It had been a rather frustrating 3 hours, Sasuke mused as he sat next to Naruto on a soft patch of grass, their backs leaning on a rock, near training ground 21. As he had expected teaching Naruto Genjutsu, even one as simple in its basic workings as "Air of Honey" had proved to be a ….challenging was too light a word. Maybe monumental task? Yes, that fit. While the (for non-Sharingan users necessary) handsigns were few and easy, the needed fine control and focus had proven to be outside of the blondes grasp. For now.
However, Naruto had had a surprisingly smart idea. He decided to make 20 Kage Bunshin and try it with every one of them, as they all had less chakra in desperate need of better control, and hence less chance to botch it. Yes, Naruto could be quite smart some times; he had to give him that. And he had told him so, which had promptly caused the well known "widest grin in Konoha" to appear. And so he sat in the shade, next to the original Naruto and watched the dozen or so Shadowclones still present looking as if they had to go to the toilet, and soon, while executing handsigns. He grinned. Naruto obviously had spotted his grin, and started to nag again. "Hey Sasuke, are you sure there is nothing else you can tell me? Its hard for us non-Uchiha, you know?" His face showed clear signs of rising petulance. Sighing Sasuke answered: "Naruto, I am trying to teach you a Genjutsu, which I myself almost exclusively use via my Sharingan, and we only spent 3 hours at it so far. Getting impatient this early is NOT helping you learn." He shook his head, he had almost sounded like his uncle right now. "However, how about something to eat, to get your ... energy restored?" He almost would have said "to get your mind off the difficulty", but that would not have been helpful, he wagered.
As expected Naruto agreed wholeheartedly, but for the sake of his stomach Sasuke insisted that it would NOT be Ichirakus this time, and as he was paying he won the following argument. Instead they went to Izawas, a restaurant specializing in poultry of almost every kind. Sasuke went for roasted duck with a dark sauce originating somewhere in Stone Country, while Naruto chose a huge serving of fried chicken legs. Typical, it was the largest single dish they served, and the blonde promptly picked it. Ah well, at least he seemed to be enjoying it just as much as Sasuke was the crispy, slightly spicy and very tasty duck. Although of course he was eating with the dignity befitting an Uchiha. It must have shown on his face, as Naruto scratched his head at the all too familiar air of superiority and …. yes breeding Sasuke was exuding. But as he, unlike his old self, did not rub it into Narutos nose, the blonde simply decided to eat a little less enthusiastic and bear it like a man. Or some-such, as he was not used to showing restraint regarding things edible.
The rest of the meal went more smoothly, with some, but overall less than expected, team talk, and so after about one hour, they left the restaurant, sated and relaxed. However, they had hardly walked more than a few minutes when Sasuke saw a new clothes shop (at least he did not remember one being here in HIS Konoha) that was obviously very well stocked with fine yet sturdy shirts in his favorite color, a dark blue tone.
"Hey Naruto, I wanna check out that store. You might wanna pick something non-orange as well while we're at it." He added with a smirk. Naruto scratched his head, and mumbled something along the lines of "can't afford other clothing", which made Sasuke wonder. There could hardly be any color less destined to be a Ninja's than bright "Kill Me Orange", so the clothes Naruto wore should be about as cheap as they could get, especially seeing the discount Ninja of the village usually received. He decided to think about it later, added a "If you cannot pay for it I'll see what I can do." After all he was the Uchiha heir, if he could not get his friend a discount he would be very surprised. He had no idea that this would be the least surprising thing that he would get to know soon... However Naruto nodded with a sheepish and somewhat sad smile, and they went to check the stock.
