The black fire pit glistened, sparks rising from the center. Food sizzled on the edges of the surface. Various scents arose from the surface of the black circle. The curry boiled loudly, glimmering and shining. Many people ate around the room, casting wary glances at the team.

"Basically, the academy didn't teach you anything at all about your actual role in this world," Mura remarked, clapping his hands together. A ring of beer surrounded the glass on the booth table.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Like you'll do any better?"

"I can make a sincere effort at things." Mura exhaled. He bowed his head, muttering a prayer under his breath as he shuffled around the objects on the table.

Naruto scowled. Is this guy really a jōnin? He's huge, but I don't see him doing much as a fighter. Big guys like that are easy to beat up.

Sasuke scowled. Someone this bad is really disinteresting. I don't trust him one bit, after all. An interfering busybody like that. Though... She frowned, staring at the table. What on earth is he doing with the plates?

Kōju yawned. Usually I can at least take a nap by this point. Though this guy is a jōnin, I'm really tired. She rubbed her eyes.

"We'll be using our most traditional method to introduce ourselves." Mura smiled. "Let's see… should I begin as an example?" He extended his hand.

Naruto nodded.

"All right. My name is Mura Nōtō. I am a temple priest and a jōnin. I like salmon, celestial order, and clean living. I don't like battle or coffee grounds. My dream for the future—well, I wouldn't really call it a dream…" Nōtō smiled. "But that's neither here nor there… My hobby is doing at least one good deed every day; that's why I was late. A secret about me that no one else knows is that I am not originally from Hidden Leaf. There you are—that's my introduction. Now you three, go ahead."

Great, a do-gooder. Sasuke stared out the window flatly, her eyes narrowed.

Well, he seems all right with that introduction. Naruto frowned.

Gu… Kōju snored, a line of drool escaping her mouth.

Glancing between the three genin, Nōtō finally spoke again, one eyebrow rising in amusement. "Why don't you go next, Kōju-san?"

Kōju startled into wakefulness. "I—er…" She turned her head from side to side.

Naruto grinned. Serves you right for sleeping in that environment!

Sasuke gazed out the window, her eyes distant. At this point, it's more than possible that he's insane. Seriously, I had them organized the way I liked them! What's wrong with that guy? Most people don't have that kind of compulsion, you know.

"Well. Um." Kōju considered a moment. "My name is Hatake Kōju. I am a genin of Hidden Leaf. I like friends, ice cream, Black Current, and sleep. I don't like bullying. My dream is to inherit White Fang."

Nōtō's eyes narrowed. Naturally. He scooped up a bite of the fish with chopsticks.

"My hobby is reading Black Current. A secret about me that no one else knows… Well, there aren't very many. Otō-sama knows most of them, after all." Kōju considered.

Nōtō smiled. "You can repeat something only your father knows for this purpose."

"Oh." Kōju dug into her fish. "In that case I hate the idea of being alone."

Naruto blinked in surprise.

Sasuke frowned, her eyes glancing away from the table. Her expression darkened.

"No. That's inaccurate. I hate being alone with a passion." Kōju inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Isn't it scary?"

Nōtō inclined his head. He gestured for Kōju to go on.

"To be alone. It means no one can save you if something bad happens to you. You're all without friends, without family." Kōju reached upward, wiping away a tear. "It's just so terrible…" She quickly stuffed her mouth with fish.

Afraid of being alone… for a ten-year-old, that's a fairly common fear. No wonder. Nōtō paused. He inspected Kōju's face seriously.

Kōju shoveled more fish into her mouth. She didn't look up from her meal.

Still, at present it would appear that I won't need to keep an eye on her after all… Nōtō nodded to himself swiftly. That's good. The other two will probably take the most attending to.

Sasuke cut away a piece of the fish. Her eyes studied the herbal fish.

"You next, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke frowned. "No. I'm not doing this stupid introduction thing."

"You're kind of stupid, aren't you?" Nōtō remarked in a calm voice. "Remember, I am your jōnin trainer."

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Sasuke demanded sourly.

"If you intend to learn anything from me, you should know that you can't truly achieve any power without my support. To become powerful, you need someone's aid. And I won't train anyone who I can't trust."

