Chapter Three

Kakashi observed the spar between Sakura and Sasuke with mild approval. The girl had improved by leaps and bounds. Surprisingly, Sakura had a talent for taijutsu. She probably hadn't realized that in the academy, too intent on keeping her nails clean or whatever preteen girls worried about.

Of course, she still had a long way to go before she was near Sasuke's level. And Sakura still hesitated to hit her beloved Sasuke-kun, often faltering or reducing the power of her blows.

Sasuke sent a punch, aiming to catch the kunoichi in the shoulder. With a perfectly executed textbook maneuver, Sakura turned, avoided the blow, and slipped under his guard. She managed to land the hit before Sasuke retaliated with a swift kick, knocking her to the ground and pinning her with his foot.

"Not bad," said Kakashi, putting the book away. "But that's enough." His genin looked at him with curiosity and apprehension. Once the book was gone, things became serious. "Maa... let's talk about strategy."

Naruto looked confused, and Sakura seemed interested. Sasuke had his normally blank mask plastered on, but a glimmer of suspicion appeared on his face. Making connections, is he?

"Sakura, why did you lose that spar?" he asked.

"Because Sasuke-kun's stronger than me!" Sakura replied immediately.

"Well, you're not wrong," said Kakashi sardonically. "But is strength the only way to win?"

"Of course it is." Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Not true. You can win by being smarter, too. Let's take... oh, the spar we had on our first day as a team. Do you remember?"

Sasuke glared at him, irritated at the memory. He grunted in response.

"Strength was definitely one reason why I won, but it wasn't the only one. You see, I had another major advantage. Do you know what it was?"

"Uh... your ninjuntsu?" guessed Naruto.

"No. I won because you three underestimated me." Kakashi looked at them from under a droopy eye. "How could someone so lazy and unprofessional possibly be a strong shinobi? After all, I hadn't even dodged the chalkboard eraser."

His gaze sharpened, and his posture straightened. Gone was the pretense of nonchalance. At the moment, Kakashi looked every bit the killer he was. His voice was soft but cold. "How you present yourself affects how others see you. Having your enemies underestimate you can be very useful, but underestimating your enemies will be deadly. Look underneath the underneath. Take nothing at face value."

Before they could blink, Kakashi was back to lounging against the tree, book in hand. "Now, my little genin, why is it useful to be underestimated?"

Sakura was the first to recover. "Because your enemies will be caught off guard, right?"

"Correct. Don't make that mistake, kids. Always overestimate the power of your opponent. You'll just be pleasantly surprised if they happen to be weaker."

"But sensei," piped up Naruto, "isn't it good to have a reputation?"

"It can be. When would having a strong reputation be helpful, Sakura?"

Though startled at being put on the spot, Sakura answered. "Um... when you're protecting someone, right? Then people won't attack you."

Kakashi nodded. "When you want to avoid a fight, intimidation is a fairly effective tactic. When you want to win a fight, appearing weak is a better one. And speaking of tactics, why don't we go visit a friend of mine?"

The genin exchanged looks.

"Great!" chirped Kakashi. "Let's go."

"Sensei, where are we?" asked Naruto, staring dubiously at the large building.

"Ah... we're at the Nara Compound." Kakashi ruffled the blonde's hair, ignoring the indignant squawk. He observed the guards slumped by the gate. The two teenagers stuck on guard duty eyed the three children with mild distrust.

"State your name and business here," drawled the guard. Kakashi dropped the genjutsu concealing his presence. The two flinched and prepared their chakra.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi, and this is my genin team. We're here for tea."

Their demeanor changed completely, and the teenagers stared wide-eyed at all of them.

"O-oh, Hatake-san. I didn't know you had a genin team!" exclaimed one. He gazed at Kakashi with mild awe.

"Er, right this way," said the other nervously. "Uh, Nara-sama is expecting you."

Kakashi walked into the compound with his team. The genin looked around, intrigued by their surroundings.

"Hey, the roofs here are kinda weird," commented Naruto.

"They are pretty odd looking," agreed a new voice. Nara Shikaku waved, leaning against the wall of the main house. "You're late."

