Kakashi gazed at the memorial stone and thought. The mission to the Land of Wave, a C-rank mission that was meant to bring some order and calm to team 7, had deteriorated into a mess. Naruto used the Kyubi's chakra, and Sasuke and Sakura awakened the Sharingan. While their teamwork was decent, it was evident that they had no real knowledge of how to work together.
"I've been way too lax", he sighed.
"Well then, my eternal rival! How are you going to rectify this situation". A tall well-muscled, fair-skinned man spoke. He had a strong jawline and a shiny bowl-style haircut and thick eyebrows. He was garbed in a green jumpsuit and orange leg warmers with the standard Konoha flak jacket.
"We all learn from our mistakes, Kakashi, you know they lack training and need to blossom, so what will you do?", Guy looked at him with a sharp grin on his face.
"I believed, foolishly that they could learn and develop on their own and allow me to focus on their teamwork and chemistry". Saying that out loud keyed Kakashi into the flaw in his plan.
"Not everybody is a prodigy Kakashi", Guy walked away from the memorial stone, and Kakashi followed him deeper into the woods. "Not everyone can develop A-rank Jutsu before the age of thirteen. Start with this, what are the strengths of your team?".
He pondered, "Potential, that would be their most notable strength. They all have the tools to become strong. Whether it be Naruto's bottomless pit of chakra as well as his determination to grow stronger, Sasuke's prodigal talent, Sakura's intelligence, and not to mention the Uchiha bloodline".
"If you can figure out their strengths, then I'm sure you can figure out their weaknesses. All you have to do is to get rid of their weaknesses and develop their strengths. It was that simple, wasn't it? All he had to do was put in a bit of effort and he could transform them. He smiled.
"Thanks, Guy".
"HAHA, you're welcome my eternal rival".
….
"This is…" Sakura yawned. "ridiculous".
"Correct", Kakashi had dragged all three of them out of bed outside at three am in the morning. They stood there in their pyjamas shivering in the freezing cold. Sakura herself was in a light blue nightgown. It had been around two weeks since Kakashi had decided to train them seriously.
"Shinobi rule number 12, always wear your gear. Since I did bring you all here against your will, I am happy to provide you with the new team 7 uniform!", he brought out three packages giving each of them one.
Naruto gasped "Sensei! These are...". Sakura wondered how he still had so much energy at this time of night. They unsealed the packages in the pitch darkness, the moon being their only light source.
The gear consisted of a black high-collar jacket, with orange highlights for Naruto, blue highlights for Sasuke, and pink highlights for Sakura. It also included a mesh shirt, matching shorts, and black shinobi sandals.
"You guys can go change in the bushes, Oh, and hurry up". They did just that.
"Wow", she hadn't expected them to look so cool. Even Naruto finally was starting to look like a real ninja. "We look like a proper team, don't we?". She received a "Hell YEAH!" from Naruto and a "Hn" from Sasuke.
"Listen carefully as I will now explain the exercise", Kakashi grinned under his mask. "There are three scrolls that I have hidden in training ground 7. Pink, blue, and yellow. I have hired Genin who are tasked with guarding the approximate area where each scroll is kept. Your goal is to obtain all three scrolls, you have one hour to do so. Combat is allowed".
"Time starts now". The children vanished into the night.
…
Team Seven stopped just outside of the training ground, making sure to use chakra to stifle the sounds of their landing. Sasuke took the initiative "Let's break down the objective".
Glancing at them he received two nods, though Naruto was frowning he didn't vocalize his indignation." First goal is finding the three locations of the scroll, this should be easy as all we must look for are the genin Kakashi hired for this". Sakura found this very reasonable. "So, Naruto, send a couple of shadow clones, enough to search the forest but not too much to alert the enemy of our existence".
"On it", he whispers shouts "Shadow clone Jutsu". Twenty clones popped into existence before setting out in search of the scrolls.
"Now, we have two main approaches, we either sneak in or confront the enemy". She pondered which would be better. 'The goal is to obtain the scrolls; we don't actually have to fight them'.
"I propose we get the drop on them, with Naruto's clones we will have intel on them, the search for the scrolls may need time even after we have found the shinobi, this eliminates the possibility of us getting snuck up on if we attack first". Sasuke continued with his analysis.
"I found them! The three locations are north, northeast, and northwest, each location has a team of three, and they have campfires set up".
'That was quick, now what is the best way to confront them?', "We have two options now, do we split up and head to each location on our own, or do we go together," Sakura asked.
"Well, we have only an hour to complete this, it would be best if we split up", Sasuke gave his input. "We'll meet up back here".
"All right! Let's show Kakashi how awesome we are, I'll have my clones guide you". With all their agreement they split up.
….
