Hmm... Been a little slow with the update considering that I'm already done with chapter 14... Oh well. Here's the next chapter anyway. This is kinda a repeat of Team 7's survival training, with a slight difference to it. So I don't really want to hear any complaints on it.
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Chapter 3 "The Rookies skills"
In the allied village of the sand
Sabaku no Gaara was sitting in the village's library with piles of books in front of him. He had a lot of work to do, but something had been bothering the young kazekage for some time. He rested his face in his hand as he turned the page and yawned. He had been searching through several books that morning. The door opened and Gaara lifted his head from the book. He saw his sister in the door.
"There you are Gaara," she said, when she saw all the books. She lifted an eyebrow. "What are you doing? Don't you have work to do?"
Now Gaara noticed she carried a pile of papers in her arms. Gaara shrugged.
"I know that," he said with a sleepy voice. "But there is something else I feel like I must do."
"You have been sitting here for two days, the work keeps increasing. You must do something."
Gaara drank water from the glass beside him and yawned again.
"Not only that, you haven't slept for days either. You know you should do that now, or you'll pass out."
Gaara gave up a sigh. "Temari, you don't have to worry so much about me. I know my own limits." He turned the page again and muttered: "Geez, whatever I read I just can't find it."
"I don't care how important this is," his sister said.
He heard she was starting to loose her temper. He glanced at her and stood up.
"Fine," he said and closed the book, "I'll do some work. And if it will make you feel better, I'll sleep tonight."
He didn't have the energy to argue with his sister. Even if he tried to not show it, he was tired. Temari grinned a little and turned to go back to Gaara's office. He closed the book and held in a yawn before he followed his sister.
Back at the training ground
Naruto looked around him. He didn't see any of them, but then he heard a sound behind him and turned around. There stood Kino. Naruto smiled.
"Let's just get this over with already," he shouted and pointed at Naruto, who was still smiling.
You really are like me after all, Naruto thought for himself. If you guys succed it will be interesting to see how you will change.
"You're a little strange for a ninja," he said to Kino, that snorted.
"The only thing that's wierd is your whiskers," he answered.
Naruto couldn't help but laugh. This reminded him about what he said to Kakashi that day.
"A ninja is supposed to conceal his presence and hide," he said when he finished laughing, "not challenge someone openly like this, idiot."
Naruto crossed the line he had kept approaching during that single morning and Kino ran towards him. Naruto paid no attention to him and yawned a little. Kino noticed this with anger.
"You can't just joke around with me!" He shouted and aimed a right to Naruto's cheek.
Somewhere in a tree sat Onaru. Geez, that idiot. Charge in like that with such a sweeping movements, he thought. There's no way a jounin will get hit...
And he got stopped in that though when Kino's punch hit Naruto.
"See, I told you!" Kino shouted with a smile, and widened his eyes.
Suddenly the Naruto he hit dissapeared and left smoke after it. What the? He thought.
"However," a voice said from behind, "you're worse then I was."
Kino didn't hesitate and turned around to punch his sensei behind him. Naruto took the hit in his hand and held Kino there.
"Ninja tactical knowhow #1," he said with a smile, "taijutsu. I will teach you guys that first."
Kino aimed a kick at his head, which Naruto ducked under. Kino then jumped over him and aimed a left at his neck. When he hit, he saw that it was another clone.
"You're pretty good in taijutsu. However, you shouldn't let the enemy get behind you idiot."
What did he do? Kino thought and turned around. Naruto was squatting and Kino noticed he held some kind of seal.
The tiger seal? He thought What is he planning to do? Kino just stood there out of curiosity.
"The move my sensei used on me when I had this training," his sensei said and grinned. "Konoha Taijutsu style, a thousand years of pain."
Kino suddenly felt a shooting pain coming from his ass.
What the hell? He thought when Naruto shot him away into the water. Naruto stood up.
The move of an idiot, fit for an idiot, Shora thought from her hiding spot.
