[The Heart of a Shinobi, Book One (Chapter 3: Fear) ]

"Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the drug that ruins the Shinobi and it is the tool that gives him the greatest strength...In the end Fear is just another weapon for the Shinobi to use: Its blade is sharper than any knife, its protection unmatched by any shield, and its shadow longer and more consuming than even the night. To become Shinobi, one must know Fear in all of her forms."

Prologue / Part II

"Yes. That is why each of you will be responsible for bringing me the heads of twenty foreign ninja."

"…"

"Huh?"

"Ideally Iwa-nin, although any foreign ninja will due." The Inu-masked ANBU said calmly.

"Wh-why do we have to kill them? And why s-so many?"

"Well, I generate an average of ten confirmed kills per month for Konoha. So really, it's just you three paying me back for the time I'm going to waste training you."

"Oi! What the hell?!" Naruto shouted.

"Taichou," Sakura interjected. "Why is training us a waste of time, don't we play a pretty important in this whole plan?"

"Ah, you are correct Sakura. It is not a total loss, I misspoke."

'He did no such thing.' Sasuke thought, eyes narrowed at the ANBU behind the Inu mask. Something didn't add up. Sasuke searched the black eye-slits for answers but found nothing. There was a reason the village assigned Jounin sensei to teach Genin teams, it was obviously economically viable. It may take several years of potentialally higher-ranked missions away from the Jounin-Sensei, but the village made up for that loss of potential revenue through a lifetime of missions completed by the Genin pupils, who would eventually take on teams of their own. But from the way the ANBU made it out, they were paying for their training with more than just a lifetime of servitude for the village…it wasn't right. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. 'He thinks we're going to die.'

"However, Hokage-sama demands twenty confirmed kills from each of you during this exam. Am I clear?"

"H-Hai T-Taichou."

"Hai Taichou-teme."

"Hn."

There was a moment of complete silence while Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura contemplated what they had just said. The memory of the last time they had failed to please the ANBU was less than pleasant and none of them wanted to experience that level of killing intent ever again. Sakura gulped. Naruto began to sweat. Sasuke shifted his weight to his heels unconsciously, as if trying to distance himself from the currently statuesque ANBU.

The ANBU's hand trailed slowly into his kunai pouch. The clearing was dead silent, as if even the wind was afraid of the masked man who seemed to tower over the team of Genin hopefuls. Three pairs of eyes were glued to the ANBU's hand, obstructed in the depths of his weapons pouch. Naruto could feel the air around him thicken and swallowed harshly in dread.

"Am I clear?"

"Hai Taichou." The three responded.

"Good." Kakashi pulled out his limited-edition Icha Icha Paradise novel and lifted it to his eyes. "Will you honor your village and the Sandaime, who has put his faith in you, or will you run away?" He said from behind his erotic novel of choice, with a nonchalance in his voice that gave the Genin the impression that he couldn't care less about their response. However, hidden from view, his eye narrowed intensely as he inspected his soon-to-be team.

Sasuke grit his teeth at the blatant manipulation. He doubted Naruto or Sakura even realized they had a choice in the matter. He considered refusing right there, just to stick it to the cocky ANBU. But six months of dedicated training from one of the village's elite was too much for him to pass up. He would prove the man wrong; he would survive.

"I accept." Sasuke said.

"I accept!" Naruto followed Sasuke immediately. Naruto's chest was sticking out, and Sasuke could see the childish pride he was experiencing written clearly on his whiskered face. 'That dobe.'

"I accept." Sakura said, almost dejectedly. It was obvious she was struggling with whole 'kill 20 people' line. Sasuke couldn't really blame her.

"Good." The ANBU officer said from behind his book. He sounded surprisingly detached for a man who had all but sent three children to their deaths. 'Maybe that's why he's detached.' Sasuke mused.

"Take these," The ANBU said, throwing a storage scroll to each of the Genin with one fluid toss. "Those scrolls contain your clothes and equipment for the next six months. Don't lose them. Meet here at six-o-clock sharp tomorrow morning. Say your goodbyes, you may never see your family again."

All three Genin knew that last comment was directed at Sakura.

"Where are we going?" Naruto had never been outside of the village before and was entirely excited about finally leaving its gates.

