I think I did make Naruto a little too OP and that stops now, and once again I apologize for that and glad two reviewers pointed that out for me.
If Naruto had to guess what his major weakness is when it comes to being blind it would be that if someone were hide their presence completely he wont be able to sense it. That was what Yamato had proved when they had first started training his ability to sense as well as chakra control. He knew that if he went up against a Jonin that can hide their presence completely like Yamato can when they first tested it out then he would be in trouble and had to rely on his Shadow Clones for help. Another weakness is that for some reason he can't sense them if their on water either which is a little strange, but that was once again proven by their training sessions when they did the water exercise and he admitted that he was scared to do it the first time because he thought he'd fall but he managed to stay above the surface much to his surprise.
When he first tried the Shadow Clone technique that the forest taught him before he lost his sight he was able to do it easily compared to when he tried to use the normal Clone technique, which he still had trouble doing even now. When it comes to basic level jutsu's like the Clone technique he has a hard time doing it compared to others but when it comes to high level, say C or B-rank techniques like the Shadow Clone jutsu he has no problem doing it which is kinda crisscross but he figured that it was an Uzumaki thing since he found out he had a clan last night. Another weakness is objects. When he started to walk around after he lost his sight, he had a hard time maneuvering around objects, like rocks for example. Rocks were his enemy, so it was a good thing that he was given the long sword as a use for a cane as well as a weapon it'll come in handy in alerting him for the stupid rocks. When he first lost his sight he had to walk a little slower so he could get used to the feeling of no longer seeing and had to take it slowly. It was a miracle he even made it to where Ishida-sensei and Jiji were the first time.
When Naruto was about four years old, he had first wandered into the forest just to get away from the nasty glares of the villagers and decided t hang out there for a little while but he wasn't expecting the trees to move. The first time he saw that he freaked out and thought he was going to be killed the forest wasn't trying to harm him just say hello, which thinking back about it now made him laugh a little but then again he wasn't expecting the forest to even be alive but oh well. Since Naruto had a day off today he decided to train some more with his sword seeing as how he's still a novice at swordplay and thought that getting some more practice in would be good. He may be okay with wielding a sword but that didn't make him a master of it, no he wanted to train with it especially since the nice weapon owner gave to him as a thank you gift.
Currently Naruto was in the Hokage's office having walked directly there from his apartment with his long sword in hand, it felt really good to walk around with it plus its helpful. He noticed that the villagers weren't whispering things about him to his face like they used to, probably because he kept ignoring them since he was a kid but he could still feel some of their glares while the others simply ignored his presence. Guess it goes both ways then. He ignores them and they ignore him but they do it out of malice he does it out of boredom. Anyway, he had gotten his picture for his new ID and was now currently in the Hokage's office so he could see the picture.
Hiruzen smiled, "This looks like a good picture, Naruto."
"Thanks Jiji." Naruto smiled.
"So what do you have planned for today?"
"I was going to go to the forest to train some more, I need to work more on practicing some Kenjutsu with my sword. I'm a complete novice when it comes to sword play so I need to train." He said.
"Hmmm, well learning how to use weapons would be good for you. I know that one of Gai's Genin is also practicing some weapon skills. Its always good to keep training what you already know before you start something new. That reminds me Naruto I meant to ask you what your affinity is." Hiruzen inquired.
"It's Futon actually, but I can use Suiton too. But Katon I'm not really good at controlling, everytime I try I feel as though I'm being rejected so I left it alone." Naruto smiled.
"So Suiton is sub-affinity then?"
"Basically, I'm surprised used it well at all. I even went so far as to use the Water Dragon jutsu but that's because of the help from my shadow clones." The blonde remembered.
"You managed to do it on your first try? Impressive."
"Yeah, but it was then I realized it was just pure dumb luck because when I tried it again I couldn't maintain it for long and it soaked me. When you try something right the first time doesn't mean it'll work for you again, so I've been training nonstop to get it like last time." Naruto explained.
"I was the same when I was your age, but my struggle was Katon, but after awhile I finally got it down." Hiruzen reminisced
Naruto nodded, "Futon was just as hard too, I would sometimes cut myself trying to use some of the jutsu's. Elemental affinities are really hard."
"They are, but there are some Jounin out there with more than one and have mastered them since they were Genin." Hiruzen thought of Kakashi who has a Lightning affinity, but with the Sharingan he copies other affinities as well via jutsu's, "What about Doton?"
