Like I said in the previous chapter, I can't be sure I can match Shikaku and Shino's personality and behavior. Shino's a stoic person who speaks in a monotone voice, but has a certain charisma and intelligence I don't think I can write down. I'll try though.
Then there's Shikaku. The Nara only has a limited amount of jutsu shown in the manga/anime. So, he'll be using the same techniques as Shikamaru along with a few of my own creations. I hope nobody will be disappointed.
Now, on to the story!
"Now, the original plan was to pair up teams so each member's talents would contribute to the fullest extent of the team they were on," explained Shikaku, yawning. "This way, each team would be balanced into special teams. Some examples like a tracking team, CIA team, and powerhouse team. However, this year, we're going to try something different."
"What do you mean, Shikaku-sensei?" asked Naruto.
Shikaku groaned. "I'm not going to get used to being called that. How troublesome. What I mean is your entire class will be divided into six categories, then each student will be paired on a team with each student having a different ability."
"Six categories?" asked Ino with raised eyebrows.
"Tracking, assassination, attack, capture, medical and interrogation. Each genin in your class has at least one, if not two, of these qualities. This way, each team will be an even match for any mission we are given by the Hokage. We'll also be able to take more missions."
"What kind of team are we, sensei?" Shino asked.
"We're pretty much a combination of all, but our labeled group is TIAT: Tracking, interrogation, and attack."
Shikaku turned to Ino. "With your family's jutsu, you'll be able to see into our prisoner's mind and pull any information we're looking for. But I know how tiring that is, so we'll arrange you to have some torturing techniques as well. I know that might difficult for you, but it's a necessary asset to a ninja."
"That won't be a problem," said Naruto. "All Ino has to do is complain to the prisoner about her precious Sasuke and the guy would crack like a walnut."
Ino's eyes went white with rage and growled. Shikaku and Naruto laughed while Shino quietly chuckled.
"Good idea," said Shikaku. "But Ino, I looked at your records and found out you probably have the best chakra control of the team. If you want, I'll arrange you for you take healing jutsus at the hospital. Then, if any of our party members are injured, we won't have to retreat from our missions."
Ino nodded, but didn't say anything. Actually, she looked a little disappointed at the thought of doing more training.
Shikaku turned to Shino. "With you kikaichu insects, you'll be our tracker. Your father explained to me how your insects work so we'll be relying on you to find our enemies or destinations. Also, your father explained that if you train hard enough, you can also become an assassination shinobi as well He shared with me what you need to work on and I'll help you as best as I can at controlling you insects and chakra."
Shino nodded. To be honest, he was looking forward to his training with his new sensei.
Finally, Shikaku turned to Naruto. "Naruto, with the new jutsu you learned last week, you'll be our attack force. Your massive chakra reserves and shadow clones will be our key to a wide range of frontal attacks and if the need calls for it, covering our escapes. My son told me he taught you the basic chakra control exercises so all you need to learn is more jutsus. Ones that are not taught at the academy."
Naruto nodded, excited at the thought of learning more jutsus.
"However, you really need to work on your stealth. You have a lot of stamina, but you can be impatient and restless. I've read the reports from several chunin about your 'missions' throughout the years in the village, so you need to work on keeping quiet and waiting for the right time to strike. We'll work on that."
Naruto nodded again. He felt himself swell with pride about his pranks, but then lower at the comment about his stealth. Though he knew it was true.
"So when will we begin our missions, sensei?" Shino asked.
"Hold on, let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, let's introduce ourselves."
"What?" asked Ino.
"We're a team now. We should now a little about each other. You dreams, ambitions, fears, dislikes, and goals. Stuff like that. Be sure to tell me you all the jutsu you know as well," Shikaku said happily.
"Can you give us an example?"
"Sure. My name is Shikaku Nara. I'm a jonin for the village of the Hidden Leaf. My hobbies are cloud watching, playing shogi with my son, and hanging out with my friends, Chouza and Inoichi, at the bar. My dislikes are cloudless days and my wife nagging at me to help out around the house on my days off. My goal is to teach you three the most I can, pass leadership of my clan to my son, and spend my retirement watching the sky."
"Like that? Ok," nodded Ino.
"Why don't you go next?" Shikaku suggested.
"Me? Well, my name is Ino Yamanaka. My hobbies are picking flowers, helping my family at their shop, and ...." she trailed of before blushing.
Chasing Sasuke finished all three males.
"My dreams are...." she trailed off again, giggling.
Sasuke as my boyfriend finished all three males.
"My dislikes are Forehead and perverts!" she shouted.
