"Konohagakure is one of the most powerful of the Hidden Villages. During the Great Ninja Wars, they destroyed over half of Iwa's forces and decimated its lands. At least, that was Iwa's view. No doubt Konoha has its own version. I fought in that war as a child and all I can remember is fear and blood. Ironically, it was only when I fought Konoha shinobi that I gained insight into their culture. Unlike most other nations, they value their comrades over their own lives and would fight to the bitter end to keep each other safe. That was their strength as well as their weakness, which probably explains Konoha's victory over surrounding nations. And now I wonder, can such strength be ours after we have been taught to rely solely on ourselves for so long?" – Tsuchi Rei
"Hmmm, this is interesting." Musan muttered as he studied the scroll. Chuunin exams were to be held in Konoha this year, and one of the envoys was hinted to be the Kazekage himself. Wasn't that Gaara's old man?
Musan grinned at the thought. Gaara was the most interesting of the Jinchuuriki with an unstable mind and insomnia that would put a schizophrenic crack addict to shame. Maybe a little filial vengeance was just what the doctor ordered…
"Chi-kun?"
Musan spun around to face a fairly young brunette with red triangular tattoos on her each of her cheeks and the pervasive scent of dog around her.
"I brought in the inoculation reports like you asked." she said smiling.
"Uh…well, thank you." Musan murmured gruffly, hoping that his voice was alright for this body. Damnit, he thought people tended to avoid areas of bureaucracy!
"Well, you'll find everything in order." The girl continued to smile.
"Yes." Go away! Musan added silently.
She turned as if to leave, and then spun around into a roundhouse kick which Musan barely managed to block. She traded blow after blow with him, which Musan always managed to evade or block to her apparent frustration.
"So I take it Chi-kun does something differently with the paperwork?" Musan asked casually as he danced away from the girl.
"That and he doesn't leave the office in a mess." She snarled furiously as she swung at him with a fist.
"Ah."
I like this chick, Musan thought gleefully as he dodged her fist and darted past her reach to place his face directly in front of hers.
"You single?" he asked eagerly, "How's about a date?"
She snarled at his tone and lashed out with her kunai, which he ducked and easily knocked out of her grasp.
"You like dogs, right? Love them myself." He continued, "Well, I really don't have much choice in the matter. But really, we could even skip the date and get to the good bits."
"In your dreams!" she snapped, aiming another blow at him.
"Yeah, that's what she said." Musan sighed in disappointment. Being stuck with a bunch of kids, two old people, and a crazy guy his age had really been the bottom of the proverbial barrel; it had been years since he'd gotten laid! Unless you counted all those times he'd felt up the neko after she started hitting puberty, but at that point he'd been desperate!
He quickly made the hand signs and a gentle breeze brushed past her face. The girl frowned then panicked as she recognized the signs but quickly succumbed to the genjutsu. She sagged limply to the floor.
He studied her unconscious body and began to sweat. Rei told him to get the information they needed and find him so they could leave. No killing, no maiming…but he'd said nothing about a quick fix. No one would ever need know…
His hands seemed to stray of their own accord down to her belt. Musan stopped.
"Damn it! I really have gone soft." He muttered as he dragged the limp kunoichi to a corner and set about copying the scroll which contained the details about the chuunin exam.
--
Rei sprinted through the forest glade, leaping from tree to tree as he went. His arm still ached, but he couldn't stop smirking. Taking care of that pompous Jounin had been ridiculously easy.
"Ebisu-sensei!"
The jounin turned and paled at the sight of the young boy who glared at him as he strode boldly into the clearing.
"H-honorable grandson! Get out of here!"
"What?"
The boy gasped as he felt edge of a kunai touch the base of his throat.
"You should really pay attention when your sensei tells you something. Usually they have your best interests in mind."
After that, it was child's play to predict the Jounin's next move. Predictably, he tried the replacement jutsu to retrieve his charge, letting Rei know exactly where he would be. A blow from an Earth jutsu later and both the Jounin and the boy were knocked out and concealed by the Earth trap. Rei considered getting rid of them permanently but decided that incurring the wrath of one of the most powerful Hidden Villages was probably not the best idea under the circumstances.
