Author's note – Kishimoto Masashi owns Naruto while Guyver is written by Yoshiki Takaya.
I make no claim to either, I am merely playing in their sandboxes.

I nicked the name of Tenten's dad from the story New Beginnings, New Fate (id 3747052) by FreeTheKyuubi. It's a fun story, although sadly abandoned.

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Chapter Ten

Sensei

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"Team four." Naruto mused as he put down his empty bowl and accepted another. "I wonder who this Aoi guy is."

"My brother knows of him." Idate said between bites as he ate his own bowl of ramen. "Green hair, uses an umbrella…"

"A what?" Yagura asked from Naruto's other side and Idate smirked.

"Not one of the ones that the civilians use, a proper ninja umbrella. My brother showed me one. The struts are steel with the tips sharpened, the point is also sharp for stabbing and it can be used to fire senbon. The paper itself includes chakra-wire allowing it to be used to deflect attacks."

"Oh, like the fan that Madara used and that…"

"Hiro sliced in half." Yagura finished as Naruto reined himself in before he could give away his secret.

"So, green hair and an umbrella." Naruto mused. "That's not much to go on… maybe I should ask the old man about him, see if I can get us some more info."

"No need." A voice said from behind them and all three boys turned to see a green-haired man smiling at them, the handle of an umbrella poking up over his right shoulder. "I guess that you three are the team that I'm supposed to be meeting tomorrow, good to see that you are already working together. I am Jonin Rokushu Aoi."

"Genin Uzumaki Naruto and these are Yagura and Morino Idate!" Naruto chirped as Aoi took one of the vacant seats and accepted a menu.

"Good to meet you." He smiled, then turned to Ayami, who was watching from behind the counter.

"A bowl of shrimp ramen and a cup of water for me please, and a bowl each of whichever flavour they like for my team-to-be. My treat."

"Best. Sensei. EVER!" Naruto celebrated and Aoi laughed.

"Easy to please, aren't you? I noticed on your records that while Idate lives with his brother, you two share a house."

"It's his, I just pay rent." Yagura said as he handed Ayami his empty bowl for washing up. "It's a very nice house at the foot of the monument, near the path to the top."

"Oh, that house!" Aoi said in realization. "I remember seeing it and wondering who managed to get permission to build a house there, that explains it."

"I had a spare room and Yagura needed somewhere to stay." Naruto shrugged. "Besides, he's a great sparring partner, he really helped me to learn my katas."

"And given how little he was helped at the Academy, he needed the help I could give." Yagura grumbled. "I'm still better, though, despite how unpredictable he is."

"Meh, I'm better at traps and powerful ninjutsu." Naruto countered. "Having awesome chakra reserves really helps."

"I'm learning the art of interrogation from my brother." Idate offered. "I'm also good at traps, but I'm the best of us with kunai and shuriken. I'm also practicing senbon-throwing."

"A truly rounded team." Aoi said with an easy smile. "Thank you."

Ayame smiled as she quickly placed the other bowls in front of the three genin and for a moment, the quartet were silent as they applied themselves to eating.

"Ayame, that was wonderful as always." Naruto grinned, earning a shocked look from Aoi.

"We don't know how he eats so fast either, sensei." Idate sighed, correctly interpreting the look. "He currently holds the record for bowls eaten in a single sitting."

Aoi shook his head and returned to his ramen.

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"Good morning." Aoi smiled as he jogged onto the training field where all three genin were waiting. "I know that you're excited about starting and I've examined your records so that I have a good idea of what you are capable of. However, all genin teams must be tested and passed by their Jonin-senseis before they become official teams, which means that you have to pass my test first."

"Bring it on!" Naruto exclaimed. "We'll flatten that test!"

"Before we begin, please be seated." Aoi said as he dropped to sit cross-legged on the grass. Taking their cue from him, the three genin also sat down, their attention fixed on him.

"Team Four is intended to be a multi-purpose team, but one with the primary mission of ambushing and capturing enemy shinobi, either securing them for transport to where they can be interrogated or actually interrogating them in the field. Why is such a team needed… Yagura?"

Yagura blinked. "Ummm, an ambush and capture team can help to secure vital information, either relating to the mission in hand or more general information which could prove vital in other missions."

"A good answer." Aoi said approvingly. "The last well-known ambush and capture team was the Ino-Shika-Cho team. Who were they… Naruto?"

"Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku and Akamichi Choza." Naruto replied instantly. "Their clans have a long history of working together and often form teams comprising one of each clan."

"Very good, Naruto." Aoi complimented him. "The best A&C teams, however, are the ones that aren't well-known. Idate?"

"Well-known teams can be planned for and countermeasures created in order to stop them." Idate said instantly. "Unknown teams cannot be planned for in any real way, giving them an advantage during the early stages of the mission."

"Brilliant." Aoi grinned. "You really have been doing your homework. Now, let's discuss ninja tools. Apart from Kunai, shuriken and swords, what other weapons are used by ninja?"

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"Team four passes, Hokage-sama." Aoi bowed. "They passed my test flawlessly."

"What was your test?" Hiruzen asked as he looked out of the window and behind him, Aoi straightened up.

"I tested their minds, Hokage-sama. I wished to see how they coped with both random general knowledge and problem solving, and they passed."

Hiruzen nodded slowly. "Any… interesting observations?"

