I do not own Naruto as a game, Manga, Anime series or a character. All original characters are mine though :P

Hi no Ishi (The will of Fire) - The Countdown

Teams are being formed, but how will this affect the freshly minted genin? And what are we counting down to? Well, regardless the action is getting kicked up a notch!

All underlined terms are explained at the end of the chapter.

~? POV~

After our first team workout, one of my team mates decided to go on a side mission. Somehow volunteering me to go with her. I was too worn out to bother figure out what was what. Still, she said it wouldn't take more than an hour and she'd treat me to a meal after. Not sure which one, or why she wants me to tag along.
Not in the mood to care. Too tired. Taichou ran us ragged, and that little nap did nothing to ease the ache in my muscles or the ridiculously low chakra reserves I had left. Still, I couldn't let her go alone, now could I? Tempting as it was, I promised Rin-chan I'd take care of her.
We made it to the spot she said we could monitor everything. I probably should recognize the place, but I'll worry with that later.
With my reserves so low, I didn't dare do anything but watch unaided by chakra in any form – I was afraid I'd pass out again if I did.
"Naruto! Stop horsing around! Kakashi-sensei could be here any minute!" A tallish blonde announced. She kept her hair in a tight ponytail with two locks of hair flowing down the sides of her face to frame it. As well, she wore purple (?) clothes. Who the hell wears that much purple?
"Yeah, yeah. If he wants the right to complain about what I'm doing, then he should show up on time, 'ttebayo!" Judging from the slight twitch in my team mate, I'd say this was the mission target. What would he have to do with anything?
"Besides, if this is a test, then we need to make sure we're ready for anything." Why is Shirokuma out of uniform? If he forgot it again, I'm beating him senseless. Now I really am curious what we're doing here. I turned to ask my new team mate, but her eyes were glued to the target.
"Well, you're work ethic is noteworthy." Inu-tai... no Inu-senpai. I'm no longer under his command, but old habits die hard. Inu-senpai walked into the clearing. He was out of uniform as well. Were they going undercover or something? Well, that might make sense. The taller blonde's a Yamanaka, they usually only go for infiltration or interrogation. "Well, lets get this over with." He announced showing the two bells.
"What're the bells for?" The Yamanaka asked. You're kidding right?
"It's a test. You need to fight me for one of the bells." Inu-senpai explained. Come on! That is a gennin test! How could an ANBU not know about it? "And you have until noon." Just over an hour and a half? Well, that would be interesting. I suppose.

I fell asleep almost immediately after Inu-senpai said go.

Even while fully asleep, I was able to monitor everything around me. It's something you just learn to do after a few years of little to no sleep and keeping a constant vigil. Your subconscious learned quickly that if you lose track of anything, even while in a deep sleep, you're dead. So the motivation to adapt is there.
After the go was given, Shirokuma, Yoko and Ugly Duckling – dunno her code name yet, but that seems to fit nicely given how wet behind the ears she still is – disappeared immediately. The two guys were clearly signing to each other, already coming up with a plan. Somehow I doubt Inu would be able to figure out how well they worked together until he faced them, but he should be okay. After all, he's one of the few shinobi I would feel comfortable watching my back during a scuffle.
Ugly Duckling was going it solo. Idiot. No one goes against Inu solo and wins. Only Hokage-sama would risk that. Though Kame would do it in a heartbeat. More reason to avoid going head to head with Inu... Kame's strange. Colour scheme aside, Kame's... just strange. Ridiculously strong and fast though.
Sill, if he suggests doing it, don't. And if you're really smart you might consider doing the exact opposite.

Anyway, a scuffle followed. I couldn't track every movement, but I knew it was far enough away from my locations to not involve me. Yoko and Shirukuma were outclassed, that much was obvious. Even with both of them doing the best they could – which is what Inu wanted in the first place – they were no match. Ugly Duckling just kinda hung back, twiddling her thumbs. Either she was smart enough to use her talents from the shadows, or she was doing her nails. Jury's still out on that one.
Words were being tossed back and forth. Words, jutsu and kunai. I'll wait until I fully wake up to sort that out.
And eventually, Ugly Duckling found her cue and did her Shintenshin no-jutsu. Passing the two bells to her team mates. Well, that was actually useful. She released it soon after and made her way over to her team.
"Congratulations, you got the bells. Now which one of you fails?" Inu asked. Is he still hung up on his self sacrificial trip? How many times have I talked to him about that?
Well, it's not like I'm one to talk, but that never seemed to stop me.
"Easy, they'll pass. I'll fail." Yoko stated clearly.
"But what about your dream? Becoming Hokage is impossible if you don't become a ge-"
"No." Yoko stood firm. "Being Hokage is about putting everyone else first. And to me, this is a perfect step to doing just that. I'll fail."
"No. We'll fail together then. The mission is to get both bells back, right? Ino can complete the mission and we make sure she gets that done." Shirokuma announced. He's at least as bullheaded as his father.
"Interesting. Why both fail? Won't that risk the mission?" Inu asked. Here we go again. He really should just admit he likes what Anko and Ibiki do for a living.
"No. We make sure she makes it back by keeping the only thing standing in her way busy until she can." Shirokuma explained. "Besides, I know this idiot will figure out a way to drag me back somehow."
Cue pointlessly long and overused explanation about self sacrifice, a quote from Obito, and the oddly cool 'pass'... and three little piggies went to market.

