsu! [Flicker Technique!] Hachi's mind rang out as he thought about turning to counter, but it was too late. The flicker was no more than a distraction as she reappeared in front of him and kicked him squares in the stomach. He slid on his butt by his sister and held his stomach when he finally stopped.
"Third ninja art…Ninjutsu." Her voice rang to the teenagers as she squatted over the pillar she kicked Hachi off. She saw Hachi had deactivated his Sharingan so she performed the seals to release the ninjutsu. The pillars of earth went back into the ground and the landscape looked as if nothing had happened. "So…you guys want me to give you a second chance, or should I just fail you now?" She asked in an icy voice.
She was met with three sets of angry eyes. Great! "Your skills are pretty much average, but I don't see how they can help you outside these village walls, so what's the point in passing…how should I say this…losers." If they didn't have a killing intent, it was evident now. This isn't great- this is just perfect. Kimiko smiled in her head as her face still had a cold expression.
"Screw this!" Nagi shouted as she activated her Sharingan. Hachi, now semi-recovered from his fall, reactivated his Sharingan.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"Hadoshi yelled. Four clones appeared and rushed toward Kimiko. She looked and saw Hachi and Nagi whispering among each other. This is so typical. She thought as she prepared to fight the juken clad Hadoshi clones. She quickly disposed of the clones and created a clone herself. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. She said in her mind. She allowed it to fight with the real Hadoshi as the Uchiha twins were closing in on her.
This clone is just as tough as the real one! Hadoshi thought as he found it hard to overpower the clone.
Kimiko allowed her focus to fully attend to the Uchihas in front of her. First, Hachi attacked with a high kick, which she blocked. Next, he threw a fist which she caught with her other hand. He thinks he has me because both my hands are occupied. She smiled in her head as she saw him reach for the bells. She pushed off her weight and flew backwards.
Alright Nagi, you're up. Hachi thought with a sneaky smile on his face.
What's with the face? She thought as she was still sliding. She looked out of the corner of her eyes to see Nagi going through a series of seals.
Snake, Tiger, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. Fire Style! Blazing Fireball Jutsu! Nagi took a deep breath of air before putting her right hand to her mouth to aim where she was firing.
Holy Shit! Kimiko thought before the flames of the attack consumed her.
"Alright we got her!" Hachi hi-fived his sister when he got beside her. They both looked on as the fire continued to burn. Hadoshi on the other hand, was pinned to a tree by his right sleeve being securely held by four kunai (two on top & two on bottom). He managed to see the end of their fight when Kimiko-sensei got barbecued.
If they got her, then why isn't this stupid clone disappearing? He thought, as he got more frustrated. Just as he managed to dig one of the kunai out, the clone began to run toward him. He threw it which the clone deflected with one of its' own. With his adrenaline, he snatched the remaining kunai and aimed them at her. It didn't go as smoothly as he had wanted for clone deflected those as well.
Again they started their sparring match again and by this time Hadoshi was running low on chakra. Why don't you disappear already? Hadoshi yelled in his mind. Immediately, his eyes went over to the fire that was still burning. Looking closer into the fire, he let out a gasp. No way! Nagi and Hachi haven't even noticed it yet! But then…this clone is…He was unable to finish his thought as his feet were swept from under him. He fell backwards and bumped the back of his head.
The Kimiko clone stepped on his chest and smiled down at him. "So you noticed? What are you gonna do about it?" She asked as she put more weight on her victim. He let out a small groan but bit his lip. Too long to answer! With that, she kicked him back toward the tree she had pinned him on, and then disappeared.
Hachi looked out of the corner of his eye in time to see the clone disappear. "The fire is dying." Nagi said as they both waited to see what was left of their sensei. "What the hell!" Nagi screamed. Where a body should have been was a piece of wood.
"Standard replacement jutsu!" Kimiko's voice rang out of nowhere. "I'm where you least expect me!" Her voice rang again as if she knew they were thinking 'where is she?' Before they could react, a hand reached out of the ground to grab Nagi's left ankle while another grabbed Hachi's right ankle. They were instantly pulled down until only their heads were visible.
"Earth Style. Headhunter jutsu." Kimiko said coolly to them as she walked toward them. They could only wiggle in the ground without much success.
Hadoshi had his mouth hanging down as he saw the turn of events that just conspired. His thoughts were to attack Kimiko while she was distracted, but something glittering in the sun caught his attention. A BELL! He sang in his head. He was about to make a move for it before his common sense jumped in. It may be a trap. He thought suspiciously as he made a clone appear. He instructed it to make an attempt to get the bell, only to be caught in a rope around its' ankle. I knew it! He smiled victorious as he went the opposite direction around the tree.
I feel bad for the Uchihas, but I'm not going to fail! I bet I'm the only one who passed this stupid test and… "Ahhhh!" Hadoshi yelled as he was trapped in a net lined with chakra.
Kimiko let out a sigh/groan then looked to the sky. "And then there were none."
