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Chapter 19: Teams

The aftermath of the shinobi duel between Naruto and Sasuke caused mixed feelings for everyone in the stadium.

For those who had no ill-feelings for Naruto, which was mostly the shinobi population, they were quite proud of the boy since they knew that he was becoming strong and would become an asset to the village when he becomes a part of the shinobi force.

Those who knew of Naruto's background couldn't help but inwardly laugh at the various shocks in the stadium because they knew that the boy wasn't using his true strength in the match. Besides, it's not like the Hitokiri Battousai would sweat facing a wet-behind-the-ear academy student with illusions of grandeur.

For the civilian population who came to see Naruto defeated by their precious Uchiha, they couldn't believe that their prized Uchiha was defeated, not only in a battle but in a shinobi duel in front of hundreds of spectators. No matter how much they deny the true, it would forever be engraved in the memory of the villagers. A lot of minds were changed that day and it was for the best for one Uzumaki Naruto.

Sarutobi, on the other hand, was inwardly cackling since he knew what was coming next. He expected that a few hours from now, a lot of appeals would be sent to his office to demand compensation from Naruto because of how he defeated the Uchiha, an appeal that he would love to trash in front of the appellants. Also, he was looking forward to the money he just won from betting on his surrogate grandson.

Naruto noticed a lot of changes in the villagers after winning the shinobi duel with Sasuke. It had been a week since that event and he couldn't help but notice the lack of glares from the populace. In fact, quite a few of them were giving him nods of respect though there were still a few who glared at him which was easily ignored.

The ex-assassin also noticed a change in his classmates in the Academy, well except for his friends who knew that he was stronger than the Uchiha even before the duel took place. As usual, the Uchiha fan girls were glaring at him for beating their prince charming but Naruto noticed that the number of girls who did decreased in numbers.

This made Naruto's sixth sense work overtime despite the lack of dangers around him. It was a few days later that he noticed why his 'danger sense' was acting up. The girls in the Academy were looking at him with a gleam in their eyes that made him shiver. He inwardly curse the heavens because he acquired fan girls.

Nothing much happened in his second year in the Academy. He spent his Saturdays training and sparing with his friends while using Sunday on self-study, as well as continuing to practice with his sword skills and spells.

Without him noticing it, exam for the fourth Academy year for his batch came and went. As usual, he got top marks since he didn't bother to hide his abilities. It was moot point considering the skills he showcased during his duel with Sasuke. He was in the running for the Rookie of the Year next year during graduation with Sasuke behind him. Naruto didn't care since the title wasn't really a requirement to be a shinobi of the Leaf.

Speaking of Sasuke, it seemed that the Uchiha finally learned to control his ego since he was no longer glaring at him or challenging him in useless fights. Naruto somewhat liked the result of the duel since Sasuke and the rest of the fan girls left him alone, giving him more quiet time to relax and spend some quality R and R with his friends.

(Time skip: 1-year - A week before the Academy graduation exam)

The Sandaime Hokage was currently in a meeting with the Jounins who submitted their names to become senseis of their own Genin teams. Notable names include Hatake Kakashi, Sarutobi Asuma, Yuuhi Kurenai, Mitarashi Anko, Shiranui Genma, and Hayate Gekko. Maito Gai was also in attendance even if he already had his own Genin team from last year's graduates.

"Thank you for coming. We are going to hold our yearly meeting for this year's potential graduates in the Academy. Those of you who signed up for a Genin team may give me your recommendations on who you want to become your students. Considering the number of students who had the potential to graduate this year, I would also be allowing an apprenticeship as long as the Genin has the skill that coincides with your specialty." said Sarutobi while eyeing the Jounins in front of him.

Hatake Kakashi raised his hand to voice out his recommendation.

"I want to recommend Uchiha Sasuke to be part of my Genin team. I was asked by a few in the council to take the Uchiha as a student or an apprentice since he would need someone who knows the Sharingan if he ever awaken his bloodline." the one-eyed Jounin said lazily.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know that the council requested that? Is it the civilian council?" asked Sarutobi with a sigh. The civilian council, despite the fact that they were already 'defanged' after the death of Danzo was still a constant headache for him. It was unfortunate that they were a part of the village so it was impossible to get rid of them.

Kakashi nodded with an annoyed grunt causing some of the Jounins to level him a smirk.