"Ooookkaaaay......and your jutsu abilities?"
Now Ino looked a little sheepish. "Well....I know all the jutsu and taijutsu they taught us at the academy. And....uh...I know my father's Mind Body Switch Jutsu. But....umm....that's about all I know."
Shikaku sighed. "Ino, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. You're from a very prestigious clan, you should know more jutsu than that. Your father told me that he's tried to teach you the clan's fighting style along with several of his jutsus. But he said you had other plans and from you little speech just know, I think I know what you've been spending your time doing."
Ino hung her head in shame.
Her sensei's stern look turned soft a little. "But that's what I'm here for. It's my job to motivate you to become an excellent kunoichi. However, how far, will be up to you."
Ino grinned and nodded with determination.
Shikaku returned the grin and turned to Shino. "Your turn."
"My name is Shino Aburame. My hobbies are collecting rare insects for my family, training with my father and kikaichu, and......spending time with my friends."
Naruto smiled at Shino. The boy was coming out his shell and enjoyed spending time with Naruto and his friends.
"My dislikes are people who kill insects without reason, insecticide and fire. My dream's are to one day take over my clan and lead them to a time of prosperity. One where my family is brought into the light instead of hiding in the shadows." The boy felt a hand pat his shoulder. Shino turned to see Naruto and smiled slightly at the blond's friendship gesture.
"My abilities include the academy's jutsu and taijutsu. They also include my family's taijutsu style: a form of fighting that is derived from an old form of kung fu called 'Chow Gar' the Mantis style. My jutsus include tracking, making a couple of clones from my kikaichu, and a few others I'm afraid I must keep secret. At least for now."
"Fair enough," said Shikaku. "You're right along where I thought you would be. Although, your jutsus are limited only to your kikaichu. We might have to add some elemental jutsu to your arsenal once we find out what your element is."
Shino nodded. He only knew it was a matter of time before he had to learn his element.
"And our finalist," said Shikaku to Naruto.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My hobbies are pulling pranks, training, hanging out with my friends, working at my Pop's ramen stand, and spending time with my girlfriend."
Shino and Shikaku smiled at the mention of friends, which they knew the boy treasured very much, while Ino's mouth fell open in shock.
"Wait! You have a girlfriend?" asked Ino.
"Ino, let him finish," Shino interrupted.
"My dislikes are people who blame others for problems they have no control over, traitors, and anyone who threatens the people I care about. My dream is to one day become Hokage and earn the village's respect my own way."
"My abilities are everything that I was taught at the academy. I know the shadow clone jutsu and my own personal jutsus: Ramen style."
Shikaku chuckled. "The Hokage and Iruka informed me what happened last week. I heard that bind of yours is deadly and your slingshot is accurate. I may have to watch my back when we spar. Also, with your abilities, you might be the key person in capturing our opponents."
"Ramen jutsu? That sounds pretty stupid to me," scoffed Ino.
Naruto gritted his teeth. "Maybe you'll find out."
"Ok, Ok, calm down," said Shikaku. Then his face turned serious. "Now, it's time to get on with the real deal."
"Yes, sir!" exclaimed Naruto. "What will be our first mission, sensei?"
"You will not be going on a missions right now. In fact, you will have one final test just to see if you are worthy of becoming shinobi of the Leaf. Sort of a...test to become genin."
"What?" Ino squawked. "We already passed to become genin. Whey do we need to be tested again?"
"I'm afraid that was a test to see who actually qualified to be shinobi, Ino," Shikaku explained. "This test will decide who will become actually genin, seeing that the council only wanted nine applicants on the active roster. Everyone else will return at the academy for more training."
"So only three teams will pass," stated Shino.
"Correct. All tests will be given tomorrow. It's noon, so you three have until 8:00 AM, when your test begins to prepare. Get a good, light breakfast eaten, bring all of your ninja tools, and be here at this field on time to take your test."
"What will be our test, sensei?" asked Shino.
"I will tell you when the time comes," said Shikaku. He stood up and brushed the grass of his legs. "I wish you all the best of luck. Because as troublesome as it is, I would actually like to see what you kids would due under my tutelage." With that, he shunshined away.
Team 10 was silent for a moment before Ino stood up, brushed off her skirt and began to walk off.
"Ino, where are you going?" asked Naruto.
"If I hurry, I can try to catch Sasuke-kun going home. If the tests are tomorrow, his team might be getting out."
Naruto sighed, jumped up and leaped in front of Ino, blocking her path. "Ino, I think Shikaku-sensei gave us this time to form a plan for tomorrow."