My team mate was thrilled, and came over to try to wake me up. I really need a warm meal and a hot bath.

~Narrator's POV~

'I can't believe that Nee-chan came spying on us during our test. Hinata, well she's always spying on Naruto. Probably the one that dragged Nee-chan here in the first place.' Hikaru groused. He and his new team had barely just gotten passed by the world's most impossible jounin. Which Hikaru actually compared to training with his Tou-san.
'Anyway, who cares. We passed the world's most basic test. Now let's go eat something. And we better drag Nee-chan with us, it looks like she's been playing with her tessen again. How many times did Tou-san tell her not to used them until she was full grown?' It was odd for the boy. Now that the swelling in his lip and face had gone down, most of his past was subsiding with it. He didn't forget any of it, but he was willing to bury it and move on. Something he was sure his Nee-san would not agree with.
'Whatever. Let's just go.'

"Yo 'Ruto, you grab the short one, I'll grab the tall one." Hikaru nodded over at the tree where two were hiding.
"Sounds good. Then Nee-san can treat us to Ichiraku's!" Talk about a one track mind.
"Ohh, no! I am not eating any ramen!" Ino griped.
You could almost see Hikaru thinking, 'Right, because you had a lot to say during the test?'
"Ino, no one asked you." Naruto replied evenly.
"Hey, we're a team now. So we gotta start sticking together, Naruto!" The two boys were already half way to the tree, discussing what flavours they're gonna order. "Hikaru?" Clearly grabbing at straws now.
"Look, I'd trade you for Yuuna in a heartbeat. As far as I'm concerned you're nothing but trouble." Came the expected retort, just hard enough to reach her ears. He still didn't get the logic in the team set ups. 'Well, I ain't Hokage so it's none of my business.'
"Kinda agree with you there, but that would unbalance the teams. You really think Jiji didn't plan this out carefully?" Naruto pointed out. Well, there was logic in there... somewhere.
"Great. I thought she was the weakest link. Now I know she is." He made sure she could hear that too.
"I heard that!"
'Good job.' Hikaru snorted at his own thought. For the first time in a long time Hikaru just wanted to let sleeping dogs lie, but it seemed the blonde wouldn't let it go that easily. She aimed a kunai and let it fly – trying to prove her point by nicking his left cheek. 'Should have seen that coming. She's never been one to play second strings. To bad she doesn't know that she can't ever be more than that in this group.'
He was already channelling futon chakra into his kodachi before it left her hand. He drew it, and sliced at the offending projectile. Only to notice that Naruto was actually one step ahead of him.
No matter how skilled Ino thought she was, one plain kunai would never stand a chance against two blades infused with wind chakra.
It fell to the ground in four perfect slices. "And the next time you get a stupid idea like that-" Hikaru clicked his kodachi into its sheath. "we won't stop at destroying your kunai. TTFN." He waved in a very Yuuna-esque manner.

Ino just stood there. Her eyes never left the kunai she had just thrown – or what was left of it. She didn't know much about either of them, but she knew it took skill to do what they just did.
'Skill' was not a word she would ever use when referring to Naruto. Sure, Hikaru was okay as far as she knew, but her grades were still better than his. 'How the...'
She had seen the looks in their eyes. That calculating look her father wore when he noticed someone doing something stupid. A look that make her feel... small.
Thinking back on the test itself, she hadn't been able to do much. At all. She was no match for Kakashi-sensei, and she likely never would be. Whereas Naruto and Hikaru took the jounin on... well, head on, not giving the man a second to think. They were still outclassed, no big surprise there, but they didn't let that scare them.
In fact, if Ino had seen right – which she didn't doubt for a second – it appeared as if the three of them were enjoying the scuffle. Ino can't really say she's ever seen either boy actually happy, but the ever present upward curl tugging at the edges of their lips...
The blonde shook her head. 'That doesn't make sense! With Kakashi-sensei radiating so strong a battle aura they should have been paralysed just like... like me...' And yet they weren't. They didn't even seem that fazed really. If Ino had to be completely honest, she had to fight to not wet herself.
What was it with those two? Ino couldn't figure it out. Still, she wasn't going to get left behind!
She started running to catch up.

