Naruto sat at a table with several bottles of sake left unopened, a saucer in his hand and an open bottle in front of him. He smiled before downing the contents and pouring three more. "Couldn't pass up free booze could you Ero-sennin."
"Tsunade is more of a drinker than I am. Besides, do I really need a reason to come see my apprentice?"
"Usually you have bad news to tell me. Sit, have a drink, Okaa-san should be here soon."
"You stopped calling her by Obaa-san, but you won't stop with Ero-sennin, how's that fair?"
"You deserve your title, and you know that I just called her that to piss her off."
Jiraiya sat down and took one of the saucers. "You're a glutton for punishment gaki."
"Not as much as you, I've lost count of the amount of times she's sent you flying, not to mention the hot spring incidents. At least most of mine weren't avoidable."
"You were the one that caused most of those incidents. If you hadn't interrupted, they wouldn't have known to begin with."
"I suppose, but still, you should be careful of who you're looking at, kunoichi aren't going to be as merciful as civilians."
They both downed their sake and poured another as Tsunade sat down and took the third saucer. "What do you think of your team?"
"I know Motooru and Takai work well together, but neither like Kisei, and he only cares about Motooru. Still can't figure out how a Hyuga is dead last though."
"Basically the same way as you, didn't pay attention in class so he is terrible at tests, but did pretty well in the practical areas, but not well enough to balance it out."
"I almost sure they won't pass just from seeing them today, but I know from experience that the most unbelievable things can happen. Now that's enough about work, let's enjoy ourselves."
"Sounds good. So gaki, you got yourself a girlfriend?"
"No, never really tried to find one. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, you'd probably try to peep on her."
"You, Lee and Shino are the only ones from the twelve of you who aren't in a relationship, and of them, only Choji and Ino aren't married."
"You're not still hung up on Sakura are you?"
"No, I gave up on her a long time ago. My life's just hectic, what with the Akatsuki and all."
"They haven't made a move against you since they announced you containing Kyuubi, so don't give me that shit."
"Yeah gaki, they know where to find you, so their attention is focused elsewhere."
"You mean to tell me that even after all these years, they still haven't found all the Bijuu?"
"They having a bit of trouble getting the Yonbi because of its poison has no antidote, so they can't get close to it and it's too fast for them to hit it with jutsu. The Rokubi stays in the lightning clouds, and since Deidara died, they can't reach it, and even if they could, they'd be fried trying. Apparently, they have someone following it, waiting for it to come down and eat. Then there's the Hachibi, the thing dropped off the face of the earth some time ago, and they still don't have any leads to it."
'The hebi bastard is probably hiding in a hole, damn coward. The reason that he only lost to me is because he hid in the ground and jumped out at the others when they were above him. Tried that with me and found himself eating and pissing fire.' Dark laughter followed this in Naruto's mind. He could help but smile. Because of Orochimaru, Naruto found a very deep hatred of snakes, especially after almost being digested by one of Orochimaru's summons.
"What's with the smile gaki?"
"Nothing important. So Okaa-san, how did Katsuyu take her new summoner's leaving?"
"She terminated Sakura's contract with her clan. Now, I came to enjoy myself, so let's have a toast."
Jiraiya raised his saucer. "To the continuing success of my books."
Naruto took a quick glance at Tsunade who shrugged. "What the hell, it's a reason to drink." They drank and poured another round. Tsunade raised hers. "To the end of the war and less paperwork for me." Naruto and Jiraiya smiled slightly.
They drank again and the two Sannin looked at they young companion expectantly. Naruto poured another round, raised his saucer, and took a second before speaking loudly. "To those who have fallen, and those who have yet to come, may the Will of Fire light their paths." Every shinobi in the bar raised their glasses before drinking and then he stood to leave. "I gotta get going, wouldn't do well to have a major hangover tomorrow. The bottles here are already paid for, anymore you'll have to buy. I'll see you tomorrow with the results Okaa-san."
Naruto left them sitting there, both with a sad smile. "He's still not completely over their deaths huh."
"Can't really blame him though, I'm still not completely over Dan's and Nawaki's deaths."