"What makes you say that?" Ino asked skeptically. "He said that only nine applicants are going to pass. We will when he gives us our test for tomorrow."
"And I asked if three teams were going to pass," pointed out Shino. "Three teams, not nine applicants."
"Shikaku-sensei agreed with Shino, whether it was intentional or by accident," said Naruto. "If they wanted nine applicants to pass, they would have paired us individually with a jonin sensei and tested us one-on-one."
"Instead they put us in teams. The council and academy would not put us in teams of three if they didn't want us to pass as a team," finished Shino.
"And besides, I don't think Shikaku-sensei would make us learn about each other if he didn't want us bond as a team," added Naruto.
Ino put her hands on her hips. "Ok, let's say for one moment I agree with you two. What do we do now?'
"We train," answered Naruto. "We form several, different battle strategies to prepare for whatever Shikaku-sensei has planned for us tomorrow. That way, we'll be prepared for whatever he's got for us."
"It will most likely be some type of strategy that will relate to our team," suggested Shino.
"Shino's got a point. We need to find a way in which our abilities will attribute one another. Sensei said we are a combination of all categoires, so we should find of ways of combining them."
Shino and Naruto started at Ino, waiting for her answer. After a minute of silence, she shook her head in resignation.
"Fine. Where to we begin?"
Naruto smiled. "I think we should begin on sparring, just to see how far we are in our fighting abilities. Then, we'll work on creating combo attacks with our jutsus and form strategies on how and when to use them."
"So, who spars first," asked Ino.
Naruto's smile turned dark as he pulled a ball of dough from his pocket and begin to toss it around.
"Ino my dear, you said something about my style being stupid?" asked Naruto sweetly.
"EEEWWWWW! It's in my hair! Get it out!" whined Ino as she pulled out clumps of ramen dough out of her blonde locks.
It was several hours later; the sun was beginning to set and bath the grounds with an orange glow. Team 10 finished their training and was now walking through town, hopeful that their work was not a waste.
They spared to find out who was the strongest fighter, which turned out to be a tie between Shino and Naruto. Ino was an average fighter with great speed and flexibility, but not enough stamina. Shino was a more seasoned fighter having trained with his father since he was a boy. But he relied too much on his kikaichu insects instead of his mantis style. Naruto had stamina, strength, and speed. However, he was limited only to what he learned in the academy. Iruka tried to give him as much coaching as he could, but Iruka didn't have a definitive style either.
Then they showed each other their jutsus. Like she said, Ino was limited only her father's mind possession technique. Shino's capabilities were mostly linked to his insects. Such techniques were creating clones with them, forming a protective dome around himself, and using them to swarm his opponent and drain their energy. Naruto's techniques ranged from his newly, developed Shadow clones, Noodle bind, and his Ramen Slingshot. He also showed them a new one he was working on, which worked, but had unusual results.
"I'm going to get you for this," Ino grumbled again. She finally got the clump she was working on and began working on another.
"Sorry about that, Ino," Naruto apologized. "But you did deserve it."
"The hell I did!" yelled Ino angrily. "And I still think your style is ridiculous!"
Naruto sighed and kept walking. Even if his style was a little childish, he was taking this more seriously than Ino. Throughout their practice, all she did was complain about missing the time she could be spending with Sasuke. Naruto and Shino had just about had it.
But then Naruto's mood changed when he saw Ichiraku's and Team 8 sitting on the chairs. He walked into the stand with Shino right behind and the two sat in the remaining chairs.
"You've become a bad influence on us, Naruto," Shikmaru muttered as he drank a cup of tea. "For some odd reason, I can't seem to end my day without at least a hour of cloud watching on my family's roof and having a meal here. It's very troublesome."
"You know you like it," Choji mumbled through a mouthful of noodles. "It's like our unofficial rule."
"I also enjoy it," smiled Hinata. "It's the only place I can feel like I belong."
Everyone's mood shifted when she said that. They knew the problems she had at home trying to convince her father and clan she was a good shinobi.
"You belong anywhere your friends are," said Teuchi as he put a bowl of ramen in front of Shino and Naruto. "That's where your true place is."
"Believe it," Naruto added, causing everyone to groan/chuckle.
"Hey!" cried Ino from outside the stand. "Where am I supposed to sit?"
Naruto had completely forgotten about Ino. He thought she would go straight home or find out where Sasuke was. She just stood silently outside with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.
"Sorry about that, Ino. Here take my seat," Naruto offered. He picked up his bowl and went behind the counter to sit on the spare Teuchi had.
Ino sat down. "So this is the ramen stand you work at," she said. "I got to say, it doesn't look like much."