Sasuke quickly found what he was looking for, and his assumption was confirmed, they had very high quality stock. He went for 2 of his usual, short-sleeved, wider stile shirts, a tighter, long sleeved one and a very smooth yet sturdy looking coat-cloak mixture that was labeled to be insulating and water proof. Then he turned, to see how Naruto was doing and found him being stared at with something akin to hatred by an elderly woman who had just come out of the shop, while he tried to ignore that stare and went through some deep red stuff. Sasuke shook his head, granted Naruto obviously had no taste regarding colors, but at least red was better than orange, still that was no reason to glare at him like that. His eyes fixed on the woman, and he lifted his left brow, trusting in the copyrighted Uchiha Stare to solve the problem. Instead, this proved only helpful in showing him what the problem actually was.
The woman approached him, all the while throwing glances towards Naruto who tried his best to ignore the outside world and concentrate on a deep red Ninjasuit with greyish underarm and shin protectors that, to Sasukes trained eye, looked to be of excellent make, and spoke. "Greetings, Uchiha-san. I apologize for the disturbance this pest has wrought upon your shopping trip. Shall I tell the proprietor to vacate him?" Her voice was that of a bootlicker and it was obvious she was referring to Naruto. Sasuke held in his rising anger with the iron self-control his father had drilled him in for occasions where the clan's name and prestige were in question and only raised a questioning brow. The woman however had no qualms in diving deeper into the chasm opening before her. "We cannot allow such despicable de-, ahem... delinquents to shop at such a wonderful place, can we? He needs to be taught his place, lest he will continue to be a nuisance to us." Her hard expression clearly showed Sasuke that she meant what she said.
He was really angry now. "Naruto is a Ninja of this village who has fought against its enemies. No matter what personal grievance you have with him, you will show him the respect he deserves!" She blanched a bit, then lowered her voice. "It is to be expected from one as noble as you to adhere to the laws so honorably, but you do not have to fear to show your true feelings on this piece of trash. No one in this village will do anything against you showing him the treatment he deserves." She jumped back a step or two when, without his conscious decision, his Sharingan activated and bored into her light brown eyes.
His voice was smooth and ice cold: "Naruto is my friend. On top of that he is a brave and trustworthy Ninja, and albeit his humor leaves much to be desired, a good person. You, on the other hand, are just an oily sycophant, licking my ass while at the same time insulting my friend. Be gone. Now." Sparks danced in his eyes, and the civilian ran off almost as fast as some Genin. Narutos eyes where huge, his expression slack. "Sasuke…" Sasuke did his best to rein in his temper. The nerve! "Don't mention it, Naruto. That woman had it coming…" His voice showed signs of his anger only slowly ebbing away. Still Naruto was obviously immensely touched by Sasukes actions. Strange. Or not, seeing as he had been a prickly ass in this world, it seemed, while in his he had befriended Naruto almost immediately after the accident that had allowed him to activate his Sharingan almost a year earlier than anyone in history.
He decided that a clothes shop was not the right place to talk about it, and went towards the stand Naruto was looking over. "You sure red is what you want to go for?" Naruto hesitated for a second or two than nodded. "Well in that case, this one is very well made. And I would suggest you to pick one of these cloak-mantle mixtures as well, you never know when you will need good protection against rain and cold weather." He then proceeded inside the shop, to pay for his (and Naruto's, shaken as he seemed, the blonde obviously needed it; for multiple reasons) clothes. The shopkeeper, a bald, thin man with very pale skin and piercing green eyes simply added all up and told him the (high but reasonable, though still making a dent in his reserves) price. Sasuke noticed that his expression did not change a bit when Naruto came in. For that alone he added a little extra, a shop that treated all its customers equally as long as they paid was preferable, his uncle had taught him that. Sycophants were never useful; they tended to teach one to expect preferred treatment. And while at times enjoying said treatment, after all he was an Uchiha, expecting it was the way towards arrogant ignorance. Seeing Naruto's happiness only strengthened his smile, and they left together, towards the Uchiha Compound, and even though some villagers glared at Naruto, they only did so at his, and his famous friend's, back.