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7 a.m. found three tired and hungry genin hopefuls standing near the three training posts of Training Ground Seven. In a puff of smoke, Naruto appeared before them with a strained smile on his face. Motooru and Takai looked worriedly at him and Motooru spoke up first. "Sensei, are you alright?"
"Fine, I just have a bit of a headache. Now the test is rather simple, I have two bells, and your objective is to get the bells. I'm going to set a timer, and when it goes off, whoever doesn't have a bell is tied to one of those posts and has to watch as the ones that did get a bell and I eat." As if on cue the three children's stomachs growled. "Also, the person or persons that don't get a bell fail and are sent back to the academy." He smirked inwardly at the looks of horror he saw on their faces.
"But sensei, there are only two bells."
Naruto smiled at the Hyuga boy. "Correct, meaning that at least one of you will be tied to a post. Now you will have two hours to try and get the bells. If you want to have any hope to get the bells from me, you have to come at me with the intent to kill, as such you're allowed to use any weapon or jutsu you want."
This time Takai spoke. "But we could really hurt you sensei."
Naruto just laughed. "If you can seriously hurt me, I don't deserve the title of jonin." He pulled out a timer from his pouch and set it on the middle post, his back to the children.
Kisei had an evil glint in his eyes. 'Now's my chance to prove myself to Motooru-chan!' He activated his Byakugan and charged Naruto's back, focusing chakra to his hands. As he hit Naruto, said blond exploded into smoke and he saw Naruto behind him smirking kunai to the back of his neck.
"I didn't say go yet, but since you had the right idea in mind, I'll overlook it this time." He removed the knife and walked to the center of the field. "Now begin!" With that the genin all disappeared. 'This seems kind of familiar, oh well, at least none of them are just standing in the open. So what should I do to them?'
'As much as I detest picking on children, I have been rather bored lately. Genjutsu would be all but useless on all three, and the only ninjutsu you know that wouldn't kill or severely injure them is Kage Bunshin, Henge, and Kawarimi.'
Naruto's smirk turned evil. 'I know how to deal with Kisei if he doesn't have his Byakugan on.'
He heard dark laughter in his mind. 'I seem to be rubbing off on you kit. The other two will be a problem, the girl's mother will have trained them to detect genjutsu and use it effectively, not that you are any good with genjutsu anyway.'
'I think about that after I take care of Kisei.' He takes off into the forest. What he comes upon, is Kisei and Takai in an argument.
"I don't need your help! I'll get both bells and give the other to Motooru-chan!"
"You idiot! None of us can take him down by ourselves! I've known him my entire life and he may normally joke around, but he's as strong as they come, he's taken down four S-rank missing ninja, two by himself, before he was eighteen!"
"I don't care! I'll get those bells and I'll prove myself to Motooru-chan!"
Naruto watched the scene from up in the tree with a smirk. 'If I was right about what I saw yesterday, then I may be able to get them both at the same time.' He moved around behind them and used a variation of his Sexy jutsu to turn into Motooru with smoke covering certain parts. He then dropped behind them and put an arm over each of their shoulders. "I found you Kisei-kun, Takai-kun." They both looked at 'her' and couldn't help but look down when they saw bare shoulders. They both flew backwards into trees from massive nosebleeds. Naruto smirked and turn back. "Too easy." He tied them together, back to back, and dragged them back to the posts. He left them there and went back to the spot where he had first started.
In a tree at the edge of the clearing, Motooru was shocked, it hadn't even been fifteen minutes and Naruto had taken out the other two. She racked her brain as to what she should do, running several plans through her head and throwing most of them away. She started to think over everything she knew about him and then it hit her. He had told them once when they were little that he was horrible with genjutsu and from what she learned from her Okaa-san, that included detecting them. 'It might not still be true, but it my best shot.' She started doing hand signs and created a widespread area genjutsu.
Naruto smiled inwardly when he felt the chakra wash over him and without moving or uttering a word he dispelled the genjutsu on himself and waited. He saw her drop from the tree out of the corner of his eye, and he was proud of her. While the genjutsu wasn't really complicated, the range she had with it was impressive, most kunoichi her age couldn't have used it up to five feet, let alone the twenty she did. 'What will she do, come after the bells first, or help her teammates?'
