Hidden Genes
Summary: There is a type of jutsu only one shinobi could use,the Shodaime became famous for it being impossible for anyone who doesn't have his DNA, and even then it was rare. Sharingan is an Uchiha doujutsu,so no one can have it unless an eye is given, so why does the Kyuubi vessel have both?Why does he move like the Yondaime?
Kakashi looked down at the team, all three finally awake, starving and one certain blond tied up against the middle log with the alarm clock on it. Sasuke was sitting, tired and hungry, on Naruto's right while Sakura, still a bit unsteady from the two fainting spells and hunger, was on his left. For the first time since he met the Kyuubi vessel, Naruto's eyes resembled glaciers in his glare directed at the jonin.
"Oh uh. Stomachs growling, huh?" Kakashi couldn't help but taunt and he got three glares for his efforts, the blond even releasing an almost animalistic growl as his response. "That's too bad. Oh, and by the way, about this exercise ... Well, I've decided I won't send any of you back to the Academy." He enjoyed the brief flashes of relief that washed over their faces.
"I passed? I mean, all I did was fall over. You get points for that?" Sakura asked, still in shock before jumping up and down in joy. Suddenly, the blue eyes of the blond narrowed and the excited whispers of all three of them passing stopped. Sasuke and Sakura looked over to him in confusion.
"What's the catch?" Sasuke was the one to ask, picking up the signals from the blond. Sakura looked on in confusion as the smile left Kakashi's face.
"All three of you are being dropped from the program. Permanently." Naruto, predictably, started protesting about how that would mean they would never become ninjas and how they should just be getting the bells in order not to be sent back to the Academy. "You don't think like ninja. You think like little kids. Like brats." Kakashi said with his hands on his hips and this time it was Sasuke who reacted violently, charging at the jonin, only to end up pinned to the ground on his stomach, a hand held behind him as Kakashi half sat on his back. "You think it's all about you."
"Let go of Sasuke! You can't step on him like he's some bug!" Sakura screamed and Naruto flexed his fists. He's had it. He was hungry and annoyed and tired. That was a very bad combination. He no longer felt bad for what he and Kurama had planned for messing with the silver haired shinobi.
"You don't know what it means to be a ninja. You think it's a game, huh? Why do you think we put you on squads? Did you consider that question for one second?" Kakashi continued with an almost disappointed look in his eye. He had actually liked these three. "You never realized what this exercise was all about. Not even close. It's so basic for three people in a squad. Teamwork."
"You mean working together?"
"Yes but it's too late now." Kakashi said with a glare. "If all three of you had come at me together, you might have been able to take them. Well, anyway, it's over."
Just let me at him, Kit. He's been pulling us by our noses all morning and I'm sick of it.
'Just stick to the plan, Kurama.'
"But there are two bells for three people. Even if we got the bells, only two would be able to keep them and the group would fall apart in order to get them." Sakura protested.
"Exactly. I purposely pitted you against each other. I wanted to see if you could overcome that and put the squad before yourselves. If you have a natural feel for teamwork. But you, it never even crossed your mind. Sakura, you obsessed about Sasuke, who was gone but you had Naruto right in front of you. Why didn't you help him? Naruto," he turned to the blond. "You do everything alone." That stung, if the flinch was anything to go by. Sasuke stiffened under the man, growling. "Everything."
"He went on his own to get us food so we can wor-"
Kakashi interrupted Sasuke's muffled protests by pressing a foot harder against his head. "And Sasuke. You thought the others were so far beneath you they were worthless." The growl that followed surprised him but Kakashi wasn't letting up. "Arrogance. Ninja missions are carried out in squads! Of course, you need your individual skills but team work is the most essential element. Every shinobi understands this. When individuals put themselves before the squad, this can lead to failure and," he pulled out a kunai from his weapons pouch and placed it at Sasuke's neck to demonstrate his point. "Death." The growl this time didn't come from the Uchiha but rather the tied up boy. 'Maybe that is some hope for them after all.' He thought. "For example, Sakura, kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies!"
The girl panicked but the blond remained unusually stoic about it. Sasuke glared at the kunoichi, as if daring her to even think about it.