Danzo stood, a ROOT member with a blue striped weasel mask kneeling in front of him, his eyes mostly closed. "Report!" He almost whispered.
"Yes, Danzo-sama. As ordered I copied the … envoy-teams notes, which are on your desk already, but otherwise concentrated on the areas they did not cover. While they were occupied with negotiations with Zabuza Momochi, Hohiro Yamamoto and Haku were doing the actual work. The freshly erected Namikage Tower was constructed using the Tora-Yamamoto's unique Metal Technique, which makes it the sturdiest Kage-residence by far. Unless an attack is executed by at least a dozen strong Earth-users I see little use in force application." At that Danzo nodded. It seemed the new Kage was concerned about his security and had taken measures against what a small village had to fear the most: direct force. Good. He nodded his agent to continue.
"Meanwhile Haku was recruiting 2 more Ninja for the village, which he had completed before the treaty was agreed upon and the envoys left."
Danzo smirked. Smart move. After all, the treaty while allowing Wave a larger area for recruiting would also grant Konoha Veto rights on every recruit after the third each year. Recruiting everything they could find in their area before that was ratified was a good move. "Tell me about these 2."
"Yes Danzo-sama. The first recruit is Enki Kudo, a 36 years old former traveling Ninja that had retreated to Wave to live in peace after a battle wound on his right leg he received in a fight against a Cloud Ninja made him too slow to be of use to his "Clan". Following our information his Affinity is Water, and while he was only a moderately powerful Chunin at best, he is known to have mastered almost a hundred Jutsu due to his travels throughout the Elemental Countries. Mostly C-Class but still this grants him impressive versatility. The other is a 17 year old Kunoichi by the name of Hikari Matsu. She is a member of the rather obscure Matsu Clan that mostly travels through the smaller countries, which possesses a low C-Class Kekkei Genkai that grants them one exceptional sense, most of the time hearing, but sight and smell are also known of. Her skill is rather low, she only made Chunin at age 16, late even for traveling Clans, and we do not know her affinity or which expression her Kekkei Genkai takes." His report finished, the masked Shinobi waited for his master's reaction.
Danzo was deep in thought. He had not expected Zabuza to be that quick with his preparations. He obviously intended to go for power as fast as possible, with himself, Hohiro and Haku, as well as planning for the future. He already had 3 bearers of Bloodline Limits in his tiny village, and showed no signs of stopping- He was obviously stocking up as much as he could even on low power Bloodlines to start a breeding program later on. And he had Hohiro, a Ninja of almost unheard age, and hence experience, as well as a very teacher-eligible, broadly trained older Ninja to train his recruits. He was clearly aiming to create a village for… special missions.
Obviously a Hidden Village like that, economically dependent on Fire country, small but powerful and growing stronger still, and led by someone with few qualms regarding killing and a hatred for Kiri was a lucky break for him. His smirk widened. Yes, Sword was just about exactly what he needed right now. His mind already wondered if he could send one of his Aburame there to introduce their Bloodline as well. He would help the small village to grow into a weapon that Konoha could grasp whenever needed, saving their own Ninja from the unavoidable casualties war brought and conserving their strength while still achieving his goals.
Yes, he actually started liking the Namikage already… and would initiate ... closer relations soon.
Naruto had evaded Sasukes questions regarding the openly hostile actions the old woman had taken, and Sasuke had decided to be a good friend and not intrude. Yet.
But he would get to the bottom of this if he found the time.