"Hn." Sasuke frowned. Her black eyes studied the table. "Fine. Though it's a petulant trainer who won't help a student just because they refuse to introduce themselves. Uchiha Sasuke. I am a genin of Hidden Leaf. My likes… I don't have any in particular…" Fish, rice, ice cream, and... well... The image of the two teammates came to mind. Face flushing, Sasuke cleared her throat. "My dislikes… a lot of things…" Sushi, my brother, and most of the villagers who didn't do anything about Akatsuki. "My dream… I wouldn't call it that, because that makes it seem unachievable. I intend to kill a certain man…"

Nōtō frowned.

Kōju gasped. She covered her mouth with one hand. How terrible!

Naruto swallowed. I hope that's not me.

"I don't have real hobbies." Singing and kabuki theatre are a little interesting, I suppose. But I have no interest in telling him of that.

"And a secret about you no one knows." Nōtō paused, rubbing his chin.

I'm female? "I refuse to answer that question," Sasuke replied, her face flushing slightly.

Nōtō sighed. Well, he's about like I expected, an avenger to the core. I can't blame him, strictly speaking, given the circumstances of the death of his clan. However, it's not a godly thing to pursue revenge. Let's move on, shall we? Nōtō tipped back the beer glass."You next, Naruto-san."

Naruto-san, huh?! He knows my worth, Naruto thought to himself, ignoring the fact that Nōtō had referred to the others with the same honorific. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I'm gonna be better than the previous Hokage! My likes are girls, ramen, and pranks! My dislikes are power and the villagers who think they're all better than me! My dream is to become Hokage! My hobbies… pranks and fighting bad guys… A secret about me. Hm." Naruto furrowed his brow in thought. "Okay, I got it," he declared after several moments. "I'm the container of the demon fox."

Conversation in the restaurant came to a halt. Many of the adults turned their heads toward the table.

Nōtō sighed, striking his head with two fingers. "Naruto-san, I asked you to tell a secret nobody else knew about you, not something that everyone but you knew about yourself."

Naruto blinked. "Really?" he asked, his enthusiasm falling slightly.

"It was made a rule by Sarutobi-sama not to speak about it to you. I imagine it was for your own good that they did this." Nōtō exhaled quietly.

The other customers returned to conversation, occasionally casting venomous glances over at the table.

Sasuke blinked. So that is how he's so strong…

Kōju yawned. Boring. Dad already told me.

"To surpass all previous Hokage, hm?" Nōtō asked, his face brightening again.

Naruto nodded with a grin. "Uh-huh!"

"Well, good luck…" Nōtō exhaled. He slammed the glass down on the table. That boy's grown interesting.

Naruto grinned.

Kōju rubbed her eyes, weary again.

Sasuke gritted her teeth. This guy…

"Now then. I did promise something else." Nōtō cut away another section of the fish with the chopsticks.

"Right. You said there was something the village hadn't told us…" Sasuke remarked.

"Yeah…" Nōtō yawned. He swallowed the section of fish. "Basically, all your introductions except Naruto-san's had a major flaw in common…"

Sasuke's eyes widened. Huh?! I didn't even say anything all that important…

Yes, I did better than those two!

"Don't get so excited—you had another flaw or two." Nōtō raised his finger.

Kōju swallowed. "Oh. I think I understand now… Oh, dear…"

"Yeah. She's got it." Nōtō drained his beer. "Basically, you guys should have said instead, 'prospective genin of Hidden Leaf'."

Sasuke scowled. "What the hell?"

"There's a real exam now… You could call it a test of ability. It's too dangerous to send out genin with no ability, so we test for a certain quality. About sixty-six percent fail most years."

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"But, I will say that I'm still the jōnin instructor for all of you. It's merely a question of whether you pass or fail." Nōtō shrugged his shoulders.

Naruto gasped.

Kōju exhaled.

"Sorry about that…" Nōtō exhaled. "Anyway, I'd suggest getting an early night's rest and something to eat." He took another bite of the salmon. "Your opponent tomorrow is me…"

"That's insane!" Sasuke blurted out.

Looks like she's finally taking me seriously… "The world of the shinobi is a completely crazy one." Nōtō sighed. "Look. I've already told you the important thing… Wake up tomorrow at five o'clock and appear at Training Field Seven. Don't be late."