Naruto glared at her while Teuchi just chuckled. "I know we're not the glamorous place to eat in Konoha, but offer the best ramen you could find anywhere," Teuchi said happily. "And I wouldn't trade it for anything."
"Even the Sandaime eats here," Shino said, hoping to encourage Teuchi's business. He had grown very fond of the place.
"I'll believe that when I see him here, in the flesh," Ino scoffed. She then scowled at the ramen everyone was eating. "Personally, I don't see how anyone could eat that stuff. It's fattening, unhealthy, and does nothing for your figure."
"So?" all the kids chorused.. Everyone there ate healthily and smart. No one besides Naruto and Choji at more than a bowl a day. Shikamaru mostly just drank the green tea Teuchi served, Hinata ate riceballs that the stand had begun to serve, and Shino just came for a bowl and to spend time with his friends.
Ino just sighed loudly and crossed her arms. She then looked around the stand. "So where's this girlfriend of yours, Naruto?"
"She's out making a delivery," answered Teuchi.
"She's done with the delivery," said Ayame as she walked under the curtains. "Hello everyone."
"Hi, Ayame!" everyone answered back.
Ayame walked behind the counter and placed the delivery bag onto the counter. She then kissed Naruto on the cheek, who smiled back at her.
"You're Naruto's girlfriend?" Ino asked in shock. The brunette, to Ino, was very pretty. She couldn't believe a girl like this liked Naruto.
"Oh, you must be Naru-kun's new teammate," smiled Ayame. She stood behind Naruto and placed her chin on his shoulder. "My name is Ayame and yes, I'm his girlfriend."
"Naruto is the biggest goofball in our class. How can you like him? You're so pretty and...well...old," reasoned Ino.
Time pretty much just froze as Naruto's friends stopped whatever they were doing with a look of horror on their faces. Teuchi's jaw dropped and he inched away from his daughter. Naruto just rolled his eyes at Ino's stupidity.
The amount of killer intent flooding the stand was enough to smother everyone. If they weren't ninjas, they would have probably run away in fear. In fact, several civilians outside had mysteriously vanished at Ino's words.
"Old?" Ayame said sweetly. Shino, who was a very calm and collected person when in danger, actually grabbed his stool and began to hop away from Ino. "I'll have you know that I'm only sixteen. And I would appreciate it that you shut your mouth, princess, before you lose all the teeth inside it."
Ino glared at Ayame. "That's a lot of talk coming from a waitress. Why don't you put on your apron and be a good little-"
THWAWK!!
Ayame's trusty cleaver was halfway into the counter. Ino looked at and swallowed, but tried to keep the glare on her face.
"The next time I swing this, it's going to cut through the pretty ponytail of yours, princess. And I never miss."
The two girls just glared at each other, one with full confidence while the other's was fading. After a few seconds, Ino got up and walked to the curtains. But she turned around just before she walked out.
"I still don't believe your Naruto's girlfriend. There's now way the idiot could grab a girl like you."
Ayame stared at her a moment before whirling around, grabbing Naruto by his jacket, and placed a very passionate kiss on his lips. Everyone's mouth dropped open in surprise. Teuchi dropped his spatula, Hinata's rice ball fell out of her hands, Choji dropped his chopsticks, Shikamaru lost the grip on his cup, and Shino's glasses fell to the tip of his nose.
After about ten seconds, Ayame finally let a dazed, but happy Naruto go. She took a deep breath and whipped the hair out her eyes.
"That's because I grabbed him," she smirked at Ino.
The blond girl gapped like a fish before spinning on her heel and storming out of the stand. Everyone inside looked at each other before laughing.
"Oh, man, that was priceless," gasped Shikamaru between breaths.
For the next couple of hours, everyone just talked about their teams. Shikamaru groaned, but grinned slightly, when he heard Team 10 got his father as a sensei. He told Naruto and Shino that if they pass tomorrow, they'll be working hard for the rest of their genin years, despite the fact Shikaku could be just as lazy as his son.
Team 8's sensei ended up being a woman name Kurenai Yuhi, a kunoichi who had mastered the genjutsu arts. Shikamaru kept muttering about how troublesome it was to know have two women ordering him around: his mom and now his sensei. Hinata, who had really like her teacher, told the lazy ninja that if he didn't straighten up around her, he'll have three women ordering him around.
Shikamaru just gaped while everyone else applauded Hinata, who blushed brightly but grinned.
When it was time to close up and his friends had already gone home, Naruto volunteered to clean up by himself.
"Pops, Ayame, you guys go ahead and go home. I'll use my clones to clean up."
