Destiny Breaker Chapter 8: Evaluation, a naruto fanfic

NARUTO

Destiny Breaker

Evaluation

After lunch…

Naruto, Shino and Ino were among the first of the squads to start rolling back to class. They hit the academy corridors completely engrossed in rather animated discussions over team coordination and alike, with Ino and Naruto tossing questions back and forth between each other, and Shino adding little bits of input wherever he could.

While strolling down the hallways towards their homeroom, they were shortly joined by a few other familiar faces from their graduating age group, and upon arriving back at the classroom, the squads immediately noticed something peculiar.

The newly formed Team 7 stopped short of their route when they spotted a woman standing outside of the classroom door, straightened in a rather formal fashion and appearing to be like an apple in a basket of oranges due to the beaming smile she wore. Those who entered the room through the main entrance were quite weary of the strange woman, who also seemed to slink away from the attention she received from the masses.

She was a very friendly looking individual…

…maybe a little too friendly…

Naruto and his teammates allowed the other group following close behind them to pass, before they restarted their own approach of the room. There wasn't really much need to tread lightly at this point since they figured the stranger was just a tuition officer or a hallway monitor of some sorts, keeping an eye on the proceedings. However, the moment they were within reasonable distance of the individual, they stopped sharply when they saw her turn towards them.

Meeting her eye to eye the three students stood silent in their places, Naruto looking visibly confused, Ino wondering whether or not they did something wrong, and Shino just looking passive as per usual.

What could they have done to earn this direct attention?

Their questions were answered shortly afterwards when the kunoichi pulled herself away from the entrance, bringing her hands around and marching towards them. When she stopped before them she looked at each of them carefully.

"Are you three, Team 7?" she asked.

The students glanced at one another, before nervously trailing their eyes back to the brown haired lady with the purple markings on her cheeks. She leaned over some more, almost like she was peering into their very souls.

Her eyes were so intense.

"Y-Yeah," Ino gulped, speaking meekly on behalf of her team.

Smile returning, the woman straightened up, turned and began walking down the hallway. "Come with me."

They were hesitant at first, but then after weighing the pros and cons they decided to follow her. She was an adult kunoichi asking for them specifically, so concluding from what they did know from Iruka's announcements and who she probably was they assumed that she was the Jonin teacher assigned to their squad. The way she went about conveying this though was very unusual. She looked really pleased for some reason, and the way she approached them and asked them to follow her was beside anything they had expected from a first meeting.

However, unwilling to argue for all sorts of reasons, the three shinobi followed her out of the academy and onto the Shuriken Range, where the older woman led them to the far end where the three target stumps stood. Stopping just short of them, she turned back towards the three Genin and gestured to them.

"Please, sit down…"

Reluctantly, the members of Team 7 did so and spaced themselves out between the tree separate logs. They were grateful that there were bundles of hay positioned in front of each target as cushions for any misdirected kunai, since it provided them with adequate seating arrangements. However, their main concern wasn't academy kids coming to practice on the field. Their focus stood several feet in front of them, hands in her pockets and a care-free, innocent expression fixated on her face. The teens remained quiet and waited patiently for whatever it was the woman had planned for them.

Naruto sat cross-legged on his bundle whereas Ino had her knees pulled up to her chest and was gazing with uncertainty up at the kunoichi. Shino, well, it was really hard to judge a person's expression when he didn't have anything other than a vacant stare, so they could only assume he was comfortable where he sat, his knees propped up and arms draped over them. He seemed pretty resigned to his situation.

For a moment they sat in silence while the kunoichi inspected them, looking them over with that smile that seemed to make them all nervous.

The atmosphere was so tense it felt like the three Genin were being lined up for slaughter.

"S-So…" Ino began nervously, sweat visible on her face. "A-Are you… like… our sensei?"

"Yes," the kunoichi nodded affirmatively, earning a relieved sigh from both Naruto and Ino collectively. The youngsters looked at each other and the incredible feel of liberation from that little piece of information swept over them.

"Thank God… for a moment there, I thought we were in trouble," the jinchuriki thought, grinning up at the lady. "We didn't break any rules… well… not any that I know of, anyway. Could hanging out at school be considered a crime? Hmm…" Naruto rubbed his chin in thought.

"Why did you take us away from the classroom like that, sensei?" Ino asked, raising a hand as if she were in a lecture. "A-Aren't we supposed to be introduced to the senseis of the other teams as well… you know… like an induction thing so we know who to look for when we need to?"

"I thought that process was very counter productive. Since you guys already know many of your peers, I felt that there was no real need to wait around to see who everybody's team leaders are. The one thing you have to worry about at this stage is who your sensei is and who your teammates are. Focus on filing out your squad before worrying about the others… take things slowly," the kunoichi stated, closing her eyes and nodding with a cheerful giggle. "You can get to meet the other teachers later if you ever run into them. But for now… since you guys are on a new squad, I want each of us to get to know one another a little better. Tell me about yourselves; one at a time."

"Like… introduce ourselves?" Naruto blinked. "Again… geez?"

"Sure, whatever comes to mind," the woman replied with gentle encouragement. "Things you like, things you hate, hobbies, dreams for the future… stuff like that. I haven't met you guys before so… wing it."

"W-Well… why don't you introduce yourself first, sensei?" the jinchuriki spoke up again. "I mean… we don't know anything about you, so why don't you say something about yourself so we can get an idea of how this is supposed to work?" The kunoichi blinked before pointing at her chest in a conscious response to his question.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you look like a really suspicious person," Ino nodded in agreement. "We haven't seen you around the school before. It'll be good for us to get to know you a little bit." She also shivered a bit when she began recalling her very excessive use of her smile. "She is so creepy. Well…" the girl looked upon the woman's more relaxed, perplexed expression and could take some solace from the fact that she wasn't smiling with her eyes closed. "At least she doesn't grin constantly… that would be super creepy."

The three Genin focused all their attention on her and from the silence that dawned, the elder shinobi overseeing them was placed in the spotlight.

Clearing her throat, the brown haired woman adjusted her stance to something more comfortable and began to speak. "Well, my name is Rin. It's really nice to meet you three. I uhh… I don't really feel like telling you my last name." The members of Team 7 looked up at her in surprise to this, all of them quickly becoming puzzled as to why she didn't want to tell them that little detail about herself. "I don't like big crowds, I hate ginger, I enjoy taking hot baths, reading, and… hmm… oh yeah, and I love drinking milk. I make it a point to drink at least five hundred milliliters a day." The smile that grew even wider on her face was an indication of the amount of enjoyment she actually received from doing either, which the three Genin took as weird. She then moved on. "As for dreams for the future… I guess they're some ways off."

"Hmph, she's a very strange woman. Milk? Come on… this is a Jonin we're talking about," Ino thought, while Naruto simply tilted his head curiously at the kunoichi, finding her quite appealing. "She seriously enjoys drinking milk that much?" It was then the platinum blonde made a rather keen observation of their teacher and looked down. The kunoichi's chest was quite prominent despite the slightly baggy shirt she wore, and Ino estimated the suckers to be at least C to D. Must have been the result of consuming so much calcium and whatever over all her years of being a shinobi. This made the Yamanaka quite envious of the woman's splendidly good graces. "Mmph… I should start drinking more milk…"

The kunoichi, now known as Rin, gestured towards them with her hands before sliding them into her pockets again. "Okay, now it's your turn. The blonde one…" Naruto and Ino pointed at themselves in confusion, as there were two light haired members on the team and her lack of specification didn't help them out at all. Their team leader giggled at her little fumble and shrugged casually. "Either one of you will do."

"Okay!" Naruto grinned, raising his hand. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like training hard, reading cool stuff and eating ramen. I don't like uncooked vegetables, but I do like them stir fried and diced. My hobbies are training as well, and watering the plants I have at home…" Shino and Ino spared their friend a bewildered glance, having not expected him to tap that onto his list. The rest to follow was trivia though. "Umm… guess I also like to pull pranks once in a while … BIG ones and… my dream for the future is to become Hokage so that I can protect my friends and people can acknowledge me for whom I am."

Rin raised an eyebrow, maintaining her analytical expression. "Heh… the little squirt has grown in a very interesting way." Nodding, she then turned towards the girl, who was fidgeting about in her seat with the knowledge that she was next in line. Gesturing to her with a nod, the platinum blonde straightened up sharply, brushing her hair out of her face at the same time.

"Uhh… I'm Ino Yamanaka; I like cherry tomatoes, custard pudding, and Sasuke-kun (giggle)!" the girl didn't do much in suppressing the squeal she emitted, which earned an annoyed expression from Naruto and a slightly peeved one from Shino, though no one could really tell. "I don't like Sashimi, bleh! Oh, and my hobbies are shopping and learning about flowers, and my dream for the future is to become a strong shinobi like my mum and dad." The girl smiled with cherry cheeks while straightening her legs out in front of her, feeling quite lifted from her introduction.

Rin, slightly amused from her rather hurried yet exuberant response, kind of suspected this from the Yamanaka heiress. "The Hokage was right on the money about this one. I'm not really expecting much from the other though…" The kunoichi then turned her attention over to Shino, who adjusted his sunglasses before he began to speak.

"I'm Shino Aburame. I like salads, winter melons and bugs. I don't like anything with a strong smell. In my free time I like to study insects, and my dream…" he looked up a little in thought, but then after a few seconds, looked back down towards their teacher, "Probably to become the leader of my clan."