"Uh, sorry. You see, a cat-fight broke out. I had to stop it.," replied Kakashi. "Children, this is Nara Shikaku, Commander of the jōnin Forces and Head of the Nara Clan. Commander, this is my team." He gestured at each of them in turn. "The pouty kid is Uchiha Sasuke, the knucklehead is Uzumaki Naruto, and the pink one is Haruno Sakura." Kakashi ignored their outraged looks.

"Nice to meet you," Shikaku said, hands in his pockets. He looked at Kakashi and grinned. "Didn't I tell you to call me Shikaku?"

"Ok, Shikaku-san," replied Kakashi, just as casually. "Call me Kakashi, then." A hint of amusement appeared in the Nara's eyes.

Sakura spoke up, apprehensive but hidding it well. "Kakashi-sensei, does that mean Commander Nara is your leader?"

Shikaku smirked, and Kakash's eye crinkled. "You could say that," replied Kakashi. He looked at his genin, changing the subject before they could ask any more questions. "Shikaku-san kindly agreed to help train you all in strategy. Now, I expect you to treat him with respect and listen to his directions. Is that clear?"

The three nodded, suitably cowed by Kakashi's glare.

"Right." Shikaku crossed his arms. "We'll start with the basics. Shikamaru, come here!" An irritated looking Shikamaru appeared from... somewhere. Naruto blinked as he tried to figure out how his former classmate had done that. "I need you to teach your friends here how to play shogi. You know what will happen if you don't." Shikaku fixed his son with a look that managed to be simultaneously threatening and laid-back.

"What'll happen if he doesn't?" asked Naruto curiously.

Shikaku smirked. "I'll burn his shogi pieces and give his books to the Inuzaku clan to use for their puppies." His smirk widened. "And do some other stuff."

"Troublesome," muttered Shikamaru. He beckoned reluctantly to the other genin. "The strategy room's this way."

The two jounin watched as the kids walked across the compound. Kakashi turned to the commander, dark eye mildly reproachful. "Leaving the training to your son?"

Shikaku slouched further. "Eh, it's too much work to do it myself. Besides, I gave Shikamaru specific instructions. He's a genius, you know, with the potential to become much better than me. They'll be fine with him. Anyway, working with my son will help all of them. Sasuke still thinks he's the best at everything, and losing to a peer will help get rid of his large ego. It'll also allow Sakura to overcome her blind hero-worship of the boy and give Naruto some real confidence. I'll take over once they're ready."

"Shikamaru will gain experience from his peers as well," noted Kakashi. "I suppose you read my students' profile?"

"Of course. Did you expect me to create a lesson plan without knowing anything about your kids? That's just foolish. This way, I'll be able to the minimum amount of work with the maximum results."

The younger man looked almost amused. "Impressive. Lazy and effective."

"That's the Nara way." Shikaku motioned towards his home. "Tea?"

Naruto concentrated on the game, forehead scrunched. He picked up one of the pieces and slammed it on to the board.

"Ha!"

Shikamaru didn't look up from his Sudoku book. "Naruto, you do realize that a knight can't move there?"

"Oh. I knew that." Naruto resumed frowning at the board.

"Mah, don't feel bad. You're just learning." Shikamaru smirked at Sasuke, who was fuming at the board. "On the other hand, some people don't have that excuse."

Sakura looked at Shikamaru with mild amazement. How in the world was he managing to play three simultaneous games while finishing his Sudoku puzzles and win? And against Sasuke-kun too? The Uchiha had scoffed, saying how he didn't need a refresher in shogi—especially not from someone so lazy. After challenging him to a match, the Nara had destroyed him in less than one minute.

Sakura was about to move her lance to capture Shikamaru's pawn, but she suddenly hesitated. Sakura narrowed her eyes and studied the board. Instead, she moved her bishop away, avoiding the trap. Shikamaru nodded in approval.

"Believe it! YEAH!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air. The Nara heir blinked at the board, and an emotion almost resembling surprise appeared on his face.

"Huh. I didn't expect that move." Shikamaru picked up his rook. "But you left yourself open to attack here. Check."

"Check what?"

"Your king is in check." Shikamaru quickly explained the details.

"Agh! This game has too many rules! It makes my head hurt!" Naruto pouted but continued playing.