"Are you sure?" asked Teuchi.
Naruto formed a few hand signs and five clones poofed beside him. Once they formed, they immediately started cleaning and packing ingredients. The original smiled at the Ichiraku's
"I think I'll be okay," replied Naruto.
Teuchi looked around before bursting in tears. He hugged the boy he always thought of as a son.
"I never been more proud of you," cried Teuchi. "With your clones, who needs to me, you, or Ayame to clean up. You can do it all from now on."
Naruto frowned, but patted Teuchi on the back.
He's proud of me because he doesn't have to work? Is that normal?
Teuchi let go and began to walk back to his house, rubbing the tears from his eyes. "Don't forget to lock up," he called as he walked away.
Ayame shook her head at her father. "Don't listen to him, Naruto. He's had to clean the stand every single night for the past, so he believes that this is a sign from a higher power."
"What about you? Are you proud of me?"
Ayame hugged the boy and kissed his cheek. "I've always been proud of you."
Naruto smiled and hugged her back. But she suddenly let go and began following her dad.
"Thanks for the night off, Naru-kun!" she called out cheerfully.
Naruto was stunned for a few moments before he shook his head and grinned. "Girls. Who can figure them out?"
While his clones worked, he pulled out Teuchi's record book and began to balance the day's register. He frowned at the losses, which were beginning to grow again. He saw that the money from Mizuki's capture had helped for a moment, but was now back to its original losses.
He had just began to finish the last record when he heard the bell attached to one of curtains ring.
"I'm sorry, but we're closed," Naruto said without looking up.
"I'm afraid we're not here to order something," said an old, authoritve voice. One belonging to a man. "We're here to discuss your future."
Naruto froze a moment before slowly looking up. There were two figures standing near the counter. One was a man wearing a blue kimono with a white, long-sleeved jacket over it. A short, gray beard covered his stern face and was wearing a pair of green glasses. The other figure was a woman, dressed in a light, gray kimono, an orange sash and a dark, gray jacket similar to the man's. Her hair was tied up on top her head with two small buns.
He recognized them as the Sandaime's old teammates.
Naruto stood up and bowed in respect, despite the tension he was beginning to feel. "Homura-sama and Koharu-sensei. I'm honored that you've come here to Ichiraku's, though I'm deeply sorry that I don't have anything to serve you with. If you can give me a few moments, I can heat some herbal tea."
Homura began to say something when Koharu interrupted him. "That will be fine, Naruto-san. We can wait."
Naruto nodded, dispatched his clones, and then created three new ones to make the tea. While they waited, Naruto finished his records and wrote the latest low number for their income. He sighed and set the book aside, just as one of his put two, steaming mugs of tea in front of the two elders. As they grasped their cups, the clones dispelled themselves.
"So, what can a genin of Konoha do for the advisors of the Hokage?"
Koharu took a sip and put it back down on the counter. "Naruto-san, you are much more than a genin. You're the last symbol of hope for this village."
Naruto knew what they were talking about, but decided to play dumb. "I have no idea what you mean, Koharu-sensei."
"You know what we mean!" snapped Homura, banging his cup on the counter and sloshing tea on it. "Stop acting like a blind fool, Naruto Namikazee!"
Naruto felt his temper rise, but didn't let it get to him. "Homura-sama, as I told the Hokage, I'm not going to accept the name of the man who sealed the Kyuubi in his own son. He turned me into a weapon that would serve the village like a faithful soldier."
"Are you saying you won't be faithful?" asked Homura angrily.
"I will never betray my village," growled Naruto. "I'll protect it, my family, and my friends with my dying breath. But do you know what I've had to live through before I met the people I care about? I was more alone than you could possible imagine. I had no one except the Third Hokage as a friend. And to this very day, I'm still looked at as the demon that attacked the village twelve years ago instead of an orphan who lost his parents."
"Accepting your true name could change that," Koharu said gently.
"I highly doubt the whole village would accept me as the son of the Fourth Hokage. And even it did, don't you think the Fourth's enemies would realize his legacy survived and would want to take revenge on the village once again."
"By learning your father's secrets, you could prevent that. His archives and library at his estates contain several of the most powerful jutsus every created," persuaded Homura. "Then, with his jutsu at your and the village's disposal, you can strike fear into your enemies and guarantee your position as Hokage."
"If I'm going to become Hokage, I'm going to do it my way," said Naruto. "Through my own power and will, not by names. Also, even I accept his legacy, I would only put the village in more danger."
Homura sighed. "Don't you understand how important your father was?"