The Team 7 Jonin nodded and then looked over all three of them one last time, making sure she had categorized the information on them correctly. They were definitely the team she was taking on, and most definitely the one that she was going to be testing.

She unfolded her arms and stepped forward some more, taking the spotlight again. "Good. You are all very unique individuals, and you all have your own ideas and interests…" Rin then smirked, deciding to drop the bomb on them right now to dampen their spirits. Personally, from a very Anko point of view, this next announcement was her favorite part of the job thus far; tormenting the youngsters. "But to me, these interests and ideas mean nothing and will in no way contribute to what we're going to be doing next. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to put you three through one final test to see if you guys are good enough to be on my team."

She did a complete 180 in her personality, shocking the students.

"Test?" Naruto blinked in surprise, his other teammates looking up attentively at that announcement. "What kind of test?"

"I thought we finished all of the exams back in the academy," Ino also spoke up, her glare conveying her confusion. "We graduated, so we're Genin now, right?"

"Not quite," Rin grinned, cocking her head slightly. "Those end of semester exams, they were just to select candidates who could become Genin. The actual test is administered by the Jonin, to the academy graduates that they are assigned to. Heh…" The kunoichi had to suppress a laugh when she saw Naruto and Ino's jaws hit the floor, while Shino just shifted uncomfortably on the spot upon hearing the news. "Upon graduating, this is a compulsory examination that all potential teams are put through. Consider everything you've learned back in the academy as a prerequisite to the final trial you have to negotiate. Of the twenty seven graduates that made it through, only nine of them will make the cut and become Genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this next test I'm going to give you is a make it or break it task with a 66 percent chance of failure. And as the one who administers it…" She smirked even wider. "I get to choose how to test you."

"That's stupid!" Naruto shouted, nearly jumping to his feet.

"Come on! That is so unfair! After all that studying and after all that work, we just find out that we're going to fail anyway?" Ino also yelled, trembling with outrage.

Shino however, made no complaint, and simply lowered his head a little to contemplate on this new information. "That is actually a very logical system. We use a structured testing process that assures that only the best of the best make it through, meaning that Konoha chooses quality over quantity in their shinobi, as opposed to other Hidden Villages."

"You're not helping!" Ino snapped at him.

"Actually, the young Aburame over there is right," Rin spoke up, averting back to her normal smile, "This is how the system works, and it's going to stay that way so long as the law dictates it. As the Jonin assigned to this team, I decide whether you pass or fail." She then shrugged and laced her hands in front of her, facing the harsh glares and bewildered looks she was being sent with her charming grin. "To be honest with you three though, I'm… keener on having you guys fail more then anything else. You see, I never wanted a team to begin with."

"WHAT?" Naruto and Ino shouted, rising completely to their feet.

"In fact, I was just dragged along onto this gig because the Hokage insisted I finally take up a squad of my own. You should be grateful though," the woman turned slightly, choosing not to face them with the next bit, "If you fail, I'd be saving you three from a lot of pain and bloodshed you will most likely encounter in your careers as shinobi."

"Like hell we'll fail!" Naruto yelled, spitting on the word and stepping forward, waving a fist at the infuriating woman. Though she may have been very considerate and nice to them up until this point, everything she had practically backhanded them with, tore down her entire former appeal. "We came this far, we're not gonna stop! We'll take any test you throw at us!"

"I'm with Naruto! Don't count us out so quickly!" Ino also shouted, turning towards Shino and tapping him on the chest, encouraging him to say something. "Anything he can take, I can take!"

The Aburame with his hands at his sides also stepped forward in a rather vain attempt to look enthusiastic and spirited. However, the Aburame was hopeless with emotions. This made his confrontational stance rather weak in the eyes of everybody who was present.

On the plus side, he was doing his dad proud.

"We will pass this test…you can count on it," Shino stated in a very normal speaking voice, as opposed to the excessive yelling of his companions. Both Ino and Naruto sweat dropped at the lack of spunk their teammate showed, and just scowled at him through their peripherals.

"Okay, you can be quiet now," Ino hissed.

Rin's smile widened and she turned towards them fully. "Very well then, if you're so sure of yourselves then I will gladly test you. I can see that I don't have a bunch of clawless cubs on my team… a fact that can easily be changed." The woman's grin returned full force and she delivered her next announcement to the team in the most serious tone she could muster above her incredibly cheerful disposition. "Meet me at Training Field 3 tomorrow at 5:00AM, and bring your ninja gear. You'll need it if you're to complete my test." She turned and began to walk away, waving a hand over her shoulder. "Okay, you're all dismissed for the day. Good luck. Oh, wait! One more thing I forgot to add…"

The kunoichi glanced back at them, her eyes closed and a creepy, sweet smile emerging on her face when her hair overshadowed her expression. The three would-be Genin jumped when they saw the look she three them, with a hazy apparition of what they first thought was an ANBU mask with fangs suddenly appearing and hovering right next to her head, glaring at them.

The waves of killing intent emitted from it were intense.

"You'd better skip breakfast tomorrow. Otherwise… you'll throw up…" With that cheerful add on, she grinned sweetly and saluted, the apparition vanishing. "Ciao."

The kunoichi disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving three hyped up and nervously sweating teenagers.

The next morning…

Naruto, Shino and Ino arrived at the designated training area at the exact same time, walking into the middle of the clearing from three alternative routes. Dawn was cracking over the horizon, and even though it was still dark it was still clear enough for the three youngsters to see where they were going, so when they arrived at the clearing, they were each able to identify three rather ragged looking faces all round.

It wasn't really their plan to get just a couple of hours of sleep that night, but what ninja sleeps nowadays? True Naruto did, but mostly out of enjoyment. He had actually stayed up all night and caught up on his studying, rereading his tactics and combat. The result was a slightly frazzled haircut and bags under his eyes with whatever he took in from his books, something which was cleared up with at least three cups of coffee. His other companions however, looked either better or worse.

Ino had made sure to get to sleep early yesterday afternoon, but still only managed the absolute minimum before she was rudely awoken by her bedside clock. She had packed beforehand, and had skipped both dinner and breakfast, with dinner being a part of her dieting plan. Shino on the other hand, even though the others were certain that even he slept, didn't look any different from the last time they saw him. In fact, he was as spry as ever, as indicated by his hands in his pockets and his never changing vacant expression covered by his collar and glasses.

Sure it had been a terrible night, but which one of them cared? It was test day, where they either passed with flying colors or failed spectacularly and are shipped back to school. Whatever the case, neither one of them had the intention of sitting through another boring lecture in a stuffy classroom.

Let the little guys that are a year younger than them deal with the torment.

The moment they arrived they stopped at the center and faced each other. Acknowledging that each one of them was present, they then turned and prepared to wait for their sensei.

They didn't have to wait long.

"You three are almost late," a voice spoke up, making two of the three young graduates jump.

The whole of Team 7 turned around to see their sensei standing just several feet from them, her back facing where the horizon met the sun. The illumination from the emerging morning cast an eerie shadow over the grass and silhouetted her in a very cool manner. However, the children weren't as impressed as they were anxious.

They didn't even have time to prepare.

"How long were you here, sensei?" Ino asked curiously as the woman walked towards them.

"Unlike my teammate Kakashi, who has no concept of time whatsoever, I make it a point to arrive two hours early at the elected location before each meeting," Rin exclaimed, grinning cheekily when she stepped into a clearer view. "Hope you three had a good sleep." These words of good will brought about more than a few spiteful glares.

Hands in her pockets and a backpack slung over her shoulder, the kunoichi then strolled around to where the three training stumps in the middle of the clearing stood. Setting her pack down, she turned to face her team, who also removed their bags and dropped them upon observing their sensei do so. They kept their eyes on their instructor where she stood before the three wooden pillars.

Seeing that they were as ready as they'd ever be, Rin then reached into her pouch and pulled out a hidden object. The item she acquired was a mystery to the three teens until they heard the distinctive sound of bells. The kunoichi dangled them in front of her, the two silver devices ringing on the wind that drifted by. She baited them with it, their eyes locking onto the offending noise makers.

"Here is your objective, target, test… whatever you want to call it," the woman stated, her tone set on administrative. She directed their attention towards her left where the three teens saw only the hills, mountains and the sun rising to meet the day miles away. "You have until the sun reaches its highest point to take these two bells from me. That's one bell per person. If you fail to do so by the allotted time, you'll go on without lunch."

"Bah?" Naruto blinked when they all turned back to face the woman, who then pointed to the three stumps behind her.

"In addition to this, you will each be tied to these three posts and you will watch as I eat my lunch in front of you," Rin said in an all too cheerful tone. She had a tough time maintaining a straight face when she saw the horrified and distraught expressions on the teens' faces, Shino breaking all of his rules to show that he genuinely cared about something for once.

But it didn't end there.

"Oh… and guess what, I took the liberty of going out the other day and buying all of you your favorites," she informed happily, lowering the bells she held and tying them to her belt. "Ramen, winter melons, custard pudding, cherry tomatoes… mmm…" The moan she emitted at the end sounded as though she was having a midlife crisis.

It was all too much for them at this point.

Drool was now hanging from all three of them.

"That is so unfair," Ino groaned, patting her empty gut.