"Don't worry about that." Kakashi said dismissively before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"Eh? Why does he have to be such an asshole, right Sakura-chan?" Naruto flashed his signature 'goofy-grin' at his longtime crush.

"Sakura-chan?"

She was staring at the storage scroll in her arms, shaking uncontrollably. Tears were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes and her lips were three shades too pail for a human being.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong? Did that asshole do the death-intent thingy again or something? 'Cause if he did I sw—"

"Shut up dobe. Let her be."

"No! She needs my help!"

"She doesn't want your help, baka, she wants to be alone."

"Does not!"

A noise escaped from Sakura's mouth and the two boys paused their argument to watch her as she struggled to form her words.

"H…How? H-How can you to be so calm about this? He—Taichou—said we could die! And you don't even give it a second thought!

"Are you crazy or something?! Did you hit your heads really, really hard when you were young, or do you just not care about dying? Even if you guys don't have parents there are still people who care about you!"

Sakura gasped and covered her mouth. "Oops. Sorry."

There was a long silence then. No one moved, even the normally indifferent Sasuke seemed shaken by Sakura's words.

Finally, Naruto spoke.

"Ne, Sakura, you're right." Naruto smiled at her. It wasn't his usual 'goofy-grin,' it seemed sadder and carried a surprisingly mature weight with it.

"And it's for the people who care about me, Iruka-sensei and Hokage-jiji and Ayame-neechan and her old man, that I accepted this mission. I want to protect them no matter what! They are counting on me, and I won't let them down."

"Hn." Sasuke left the training ground, he didn't want to spend any more time around these idiots. Sasuke didn't have time for people who 'cared' about him. No, his entire existence was dedicated erasing his brother's.

Naruto left as well, heading back to the academy so he could make Iruka-sensei treat him to some ramen. He glanced back at Sakura and waved. She just stared after him, unmoving.

Sakura was left alone in the clearing. Idly, she walked over to the memorial stone and traced her fingers across several of the names etched into it. She wondered if anyone bothered to read the stone; she never had. If her name was carved here, would her parents leave flowers? Would Ino stop by and catch Sakura up on the village's latest gossip? Maybe she'd drag Shikamaru and Chouji along with her.

Naruto's words rang in her head "I want to protect them no matter what!" She was a ninja now, she knew it was her duty to protect the village, but still… She wasn't ready to die.

Maybe she just wouldn't show up tomorrow, it wasn't too late. She could run.

'No,' she thought. 'I accepted this mission, and I will see it through to the end, no matter what.' Sakura sighed to herself and stared blankly at the Memorial Stone, not really seeing it. It was dusk before Sakura managed to compose herself and return home.

"You're late!" Blondie and the Pinky shouted in unison. It was 6:02. Kakashi resisted the urge to sigh. These kids had no idea.

"Naruto, put this in your pack for me." Kakashi said as he threw Naruto a steel canteen.

"Huh, what's this for?"

Kakashi smirked behind his old Inu mask. "Just hold on to it for a bit, you'll be using it soon enough."

Naruto just nodded absently and shrugged to himself as he tossed the canteen into his pack.

Kakashi had immediately noticed that each of them had brought a travel-pack, although Kakashi could only guess at what was actually inside of them. Kakashi would save the disappointing reality of his students' shortcomings for later and just enjoy the fact that they had all been smart enough to at least bring travel-packs.

'Ah look at my cute little students.' Kakashi chuckled silently.

"Listen up Maggots! First thing's first: you need to know where you stand. Right now, you are about as useful as Maggots, and therefore will be referred to as such. Maybe by the end of our six months together you will have proven yourselves strong enough to earn the title of 'Earthworms,' at which point I will allow you the honor of kissing the ground on which I walk. Am I clear, Team Maggot?"

"Oi! What the hell asshole! There's no w—" Kakashi's fist slammed into Naruto's solar plexus, then his right leg lashed like a whip into Naruto's head and created a rather large dent on Naruto's forehead protector. The young demon container flew back, somersaulting harshly until his momentum was broken against the trunk of a nearby tree. None of the Genin had even been able to see Kakashi close the distance between two.