Alas, time would be in short supply within the next months, as Kakashi had just, after arriving almost on time at their meeting place, revealed to them that the Chunin exams would be held in Konoha in 7 days. While Sasuke was happy about that, mostly, it also meant that soon a lot of foreign Genin would be here. Which was why Kakashi was lecturing them right now. "Remember, while we are in theory allied with all the villages that will send participants, the only ones we are more or less on friendly terms are the Ninja from Sunagakure. And we do not even know anything more than the most basic things about Otogakure, the second-newest Hidden Village after Sword, so: be careful, do not reveal your techniques unless it is necessary, and by the Kami, be polite." He looked at "The Prankster" at the last sentence, and his eye clearly said "No pranking the visitors. Period". After he was more or less sure his pupils had understood, he continued. "Now Sasuke, you have already taught Sakura and Naruto a new Jutsu each, which will help them no doubt. Not to mention some … style advice?" The last part made Sasuke smile. Naruto was looking rather fearsome in his new deep red suit, with the looted Vest and the added protectors. Truly, the only thing missing was a huge sword and he could have intimidated just about anyone who did not know him. That was of course the exact moment where Naruto grinned widely and started scratching his head, all the while totally ruining the picture of "dangerous Ninja". Ah well.
"Until the Exams start I will be training Sasuke and checking if the recent changes in his Sharingan have had any effects."
It was about time, Sasuke thought. He had expected Kakashi to get to it as soon as he was back, but obviously THIS Kakashi had had other priorities than his pupil until now. Still, he was glad someone who actually knew anything about his eyes was now looking into the whole mess.
"Now Naruto, Sakura, why don't you 2 go and reacquaint yourself with the tree-walking exercise? Sasuke and I will be joining you in an hour or so..:" With that a disappointed Sakura and an energetic Naruto went off to train.
Kakashi looked at Sasuke. "Now Sasuke, first let me tell you that your reward for capturing the Demon Brothers was cleared by the bureaucrats this morning. The sum, minus the usual 25% for Konoha, comes up to 54000 Ryu and will be deposited to your Genin account today." Sasuke was surprised, he had not expected the reward for those 2 … clowns to be that high. While he had no lack of money, the time until he would have full access to the Uchiha accounts was still years away, and he already had an idea or two on what to do with his bounty...
"Ahem." Kakashis voice shook him out of his musings about specifically tailored Battle gear and he concentrated on his sensei again. "As I was saying, we will now check if your Sharingan is working as it should. Activate it please." Sasuke did, and Kakashi stared in wonder at the small amounts of Raiton Chakra dancing around Sasuke's Tomoe. He unveiled his own Sharingan, and continued to stare long enough that Sasuke got a sick feeling in his stomach. Did Kakashi know what was wrong with his eyes? Was it something bad?
"Well, I can honestly say that I have never seen such a thing. But I think it is not yet done evolving." A stern female voice cut through their reverie, coming from his right. Sasuke, who had been so preoccupied with what Kakashi was doing that he had paid no attention to his surroundings turned to see who had spoken. Just to be greeted by the most enormous Boobs, ahem, chest he had ever seen right in front of his eyes, no 5 inches away, scantily clad in a greenish, rather ... low neckline Kimono. He quickly raised his gaze, and was stunned, even shocked, by what he saw. The mark on her forehead, this meant... he was looking at Tsunade, the legendary Sannin!
"Yes, kid, it's me. And no, staring once is nothing I will punish you for. Staring more than once though..." Her tone was extremely friendly, which made her all the scarier. Kakashi took a step back, rubbing his chest at her exclamation, and remembered how their meeting had gone...
He and Gai had looked at each other, shrugged and sped into the tavern, to be greeted by the sight of a very drunk Tsunade on a rampage. She indiscriminately smashed everything that got between her and a rather fat, somewhat piggish looking, but surprisingly fast man with brown hair. Said man was sweating blood and frantically trying to evade, so far successfully which was really impressive, Tsunade's punches. And so she smashed tables, chairs, and the floor instead of her target.
Back in one of the corners stood a young brunette whose expression clearly said "If I was brave enough I'd stop her. But I ain't". Her gaze went to the 2 Ninja, and her eyes widened. Kakashi had just intended to ask her who she was, and why the Slug Princess was tearing up the place, when he saw the woman was hugging a small … pig? Ah, so Tsunade liked that pet-pig, and in her drunken state she had thought the fat man, who was still if barely evading her crushing blows, had intended to cook it. Strange.