Present
Kimiko was still sitting in Indian style as the genin tried break the rope she tied around them. "That's no use. You can't get out until I untie you…or someone comes along one day and finds your bodies that is." Each one stopped moving and looked at her with hatred in their eyes.
She took out a kunai and stuck her right index finger through the hole at the end. As she spoke to them, she twirled the kunai around the finger. "You all have strengths, I give you that. But you allow your weaknesses to overpower your strengths…"
"What are you talking about? Stop talking in riddles and tell us what you're trying to tell us!" Nagi yelled.
Kimiko didn't like being cut off when she was trying to explain something. Seeing as they were genin, she calmed herself down the only way she could think. One…two…three…four…
Hadoshi too was getting fed up with the long explanation. He didn't care about what she had to tell them, he just wanted to know their fates. "What's with the silent treatment? Are you gonna tell us if we pass or failed?"
Five…six…seven…"Hey! You still haven't told us the point of having two bells instead of three! Did you plan on failing us all from the beginning?" Hachi too was aggravated.
Eight…nine…ten…elev…FUCK IT!!Quicker than their eyes could follow, Kimiko pulled out three shurikens and threw each one a couple of inches from its' victims' neck.
"I'll answer each of your questions in my explanation. But for future references, don't interrupt me when I'm trying to tell you something that could save your lives because I may be the one to end it one day!" She hissed at them with her icy violet eyes. Her killing intent alone was enough to make all three shut up.
Kimiko was now officially pissed. She twirled the kunai a bit more vigorously now and her voice was now harsh and held no emotion whatsoever. "Like I was saying, you've all got both good and bad points but your bad outweigh your good now."
"Nagi and Hachi! You both work on teams and leave Hadoshi out of your plans! Had you included him, I would have been dead right now! And you Hadoshi are too proud to even ask them for assistance. In fact, you knew that wasn't really me in the fire, but you didn't warn the others about it! This is not how a team is suppose to work!"
"There was a reason for me having two bells: it was to get you all to act like a team. But I see now that there are two people on a team and one person acting individually. Well, that's Nagi and Hachi's questions answered in a nutshell. Now for Hadoshi's: Do I pass you or fail you?" Kimiko closed her eyes and twirled the kunai as she thought about their fate. She twirled the kunai so fast that it could have created its' own tornado.
Still having her eyes closed, she threw the kunai at the rope containing the genin. With accurate aim, she hit the knot in the rope and it immediately fell, causing them to drop to the ground. "Today is your lucky day. I'll give you a third chance but you all must somehow utilize the three main ninja arts to defeat me. Alright then, let's go..." Instead of Kimiko disappearing this time, they all went into a hiding position. Glad I got through to them. Brats didn't even wait for me to say 'begin'. Kimiko smiled as she waited for their attacks while still sitting on the ground.
[Hokage Tower]
Naruto sat at his desk and read over the paperwork of those who failed their genin. He sighed at the potential ninja, but rationed that teamwork is very important. Konohamaru watched him with little emotion. Since he had passed his team, he reported to Naruto and gave him a full statement of how the team did and what they needed to work on. To his left, Misoa stood with a bored expression. He too had passed his team and had given his report to Naruto also. They were about to leave when…
*Knock* *Knock *Knock*
"Come in Kimiko." Naruto stated which caused the two Sarutobi's to look at him in surprise.
"How'd you know it was me?"
"Your father was and still is infamous for being late. Even though you didn't plan on entering late, it's innate that you did." He smiled as he put down his papers to look at her. "You look like hell." He noted her ruffled uniform, mangled hair, and black scorch marks on her cheeks. She was also favoring her left shoulder with her right hand. "What's the verdict?"
"Long story short: they pass but need a more work on a three-man team."
"That's normal. All nine of the genin know of each other but don't really know each other in depth. Every individual has his or her own unique way of fighting and preference. This is just going to take some time. I had to learn the hard way about teamwork. Unfortunately for them, they're gonna have to learn to work with each other quickly. You've all received the reports from the ANBU I sent out correct?"
"Hai." They each answered.
"I'm glad. We don't know what we're going to find but hopefully it will lead us to some clues as to what's going on. I'm pretty sure the teams are gonna be pissed but I have a long list of D-rank missions lined up starting tomorrow. The more missions they take, the tougher the missions will be. That is what brings us to the matter at hand. Any D or even C rank missions may require teams going outside the safety of the village walls."
Naruto leaned forward and rubbed his temple the way Tsunade use to when she felt a headache coming on. "I don't want to keep this from them because they are starting shinobi, but I don't wish to alarm them so it throws their mind off. Lucky we don't have to worry about that now so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Anything else you wish to report or comment on?"
All three shook their head. "Then you're dismissed for today. I'll see you tomorrow morning for your missions. Tomorrow starts the day for Team Kimiko, Team Misoa, and Team Konohamaru!" Each bowed to the Hokage and left. Once again, Izumo and Kotesu came in with paperwork. Naruto put his head on his desk and cursed the person who invented paperwork.