Sasuke's hand instinctively reached for his kunai pouch, however it was caught in Kakashi's iron-like grip, and the boy was hurled into a tree trunk right next to Naruto. Before Sasuke could even blink Kakashi's fist was imprinting itself in his cheek bone. Then everything went black.

Sakura didn't even have time to scream before Kakashi materialized in front of her. He slapped at her languidly, giving her a chance to escape the strike. However she was too shocked to take advantage of the opening, or even scream, and so met the same fate as her teammates as she was knocked to the ground and kicked repeatedly.

The beating had lasted less than 10 seconds, yet all three members of Team Seven had been incapacitated; pathetic. 'Team Maggot', Kakashi corrected himself. He was pretty proud of himself for coming up with that on the spot, although he supposed his Taichou had done something similar to his squad when Kakashi had first joined the ranks of ANBU.

Kakashi walked over to Naruto's passed out form, unzipped his travel-pack and took out the canteen he had given him earlier. Then Kakashi lined the three Genin up and unceremoniously dumped the freezing cold water that had been stored inside the container onto his cute little students' sleeping faces.

"Ahhh!"

"Gah!"

"Eeeeeeeeeek!"

"The first lesson I will teach you," Kakashi began, giving his students no time to earn themselves another beating. "Is that maggots do not suffer alone. You are too small and insignificant to bother discriminating between. Do you understand me, Team Maggot?"

"Hai."

"I said, do you understand me, Team Maggot?"

"Hai Taichou."

"Good. I will not be so gentle the next time."

Naruto scowled. "The hell you will." He muttered under his breath.

"Now that I have your attention, we may begin. I am going to lay out each of your strengths and weaknesses so that you, as well as your teammates, understand them. Then I will explain your role in the unit and in what area's I will be training you. Any questions?"

"Actu—" Sakura began.

"Good. Then let's begin.

"Haruno Sakura. Your ninjutsu is poor. Taijutsu is pathetic. Genjutsu is decent. Decent intelligence as well. Stealth is nonexistent. Strength: poor. Speed: poor. Stamina: poor. Chakra capacity: pathetic. Chakra control…excellent. Sakura will be the team's combat-medic, emphasis on combat. Most of your training will be dedicated towards developing your speed and taijutsu. You will fight hand-to-hand using a combination of precise bursts of chakra to enhance your strength and the B-ranked medical technique Chakra Scalpels to swiftly kill enemy ninja without wasting your reserves. I will also teach you several other basic medical techniques, but I'm not expecting too much on that front. If you can learn to switch seamlessly between your Chakra Scalpels and your burst-strikes, you will have pleased your Taichou. You have shown aptitude for genjustu detection, which I will train you in further.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Your ninjutsu is average. Taijutsu is decent. Genjutsu is decent. Also decent intelligence. Stealth is poor. Strength is poor. Speed is decent. Stamina is poor. Chakra capacity: decent. Poor chakra control. Sasuke will be the team leader. I plan to develop your speed and chakra control, as well as teach you several genjustu, for which the Uchiha clan is renowned. You will learn to manipulate genjustu with the Shamisen in your storage scroll. There is a storage seal on your armguards for easy access and storage of the instrument. You will also improve your repertoire of Katon jutsu, as well as your skills with ninja-wire. Also, we will develop your Sharingan. Once you have activated it I will walk you through some taijutsu kata's which you will be able to practice yourself. Your bloodline will give you a large advantage in the genjutsu realm, however as team leader you need to be proficient in all areas of the ninja arts.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Your ninjutsu: poor. Taijutsu: pathetic. Genjutsu: nonexistent. Intelligence is laughable. Stealth is excellent. Strength is poor. Speed is poor. Stamina is good. Chakra capacity is impressive. Chakra control is nonexistent. Your primary duty will be assassination. Using his stealth to close in on unsuspecting enemies and kill them simultaneously using shadow clones. Your second role will be team-protection. I will teach you several Doton techniques, including Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu, Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu, and Doton: Doryūheki. These techniques will allow you to protect and hide your teammates from enemies' attacks. I will teach you several 'silent kill' techniques with the Tantō, as well as how to use ninja wire to coordinate attacks with Sasuke. Your skill with traps is to be acknowledged, and you will be responsible for taking lead during all trap-related scenarios."