Naruto took one of his bells and put it down at a tree.
"He should see this one when he gets out of the water," he said to himself and walked away.
Shora had been analyzing him all the time. Even though I hate to admit it, that Jounin is pretty good. Kino's taijutsu may not be the best, but it is above avarage for our age. But that Jounin made it look like below avarage. Even if I fight Kino, I get at least one hit. That Jounin is just playing with him. Neither did he show any openings, and he still hasn't shown any real skill. He's good for being so young. She scratched her chin. If I let Kino get caugh in that trap he made there, and wait and see if Naruto comes back. Maybe I can find an opening then
Further into the forest Naruto stopped. He put the right index and middle finger over his left ones and said:
"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Then his two clones went back to watch the trap, and Naruto went to look for the other two.
Kino came up from the water, coughing. Damn it, it was like my taijutsu was a kid's game, he thought. And what the hell was that? Even though I haven't paid any huge attention during class, I know that a Kage Bunshin divide the chakra evenly between the user and the clone. Which means if he made two he should just have 1/3 chakra left, and yet he manage to move so quickly without tiring himself. How much chakra does that guy have?
He saw a shimmer in the corner of his eye. Under the tree in the middle of the open space he saw one of the bells. His eyes showed stars.
"Looks like he was in a big hurry if he dropped that bell," he said to himself and grinned, stood up and ran over to the tree.
As I thought, Shora said to herself, he's going straight into it.
Kino laughed as he bent down to grab the bell, when a rope grabbed his ancle.
One of Naruto's clones grinned when he saw it. No wonder Kakashi-sensei did this to me. It really works.
He walked out of the forest while the other clone kept watch. Let's find out where one of the others are, he thought and walked up to Kino. He picked up the bell.
"Your attacks are filled with unnecessery movements," he said, copying what Kakashi told him; because it was simply true. "If you're a ninja, think out a strategy instead of just attacking. Such attacks are simple to counter. Your taijutsu is not too bad, but if you don't have a plan, you have no chance if you meet a foreign ninja." Kino narrowed his eyes. "And, don't fall for such an obvious trap, stupid."
"Shut up! I bet you would fall for this."
Naruto shook his head. "Not anymore." Kino raised an eyebrow.
"A ninja needs to think underneath the underneath," Naruto told him.
"You don't need to tell me something I already know!" Kino shouted and shook his fist.
"I'm telling you this because you don't know," Naruto said with an angry voice to stop Kino's complaining. "You don't know anything about ninjas."
Suddenly three shurikens hit him in the neck. There she is, the other clone thought. Shora had a grin on her face as she watched them hit. Kino shouted:
"Shora you idiot! Sure we should come at him like we tried to kill him, but this is going overboard! You..."
The Naruto that got hit disappeared. Another clone? Kino thought. Shora cursed herself for not seeing that coming.
He just wanted to find out where I was that bastard! She thought and ran away. He send out a clone to take care of that? What is he planning? And where the hell is he now? He's starting to annoy me. She sped through the forest without noticing the clone following her.
In the meantime Naruto had found Onaru's hiding spot. So you decided not to come help your teammate because of fear? He thought as he looked at him. He was trembling a little.
"Trying to figure out a plan?" Naruto asked him out loud, which made him jump. He stood up and turned around.
"Ninja tactical knowhow #2" Onaru frowned. "Genjutsu, I'm going to teach you that."
Genjutsu? If you just tell me there's no way I'll fall for that. Naruto formed the rat seal and vanished.
Onaru widened his eyes. What kind of genjutsu would this be? They usually vanish slowly, not as quick as that.
Then he saw his sister come out from a tree, but she was really wounded. Onaru's eyes filled with tears.
This is genjutsu, I know it is, he thought to himself. Then his sister vanished, and Naruto stood in front of him.
"This genjutsu is my own," he told Onaru. "What helped me develop it was my skills as a prankster. Even though you know this is a genjutsu, you can't avoid to pass out." He grinned as Onaru's view started to blurr, and then loose conciousness.