He was disappointed when she cut the bells from his belt, but was presently surprised when she walked over to her teammates and cut them free before placing a bell in each of their hands. "I dropped the genjutsu after I felt you dispel it Naruto-oji-san."
"I thought I told you to call me sensei."
"I gave up the bells, so I'm the one going back to the academy, meaning you aren't my sensei anymore."
"You could always take one of them back."
"I know, but I couldn't do that to either of them. If I did that to Kisei-san, well, you know how the Hyuga clan is, even if I don't really like him. And if I did that to Takai-kun, not only would I probably lose my best friend, but I would also be stuck alone with you and Kisei-san." She smiled. "Besides, I was Rookie of the Year, so I do fine next year."
Naruto smiled as well. "Well, since the test is over, time to wake them up." He made some hand signs and water rose from the small pond. He used very little chakra for the jutsu. "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu." Two water dragons the size of gardener snakes shot at the boys and hit them in the face, effectively waking them and soaking their clothes. They sputtered water for a moment before looking to see what they felt in their hands, both were wide-eyed seeing the bells. They looked up in their confusion and spotted Motooru wearing a sad smile, both looked away with a blush on their cheeks. Naruto was just standing there trying hard not to laugh.
Kisei looked towards Naruto. "How did we get the bells?"
"Motooru took them from me and gave them to you." Both boys were shocked and saddened at the same time. "She decided that you two will become genin and she'll go back to the academy next year, since she was Rookie of the Year, there is little doubt that she'll pass and have another chance to become a genin."
Takai looked at her. "But that's not right, you should keep a bell, you got them, you deserve to pass!"
"It's alright Takai-kun, really."
"No, he's right." Everyone was surprised that it was Kisei saying this. "You got the bells, you are the one who deserves to be a ninja. Though my clan will frown on the fact I didn't pass, I can live with being a disappointment, but I couldn't live with something happening to someone else because I wasn't ready to handle myself in a hostile situation." He tossed his bell to her and she looked at him strangely. He smiled slightly. "Besides, my clan would be even more disappointed if I had taken someone's charity, them being the proud clan they are." He winked at her and walked towards the post and the others followed, Naruto following with a large smile on his face. Once there, Naruto pulled out a scroll and unsealed three boxes and handed one to each of them. Kisei was surprised that he was getting one. "But I thought you said that the one that didn't get a bell didn't get to eat."
"I did say that, but that was only if you didn't get the meaning of the test." The boy still looked confused. "The point was teamwork. Each of you showed teamwork at some point during the test. Takai asked you to work with him before I took you both out." Both boys blushed again and turned away from their female teammate. "Motooru got the bells, but she gave them to you so you would pass. And you willingly sacrificed yourself so she would pass. If you hadn't, then you would have been tied up and you would have had another chance to show teamwork and if you still hadn't, you would have all be sent back to the academy."
He looked over at the memorial stone. "If there is one thing you learn from me, always remember this: In the world of the ninja, those who violate rules and laws are called trash. However… those who don't take care of their comrades are worse than trash. My sensei said these words to my team and it is obvious that I was the only one to take these words to heart. I'm not saying that the Shinobi Code should be completely disregarded, in fact some of the greatest ninja have followed it to the letter, but according to it, we shinobi should have no emotion, and to do this is to lose what makes us human. There may come a time where you will have to choose between your mission and your comrades. Tomorrow we will start our duties, so meet me at the Hokage tower at eight to get our mission. You're dismissed until then." He left in a puff of smoke to report his team's passing to Tsunade.
The three genin sat down with their food and started eating. Normally none of them would have minded eating in silence, but they were all excited that they had passed. "So what do you think we'll be doing tomorrow?"
"D-rank missions I guess, I just hope they aren't as bad as everyone makes them out to be."
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Naruto found that he was the second to arrive at Tsunade's office, the first being Rock Lee, who looked gloomier than he had the day before. "You alright Lee?"
"Oh Naruto, the most unyouthful thing has happened, I had to fail my students."
"Don't worry Lee, you may only be required to take a team every other year, but if you want to, you could try again next year. Who knows, you may get a more youthful team next time."
Lee's mood did a 180. "Yes! I'm sure they will be the most youthful team of their class! Thank you my friend."