"Naruto." Aoi stated, shaking his head. "He seems to think… there are many types of thinkers. There are those who reason their way through a problem, there are those who try to avoid problems, those who smash straight through or try to take them apart to rebuild them."

"And Naruto…?"

"I don't know." Aoi admitted. "His mind works in ways I've never encountered before. He can miss the obvious but at the same time spot the hundred tiny details needed to see beyond the false façade that tricks others. Teaching him will be… interesting. Did you know he makes money from selling tags?"

Hiruzen turned to stare at Aoi. "He does?"

"To Higarushi Kyougu." Aoi confirmed. "They're good tags, I've used them myself on occasion. Having Naruto on my team means that I can now get them at cost."

"Huh." Hiruzen finally managed. "Tags. I hadn't realized he studied fuuinjutsu that much. That will be very useful for an ambush team. How good is he?"

"I spoke to Kyouga about it and he said that Naruto was probably at Journeyman standard."

"Kage Bunshin." Hiruzen realized. "With his chakra levels, he can use them to learn a great deal."

"Fascinating." Aoi mused, then he paused. "Hokage-sama, is he aware of his burden?"

"He is." Hiruzen sighed. "And a few other things as well, including his parentage, which you do not need to know at this time, so don't ask."

Aoi blinked, then nodded. "As you command, Hokage-sama."

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"Good morning, team, welcome to your first full day as Shinobi of Konoha." Aoi smiled and his students grinned at him. "Before we get our missions, though, we shall discuss what the missions are for."

"Ooooh! Rescuing princesses, dethroning tyrants, capturing spies…" Naruto began before Yagura caught him in a headlock and clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Not yet." Aoi said as he dropped into his normal seating pose, causing the other three to follow suit. "For at least a month, we will be doing D-ranks, missions with no real possibility of combat and which are inside Konoha."

"No combat?" Naruto moaned. "Then how are we supposed to prove how awesome we are?"

"There is a reason for this." Aoi said calmly. "Public relations. Idate, you look like you understand."

"Yes, Sensei, I do." Idate agreed, half-turning to face his team-mates. "Konoha is the village that treats civilians as equals. While the other four treat civilians as a necessary evil that need to be controlled by the shinobi, we treat civilians as valued partners to be protected. D-ranks show them that we are happy to help them rather than lording it over them."

"Very good." Aoi said approvingly. "There's more to it than that, though. D-ranks will take you all over Konoha, allowing you to learn every street and alley like the back of your hand, something that is vital when trying to catch spies. It also introduces you to the civilians, letting them see you as people and not as scary killing-machines that would slit their throats as soon as look at them.
"You will also make contacts among the civilians, people who are willing to tell you if something seems off, strange or wrong, thus helping to improve Konoha's security. You will learn where the best food can be purchased, the places where you can buy weapons and how cost and quality must always be balanced. You will learn civilian skills which will allow you to take missions into other lands, hiding as one who cannot fight and slipping under the gaze of enemy ninja.
"And you will learn teamwork. You will be able to predict what your team-mates will do in any given situation. You will become able to perform entire missions without needing to speak a single word, as you know each other so well.
"And when I am satisfied with your progress, we will move on to C-ranks, missions that take place outside of Konoha and which therefore run the risk of enemy action such as bandits or nuke-nin.
"I'm afraid that rescuing princesses and dethroning tyrants are more A-rank missions, you have a long way to go before you are ready for that."

Idate and Yagura laughed at Naruto's pout.

"Now," Aoi said as he rose to his feet, his students mimicking his action, "Let us head to the mission office to get our first mission and once we have done it, we will begin training so that we can improve ourselves."

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"I hear you have a team."

Aoi looked up and motioned for his friend to join him. "I do indeed and we had our first mission today."

"Do I know them?"

"Ibiki's brother, the second-best taijutsu student and the blond who isn't a mindwalker."

"Ah."

For a long moment, the duo simply sat silently, then Aoi motioned for the waiter to bring another bottle and saucer.

"So, this is a celebration?"

"It is indeed." Aoi smiled as he accepted the bottle and placed it on the table. "How is your job going?"

"Not bad." The man shrugged. "We've lost quite a few of the civilian-born, but given how the curriculum has been upgraded over the last few years, that was only to be expected. The Hyuuga and the Uchiha are currently running a dead heat for the position of Rookie of the Year."

Aoi snorted with laughter. "How does it affect the rest of the class?"

"They're trying to catch up." Came the reply. "For a while, the class was dividing into Hyuuga and Uchiha camps until the two of them caught wind of what was happening and told everyone that they were being stupid."

"You have quite a few clan heirs in your class." Aoi noted and he received a nod in reply.

"Hyuuga, Uchiha, Nara, Akamichi, Yamanaka… yeah. It's… interesting."

Aoi laughed at the wryness of the statement.

"You really do have a fondness for dry humor, Mizuki-san."

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Aoi entered his flat, closing the door behind him. Walking into the kitchen, he switched on the light and drew the curtains against the gathering darkness before shaking his hand. A folded piece of paper dropped out of his sleeve and he caught it before it could drop more than a few centimeters.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, he unfolded the piece of paper and read it several times before rising once more and walking to the sink. Holding the paper up, he used a small katon jutsu to ignite it, then he dropped the burning page into the sink, watching it fall into ashes before washing them away.

"You make a great messenger, Mizuki." He whispered to himself with a smirk.

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Author's afternote – Dun dun DUUUUUN!