"She used the introductory period to get to know our favorite foods and is now exploiting them as our weaknesses," Shino also thought, placing a hand over his stomach when it announced its displeasure at having its carrier neglect breakfast. A chorus of all three of their stomachs echoed out into the open.

"That is so not cool!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger at the woman.

"It's all part of the game," Rin giggled. "A shinobi needs to think before they act, a concept of mind over matter that all those trained in the arts are familiar with, essentially making the body an extension of the mind. It's also a shinobi's job to acquire valuable information about their targets before engaging them. That means that what I said the other day about your interests contributing absolutely nothing to our forthcoming task… was a complete and utter lie."

"You're so cruel!" Naruto slumped over, dismayed and exasperated.

She may have had the face and smile of an angel, but inside she was the devil.

"Wait a second sensei, there are only two bells," Ino pointed out, blinking in confusion. "You said that we each needed to acquire a bell to complete the test. T-There are three of us…"

"Well that way, at least one of you will end of tied to a post and ultimately be disqualified for failing to complete the mission," Rin said, folding her arms and mockingly grinning. "The one who fails gets sent back to the academy." Her grin dropped slightly as she proceeded. "Then again, all three of you could flunk out. So in order to acquire these bells from me, you have to come at me with the intent to kill. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells. So use your weapons as liberally as you wish." The ringing of the bells at her hip finalized the announcement.

The three Genin frowned, taking their time to weigh out their chances of successfully acquiring the bells or failing altogether. Of course, the distance here sort of worked for them, but taking the woman on directly might end up with all their faces in the dirt. They needed time to prepare themselves so they figured the alternative was the best.

"You may start…" Rin blinked. "NOW!"

By the time she opened her eyes in her blink, all three teenagers were gone, with only a trail of grass blades and dust hanging in the air indicating that they had taken to the trees. The kunoichi nodded approvingly and walked out into the middle of the clearing, hands in her pockets and the bells dangling at her side, chiming with every step she took.

"Time to wait for their first move…"

Something that wouldn't come immediately…

A couple hours later…

Rin found herself a solitary figure in the middle of the clearing, in a stance that could be considered casual and looking around absently. She had thought about pursuing them to make sure that their skills in concealment and stealth were up to scratch. However, standing where she was, she could see that their ability to hide was actually spot on. A contributing factor to this element of the game was that the attackers weren't in motion. Had there been any movement made by any of them in any way, she would have picked up on it through her enhanced hearing.

However, the crickets and birds were singing, so that told her something else.

"Crickets are normally quiet when an animal or person is nearby… so that means they aren't moving. That's good," Rin smiled genuinely as she glanced around. "Now… what kind of plan are they hatching?"

Naruto was sitting high up in the trees, shadowed by the thick brush of the oak while glaring around its trunk at the Jonin he could clearly see standing far below. He had watched her move out from the three stumps where their bags were, with the target dangling an inch below her hip, taunting him. However, smart enough to know that he couldn't take on a Jonin directly, the jinchuriki decided to wait it out and think up a plan of how to acquire the bells.

For the next hour he sat on the same perch, breaking out into a small sweat as he hid his presence and contemplated on a course of action.

"Can't hide forever," the boy muttered in his head, fingers tensing slightly. "She might try to hunt us down if we wait here too long. This test could go one way or another. I have to think of a good line of attack to get myself close to those bells, enough to make her forget about coming after us. I bet Ino and Shino are thinking up something as well. No way are they going to be sitting around waiting for her to come to them. There's too much at stake here." The blonde brought his hand up to his chin and stroked it tensely. He then ran his hand over the back of his neck, sighing out exasperatedly. "Man… it's hot out today…"

Perhaps it was the nerves. Of course! It made sense. He was so hyped up over the exam that he was unable to fully immerse himself into the character of a shinobi. The butterflies in his stomach made him clammy on the outside and incredibly tense. He could feel every bead of sweat drip down his face, conveying the amount of pressure he was under. However, after a moment of relaxed breathing and thought, he calmed himself down.

Knowing that even the slightest of movement could give away his position, he decided to change tactics.

He sat himself on the branch, arm draped over a knee brought up to his chest, and he began to think even harder.

"I can't fail here! I won't!" Naruto murmured in his head and shut his eyes, his body trembling as he thought long and hard. "A shinobi fights alongside their teammates. The team comes up with the plan! But when a shinobi finds that they are alone, they must think of a way to either: fight a one on one battle or figure out a way to rejoin their comrades. On our own we're sitting ducks, but as a group, we are strong. Okay… good… come on. Keep thinking. Keep thinking. Think!"

The jinchuriki slowly, but surely, began recalling the information from the books he had read over the past couple of weeks, categorizing what was significant and what was irrelevant to the task at hand. From all of the jumbled up facts his clones had collected, it made it difficult for him to compartmentalize certain tactics and alike, but he was getting the hang of it.

It would still take some time.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the clearing, hidden beneath some bushes lay Ino Yamanaka, the girl holding onto each breath in her attempts to remain hidden. Judging from how the Jonin was still aimlessly wandering the area in thought gave the platinum blonde reason enough to believe that her stealth and hiding techniques were working well. She couldn't fathom how the other two were comparing, but since neither of them have shown up in her eyes or on their sensei's radar, means they were also well hidden.

However, the next part was the tricky part.

They were in hiding, but for how long would they remain that way. Ino figured it would be at least another hour before the Jonin started looking for them, perhaps as part of the challenge to make it more difficult for them. She seemed to have that sort of level of patience about her character, which would prompt her to take action sooner based on a logical system rather than later. But the veteran was not going to be deceived. She was a professional and from the way she strode about the clearing without a care in the world, a damn good one. Nobody would leave themselves so open to attack unless they meant it.

Ino hoped to Kami that Naruto wouldn't come up with anything stupid, like go out all high and mighty and challenge her one on one. He did it before, back when Iruka was teaching a more advanced form of academy taijutsu for the first time… about a year ago.

Boy, was that a mess.

"But how do we get the bells?" Ino thought, dispersing that memory instantly. "There's gotta be some sort of trick to this, for something so tedious and time wasting. No way. U-Uh! I refuse to believe it. I just can't imagine that she would simply send one of us back to the academy and split up the team, if that person fails to get one stupid bell. No. It's more complicated then that." The girl chose to approach this from a more logical stand point, peeling away the outside of the woman's deception to get to the heart of the issue.

Maybe she was looking at this too closely? Maybe she simply had to stand back and look at it as a whole? What were the stakes? Failing, with the team breaking up on the first day? Being sent back to the academy? Restarting anew?

And what did they already have with them? A team, a sensei, a pass-fail challenge, a target and a time limit; she needed to look at these more carefully.

"Maybe Naruto or Shino will come up with a plan…" Ino sweat dropped, sort of losing confidence in that aspect of their team. "Just… please… not a stupid plan…"

The Aburame on the other hand had hidden himself well and completely out of sight. There were no visible signs of him anywhere in the woods, only that he had planted himself high in some random tree on the edge of the clearing, confined to the shadows and overlooking the field with an unflinching, calculative glare. He made no gesture of discomfort, no comment or an exhale of frustration, or spared any thought to the individualistic task of acquiring the bell for himself. Being the most calculating of his teammates, he focused primarily on the groups' collaboration of skills he had learnt from them, the tactics they could use, and how they could approach their target.

Cataloging everything in his head, he then summed up everything, from the adversary, to the mission, to the time, and directed it towards the end goal. An assignment like this required finesse and diversionary tactics; probably the only way they would be able to out gun an elite Jonin in the field.

No matter how stacked the odds were against them, Shino knew they had to at least try.

OOO

Rin sighed as she looked around, hands in her pockets.

"Maybe this test was a bad idea," the kunoichi thought with a slight shrug to her shoulders. "This was the only scenario I could come up with on short notice that can actually qualify as an adequate assessment of their skills. Minato-sensei did the same thing to us and we couldn't even touch him."

It was true. From her experience, she knew that this was an impossible test that would either break a team or force them together to function as one. This was why so many squads in the past failed to meet Kakashi's expectations; he simply kept on using the same test with the same objective over and over again, mostly to see if any of them were able to meet his standards. This made her reconsider the actual test and wonder whether or not she was being too harsh on the children. However, after a few minutes of deliberation, she decided that it was a good idea overall, as anything else would have been too easy or too hard.

She could have gone for an intimidation tactic that would have forced the team to single each other out. But the Aburame and the Yamanaka were too smart for that. There was also the idea of having them solve a problem by an allotted time, but the aspects necessary would have taken too much time and effort to come up with, as well as a suitable plot for them to follow.

It was the reason why Rin settled on this exam in the end. She decided to take a page out of their master's book and use it, since Minato was the only one she could completely recall for advice. He was one of the wisest shinobi she knew, so any team that could pass this test would be considered a great team in her book.

If they could prove her otherwise, then she would just have to take them on.

"We'll see if this generation has caught up," Rin thought with a smile.

While she was thinking about how she had not wanted to take on a team in the first place and how Kakashi suckered her into signing up for one, she was then distracted from her thoughts when she sensed somebody approaching her. Turning around, the brown haired girl glared towards the forests where she saw a shadowy figure jump out of the canopy and land on the edge of the clearing.

Trench coat trailing behind her and a big smile on her pretty face, Rin saw Anko strolling towards her with a stick of dango in her mouth.

