This chapter took me an extra day simply because I had to think of alias' for the boy to go by until the time comes. When I finally did, guess what? THEY'RE NOT ORIGINAL! o.O. I don't plan on using their names an over abundant number of times simply to avoid confusion. Also last chapter there was some confusion on exactly HOW MUCH the boys told Zabuza, they only revealed that they were vessels for powerful entities, nothing more. Finally, please don't expect much from the fill-in members of the sand team and team seven. I think that was all I needed, so, onward!
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Chapter 6: Team Who?
The four shinobi finally reached the tower of the Hokage along with their ANBU escorts. "You know we still don't have names and unless we want problems on top of problems we better come up with something quick," stated Naruto softly enough that only the other three could hear.
"I've got it handled," replied Zabuza.
Upon entering the office of the third the teens noted that there were jounin in the room eyeing them, harshly. 'Kakashi, Asuma, Gai, and Kurenai. Must be checking out the competition.' thought Naruto
Looking up the third smiled, "Ah! Zabuza-san, I see you've returned like you said." then he turned his gaze towards the teens and eyed them one at a time, "and these I assume were the students you were talking about before?"
The three boys were stunned, not only was Sarutobi talking to Zabuza like they were friends, but he had told him about them. "Hai, Hokage-sama. I assume that our contract is still in good standing?"
"Of course, of course." replied the third smiling
"Contract?" question Zaiaku, "What exactly have you been doing, Zabuza-sensei?"
Gaara glared, "I'm curious as well."
"Simple really," stated the jounin, "I agreed to give any information about the sound to Sarutobi in exchange for asylm for us and enstatement into the leaf ranks."
Sarutobi nodded, "I had been recieving increasing reports of activity at the sound border, so when Zabuza-san appeared with very vital information it was a blessing." taking a puff of his pipe he continued, "I was at a loss, on the one hand I had a valuable source of information to keep my village safe at my fingertips. On the other hand that source was one of the mist seven, and a dangerous missing-nin"
"So you chose the lesser of two evils," said Gaara. "If things got suspicious you could send an ANBU team after him, where as you would have to fight an entire village if you didn't take his information."
"That's exactly it," replied the third, "Now I am enstating you three as leaf gennin, and Zabuza you will be their jounin sensei." Reaching into his desk he pulled out four head bands. "Now, I have other buisness to attend to, as I'm sure you do too."
The four gathered their forehead protectors and made their way to the hotel, "They don't trust us as far as they can throw us," stated Zaiaku.
Zabuza only nodded, "We've had an ANBU team watching us since we left the tower."
"This is going to get irritating," grunted Naruto.
-Hokage's Office-
"I don't like this hokage-sama," said Asuma. "An S-class missing-nin, and three kids that look like they could decimate a jounin each?"
Sarutobi laced his fingers together and rested his head on them, "I know I know, but I won't go back on my word and everything Zabuza said was one hundred percent accurate. However, I do have an ANBU team on them."
Kakashi closed his visible eye and leaned against the wall, "Do you think an ANBU team can handle them?"
The third shrugged, "I don't know."
-Konoha Hotel-
Zabuza handed them a form each, "These are your forms for the chunnin exam, now your names.." he pointed to Naruto, "Aka (red)," then Zaiaku, "Aoi (blue)," and finally Gaara, "Kuroi (black)."
Naruto snorted and pulled down his mask, "That's it?"
Zabuza cocked an eyebrow, "Got something better?"
After a minute the blonde just shook his head and filled out his name.
"Team?" questioned Zaiaku
All four looked at each other stumped, not even Zabuza had an idea. "Oni," stated Gaara, "We'll be team Oni"
Zaiaku shook his head, "If they weren't suspicious of us at first they will be now, anonymous names and we're going to be Team Demon?" he groaned, "I don't think we had this planned out as well as we thought."
"Actually," interjected Zabuza, "You're looking at it the wrong way, no one knows your names, you're new arrivals and already gennin, AND your team name is Oni. You three have mystery and surprise on your side, fear will cut your fighting down to a minimum."
Eyeing each other Naruto and Zaiaku resigned themselves to be team oni. After another ten minutes things were unpacked an paper work was filled out. "Now the registration deadline has already passed, but Sarutobi gave us an extended period of time."
"What do we do?" questioned Gaara
Zabuza shrugged, "Go mingle," he recieved incredulous looks, "fine fine, go train or something. Don't over do it though, people are watching." Gathering the three forms from his team he exited.
"Well," said Naruto pulling up his mask, "Let's get to it."
Walking down the road to the training area they heard someone yell, "OI! LEMME GO!"