Naruto shrugged, "I don't really care for it, so I didn't try to use it."
"I see."
"Besides I have Mokuton, Suiton, and Futon. I don't think I need another affinity anyway."
"If that's what you want my boy."
Naruto was about to say something else when his ears picked up something. Someone was coming and approaching quickly, meaning they must be running down the halls and heading right here, "Uh, I think you have a visitor."
Before the old man could respond to that the door opened revealing a young boy with brown spiky hair, a blue scarf wrapped around his neck wearing a yellow shirt, and gray shorts, "Prepare to be defeated old man!" the boy declared running towards him with shuriken in hand only to trip on his own scarf falling right on his face.
Hiruzen sighed tiredly, this is like what the 10th time his grandson tried to attack him?
Naruto turned to the old man, "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess you know this kid?"
"Yes, this is Konohamaru my grandson." The old man gave his grandson a deadpanned look at his fallen form.
"Honorable grandson!" another voice sounded and came in the room. Looks like Ebisu arrived here too the old man thought.
Ebisu saw Naruto and glared in the blonde's direction.
"There's no point in glaring at me so I'd appreciate it if you'd just stop." The blond sighed.
"Wha-!"
"And before you ask yes I'm blind, seriously how many times do I have to this?" Naruto was getting sick and tired of it. The only reason he could tell Ebisu was glaring at him was because he felt it. Konohamaru picked himself off the ground and rubbed his nose, he looked around the room before he spotted the blonde and pointed at him, "Hey you! How dare you trip me!"
"I didn't trip you, you did that all on your own kid. You should really be more careful." The blonde responded calmly.
"Show some respect to the Honorable Grandson of the Sandaime Hokage!" Ebisu growled.
"Respect is something you earn not own right's to," Naruto stated making the man look like an idiot, "Anyway, I should get going Hokage-sama." He walked right by the stunned kid and speechless Special Jounin walking out the room, closing the door behind him. Hiruzen smirked seeing the man's speechless face, not like he didn't deserve it mind you. But it was still hilarious.
Naruto walked away from the tower and headed right towards the Living Forest of Konoha, he was still surprised not that many people know that it's alive but then again the only reason he find out was because he wandered there as a child and enjoyed his stay. Maybe it was the will of the forest to not let anyone besides those it finds worthy to enter and know it's alive, but that was just a guest. He walked through some fences when he sensed he was being followed by an all too familiar presence making him stop walking, "Can I help you with something Konohamaru?"
Konohamaru peeled the concealer off from the fence with a stunned expression, "How did you know?"
"I felt you were following me, plus I have very good hearing which is both a good thing and a hassle at the same time." Naruto told him.
Konohamaru stood before him, "Wow, you really are blind but you were able to tell I was following you anyway! That is so cool!"
Naruto chuckled, he had never been called "cool" before but it was still a nice feeling, "Thanks for the compliment, now did you need something?"
Konohamaru gave him a determined look, "I want you to make me your apprentice!"
Silence.
"…What?"
"I want you to train me! I can tell your strong, and I want to beat the old man so people will see me for me!" he said.
Naruto blinked at that declaration but thinking about it he realized that the kid just wanted to be seen as the individual Konohamaru and not the title Honorable Grandson. It had to be annoying to be constantly called that title given to him by the villagers and shinobi alike just like he was constantly called Demon brat.
He sighed, "Follow me then." He walked ahead of him and the boy followed without a word.
"Hey, how did you become blind anyway? Were you born blind?" he asked out of curiosity.
"No." Naruto answered immediately.
"Then how?"
"You don't need to know."
Konohamaru pouted but let it go seeing the blonde didn't really wanna talk about it right now.
Naruto led them all the way to the Living Forest making the little boy look around in awe, "Wow…"
"Pretty amazing isn't it?"
"It is! This forest is soo huge!" Konohamaru smiled.
"You know this forest has a name."
"It does? What's it called?"
"The Living Forest."
"The Living Forest?" the boy questioned.
Naruto smiled, "I came here once when I was a kid and the trees started to move on their own as well as the branches. I was scared at first but then felt comforted almost as though someone was watching over me."
Konohamaru looked at the trees, "How come their not moving now?"
"They will, just not right now. Anyway before your start any jutsu's you need to learn Chakra control first." Naruto told him.
"Chakra control, what's that?"
