Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or anything associated with the manga, or anime. I only own this story.
Hey everyone, thanks for stopping back in to read this chapter. Sorry for the late review, I got really busy this past week. This story has more than surpassed my expectations for it, so thanks to everyone for reading. Thanks for the support on the last chapter. 80 reviews, 151 favorites, 202 followers, and 17,466 views. 1 community.
XBlackknight: I apologize but NaruHaku is not one of the poll choices. Thanks for the review.
Uzumaki Naho: I haven't read many stories with Itachi as a sensei, so I wanted to try it out. Thanks for the review.
Lilnudger 82: Thank you for all of your reviews. I hope to hear from you again.
Michu-92: I'm glad that I was able to surprise you with my choice.
Tobi Wants a Cookie: I'm trying my best to make my choices in this story unique as they happen, so thank you.
The Darkest Blaze: Thanks for reviewing.
No Name Anime Fan: Thanks for the review. Yes there will be a poll for Sasuke's pairing, though I haven't decided who will be in it yet.
AnimangaLoverFE: I'm glad that you like the story. Thanks for reviewing.
On a separate note, I am absolutely horrible at drawing, and have no talent in that form of art. I would like to ask if anyone is willing to draw a cover for this story. If so please either review, or pm me. Thanks for the help.
So I will be starting a poll for the pairing of Sasuke. I do not know who I want yet so if you have any suggestions I will be looking for five names. I will take the most popular choices. Poll will start on my next update. Also it will not be the first C-rank, but do you guys want to see my take on the Land of Waves mission. Let me know please.
In this chapter I will show you what team 7 will be training in. Each member has their own training schedule. This chapter also focuses heavily on their teamwork together.
The poll for who will be Naruto's Pairing in this story is now over. I had 57 voters, so I was quite happy. Here were the results
Ryuuzetsu: 20
Ten Ten: 15
Yakumo: 12
Kin: 8
OC: 2
The pairing will not happen for a while, but thanks to everyone who voted.
A Hero's DNA
Chapter 11: Team training: A D-Ranked Nightmare.
Naruto woke up at six in the morning and decided to do an early morning workout routine. He wanted to be warmed up and ready for his first day of training with his team. He was in the middle of doing pull ups when Yamato quietly knocked on his door. Naruto dropped from the bar and opened up the door for his brother.
"Hey Yamato what's up?"
"Naruto there is something that I need to talk to you about."
"What is it?"
"I will be going on a mission shortly. The Hokage requested my presence in an hour so ii probably will not be around for a bit. "
Naruto had been growing more and more used to this as Yamato was constantly on Anbu missions. He used to really freak out but it had grown easy for the young Genin.
"But what I really need to say is about after I come back."
"Is there something wrong?"
"Not exactly. I am planning on moving into one of the other Senju compound houses."
Yamato waited for a moment afraid that Naruto would be upset, or even think he was abandoning him. Naruto let out a large sigh and smiled at him.
"Is that all, I was worried you were gonna say you were dying or something."
"You're not angry?"
"Of course not Yamato. I know that you're older now. You need to get out of moms house and find yourself a nice girl to marry or something. Besides if you stay here any longer People will start to wonder how the younger brother suddenly out shined the Anbu Captain." Naruto said with a slight grin.
Yamato was slightly shocked at the statement but just laughed with his brother. He felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.
"But since you re moving out. You need to at least find some time to help me train or something. After all now that you are going to be paying for your own place, I can't have you spending all of your money on ramen for me. So I'll just have to settle for some extra kenjutsu training." Naruto said with grinning with his eyes closed.
"We will see Naruto, after all Itachi is your teacher now. That is his job, to teach you, now."
"Come on Yamato, we both know that he is going to help Sasuke train privately."
"Probably yes. Well I can't have you being bested by an Uchiha. You know how arrogant they can get." He said grinning to Naruto.
"Oh god, an arrogant Uchiha. What ever will we do?"
The two brothers talked and joked for a few more minutes until Naruto decided that he should shower and get ready. Yamato left the house and went to speak with the Hokage. After his shower Naruto dressed with all of his new equipment and ate a quick breakfast. He saw that he had thirty minutes to get to the training grounds so he took of out the door before Tsunade or Shizune woke up.
He was the first on to make it to the training grounds, or at least he thought so as he failed to notice Itachi already waiting for them in a tree. Naruto looked around and as he didn't see anyone he sat down and began to meditate. This interested Itachi greatly, but the Jonin decided against interrupting Naruto, he would talk to him about it later. It was ten minutes later when Sasuke and Yakumo arrived together. They had met up as they walked, so they decided to walk together.
"Naruto, you're here early. What nothing better to do with your time than sit all alone and wonder where your friends are?"
"Sasuke, walking with Yakumo huh? So you're not batting for the other team then?"