Sasuke's eyes scanned the pieces. He tried to figure out what Shikamaru's plan was. Why in the world had he moved his pawn there? The lazy kid had beaten him three times already. Unacceptable. Sasuke gritted his teeth and swallowed his pride.

"Nara-san," said Sasuke quietly, "why did you move your pawn there?"

Shikamaru smiled. "It's the beginnings of a trap. If you moved your rook here, I would be able to take it with my bishop. If you ignored the pawn, I would be able to pin your silver general with my knight."

Shikamaru outlined his plans for the game, telling Sasuke his moves and countermoves. Sasuke listened in disbelief.

"Did you plan for everything?"

"Nah, that's too much work. Instead of preparing for anything, it's better to force your opponent into making the moves you want."

Sasuke nodded slowly. His broth—when he had learned shogi, he had learned that also. That was common knowledge, really. But that still didn't explain why Shikamaru kept beating him. Sasuke moved lance and counterattacked. The Nara frowned.

"You're focusing on strategy instead of tactics."

Naruto, who had also been listening, spoke up. "Eh? What's the difference?"

"Strategy is the overall plan. Tactics are how you achieve it." Shikamaru motioned to the board. "Pinning your knight here is the tactic. Using that pin to put your king in check is the strategy." Shikamaru looked at Sasuke. "You're so caught up in your grand plan that you fail to see the pieces in front of you. Once something goes wrong, your strategy completely falls apart." Shikamaru moved his rook. "Checkmate."

Naruto snickered. "Huh! Sasuke, you're bad at this game." Sasuke glared in response.

"Naruto, on the other hand, has the opposite problem." Shikamaru pointed to the cluster of pieces on the other board. "His attacks and counters are great, but he doesn't have any long-term goal in mind. If you only fight rashly, you won't be able to win." Shikamaru captured Naruto's silver general.

"What about me?" asked Sakura seriously.

The Nara glanced at the unmoved pieces on Sakura's board. "You're too hesitant. You refuse to attack, even when you have the advantage, and you're too worried about consequences to commit to a strategy. If you don't risk anything, there's no use playing."

Shikamaru started resetting the pieces on Sasuke's board. "Should we continue?"

The clan head looked up from his tea. "I think that's enough training for today."

Kakashi hummed in agreement and placed his tea back on the table. "Thank you, Shikaku-san."

"It was my pleasure," replied Shikaku sincerely. Truly intelligent company was a rarity, even in the Nara compound. "I look forward to seeing you and your team during our next session."

"Sounds good to me." Kakashi stood up. "I should go fetch my genin."

Shikaku followed. "Kakashi-san, do you want to come over for lunch this Saturday? Chouza, Inoichi, and a few other jōnin are coming over for a small gathering."

Kakashi paused. "To discuss something?" The silver-haired ninja tapped his fingers lightly against his leg, sending a message. Emergency meeting?

"No, just for fun." Shikaku almost laughed at the puzzled expression on Kakashi's face.

"Ah... perhaps. It depends." Kakashi awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "I might have some... stuff to do."

The Nara grinned. "Saturday it is."

Kakashi eyed the door. "I'll see you later. Thanks for the tea."

Shikaku sighed as the younger man escaped. One of these days, he'd get that boy to accept his invitation.

Today had been pretty successful, actually. His son had done something productive for once, Team Seven had learned about strategy, and Kakashi had been forced to socialize. And all of this was accomplished without any effort from Shikaku's part. Perfect.

Kakashi looked over the files of his team, adding notes and updating information. Like the Team Seven before them, this one was supposed to be an all-rounded combat team. He picked up Sakura's file and frowned.

No matter how he looked at it, Sakura was clearly the weakest link. Her chakra control would make her a natural med-nin or genjutsu user, but until she could hold her own, Sakura would be dead weight. Her taijutsu needed to improve greatly. It had gotten better, but it wasn't enough. Kakashi knew just how to fix that.

He returned his focus to the other two. They would definitely be ninjutsu-users. With Naruto's ridiculous chakra pool and Sasuke's sharingan and talent, the two would dominate the battlefield.

