A/N: Hello Earthlings! (just kidding) I'm SO sorry for not updating like I used to in the summer and winter holidays. Actually, my brain was on holiday. The only thing new about me is that I started a new fanfic called "Kendo Spirit" (I think it was January I started it) and I haven't updated anything!!! And the flu got me, so I was in bed doing nothing except sleeping, drinking water and reading some manga that I need to catch up. Now that spring break is coming, I'm going to do some updating on all of my fanfics. (hopefully) After reading this chapter, please read the bottom Author Note. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-senpai (is it Kishimoto or Minamoto? I don't remember…)

Another sunny day, the peaceful breeze blew softly, rustling the leaves on the tree. A silent patter from the stranger's sandals trekked on the gravelled path. The stranger was dressed in simple apparel with a turquoise belt securing the top. On the stranger's back were his travel sack and a long slender katana. The stranger stopped behind the trees and started at a gate, specifically the Konohagakure main gate.

The stranger laid the sack down and began to open the bag. The stranger took out a cloak and put it on; covering most of the stranger's body. The stranger continued rummaging through the bag and found a headband, the leaf headband. The stranger gave a low sigh and puts the headband on across his forehead. The stranger took out a mask and slipped it underneath the cloak. The stranger stood up and walked towards the entrance gate.

At the entrance…

"Why do we have to take charge of gate duty again?" Izumo yawned, scribbling the hiragana alphabet on the daily log. Kotetsu yawned in reply.

"There's so much going on." Kotetsu rested his head on the table. "First the Demonstration Fair and now this girl, who was missing from the village for 7 years." Both chunin were so bored that they didn't notice the stranger walking towards them.

"Are you the gate keeper?" The stranger asked. Both chunin jumped and looked at the speaker. Izumo pulled out a kunai while Kotetsu closed his hand around the giant kunai on his back.

"Who are you?" Kotetsu asked cautiously, "No outsiders are allowed unless requested by the Hokage." The stranger shook his head and pulled out a piece of paper. Izumo took the paper and read it out loud.

"The Konoha Kabuki Theatre is looking for travelling actors for their Kabuki troup. Must have experience in both Kabuki and Noh. Salary included." Izumo finished reading and look up. The stranger took his mask and put it on. The wind blew, lifting the stranger's hair, revealing an almost worn-out leaf headband. Kotetsu looked up in shock. The stranger bowed and walked away. Kotetsu stood up.

"Where were you?" Kotetsu called, "everyone thought you were dead! Why didn't you come back after you finished your mission, Taiki?" The stranger stopped and slowly turned around.

"I have an assignment to complete." The stranger spoke softly, but loud enough for both chunin to hear. The stranger bowed, turned around and continued walking. Kotetsu fell back into his seat, still in shock. Izumo, shaking his head, handed him a water bottle.

"Do you even know him?" Izumo asked. Kotetsu took a sip and looked up.

"He was the chunin who complete 30 A ranks and 10 S rank missions. A genius fit to be jonin." Kotetsu slowly replied. "We used to hang out until he never came back from the S rank mission he completed. Everyone though he died during the mission. That was 10 years ago." Izumo shrugged slightly and leaned back on his chair.

"Oh well," Izumo sighed, "I just hope there isn't going to be a chain of events following up." Kotetsu nodded and leaned back on his chair. Both chunin stared at the clear sky, waiting for more ninja before their shift ended.

Meanwhile, at the training grounds

The group of shinobi were standing underneath the trees waiting for a certain someone. After ten minutes of annoyed murmuring, the person finally came, carrying a box of ninja gear and scrolls. Naruto jumped at him

"What took you so long?" Naruto hissed, "you were 50 minutes LATE! Do you even know what the time is? You are even worse than Kakashi-sensei." Sakura punched Naruto hard on the head.

"It took you 25 minutes to wake up this morning!" Sakura yelled in his ear. Naruto ran behind Kankuro.

"I kinda feel bad for him," Ino whispered into Temari's ear, "He's been losing a heck a lot of brain cells. No wonder he acts like a baka." Temari nodded in agreement.

"This is so troublesome," Shikamaru muttered and dropped the box with a loud bang. "okay everyone be quiet everyone."

"Wow Shikamaru," Naruto began before Sakura punched him.

Is Sakura showing her affectionate love through punches? Sai thought, that's pretty nice of her.

"As I was saying for our first warm-up training, we will start off with a game I learned from someone." Shikamaru said as he rummaged through the box and grabbed two bundles of rope. "You will be split into 2 groups of 8 and you'll be playing Rattlesnake."

"Rattlesnake?" Kiba scoffed, "with a girl skipping rope?" All the kunoichi sent a death glare at him. "Okay I'm really really sorry!" Shikamaru sighed.

"Okay, let me explain the rules," Shikamaru announced. "In this game, one person will be standing in the middle of a circle. The person in the middle infuses their chakra in the rope and tosses it around in a circular motion. Your main objective is to not get hit by the rope. This game is based on your reflexes and endurance."

"That's it?" Lee asked in disbelief, "you get hit by the rope? That's too easy!!!" Neji and Gaara rolled their eyes.

