It was raining in Konoha. A rare thing for this time of the year. It made life miserable for those on the ground, as they tried their best to stay dry. Luckily, night had fallen quickly, and many had been able to retreat to their homes, away from the pounding waters falling from the sky. Only a fool went out in this weather, which meant the ANBU patrols had been increased, as they crisscrossed Konoha's length, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Some, training by Kakashi, would stop in their routes to help one or another citizen with their lives, aiding an old woman in getting bags to her home, or helping a man find his child, who had decided to stray far from home. Those of Danzo's ROOT did not do these things, their eyes sometimes straying to those who did, and then turning away with a scoff.
The gate guards, too, could not rest. Though many of them were not as attentive as they might have been, their eyes were all facing outward, all watching the five sets of covered torches that, even in the rain, illuminated the area before the village, allowing them to see at least a hundred yards out. They were, of course, amusing themselves in the rain, playing cards, which they idly tossed into a pot, while moving hands around to try and make the best combinations. Only when a shadowy form came to the edges of their vision did the men look away, for an instant, checking each other for weapons and armor, before the two in charge this night came to the edge of the overhang, naginata's pointed towards the sky, while their fellows behind pointed them right at the visitor.
"I think that's far enough," said the head of the guard, and the figure stopped, so they could see them better. The figure was a lone rider, on a single horse, the looked positively drenched. The mane and coat appeared to be dripping enough to fill a bucket, and as the rider pulled the horse to a stop, it tossed its head about, drops hissing as they hit the flames. The mount was a lovely roan, they could see that easily enough as the rider expertly turned the mount, and then threw back the cloak they were wearing, to reveal a lovely woman, and one whom they had been expecting all day.
"You are late, Jonin Yuhi," said the man to the woman as she stared at him. Her red eyes seemed duller than the last time he'd beheld them, though that had been some months ago during her last assignment out of the village.
"This weather is not conducive to travel, as you would well know. Am I granted entry?" she said irritably, flipping the hood of her cloak back on. The men looked towards their leader, as he made a single hand sign. While not a full ninja, the guard leader was able to sense chakra, and scanned the one before him, looking for any sign of jutsu that might be used to fool his senses. Finding nothing, he nodded towards his fellows, and they swiftly moved towards the barred gate, knocking on it with the ends of their spears, hollow things that produced a very unusual sound.
"You are welcomed in Konoha any time. For now, the Hokage left orders you were to come to him the instant you arrived. I believe he is still in the Tower," he said this as the great gate creaked slowly home, with a sound like a great monster's jaws opening wide. Kurenai just nodded, clicking her tongue as she took her mount into the city, the eyes of a dozen ANBU on her after her first step, several moving on ahead to give warning of the woman's coming to those gathered in the Hokage's Tower.
Of course, the Tower itself was still awake at this time of night, as a group of men met. All were of a rank that they might have simply spent this rainy evening in the comfort of their own homes, goodness knew the Hokage's tired old bones could use the rest. They couldn't rest though, as they went over the forms, again and again in front of them. Many questions needed answers before the next day dawned, and if they had to be here until the sun broke through the storm and laid it's golden head upon the mountains again, so be it.
"I just don't see what else we can do," said Kakashi finally, leaning back in his chairs and rubbing his eyes. Beside him, Itachi nodded gravely.
"Ten graduates, it is unusual for an Academy class to have two full teams pass, let alone three and one to spare," said Itachi, going over the records of the previous years. Some classes, of course, had every potential ninja fail, leaving a blank year for the teachers, some would have a single team pass, usually those dragged along by one of the members. But ten? That was highly unusual, and for the most part, a sign of great fortune for the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It was also a very large problem as genin teams, and ninja teams in general, tended to be three member affairs. Normally you would just fail the lowest member of the class, force them to repeat a year so they could find some classmates with skills in the next batch, other times you would simply slot the spare into a team that lost a member, but in the last three months, not a single position had opened up.
