AN: Hey, remember when Sasuke-hime used Fireball Jutsu for the first time? Kakashi was all "A GENIN SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO THIS!" It makes me wonder. All of the Konoha 9, as well as the genin for the other villages, were really good at what they did even at the beginning. Chouji was already really skilled at his expansion jutsu, Shikamaru could use Shadow Strangle during the chase after Sasuke, Kiba had already mastered the basic Inuzuka beast ninjutsu without a soldier pill, the Tsuuga, and was good enough with it that he could sync with Akamaru to make the Gatsuuga, need I go on? I never understood why Kakashi was so surprised about Sasuke using one of the most basic fire jutsu when his clan was KNOWN for their overwhelming affinity for fire. Need I remind you all that even without a significant affinity for a certain chakra, ANYONE WHO CAN MOLD CHAKRA AND REMEMBER HANDSIGNS are able to learn the simplest of each element. After all, I highly doubt the Kakashi has an affinity for ALL five elements…. Seeing as how he said so himself in the manga during the Rasenshuriken training that even with the Sharingan copying techniques, he "can't perform the more advanced jutsu of an element I don't have an affinity for."

Okay, long-ish rant ended. Don't really know where that came from, just something I had been thinking about. The first fight scene actually written out is about the be exposed, so grab your popcorn and check your diapers cause I'm about to make you pee your pants out of sheer exposure to awesomeness.

Chapter 5 –

Hayate suddenly pulled the sword on his back free from its containment to block a sluggish horizontal swipe from a golden short sword. The owner of the offending blade, one Uzumaki Naruto, grimaced at his failed sneak attack before jumping backward. Hayate strengthened his stance when he saw the glare in the kid's sapphire eyes.

Naruto ran at his sensei, the silver blade in his right hand cocked and ready for a thrust attack, while the one in his left hand trailed lazily behind him. Hayate saw this and realized that the boy was barely used to one sword, using both at the same time was obviously going to be out of the question at least in this fight. He swiftly deflected the thrust and was about to deliver a right punch to the boy's face when he glimpsed a flash off to his right and was forced to grab Naruto's wrist before the golden blade's pommel could made contact with his temple. He cursed on the inside for assuming too much about the genin's posture while running at him, but cursed aloud(and quite colorfully) when he felt a knee make contact with his abdomen.

Naruto jumped back once more, watching his sensei for his next move. Hayate was more than happy to comply, as he dashes forward and, with the back of his blade, so as not to cleave the boy in half, goes for a horizontal slam into Naruto's chest. Or at least, that's what he meant to do. As the Naruto in front of him poofed into smoke, he quickly realized that the jinchuriki was already standing off to the side, forming hand signs with his blades stuck in the ground. Naruto figured he might as well keep as much as he could hidden from his sensei now, hence the lack of Chakra Tendrils being used. Naruto finished his set-up before calling out the name of his jutsu. "FUUTON: DAITOPPA (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!" Suddenly, a great blast of wind was summoned from inside the blonde, and spat at the jounin. Hayate would have none of this, however, and jumped away back closer to the middle of the clearing. This, it seemed, was a mistake, as there was a conveniently placed explosive tag right were he planned to land.

Before he could alter his course, or, indeed, even touch the paper, it was set off remotely, and he was ricocheted into the air. 'That was Ino's doing, no doubt…' Naruto took this opportunity to fly through another set of seals before extending his right hand toward the airborne jounin, and shouting, "RAITON: DENKI IMOCHI (Lightning Release: Electric Blast)" His fingers and thumb crackled with electricity for a moment before the electricity came together at a point, which then fired a small-ish bolt of lightning at Hayate.

Deciding, that if he didn't start falling soon, he was going to end up out of the training area, Hayate was just about to try and take matters into his own hands when a searing pain struck his side and spread through his being. Recognizing it as a weak Raiton technique, he had little choice but to sit there and take it as the lingering lightning dissipated, and he finally began his dissent.

Naruto watched as Hayate landed on the ground with relative ease, considering he had just been blown up then hit by lightning, albeit a small amount of it. "I'm impressed, Naruto. Lightning AND Wind? I'll just assume for the moment that you have a significant affinity for them both, if you bothered to learn them, am I correct?" Naruto nodded, grinning. If he hadn't known that he had an affinity for those chakra elements when Sarutobi definitely had, he figured that the swordsman also didn't know about him being able to use fire jutsu, as well. Naruto grabbed his blades out of the ground and ran at his sensei again, both swords ready to strike from right to left. The sound of blades clashing twice is heard before Naruto uses the momentum from his swings to spin around and place his hands (and consequentially, his blades) flush with the ground and sprung upwards, launching both feet into Hayate's chin.