"Here's the catch," Shikamaru said. As he pressed a button on the rope, small darts and paint bombs began flying out. "You must also avoid both the rope and these flying objects. Each rope is equipped with 40000 darts and paint bombs in the rope itself. Chakra sparks are also emitted from these which takes this game to another level."

"Where did you get these? The mechanics are pretty impressive." Tenten commented while examining the rope, "mind if I'm the first person in the middle?" Shikamaru shrugged. This better not turn into hell…

"Just give it a go," he replied and tossed the other rope to Kankuro. "You're in the middle. Everyone, split into two groups and start the game. Make sure you allow 3 minutes before you press the buttons. The person covered with the most scratches and paint will treat us tonight." Everyone groaned, then nodded and split into two groups.

"Heh heh, now I can beat the crap outta ya!" Kankuro announced, "I might try and go easy on you guys but I'm no softie." He unwrapped the rope as Gaara, Sakura, Choji, Hinata, Sai, Shino and Lee circled around him. "Here I come!" Kankuro fused his chakra into the rope and tossed it like a lasso. The rope swung underneath the ninjas' feet as they jumped to avoid getting hit.

"This is so much fun!!!" Lee yelled as he jumped in different patterns. "I think I can do this all day!!!!" Sakura sighed as she jumped over the rope. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the rope changing directions.

"Sakura! Watch out!" Sai called as the rope grazed on her leg, leaving a large tear in her boots.

"Sorry," Sakura let out a laugh and jumped at the rope's unpredictable direction, "I was zoning out." This is a really scary game…

"Come on Sakura-chan!" Lee exclaimed and did a jete over the rope, "You must use that youth of yours in dangerous situations like this."

"This isn't a dangerous situation," Shino monotonously replied and merely walked around the rope. "unless you call him dangerous."

"HEY!" Kankuro yelled and swung the rope faster.

"KANKURO!" Sakura exclaimed and leaped, "be considerate to the other people! Hinata's losing her breath! So is Choji!" Indeed both ninja were breathing very heavily.

"It's okay Sakura-chan," Hinata said as she jumped over the rope, "I'm fine, I really need to train harder." Sakura let out a sigh. Why is everyone training too hard?

"Watch out Sakura-san," Gaara said as Sakura jumped, "Stop thinking and pay attention to the rope."

What's with the san? This is such a bad day…Sakura thought as the darts and paint bombs targeted everyone.

"JUMP HIGHER!" Sasuke yelled at Naruto leaped over the fast-moving rope. She's already mastered it.

"Kay I know you're an expert in weapons but can you please SLOW IT DOWN?" Ino yelled and jumped over the zooming rope. "Seriously, I'm almost running low in chakra." Both Kiba and Shikamaru nodded as they leaped over the rope. Tenten just smirked.

"Well get used to it," Tenten replied and swung the rope faster almost hitting Naruto's foot, "When can I add the darts and paint bombs?" Both Shikamaru and Neji gulped and shook their heads.

"We only did this for one minute…" Neji trailed off and jumped over the fast-moving rope. "Can't you slow it down?" Tenten's smirk widened.

"Am I hearing a something wrong? A genius requesting me to slow the game down?" Tenten snickered and mover her fingers over the button, "how about I make it more challenging now?" She pressed the button and small darts flew out of the rope in each swing.

"Can't you be more sympathetic towards us?" Ino stammered and dodged the darts while leaping over the rope, "I wanna quit this game!"

"HA HA HA!!! You look like a screwed up frog!" Naruto stopped leaping and laughed.

"BAKA!!! LOOK OUT!!!" both Sasuke and Shikamaru yelled a little too soon. The darts not only went through Naruto's outfit, the rope coiled itself around his foot, causing him to trip and fall face flat. To make it even worse, he's actually being dragged in circles.

"HA HA SUCKER!" Kiba laughed, "look who's a frog now!" Unfortunately for him, Naruto grabbed Kiba's leg and the two of them were swinging in circles. The remaining 4 ninja turned towards Shikamaru with a death glare.

"I didn't expect this to happen," Shikamaru began, "Why don't we continue for one more minute?" The death glares turned ict as everyone continued dodging and leaping the fast moving darts and ropes. This is worse than hell.

30 minutes later…

"That was HELL!" Naruto muttered and collapsed on the ground, "I do NOT want to play rattlesnake again!"

"For once, I agree with you," Kiba murmured and lay back on the grass, "I'm so beat that I lost all of my chakra!"

"At least someone admitted their defeat," Naruto sniggered. Kiba gave him a glare but instead he coughed.

"Well whatever," Kiba simply replied, "I bet the others are tired out."

"God that was the worst training ever!" Ino muttered while rubbing her arms, "seriously Tenten, you really need to slow down when we tell you to, not speed up like a machine." Tenten simply grinned.

"Sorry," she replied and widened her grin, "I couldn't help it…" Neji, catching his breath from the training, shot her a glare.

"You couldn't help it?" Neji snapped, "we even asked you to slow down!"

"Well I didn't mean to and I did say sorry," Tenten shrugged, "it's only a training exercise."