"Yes. They wanted me to take Sasuke under an apprenticeship but I refused their request. They whined about my decision but shut up when I informed them that I would be taking it up with you if they persist."

This caused a lot of chuckles to erupt in the office.

"Why don't you take him under an apprenticeship, Kakashi? I think it would be easier to train the Uchiha if he is your only student." one the Jounins asked.

"I have no problems taking Sasuke under apprenticeship but after I checked his evaluation from the Academy, it would be detrimental to the boys mind to put him on a pedestal. Despite being only a student, talented yes but still a student, I heard some rumors from the Chuunins that the boy kept pestering them for one-on-one training. Some refused while others gave in despite the fact that they weren't supposed to show favoritism, especially to a student. I decided to put Sasuke under my Genin team to make sure that his ego doesn't skyrocket, as well as try to curb that ego of his if it is possible." Kakashi explained causing a lot of heads to nod in agreement.

They all knew about the Uchiha's ego and the boy's demand for training. Despite losing the shinobi duel last year, the boy was even more persistent. Putting him under an apprenticeship would make the boy's head swell to epic proportion that would cause a lot of problems in the future.

"I will mark that under advisement, Kakashi, though I agree with you that Sasuke would do well under your training if he ever awakens his Sharingan. Any other suggestion?" asked Sarutobi as he made a few notes on the file in front of him.

"None for now, Hokage-sama. I might have later when the result of the exam comes in." said Kakashi before taking out an orange book and started to read, ignoring the glares leveled at him by the women in the room.

Sarutobi nodded and turned to his son, Asuma, who raised his hand to go next.

"I would like to recommend the creation of the current generation of Ino-Shika-Cho composing of Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji. I know their parents well and their legendary teamwork since I work with them a lot so I am quite capable of handling and training them after they graduate."

Sarutobi nodded and made a note of his son's recommendation.

"Hokage-sama." said Kurenai, catching the aged leader's attention. "I would like to recommend the placement of Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba under my team for the creation of a tracker team."

"Hmmmm." Sarutobi hummed while in thought. "Three clan heirs with bloodlines for tracking…very well. I agree with your recommendation."

The suggestions kept coming as various Jounins chose their own teams according to the current rosters from the Academy. They were able to finish everything in an hour and the Jounins left except for a few to discuss a serious matter concerning the graduates; to be more specific, one of the graduates.

"Hokage-sama. I would like to recommend an apprenticeship for one Uzumaki Naruto under me." said Hayate causing Kakashi, Asuma, and Maito Gai to look at him in surprise.

"Why do you recommend an apprenticeship, Hayate?" asked Sarutobi, leveling the sword-wielding Tokubetsu Jounin a serious look.

"I believe that Uzumaki Naruto doesn't need a team. In fact, I think we all agree that Naruto would be more useful as a reserve Genin that would assist other teams with his skills." explained Hayate.

"Hmmm. You're right. If I have my way, I would disregard Naruto's request to start at the bottom and promote him to Jounin but I don't want to anger Naruto and abuse his trust in me. Despite his strength, he wanted to work his way up the ranks the normal way." said Sarutob, surprising everyone in the room.

"YOSH! NARUTO-KUN'S YOUTH IS MORE ASTOUNDING THAN EVER!" shouted Gai in his somewhat abnormal inside voice causing everyone to wince at the volume.

"Lower your voice, Gai." barked Sarutobi causing the taijutsu master to give him a sheepish grin. Sarutobi turned to the rest of the Jounins in attendance. "What do you think of Hayate's suggestion?"

"I agree with Hayate on this one. Naruto would be better as a back-up team if he is not taking missions. We can never deny the fact that Naruto is way above his peers in terms of skill and experience. Hayate would be the perfect Jounin sensei for him since Naruto would need to hone his swordsmanship to better heights, as well as giving him some lessons in the shinobi arts." said Kakashi. Everyone nodded in agreement. They knew of Naruto's background and couldn't deny the fact that the kid was strong...very strong compared to the rest. "Also, I recommend for Naruto to train with the rest of the Genin teams to improve their camaraderie. This would promote better trust and teamwork during missions."

"If that is the case then I approve. I have made a team roster of sorts using Iruka's experience with the student on who would pass or not. Kakashi would be taking Team 7 with members Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Sai."