Wakefulness

The forest shimmered with the first rays of dawn. A few birds chirped in the branches. The leaves drifted downward. Loam softly caught the motion of other beasts, gentle and memorable. The trees' limbs blew about in the wind, leaves blowing up around the space. Cherry blossoms fell from some of the other trees.

"Tired, moron?" Sasuke asked, glancing at Naruto.

Naruto groaned. He rubbed his baggy eyes. "I had to practice against Nōtō's image, right? So I spent all night doing that and before I noticed the time it was morning…"

Sasuke glanced over at Kōju.

Kōju snored, a bubble of snot emerging from one nostril.

Great. Just great. Well, forget these incompetents… I'll do it myself… Sasuke gritted her teeth. If they're not going to take this seriously, someone has to, don't they?

"Good morning." Nōtō approached through the forest. His glasses shone in the sunlight. "We'll begin when I say so… There are two bells here. Your job is to take these from me before noon. My job is to stop that from happening. And you'll need to steal it quickly… You can use shuriken or kunai or whatever…" He sat down on a stump. "Probably, at your level, you'll need to attack with full intent to kill me, or there's no hope for you at all."

"Won't you be in danger, sensei?" Sasuke asked, her eyebrow furrowing. One of us isn't passing? If there's only two bells, then not all of us can pass.

"Yeah. We could kill you pretty easily, you know?" Naruto remarked.

Nōtō exhaled. "Well, maybe. If you got lucky, it's possible that I might die…" He shrugged. "I doubt it, though. At your level, you'll probably have a hard time even getting me to breathe hard… you know? Your argument is pretty worthless…" He paused. "At any rate, you can start when I say to start." He reached downward, touching the alarm clock. His eyes widened. "Oh, yes! Here's a tidbit I forgot to mention—I'm so absent-minded, you know? See, you have a time limit of lunch. If you can't get even one bell by then, well, we shake hands, go eat lunch, and you spend another year at the academy again—all three of you. That's the way things are…" He sighed quietly. "Now then."

Like I'd shake hands after that?! Naruto launched himself forward. He drew back his kunai, aiming to stab through the arm.

"Naruto?!" Sasuke shouted in shock.

Kōju muttered something softly under her breath, her head slumping to one side.

A flicker of brown energy shot out from Nōtō's hand.

The kunai stopped in midair.

"Huh?" Naruto stared at the kunai, his eyes wide. The fist tightened around the kunai. Naruto gulped. I can't even budge it… He tugged at the kunai, attempting to shift its trajectory.

"I didn't say start yet. It surprises me that you're moving to that so quickly, but no matter," Nōtō remarked blandly. "Most people using this form of test don't really care about the quality of their opponent. They're all genin… am I right?" He paused. "Well, yes, I am. But… I'm also not the same as them. Against you guys, the number one rookie, the runner-up, and the jinchuuriki of Hidden Leaf, I can't really afford to hold back, so I'll be going at full power from the start."

A moment passed.

"That's it. I said start…"

Sasuke leapt backward. She dove into the bushes, vanishing swiftly.

Kōju stood motionless, completely asleep.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "You're going down, old man!" He released the kunai. There! With this, I can attack him again!

"What a troublesome group." Nōtō sighed, rubbing his hair gently.

The kunai slammed into the ground.

Naruto gasped in shock.

A small crater formed beneath the kunai.

"Yare, yare. Whatever shall I do with you?" Nōtō remarked, his expression remaining calm.

Naruto gritted his teeth. I don't really get it, but whatever he did to the kunai is really serious… I need to avoid getting blocked again like that! He leapt backward, his body twisting through the air.

Nōtō looked upward at the sky. "What's wrong, Sasuke-san? I've already said our goals. Or is survival not one of them for you?"

That idiot'll screw me up… I'll wait until he's out of the way. This kind of test is no good for him anyway. Sasuke stared through the underbrush, her black eyes cold.

Naruto dove into the nearby lake.

Nōtō reached into his pocket.

Sasuke tensed.

Nōtō drew out a yellow-covered book. "Let's see. Current bounties…"

"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto shouted, swinging his arm to one side.

"Reading. It looks like you all aren't going to attack me at once, so I've got a little time to consider things." Nōtō flipped over a page. "Now, let's see…"

Naruto reached into his pocket. His arm shot outward.