"However it will teach you to notice any other genjutsu cast at you. I developed it especiallt for this occasion," he said and smiled.
At that time Shora had noticed the clone who was after her. And to her rising aggravation the time was running out. She finally hit the clone with a kunai, and it vanished.
"Another clone!?" She shouted in anger. "DAMN IT!"
She threw a kunai in to a tree, and noticed Naruto standing there. She clenched her fist.
"It's not good for a ninja to loose his temper," Naruto said with a calm voice. "I might not be the right person to tell you that, but it is the truth."
Shora raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean not the right person?" She asked out of curiosity.
"I don't need to tell you that. A ninja should stay calm and wait for the right moment. That's what you did when I talked to Kino, right? That's what you should do."
"It didn't work," she said and clenched her fist harder. "Just a warning, I'm different from Kino. A lot different."
"After you get a bell, you can tell me that, Shora-chan." She smiled and pulled a rope behind her. Naruto widened his eyes.
A trap?
A huge log with kunais and shurikens sticking out from it flew against him. Naruto smiled, it was too easy.
She knows how to make Shuriken Kage Bunshin? She really is different, he thought.
"You've chosen a bad place to fight me in," she said and smiled.
"How come? Will you tell me?" Naruto asked her. She pointed to the river.
"My family specializes in water jutsus. You followed my lead." Naruto raised his eyebrows.
"A plan, huh? Maybe you aren't so bad after all." She grinned and started to form handseals. Naruto widened his eyes.
That jutsu is chuunin level. Sure it's not that good, but I didn't except her to be able to do that.
"Suiton: Mizuranppa!" She shouted and lifted water from the river.
It flew at high speed against her sensei. The water inside of it formed into small needles. She made a satisfied smile. Her sensei was gone.
Where is he know, huh? Left, right, above, behind? No, then where? She just stood there, when she heard a sound from behind her.
"I'm beneath you." What!? Shora thought. How the hell could he...?
"Fuuton: Ropes of Wind!" She heard Naruto say and she was no longer able to move.
Naruto walked to her with his hand held up in front of him. Then she heard him from another direction.
"I admit, you are good."
"You," she said, unable to hide the anger in her voice, "how many clones can you make?"
"I'm going to be honest with you. Without tiring myself out too much, I can make three thousand." Shora widened her eyes in surprise.
"How is that possible?"
"I have a lot of chakra," Naruto simply said. "Times up." Shora heard the alarm ring.
"Damn it." She was released from the ropes of wind that he tied her up with and followed him back to the logs.
When they got back there, Onaru was already in place by the logs. He didn't look happy. Shora sat down on the other side of the middle log. Naruto went and released Kino from the trap. And tied him to the log. He then walked and took two lunch meals and put them infront of Shora and Onaru. They both lifted an eyebrow. And Kino shouted in anger:
"What the hell is this supposed to mean!?"
"I lied when I said you would be tied to the log if you didn't get a bell. I was gonna tie the one who did the worse there."
Kino narrowed his eyes and started to complain. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Or," Kino stopped, "the one who didn't hide." Kino growled.
"About the results. None of you are going to become Genins." Shora and Kino swore. "And none of you, are going back to the academy."
"What do you mean?" Onaru asked loudly so that Naruto could hear him over Kino's shouting.
"I mean... QUIET!" Kino stopped. "Thank you. I mean that you are not worthy to be called ninja." This time, he crossed Shora's line
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I can understand Kino."
"Hey!"
"But you are a Jounin! We are just Genin. So what if we didn't get the bells, this test was to show you our skills, right?"
Naruto shook his head as an answer.
"Then what was it's meaning?" Onaru asked.
"Didn't you ever wonder why we put you together in teams?" They nodded. "You can't figure it out?"
"Of course not!" Kino shouted in anger.
"Would you tell us?" Onaru calmly asked.