"Can't fail Kiba, his pack would throw a fit, considering he passed the written exam, barely, but aced the physical. Hinata, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji are all clan heirs, to fail them would bring dishonor on us, and some very frightening talks with their parents. Ino has to pass, since Shikamaru and Choji are, that leaves Heero, Sakura, Naruto, and Shino," said the voice of the instructor as he rubbed at his eyes a bit, trying to blink away some of the sleep that had entered them.
"Heero and Naruto are not an option. Those two would refuse to be separated, fail one, and the other would refuse to go, leaving us with one less Genin, rather than one too many. Shino is an option, but I don't think the Aburame would feel right if we failed their boy. Sakura is too well known among the civilian population, to fail her would be to tell them only those born to us could be ninja, and that could cause riots," said Hizashi as he got up from his seat, pouring himself another cup of coffee. He offered the pot around, getting a few to hold out their cups to be refilled, before he retook his seat, and they began to go over the names again. Each time, they came to the same conclusion. None of the Ten could be failed, and yet, not a single team had an opening, so they were left just spinning their wheels.
Just before they were about to start again, there was a knock at the door, and Itachi, being the closest, opened it to admit an ANBU wearing a wolf mask into the room. He said nothing to the men, and instead raced to the side of the Hokage, whispering into his ear for several seconds, and getting the old man to start a bit, before he rose to a standing 'awaiting orders' stance. The Hokage quickly motioned for the ninja to leave, and just before Itachi could latch the door shut behind him, Sarutobi stopped him with a gesture.
"It would seem that our final Jonin instructor has arrived, so why don't we wait a few moments and let her come," he told the gathered men, who all seemed to stare at each other at the news. All of them knew who he was talking about. Kurenai had returned from her extended diplomatic mission. A year and some months she had been absent from the village, doing one last mission to make sure she was ready, and to give the two boys she called otuto-kun, her 'little brothers', time to develop into fine, strong ninja. They all knew she was going to be in a foul mood this night, having been gone for so long tended to put even the most nonplussed ninja in a bad way.
Down below, in the garrison at the Tower's bottom, they were proved right, as a few civilians came up to her, to take her horse, and got the sharp side of her tongue when one made a wrong move towards the beast. She said he was named Faran, and was to be kept in a good stable, as he was a gift to the Hokage from the King of the Land of the Shadows, a man named Treize. They were quick to fall over themselves to comply with her instructions, especially not to touch the horse's shoes, at least until she returned later. Once that was done, she made her way to the Tower with a deliberate slowness, climbing the stairs with a purpose as she tried her best to dry out from the pouring rain. At the door to the Hokage's meeting room, rather than his office, she straitened her hair, and then opened the door. Inside were men, all of them. She recognized the faces too, and knew what the group had to have been discussing. These were the two jonin instructors for Heero and Naruto's class, as well as Itachi, Kakashi, and Sarutobi himself.
"Ah, I see the weather got to you too. Did you enjoy your mission?" asked Kakashi in his sing-song voice. The response he got, had he been a normal man, would have been a deadly one, as Kurenai's kunai flew so fast that the other men in the room didn't even see her arm move. Luckily, Kakashi was far from a normal man, and easily moved his head out of the way, the weapon sailing past him, and burying itself into the wooden wall up the hilt, with an echoing dull thunk.
"It went that well, huh?" joked Kakashi, at least until one of the tips of his hair fell off, the strands separating into a small shower of strands, which gave his one eye a very worried look. Ignoring him, Kurenai went up to the Hokage's seat, and bowed respectfully to him.
"I bring you greetings of King Khushrenada, of the Land of the Shadow. He sends his best wishes, and desires trade with your fine nation," she said in a rehearsed manner. The Hokage quickly offered her a drink of some steaming tea, and a seat, both of which were gladly accepted.
"Excellent news then. Before we bring you in on our meeting, why don't you give us the details?" asked the wold man in that kindly way of his. Sitting there for a moment, seeming to absorb the heat from the cup in her hands, she took a deep breath, and began. The men in the room, most of whom had only found out about this land, far to the west, past Earth and Wind when the Hokage had assigned Kurenai to visit it, listened with rapt attention.