The jounin, after a short trip through the air, landed on his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth. This was, of course, before he noticed the explosive tag beneath his legs, which sent him on yet another flight. He and the sky were quickly becoming good friends. Hayate rose to his feet, having landed in a kneeling position. 'Incorporating taijutsu focused on the legs and agility into his kenjutsu. Kid really knows how to keep you on your toes.' He mused. 'Not to mention the perception that Ino obviously has. I never even notice her throw in a tag, and it's always right where I'm about to land.' "Very, very nice! Let's see you counter this!" Hayate stuck his sword into the ground, before flashing through a moderate amount of hand signs. "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu)." The water in the river next to them burst up and took the shape of a giant serpentine dragon, before rearing back to strike Naruto.

Forgoing secrecy for the moment, he hovered his blades with his Tendrils, and formed a cross with two fingers from each hand. The sign wasn't even held in place long enough for Hayate to register what it was, until two clones, each with their katanas still sheathed, appeared beside Naruto. Each Naruto, one hovering swords, flew through the same set of seals. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)!" They each said in unison before taking a deep breath and putting the two fingers of their left hand up to their lips. Three giant fireballs flew hurtling towards the water dragon, each jutsu negating the other in a fit of steam.

Naruto had his swords in his grasp once more, never letting them leave his hands for very long, even to perform a jutsu. He silently dashed through the steam, until he saw the dull shadow of Hayate in a defensive stance. Naruto, through years of successful pranks, was arguably the best genin at stealth if he really wanted to be. So it was no surprise to anyone (except maybe Hayate) when Naruto found himself underneath the jounin's guard, and gave him a swift back-spin kick to the man's cheek with his heel. The resulting grunt was followed by another, lighter voiced grunt, as Naruto had just been given a hand with the situation. Trouble was, that hand was in a fist, and connected to his stomach.

A small gust of wind that seems to be quite common in the shinobi world for clearing sudden bursts of smoke, decided to announce itself. The steam vanished, and Hayate was getting a bit mad at himself for holding back so much. "I should really stop underestimating you, kid! It could get me killed." Hayate grinned. Even for his first time as an instructor, he felt he was doing a good job at keeping things lighthearted while still being serious. Naruto thought so, too.

"I was wondering when you were going to kick it up to academy level stuff!"

Hayate twitched. He had been fighting at what he thought was Chuunin level. Now he was pissed. "Okay. I'm pissed now." With no room to blink, he began a swift barrage of sword attacks and punches, with a knee thrown in here or there.

Naruto couldn't help but be a bit afraid, even though everything was going like Shika said it would, Naruto was having trouble keeping up, and had already been hit several times by a palm thrust to the shoulder, and a couple of knees.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched slightly as the memories of his clone entered his mind unexpectedly, earning him another knee to the abdomen that he could have avoided. Apparently Ino hadn't taken its hand accidentally brushing her ass very well, and had punched it. Naruto sighed, at least they were done with the trap. Now came the real part of Shikamaru's plan.

Naruto began moving toward a pincer-like formation of trees that partially separated this clearing from another. He kept walking, rolling, or dodging backward, periodically dispelled clones telling him where to go.

Finally, a dozen flashes of red disappeared behind his sensei, and he knew his part was nearly over. It didn't matter to him that his was pretty much the only part, he had volunteered for this role, after all. He jumped back with the help of a little lightning chakra, surprising Hayate long enough for Naruto to blow through a few seals. "Fuuton: Daitoppa!" He put less chakra in it than last time, simply buffeting the jounin and blowing back the top layer of dirt around him. But that was the intention. When Hayate opened his eyes, he was met with an interesting sight. He found himself surrounded by explosive tags. He was about to smirk and jump away when he heard the "TH-TH-THUNK" of several kunai imbedding themselves into tree, and a slightly more unfamiliar "TWANG."

Jounin sensei Hayate Joharo looked up.

Jounin sensei Hayate Joharo looked around him.

Jounin sensei Hayate Joharo did not like what he saw.

Above him was a web of wires, obviously tripwires for a trap, and around him was the field of tags. "So you got me in a stalemate, that doesn't mean you won!" He tried to point at Naruto mockingly. He failed. Hayate looked down and saw his shadow connected to another shadow. 'How could I forget his teammates?' "Still just a stalemate, guys—" He stopped when Naruto did the same, single handsign as earlier, and a couple dozen clones poofed into existence. Each clone went through the same five hand signs, before stretching out their arms and pointed to the ground. Two dozen voices calmly said, "Raiton: Denki Imochi." Streams of electricity shot out at the explosive tags, neutralizing and incinerating them. A path cleared, the real Naruto walked up to Hayate, who was currently gathering chakra. Naruto noticed this, and remembered what Shikamaru had said about being able to escape the Kagemane (Shadow Possession) if you knew how. Naruto quickly rummaged through the jounin's flak jacket, and grasped the scroll.