He looked at Gai, who looked back and gave him the thumbs up. Great, his "Eternal Rival" obviously wanted him to go in first. He sighed, and began to sneak in as quickly as possible.
Without much warning splinters of wood as long as his hand flew all around him, and he suddenly faced Tsunade. "You, want to cook my Pig as well? Or are you just sneaking around to peek?" Her eyes were blazing with fury, and Kakashi gulped. Just to be hit by a sledgehammer-blow. The last thing he remembered was the cry "Pervert!" and a sensation of vertigo, then everything went black.
The Elite Jounin straightened up, forcing his mind into the present again, and quietly thanking Gai, for whatever he had done to save him, and the Hokage for the little book which had been the only reason a cursing and stomping Tsunade had accompanied them "Home", he was sure.
Tsunade held her glowing green hands at Sasukes temples, the boy standing as still as he could, and continued. "It seems to me that there has been an overload with Raiton Chakra in 8 of the Tenketsu leading into his eyes, one that fundamentally changed them in a way I have yet to analyze. I am not yet sure what this means, but their regular functions are entirely unaffected." At Sasuke's questioning gaze she nodded. "Yes, that means your Sharingan is fully functional otherwise, and I can see no reason why you should experience any more problems until whatever it is finishes evolving." She stepped back to a more comfortable distance and looked at Kakashi. "You might actually have done me a favor by bringing me here. This "evolution" for lack of a better term is very intriguing. I think I will stay until it is finished. I will, check on him every other day, but I expect you to immediately come for me if something changes" With that she turned and left, and Kakashi slumped with such an expression of relief on his… well, eye, that Sasuke almost snickered.
"Well, if that wasn't lucky." He drily added. "Now, let's continue training, I not going to teach you anything new yet, as you will have to read enough stuff to get up to speed in the theory department, but I will help you fine tune whatever you already can do. Go get Naruto and Sakura, and let's get to it."
Which they did. For most of the next 2 days.
A few hours later the Hokage sat in the Council Chamber after the Civil and Clan councilors had left, his pipe long bereft of fire, his head resting on his hands. He would honestly never have expected his advisers to argue in favor of the recruitment treaty with Sword, which had made the whole thing go far smoother than he had expected. However that was exactly what had him so worried. WHY did they agree? Oh, they had argued well enough, mentioning that Konoha had enough Ninja, that Sword was an ally, so better them with supervision than other villages to recruit in Fires sphere of influence. All very reasonable.
He did not believe one word of it. Koharu and Homaru surely had ulterior motives, but he had no idea which ones exactly, or even if it was for one of their plans or Danzo's, whom he suspected to have ties with the 2. He sighed.
Being Hokage was a terrible burden, which he felt twice as hard now that his former pupil and intended successor (as Jiraya always would decline) was here. At least she had come, and taken a look at the Uchiha, agreeing that whatever was happening to his eyes was probably an unknown evolution of the most powerful Dojutsu still in existence. One worry lessened. Only another dozen left.
Sighing again he went back to work. For what else could he do?
Early morning 2 days after the examination of his eyes, Sasuke and Naruto were walking towards the main gate, where if their guess was correct Sakura would already be waiting. Kakashi had gotten them a low C-Class mission, namely escorting some mining equipment to a site roughly half a day's journey to Konoha's south, when they saw a dark clad boy with strange, violet markings on his face gripping a small girl, and drawing back his hand, as if to punch her.
Without any conscious communication, they both acted immediately…
AN: OK, no Chunin exams yet. I would have found it somewhat forced to get to the first part at the end of this chapter, as the "end" fits so well, so you will have to wait for the next one. In which I will cover most of the first two Exams, and of course the ... meeting with Gaara..
Instead you got some rather important "Set Up" Information. I hope you enjoyed it and of course review!