Both boys glared at each other for a few seconds, until the glares turned into smirks, and then they started laughing together. Yakumo just looked at the two of them strangely.
"You guys are idiots."
"Well it is about time that you are all here."
Itachi jumped from the tree and landed near the three Genin.
"I'm glad to see that none of you came on time, or late. So are you three ready for what I will be teaching you?"
"Yes sensei." All three said together.
"Good, we will start with Yakumo. You are great with Genjutsu, better than most Chunin's really. So I want to make you a Genjutsu master. Your Taijutsu, and Ninjutsu levels are less than mediocre. You can't stick with just one weapon in your arsenal otherwise you become predictable, and die. So I want to push those skills up some. Mostly thought you will be a long range fighter." He handed her a schedule.
"So your schedule for each week will be;"
Monday: Genjutsu 8:00 – 12:00, Physical conditioning 1:00 – 3:00, Long range weapons 3:00 – 5:00.
Tuesday: Taijutsu 8:00 – 10:00, Ninjutsu 10:00 – 12:00, Team missions 1:00.
Wednesday: Genjutsu 8:00 – 12:00, Physical conditioning 1:00 – 3:00, Long range weapons 3:00 – 5:00.
Thursday: Taijutsu 8:00 – 10:00, Ninjutsu 10:00 – 12:00, Team missions 1:00.
Friday: Genjutsu 8:00 – 12:00, Physical conditioning 1:00 – 3:00, Long range weapons 3:00 – 5:00.
Saturday: Teamwork Training 8:00 – 12:00, Team Missions 1:00.
Sundays.
"Sundays are yours to do with whatever you want. This will be your schedule until I decide that you are in need of a change. I still expect that you will study when you have the time to do so, as your written test scores were in the middle of the class. Do you understand?"
"Yes sensei."
"Sasuke you're next. Your Taijutsu is impressive, as is your Ninjutsu. Your thrown weapons accuracy is nearly perfect. Where you struggle is Genjutsu, though you are more on a close combat brawler, and a mid-range ninjustsu specialist. I think that you also need to work on your speed. You are already fast, but I want you faster. So your schedule will be;
Monday: Ninjutsu 8:00 – 12:00, Physical conditioning 1:00 – 3:00, Kenjutsu 3:00 – 5:00.
Tuesday: Taijutsu 8:00 – 10:00, Genjutsu 10:00 – 12:00, Team missions 1:00.
Wednesday: Ninjutsu 8:00 – 12:00, Physical conditioning 1:00 – 3:00, Kenjutsu 3:00 – 5:00.
Thursday: Taijutsu 8:00 – 10:00, Genjutsu 10:00 – 12:00, Team missions 1:00.
Friday: Shuriken Jutsu 8:00 – 12:00, Physical conditioning 1:00 – 3:00, Kenjutsu 3:00 – 5:00.
Saturday: Teamwork Training 8:00 – 12:00, Team Missions 1:00.
Sundays.
"Same as Yakumo your Sundays are yours to decide. I reserve the right to change scheduling around. Keep up with your studies as well. Do you understand?"
"Yes sensei." He said with a smirk."
"And finally you Naruto. Your Skills are about at the same level a Sasuke, though your Taijutsu is weaker. You also have Fuinjutsu, as well as some medical Ninjutsu. So you have a wide role for this team. You can be a medic, a close range fighter, and a mid-range support. You have almost no skill in Genjutsu, and like Sasuke you would make a good Kenjutsu fighter. Your schedule was a little more difficult, though I was able to get some help. Here you go."
Itachi handed Naruto his schedule and Naruto quickly reviewed it.
Monday: Ninjutsu 8:00 – 12:00 Physical conditioning 1:00 – 3:00, Kenjutsu 3:00 – 5:00.
Tuesday: Taijutsu 8:00 – 10:00, Fuinjutsu 10:00 – 12:00, Team missions 1:00.
Wednesday: Ninjutsu 8:00 – 12:00, Physical conditioning 1:00 – 3:00, Kenjutsu 3:00 – 5:00.
Thursday: Taijutsu 8:00 – 10:00, Fuinjutsu 10:00 – 12:00, Team missions 1:00.
Friday: Medical Ninjutsu 8:00 – 12:00, Physical conditioning 1:00 – 3:00, Kenjutsu 3:00 – 5:00.
Saturday: Teamwork Training 8:00 – 12:00, Team Missions 1:00.
Sundays.
"Your mother agreed to teach you on Friday mornings, so you will still be taking Medical classes with her. I am not very knowledgeable with sealing, but as it benefits the team you will I will supervise you as you work on it. I opted to not concern you with Genjustu, as you really have no talent for it. Though I will ask that you occasionally train with Sasuke or Yakumo, to work on releasing yourself from them, and it will help you to notice them better. Sunday are all yours as well, though don't be surprised if your mother wants to work with you. Understood?"