None of the Genin really looked happy about the blunt assessment of their skills. Kakashi couldn't really blame them. But there wasn't enough time for him to coddle these children, he had to turn them into a fearsome combat and assassination squad capable of surviving the Chūnin Exams in Iwa, which Kakashi imagined would be a living hell. His cute little Genin would be surrounded by hundreds of enemy ninja, half of whom, Kakashi speculated, will have been ordered to kill, or at least incentivized to kill, Team Seven. Team Maggot. And it was his job to give them a fighting chance.

The problem was that no child could survive in that environment. And so, in addition to training them, it was Kakashi's duty to destroy Team Maggot's innocence. It was Kakashi's duty to transform them from fresh Genin who had never taken life into cold-hearted killers who wouldn't bat an eyelash at the thought of murdering foreign ninja in their sleep.

"Any questions before we continue?"

"Yeah, wha—"

"Good. Then unseal your storage scroll and put on your uniforms."

"Wait I had a questio—" Naruto was cut off by Kakashi's uppercut smashing into his stomach hard enough to lift Naruto off of the ground. A second later Sasuke and Sakura had also experienced the joy of being punched hard enough to throw up, and Team Maggot hacked up their breakfasts together. It was the first thing Kakashi had seen them do together, and he wondered if he should take a picture to commemorate the touching moment.

"Why are you still on the ground? Did you not hear me; I said unseal the storage scroll and put on your uniforms."

Kakashi was surprised at how quickly they moved. He was always amazed at how well pain motivated people. He would never forget that time Anko…He trailed off, lost in some of the best memories of his youth. However his moment of peace did not last long as a frustrated cry from Naruto threatened to shatter his eardrums.

"Oi! Taichou, what the hell! Where is the orange? Why do we have to wear these ugly things anyways?"

"Naruto shut up! I swear if I get hit again because of you…"

"Ah. Good question Naruto. There is no orange because the color does not blend in well, and will damper your stealth prowess, which is your primary asset as a ninja and as a member of Team Maggot. Those ugly uniforms, you might have noticed, rather closely resemble the uniforms worn by Konoha's ANBU Black Ops."

And it was true. The uniform consisted of a black sleeveless top, black standard shinobi pants, black ninja sandals, a grey flak jacket, ninja gloves that went up to the bicep and unreflective metal armguards. The only thing missing were the masks.

"This resemblance will cast fear into the hearts of your enemies, and proudly mark you three as the pinnacle of Konoha Genin. Wear these uniforms with pride, they are a symbol of the Hokage's belief in your success."

"Yata!" Naruto yelled, obviously excited by Kakashi's answer. The three quickly changed into their respective uniforms, and quickly noticed the differences between each. Naruto's uniform came with a tantō, which was strapped in a vertical holster down his back. Naruto's right armguard had a small black handle protruding from it facing inwards. When he pulled it out with his left hand, it revealed a spool of razor-wire that was obviously strung somewhere inside of the armguard. There were about two feet of wire taut. Its purpose was painfully obvious: garrote or decapitate, depending on the strength of the target's neck. Naruto gulped at the deadly wire, obviously uncomfortable with the thought of using it.

Sasuke's right armguard had a neat storage seal on it, which when activated soundlessly, and without the usual smoke associated with storage seals, summoned a short Shamisen. Sasuke casually plucked a few strings, reservedly inspecting his new tool. In one of his pouches he had ten kunai each attacked to 15 meters of super-fine ninja wire.

Sakura's uniform was standard except for her armguards, which were attached slightly higher on her forearm to allow her more flexibility of the wrist.

Kakashi had given the members of Team Maggot a few minutes to adjust to their new attire, he rather enjoyed the look on Naruto's face when he realized just what the razor wire was for. Kakashi could tell that his cute students were anxious, they were scared, and excited, and a little bit angry too. All of that would fade, Kakashi would make sure of it. There was no room for emotions on the battlefield.

"Let's go." Kakashi said, and began to walk out of the clearing.

"Go where?" Naruto asked.

"To Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death. I'm going to teach you maggots to kill, after all."

Team Maggot gulped in unison.