Kakashi bit back a groan. He'd have to teach them himself. Frankly, no one here rivaled Kakashi in ninjutsu, whether it be shape transformation or nature transformation. He was called "the man who copied a thousand techniques" for a reason, after all.

He grumbled as he made a list of potential jutsu to teach them. They'd work on—

Kakashi froze as he felt the chakra flare outside his house. He grabbed his mask and cloak, setting the paper aside. In a fluid movement, he leapt through his window, landing on the roof next to his house.

'Report,' signed Hound.

The cat-masked ANBU replied quickly. 'Emergency situation in headquarters. Presence requested.'

'Acknowledged.'

Sakura rubbed the sleep out of her blurry eyes and scowled balefully at her alarm clock. It was four o'clock in the morning. Four. She turned her glower to the window where Kakashi-sensei was perched, book in hand.

"Good morning, Sakura."

"What are you doing in my room?" whispered Sakura harshly. "It's four in the morning!"

"Yes, what a lovely day. Let's go train." Somehow, Kakashi-sensei made his usual eye-smile ten times more obnoxious than usual.

"No! It's too early!" For some reason, Hound-sensei hadn't trained them last night, and Sakura needed to catch up on some much needed sleep.

"Sakura. Now." The young girl flinched at her teacher's flat tone. Oddly, she was reminded of the Commander.

"Fine," she grumbled. She jumped out of bed and waited. "Sensei, you aren't going to watch me change, are you?"

Kakashi moved the book higher, covering the rest of his face. "Of course not," he mumbled. "But you should really get used to sleeping in your shinobi outfit. It's a good habit to get into." Her weird pervert teacher flickered away.

Sakura sighed and drew the window curtains shut. She quickly put on her clothes and stuck her head out the window.

"Looking for me?"

Sakura almost yelped when she realized that her teacher was standing on her roof. She muttered insults under her breath and climbed out.

"What are we doing?"

"The better question is what are you doing? Now, hurry up." Sakura struggled to keep pace with her teacher, but she noticed something odd. Kakashi-sensei seemed to be favoring his left side, barely putting any pressure on his right leg.

"We're here!" Kakashi paused on the outskirts of town by Training Field Nine. Sakura glanced at her teacher. His face (or what she could see of it) was paler than usual. Was it a trick of the light?

"Sensei, are you ok?"

Kakashi's gaze turned calculating. "I'm fine." His cheerful expression returned. "Now, get down there before he sees me—I mean, us."

"You aren't coming?"

"Hell no. Have fun!" He disappeared before she could say anything more.

Sakura huffed and jumped, landing neatly on the floor. She looked around, wondering why Kakashi-sensei had dropped her here. Then, Sakura noticed something green barreling towards her.

"You must be the Youthful Student my Eternal Rival has sent to experience the Power of Youth!"

Sakura blinked in confusion.

"How Youthful for my Rival to entrust to me the Care of Such a Promising Flower!"

Youth? Flower? What?

"Join us as we partake in the Springtime of Youth to protect Friendships and Enrich the Soul!" The green man struck a pose, almost blinding Sakura with his teeth.

"Sensei! Will we Experience the Power of Youth today?" A mini green person appeared beside the green man. Sakura blinked again. Mitosis?

"Good morning, sensei. Good morning, Lee." A yawning girl with two buns walked up to the group, and a pale-eyed boy with long hair followed her. Sakura looked at the boy and noticed how his eyes were the same as Hinata's. The other girl paused upon seeing Sakura. "Huh? Who's this?"

Lee's eyes widened. "Yes, who is this Beautiful Blossom of Youth?"

"This Flower is my Eternal Rival's student! She has come to join us in our Pursuit of Youth!"

The girl looked at Sakura with interest. "So you're Hatake Kakashi's student?"

"Y-yeah. I'm on his genin team."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Tenten." The girl smiled. "You must be really talented. I don't think Hatake-san's ever taken a team before."

Sakura looked down. "Um, I'm not really that talented."

Tenten waived away her comment. "Anyway, I'm so glad to meet another kunoichi who takes her training seriously." She made a face. "Practically all of the kunoichi our age are silly fangirls. Okay, that might be exaggerating it a little, but still! They're always hanging around one guy or another. It's so annoying. I mean, don't they have any self-respect or pride as a ninja?"