"You actually used your tessen against Aoba?" Naruto asked as everyone sat down at Ichirauku's. "Jeez, I thought you didn't trust him." Tatsuko was still out of it, and she spent no effort trying to cover that up. With her hitai-ate hanging from her neck, like Hinata, and her shades put away it was hard not to notice the lack of colour in her face. Well, that and Hinata holding her steady while they were walking.
"'Ruto... hush." Was all the Senju would say. She seemed fixated on testing the wooden counter top as a possible... bed? Luckily Teuchi already knew what his regulars wanted to eat, so only Ino and Hinata actually had to read the menu.
"I wonder how Yuuna's coming along with her test." Hikaru said. It was hard to tell, but there was a slight glint of humour in his eyes.
"Imouto-chan's gonna pass. No doubt about it. Besides, lazy as Bushomono is, he'd never want to suffer through another year at the academy." Naruto announced. Ino actually couldn't find fault with his logic – she would have said the same thing about her childhood friend.
Well, since there was nothing else interesting to do, everyone ate when their food arrived. Though Kiba and Hinata seemed to try help Tatsuko balance herself... more than their teammate was comfortable with. 'Well, they don't know your proud streak, Nee-san. So what will you do with them? I can't imagine you'd risk letting them get hurt, but will you learn to trust them so that you can protect them properly?'

Hikaru wondered at his own musings. It wasn't like him, but then his shining example wasn't really much in character either. Things certainly were going to be interesting in the coming weeks.

Later that afternoon, around two if Yuuna guessed right, Asuma was laughing. Not a polite laugh either. Or an amused one. It was more a shocked, how the hell did that happen, take me straight to the loony bin laugh.
Then again, it wasn't really that surprising that he was out of it. He was trapped in Shikamaru's shadow bind – which usually wouldn't be enough to trap a much stronger opponent like Asuma should be. Then Chouji used his partial expansion to grapple him before he could escape from Shikamaru's jutsu. You'd think that was it? Nope!
Yuuna used some special paper seals that seemed to sap all his strength. Four in total – one for each limb.
While helpless as a new born, Yuuna just strolled up and took the bells, handing them over to Shikamaru – obviously the designated leader of the pack.
"Did we pass?" the Nara asked lazily. He seemed in no mood to risk having to catch the jounin again if they released him prematurely.
Asuma tried to speak. He wanted to congratulate his team – which he intended to pass from the start anyway. But he couldn't.
"He like totally can't speak. The tags are totally sapping his ability to move." Yuuna explained – earning a groan from the team leader.
Shikamaru groaned, already exasperated. He wasn't used to maintaining his jutsu this long. "Can he nod?"
"Uh huh." Yuuna said, nodding and smiling impishly. It was apparently the only thing he could do while trapped by her paper seals.
"Better than nothing. Asuma-sensei, nod if we pass." Shikamaru was starting to turn pale, and from the looks of it, so was Chouji. Yuuna was the only one that looked like she could go on.
Still, Asuma was amazed. He was actually fighting to not get caught! Actually trying! It took them all morning and some of the afternoon, but they caught him fair and square. He nodded. True, it was slow, but that was more because Shikamaru actually forgot that he had to release his jutsu to even allow that. He didn't release it, by the way.

'These kids could take on a chuunin alone... if they take it seriously that is.' Asuma thought. He wondered what they would be capable of in time...

The following day, Teams 7, 8, 9 and 10 were being registered at the Hokage Tower. There were about ten other teams that officially passed the academy exams, but these were the only ones that passed the jounin's final test.
The other teams would be allowed to take another year of remedial classes – so long as they had not failed three times.
"Uchiha-sama, a word?" Sasuke and his team – Sakura announced that only Sasuke had the skills needed to be the team leader – were just entering the Tower when the Hokage's advisers called to the avenger.
Sasuke and the two elders entered a room, shutting the door securely behind them. "You are aware that you have as yet not lived up to the council's ruling. As yet you have no offspring and more importantly no concubine." Koharu, the lady elder announced.
"We have much sway with the council, but not so much that we can negate them entirely. You will need to produce a boychild before you will be allowed on your first mission. Heedless of your status of genin."
"Then I'll just take my time and train." Sasuke seemed unimpressed. As if he no longer cared.
"You forget that you are now twelve years old. You have less than a year to find four willing females to bare your heirs, or the council will select them for you." The woman seemed more upset than Sasuke used to be about this.
"If it helps, we have taken the liberty of asking the other members to help us make a list of possibles. It is lengthy enough to fill the requirements, but you will have to follow up on it yourself." The man announced.
A neatly folded paper was pressed into Sasuke's hand, then he was alone once.

