Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, characters, plots, etc.
Prologue – Chapter 3 - Teachers
The Hokage gazed at the assembled ninja in front of him. He met each of their eyes, or indeed, eye, and saw nothing in them but confidence and loyalty. He smiled inwardly, he'd definitely chosen well.
"I have called you all here this afternoon to discuss an idea that Shikaku has proposed to me. You are all either one of the village's leading experts in your fields, or are significantly qualified and experienced otherwise, so I have assembled you here to form a…committee of some sorts. Shikaku?" Sarutobi leant back in his chair, and looked over to the Nara.
Shikaku stepped forward slightly, drawing the attention of the others in the room. "I want to implement a new curriculum in the academy, and I want your opinions. Each of you has been carefully picked by either Sandaime-sama or myself, and I'm sure I don't need to explain why. I am going to call on each of you in turn: I want you to speak for a few minutes on your opinion of the academy, what's good, what's bad, what's lacking…We'll go from there. Kakashi, you hold seniority, so you first."
A tall, laid-back and frankly quite lanky Jōnin in standard attire stepped forward, calmly placing a small orange book into the pouch on his hip. "Well Hokage-sama, my biggest qualm with the academy is the ninjutsu. We only teach the basic level ninjutsu, but there's so many more that could be very useful. By the time our genin graduation, they don't have a single combat jutsu given to them by the academy. This means there's a lot of wasted time, but, something that no-one else seems to have thought about, it's heavily biased towards our clan members, as they have someone to fill in the gaps at home. It is a real struggle for our civilian-born ninja to even survive with the way things are." Kakashi stepped back into the assembled group of Jōnin and resumed reading, to the resigned sigh of the Hokage.
The Sandaime looked meaningfully at Shikaku. "How are the fatality rates for civilian-born Shikaku?"
"Not great, significantly higher than those from the main clans. That was another problem I wanted to address with this new plan."
Sarutobi sighed. How did it get this bad? "Ok, Kurenai?" Sarutobi beckoned the only female in the room forwards.
Kurenai was a beautiful woman; there really was no other way to describe her. Long, glossy hair; full, red lips; a dress that frankly left very little to the imagination, the list went on. She was one of Hiruzen's most favoured Jōnin, though for none of those reasons. The Third Hokage favoured Kurenai Yūhi, not as a man, but as the leader of a village of shinobi. Kurenai was determined, loyal and incredibly hard-working, all traits that he respected and desired in the shinobi and kunoichi under his command, but his favourite characteristic of hers was her single-minded pursuit of her goal. She was adamant that genjutsu could be as potent a ninja art as ninjutsu or taijutsu, and should be respected and feared as such. As Konoha's Genjutsu Mistress, she had attained those qualities for her own reputation, but it was never her fame or acclaim that she sought, merely recognition for the field her small family specialised in.
"Well Hokage-sama, my worry is the genjutsu taught in the academy. There is none! There are no genjutsu in the curriculum, none in the graduation exams; the students aren't even taught how to recognise and dispel them. It is left up to the sensei once they graduate, but I really think that is leaving it too late."
The Hokage nodded kindly at Kurenai, signalling her to step back, and addressed a very familiar face, albeit one seen through a haze of smoke.
"And what of your opinion?" He asked.
A bearded, powerfully-built man in the standard Jōnin attire so commonly seen around Konoha cleared his throat.
"My issue is close-combat. Weapons, taijutsu, grapples… we just don't teach it enough. There's too much emphasis on the practical and the katas, and not nearly enough use of the techniques and tools available. The genin are coming out of the academy knowing the perfect stance for the standard kata, and then they get floored by one punch because they can't see it coming, and can't react to it even if they can. Weapons… well we need to teach them. Kunai and Shuriken are great, but they aren't perfect. They're the jack-of-all-trades of weaponry, but it's better to have at least some masters."
Asuma began to step back, but hesitated. "Kurenai is the best genjutsu user in the village, and Kakashi is the best ninjutsu barring you Hokage-sama. However, I'm not sure where I fall in this idea? I'm not the best in the village with a sword, and I'm certainly not the best taijutsu user in the village. Why exactly is it I've been selected for… whatever this is?" He asked.
"You're a capable strategist, a strong taijutsu user, weapons user, and on top of that, you can use the only element that Kakashi lacks. Other than you, the only Fūton user in the village is Danzō, and I would really rather he is kept separate from this." Sarutobi answered. "You're correct in that you are not one of the village's best specialists, but you are one of the village's strongest all-round ninja, which is equally as important."
Kakashi looked around the room curiously. Genjutsu, ninjutsu, weaponry… the only art missing is taijutsu, and if the trend of the first two at least continued, there was only one person missing from this meeting. Was Gai involved in this?