"Yes sensei."
"You all need work on Chakra control so on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, before you begin your normal training I will be running you through exercises. Now the rest of this week will be for working together as a team. Your first assignment is for all of you to get these shuriken."
He pulled out three shuriken and threw them about a quarter of the way up into three trees. All three of the Genin ran at their respective trees and started climbing until they were forced off of them.
"Don't be too hasty. You will climb those trees, without using your hands."
"What?" Naruto asked.
"But sensei, that isn't possible." Yakumo stated.
"Isn't it?"
Itachi walked up to a tree. His feet attached to the trunk and he easily walked up the side of the tree.
"How are you doing that sensei?" Naruto asked.
"I am sending Chakra too my feet and using it to connect to the trees trunk. This is an easy chakra control exercise, but to up the challenge I will not help you. Figure it out as a team. Consider this your first D-ranked mission from me."
Itachi burst into crows and left the three Genin to work together. He secretly watched from the top of another tree.
"So how are we supposed to do this?" Yakumo asked.
"I say we just go for it. It can't be that hard." Sasuke answered.
He made a hand sign and focused chakra to his feet. Feeling the power he smiled and ran at the tree. His first foot connected to the tree and he could tell that it was working. He made it four steps until he found himself blown away by his chakra. An indent was left in the trees trunk.
"Wow nice work there Sasuke."
"Shut up Naruto. I'd like to see you do better."
"Is that a challenge?"
"Yes it is."
The two friends glared at each other. Their rivalry started to really show through as they both ran at the trees at the same time. Again Sasuke's foot connected. He made it one step higher than before until he was thrown off again. He looked over and Naruto had made it just as high as he did. Itachi smiled and shook his head as he watched.
"Guys, I think we should talk about this." Yakumo said to the other two.
"Yeah, I think your right."
"Whatever." Sasuke said, not wanting to admit he didn't know what to do.
"So what do we do?" Naruto asked.
"Itachi sensei said to figure it out as a team, so, Sasuke?"
"Yeah."
"Describe what you felt when you walked up the tree."
"The first few steps were easy, but then my chakra spiked and it damaged the tree and knocked me off."
"Yeah that's how I felt too. Like my heartbeat was increasing and I lost control." Naruto added.
"So I think that the key here is focus. The more we focus on our chakra the easier it will be to climb."
Yakumo made a hand sign and focused chakra into her feet. She ran at her tree and kept her breathing steady. She easily doubled the distance the boys made it and when she was halfway to the shuriken her foot slipped. At first she panicked as she started to fall but her instincts' kicked in and she quickly grabbed a kunai and impaled it into the tree and held herself there for a moment.
"Are you ok Yakumo?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah I'm fine."
Readying herself she placed her feet on the trunk and pushed off, pulling the kunai from the bark and landed on her feet.
"Well you certainly have a better handle on Chakra control than we do."
"Thank you Sasuke."
"Wow Sasuke giving a compliment. You must really like her."
"Shut up Naruto!"
"Ok you two. So we do this as a team then right. If that's the case then listen up, gather chakra into your feet. Focus on the tree. If you can be in tune with the trees own chakra, then you should be able to find the exact amount needed to stay attached. Then you just have to keep your concentration. It should be a lot easier at that point."
"Man, and I thought I was smart. I can understand the necessity of this training though. With better control maybe I can advance in my medical jutsu." Naruto said to the team.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Sasuke asked. "Let's do this guys.
Itachi watched for the next hour as Naruto and Sasuke each made impressive strives in their distance up the tree. Yakumo clearly had the best control as she was able to make it to the shuriken on her third try. Still, even though she made it she helped the other two out by watching them and helping them focus.
"Ok Naruto, we can do it this time."
"All or nothing right Sasuke?"
Sasuke just smiled back and the two friends focused their chakra. Naruto found each time that he felt a strange presence in the tree. It was like him and the tree became one. Itachi noticed that Naruto's chakra would sometimes become slightly visible and it would have a deep green hue to it, instead of the normal blue.
Naruto and Sasuke took off at the same time running at the tree. Step for step they were equals as they climbed. They seemed to be in perfect synch and their focus was flawless. Itachi watched, impressed by their quick learning of this technique. Both ninja reached out for the shuriken and they grasped the weapons simultaneously.
"Yeah, we did it!" Naruto excitedly shouted.
"Calm down Naruto, you're embarrassing." Sasuke scoffed, even though he too was happy for passing the test.
They both landed on the ground next to Yakumo and she smiled at them.
"Good job you three now for one more test."
He pulled out three kunai. Two were thrown at a slightly higher distance on two side by side trees. The third was thrown twice that distance on another tree about ten feet away.