"I know," said Naruto. "I will say this. The Fourth Hokage was an extraordinary man, a powerful shinobi, and a hero to this village. But he condemned me to a hard life. He decided my fate when he sealed the biju in me. I was only a newborn and yet, he knew my life was going to more difficult than any other person."
Homura began to say something else, but Koharu put a hand on his arm to silence him. Then she turned to Naruto.
"I think it's about time we left. I'm sorry to have bothered you so late in the evening when you still have your genin test to take tomorrow." Koharu put several coins on the counter, more than enough for their tea. "Good luck."
Naruto bowed to them as they left. It hadn't been a pleasant conversation, but it could've been worse.
Homura stepped back into the streets and walked away. Koharu lifted the curtain, but then turned back to Naruto.
"To be honest, Naruto-san, I agree with you. What you're father did was not the best course of action. But please ask yourself one question: What would you do in his position? After all, when you become Hokage, you'll have to make such decisions."
Before he could answer, she left.
Naruto finished his work and locked the stand. He walked home, thinking about his team's strategies for tomorrow. He played Lugia's song to help calm his mind so he could sleep easier. However, his mind still buzzed with Koharu's question.
What would you do?
Naruto got up early the next day so he could prepare for his test. He packed his shuriken, kunai, explosive tags, some ninja wire, and, of course, ramen dough. His holsters were strapped to his right leg while two pouches were strapped to his waist. Each zippered pouch carried about five pounds of dough. He hoped it was enough.
A few stretches, a quick breakfast, then he chakra-hopped to his training grounds. He arrived with twenty minutes to spare.
Just a minute later, Shino hopped into the clearing as well.
"Good morning, Naruto," Shino greeted.
"Hiya, Shino. Ready for today?" Naruto asked eagerly.
"More or less," answered Shino. "Is everything in place?"
Naruto patted his pockets, where his dough was kept. "Ready. Are your...ummm?"
"They're in place."
"Do I want to know where mine is?"
"No."
"Good."
"What are you two talking about?" asked Ino as she walked up to them. Her eyebrow was arched in suspicion.
"Nothing," said Shino and Naruto. Ino huffed and sat down on the grass with her arms crossed. Naruto glanced at Shino. "She's going to kill us when she finds out."
"Most likely," agreed Shino.
The three waited patiently for 8:00 and for their sensei to arrive. Shino and Naruto were going over each battle strategy. They tried to get Ino in, but she just scoffed and went back to staring at the landscape.
At 8, Shikaku showed landed just a few meters away. Ino sat up and the boys quit talking.
"Good morning everyone," yawned Shikaku.
"Good morning, sensei," chorused Team 10.
Their sensei spent the next moments yawning and stretching his back. "As troublesome as it is, we have to get started on our test to see how well you three qualify as shinobi instead of spending such a nice day like this watching clouds float by."
"So what will our test be, sensei?" asked Naruto.
"A simple one," smiled Shikaku. He held his arms wide open. "Your test is simply to capture me."
Team 10 stood stock-still before Ino exploded.
"WHAT? Capture you? What kind test is that?"
"I'll explain. The village will accept only the elite of genin into their roster. Nine teams for formed, nine applicants will be selected. Your task is to capture me, a jonin, to the best of your abilities. The one who captures me will be selected into the active roster while the other two will be sent back to the academy for more remedial training."
Shikaku dropped his arms. "To make it interesting, I want you to capture me dead or alive. Use all of your weapons and ninja tools, because I want you to come at me with the intent to kill."
"But that could be very dangerous! You could get killed!"
"Maybe," sighed Shikaku. "If I get killed by you three, then I deserve it. It shows how soft I've gotten."
"So just capture you," Naruto said simply.
Shikaku nodded. "You three have until noon. By that time, if none of you have capture me, all of you will be sent back to the academy."
Ino stiffened while Naruto and Shino did nothing. The two just stared at Shikaku with determination in their eyes.
"I will not step outside the boundary of training field 5, so that gives you another advantage. However, when you attack, I will fight back. I should also warn you, I won't go easy on you either."
"Now go!"
Team 10 hopped away and hid in the shadows surrounding the small field they were previously in. Shikaku smiled at their abilities.
Well, not bad. They know how to conceal themselves well. Now, let's see how this plays out.
Naruto waited on the branch of a tree, watching his sensei walk around the training field, who was watching the sky. To a civilian, it looked like the man was just taking a stroll while cloud gazing. But the blond could see Shikaku's eyes dart back and forth across the field. It was quick, but enough for a trained shinobi.