"I have asked you all here not only for the purpose of giving me counsel on this matter. The three of you are next in line to take a set of graduating students and test them to see if they could become genin. If they pass, you will be their senseis. I wish to alter that somewhat." Sarutobi stated.
Kurenai and Asuma looked somewhat dismayed, having both applied for the role of senseis, feeling it was about time they gave back to the village's future. Kakashi felt more a sense of relief, though you'd never know if it showed on his face or not.
"You will still be teachers," This announcement was met with twin smiles and a sigh, "But not in the way you expect. I wish you to go back to the academy, as senseis to a selected sample of the final year. Supplement it with what you feel is necessary. Build on their weaknesses, capitalise on their strengths. I want to see if you can take a year and give me ninja. The sample will be mostly made up of clan heirs as they require a certain heavier protection, and because they will be the most suited to the more rigorous training. Having spent two years in the academy doing very little, it would be too large a shock for the majority of the class, it really wouldn't be beneficial. There will be one or two students that are not clan heads if they have shown promise and/or dedication outside of class hours, but that's it."
At this point Kakashi felt a pit of dread pool in his stomach. He knew it. Wherever he goes, Gai follows. But how could that be the case? Gai already has a genin team; in fact, he knew that he was going to be testing them the very next day. Look underneath the underneath. What was he missing?
"Hokage-sama, how will you get Gai on board with this?" Kakashi queried. "I know he is excited about teaching his genin, and especially going on missions with them. I'm not sure how you're going to be able to sway him." Kakashi knew that Gai would be the best for taijutsu, hell; the man was doubtlessly in contention for the title of the world's greatest taijutsu user. That Gai would be able to bring the students up to scratch, and indeed far beyond, was unquestionable – though their survival would be – but the man was so far beyond exuberant most people considered him a joke. Having sparred with him countless times, Kakashi would not fall prey to that kind of thinking. Gai was the kind of ninja that you didn't dare look away from in a fight – not for cunning, or fancy techniques, but simply for the fact that a single punch from him could put a man through a concrete wall a metre thick, and it would be faster than you could blink.
"That has already been taken care of Kakashi; he will be there when you start teaching in a fortnight at the start of the new academy year." Sarutobi replied curtly. He didn't bother to question how Kakashi knew that. Kakashi had an uncanny way of knowing almost everything that was going on, even those things that he either should not know, or he really would have no way of finding out. It was just one of those things that made Kakashi a very resourceful ninja, but it did get grating at times. Hiruzen had a literal crystal ball, and he still sometimes felt like he was playing catch-up with a ninja under his own command!
"For now, here are the files on your students." Sarutobi gestured to a pile of yellow folders on his desk. "Study them; try to get some background information on each student. I want this group to be more than just comrades. With the number of clan heirs in this class, it has the potential to be the greatest graduating class Konoha has ever seen, and I want you, my most trusted shinobi, to make them the best. The aim is not to make them better than the competing villages, nor is it to make them better than their comrades. The aim is simply to make them better than they would have been, to make them better than they could have been."
The Hokage's words, but more importantly, the meaning behind the words, straightened even Kakashi's slumped back. We need this – Don't fail me.
"Gai, I've decided to agree with your request-"
The Hokage was interrupted by the yelling and leaping Jōnin.
"Gai. Gai! GAI!" Sarutobi yelled, desperately trying to calm him down. This was ridiculous. A man could lose years of his life waiting for Gai to calm down.
The Hokage waited patiently for a few more minutes, before opening a concealed drawer on his desk and fingering a kunai, debating whether or not it would be worth killing Gai, just to shut him up – if that would stop him that is.
"There's no such thing as the flames of youth" Sarutobi whispered, smirking slightly behind his omni-present pipe when Gai froze mid-leap.
"Ah good, you're back. As I was saying I will accept your request – "Gai's leap was interrupted by a kunai whistling past his nose – "on one condition. I need you to take your new team and re-enter them for the final academy year."
Gai's ever-so-expressive face screamed confusion to the world.
"I don't understand Hokage-sama, they've graduated? If this is because of Lee's level, I can work with him beginning immediately; I was only waiting for your go-ahead. I've written up a training program for him to massively boost his strength and speed and I can…" Gai's hurried speech tailed off in the wake of the Hokage's raised palm.
"Brilliant Gai, you're already very much into the teaching aspect of this, aren't you? You're misunderstanding me. I want you to take that enthusiasm and apply it to teaching not just your team, but a selection of nine other promising students as well."
Gai's face remained unchanged. Sarutobi sighed. This may take a while.
Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and Kurenai stood in front of the students in the room. They exchanged sidelong glances. This bit was not going to be fun.
With a sigh, Kakashi stepped forward.
"Welcome to your final year of ninja academy."