He had to admit, if only to himself, he was curious. So he unfolded, and unfolded... and unfolded. Jeez how did they make it fold so small?
Ten names. A total of ten names to work with. Arranged alphabetically with two markings on either side of each name. One was the willingness of the girl, the other the willingness of the parents – five stars being most willing, one star being least willing.
'Best odds are to go with the ones that are as willing as the parents... still, who are we talking about here?'

Haruno Sakura. Fire stars for her and her parents. 'What a shock...'
Yamanaka Ino. Five stars for her, none for her parents. 'Well she's obviously out.'
Hyuuga Hinata? Five stars for her parents, three stars for her. 'Interesting.'

The others were names Sasuke didn't recognize. Some were more willing, some were less willing. But there were only names. He certainly wanted the ones that could help him most to become stronger – or at least good looking ones that knew to shut up around him.
Logically speaking, Sakura was the easiest place to start. She was more than willing and had admitted that morning that she was desperate.
He was still more than a little upset that the Senju rejected him time and time again. Which was made worse by her being teamed up with that mutt.
Still, he wouldn't give up on her. He would claim her and have her give him more heirs than any other! He just needed to shut the council up for now. And Sakura is the easiest place to start doing just that. A bit young to start baring children, but not impossible. 'Oh well, if she agrees to it that's her own business.'

Uchiha Sasuke set out to start his conquest. And he had all the information he would ever need to accomplish his goals.

"What did you want to talk about, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. He had led her to the pond behind his house. A private place he usually didn't let anyone enter, but this had purpose.
"I need something, and you can help me get it." He told her honestly.
"Really? How can I help?" Sakura was practically jumping up and down with joy. 'Shanero! This is where he asks me to marry him and we live happily ever after! Take that Ino-bunta! HYAAA!'
"Close your eyes." He said, leaning in slightly. She immediately obliged, licking her lips to make sure they were kissable. "Tell me something, Sakura... What would you allow me to do to you?"
'Anything!' Inner Sakura was shouting in the pinkette's head. "What do you want to do to me?" He kissed her lips – just a quick peck. He was obviously not used to contact of any kind, let alone something so intimate. 'Now's my chance! CHARGE!' With Inner-Sakura egging her on, she wrapped her arms round him to keep him close to her and she kissed him back.
'She's at least obedient enough to keep her eyes closed. She'll do.' He grabbed both her cheeks – her behind, mind you – and gave them a experimental squeeze.
"Maybe we should go inside?" Sakura still had her eyes closed, obviously not wanting to do anything that Sasuke didn't explicitly tell her to do. Still, she didn't feel comfortable making out in public.
"Fine, but you keep your eyes closed the whole time. And no complaining."

They entered the house, Sakura holding Sasuke's hand as if it was her leash – a fact Sasuke was pleased with. "Before we do anything, I need to know one thing."
"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" She breathed, she was obviously walking on clouds.
"That I will be the only one you ever do anything like this with." He said. One unspoken rule among the clans was that a male could have multiple women, but a woman could only have one man. Anything but complete fidelity to one's husband was seen as treason – at best. Though women everywhere will agree how unfair that is, it was a rule made by the heads of clans in times passed. Likely males heads, since there was almost never a female head of a clan.
"Of course- OHHH!" Sakura was surprised when Sasuke grabbed her breast. "Sasuke-kun..." In Sakura's mind she was going to be his one and only. A simple miscommunication... right?

"All right Team 9, today's the day!" Aoba announce happily. He and his team had just finished having their pictures taken and were on their way to the Mission's Desk for their first mission.
Of course Aoba knew what their mission was going to be, seeing that he had arranged it with the Hokage himself. He knew he was exited about it, and he was sure his team would be too when they understood what it meant.
Still, he was more than a little curious as to Tatsuko's reaction. She would undoubtedly become the team's leader – something that was was decided among the genin themselves – so her reaction was the most important, next to his.