"Yo!" the purple haired Jonin exclaimed, earning a smile from the Team 7 leader.

"Hey Anko-chan, how are you?" Rin asked, livened at seeing her friend arrive.

"Fine. Just been walking around and stuff. Whatsup?" the kunoichi grinned, stopping beside the woman to take a bite from her dumplings.

Ino and Shino blinked in surprise when they saw the second shinobi appear, but remained hidden. Despite their teacher's attention being set elsewhere from the existing set of events, they knew that the test was still running. Someone like her wouldn't slip up so easily and now that there were two of them out on the range, it made the situation even more nail biting, since the newcomer may have come as added support for the Jonin.

"Great… what now?" Ino thought nervously, clenching her fingers somewhat.

"Who is that woman?" Shino thought, taking in the kunoichi's appearance and dress while she engaged in conversation with her comrade. He took note of her character and the way she seemed to engage with the other woman. At first, it seemed as though she had simply arrived on the scene by pure coincidence to catch up with an old friend, but the Aburame sensed something off about her.

"Could it be…?" His sunglasses flashed when an idea came to mind.

It was a long shot, but it was possible.

I mean, what other way was there to get the others' attention?

Taking a chance, Shino held out his index finger, summoning one of his beetles. The little insect crawled towards the tip, batted its wings several times, before eventually taking flight. With its instructions it flew out of the trees and headed down towards the field, approaching the two kunoichi.

Anko grinned and looked around, drinking in the area of Training Field 3. "Man, I tell yah, it's sure been a while since I was last here. I remember years ago I would always come here to work on my jutsu and lie in the shade underneath those trees. Boy… so many memories." The purple haired woman glanced back at her fellow shinobi, seeing her still staring at her with a hardened expression. "Training?"

"In a manner of speaking," Rin replied back heartedly, hands in her pockets and a genuine smile in play. "I'm just test driving some fresh meat out of the academy… seeing if they're good enough to be a team."

"Oh, this old gig," Anko chuckled, lowering her dango stick and wiping her mouth against the back of her sleeve. "I thought you didn't want to be a team leader? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"A… complicated case. I don't really want to get too into it right now," Rin replied, still remaining where she was with a friendly yet slightly curious look on her face as she sized up the woman. Why she was doing that was beyond Anko, but both of them remained where they were, intent on keeping the conversation going for as long as possible.

Deciding to change subjects, the specialist Jonin then brought their attention back to the clearing. She looked around with a happy smirk on her face while gesturing towards the logs at the edge where the bags were deposited.

"I remember when my sensei gave us our first test out here all those years ago. Heh… it was also the first real mission my team ever took."

"Tell me about it. It's been years and I can still remember my first test," Rin said lightly, also looking towards the logs. The kunoichi then pointed towards the middle stump, drawing out a clear picture in the air from her memories. "I remember… after Obito charged out and attacked our master, trying so desperately to get a hold of one of the bells he ended up tied to the post and had his lunch privileges for the day taken away from him. In the end, Kakashi and I were the ones that got the bells and our teacher scolded Obito. Heh." It was at that thought a more genuine smile fell over her face, and her mask of intimidation (if it could be called that) left her, to be replaced by one of longing memory and affection. She chuckled to herself, earning a curious look from Anko. "I miss them so much… both of them…"

"No kidding," Anko blinked. The brown haired woman then turned towards her, her expression returning to its casual one with a smile and a shrug. She then looked down at the last dango stick her friend was holding, and after looking upon the one remaining dumpling on the base end for several seconds, nodded back up to the kunoichi holding it.

"A little early for dango isn't it?" Rin asked, emphasizing the sun hanging over the mountains, with the orange and purple sky looming overhead.

"Heh. You know me, Rin! I just love this stuff," Anko moaned happily and took the last bite, tossing the stick to the ground. "I tell yah. Nothing beats the smell of dango in the morning."

"(Giggle)… indeed."

"Hey, speaking of eat-ACK!" The woman jumped when she felt something land on her face. She looked down with a bit of a scowl to see a beetle crawling up the ridge of her nose, beating its wings and clicking loudly. Attempting to wiggle the offender off first, the purple haired woman then waved it away with Rin watching from the sidelines with a puzzled look as the little critter buzzed around her comrade a few times.

"Stupid bee… why don't you…" Anko paused a moment later when she saw the attacker land against her hand and scrutinized it. Taking note of its unique, charcoal shell, antenna, and how friendly it was, her eyes then widened in realization before the bug decided to take off again and flew towards the forest. "Oh…" The Jonin followed it with her eyes, using her well honed senses to keep a lock on it.

Apparently, her best friend had the same idea in mind.

"Very distinctive those insects," Rin grinned in amusement as she watched the minute annoyance disappear into the bushes. "Hard to get rid of them sometimes, there are so many. Don't you agree, Anko-chan?" the kunoichi smiled and glanced back at the other.

The dumpling enthusiast chuckled and rubbed the back of her head in a very characteristic manner. "Yeah… I guess there are. Hey!" the woman snapped her fingers and gestured behind her. "Why don't you ditch these brats and come grab something to eat with me? I'll buy?"

"Uhh… no thanks… I'm good," Rin replied, conveying a nervous tone, waving a hand before gesturing to the bells at her side. The two silver balls rung out with her movements, filling the air with their distinctive jingle. "They still need to get these things off of me, so I'm not leaving this field until they do." She ended with a rather uncharacteristic smirk and glanced skeptically up at her purple haired friend, seeing her take curious interest in the items hanging from her side. "With the challenge I gave them though, they'd do anything to get a hold of them. Anything…"

"The bell test huh?" Anko grinned a moment later and straightened herself up. "I remember that one. Could I have a look at those?" she asked while holding a hand out.

"Sure…" Rin replied, reaching for the two items.

At first Anko thought the woman was simply going to hand them over, no questions asked and with a good natured giggle. The smile on her face conveyed her deep interest on the matter and promised full cooperation no matter what.

However, she didn't expect for the brown haired kunoichi to ball her fist before swiftly slamming it across her face, sending the purple haired Jonin flying through the air. Anko literally spun from the hit and crashed into a nearby tree, slumping against it after forming a dent in its side.

Ino blinked in shock. "What the hell? Why did she just attack her like that?"

Shino was also looking surprised.

Anko groaned and sat up, rubbing her jaw that was now bleeding heavily. Shaking off the ringing in her ears, she then looked up to see Rin standing over her with a wide smile plastered on her all-knowing face.

"You clever little monkey, you," the Jonin exclaimed, her tone more amused then serious but still convincing for a shinobi. "Nearly fooled me there for a second…"

At first, the purple haired kunoichi just scowled. But then, a smirk crossed her bruised face and she brought her knee up to her chest, draping an arm over her leg.

"What gave me away?" A puff of white smoke exploded around her and lifted seconds later to reveal Naruto sitting up against the tree with a red face and a trickle of blood dripping from his mouth.

"Your teammate's parasitic beetle… and the fact that Anko-chan is a dear friend of mine and she always refers to me as Rin-chan, and greets me as such," the kunoichi replied while slipping her hands into her pockets. "Yo! You overplayed your part!" That cheeky remark was made in emphasis towards the Genin's earlier greeting under the guise of the woman she knew well.

OOO

The two members of Team 7 were astonished.

Not just from Naruto coming close to pulling one over on their sensei, but the fact that he had made the first move with quite a solid plan in mind. Had he done some more research, it might have worked. But unfortunately, he was found out by a keener eyed shinobi and that meant he either had a backup plan or was prepared to fail.

Their guess was the latter…

Shino prepared himself by drawing a kunai, the blade flashing when he was pulled out of its holster. However, before he could take any necessary action, he was stopped when he unexpectedly felt a hand on his shoulder.

OOO

Back down in the clearing, Naruto chuckled and spat out a wad of blood to the side, still dripping a lot of it. "I thought I had it down…"

"Oh, you did," Rin smiled. "But you just made the mistake of using a person I was unknowingly familiar with. Also, being a Jonin for so many years I can easily identify the difference in weight between the original and a clone." She pulled her right hand out of her pocket with a kunai latched on to her finger. Twirling it swiftly, she cuffed it into a good grip and threw it at the boy slumped up against the tree.

The moment the blade hit, Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke. The kunai remained lodged in the side of the trunk with the impression of the boy's impact still showing.

"I didn't have to worry too much about hitting you, but I'm surprised you were able to hold it up for so long before it dispelled," Rin smiled sweetly and turned around, eyes flickering over the trees one after the other. "Now… where did that Kikaichū go?"

OOO

"A Bunshin?" Shino blinked as he looked upon the blonde haired boy kneeling on the same branch directly behind him.

"Kage Bunshin," Naruto exclaimed, slipping in beside the Aburame so that they could look over the clearing together. "Mind if I squeeze in?"

"Not at all. Comrade's code," the other teen murmured and also turned towards the training field. They could see their sensei standing some ways out, still in the same spot she had been when she struck down the transformed copy. The whole situation had Shino's head locked in a spin. "That is a really advanced technique. Where did you learn that?"

"Library. Nowadays I spend a lot of time browsing the shelves. Can you blame me? I get bored easily." The jinchuriki didn't really feel like divulging the exact location where he had acquired his technique, but he was pretty sure his teammates wouldn't be able to read into it. He was certain Hiruzen now had the Scroll of Seals under lock and key, and none of them would be able to read the hand seal he used because he only hand one hand to deal it. "Call it a hobby."