"That's what happens on a mission." Kakashi said as he straightened up.
"Then she should kill me." The solemn words left Kakashi frozen in place, Sakura paled like a sheet and Sasuke started struggling anew. The one visible eye stared at Naruto as if he had sported fox ears and nine tails. He had never even dreamed a person so seemingly bright would ever say that. "I would rather die than let a teammate be killed. And Sakura-chan would hate me forever and that would destroy what is left of the team. Not that we could be a team without Sasuke." Black eyes stared at the blue eyed teen as he spoke. "If even one is missing, can we really be a team? If we wouldn't die for each other, can we ever rely on each other? And if we can't relay on each other, are we even a team?"
"Then that goes for you, too, usuratonkachi!" Sasuke hissed at the smaller boy. Kakashi turned his shocked gaze down on the Uchiha, never having expected that!
"That's right!" Sakura's passionate yell averted his attention to her. "You can't go saying that if Sasuke-kun was gone, we couldn't really be a team and then go sacrifice yourself! I mean, it's sweet and noble but you're our teammate, too, you know! And besides, I might not want Sasuke-kun to die but I could never kill you in exchange! Sasuke-kun would hate me, too!"
Kakashi was stunned now. Wait, was this really the team that would rather shift blame and run along on their own that he had first met? Where did this sense of comradeship suddenly come from? Did he fall asleep somewhere? But, no. Sasuke was still squirming on the ground, trying to get free, and Naruto and Sakura were still arguing over whose life was more worth saving. Just what the hell was going on?
He withdrew the kunai from Sasuke's neck and the two stopped bickering in a second, their attention turning back to their sensei and their third teammate. Maybe this was a one time thing. He will need to test them further in order to be sure and it was just his luck that the main test was coming up. If they really did understand it, they will pass it. He watched as their faces showed relief when Sasuke's life was no longer in danger and he observed how Sakura completely relaxed while some tension still remained in Naruto. The blond confused him. One moment he was an idiot, the next he had a wisdom in his eyes that can only come from immense suffering. After all, the most damaged people were the wisest and all that jazz. He will have to keep a close eye on Uzumaki Naruto.
He twirled his kunai around a finger absentmindedly as he continued his lecture. Hey, no need to tell them how impressed he was, right? "The enemy takes a hostage and you have an impossible choice. Someone ends up dead. On every mission, you life is on the line." He finally got up and off of Sasuke, noticing that even more tension left Naruto, but still not all of it. He wondered what that was about. Kakashi walked away from the still sprawled out form of the Uchiha and walked towards the memorial placed in the clearing. "Did you look at this stone? The names engraved on it ... They are all ninja who are honored as heroes of our village."
"They died in action, didn't they?" Sasuke asked as he walked over to stand beside the log Naruto was tied to. "Out on missions for the village."
"Yes."
Naruto slumped against the post, averting his amazingly blue eyes to the ground. 'That's right,' Kakashi thought. 'He learned the truth about what happened twelve years ago.' What must it be like, to know that everyone hated you, and not even because of your own flaw, but rather because something evil was sealed inside you as an infant. When you had no choice and someone decided to make it for you, doming you to a lonely and harsh life as the container of that great and powerful beast that had nearly destroyed the home you love and would fight for, the people who you want to protect? Kakashi couldn't imagine it.
Yet here Naruto was, almost always with a smile on his face. Kakashi could count on one hand the number of times he had seen the blond distressed, depressed, angry or anything of the sort that wasn't a positive emotion. Either Naruto was a far better actor than Kakashi - and everyone else in Konoha - knows or thinks, or Naruto really was a happy go lucky child even after everything that he has lived through.
Never the less, he will only be stronger for it.
''This is a cenotaph. The names of my friends are carved in here, as well.'' The three genin averted their gazes from the suddenly vulnerable man. When Kakashi looked back at them over his shoulder, he was dead serious again. ''I will give you one more chance.'' He didn't know if he was making the right decision, but he had a pretty good feeling about these three. He wanted them to be his first genin team. There was just something about them ... Their dynamics intrigued him, for one. And they all showed great promise. He was sure life would be pretty interesting with them around. ''However, the battle for the bell will be much harsher after lunch. Eat only if you are up to the challenge.''