"It means controlling and wielding your chakra, It's important to learn chakra control because it could end up saving your life and prevent you from getting killed in the near future." Naruto told him seriously repeating what Yamato-sensei said to him the first time.
Konohamaru gulped.
"Try to send chakra to your feet then walk up the tree with just your feet and not your hands. But make sure you focus because that's important." Naruto instructed. It felt weird for him to be telling a kid what to do about chakra control. Why did he sound like Iruka-sensei for some reason?
Konohamaru nodded and closed his eyes concentrating his chakra to his feet hoping that he was doing it right. Opening his eyes he saw his feet were had blue chakra around them, "W-Wow."
"Looks like you got it from the sound of it, okay now try walking up a tree." He told the boy.
Konohamaru walked over to the tree and slowly walked up while smiling, "I did it!" as soon as he said that he lost his concentration and started falling but Naruto caught him before he could hit the ground.
"I forgot to mention that concentration is important, so you might wanna focus more on walking on the tree than announcing you got it otherwise you'll fall like what happened just now." Naruto told him putting the boy back down on the ground.
"That was still pretty cool! Hey boss guess what!" Konohamaru grinned.
Naruto raised a brow, 'Boss?' he let it go and answered the boy, "Yeah?"
"Someday I wanna be Hokage so people will see me for who I am!" the boy smiled.
Naruto smiled, "Hokage, huh? Best of luck to you."
"Honorable Grandson!" Ebisu ran towards them and stopped, "What are you doing all the way out here and with this degenerate?"
'He's really starting to get on my nerves.' The blonde thought.
"He's training me so that I can become Hokage someday!" Konohamaru declared.
"Young master to be Hokage you must know a variety of jutsu's," Ebisu lectured, "Besides you can learn nothing from this fool, he will only lead you to ruin."
"Talking about yourself?" Naruto tilted his head.
"What?!"
"Don't you think its down right despicable to insult a blind person? I think so, tell me something Four-Eyes how did someone like you even become a Special Jounin anyway? Seems like a waste." The blonde smirked.
Konohamaru giggled at Ebisu making the mans face turn red.
"How dare you!" he was about to approach the blonde when he felt the tree around them make noises and the leaves rustled making him stand completely still.
"Judging from your reaction you felt it didn't you?" Naruto inquired while gesturing Konohamaru to stand behind him.
"What are you talking about?"
Naruto smiled, "I think you made the forest mad. Suck to be you."
One of the tree branches moved scaring the crap out of Ebisu, "Wh-What is this?!"
"Anyone who makes the forest mad is considered their enemy, and you Ebisu have become its enemy." Naruto said charging at Ebisu until he was right in front of him and punched him hard in the gut making him double over in pain, "And by the way," he lifted up his sheathed sword, "Never underestimate a blind person." He knocked the man out but hitting him in the back of the neck with the scabbard tip.
"Geez, Jiji needs to get better Special Jounin." Naruto sighed.
"That was awesome! The trees moved! I saw it this time!" Konohamaru grinned.
"I guess it is amazing the first time, huh?" Naruto smiled, "You wanna keep training or do you wanna call it a day?"
"Let's keep training!" Konohamaru grinned.
Naruto shrugged, "Fine by me, I need to train myself."
Hiruzen watched what happened from the crystal ball and smiled. Looks like both Konohamaru and Naruto have hit it off quite well. He was glad.
"Well hopefully Konohamaru will stop with his antics from now on…hopefully."
Naruto walked inside the building of the Academy. He rested well last night, he and Konohamaru trained for what felt like hours but they did take a break to get something to eat though. While Konohamaru practiced chakra control he practiced his novice swordplay with his shadow clones, turns out he can transform his kunai into his long sword for his clone to use and help him practice with. He still hadn't read his father's journal or took a look at the Scroll of Seals, but maybe he could get through that today after the teams were formed. Yes, today he would find out if he would be on Hinata's team instead of being with Sasuke or Sakura 'The Banshee," as the kids call her and boy were they right about her being a banshee.
Walking into the classroom he went over to sit in the back of the room sitting next to the window feeling the suns rays touch his skin. Feeling the warmth of the sun on him made him have a thought, if at some point someone can manage to cure his blindness…would he even want them to? For some reason that didn't sit very well with him, if he regained his sight back would he have to put up with seeing the glares of the villagers again? Their cruel words? If that's the case then he'd rather stay blind then. He'll prove to them that even if he can't see, he can still be a strong shinobi.