"I was under the impression that you couldn't use either ninjutsu or genjutsu, Naruto."

"That news is a week old… at least. Believe it. I've changed…"

"You are incredibly adaptable when you need to be," the bug user whispered back, his brow furrowing some more as he kept his eyes locked on the kunoichi, who was at that moment scanning the canopies for them. He ducked to make sure he was out of sight, dragging his companion down with him. "What is the plan?"

"I don't know. You tell me?" Naruto blinked. "You're the guy who said that you could cook up strategies."

"Details; was there any valuable information you could pick up from your brief conversation with her?"

"Well… not so much on info. I'm going to venture a guess that our sensei has the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a dog. She's sharp. If Iruka could spot us when we were moving from our hiding spots, then I'm pretty sure she can too," Naruto whispered back, only to earn a rather hard glance from the Aburame.

"I believe that all those finds made by our previous sensei, was mostly due to you announcing your presence all too frequently as a gloating tactic in the middle of the stealth practical sessions," Shino replied, quickly recalling some of the teen's past lessons in the academy. The jinchuriki's antics stretched far beyond the pages of his poor test results. For as long as the Aburame could remember Naruto had been causing no ends of trouble for Iruka, especially on the training fields when he would deliberately call the Chunin out and taunt him into chucking stuff at him.

That was the main reason why Naruto kept on getting found out and his stealth techniques normally failed, albeit spectacularly.

Naruto's eyes squinted in annoyance and he looked over at the boy still staring at him. "Right with a nod and damn with a shake… I forgot about those tests. Boy. I was a real dumbass back then, wasn't I…?"

"As long as we do not over exert our movements, she won't be able to detect us," Shino whispered, his tone firmly set on mono. "The plan you had before to trick her into handing over the bells was ingenious, but it wasn't full proof. A smart shinobi is trained to keep an item safe and secure for the sake of and throughout the entirety of the mission in question. Parlor tricks aren't going to be enough to acquire our targets, I'm afraid. This one is on a whole other level."

"Then what do you suppose we do?" Naruto asked, now at a loss. "My main intention with that stunt was to find out where you guys were at, if not get a hold of those damn things myself. I figured I could just get the ball rolling so that she wouldn't come looking for us out of boredom."

"Now that the climax has started edging towards us, I believe a direct confrontation with our sensei is now inevitable," Shino replied, glasses flashing. "We'll need to rendezvous with our other teammate to formulate a coherent plan to acquire those bells. Working individually will not work in this case. The most logical course of action would be to trap her, bind her hands and feet so she cannot weave hand seals, and knock her out if necessary."

"Alright," Naruto whispered back with a nod, both of them glancing back out towards the open space of the training field. "What's our first step?"

"Sneak around quietly and come around from the right. I believe our teammate is hiding in that general direction," Shino stated. "Find Ino and organize ourselves…"

"Hey, what are you guys whispering about?" a familiar voice whispered in from between them, the sound of bells accompanying the question.

Both Genin froze immediately with shocked looks crossing over their formerly intense faces, and sweat immediately beginning to drip down the sides of their heads. By the time their eyes returned to the field, it took them about a minute or so before they realized that their sensei was no longer standing anywhere in sight. As a matter of fact, she was squatting right in between them, smiling sweetly and acting as though she were joining in on the conversation.

OOO

An explosion ripped apart the tree a split second after Shino and Naruto flew out of the canopy.

From her hiding place, Ino looked up in astonishment.

What could have prompted such a sudden and devastating attack? It was an explosive tag for sure, but why in the world would either of them deploy it?

Both of the Genin that had managed to escape the bellowing flames flipped through the air before skidding across the clearing, digging their heels in to a stop. Taking stances, the duo glared up towards the tree they had just set alight, intently searching for their illusive and fast moving target.

Meanwhile, a secondary paper bomb that had been prepared for the engagement remained lit and crackling in the hand of the jinchuriki that had unleashed the first one. The boy fanned it to keep the burn at a gentle simmer. Nevertheless, he paid it little concern since it wouldn't blow unless he willed it, and hung onto it just in the case their teacher decided to show her face.

"How the hell did she find us?" Naruto asked.

"If you can trace a bug back to its owner then so can I." Both Genin jumped forward and spun around, where they saw their sensei standing several meters away behind them, with not a scratch on her and smiling cheerfully at them.

She seemed pretty relaxed for someone who just avoided getting blown into a million pieces.

"You wouldn't believe how many Aburame have already used that tactic during the Chunin Exams of years past. It's not that hard for Konoha shinobi to miss a particular type of beetle flying about unless it was a part of a mission." She blinked when she saw them both drop into stances and prepared themselves for battle, with Naruto additionally extinguishing the paper tag he was holding. The kunoichi giggled lightly when she saw them prep themselves for a duel. "Oh-ho. Taijutsu? You want to fight me? Okay then."

She reached back into her pouch, her hand sliding out of sight and beginning to fumble about for something. The two teens gritted their teeth and quickly began making random guesses as to what she could be looking for. Kunai? Shuriken? Fuma Blade? If she was going to fight with them directly then it was clear she wasn't going to be economic and fight bare handed? She was a professional, as stressed by Ino numerous times.

That was their first thought; she was reaching for a weapon to deal with them both, so it had to be something she was proficient with. Knowing how strong their academy teacher was back during the taijutsu courses, they knew that this one was going to be wicked powerful, even though the odds were two to one.

Whatever melee weapon she was searching for, it was not going to be good for them.

…

They both face planted the floor when they saw the woman pull out a 375 milliliter carton of milk and a straw. Poking a hole through the cap provided, Rin then popped the straw in and proceeded to drain it of everything inside of the box. The first few sips and a swallow later had her sigh out in utter joy and satisfaction.

"Ahh! Nothing beats Kyuju's Farmer's Brand," the kunoichi exclaimed, shaking the carton a little to mix the flavor. "Should be enough for the next half an hour. That is… if I take it easy."

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Naruto leapt to his feet, followed by an equally disgruntled Shino. Both of their clothes were disheveled from them falling over simultaneously, with the Aburame having to additionally adjust his lopsided sunglasses.

Even some rustling in the bushes indicated that Ino had face planted as well, looking up with dirt in her face and red on her cheeks.

"Milk… I should have known…" the girl groaned in her head, continuing to lie flat on the floor. "She's not taking this seriously at all…"

"W-Why are you drinking milk at a time like this?" Naruto growled, holding up a trembling fist. "Aren't you concerned about us at all?"

"I haven't had breakfast yet so… yeah," Rin smiled happily at them. "Besides, I'm not worried. Even with just the two of you, your attacks wouldn't work on me."

"WHAT?" the jinchuriki shouted.

"I mean… you guys are just green as grass Genin. What can two of you possibly do to me that would make me want to fight back?"

Needless to say, Naruto was outraged.

Nobody insulted his fighting skills by not paying attention and got away with it. This was an offense that he was not going to stand for.

This called for some serious toning.

"COVER ME SHINO!" Naruto roared and recklessly launched himself forward. Amidst the falling embers of the burning tree and Shino finishing brushing himself down from his fall, the blonde haired boy lunged at the all too cheerful woman, who stuck the straw of her drink back into her mouth and began leisurely sipping away. As extension, she closed her eyes and placed her free hand behind her back.

The boy came at her fist first, his attacks prompting her to take a few steps backwards in avoidance. Her body moved in accordance with his attempted strikes, which hooked through the air left and right. The Genin swiftly drove home with jab and a right hook, followed by an uppercut which she stepped around with relative ease.

Naruto got the shock of his life when all he saw next was a blur followed by a shading of green and stars in his eyes. The boy stumbled back hurriedly with a shout of surprise, his head pounding as though he had taken a direct blow from someone wielding a mallet. His arms held up a little too late to block the counter, the Genin then calmed himself down enough to assess the situation. When he looked back to see Rin still smiling, eyes closed and drinking, it looked as though she hadn't moved at all.

Rubbing his bruised forehead no longer guarded by his head protector, the jinchuriki grinned.

"You head-butted me!" Naruto stated, hopping on the spot to keep his pace going. In the meantime, he took note that the woman was still wearing her headband, which attributed to a more solid and painful attack.

A drop of blood trickling down his face indicated he had not only been severely bruised but also cut.

Rin giggled. "My, you have a strong head, Naruto-kun. An ordinary Genin would have been knocked out with a concussion."

"Just one hit and I feel like I'm about to keel over," Naruto gritted his teeth and attempted to reconstitute himself with his opponent, who looked as though she was in three places at once from what he could see. "But those bells are still mine!" Yelling out, Naruto swiftly charged in, arcing around the field and kicking up dust.

Naruto leapt at her with a spin kick followed by another, his rotation allowing him to perform a double, which the woman avoided. While he attacked, Rin continued to enjoy her drink as if nothing was happening around her. She once again stepped back to avoid a return punch by the boy coming back around, followed by a side kick, a couple of hooks and a straight jab.

The blonde was consistently looking around through his peripherals, because the woman was so bloody quick. Whenever he attacked where she was, she was gone a split second later, only to be standing in his blind spot. Gritting his teeth after a failed punch, he lunged in with another jab followed by a right elbow, which he spun around to administer from her right. But she ended up blocking it with her free hand with ease.