Sakura blushed. "I guess."

"Oh, since this guy here is too stuck-up to introduce himself, I'll do it for him. This is Hyuuga Neiji, my teammate." The mentioned boy glared and looked away. Sakura tilted her head. Hyuuga? Hinata's last name was Hyuuga. They probably were related.

"And I am Rock Lee!" said the small green one.

"I'm Haruno Sakura," said Sakura. "Thank you for letting me train." She watched in mild horror as Lee suddenly fell to his knees and grabbed her hand.

"My Beautiful Blossom Sakura! Will you—"

"Sensei, shouldn't we start training?" interrupted Tenten.

"Of course, my Youthful Tenten! Let us begin our Journey into Springtime!"

Gai took the lead, followed by Lee and Neiji. Tenten jogged beside Sakura. "It's ok if you can't keep up. Gai-sensei's exercises are brutal at first. If you need to stop or want some help, just let me know, ok?"

Sakura smiled but shook her head. "I think I can manage." This couldn't possibly be worse than Hound-sensei's training.

Sakura kneeled by the side of the road and threw up. Her skin was flushed, and her hair stuck to her sweat-drenched face. Her breath caught as she attempted to get her body under control.

Someone gathered the hair out of her face, preventing it from falling into the mess in front of her. Sakura vomited again, spitting up bile as her empty stomach rebelled against her.

"You'll be fine," murmured a kind voice. "Your body just overheated from the exercises. Here, drink this slowly." Sakura grabbed the water bottle and took careful sips. A hand brushed her bangs aside.

"Thanks, Tenten," said Sakura shakily.

"No problem." Tenten smiled. "Though you should really consider putting your hair up. It'll just get in the way during training."

"Y-yeah, that's a good idea." Sakura unsteadily attempted to tie her hair into a knot.

"Here, let me." Deftly, Tenten twisted the pink hair into a loose but secure bun. "Now... I know just the thing." Sakura closed her eyes and tried to stabilize her breathing while the older girl reached into her bag and pulled out a scroll. When she opened her eyes, Tenten was tucking something into her hair.

"What is it?" asked Sakura, reaching out to feel it.

"Senbon," replied Tenten. When she saw Sakura freeze, Tenten added, "Don't worry, they're blunt. It's best to get used to the not-pointy ones first. Long hair is often a disadvantage in battle, but keeping weapons in it can turn it into an advantage instead."

"That's smart." Sakura looked at Tenten curiously. "Do you normally carry blunt senbon around?"

Tenten laughed. "I blunt a lot of weapons during practice. I keep them in my bag until I can sharpen them again."

The pink-headed girl colored with embarrassment. "I guess that makes sense." Sakura looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry for holding you back, Tenten-senpai."

"It's fine! You did really good for a rookie genin. Actually, I think your first try was better than mine."

Sakura gave a small smile. "That's only because Hou—Kakashi-sensei made us do physical conditioning. Gai-sensei's training is much harder, though."

The older girl made a face. "Gai-sensei certainly is... enthusiastic about training. Do you want to sit this lap out?"

"No no, I can continue!" protested Sakura. Tenten patted her on the head playfully.

"Alright, my little kohai. Let's go."

Sakura followed Tenten, determined to keep up. Briefly, Sakura wondered if this was what having an older sister was like. It was a nice feeling, she decided. It was very nice.

"You're late!" Naruto shouted at his eternally tardy teacher. The blonde finished his last push-up and stretched.

"I said one-hundred fifty pushups, not one hundred, Naruto." Kakashi ran his fingers through his hair, making the gravity-defying hair stick out more. "And I'm late because a flying squirrel attacked me."

"Liar," grumbled Naruto. Regardless, he dropped to the ground and did fifty more. Sasuke had already finished his pushups and had started on crunches.

"Hey sensei, what happened to Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"She's doing some special training."

"Aw, not fair! I wanna do special training too!"

"Alright."

Naruto flinched. That had actually worked?

Sasuke looked dubiously at his teacher. "What's the catch?"

"Nothing. I just think it's time to work on my favorite subject."

"What's that?" asked Naruto.

"Ninjutsu."

He groaned. "Sensei, we've already done ninjutsu! You make us practice the standard Academy jutsu for hours!"