He heard the door open and the kids started walking inside but he paid them no attention at all, he was waiting to sense Hinata he could care less about everyone else. Well, that's not exactly true. Shikamaru and Choji are okay, even though the shadow user was lazy he could Shikamaru was smart, smatter than him and everyone else in this room. Speaking of Shikamaru…
"Your going to sit over here, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.
"Troublesome, did your hear me or sense me coming?" the lazy boy asked.
"Not telling."
"Troublesome."
Choji smiled munching on some chips, "Wonder who's teams we'll be on?"
"Hopefully not Ino or Sakura's." Naruto stated.
"Amen." Shikamaru agreed.
Choji sweat-dropped.
Naruto felt someone sit next to him and smiled, "Hey Hinata-chan."
"Good morning, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled, "I hope we're place on the same team together."
"You and me both." The blonde agreed. His ears then picked up something and sighed, "Damn, here they come."
Just as he said that the door was slammed opened and the two girls Ino and Sakura were pushing and shoving each other to get inside the room so they could sit next to Sasuke who was sighing in annoyance.
Naruto rubbed his temples feeling a headache coming on, "This is going to be a long day."
"Troublesome girls." Shikamaru yawned.
Iruka then came into the classroom, "Alright everyone settle down! Take your seats please!"
The kids sat down in their seats and he coughed into his fist, "Congratulations because you are all now full fledged Genin. That means we've prepared you enough to go out into the real world and be the best ninja you can be. Now then, all of you will be in groups of three for your team and when I call the team numbers I will announce who will be on that team."
"Team 1…"
Naruto tuned him out not really interested in hearing the first few teams because he wasn't interested, that is until he heard something that made him wish the earth would just swallow him up.
"Team 7 are, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki."
Sakura jumped for joy, "LOVE CONQUERS ALL!"
Naruto covered his ears and at the same time cursed his bad luck for being on the same team as the brooding Uchiha and screeching girl, "Damn." That was all he could say.
Iruka sweat-dropped when he saw Naruto's reaction and remembered how he got stuck with these two in the first place.
Flashback
Hiruzen eyed the Jounin before him, "Well, does anyone have any questions about the teams?"
"I do Hokage-sama," Yamato spoke up first, "Why did you choose Kakashi-sempai as the sensei for Naruto's team instead of me? I know how to work with Naruto."
"That's true and I agree with you, but Kakashi has the Sharingan and the only one capable of teaching Sasuke how to use his when it awakens. As for Naruto, I think its better if he's exposed to another Jounin besides you. I know he's more comfortable with you but I want him to get to know Kakashi as well." Hiruzen told him.
"With all due respect Hokage-sama, but I highly doubt Kakashi-sempai would even know how to interact with Naruto." Yamato stated not wanting the silver haired Jounin anywhere near his surrogate little brother.
Kakashi who was currently reading his book looked up at the comment, "And what do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I just said." Yamato responded using his scary face.
Sensing the tension between the two Iruka stepped in, "Both of you calm down! There's no need to start getting hostile with each other."
"If I may," Kurenai interjected, "I've heard that Naruto is a very capable sensor, if anything I'd like to have him on my team along with Hinata Hyūga and Shino Aburame."
"Now hold there Kurenai," Asuma spoke up, "Both Shikamaru and Choji are comfortable around him so I suggest he'd be on my team."
"Absolutely not!" Yamato crossed his arms, "Kurenai's team aside, Shikamaru is too laid back and lazy! It'll effect Naruto!"
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Asuma frowned at the man.
"And what's wrong with my team?" Kurenai narrowed her eyes.
Iruka felt like a small animal surrounded by large predators and turned to the Sandaime for help, the old man simply shook his head in exasperation.
End of Flashback
Iruka sighed having remembered the incident, 'Well, this is something Naruto will have to deal with. Shinobi endure, and that's exactly what he has to do now.' He got back to reading the names, "Team 8 are, Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyūga."
"Team 9…"
Hinata was heartbroken that she and Naruto weren't on the same team but they can still see each other when their not doing missions, so its still not all that bad.
"Team 10 are, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka." Iruka finished up.
Ino put her head down on the desk, how come Sakura gets to be on the same team as Sasuke and she's stuck with a lazy bum and a fatso? It just wasn't fair.
"That's it for your teammates," Iruka told them, "Now then, for Team 7's Jounin sensei it will Kakashi Hatake."