Naruto nodded.
"The reason you were put together in teams and was forced to do this test is... Teamwork."
Shora and Kino both said:
"WHAT? THEN WHY ARE THERE ONLY TWO BELLS?"
Naruto gave up a sigh.
"This test was made to turn you against each other," he said with a voice that gave them the expression that he was tired of them. "It is to prepare you for your missions. In every mission you risk your life, and people will die or get sacrificed in different ways. You can't avoid it. If someone get's taken hostage, you must be ready to sacrifice that person if there is no other way. That is, sadly to say, the life of a ninja."
"Then why do we have to go back to the academy just because we didn't work together?" Kino asked.
Naruto gave up a sigh.
"If the teamwork has flaws, someone will die." All three of them got surprised. "You see this stone? This is a memorial stone for those who are seen as hero's in the village."
"Really? Then I..." Kino said, but Naruto interrupted him.
"But they are not normal heroes."
"Huh?"
"These are the people that have been killed during missions. Some of my friends names are carved on it." He turned around to face them. "You wear those foreheadprotectors, and you are allowed to be proud of it. But being a ninja is painful, you don't know how it is. It isn't easy."
Kino looked down at the ground, Shora frowned and Onaru didn't show any expressions.
"Kino!" Kino looked up. "You wanted to prove you were stronger then those two and decided to only work for yourself. Onaru! You thought that if you helped Kino he might take the bell and make you be sent back to the academy. Shora! You just wanted to show that you were independant and better then them, so you worked on your own. But when you are a ninja, your own skill is as important as teamwork. You have skill enough already, you have to work on teamwork."
"But..." She started.
"No buts! I know more about the pain of loosing a teammate then you do. Even if you hate them, you will sooner or later find out you can't live without them. You have probably been taught that ninja's shouldn't show feelings. Konoha is different, I don't know why they still teach you that. The shinobi of Konoha rely on their feelings. That is what makes us strong. When we have to protect something or someone close to us, we show our true strength."
Shora was surprised. This was the way Konoha ninjas fight?
"I'm going to give you another chance. Shora and Onaru, eat up. But don't feed Kino."
"What!?"
"It is punishment for not listening to me when you got caught in the trap."
He snorted. "It doesn't matter, I'm fine this way."
Naruto started walked away. Will this work on you guys?
"Oh, and one last thing," he said and turned around. "I'm going to tell you something my sensei told me the day I had this training. In this world, ninjas who break the rules are called trash, but those who doesn't take care of their friends are even worse trash."
Shora didn't understand anything. Was this the way Konoha looked at ninjas? She decided not to think about it and started to eat.
Kino's stomach growled. She glanced at him. Those who doesn't take care of their friends are even worse trash, huh? She looked down at the food. Maybe I should... Then she decided, she reached out the food towards Kino.
"Here." Kino widened his eyes and Onaru choked on his food. He coughed and said:
"What are you doing? You want us to fail?"
"Don't you see stupid?" Shora said to him. "Those who doesn't take care of their friends are even worse trash. I've never considered Kino as a friend, but we are teammates now. We have to take care of each other, even if we go back to the academy."
Onaru winked. He suddenly understood the reason behind this rule. He took up some food with the sticks.
"Here, I'm not really that hungry." Kino just looked at them.
"You guys..." He began. Onaru smiled and gave him the food.
Naruto smiled. Ok, it's time, he thought.
He came up right in front of them with red chakra around him. His eyes were glowing red and his whiskers had became bigger. Onaru, Shora and Kino looked at him with a frightened look. Then Naruto let the chakra disappear and his eyes were switching from blue to red.
What the hell was that? Shora thought.
Naruto grinned and said: "You guys, my first team, passed."
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There it is. This is the only chapter of the first three i really like. Those afterwards this chapter are more carefully made, so you will probably see more... "quality" in the ones coming up. And it's kinda after this chapter the real plot begins.
Reviews appriciated, as usual.