The boy knew what his sensei was trying to do. He made it so obvious when he was trying to hide it. They were meant to pass this test as a team. The Hokage and academy wouldn't pair three students together only break them up the next day. Team 10 was formed under specific circumstances because their abilities would make them a strong team, because they would benefit themselves and the village.
Naruto felt the branch he was standing on slightly shake. He turned around to see Shino perched near the trunk.
"So what do you think?" asked Naruto.
"Like we said, it's about teamwork," nodded Shino.
Naruto nodded back. "Let's go find Ino and try to convince her to work together."
Shino suddenly froze, then groaned. Naruto looked at him skeptically.
"We're too late," Shino said, pointing to the field. Naruto followed his gaze and groaned as well.
"Let's do this," Ino called out to her sensei. She got into the basic defense stance taught at the academy. "If I can capture a jonin, I can rub in Forehead's face that I'm a better kunoichi for Sasuke-kun's love."
Shikaku, meanwhile, ignored her and continued to watch the sky. He chuckled. "That one looks like a duck."
Ino's eyes went white. "HEY! Pay attention! I'm trying to fight you!"
Shikaku sighed and turned to Ino, not bothering to fight back. "Ino, have nearly three and a half hours before the test is up. Why are you engaging me now when you could wait for a better opportunity."
"All you've been doing is cloud watching for the past half hour! When are you going to prepare yourself?"
"When it's you, I don't think I need to be prepared," smirked Shikaku and crossed his arms. "I think the result will be the same. After all, your dad couldn't lay a hit on me so why should you?"
Ino froze for a second before charging her sensei with rage in her eyes. "You're DEAD!" she cried. She threw a punch at her Shikaku, who back his head the slightest. It was just enough to miss by mere centimeters.
Ino used the momentum to use a front kick at his stomach. Shikaku leaned his head forwards, sucking his gut back. Again, she missed by centimeters. Ino spun and swung a roundhouse kick to his head, but was once again dodged.
Frustrated, Ino increased the speed of her attacks in hopes to land a hit, but her coordination became wild and unbalanced. And each, Shikaku would make only the slightest motion to dodge, duck or dip. He barely moved from his spot and didn't even uncross his arms the whole time Ino was attacking him.
It wasn't long before Ino exhausted herself. Cursing, she leapt back near the edge of the forest. Ino reached into her holster and threw several shurikin stars at Shikaku.
However, instead of dodging or blocking them, the jonin just smirked and plucked the stars right out of the air. Ino's mouth fell open in surprise.
"Nice try, Ino, but not good enough. You let yourself get frustrated, in which you were blinded by your anger." He took a few steps forward, where Ino took several steps back. "First lesson of being a shinobi: Taijutsu. You've just been tested and I must say, you showed more talent than I thought so."
Ino back up into a tree, but didn't take her eyes of her teacher. Shikaku threw Ino's shuriken at her. They impacted next to her shirt, her forearm sleeves, and her skirt. The stars were embedded halfway into the tree, pinning her to it. She struggled, but couldn't get free.
"Now get ready for lesson number two," said Shikaku as appeared only a meter away from Ino. He looked into her eyes and held the 'Ram' symbol with his hands.
Ino froze. Her vision was suddenly filled with blowing leaves. She felt her eyelids get heavy. The more leaves appeared, the more Shikaku began to disappear. Finally, she closed her eyes.
Naruto and Shino watched as Ino's head dropped. Once she was unconcious, Shikaku unfolded his hands and leapt into the trees. He completely disappeared from their sight.
A few seconds later, Ino began to stir and wake up. She looked around, confused, before looking up. They saw her freeze, her face pale.
"What's wrong with her?" asked Naruto.
"I think Shikaku-sensei put her under a genjutsu," answered Shino. "Which means he must still be close by."
"But what is she seeing?"
There were three hornet nests above her head. Three giant nests. She already saw a few red hornets fly from the hive when she slightly shook the tree earlier. Each one was the size of her fist and had stingers that were bigger than the teeth on her combs. The sounds of dozens of wings was beginning to fill her head and block out any other sound.
As every second passed, another hornet would fly out of a hive and another would fly closer to her face. Ino tried to keep very still, but by now, she was beginning to hyperventilate. Her breaths increased when she felt the wind from on the wings beating on her face.
"KAI!" a voice called out. Immediately, the hornets and hives disappeared. Ino looked to see Naruto and Shino standing in front of her. Shino had his hands in 'Tiger' symbol.
"Ino, are you okay," Naruto asked as he pulled the shuriken the pinned her to the tree.
Ino didn't respond, instead she fell down. Very hard.
"Ino, are you okay?"