The woman flinched a little, not one that was noticable but one which she felt, when she remembered something important about what Hiruzen told her.

"I have to stay as far away from that right arm of his as possible... he can dispel my technique if I touch his skin directly..."

The stopping power behind her guard felt like he was hitting a cushioned anvil and she was barely registering to him.

Recovering, Naruto leapt back then in, round house kicking her towards her head, which she backed up an inch to avoid. He followed through with the same leg and swept behind and around, aiming directly at her legs. The sweeping maneuver landed, but when his leg impacted with hers it effectively bounced off of the pillar supporting her and she didn't do anything at all! It was like he was sparring with a solid fixture!

"What the fuck! Are her legs made of lead?" Naruto gasped and looked up when he swung around to reassert himself, only to see the woman carelessly lift her free hand and with an open palm, effortlessly slammed him in the face.

The blow rocked Naruto's body and sent him flying through the air before tumbling across the solid ground bonelessly. When he stopped, he quickly leapt back to his feet and with another yell, charged at the woman.

Rin sipped away, looking up curiously to see the boy still on his feet. On one of her more extended slurps, she pursed her lips against her straw.

"Not bad. Two direct hits to the head and he's still up. He must be seeing six of me now," the woman thought, impressed. "I doubt even a Genin Akimichi would be able to handle those light blows." She smiled and leant her head back, avoiding a flying spin kick aimed at her. She then lifted her free hand and carelessly blocked two punches, making sure to aim for his arm warmers, aimed for her stomach, and curling her wrist to block a side kick.

The last attack had Naruto slide back when he pushed himself off against a woman that was practically a wall. Blinking in shock, the jinchuriki back flipped away and landed a safe distance from her.

He dropped to his knees and yanked his leg warmers down.

"Fuck this! I'm going full throttle!" Naruto shouted, ripping off his weight bands and drawing four shuriken at the same time. The moment he straightened up he threw the stars at her, which curled through the air in four different directions.

Rin smiled and ducked right into the path of one of the projectiles. One after the other, she blocked each of the flying weapons with her forehead protector, the metallic stars clanging loudly with every hit and falling to the floor without her exerting any effort to catch them whatsoever. When she looked up, she saw Naruto sprinting at her, this time at a much faster speed that made his form blur out of focus slightly.

Well, he looked like a blur to Shino and Ino, but to the Jonin it looked as though he was moving in super slow motion.

With a roar, the blonde sprang into the air, rocketing towards an altitude which Rin followed with her eyes. When she saw him practically vanish into the wide open blue high above, she sipped her drink.

"He can jump pretty high. Not bad for a rookie…"

"This isn't a spectator sport!" the statement from a fully recovered Shino came in, and the woman stepped back effortlessly when the boy flew at her from the side with a punch. She easily avoided it and the next series of combos that followed.

The Aburame tensed and leapt back, before lunging in with a straight jab right for her center. Rin smiled and was prepared to block it, until she caught something out of the corner of her eye and she instead curled her hand around the boy's arm and upper body. Sweeping a leg, she knocked his feet out from under him and flipped him over, flinging him through the air. The teen rolled when he hit the ground and stopped himself on all fours.

Glaring up through a cracked pair of glasses, Shino saw the kunoichi standing in a relaxed state several feet away, still smiling in enjoyment and looking as though she wasn't doing anything at all.

"You were planning on slipping your parasitic insects onto me during a close quarter skirmish, in order to slow me down for your friend. Good but…" She paused for a moment to slurp her drink, Shino's eyebrow twitching irritatingly. "You still need some more work…hm?"

In the blink of an eye, the kunoichi saw a cloud of insects suddenly shoot out from the boy's jacket, from both the high collar and sleeves, and at the same time watched as he assumed a kneeling position. The sheer number of airborne beetles clouded him from view for the briefest of moments, before they suddenly dispersed and the teen charged at the kunoichi. His arms and shoulders looked as though the insects were emitting off of him like flames so when he came in with a punch, they expanded, extending his range by a couple of meters.

Rin however, calm as ever, strolled right around the attack. To her, it was merely a couple of steps, but Shino was dumbfounded when the woman managed to get behind him with a speed too great for him to follow, meaning he overshot her completely. Spinning around, the teenager threw both his hands directly towards her, and an even bigger cloud of bugs tore out of his arms and flew towards the woman.

The kunoichi shimmied back slightly when the mass of insects lunged but didn't effectively pursue her. The swarm dispersed again and Shino came in, dropping the blocking maneuver and jumping into a side kick. The woman dodged that and the punches that followed when he landed and returned. Eventually, Shino came in with a wide hook, which she countered by stepping outside of it, and cutting through the cloud of beetles swarming his body, once again rammed her head into her opponent's forehead.

Her brow colliding with his rang out with a loud clang and Shino was sent tumbling to the ground, his insects unable to respond in time to her shocking speed. Rolling several times, the boy stopped and managed to sit himself up in time to look up and see the woman remove her mouth from the straw of her drink. Despite seeing three of her and the fact that he was already panting from the effort of attacking, the boy was still able to register to visible queues, and watched as she licked her lips with a smile and emit a satisfied moan.

"You kids leave yourselves too open for attack."

A second later, Rin looked up towards the sky where she saw Naruto barreling towards her from directly above, foot first. Chuckling, the kunoichi side stepped, watching the boy slam his foot into the ground instead.

Though he came down at her with the full power of his attack put behind his leg, he controlled his landing and hit the soil with just a light tap, so as to not over exert himself. Gasping, the blonde boy glanced up to see the woman's forehead descending upon his and, for the second time that day, she slammed it straight into his.

The Jonin sent him barreling backwards into the ground, where he eventually stopped several feet away, joining his friend in groveling in exhaustion and fatigue.

"You two are quite strong for graduates," Rin exclaimed, looking at the two slumped individuals. "Naruto… you've got a very sturdy body, but not the strength necessary to effectively bring down another opponent. There's a difference in attack strength and strength that gives you increased jumping distance and speed. An opponent who is weaker then you, but has had more practice in their fighting style and has superior technique, can still defeat you. Work on applying your strengths to your attacks and form." She then looked towards the Aburame panting away. "You Shino… you have good control and technique, combining both taijutsu with your parasitic insect swarms to prevent opponents from getting close. However, you're still too slow and leave yourself wide open for attacks. Work on covering your blind spots more effectively."

Both Genin looked at each other, having heard what she said but the two of them unable to respond to her effectively. They were knackered.

"You have good skill for graduates, but you get sloppy when either agitated or intimidated. Do not let your opponents overcome you before you even get a chance to fight them for real," Rin lectured with a small smile. "I may not be as strong as Kakashi, but I do have skills that he lacks. Be grateful that this is just a spar."

"A…A SPAR? You call this a spar?" Naruto shouted in disbelief from where he lay, clutching his bruised and bleeding forehead. He pointed accusingly at her when he was sure he was only seeing three of her. "You're decimating us… AND YOU'RE DRINKING MILK!"

Rin giggled and held the carton in question up, shaking the box a little. "Well… it's half done. But you're doing great so fa-" The woman was effectively cut off when the ground unexpectedly caved in beneath her and she began to fall. However, reacting swiftly, she struck her legs out at both sides and promptly suspended herself above the twenty foot drop beneath her in a perfect split.

Naruto and Shino looked up, stunned.

Rin, making sure her milk wasn't spilt looked down towards the bottom where she saw the rubble from the former top soil fall onto a series of kunai lined up all along the base of the hole like a bamboo trap. She raised an eyebrow as she held herself in her life saving split.

"Hmm… skewered… not a good way to go…"

Taking this as a chance, Naruto sprang back to his feet. Cranking his legs down to full tension, he dashed right around her in a black and orange blur, grabbing Shino up by his jacket and running right towards the edge of the clearing. A smoke pellet exploded where Shino was lying the moment he was collected, covering their retreat in a thick purple cloud. Rin managed to follow them up until that point and by the time the smoke dispersed the area was clear.

Blinking, she smiled and kicked off one of the walls her foot was pressed up against, pushing herself back up onto flat ground. Stepping away from the hole that almost got her she brought her milk back up and continued drinking.

"The other one must have dug the trap from the tree line to give them an opening to escape. Good… they're learning…" She slipped a hand into her pocket and turned around, turning her eyes towards the sky. "Now… what will they do next?"

OOO

All three kids were panting from the scuffle.

Naruto was completely drained with one of the biggest headaches he'd ever had, as the Jonin had split his forehead open and he was bleeding, something which Ino was able to fix up for him when he dropped into the bushes where she was hiding. Shino was also tired, his insects working damage control from his own little bout with the teacher. Ino on the other hand was in a whole other area of exhaustion, her hands bandaged up from her furious digging and her body covered in all sorts of crap.

The platinum blonde scolded the both of them for their stupidity.

"You thought you could take on a fully fledged Jonin, our sensei, who's probably had a hundred years more experience then you two combined, and expected to come out clean," Ino hissed, keeping her frustration down to a minimum when she finished tying off the jinchuriki's bandages. "Naruto I understand, but you to Shino?"

"We grossly underestimated her capabilities," the Aburame replied, looking up at the girl. "But you saved us. Thank you."

"Don't sweat it. We lowly members of Team 7 have to stick together," the girl smirked, patting Naruto on the back, who winced. "Even with all your improvements, you still weren't a match for her."