The three looked at each other uncertainly, although they all did a pretty good job of hiding it. ''But!'' He got their attention again and three different pairs of eyes landed back on him. ''Don't let Naruto eat.'' The blond instantly turned the glare back on, Sasuke had a scowl and Sakura looked scandalized. ''This is the punishment for breaking the rules and trying to steal the lunches.'' He walked closer to them so he was almost nose to nose with the growling Naruto before taking a step back to look at the other two children. ''If anyone feeds him, they will instantly fail.'' Sakura gawked and tried to form protests while Sasuke looked away, but Naruto just looked annoyed. The hell was wrong with this guy!? ''I'm the rule here, got it?''
With that, he left and almost in the same instant, Naruto's stomach gave an almighty growl. ''When I get my hands on him, I am soooo going to strangle that pervert.'' Before he could say anything else, Sasuke was pushing some rice into his mouth with his chopsticks. Naruto nearly choked on the food before swallowing, both his and Sakura's jaws having slacked to the ground. Sasuke just used this opportunity to put some sushi into Naruto's gaping mouth, almost choking the blond again. Naruto swallowed again and turned his head away. ''What the hell, teme!? You need to eat, too!''
''Just shut up and eat, dobe.'' Sasuke growled and tried to get the chopsticks into Naruto's mouth again, but the blond refused. ''Naruto.'' He growled and the blond stuck his tongue out at him. ''Look, it's partially my fault you got caught. We could have been eating in some hidden spot now had I not gotten caught off guard by Kakashi and you had to stop to save me. You're being punished for trying to help the team. I tried to tell that to that idiot, but he obviously likes to hear himself talk too much to even listen to us.''
Naruto opened his mouth to protest again, only to be nearly choked to death by food again, only this time from a different side. He coughed a few times and was grateful for the drink Sakura brought to his mouth. When he got his breathing back under control, the kunoichi spoke. ''It's my fault, too. If I hadn't fainted then you wouldn't have had to worry about both me and Sasuke-kun. You risked getting caught just to make sure we will get to eat, Naruto. It seems to me that you knew more about this exercise than either of us.''
''I knew we would have to eventually work together,'' the blond admitted and this time let Sakura place a little more rice into his mouth. He swallowed before speaking again. ''But this, right now, really isn't necessary.''
''Don't be an idiot, idiot. Of course it is. If you're hungry, you won't be able to focus for when we strike back at Kakashi. We'll need to learn to work together, and fast, if we want to get those bells. We all need to be in as good a state as we can, and for that, we all need to eat something.''
Naruto rolled his eyes at Sasuke, getting a scuff on the head from Sakura for the gesture even as Sasuke took a bite of his own rice for once. Like he said, they all need to eat, not just the blond. ''What I meant, teme, is that you don't need to do this, because I had a plan.''
As if on cue, a small orange fur ball walked into the clearing from the bushes, dragging behind it four rabbits, a pheasant and a ... Was that a raccoon? While his teammates eyes were averted from him, Naruto lowered his head and let his eyes change to the familiar red of the Sharingan. He didn't marvel at how sharp everything became with the Kekkei Genkai activated and instead focused on the wood fiber in the rope. He heard it snap and a grin spread across his face as he let his secret powers once again lie dormant.
Sasuke and Sakura turned around when the ropes snapped, wide eyed at the now free boy. The blond just grinned at them as the little furry thing came up to him and dumped its load at the boy's feet, keeping a tight hold on the still alive and squirming raccoon. Naruto rolled his blue eyes at it.
''Seriously, you just couldn't help yourself, could you.'' Sasuke swore the creature smirked at the blond and Naruto just shook his head. ''Sometimes I wonder about you, I really, really , are you going to go and hunt down an octopus, or something? Seriously, Kurama.''
''Naruto, why are you talking to a fox?'' Sakura finally managed to ask and the whiskered teen smiled at her.