"Now only one of you can retrieve each Kunai, but the higher up kunai, you are not allowed to climb from the bottom. You must use teamwork to get that third kunai. Figure it out."
All three ninja stood deep in thought trying to figure out how to do it. It was Naruto who understood what needed to be done.
"Yakumo you have the best control out of us, so you will get the third kunai."
"But I can't run up the tree."
"No, you can't start from the bottom, but the middle is open game."
"What are you talking about Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"Sasuke, you and I will get to the first two kunai. Once we are stable and can stand on our own up there, Yakumo will run up one of our trees and we will launch her to the third tree where she can climb up the rest of the way."
Yakumo instantly became nervous. She realized how much pressure she would be under. Not only did she have to climb up behind them but she had to trust that they wouldn't let her fall, and could get her to the third tree. Then she had to keep focus to connect to and climb it.
"I…I don't know about this Naruto."
"Yakumo you're the only one of us with the skill to do it right now. Trust us, we won't let you fall."
Itachi smiled at Naruto. He was beginning to understand the purpose of teamwork. It was a trust that had to be kept by the whole tea otherwise they would fail. He wondered if they could do it.
"Yakumo, Naruto is right."
"Another compliment Sasuke you're on a roll today."
"Shut up Naruto. Anyway, we won't fail you. We trust that you can do it."
Yakumo stood in thought for a few moments. She trusted her team, but not herself. She doubted her ability.
"You can do this. I believe…no, we believe in you." Naruto softly said to her.
She looked into his blue and green eyes and smiled.
"Ok, let's do it."
"Ready Sasuke."
"Yeah."
Naruto and Sasuke took off and began their climb. It was getting easier to concentrate on the tree, and they didn't miss a step. As they each approached the kunai in the tree they brought out a second Kunai each. Together they impaled the second kunai by the first and climbed on top to stand on the hilts. Sasuke was slightly worried that the knives wouldn't hold their weight but he couldn't let his fear affect the team so he pushed it aside.
"Ok Yakumo, you're up!" Naruto shouted.
She took a few deep breaths and concentrated on both trees. The difference in chakra needed for both was slightly different but she knew that she could do it. She took off running up Naruto's tree. As she approached him she grabbed his hand and he pulled her up. She stood, one foot in each of their hands.
"Ok, now one..."
Yakumo studied the tree in front of her and concentrated ion her chakra.
"..Two…"
She felt the something start to give way and looked down. Their combined weight was causing the kunai's to loosen from the tree trunks. She kept her composure and concentration.
"…Three!"
Naruto and Sasuke used all of their strength to hurl Yakumo towards the tree before the kunai broke free of the tree bark. As they fell Naruto and Sasuke grabbed ahold of the Kunai and Itachi watched as they impaled them back into the tree to stop their fall.
"That was a close one." Naruto said laughing.
As Yakumo closed in on the tree she took out her own Kunai knife and stabbed the tree. She used the momentum of the throw to flip herself over the knife and he feet connected to the tree as she began to run.
"I did it!"
She almost slipped as her concentration faltered.
"No…no… concentrate." She said to herself.
She continued her run and she could see the knife.
"Almost there…"
She was ten feet away.
"Closer…"
Five feet.
"Just a little more…"
She closed her eyes as she reach out and grasped hold of the kunai.
"I did it. I actually did it!"
She kept herself calm and turned around. She began her decent and ran down the tree. When she was close enough to do it without hurting herself she jumped off and landed next to her teammates.
"Great job Yakumo!" Naruto nearly yelled.
"Not too bad." Sasuke agreed.
"You three did well. Now I believe you are ready for your first mission."
Itachi pulled out a scroll.
"I got this from Lord Hokage this morning as I had no doubt that you would succeed. This is your first real D-ranked mission."
Naruto knew all about the chores that D-ranks were, but he also knew they were needed to grow as a team.
"So, Itachi sensei, what's it gonna be? Babysitting some kids? Helping an old man do his weekly shopping?"
"No, think of this as a tradition being passed down. It was my first D-rank after all, and even your brother did this one as training before he started in Anbu."
Sasuke's face paled as he realized what it was.
"What is it Sasuke?" Yakumo asked.
"Every Genin's worst nightmare."
Naruto paled at the realization.
"You don't mean…"
"That's right." Itachi said evilly. "Your first D-Ranked mission is to capture the missing pet Tora."
Somewhere in the distance a cat with a red ribbon on its ear sneezed, and ran as it realized it was being hunted.
…
Thanks guys and remember, if you want to see a version of wave, or don't want to see it let me know via review. Also if you have a preferred pairing for Sasuke, not yaoi, let me know. I will be starting the Sasuke pole next update. Thanks for reading, please review.