Naruto smiled, 'I know who that is.' "Come on," he said to his teammates. Rounding the corner he spotted them, the first was a tall boy dressed in all black and face paint, the second was a bit shorter and a brunette. Then his eyes fell on her, 'Temari-chan' thought Naruto as his stomach did a flip-flop and his mind started racing.
Zaiaku quickly latched a hand onto his shoulder, "calm down," he whispered.
"Easy kid I was just helping you up!" yelled Kankuro as he set the boy back down.
"Gomen! I thought you were attacking me!" replied the boy sheepishly, "I'm Konohamaru!"
The larger boy smiled, "I'm Kankuro, this," he pointed to Temari, "is my sister Temari, and this," he pointed to the other boy, "is, Jouichi."
Konohamaru blushed at Temari, "Nice to meet you," he mumbled then sprinted off with the Konohamaru corps. in tow.
Naruto was looking on in bewilderment, "I forgot to tell you," stated Gaara, "They're a bit...nicer."
"I see that, I remember it playing out a bit differently," replied the blonde sarcastically. Then turning back to eye the three he met hard looks, 'oh joy'
Temari stepped up, "Well you heard our names, what are yours?" she questioned with a raised brow.
She was close, her scent filled his nose, and her voice sounded like music to him. It was strong, not weak from choking on her own blood. Snapping out of his trance Naruto stammered, "A-Aka"
Zaiaku nodded to Kankuro, "Aoi"
"Kuroi," droned Gaara
Jouichi snorted, "Really, what are your names."
Gaara glared, "We gave them to you," then he noticed Kankuro and Temari giving him scrutinizing looks, "may I help you?" he questioned, thanking kami-sama that he had transformed his old monstrous gourde into one a bit more 'suitable'
'I liked that gourde!' shouted the sand demon
"Where did you say you were from?" questioned Kankuro
"I didn't," quipped Gaara from under his black mask.
"You know," started Kankuro, "Konoha and Suna are allies and good friends, you could be a bit more pleasent."
Zaiaku grunted, "We aren't being rude," then he eyed Jouichi, "but the less you know about us pre-exam the better, don't be offended." Then he turned to Gaara, "we REALLY should get training."
Gaara never paniced, but he was in a near state at what he saw. Temari was close to Naruto, too close. The redhead knew his friend never exibited very much control and this situation was becoming volatile, "Yes...AKA! let's go."
Snapping out of his trance he began a stiff walk away along with this teammates, "I think he likes you," stated Kankuro smugly.
Jouichi laughed, "I think he was just oogling her, like most guys."
Temari gave a nervous laugh, "Yea," true she HAD been oogled before by men, but this 'Aka' only stared into her eyes, oogling requires a head to toe visual exam.
Finally reaching the training grounds Zaiaku looked at Naruto's misty eyes, "Oi! you ok?"
Naruto slapped on his mask of happiness, "Yea, sure." he replied
'Liar,' barked Kyuubi
"We've known you for a long time, don't put on that fake happy tone for us," replied Gaara, then he shrugged, "like you said, it'll work out ok in the end."
Nodding Naruto looked at his friends, "Thanks you two," then he stepped back into his taijutsu stance, "ready?"
"Let's begin," said Zaiaku as he squared off against the blonde.
-Konoha Dinner-
The sensei's of the four gennin teams entering the chunnin exams were treating them all to lunch when a completely winded Iruka came blasting through the door and went straight to their table.
"Iruka-sensei!" exclaimed Kiba, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Have...you seen...those...new guys?" he gasped.
The four jounin nodded, "we have as well," came a voice from a table over, one look revealed the suna team.
Iruka shook his head and composed himself, "No...I mean have you seen them fight?"
Kurenai cocked an eyebrow, "No, have you?"
Gai grabbed an extra chair and indicated for the chunnin to sit, "Arigato, Gai-san," he replied. Taking a gulp of water as the suna team gathered around he eyed them, "They're...not normal."
Kakashi cocked an eyebrow, he had expected those kids to be a bit scary with being trained by Momochi Zabuza, "What do you mean? Not normal how?"
Iruka looked at him like a deer in headlights, "Well. I was doing my normal patrol route since the academy is out for the chunnin exams, when I heard something that sounded like fighting." He took in a deep breath, "I walked around to the team seven training ground clearing and I saw them, the one in blue and the one in red were engaged in taijutsu, while the one in black was sitting in a meditative state."