"Who's Sai?" asked Kakashi in confusion. He read the Academy files and he never came across that name.

"Sai was one of the few kids under Danzo's ROOT before it was literally destroyed when Naruto brought down their leader. I placed him under probation with Ibiki and Anko checking his psyche evaluation every month. He is trained to be an emotionless shinobi but the two were able to repair a bit of the damage caused by Danzo. If I rate his skill, Sai is around high-Genin to low-Chuunin at best."

"I see." said Kakashi as he digested the information. "If that is the case then I agree to take Team 7 under my tutelage, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Next would be Team 8 under Yuuhi Kurenai. She will have Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino as a Tracking Team. Team 9 is still active under Maito Gai. Any report regarding your current team, Gai?"

"THEY ARE THE PER….er perfect team, Hokage-sama. In fact, they are growing in skills so I might recommend them to take the Chuunin Exam this year." said Gai, lowering his volume when the Hokage glared at him.

"Fine. Team 10 would be under Asuma. You'll get the Ino-Shika-Cho team you wanted. I might want to warn you though, some of the clan heirs are more than your average students." said Sarutobi with a sly smile on his face.

"Why do you say that, Hokage-sama?" asked Asuma, curious.

"Let me put it this way…Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino have been training with Naruto since he started attending the Academy. Considering Naruto's skills and capabilities, I think your students would be quite capable in the field, don't you think?"

"WHAT?" all the Jounins in the office shouted in unison causing the room to vibrate due to their combined volume.

Naruto raised his head when he heard something from the direction of the Hokage's Tower.

"Did you hear something, Kurama?" asked Naruto as he continued going through the various forms of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu in his hidden training ground.

"Nope, though I feel that some people are having bouts of incredulity right now." said Kurama. "Are you ready for the graduation exam next week?"

"Of course I am. I practically trained in the shinobi arts using the graduation exam as a basis. You remembered my six months training under Akido and Yahiko?"

"Those two jokers? Yes I did." said Kurama, amused.

"They're not really that bad." said Naruto, defending the two quirky Jounins.

"I didn't say they were bad. I just said they were jokers. Nothing bad about that." said Kurama with a laugh. "No training with your friends today?"

"Nah. I gave them the day off. I just upped their chakra weights yesterday so they're carrying 100 pounds in total. I instructed them to get used to the weights today so they won't have to worry about damaging their body once they train in the future."

"Good idea. Those kids are getting strong. Not as strong as you but stronger than the rest."

"Yes. They are going to be quite a force to be reckoned with in the future. Did you know that Hinata is currently trying to come up with a variation of the Kaiten?" Naruto said with a bit of pride in his voice.

"I must have been asleep when she told you that. What variation are we talking about?"

"You know that the Juuken is a rigid taijutsu style right?"

"Yes. And you're point being?"

"Well, Hinata decided to use her natural flexibility by coming up with a Juuken style that fits her. This includes the techniques that came with it. She already mastered the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and the more advanced version Eight Trigrams One-Hundred-Twenty-Eight Palms. She also mastered the Kaiten but she found it lacking. She is trying to come up with a variation of that move, like instead of stopping an attack, it would redirect them. Quite an idea if you ask me."

"Interesting plan but not that easy to do."

"Well, she did say that it would be hard but she would be working on it. There's no rush. She can still use Kaiten but she wanted to make it unique as part of her unique Juuken style."

"Ambitious girl, but good for her."

"Damn right she is. She came a long way after training with us."

"That she is. At least she is no longer a stuttering mess when you're around. You know that she has a crush on you, right?"

"Yeah I know. I may be dense, Kurama, but I'm not THAT dense. However, I'm not interested in that sort of thing right now. Besides, I'm still 14 years old for crying out loud. Sure, she grew up to be a beautiful girl and all but I see her as a friend than a lover. That might change in the future so we'll see."

"Good point. Considering that you're going to be alive for a very long time, I guess you don't have to worry about finding a lover or two."

"Lover or two? Are you implying something there, Kurama?"

"Nope. Sheesh. Don't get to defensive on me, kit. You humans are so stuck up in your morals. We kitsunes don't have any problems with polygamy. After all, the more the merrier."

"Perverted fox."

"Thank you."

"I hate you, you know that right?"

"I know."

End of Chapter 19

Date Uploaded: July 18, 2012

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