"The Land of the Shadows is, as we had been told, a land like Iron, with no ninja to speak of that I could find. Instead of Samurai though, they rely on their relatively distant position to the Elemental Nations to keep the peace," she began, blowing on her cup to dispel the steam, and then draining the thing in a single gulp, before holding it out so that Kakashi could refill it.
"They have great technology there, on par with what I have heard the Land of the Sky did back in the old days, before..." she let that statement hang in the air. Sky was a sore spot for many in the room, as it was a relatively isolated place that Konoha had destroyed a generation ago for rising above themselves. At the time, it had seemed necessary, but hindsight said otherwise.
"I saw a flying machine while there, and the armor they use in combat. These armors, twice the height of a normal man, both protect, and enhance the wearer, allowing them to break boulders, and cut down a mounted man with a single slash," she said this while pulling out a book from a hidden pouch on her robes. The book appeared blank at first, but a single hand sign from her allowed the men to see the many intricate drawings on the pages of these mighty armors.
"More, they have medicine the likes of which I have never seen. They raise mushrooms in the darkness of their hidden land, that come in a variety of colors. I saw a man, nearly torn in half, eat one with a sickly green hue to it, and within seconds he was fine. Another, a man I would estimate to have been no more than a fifty kilograms on the outside, ate one with a red top, and moved a pack that I knew weighed at least twice that," this news came with more pictures, of several different mushrooms, with colored tops and their effects listed out besides.
"King Khushrenada said that these would be the trade goods, for good steel from our nation, as well as consideration in future dealings with other nations," she told him, and the Hokage nodded, wondering just how much they would have to trade away for even one of these miraculous fungus. He said nothing though, as Kurenai passed him the book, which he flipped through a few times, before opening a hidden pocket in his own robe, and shoving the thing inside for later.
"Excellent news indeed then. Which of course, brings us to the business before us," he said this, and pushed a set of files towards her, letting her read through them for a few minutes, before turning back to the Hokage.
"All of these numbers, they're real?" she asked, and the old man nodded, her red eyes reflecting something from deep within, the shock of this news, before she kept on reading, finishing with Heero and Naruto's files, before setting them all down.
"Ten fine ninja for the Leaf. I don't see why this would be a problem," she said, and the men nodded.
"The problem is teams. I don't have any current Genin squads with openings, and even if I did, these kids are just too powerful for most of those that we currently employ. We can't fail any of them either, to do it to any of them would be political suicide in one way or another," explained the Hokage.
"Then make a four man team," was Kurenai's sudden answer, and the men just stared at her, dumbstruck.
"And how would that work?" asked Kakashi after a few seconds of just sitting there.
"Give me Hinata, Heero, Naruto, and Shino. I'm sure I can my otuto can handle themselves, and Hinata seems to be among the more powerful of the group in the class. I'm sure I can teach her a level of chakra control that even the Hyuga can't match," as she said this, she breathed on her tea again, this time getting a small gout of flame out of her mouth, as she used a sealless Katon jutsu, one that heated the tea to the perfect temperature.
"That's three, but why Shino?" asked Hizashi.
"I see here, neither of you broke Heero from his fear of bugs," she said, pointing to the file for the boy. Though he could be found hanging around Shino sometimes, it had been noted many times that Heero's fear of insects remained, and that Shino's insect techniques were one of the few ways the class had found to always get around his guard, the sight of the things sometimes causing the boy to freeze up if they were too sudden.
"While the Aburame clan is one of the few larger clans that use such techniques, they are not the only ones. More importantly, control are what he and Hinata need the most training in, both the Gentle Fist and the Kikai techniques revolve around such skills. Heero can use the skills to farther his abilities as well, and if Naruto could be trained to stop wasting so much chakra, he would be a force of nature," she explained, and all five men in the room just looked at each other, before the Sandaime burst out laughing.
"And here we were, arguing for hours about this, and she comes up with a workable solution in minutes. Sometimes I wonder why I never offered you my job," said the old man, as the others let out sighs, and then the planning of teams began, as each Jonin in the room went over their plans for the following day's testing of their new pupils, as well as how they would train them later. The next day, Konoha would be made stronger than ever before, as three new Genin Teams took to the field.