Naruto flinched when he heard that name, 'You have got to be kidding me! Yamato-sensei can't stand Kakashi-sensei and now he's the sensei for our team? This is just great.'
"Team 8's Jounin sensei will be Kurenai Yūhi." Iruka continued.
Hinata knew Kurenai well, she came over at the compound and told her father that she would like to place her on her team in the near future. I guess she got what she wanted.
"And Team 10's Jounin sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi," Iruka finished, "Your Sensei's will come to get you in the afternoon, good luck." And like that he left the classroom.
Naruto still couldn't believe it, being put on the same team as a brooding Uchiha and a fan girl, not to mention having a Jounin sensei Yamato-sensei doesn't like very much. Someone up there must like placing him with difficult people.
'Guess I'll just have to deal with it.'
The blonde was on top of a desk sitting near the door this time, waiting for their sensei to show up, and its been over an hour! The other jounin's came to get their students but theirs was running late apparently, he sighed and closed his eyes leaning against his sword not even paying attention to his teammates at all. What a pain.
"So Sasuke-kun, would you like to go out on a date sometime?" Sakura asked him for what felt like the 100th time today.
He just ignored her the first few times before finally speaking and saying, "No," repeatedly hoping she'd give up but alas it was not mean to be. She kept asking and asking and his patients was starting to run real thin.
"No." he responded again.
Sakura looked saddened that he refused her offer to go out on a date again, she then looked at her other teammate and saw his eyes were closed meaning he was probably asleep. She was still trying to figure out how he even managed to pass the exam at all when he's blind. She was the first to believe he was faking and called him out on it but then he showed her his eyes and it shut her up quickly proven that he was in fact blind but the way he walked around made it seem like he could see. She remembered that at recess he would always take to sitting up on a tree branch and just fall asleep with Hinata below him and sometimes Shikamaru and Choji joined him too.
She sighed, 'But still, why did I have to be on the same team as Naruto-baka anyway? I bet it was just pure dumb luck he got the Rookie of the Year title along with Sasuke-kun.'
Sasuke was staring at the blonde and noticed that he was fast asleep not even trying to make conversation with them, not that he cared because he didn't. There was just something about him he just couldn't figure out, how could some blonde dobe like him be his greatest challenge if he wanted to kill Itachi? He didn't dwell on it for now, if he was to be his stepping-stone into killing Itachi then so be it. He'd defeat the blonde and figure out his secrets.
Naruto opened his eyes, "Took him long enough."
Before any of his teammates could say anything the door opened and Kakashi walked inside observing his Genin team. He saw Sasuke and Sakura stare the blonde then back at him almost like they were trying to figure something out. He looked at the blonde and saw he was paying no attention to them at all and instead looking at him with a bored expression.
"Well…" Kakashi looked at them individually, "My first impression of you all is…your boring."
Sasuke scowled at him and Sakura was about to yell but Kakashi spoke first, "Meet me on the roof in 5 minutes." And like that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other then back to the door only to see Naruto was gone taking them by surprise. When did he leave?
Rooftop
Kakashi arrived at the roof and pulled out a book waiting for his Genin team to arrive, about 2 minutes later the he heard footsteps and saw it was Naruto walking with a walking stick that looked like a katana in disguise. The blonde walked on the left side of the stairs and sat down, then proceeded to close his eyes.
'Quite the antisocial one isn't he?' he thought. A few minutes later Sasuke and Sakura soon came and sat down on the steps both of hem giving the blonde side glances, Kakashi noticed the blonde's eyes were opened, 'Hmmm, very curious.'
"Well now, why don't we start with the introductions? I'll go first to start us off. My name is Kakashi Hatake, my likes…well I have many likes, my dislikes as well. As for my hobbies and dreams…well you don't need to know because your too young." He smiled beneath his mask.
Naruto didn't care, Sasuke's eye twitched, and Sakura sweat-dropped, 'All he told us was his name.'
"Alright pinkie your next."
Sakura had a tick mark on her forehead at the "pinkie" remark but answered anyway, "My name is Sakura Haruno, my likes are," she glanced at Sasuke with a blush, "My likes and hobbies are," she glanced at Sasuke again, "My dreams for the future is," she looked at Sasuke and giggled, "And the person I dislike is…NARUTO-BAKA!" she yelled.