"NARUTO, LOOK OUT!" Ino's voice. Naruto looked up and jumped away, nearly losing an arm from Hayate's swing, the scroll falling to the ground between them. The two looked at each other for a moment, then at the scroll, back to each other, then back to the scroll. Hayate lunged for it, but Naruto was faster. Or, at least this time, smarter. He had a Tendril whip out and grab the scroll before slinging it back into his hand.

Hayate stood there, dumbfounded. Even as Ino and Shikamaru jumped out to the trees to join in the jinchuriki's celebration, he could only stand there. His surprise was short-lived, however, as something came to mind, and he decided he should voice it. "That was… Quite the plan, there. Though it seemed Naruto did all the work, and I only saw the final result. Would you mind explaining it to me?" Hayate sheathed his long blade and sat down on the ground, motioning for them to do the same.

Shika smiled. "Gladly. I found Ino waiting for you to stop moving so she could use Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Transfer Jutsu) on you. I told her it wouldn't work, and we left to find Naruto. We quickly came up with a plan."

-FLASHBACK NO JUTSU-

Shikamaru, Naruto, and Ino were all gathered in a circle, Naruto clones standing at a lookout. Shikamaru spoke first. "Someone will remain here and set up a field of explosives, as well as an overhead net trap. One person needs to be the distraction and the bait, this time."

"I can handle that." Naruto volunteered.

Shika nodded. "Good. You're going to need to stall him long enough for everything to be in position. Ino will assist you from the sidelines once I'm at the point where I need to make a path through the tags. It needs to be random, so that Hayate-sensei doesn't get suspicious. Naruto, leave a few clones here to help guide you through the path when you lure him in, got it?"

"Yeah, I got it."

Ino spoke up. "Why is Naruto the only one in harm's way? Doesn't seem right just throwing him in there."

"Oh, Ino! I had no idea you cared about me so much!" Naruto feigned shock, putting his hands over his heart. This, of course, earned him a knock to the head from a blushing blonde.

"Shut up, baka!"

"Owww… Look, I can handle myself. If it makes you feel better, I'll have a clone send a messenger to you every few minutes to tell you how I'm doing; that fair?"

"Fine, whatever."

"Can I continue, please? Thank you." Shika sighed. "Ino, the reason he's going out there is because he is the best at close-range combat out of all of us. The only thing we can do is basic shinobi skills and our clan jutsu. I don't know about you, but I was never even good at the academy style taijutsu. Now, Naruto, try not to get too beat up out there. Ino, don't get caught when you're helping Naruto, I might need you if something goes wrong with the trap."

Naruto got up and dusted off his knees before making a generous amount of clones for the plan, and ran off to find Hayate.

-FLASHBACK, KAI-

Hayate nodded, impressed that they worked as a team so well already. He was pretty sure it was mostly due to Naruto's easy-going attitude, and Shikamaru's natural leadership. "Well, obviously, you all pass." This got him a couple of enormous grins, and one satisfied smirk. "Why don't you open the scroll for your reward?"

They looked at him, and Naruto unraveled the paper with a flick of his wrist. Taped to the inside at the very beginning were three sheets of chakra paper, which Naruto ignored, while Shikamaru and Ino grabbed a piece. The next thing they saw were three identical seals, each one with the kanji for chakra in the middle, which Naruto eagerly unsealed.

"Those," Hayate said, referring to the recently unsealed scrolls in their hands, "are chakra control exercises. Depending on your reserves, you may want to skip the first one, the leaf balance, cause it's meant for academy students. We just haven't implemented it for a while."

The three nodded in understanding. The academy has been for the textbooks lately, not actual ninja training.

"Ino, Shikamaru, you gonna use those and show us what you are?" Hayate gestured to the chakra paper still gripped in their hands.

Seeing their confusion, Naruto decided to jump in. "Channel some chakra into them, and they will tell you what element your chakra is most attributed to."

Ino did so, and the paper instantly turned soggy. "Water?"

Naruto nodded, before looking at Shikamaru. "Why haven't you done it yet?"

Shikamaru looked over at him before sighing. "The Nara clan has this darkness in them that allows them to manipulate shadows, which we call the void. It's part of our Kage Sosa Bloodline. The void keeps us from using elemental jutsu, which is why my clan has developed so many different jutsu using just shadows."

Hayate was smiling. "Quite the well rounded team, then! I'm primarily a Doton user, so we've got the five main elements, and a Shadow Manipulator." He looked at each genin individually. "We will be a force to be reckoned with!"

AN: WOOT! Bet you guys liked it, huh? I was going to put a whole fuck of a lot more fighting in there, but I wanted to get the message across that Hayate was new at this, so he vastly underestimates the kids.

Kage Sosa is, literally, Shadow Manipulation in Japanese. Its what I decided to call the Nara family bloodline, since I couldn't find the name. btw, yes, that void thing is real. They talk about it in the manga, and no, none of them can learn elemental jutsu. So boo for them. But boo for others, too, cause they can't make shadows jump into the air and pierce an enemy's heart. (Shadow stitching.) I'll keep writing, don't worry! xD