Temari piped up, "We found out their names, well at least what they call themselves," noticing the questioning glances she continued, "Aka is the blonde, Aoi is the white haired guy, and Kuroi is the redhead." When she finished she nodded to Iruka to continue
"Curiosity got the best of me so I continued to watch. After fifteen minutes nothing changed, I was about to walk away when..." he paused and went wide-eyed, "...they, began releasing their chakra." he took another drink of water, his hands shaking violently, "The first one was the white-haired kid, Aoi, I felt like I was being chilled to my bones. Once it was over he vanished, only to reappear and begin sealing. I couldn't hear the jutsu, but soon enough ice needles started to hit a group of targets."
"So he used an ice jutsu, so what?" questioned Asuma, "That just means he's a sno-"
Iruka slammed his hand down on the table, "In mid-summer? At high noon? THINK, Asuma-san, there was ZERO water around...He just...MADE ice."
Neji interjected, "A bloodlimit possibly?"
Sakura pondered out loud, "Couldn't the Nidaime make water appear?"
"He could collect and condense the moisture in the air," replied Kakashi, "What about the other two?"
Iruka pressed on, "The next was the redhead, Kuroi. He was...it was the most powerful killing intent I've ever felt. I couldn't breath, he said something to Aoi and he performed his ice jutsu again. When the needles began to fall they were stopped by a wall of something, it looked a little like dirt, I couldn't really see."
Kankuro, Temari, and Jouichi looked at each other wide-eyed, "Maybe, sand?" questioned the black clad Gennin
The Chunnin nodded, "It could've been, I was a good thirty yards away."
"And the last one?" Questioned Shikamaru, "Aka was it?"
"Terror," choked out Iruka
"Nani?" several of the gather shinobi chorused.
"Pure, unbridled terror..." the chunnin stared into his cup, "It washed over me, I wanted to scream, I wanted to run, but I couldn't do anything except stand there. I felt like an animal that stares into the eyes of a predator when it knows it's about to meet it's end."
Everyone was so engrossed in Iruka's story that they jumped nearly a foot when another chair was slammed down to the ground, turning their heads they noticed a smug looking Zabuza eyeing each of them, "So..." he started, "You've met my team."
Gai was the first to try and throw a jab, "Ah, Zabuza-kun, you're team has gotten careless. They have shown their skills and now our youthful students know what to expect!" He exclaimed jumping into his nice-guy pose.
"Yosh!" shouted Lee, "We will defeat them!"
Zabuza cocked an eyebrow, "You," he pointed to Iruka, "saw Aoi do one ice jutsu?" he questioned and recieved a nod from the chunnin, he began to chuckle, "Aoi is an ice jutsu master and to let you know that was Shigure no Jutsu (Winter Shower Technique)." He waved his hand lazily, "To answer your other question, no it's not a bloodlimit, he simply has the ability to freeze the condensation in the air." lowering himself into his chair he removed Sangemaru and rested it against the table, "Next you saw Kuroi, he's a defensive specialist, I can't even break through his guards. Finally..." He said with a gleam in his eye, "there is Aka, his power lies in his phenominal strength and quick thinking.That, is my team."
"Why would you reveal so much to us about your team?" questioned Kakashi, "We know more now than we did with Iruka."
Zabuza sighed, "What do you really know? That their chakra is overpowering, that Aoi uses ice, Kuroi is defensive, and Aka is strong and smart. In reality I haven't told you anything, and you haven't seen Aoi's nor Aka's kenjutsu. I could rattle on about what they can do, but knowing about it and staring it in the face in combat are two different things, you know that...Copy Ninja." Noticing all the hard gazes even from the normally upbeat Gai, he sighed, "Listen the main reason is because we're all on the same side here," then he hardened his gaze to match theirs, "and if the shit hits the fan you know to get the hell out of their way." Without another word Zabuza left the resturant.
"Avoid them," said Shino breaking the silence, "completely."
Kakashi nodded, "If they were trained by Momochi Zabuza, then they have no problem killing."
"Ano...Kakashi-sensei, w-who is h-he?" questioned Hinata
"He is formerly an S-class missing-nin from Kirikagure." He replied. "Now, however, he is the jounin sensei of the new gennin."
A surprisinly thoughtful Gai chimed in, "Also he is one of the legendary seven swordsmen of the mist, so it's safe to assume that the two boys that have swords are quite formidible with them."
"How troublesome," droned Shikamaru, "He was right, we don't know anything about them."
-Konoha Hotel-
Seeing Zabuza enter the room all three teens eyed him, "Well?" questioned Zaiaku and Naruto
"It worked perfectly," replied the Jounin
Gaara nodded, "Good." then he eyed Zabuza and noticed him clad in the typical Konoha jounin outfit save his normal face bandages and lopsided forehead protector, "Nice outfit."
The jounin scowled, "Bite me."
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End Chapter 6
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