Nōtō's arm extended rapidly, touching each of the shuriken in turn.

The shuriken collapsed into the ground.

"Shrine Maiden Entry will not allow you to win."

Craters formed in the ground.

"Now then. Let's see." Nōtō flipped over another page.

Naruto gritted his teeth. Bastard… I'm not going to lose! He clapped his hands together in a cross position.

The water swelled momentarily.

Bedraggled, Naruto emerged from the water, coughing fiercely.

Nōtō exhaled. "You seem to be the most determined of your teammates, though it's hard to tell about Kōju-san…"

Kōju snored loudly; her shoulders slumped as she stood motionless.

"At any rate, why do you want it so badly?" Nōtō questioned.

"I have to become Hokage. If I'm not a genin, I can't become Hokage, so I have to become a genin!" Naruto's eyes blazed.

Nōtō nodded. "Admirable, but at your current level you're probably better off not becoming a genin at all…"

Naruto's eyes blazed. "I just got unlucky, that's all!"

The stream splashed.

Clones rushed forward onto the bank of the river.

Water splashed across the ground.

Nōtō sighed. "You should know… That technique isn't going to make a difference." He extended his arms outward, lowering his center gravity.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "You sure about that?" He grinned after a moment.

A clone rushed forward.

The bells dangled swiftly beneath the hand.

A clone caught Nōtō's arms.

Nōtō sighed quietly.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

Kōju snored loudly.

Damn, missing my big entrance like that! Well, whatever! I'll just give her neither of the bells! Naruto tightened his grip. "I got you!"

"Didn't I tell you already?" Nōtō sighed.

"For earlier! For making me lose my kunai! This is my revenge!"

Not bad. Sasuke stared at the battle, her eyes flicking from side to side.

A clone rushed forward, fist twisting around and aiming for Nōtō's head.

Nōtō sighed. "You didn't let me finish…"

The fist stopped in midair.

Naruto's teeth gritted.

A flicker of brown energy crossed the fist.

The fist held motionless in front of Nōtō's face.

This guy actually nearly managed to break my aura. To think he was called dead-last… Nōtō's eyes turned. He glanced at the other two. I'll need to be careful with the front runners.

"What the hell?" Naruto demanded.

"My body can emanate chakra at any point within a single foot of my body. Within that radius… any attack will simply stop moving. That's the power of Shrine Maiden Entry." Nōtō shrugged distantly. "Do you understand now?"

Naruto gritted his teeth. "This… doesn't matter! Now that I know how your ability works, I can stop it dead in its tracks by attacking like—"

The shadow clones puffed out of existence, one by one.

Naruto's eyes widened. "…Huh?"

"Did I forget to mention? An object within this field also loses its elemental balance. Something like making shadow clones becomes impossible." Nōtō shrugged distantly. "And, now that it's just you…"

Naruto collapsed to the ground.

A crater formed as the body smashed into the ground.

"Basically, that's what'll happen if you're not careful… Let's move this battle a little." Nōtō leapt through the air swiftly.

An opening?! Sasuke hurled kunai toward the body.

The large man moved impossibly fast, dodging both projectiles.

Damn…!

The large man's hand chopped into the side of the tree.

The tree fell sideways after a moment.

Sasuke blinked in surprise.

Nōtō balanced again on the stump. "Let's begin again… Sasuke-san," he remarked in a calm voice.

Sasuke gritted her teeth. Her hand reached downward. It's a pity about Naruto, but there's not much I can do about him now. The situation doesn't permit me to do anything about his condition.

The scroll unfurled.

Sasuke slammed her hand to the scroll.

Waves of smoke blasted outward.

One foot, right? That's the radius. If so… Reaching downward, Sasuke picked up the blowgun.

Nōtō watched with a calm, distant expression on his face.

This should be outside the radius. He shouldn't be able to block multiple weapons at once—wait. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. That's completely wrong.

Nōtō studied Sasuke calmly.

He blocked two shuriken earlier. Because of that, it's impossible to tell what his true abilities are in this regard. At the least, I shouldn't make the mistake of rushing in too quickly.

The chain weapon rose.

Sasuke wrapped the chain around her fists. Her hand adjusted the blowgun in her mouth. If that's so, then my objective should be to figure out his limit.