The clone guided her through the woods until a flame could be seen in the distance, she approached swiftly and silently. Perched on top of a tree branch overlooking the campfire. She observed the three figures as they sat on makeshift chairs around the fire.
'Two males, one female. I'd bet they are from the reserve corps, meaning they failed their Jonin test. I doubt they are that good, they are quite lax sitting down'. She watched as one of the boys got up.
"I really need ta, take a piss, I'll be quick!", his voice was gruff and raucous, he then jogged away. 'This could be a good opportunity she followed him.
"Ah, that hits the spot". Kazuto Haru was a run-of-the-mill genin who was in the reserve. He had accepted a D-rank mission to aid in a training exercise. He was tasked to defend the location of a scroll along with two others. They hadn't expected much from the recently graduated genin they were helping; he had delegated them as rookies. After finishing his business, he zipped up and turned around.
ShingI
He watched as shurikens shot out approaching him at rapid speeds. Backpedalling he evaded the attacks. He noticed something 'Their aim was quite bad; heh this should be easy!'.
Noticing his attacker, a pink-haired girl, he watched as she flicked her fingers, and suddenly he found himself unable to move his limbs due to a constricting force. 'What the hell!'. Kazuto was wrapped up in ninja wire that was invisible in the darkness of night. Falling to the ground, he quickly looked up, the girl was nowhere to be seen.
He felt a dull pain in the nape of his neck, as his vision grew dark.
….
"Don't you think he's been gone for a while?", Akane Chiaki wondered. Kazuto had been gone for six minutes.
"He's fine", Akio waved his hand dismissively turning his attention to the surrounding vegetation. He watched as Kazuto walked towards them from a distance.
"You sure took your sweet time, what took you so long? Don't tell me you were taking a shit", Akio joked with a smile on his face. Kazuto continued walking till he was only a couple of paces away silently.
"Hey, why aren't you replying?!", Akane butted in, indignant at the fact he completely ignored the question. Kazuto came closer. 'What's going on?', noticing the oddity in the situation, Kazuto gave her the impression of a loud and rambunctious man yet now he was deadly silent.
Kazuto suddenly stopped and then blurred in movement.
Bam! All the air in her lungs was exhaled as a sharp kick slammed into her side. Akio couldn't retaliate to the sudden attack as he himself was floored by an elbow to the sternum.
They watched in bated breath as the transformation Jutsu wore off, revealing Sakura, they instantly recognized her as one of the genin they were meant to be up against.
Sakura watched them intently, she skipped on the spot and then stretched before slipping into form. Akio got to his feet before dashing forward, 'We have the advantage it's two on one'. Oh boy, how wrong was.
Sakura's arm elongated into a quick jab, and Akio ducked under it, bringing his right hand up for a right hook to the body.
Woosh! He felt nothing 'huh'.
Sakura had easily predicted his reaction, she shifted transferring her weight onto her left leg she brought back her body twisting like a torque. She sent a surge of chakra to her leg she unleashed a powerful kick. He attempted to block, but her leg moved horizontally in an arc destroying his guard.
In that instant, before he could he reapply his guard, she led with a barrage of attacks and ended with an elbow to his temple completely knocking him out.
'What on earth?! She defeated Akio so easily!'. Absolutely aghast, she instinctively took a step back as Sakura turned towards her.
Going through familiar signs Sakura sent a small fireball at their feet. The flames exploded outwards and at that moment as the wisps of fire blocked her view, she made a basic illusion clone and ran inside it.
Akane watched as Sakura took out a kunai before slashing at her side, pivoting on her heels she dodged the slash before attempting to punch her. She smiled as her fist went sailing toward Sakura's face. But her smile dropped as her opponent burst. Sakura had run inside the clone, and when Akane noticed the real Sakura right in front of her it was too late.
Wham! Swiftly Sakura's leg crashed into her side. Before seamlessly jumping into the air twisting around transferring into a high kick.
Akane could do nothing as the kick found its mark on the side of her head. Instantly knocking her out.
Sakura looked around the campsite, scanning the area. 'Now where would they hide the scroll? It has to be in the vicinity. She activated her Sharingan scanning the area again, looking for any disturbances.
'There!' the level of detail and insight the Sharingan gave her wowed her every time, "Beyond 20/20 vision" she joked to herself. Walking towards a singular tree she could see traces of chakra, along with some sharp indents in the trunk. Pushing against part of the trunk she removed a piece of wood before reaching into the hollow tree.
'This is the scroll', she held up a scroll with a yellow ribbon. 'I'll head over to the meeting point'. Placing the scroll in her leg pouch she headed towards the entrance of the training ground.
When she got there, she found one Uchiha Sasuke leaning against a tree. "Took you long enough", he smirked. "Though I'm guessing you didn't have much trouble from these fodder".
She found his harsh assessment true, "Don't be so mean, they are fellow leaf ninjas". Sasuke nodded. She was surprised he accepted it so easily, she had expected it would take more convincing.