Naruto smiled wide. "No problem Lee." Lee bowed to Tsunade and left at high speeds.
Tsunade was sitting at her desk, a hand on her head and a bottle of aspirin in front of her. "So, were you right?"
"Actually no, they passed, but the reasons I said could still cause problems." Just then, there were three pops and the other would be senseis arrived. "Hey guys, you just missed Lee."
Neji looked interested. "Did his team pass?"
"No, he was kind of bummed, before I arrived and cheered him up, mine did though. What about you guys?"
Hinata and Kiba were both smiling, their arms wrapped around each other. "My team failed to grasp the point of the test, but Kiba's passed."
Choji was a little down, but still smiling. "My team didn't pass either."
They all looked at Neji expectantly. "Mine passed as well. In fact I was hoping that Lee's had passed, so we could see who could train the better team."
Naruto's smile widened. "I'll take that challenge. But just to be sure, we're talking the team as a whole, right?"
"Of course." Neji stuck out his hand and Naruto shook it.
"Okay, so as of now, teams five, seven, and ten are on active duty, report tomorrow morning for your first mission. Dismissed." They all bowed, except Naruto who waved, and left the office.
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The three new genin found out that D-rank missions were not as bad as everyone said, they were worse, much worse. It had only been a week and they were already fed up from mowing yards, painting houses, walking dogs, cleaning the Inuzuka kennels, and worst of all catching the Daimyo's mother's cat, Tora. That was they mission today, and it wasn't going well.
They had tried simple snare traps, genjutsu, dog piles, and surrounding it, but every time, it would escape. While they were doing that, Naruto sat in a nearby tree, petting a cat that appeared identical to the one the genin were chasing and smiling down at them. In truth, he had the real cat, the one they were chasing was a Kage Bunshin using a Henge. If they didn't catch it soon, it was going to run out of chakra and disappear. When he knew they were out of hearing range, he asked himself and Tora the same question he had the first time they were assigned to catch the cat. "How can you still be alive and still be able to evade like you do?" He looked down at the cat in his lap as if expecting an answer.
"Sensei! We have the cat!"
Hiding the cat rather well, he dropped from the tree and took a look at his students, Takai and Kisei were covered in scratches, while the 'cat' sat, looking completely innocent, in Motooru's arms. "Well done, but I'm sorry to say that isn't the right cat." The genin looked horrified.
"You mean that we were trying to grab the wrong cat the whole time?!"
"Afraid so." He pulled out the real cat. "This is the cat we need."
The genin looked between the two cats and were confused. "How are you sure which is the right one sensei, they look the same to me."
Naruto smiled. "They look the same, but this is the right one." At that moment, the cat in Motooru's arms burst into smoke and the three genin were shock… for a second, then they were livid, and glaring at they sensei, who laughed nervously. "See, that was the wrong one." They three genin started to approach him with sadistic gleams in their eyes. "Well, I take him back to the client now. So training tomorrow, normal place and time. Bye." And as they were about to jump him, he was gone in a puff of smoke.
The three genin growled angrily. "He's so going to get it tomorrow, but how?"
Takai smiled. "I have an idea."
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Naruto appeared in the mission room with a fearful look on his face and cat in his arms. Tsunade noticed him first. "What did you do this time?"
"Had them chase a Kage Bunshin that looked like Tora, while I had him the whole time."
Tsunade smirked. "I'd be careful if I were you Naruto, those three aren't going to be very happy if you keep messing with their missions."
"It's not like I let the Kage Bunshin do jutsu, it acted just like Tora would have."
Shizune looked really worried. "Still, you should be careful around them for the next few days, remember the Inuzuka incident."
"That wasn't my fault, I didn't ask for the mission, and the only thing I'm guilty of is laughing at their misfortune, people do it to me all the time." He gave a pointed glare at Tsunade, who smiled as innocently as a cat that just ate the canary. Shizune just shook her head and took the cat from Naruto.
"I'll make sure the client gets him back, your team has tomorrow off from missions."
"Thank Shizune-nii-chan, I'll see you later. Bye Okaa-san, don't spend too much time drinking." He disappeared in a puff of smoke just as a paper weight flew trough where his head had been seconds before.