Nōtō extended his arms, clapping the arms together.

Sasuke gritted her teeth. Damn him. Her hands lifted the blowgun. She blew, her fingers adjusting the gun to aim in different directions.

Blow darts shot through the air.

Nōtō's hand blurred upward.

The darts slammed into the ground.

Damn! That ability is way too powerful!

Craters formed in the ground around the darts.

Even though he claims it's completely useless against us to act weak, he's gone over the top, hasn't he?!

Nōtō brought his hands back together.

Sasuke glanced at the ticking clock on the log.

10:59.

That cretin wasted so much time! Sasuke brought her hands together. Since it's like this… She inhaled tightly.

Nōtō's eyes widened.

"Flame Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Your average genin shouldn't have that much chakra."

A swelling wave of energy surrounded Nōtō.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

The energy turned pure brown.

Flames shot into the wave.

Nōtō lowered his hands, holding out the hands palm upward.

The flames shot off to the sides and around Nōtō.

Sasuke gasped. Not even that…!

"You're decent… but I told you before, didn't I?" Nōtō exhaled. "You're pretty worthless, the way you are right now…"

Sasuke gritted her teeth. Chain weapon, then. I saw him move his arms earlier to execute that maneuver… if I can get him like that…

Nōtō exhaled quietly.

Sasuke leapt forward, tugging the chain around the figure.

Nōtō looked up tiredly. "Naruto-san already tried this, remember?" He lifted his arms, brown energy surrounding the arms.

Sasuke's eyes widened. He's right… She gulped. Shit…

Nōtō sighed. "Well, I'm not going to bother… seems you already understand the circumstances. You know it's impossible for you."

Sasuke sank to her knees. A tear escaped her eyes.

"Hey, don't worry… your dream doesn't include being a ninja, right? Though the way you are right now, that dream will remain that…"

Sasuke looked upward, her eyes blazing with rage. Her hands laced together.

"A dream… you get it, right?"

Sasuke roared. "Flame Style: Blossoming Flame Technique!" Drawing in a deep breath, Sasuke inhaled. Her cheeks bulged, sparks flying from the center.

Nōtō sighed wearily.

Flames flickered across the forest.

"Oh, dear." Nōtō extended his fingers in a series of rapid hand seals. He inhaled rapidly.

Sasuke roared in anger.

Nōtō exhaled. A swift flush of water crossed the trees.

Sasuke leapt forward, her foot slamming into Nōtō's face

Nōtō turned his head sideways slowly.

Sasuke blinked in shock. She struggled with the foot, attempting to remove it.

"Heh." Nōtō caught the leg.

Sasuke gulped heavily.

Nōtō grinned broadly. "Here you go! A free bath!" He hurled Sasuke into the stream rapidly.

"Kyah!" Sasuke screamed, covering her chest.

The water doused the flames.

Nōtō grinned broadly. "There goes my good deed of the day…" He turned, looking at Naruto.

Naruto groaned as he struggled to remove his fist from the ground.

"But I feel like helping out someone else too."

Naruto gulped. He's terrifying…

Nōtō rose to his feet. He walked over. Catching Naruto by the foot, he picked him up and hurled him into the stream.

Naruto groaned. I've already had a bath!

Nōtō turned his gaze to the motionless figure. "It's already eleven…"

Kōju's eyes opened. Slowly, Kōju rubbed her eyes.

Nōtō looked silently at the girl.

"Ugu…" Kōju exhaled. "Ugh…" She looked upward, only now seeming to notice her location.

Naruto clenched his fist.

Nōtō looked downward from the stump. This one is a serious opponent…

Kōju rubbed her arm across her eyes. "What's the test again?"

Sweat ran down Naruto's face.

Sasuke frowned.

On second thought, let me retake that statement… "Two bells, whoever gets them graduates. You're the only remaining player," Nōtō stated.

"YOU FOOLS!" Eyes blazing, Kōju ran straight forward.

Nōtō blinked in surprise. He raised his hands defensively. She could be dangerous in a bad situation…

"Rising Earthen Barricade!" Kōju's fingers laced together rapidly. She slammed her palm into the mud of the ground.

A wall of earth rose around the three.

"You idiots…" Tears rolled down Kōju's cheeks.