They heard a rustle; they were instantly alert looking toward the sound. Naruto came crashing through the trees landing in front of them. "Naruto Uzumaki returning from kicking ninja butt!" Naruto loudly proclaimed.
"You were the last of us to arrive dobe, maybe it wasn't as easy as you made it out to be"
"Hah?! That's because it took some time to find the scroll, but I beat those ninjas pretty easy ya know!". Naruto defended himself from Sasuke's implication.
"I wonder how did your fights go?", Sakura was curious in how they apprehended their opponents.
"I attacked them directly, I observed them first and decided they weren't good enough to defeat me", he recalled his fight. "I mainly engaged them with taijutsu", he recounted his fight with them "they couldn't keep up".
"I just overwhelmed em with shadow clones", a simple but effective strategy. Naruto's insane chakra reserves allowed him to take advantage of the Jutsu. "I can't wait to celebrate with ramen!".
"It's just calories, fat, and salt, idiot". Naruto was aghast. He spluttered his blood pressure rising, and his face when red.
"Ha! What-ever someone like you wouldn't know good food if it hit you in the face!". Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Your lunches aren't better than the ramen I can cook!".
"I wouldn't want to be poisoned by anything you make, I would rather not die, thanks". Sasuke retorted. Sakura smiled in amusement; some things never change. She decided to join in on the conversation.
"If we coat our Kunai in Naruto's ramen, I'm sure it would make for a great poison!", she giggled at the sheer look of betrayal on Naruto's face. He gawked in righteous fury.
"S-Sakura-chan how could you!", Naruto cried out. She tried to appease Naruto with her apologies, but more giggles escaped her. They both heard an unusual sound, 'It sounds like laughter. Naruto and Sakura turned around to look at Sasuke.
"S-stop it! Since when could you laugh teme! Stop it now! It's creepy!". Sasuke immediately glared at him. He was about to retort before he remembered something.
"The scrolls, they should be color-coded, pink for Sakura, yellow for the idiot, and blue for me". Sakura took out her scroll before handing it to him. She received the pink scroll from Sasuke.
"It's almost been one hour, should we just wait for sensei to come back?". She was curious as she examined the pink scroll.
"No need!". Kakashi appeared in front of them. They were already used to Kakashi's habit of appearing out of nowhere. None of them had any outward reaction. "It seems my cute little genin aren't afraid anymore. Oh, how I miss when you all used to jump in fright. You're growing up to fast!"
They deadpanned at his antics. "Well anyways, I'm proud at how you three conducted yourself during the exercise. And in how you dealt with your opponents". He eye-smiled a hint of pride in his tone. "I'm glad all the taijutsu training has helped you all greatly".
"Now I'm sure you're curious about what is in the scrolls, so why don't you open them up". Sakura unravelled her scroll. The first item she saw was a book. The Illusion of Genjutsu she read, she was happy Kakashi had told her she was a genjutsu type, and now armed with the Sharingan she could take genjutsu mastery to a whole new level.
The other item was a piece of paper. She was confused, what could this be for? She glanced over at Naruto and Sasuke; they both held the same piece of paper in their hands.
"I got you all chakra paper, it should be to tell your chakra affinity", Kakashi then explained the concept of how it worked. If it got burned then it was fire, if it crumbled it was earth, crinkle then it's lightning, moisten then it's water If it splits in half then it's wind. "I believe you all are at a good enough level in chakra control to begin elemental Jutsu training.
Over the course of their training, Kakashi had introduced them to water walking. With her exceptional chakra control along with the Sharingan, she got it down in three tries. Sasuke used his Sharingan to exponentially decrease the time it would take for him to master it. Naruto created many clones to achieve a similar result.
"So, who wants to go first", Naruto being the impatient ninja he was shouted "Me!", before injecting his chakra into the paper. They watched as it split in half. "Wow wind, that's pretty rare in the land of fire, not many leaf nin who can use it". Naruto smiled confidently, before loudly exclaiming he would be the best wind-style user.
"I'll go next", Sasuke's paper got burnt before it crinkled. "Lightning and fire, not bad". Sakura was amazed at his dual affinities. He then turned to her "Your turn".
She nodded, feeling her chakra move towards her fingers as she willed It to move. Her paper dampened before crumbling. "Earth and Water!", she was excited to also have dual affinities.
"That's surprising, dual affinities are rare". He had a rough idea of what Jutsus he was going to teach them first. "Fire, Lightning, Water, Earth, Wind. To have all five elemental affinities, that is something that is unique to you as a genin team". He watched as they drank in his praise.
"Also, Sakura, I told you before that you have talent with genjutsu. Read that book I'll begin teaching you all tomorrow". Team seven where very content.
"Yes, sensei!" the three of the chorused.