Both Kakashi and Sasuke looked over to see the blonde's reaction. Naruto brought his hands up to his ears and took some earplugs out before putting them in his pocket and saying nothing at all. Kakashi had to stifle a laugh when he saw Sakura's reaction, he saw Sasuke sigh. He was probably thinking he should have done the same thing when it comes to her screeching. The silver haired man had to sigh though, 'Girls her age are only interested in one thing. And that's boys. I just hope this doesn't effect her performance as a kunoichi, if it does I'll have to step in.'
"Alright, your turn now Mr. brooder."
Sasuke scowled at the man before speaking, "My name…is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't have any likes nor dislikes, my hobbies are training so that I can get stronger. My dream for the future…I'm going to restore my clan…and kill a certain someone."
There was tension after that introduction, but Sakura was giving the boy a look of adoration, 'Sasuke-kun is so cool!'
Kakashi frowned at the boy, 'Looks like his quest for revenge hasn't changed. This could become a problem.' Looking over at Naruto he saw the boy had closed his eyes before opening them again making Kakashi raise a brow, 'Wonder what that was about?'
"Okay blondie you're the last one."
Naruto didn't react to the nickname at all but spoke anyway, "Naruto Uzumaki." And that was all he said.
Silence.
Kakashi blinked, "There's nothing else you wanna add?"
"Am I supposed to? Is it required?"
"Well no, but…"
"Then who cares."
The man sweat-dropped, 'And he's the antisocial one. This could be a problem when it comes to working together as a team.'
"Right…anyway, I want all of you to meet me tomorrow at Training Ground 7 at 6 a.m. Oh, and I suggest you not eat any breakfast. Otherwise you'll just throw it back up. And on that note see you guys tomorrow." Kakashi disappeared in a whirl of leaves leaving the three alone.
Naruto immediately stood up and walked away having something else better to do, and besides he was in no mood to hang out with his teammates today.
"Oi, dobe." Sasuke called out.
Naruto ignored him opening the door to the roof and leaving them alone making the raven-haired boy scowl at the blonde, he ignored Sakura's attempt to ask him out on a date and jumped off the roof leaving her alone before she too left.
Naruto headed towards the training area Kakashi-sensei told them to yesterday but he woke up a little earlier than the assigned meeting place. He had woken up at 5:30 instead he ate breakfast, washed up, and headed out the door on his way to the training area. Yesterday as soon as he left he headed to the forest to train, thank god Sasuke didn't try to follow him otherwise that would have been a total headache. Anyway he went there for the sole purpose of practicing his sword play wanting not to fall behind and take his training seriously after that was done he went to get some lunch and headed home to sleep early but not before tending to his plants. He realized he had a passion for gardening, and it was really relaxing too, why doesn't everybody garden to calm their nerves?
Anyway he arrived at the meeting point and didn't care what time it was but he was here and that's all that matters. He walked up the tree and laid down on the tree branch folding crossing his arms together making sure his sword was secured in his arms. Once he got into a comfortable position he drifted off to sleep.
About 25 minutes later he heard the loud voice of his female teammate wake him up.
"WAKE UP NARUTO-BAKA!" she yelled.
He opened his eyes slowly hearing the shrill of the banshee, 'Seriously, does she have to scream?'
The blonde dug his earplugs out his pockets and put them in his ears before drifting off to sleep again not hearing Sakura's yelling much to his relief. Seriously sometimes having enhanced hearing can suck sometimes
Sakura growled up at the blonde as he put earplugs in his ears and went back to sleep, 'Why that little.'
"CHA! Who does he think he is ignoring us like that?!" Inner Sakura yelled.
Sasuke saw the blonde take his earplugs out putting them on and drifting back to sleep. He wondered how long the blonde had been here, more importantly how in the world did he get up there in the first place? It doesn't matter; right now he needs to focus on what Kakashi has in store of the team.
3 Hours Later
Sakura was tapping her foot impatiently.
It's been 3 hours already and Kakashi-sensei still hadn't shown up! Looking over at Sasuke she saw he was just as upset as she was, looking up at the tree a tick mark formed on her forehead. Naruto was still sleeping without a care in the world.
'Why is he still sleeping?!' she frowned.
Sasuke was getting impatient. Where the hell was Kakashi anyway? He was the one that told them to be here at 6 a.m. and he's not even here! Looking up at his blonde teammate he suppressed a scowl seeing he was still fast asleep.