At the mission's desk Sarutobi Hiruzen and Umino Iruka were handing out the missions to any and all teams that were there to accept them. Of course the Hokage had the final say in all cases, but Iruka made his suggestions whenever he saw fit.
"Team 9 reporting for duty." Aoba announced, himself and the three genins standing at attention.
"Ah, Aoba-kun. Right on time. I have the mission you requested." Iruka said, handing a scroll marked with a 'D' to the Hokage. Hiruzen read the scroll, as is the custom, and tossed it to Aoba. With little effort, the jounin caught it and nodded with a smile.
"I'm sure you are all aware of this, but I will say it anyway." The Hokage began, taking a long drag of his pipe. "This mission is about building trust and teamwork. I trust you all know what that means." Three genin nodded, though the blonde one was slightly less sure. "Good. Then I will leave you to it. I will want a full report when you get back."
For reasons only two of the room's occupants understood, the Hokage's eyes never left Tatsuko's during his little pep talk... though Aoba had a sneaking suspicion.

"We meet by the gate in one hour. Pack for a three week mission." Was all Aoba said, before disappearing.

'A three week mission? It must be a training mission. There is no way Saru-ji-chan would greenlight anything else for two green genin.' Tatsuko already had her things packed and left several lengthy scrolls with Hikaru for himself, Yuuna and Naruto to continue their training while she was out of town.
It would be weird, not seeing them for so long... but this was something that she knew she would have to deal with eventually. 'At least I know they can fend for themselves. And I know... Kakashi-sensei will take care of my little brothers.' She had to fight to not jab at his laziness. Or the laziness of Asuma...
"Ano... Tatsuko-chan..." Hinata had already packed her things and decided to join Tatsuko while she was getting her's ready. The blonde looked up from her ministrations – packing things just right was a kata to her, so she took her sweet time perfecting every detail. "Th-there was s-s-someth-thing I-"
"Hinata-chan. Breathe deep." The 'elder' of the pair couldn't help but smile at how flustered the brunette got every time she was about to ask about a certain hyperactive knucklehead.
In... Out... "there was something I wanted to ask you..." She managed to not stutter, but she kept her voice barely above a whisper.
"Sure, we've got about fifteen minutes before we need to start heading to the gate. Shoot." Tatsuko sat down on her bed, facing the clearly fidgeting Hyuuga – an odd combination of words, if you'd never met Hinata. 'Hyuuga's don't fidget, they finesse' is an oft heard saying in Konoha... and always has been.
"it's about naruto-kun." Hinata was already pressing her index fingertips together.
"Yes, Hinata-chan?"
"i was wondering if you c-c-could help me..." She paused, obviously fighting to get the words out and having no mental capacity left to fight the blush that stole across her cheeks.
"Help you..." Tatsuko encouraged her to explain further.
"to get n-naruto-kun to... n-notice me..." Shoulders slumped instantly, accompanied by an almost inaudible sigh. Having completed that particularly strenuous task, Hinata seemed to grow old – it was as if the weight of not having the answer instantaneously was weighing down on her mind and body.
"He's already noticed you. But you're right, we need him to notice you better than he has." Hinata's eyes snapped onto Tatsuko's, almost as if a jutsu were cast by the blonde's words. "I hadn't planned on doing that just yet... but I think I can help you with that."

Almost as if she caught fire, Tatsuko was running this way and that. Collecting one item after the other. Well, to the casual observer it would seem as if she was simply continuing the same packing motions as before... but Hinata saw a different purpose in her eyes now. "I'll let you know what you need to start doing tonight. And anything I teach you is to be done in addition to whatever Aoba-sensei throws at us. Understood?"

A/N: Well here you have it chapter 23! I thought this was a good place to stop this chapter, but I will warn you all that this is going to be my last short chapter. I could play it off saying that it's because the action is really going to start as of the next chapter - and though it is true, it's not the real reason. I've simply gotten too used to writing much longer chapters in A Promise Worth Keeping, which you guys might be interested in checking out. Chapters 1, 2 and 3 are already published.
As well, there is something I need to know as of now: the rating of this story, is 'T' still appropriate you think? I think it's gotten kinda close to becoming a 'M' quite a few times, but no one complains so I've left it as is thus far. Should the rating be inaccurate, please inform me and it will be changed.
The reason I am bring that up is because the world starts going to hell as of the next chapter. Sasuke has his eyes set on what he perceives to be his (the list was noted in the final chapter of Arc 1, don't think I've forgotten) but the females seem unwilling at best.
Anyhoo, lots of love going out to Kiravu! And a long standing promise is being fulfilled in the next chapter. Maybe you guys will let me know what you think?

Shirokuma – Polar bear
Yoko - Fox
Inu - Dog
Taichou - Captain
Senpai - Upperclassman. A term used for someone who is of a higher class, usually for seniors within the same organization as you.