''Because he is no ordinary fox! He's my kuchiyose!'' Without further ado, Naruto took the almost cat-sized orange fox with its bushy tail into his arms and gave it a firm but gentle hug. The little fox was a spitting image of Kaurama's real form as the Kyuubi, only he was much, much, much smaller and he only had one tail instead of nine. But it was definitely Kurama, the Kyuubi no Kitsune that many feared. This trick, giving Kurama a corporal form, had taken them years to perfect. Many days and nights were spent searching for the right way to make Naruto's chakra flow in order for it to be possible to transfer some of Kurama's consciousness into a clone made explicitly for the fox. The guise of it being a kuchiyose was perfect, as it would excuse Kurama's ability to speak as well as his red eyes. "He used to be an ordinary fox until I found him a year ago," which was actually the time Naruto had first managed to extract a part of Kurama's mind out of his own. "He was dying and I panicked so I made a pact, a contract of sorts, with him and since it was getting to late for him, I made a quick summoning jutsu that only works for him. He's been sticking with me ever since."
"Why did you never tell us before?" Sakura asked curiously as she stared at the cute forest creature that seemed both wild and tamed. "And why didn't you use him against Kakashi-sensei?"
"Because that pervert has a contract with some of the best tracker and hunting dogs in the great five nations." Sasuke and Sakura jumped when Kurama spoke in his deep, rather intimidating voice. They looked closely at the fox as it huffed, obviously not liking the thought of being chased by said dogs. The raccoon was still firmly trapped in his clutches. On closer inspection, the kitsune had almost human like fingers instead of claws and paws. Very interesting, indeed.
"So you sent him out to hunt?" Sasuke asked, looking back up at the grinning blond, who nodded happily. "You had it all figured out, even if Kakashi were to catch you. We wouldn't have been left hungry."
"Of course, dattebayo! No one can fight on an empty stomach! So let me skin them while you guys prepare the fire. We can share the little feast as soon as the meat is well done." Naruto said as he plopped down, jerking Kurama enough for him to let go of the poor raccoon. The fox scowled with a growl but Naruto paid him no mind. After all, he knew Kurama was just pissed because he couldn't mess with it more. It wasn't the poor thing's fault that one of the more annoying biju shared his appearance to an extent. "Sasuke, I noticed some burnt grass in the clearing I found you in. Can you do Katon jutsus already?"
Sasuke looked down at him and crossed his arms across his blue clad chest. "Hn."
"Well, you can use it on the meat - a milder version, of course - so we can cook it faster. After all, we don't have forever for a break!" The Kyuubi vessel turned around before the Uchiha could protest and started waving at a tree some ways away. "Oi! Kakashi-sensei! Join us for lunch!"
The bewildered and shocked jonin left his hiding place, not knowing whether Naruto inviting him to lunch was creepier or crazier than the blond being able to pinpoint him with such accuracy. He stared at the nicely getting along genin and rubbed the back of his neck. "So ... I huess I was wrong?"
Sasuke snorted and took the first skinned and cleaned rabbit from Naruto and arranging it while Sakura tended to the pheasant, plucking its feathers and cleaning it. "That's what I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen."
"Um, sorry?"
"You're not actually going to give him any, are you?" An incredulous Kurama asked, indignant his hard work will be given away so easily. Hell no! "He's been messing with you since the moment he introduced himself!"
"But he's still our sensei and the leader of Team 7." Naruto pointed out as he finished skinning the second rabbit. He was fast as he should be after years of relying solely on the forest to feed him and keep him safe. He had to hunt every other day in order to eat properly.
Kakashi just blinked at them and couldn't stop himself from shaking his head. He briefly wondered if this was what his own sensei had felt when he met Kakashi and his team. He doubted it, as he did not have someone as mischievous as Naruto, as bipolar as Sakura or as broody and glare-y as Sasuke. Still, he sat down and watched Naruto as he instructed Sasuke just how much heat he should focus behind his Katon: Gokakyo no Jutsu. The genius was trying to get the blond to shut up because he wasn't so stupid as to burn their meat. Sakura giggled or rolled her eyes every now and then and the fox had curled up on Naruto's head, ofnoring the world around it.
And, five minutes later, as they shared the two bentos as a side dish while enjoying the finely cooked meal - Naruto had rushed off into the woods to get them some herbs to give it a better taste - Kakashi felt content as he watched his team interact so peacefully.
Huh, he guessed they passed.