"I'm talking about a different kind of ninjutsu. Specifically, elemental transformations."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Really? Sweet!"

"First things first. What do you know about your elemental affinity?"

"Uh... what?" The blonde scratched his head. Sasuke smirked.

"My affinity is lightning with a secondary fire characterstic," stated Sasuke, shooting Naruto a condescending look.

"Aw, shut up, bastard!" Naruto said, without any real venom. He pouted. "It's not my fault that I dunno!"

"Alright, that's enough." Kakashi nodded at Naruto. "You were tested before, in the hospital. Your affinity is wind." After Naruto had been made into a jinchukiri, they had run a series of tests on everything, including affinity.

"Cool! Can I blow stuff up with it?"

"Wind can be pretty destructive." Kakashi thought briefly of another blonde wind-user before tossing a few scrolls at the boys. "Naruto, you'll learn Fūton: Wind Gale. It's useful for redirecting your enemy's attacks or distracting them. The other scroll is Suiton: Cloud Drain. Water isn't your affinity, but it's always good to know at least one water technique." Kakashi looked at Sasuke. "I want you to learn to Katon: Fire Spread. It can help you deal with a group of enemies quickly. The other scroll has Raiton: Charged Palm. It paralyzes an enemy and works at close range."

Sasuke opened his scroll and studied it. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes. "Sensei, this is an Uchiha technique. Where did you get it?"

"Ah... I've worked with the Uchiha in the past, you know." Kakashi shrugged. He'd expected this reaction.

"Yes, but how did you get one of their techniques?" He gestured at the handwriting, teeth clenched. "It's clearly not an official scroll, and my family would never teach a jutsu to an outsider."

Kakashi stared at Sasuke with mild disbelief. Did the boy not know about his Sharingan? Now, Kakashi didn't particularly care about his reputation, but he knew that he was considered one of Konoha's strongest shinobi. And his Sharingan was part of that reputation. Hell, he was called the Copy-nin, Sharingan no Kakashi!

The Uchiha had always disliked him; many had held him responsible for Obito's death, calling him a murderer and a thief. They had used his story as a cautionary tale to scare children. Furthermore, the shinobi clans taught their kids about all the prominent ninja, so how... oh.

How could he have been so stupid? Of course Sasuke didn't know about anyone. His family had died before they could teach him how to navigate the politics of the shinobi world. Dammit. Another subject to work on.

Kakashi's eye flickered to Naruto. Despite how loudly the boy proclaimed his aim to be Hokage, Kakashi had no doubt that Naruto knew nothing about politics, either. What a shame that Minato's son—no. Kakashi pushed the flood of memories away.

"Eh, where I learned that jutsu isn't important."

"But it is." Sasuke's hands were clenched and shaking in an uncharacteristic show of emotion. "I need to know."

Kakashi was silent. "I'll tell you what," he said finally. "If you and Naruto master the jutsu I gave you, then I'll tell you."

"No!" Sasuke closed his eyes and forced himself to stop trembling. "Tell me now."

Kakashi pinned the Uchiha with his gaze. "I will not," he said, tone unyielding. He sighed as he noted the familiar, desolate look in the boy's eyes. "Sasuke," he began, gentler than before. "The Uchiha clan and I have had a complicated relationship. I will tell you everything, but not now. Focus on your training first."

Sasuke grabbed the scroll and walked away stiffly.

"Hey ba-Sasuke, what's wrong?" Naruto ran after the other boy, scrolls also in hand. "Sasuke? Where are you going?"

The silver-haired man grimaced. Well, that went well. Kakashi quietly followed them, almost wincing when his injury hindered his movements. He probably shouldn't leave them unattended while they attempted new jutsu. That was just asking for trouble. And God knew that with this team, more trouble was the last thing he needed.

Chapter Four Preview: the team burns down a forest, experiences politics, and realizes their improvement. Also, Hound returns!

AN: The following chapter should be the end of the training arc and the beginning of their first mission.

Thanks to everyone, including my anonymous reviewers, your kind words. Your response just blew me away. This chapter was a bit longer than the others, and I hope you enjoyed it.

As always, all criticism, comments and concerns are welcome.