Naruto woke up blinking a few times having gotten his nap out of the way, he stretched his aching muscles hearing some of his bones crack in the process. Looks like Yamato-sensei was right about Kakashi-sensei's tardiness to things and this was a prime example. He was curious as to why Yamato-sensei didn't get along with the man but something tells him that the wood user wouldn't tell him even if he asked anyway.
He felt another presence appear meaning that Kakashi-sensei had arrived making him sigh, 'Why do I get the feeling this will be a real pain?' jumping down from the tree he felt that he was standing next to Sakura, she was probably screeching at Kakashi-sensei for being late but then again he wouldn't know because he still had his earplugs in so he wouldn't hear her. He soon took them out his ears and put them back in his pockets hoping that she wouldn't scream anymore.
Kakashi smiled at the blonde under his mask doing the same thing as he did, and that was taking his own earplugs out his ears. Sasuke blinked at the action of the man, he was really starting to consider getting some earplugs like these two did.
"Now that we're all here let me explain the real reason why I gathered you three here today. And that reason is...to see if you're worthy of passing the real exam to become Genin." Kakashi told them.
"What?!" Sakura exclaimed.
Sasuke was shocked.
Naruto looked curious.
Kakashi took out two bells jingling them so Naruto could hear them, "This is now officially a survival test. And in this survival test the objective is to acquire at least one of the two bells you see in my hand. The one who fail's to get a bell will be tied to the stump and denied lunch." He saw Sasuke and Sakura hold their stomachs as they growled but he noticed Naruto's stomach didn't and raised a brow, "You ate breakfast didn't you?"
"You suggested we don't eat. You didn't say we were ordered not to, if they didn't eat breakfast then its their problem not mine." Naruto stated indifferently.
Sasuke glared at the blonde realizing he was right. Kakashi only suggested they don't eat before arriving here he didn't order them not to.
Sakura was thinking the same thing but annoyed that Naruto said it out loud and so nonchalantly.
Kakashi was taken back by the blonde's lack of concern for his teammates, 'This could really be a problem. I should talk with the Sandaime or Yamato about this.'
"True. Anyway, back to business. Like I was saying if you fail to get a bell you get tied to the stump, and the one who didn't get a bell will fail the test and be sent back to the Academy." He finished.
"WHAT?!" Sakura screamed making Naruto cover his ears.
'That is really irritating.' He rubbed his ears.
Sasuke got a determined look on his face, he would not fail this exam. He couldn't afford to fail. Not if he wanted to kill Itachi.
Naruto looked thoughtful, 'There are only two bells…there's another meaning behind this.'
"I want you to come at me with the intent to kill." Kakashi told them seriously.
"But sensei we might hurt you." Sakura said worriedly.
'I highly doubt we could. Catch him off guard maybe, but I doubt we'd be able to put a scratch on him. If anything he'll probably just play around with us.' Naruto closed his eyes as he thought this, 'Wait a minute! Maybe if we catch him off guard for a few seconds then it should be easy to get the bells from him, but we'd have to be very careful. He's not known as The Copy-Cat Ninja for nothing.'
Kakashi put the timer down on one of the stumps, "I have the timer set. When it goes off that means the test is over. Ready, go!"
All three took off to the woods to hide.
Kakashi felt where his students were hiding, 'Well its good to know they know the basics of being stealthy. Sasuke is hiding up in a tree, Sakura is hiding in a bush, and Naruto, hm? Strange I can't seem to pinpoint his location.'
Naruto was hiding a little bit away from his teammates and Kakashi so he could think of the real purpose of the test, he tried to suppress his chakra like Yamato-sensei taught him to and didn't know if it was working or not but he was hoping it did. He was currently in deep thought about the survival test, 'There's another reason for this test. There are only two bells meaning that only two of us will be getting them while one of us is tied to the stump but at the same time get sent back to the Academy. But that makes no sense though, he wants us to come at him with the intent to kill in order to get the bells from him,' his eyes widened, 'Unless…he wants us to work together as a team in order to get the bells from him! So that's it. But then again that's also a problem because those two wouldn't want to work with me at all, the emotions I felt from them confirmed it. Guess I'll just have to improvise if we want to pass the survival test.'
Kakashi waited for one of his students to engage him while he was reading his book, about five minutes later Sasuke emerged before the Jounin, "Well now, so the first one to come at me is you. Can't say I'm surprised."
"Hmph, I'm better than those two." Sasuke said arrogantly.