Then again, there was still the other one, the one who kept his face concealed and whose mild countenance belied the immense power radiating from the tall, thin man. That one would be harder to deal with one-on-one. Who knew what incredible force that man possessed?
--
"Soft-core porn, sensei?"
Kakashi's single visible eye crinkled in amusement as he beamed benignly at his unenthusiastic team.
"Now, now. I'll have you know it's very tasteful with suspenseful plot twists and excellent characterization!"
"Sure." The pink-haired girl had an attitude after all! Obviously the good girl image she presented was only skin-deep. Well, that was a relief. Kakashi didn't know what he would have done if that girl had been as shallow and passive as she seemed to be.
"Sensei, are we going to do anything but watch you read your porn?" The boy Narashi Shinji looked quite average compared to Uchiha Sasuke the child prodigy and Haruno Sakura who was top of the class as far as deskwork was concerned, but he had a stubbornness about him that reminded Kakashi all too well of another idealistic stubborn shinobi he'd once known. Time would tell, but if the boy had a good head and worked hard, Kakashi saw that he would make a decent shinobi one day.
"Indeed, we shouldn't waste our time sitting around. We have training to do." Sasuke would be his most difficult student yet, it seemed. The gravely serious boy could easily have been himself over a decade ago. It pained him to admit it, but the boy would need serious work before he was mentally ready to shoulder the responsibility of a true shinobi. He shied away from forming friendships of any kind and concentrate solely on vengeance for his lost clan. Such a wounded soul would only shatter and break under adversity without bonds to support him. Kakashi of all people understood that.
"Alright." Kakashi laughed, hiding his unease under a mask of cheer, "Training begins now."
"Yes!" Shinji pumped his fist in the air eagerly.
"What do you want us to do, sensei?" Sakura asked.
"Meditate."
"Huh? Sensei, we've already learned how to meditate in the academy!" Sakura protested.
"Really? Show me. For this exercise, not only do you have to empty your mind, I also want you to mold your chakra such that I cannot sense it."
Sasuke who'd looked furious at the seemingly-useless exercise now frowned thoughtfully as he considered the implications.
"If we learn to hide our chakra, we can be less noticeable by hostile shinobi."
"Precisely." Kakashi pulled out his beloved Icha Icha Paradise book and leaned against a tree, "You guys can start now."
To be honest, he was a bit worried about abandoning Ebisu to the strange shinobi they'd been after. It was true that the serious Jounin was quite capable of holding his own, especially since these guys seemed to be total rookies and weren't in any of the Bingo Books as missing-nin. Still, something about those two unsettled him. Oh well, after they'd been captured, he'd peek in on the interrogation and make sure they were who they seemed to be.
For now, his concern lay with the handsome warrior Komaru's pursuit of the beautiful yet feisty Lady Chihiro.
--
Hi, all. It's been a while. Sorry for the delay. Writer's block and pure laziness, I'm afraid. So here's Naruto's "replacement" on Team 7: Narashi Shinji. I based his appearance on the boy that accidentally knocked Naruto and Sasuke together for that infamous accidental kiss in Episode 3.
Dark Ravie: Thanks, hope you like the next part.
peppymint: Yeah, I like Lee, too. He's a great character who's fun to write. And yeah, it's not his nor most anyone else's fault that the Jinchuuriki were used so callously, but that doesn't change the fact that a great wrong was done to them and it will be a while before they trust humans again. Don't worry, Naruto's the forgiving type and Gaara will warm up to other people through Naruto's influence!
Lunas twin: Thank you so much! That really makes me feel better about my writing. I'll just work harder at making it better. Yes, most shinobi were not aware that the Kages locked away the Jinchuuriki. There was the risk that some missing-nin would free the Jinchuuriki and use them once again as weapons. In their view, it was like burying nuclear weapons or something like that. Each of them told their Hidden Village some lie about what had been done with their Jinchuuriki and it was generally accepted that they were gone for good.
Tensai-chan: Thank you very much. I'll keep writing!
azaneti: Thank you, hope you enjoy the chapter!
Evee-chan: Oh they'll meet the Sanbi alright! Ku-ku-ku!
Acara Whitefox: Thanks very much. Good luck with your own writing! We need more Jinchuuriki fics!
storynerd: Thanks, I try my best (particularly at humor!).