"I may be strong, but I'm still way below her league," Naruto sighed, rubbing his jaw. "I've never fought anyone like her before in my entire life. She was so fast and strong, I could barely keep up with her, and she wasn't even trying. There's no way we can get those bells if we attack her like that."

"Not on your own," Ino explained, looking between the two of them as they sat up. In their hiding place in the shrubs, they huddled up, with the platinum blonde keeping her ears open for anyone unknown standing nearby. Even her teammates were looking around and above them, making sure that their sensei didn't get the drop on them like she did before. "You guys went about it the wrong way, you attacked her one at a time and that's not necessarily good teamwork, is it?"

"No," Shino replied, while Naruto grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"I… I guess not…"

"Over here, Naruto," Ino clicked her fingers in front of his face when she saw he was looking away from her. The boy jump started and looked around, still looking whacked out of it.

"Sorry… I'm still a little dizzy," Naruto murmured, swaying a bit but quickly shaking it off. "Go on…"

"Geez. Anyway, while you guys were dancing around out there trying to catch her, I came up with a plan of attack," Ino held up a finger in a scolding manner and jabbed it towards them. "After observing your fights, I added up our skill sets and I came up with something that should end this quickly. We all need to work in sync and we all have a part to play…"

Shino and Naruto looked at each other briefly and looked back, nodding their heads.

"What do we do…?"

Some time later…

Close to around nine…

Rin was busy basically doing nothing as she waited for her Genin to come back out into the open, free hand in her pocket and her lips still indulged in her morning treat. She hummed to herself as she drank her fourth... or... seventh carton of milk, eyes scanning the forests left and right for any signs of movement that could give away their position. However, unlike last time, she didn't have a beetle to follow, not to mention Naruto and Shino made sure not to leave a trail to lead her back to them.

At least they cleaned up well.

Their other teammate had taken advantage of their fight to tunnel right underneath her and set a trap. It was surprisingly quick for an academy graduate, but this also gave her an idea as to what the Yamanaka's other strengths were.

"One of them is a close range specialist, the other is medium range… while her," Rin smiled. "Traps and strategies… what an interesting group…" Picking up on the sound of leaves crunching under foot, the woman glanced over her shoulder towards the tree line behind her.

There, she saw all three of them standing in a line, feet shoulder width apart and an arms distance between each of them. All three of them were glaring at her and all of them were either looking ragged or had bandages on them. But in spite of this, the young members of Team 7 were pumped up and ready for round two, causing Rin to lower her drink and look at them completely. She turned her body to face them properly and they approached her wearily.

"Three on one now? You know, this still doesn't count as a good strategy," Rin exclaimed, bring her free hand out of its pocket.

Unknowingly to her, her back was facing the pothole she had nearly fallen into.

Naruto and Ino smirked, whereas Shino with his hands in his pockets simply lowered his head in an illusion that he was joining the trio with a grin.

"Who knows," Naruto exclaimed. "It was Ino-chan's idea. We're gonna take you on together this time, as a team."

"So no tricks then?" Rin raised an eyebrow.

"Nope," Ino replied, shifting her head slightly. "That's why this plan is going to work."

"You can't take on all three of us at the same time," Shino stated, voice low.

"Oh… you're so sure of yourselves," Rin shook her beverage a couple of times and shrugged indifferently. "Last one. It's empty… that means my break is over." Tossing the empty carton aside, the woman slipped her hands into her pockets and stepped towards them, seeing them all shift uncomfortably. The sight had her smirk. "Time to take it up a notch…"

Crouching low, the three Genin sprang into action and charged at her at once. Rin shifted into a casual stance with her hands still in her pockets and her eyes carefully locked onto them. Her eyes narrowed somewhat when she saw something off about the way they ran.

"A direct attack? Something's not right. They wouldn't just…" She didn't have much time to contemplate when all of a sudden she heard what she first thought was the sound of an angry swarm of bees approaching. Eyes widening a bit, she looked behind her and spotted a cloud of beetles rocket up from the hole behind her. The insects flooded the air and began to circulate on mass, the stream seemingly endless. "So that's their game!" She looked back towards the trio, mainly at the Aburame controlling the insects, the three of them splitting up so that they could corner her in the center, with the bugs behind her and filling the sky above her so she couldn't escape.

"I can still go through them though," Rin smirked and prepared to rush at Naruto coming at her from the middle of the split formation. However, just as she was reaching back for a kunai, she was suddenly hit by something invisible and heavy.

The moment she felt it, her body froze up and her grip went unbelievably slack, the woman's fingers dropping the knife she had managed to draw before the attack's impact. Arms moving by themselves, her body twisted and she coughed out a surprised yelp when she was sent staggering by an unseen force. Caught completely by surprise, her eyes darted left and right, attempting to assess the problem and to find the sniper responsible.

"W-What in the world?" Rin's eyes then shot to her far right, where at the edge of the woods she spotted Ino kneeling down on the ground, her hands extended in a technique specific hand seal, which was directed right at the now frozen kunoichi. The woman saw the blonde Genin smirk, indicating that her technique was a success.

"Shinranshin no Jutsu," Ino exclaimed.

Rin was just about to comment on the diversion when she was inevitably swamped by the swarm of insects. The cloud of bugs diverged on her in one group and covered her in a sea of black. Within seconds, the kunoichi was swamped and staggering around uselessly, unable to remove the bugs as they started to rapidly drain her of her chakra. Several seconds later, Naruto came barreling at her from ahead and with a yell, slammed a flying kick straight into her chest, knocking her flat over.

The kunoichi crashed to the ground, her chakra still being drained by the beetles crawling over her entire body, while Naruto knelt on top of her, his foot pressed into her breast bone as he grinned down at her surprised expression. She was more mildly surprised then ever when she managed to choke up a response.

"Those were…?" the Jonin began to speak before seeing the Shino and Ino that had charged at her with Naruto walk into view, standing on either side of the jinchuriki sitting on top of her. The boy nodded in response to her incomplete question and snapped his fingers, the two of them vanishing into puffs of smoke.

"Shadow Clones transformed into my teammates," Naruto exclaimed, and with that thought in mind he reached down with his left hand towards her belt and ripped the bells from her possession, the bugs still crawling all over her and mummifying her in insects, preventing her from moving. They had already sucked enough chakra out of her system to effectively paralyze her and because Naruto was a friend, they stayed away, while a cloud of more of the little insects hovered around them.

Naruto dangled the two bells over her eyes so that she could see them. "I'm going to give these to them."

"To them?" Rin looked up when she saw the real Ino and Shino step into view, both of them standing on either side of their friend. "You're… not going to fight over them?"

"There's no need," the real Shino exclaimed, hands in his pockets.

"We all knew that there was something more to this test. I mean, who would be stupid enough to fall for an assignment where the main objective was a straight out attempt to break up the team?" Ino grinned, with Naruto nodding his head and bringing the bells around and dropping them into Shino's hand.

"Iruka-sensei said that the team we were put into would be the squad that we would work with and fight alongside until our times as Genin are up," the jinchuriki explained, recalling the lecture before their teams were allocated. "When on a mission, our teammates will be the only ones we could count on."

"So how can you break up a team that's already been officially allocated practically and on paper?" Ino said, catching the bell tossed by Shino and dangling it. "Two bells? I thought that was a little bit strange. So then when I considered the alternative, a pass or fail task designed for all three of us, I knew right then and there that the entire team was given the very same objective; both bells. Putting that into perspective, it doesn't matter how many items there are, but on a mission the entire team works towards the same goal. It's share-and-share all around."

"The plan was simple," Shino began, glasses flashing. "Naruto's transformed clones would distract you, presenting you with the illusion that we were planning to take you head on for a second time, as a group… a simple strategy that other Genin would probably think of in a similar situation. But that frontal assault was simply to draw your attention away while I used the tunnels Ino had created in her previous trap to navigate my insects through. At the same time I stood by her in the shadows while she hit you from your blind spot when you were unfocused and surrounded. If you had somehow broken out of the encirclement, then I would have backed her up"

"Once you were hit with enough insects that effectively drained you of most of your chakra, Naruto would then be strong enough to tackle you and hold you down as you are now," Ino finished, giving her a wide grin. "And that completes the circle of life."

"Dattebayo!" Naruto grinned and stuck his tongue out at her. "That's for head butting me! How'd you like that?"

"I have to admit, you guys are something else. Really," Rin smiled sweetly up at them with her eyes closing. "But do you three really believe you succeeded? Do you really think that cooperating as a team just as you were supposed to and using all of your combined strengths and wits, to take down a shinobi many leagues ahead of you, will allow you to pass just like that?" They all nodded, causing the kunoichi to giggle when she opened her eyes, her smile slowly transforming into a smirk. "Do you think it's enough?"

Shino's eyes widened when he finally received the feedback from his insects on the chakra he was draining from her. "No way!"

All three of them jumped when her body exploded into a cloud of white smoke, the fog enveloping all of them and the Jonin being replaced by a log. Naruto was stunted and he rose to his feet, looking around wildly and wondering what the hell had happened. Several seconds later, all three Genin backed up into each other when the fumes of white smoke that had dispersed grew into a smothering wall of white, which circled them. They young team fund themselves in the eye of the hurricane when leaves whipped around them and Shino's insects quickly returned to their host once they had finished draining the chakra from the substitute.