"YEAH RIGHT, more or less a murder exercise," Naruto yelled, "I think YOU should try the game for yourself…" Shikamaru let out a sigh of defeat.

"The problem starts here." Shikamaru stated as everyone turned their attention towards him. "The people I learned the game from were actually Tenten and Kankuro." Everyone turned from Shikamaru to Tenten and Kankuro. Both ninja gave a large smirk and high-fived each other.

"No wonder they were speeding up so quickly," everyone murmured.

"It was training after all," Tenten simply stated. "Everyone needs to improve on their endurance and reflexes. From the reaction in my group, almost everyone was complaining that I was going too fast. If the opponent or enemy were toduel in a similar way, most likely all of you would be dead. Unless there are some special circumstances…" Everyone waited for her to finish the sentence.

"So what are the special circumstances?" Sai asked.

"You guys aren't paying attention," Tenten grumbled, "If you specialize in ninjutsu that allows you to fly or you have a kekkei genkai, then there's a possibility you can avoid the rope…most likely 30%." Neji and Sasuke glared at her while Sai fake smiled.

"So yeah," Kankuro began, "my group was fairly terrible at Rattlesnake. When I got faster, everyone slowed down…" Temari, Kiba and Naruto laughed.

"You're no better!" Tenten snapped.

"I'm not sure why you guys slowed dwon but I found that ridiculously funny." Kankuro gave a chuckle. "I'd say the people in my group would also be annihilated."

"So what does that mean?" Hinata asked.

"Means we're adding this to our daily training schedule," Tenten simply replied, "Until you manage to survive the paint bombs and darts, you'll not be fit for any ninja exercises." Kiba let a low whistle.

"That's kinda harsh…" Kiba stated, "but we're pretty much up to the level where we have to improve our skils."

"So pretty much we have a lot of work to do," Shikamaru summarized. "since we're all tired, why don't we call off the day?" Everyone nodded and Naruto leaped up.

"Alright! And Shikamaru's treating us!" Naruto announced. Everyone agreed and left the training grounds.

"Why me again?" Shikamaru grumbled and packed up the ropes.

A/N: Hmm… another OC? I just love throwing random stuff in this fanfic. That's an intense training plan... I'm not sure if anyone knows but Rattlesnake is actually a game I learned in gym class. (except no darts, paint bombs or chakra… just a plain skipping rope). I wouldn't have guessed that you can actually take it to the extreme. Please make sure you read chapter 5 for some clarification in this fanfic.

Saya: Yosh! I'm back! How did ya like it?

Miya-miya: Ano senpai, why am I here?

Evie: Err… why did you come when I didn't need you two?

Saya: WHAT? You don't need me?

Ino: Exactly! It's my turn! By the way, who are you guys?

Evie: Ino? Why are you here?

Saya: I'm Kuwahara Sayako from Bamboo Blade…

Evie: guys… this isn't the time to introduce each other…

Miya-miya: Miya-miya desu from Bamboo Blade.

Yuuji: Saya senpai, you were supposed to come in chapter 8… not chapter 6

Evie: Yuuji… you're supposed to be in Kendo Spirit… wait… EVERYONE FROM BAMBOO BLADE LEAVE NOW!!!

Yuuji: Woah

Saya: You heard her! Let's GOOOOOOOO!!!! We don't want to miss the next tournament!

Miya-miya: Saya senpai…it's only a practice match….

Ino: What? Practice Match? What tournament? Oh hi Hinata…

Hinata: Hey, who are those people?

Evie: What? Why is everyone here… yuji just go back to the kendo dojo.

Yuji: If you say so… is that Tama-chan? I thought she was practicing with Azuma-san…

Evie: NO! Just… you know what BAMBOO BLADE BACKUP SQUAD!! Take Yuji back to the dojo before I have new ideas!

(Kirino and Saya runs in with a Bamboo Blade flag and shinai)

Kirino and Saya: HAI HAI!!! Come on Yuji, we gotta go before Evie cuts you from the story.

Shikamaru: Why am I dragged in here? I don't like that… it's so troublesome

Evie: If you don't like it that's fine… I can take you out of the story and replace you with someone else if you like to complain so much XD

Shikamaru: What!?! I don't need to be replaced! I'm perfectly fine the way I am!

Ino: Yeah yeah yeah, I'd rather see him OOC instead…

Shikamaru: O_O INO! Don't give her any ideas!!!

Evie: That's a GREAT IDEA!!! How about it? I'll make you a hard-worker who cares about people and have people like you for once….

Shikamaru: I'm perfectly fine with the way I am! Right, Hinata?

Hinata: I guess…

Evie: Next time! More new training tactic ideas from the rest of the shinobi gang and mysterious visitors coming into the village!

Hinata: Ano, also read Evie's other Naruto fanfiction, Mission: Rainforest Village Feud. Be sure to Read & Review after you finish reading!

Evie: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter so keep an eye for the next chapter! Ja ne! P.S. I was only joking about making Shikamaru OOC :D

Shikamaru: The poll for DF is up and running! be sure to vote on who should be Himawari's target (in case you don't remember, it's on chapter 3) Ja ne!