"Hornets....hornets," she kept mumbling as she rocked back and forth, holding her knees.
"Shikaku-sensei must have put a Nightmare Genjutsu on her," explained Shino. "I've heard about. It forces the victim to encounter their worst, physical fear." He looked at the girl still shivering. "The jutsu has a few levels of strength and horror. Sensei's must have been only level 1. It's enough to freeze someone for a few minutes."
"We need every second, Shino," argued Naruto. He got down on one knee and grabbed Ino's shoulders. "Ino, snap out of it. We need to get a move on."
Ino kept stock still as Naruto shook her. She only kept mumbling.
"It's no use, Naruto. She'll stay like that until the adrenaline runs out of her system. There's now way to....." Shino trailed off when he saw Naruto begin to smirk. "I see why Hinata and the others begin to sweat when you get that look."
"Watch this," giggled Naruto. He remembered one of Ino and Sakura's arguments and believed he could use it. He leaned his face close to Ino's. "Sasuke's mine, Ino-pig!"
Ino jerked and her eyes, filled with fear, suddenly became filled with rage. "No way, Forehead!" she yelled and threw a right hook. Naruto, surprised by Ino's snap into reality, caught the punch with his jaw and flew back several meters.
Ino frowned and began to look around, confused. "What happened?"
"You were put under a genjutsu," explained Shino as he watched Naruto pick himself up and rub his swollen jaw. "With the way your were mumbling, I'm guessing 'hornets'."
Ino nodded, looking solemn. "I once stepped on a nest when I was picking flowers for my family's shop. I received dozens of stings and had to be sent to the hospital. Since then, I freeze whenever one is around. Now matter if its one or a hive."
Naruto walked up, holding his jaw. "Sorry about that, Ino. I had to snap you out of your daze. But what you did earlier was stupid."
Earlier, Ino would've squawked and tried to pound the boy to a pulp. But now, after being thoroughly defeated by their sensei with such ease, she knew he was right.
"I know. But only of us is going to pass so I had to do something. I won't lose."
Naruto sighed. "Ino, remember what we talked about yesterday? We were paired as a team because the village needs a workable team to protect it. We were paired because the Hokage believes our skills would benefit the village and make us a strong team."
"But..."
"We're not meant to pass as individuals only to be paired up once again," said Shino. "Shikaku-sensei organized this test to see if we have what it makes to put aside our differences and work together We're stronger together than we are apart."
Ino hugged her body and walked away from the boys. Naruto began to walk after her, but Shino grabbed his arm, stopping him. Naruto then realized Shino was right. Ino needed to figure this out for herself. They couldn't force her to do this.
For several minutes, Ino just stared into the forest where their sensei dwelled, waiting for them. She always wanted to be a shinobi to impress her father, Inoichi. He always wanted a son in hopes that he would carry on her family's clan name. But when she was born and her mother couldn't have anymore children, her father was devastated. So she asked him to join the academy when she was old enough. Inoichi was against it, while her mother supported her decision. In the end, he finally agreed.
But the more she studied, the more she wanted to win the affections of the top student: Sasuke Uchiha. She did it for love, but also to compete with Sakura. And the more she became a compatible kunoichi, the more her father realized his mistake and wanted to teach his daughter his clan's techniques.
However, Ino refused and wanted only to win Sasuke's affection.
Now, she realized her mistake. She was easily defeated. Even though her opponent was a jonin, she should have put up a better fight. She was blinded by anger when she should have been calm and collected.
She took a deep breath and turned to her teammates.
"Okay. Where do we begin?" she asked with a determined look.
Naruto smiled. "That's the spirit." He turned to Shino. "Do you know where sensei is?"
Shino nodded. "My insects already know his location."
Ino was shocked. "How?"
"During our meeting earlier, I placed a female kikaichu onto his body," Shino explained. He held out one finger, which a single kikaichu was perched on. "This is a female, like the one I place on Shikaku-sensei. She excretes a chemical that lures all of the males to her. This way, I can find sensei within a 50-mile radius."
"That's brilliant," beamed Ino. "But what do we do now?"
"Remember our plans from yesterday?" asked Naruto with smile.
I'm sorry to have ended the chapter like this. I'll continue the genin test within the next one. Also, I don' think this was the greatest chapter I've written. If it has bad reviews, I may rewrite it. I believe I created a lot of points in my story that don't exist in the canon. But then again, when do us writers care about sticking with the true story.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Tell me what you think.
Ps, Lugia's song has nothing to do with pokemon. I just thought it was a nice ocarina touch. I will include some zelda songs as well.