Shino and Ino looked down at the bells that they were holding and they both vanished into puffs of smoke.

"It was a trick!" Ino cried out, drawing a kunai.

"She led us into a trap of her own," Shino stated, his insects wafting off of his hands like flames.

"Damn it…" Naruto growled, also taking a stance alongside his friends.

"Do you SERIOUSLY believe you are ready to be Genin… to be a TEAM?" the woman's voice suddenly boomed in, amplified by a hundred times, making all three of them literally curl up timidly. They shimmied back all they could, but their backs were already pressed against one another. "Do you think that you can survive out there, in the real world, on a real mission, where the stakes are at their highest and death is almost a certainty? Do you truly believe that you will, against all odds, be able to COMPLETE the mission?"

Naruto gulped and nodded, all their eyes darting around through the smoke, wondering where their sensei could be.

She had them all locked in a vortex, a genjutsu that felt more real then fake, as their sense of awareness was on full. The winds were fierce and the temperature had quickly plummeted from a warm morning breeze to the equivalent of a frozen wasteland. On top of that, the entire scene became dark, with the trio becoming engulfed in a storm of anger and malevolence, their clothes whipping on the tearing winds with grass, dust and leaves flying about. The twister's ferocity increased substantially and the smoke became thicker and thicker.

"Y-Yes…"

"Will you be able to fight together, protect one another, and even DIE together?" her voice came in again, louder and riding on another fierce gust of wind.

"Yes…" Ino whimpered.

"ARE YOU MY TEAM?"

"Yes…" Shino also gulped, terrified beyond belief.

She was going to kill them. They knew it.

"ALL OF YOU! SAY IT! ARE YOU TEAM SEVEN!" Her last call was the loudest, her voice shaking the earth at their feet.

"YES!" They all cried out at once, frozen in fear.

All of a sudden, the wall of smoke in front of Naruto exploded and a terrifying demon only seen in a child's nightmares came charging at him. The white faced beast with horns roared out with a lion's call when it lunged and all three teens cried out, even Shino. The fiend came to hover just millimeters away from Naruto's face, a kunai visibly descending towards them, intent on cutting them down all at once.

But the monster stopped.

The winds stopped and the shaking stopped.

Seconds upon appearing from within the mists, the white face vanished, along with the smoke surrounding the group. The area cleared of all fog in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing but the slightly damaged Training Field, the three wooden stumps and three terrified teens staring unblinkingly up at Rin, who was now standing right in front of the jinchuriki.

Scowling at first, the woman then smiled sweetly.

"You pass."

It would have been considered dry luck if none of them wet their pants in that instance. Thankfully, none of them did. But the hilarity of the whole piece was that both Ino and Shino were hugging Naruto for dear life, the entirety of the Genin element of Team 7 looking up fearfully at the woman as she straightened her posture, hands on her hips and a beaming smile on her face.

"W-Wha…?" Ino whimpered.

"I said… you all pass," Rin giggled and tilted her head down at them. "You guys really showed me something else out here today; that you were all more then worthy of being Genin." She raised her head a little and turned her gaze skywards. "I first thought that you guys would act like stupid kids and come at me senselessly, without a care in the world about your own well being or your teammates. You tried testing me first… a fact I gathered from when you transformed into Anko and engaged me directly." She nodded towards Naruto, and then towards Shino. "You also attempted to help him out in your own way, but that still wasn't enough to get you through. However, once you all started pitching in, achieved that appropriate balance of skill and wit, and combined it all into a well combed strategy, in the end… all three of you got my clone."

"Wait… so… if that was a clone…" Naruto pointed at her, then all over the place, all three teens still hugging each other awkwardly. "Then where the heck were you?"

"I was sitting behind the tree stump where all our bags were. I didn't move an inch all morning," Rin giggled, seeing the looks of bewilderment on their faces.

"Kami… it was just her clone and she was that strong?" Ino thought, completely overwhelmed, "That means… we're gonna need to get stronger if we ever hope to take down someone as tough as her in the future."

Eventually, all three kids saw the positions they were in and immediately stepped back upon realizing they were still attached. Blushing in embarrassment, they cleared their throats, adjusted their uniforms and reasserted themselves before the kunoichi in their preferred, cool shinobi outlooks. Seriously, the sissy embrace of terror they were locked in beforehand did not help their characters out at all, but Rin still thought it was quite sweet of them.

A team was like a family after all, albeit a bit dysfunctional.

"So… we pass," Shino murmured, looking up at the woman who nodded. "Then could you tell us what the point of the bells was?"

"Oh… that was just to see if you three would end up fighting each other over them to secure the spots for yourselves, and not for your team," Rin pulled the bells from around her waist and pocketed them. "Had you done that, I would have failed you the moment the sun hit its highest point." She looked up towards the sky, where she judged the sun's current position before turning towards them again. "It'll be ten o'clock in a bit. Good. That means there's plenty of time for me to submit my evaluation of Team 7 over to the Hokage."

"So… we pass?" Naruto asked, grinning widely.

"That means we're ninja now, right?" Ino also exclaimed, approaching the woman with a hopeful look.

Rin smiled and nodded. "Yup. It was all part of the game; though I never expected to get to this stage." With that said she opened her eyes and gave them all a considerate gaze. "I had to be sure that the three of you meant every word of what you said; that you were all a team supporting one another and that you wouldn't give up, no matter what. Forgive me for the way I acted before, I'm not normally like that. I'm actually quite tame."

"That was tame?" Naruto stared at the woman in disbelief, rubbing his head when memories of his brief spar with her flooded back in. "I can still see two of her, God dammit!"

Rin giggled when she saw their expressions and put her hands together, holding them up to her cheek. "It may have been a test, but I confess it was fun scaring you kids like that, you should have seen your faces (giggle)!"

"She is so scary…" The three of them thought at the same time, seeing her shockingly sweet smile directed at them and for the second time since meeting her, the haunting ANBU demon mask floating beside her head, grinning sinisterly.

Eventually, that cloud of menacing intent vanished from around the kunoichi, who readjusted her shirt and turned to her side. When she did, she looked out towards the three stumps in the middle of the clearing, her gaze softening somewhat. The Genin standing beside her saw her attention directed elsewhere and waited patiently in silence, knowing there was going to be something more to this whole thing, as it was clear she wasn't done yet

Rin lowered her head and glanced back at them.

"Naruto, you remember what I said to you after you approached me when you were transformed, that during my first test on my team one of my comrades ended up tied to a post. Well… he wound up that way because he neglected his friends and attacked our sensei with only his best interests in mind, not taking into account the overall risks of that tactic." This earned an affirmative nod from the jinchuriki, indicating to her that he was listening. "That was just a foolish mistake he made. You see… if that had been a real mission, his entire team could have either been killed or captured. Fortunately for us, we were under training conditions and instead of being killed, our team would have been sent back to the academy. But our sensei was kind enough to give the remaining two one last chance and Obito had to watch from the sidelines to learn the hard way of what the test really meant."

Naruto stared, with a deep feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew what was coming up next.

"Well… when Kakashi and I eventually got the bells, we didn't do it to help ourselves… we did it to help our teammate," Rin said with a smile and turned back to the three attentive Genin. "We were a team… a family. You see, there are certain rules and codes that govern the lives of shinobi; that in our line of duty the mission always comes first. In the eyes of the rest of the world shinobi are seen as merely tools that obey and follow orders. They are expected to be cold, heartless killing machines that don't care about their comrades and treat them as though they were expendable."

The three teens' expressions fell slightly at realization of this, the rookies slinking back a little at the sad smile Rin gave them. The woman however, managed to maintain a tearless face as she continued on with her speech.

"But we are still human," Rin exclaimed, closing her eyes. "No matter how conditioned you can be and no matter how used to death you can become, you cannot ignore the fact that we are still humans embodied with emotions and feelings. Our teammates mean more to us then just the mere scope of the mission. Obito's views became as such, immediately after that first test, while Kakashi didn't officially recognize us as close friends till after the Third Great Shinobi War, when Obito was killed. In the end, my entire team viewed each other as the closest of companions, comrades we can trust the most, and our dearest friends." She opened her eyes again, showing them to be shimmering. "Before my teammate was killed in battle, sacrificing himself for his friends' lives, he said this… 'Those who break the rules and codes of the shinobi world are considered trash. But those who don't take care of their comrades… are even lower than trash.'"

The members of Team 7 looked up in astonishment upon hearing her words and met her brightened smile. It took a bit for it to sink in, but eventually, all of them were smiling. Ino was bawling with joy, Shino was able to crack the smallest and briefest of smiles and Naruto was absolutely enthralled by what he had heard.

Looking at the kunoichi now, underneath the light of the sun, he saw how much more he had to learn and do to be able to accomplish his goal.

He smiled. "She… really is a cool shinobi…"

"Well… your test is finished," Rin gave them all the thumbs up. "Tomorrow the four of us will be starting our first real mission as Team 7. Meet me back here at eight o'clock in the morning, sharp!"

Shaking off their bewilderment and the delight at finally being confirmed a team, the three of them smiled up at their instructor and nodded.

"Yes, sensei!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: There's an incredibly important point why Naruto is wearing that outfit now (Yes, it's like Lee's), which you will find out much later. In the fight he will get into in the foreseeable future, his baggy uniform would have gotten him killed, whereas this one will save his life.