"Is that so? We'll let's see about that." Kakashi humored him by putting his book away.
Sasuke charged at Kakashi sending a punch to the man's face but the silver haired Jounin merely sidestepped and grabbed the boy's wrist kicking him in the gut sending him flying away, but Sasuke maneuvered in the air and got back on the ground.
"Not bad, but not good enough." Kakashi told the boy. Sasuke then threw multiple shuriken at the Jounin who dodged them all perfectly and avoided a kick to the head by the raven-haired boy and sent the boy away from him.
When Sasuke was a good distance form the Jounin he did some hand signs that caught the man's attention: Rat → Tiger → Dog → Ox → Rabbit → Tiger.
'What?! That's a C-rank technique that requires a lot of chakra! There's no way!' Kakashi thought taken by surprise.
"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu)!" Sasuke sent a barrage of flames at the silver haired Jounin watching as the flames consumed the man. When the fire died down he saw that Kakashi was nowhere in sight making him look around, 'What? Where did go?'
"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)." Sasuke felt his ankle be grabbed by a hand from underground.
"Damn-!" he was dragged all the way underground until it was just his head sticking out.
Kakashi materialized from underground, "That was pretty impressive, using a C-rank technique like that but you're a little too hotheaded." He bent down with an eye smile.
Sasuke glared at him.
Before Kakashi could say anything else he saw four shuriken be sent right at him making him do a backflip to avoid them. When he crouched down he saw that Sasuke was no longer where he had him making the man blink, "Hmmm, it was probably Naruto that dug him out but that was pretty clever of him to distract me with the shuriken so he could get his teammate to safety. He might not be anti-social after all."
"Let go of me dobe!" Sasuke yelled.
The boy was currently being carried on his male teammates shoulder, the two of them were currently jumping from tree to tree. Naruto was taking him to a safer distance having gotten him out of a sticky situation. Naruto stopped near a big tree and dropped the boy right on the ground making him growl.
"Thanks."
Sasuke saw another Naruto jump down a tree with a walking stick in hand making his eyes widen. He looked at the one that grabbed him and dropped him on the ground, 'A Shadow Clone?! But it can see!'
"No problem boss, what about the other one?" the clone asked.
Naruto nodded, "Go find Sakura and bring her here too, he'll probably go after her next."
"You got it." The clone jumped up a tree and went off to find Sakura while Naruto walked past Sasuke and into the clearing so he could start his plan and hoped that it worked.
"Hey, I didn't need your help!" Sasuke yelled at his retreating figure.
Naruto merely waved his hand without looking at the raven-haired boy making him clench his fists, "Just how strong are you?"
Sakura was running through the woods trying to find Sasuke after seeing her other teammate take the Uchiha heir away after distracting Kakashi-sensei by throwing shuriken.
She stopped running and looked around, "Where are they?"
Kakashi was standing on top of a tree and sighed, "Maybe a little Genjutsu will make her take her ninja training seriously."
Snake → Rat, "Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique)."
Sakura saw leaves appear out of nowhere and started to feel very sleepy her eyes feeling heavy. After about a minute she felt normal again, "What was that?"
"S-Sakura…"
She looked behind her and saw Sasuke was leaning against a tree bleeding out, "H-Help me…"
Seeing Sasuke in such a state she screamed and passed out making the Jounin shake his head, "I'm surprised that's all it took to knock her out, and that was only a D-rank Genjutsu." He disappeared to go find the blonde, as soon as he left Naruto's clone appeared hefted Sakura over its shoulder and took her to where Sasuke was and if he wasn't in the same spot as before he would just lay her against a tree.
Kakashi was walking around trying to find his other student and sensed he was near the clearing so that's where he went. Walking out into the clearing he saw the blonde was leaning against a tree…asleep while holding his walking stick close to him. He nearly lost his footing when he saw the blonde was passed out sleep instead of participating in the fight with his teammates.
'He's actually sleeping? I think it's time to show him that this isn't a game.' He thought seriously walking over to his lazy student intending to teach him a lesson. When he was close enough the boy's eyes snapped opened and before Kakashi could react to the fact that his student was faking the blonde unsheathed his blade and tried to slice him in half but Kakashi jumped back just in time and did several backflips to get some distance before crouching in position missing the smirk the blonde had on after he stopped with the backflips.
'That was close. I didn't think his walking stick was a sword in disguise, pretty clever way to catch an enemy off guard.' Kakashi thought as he stared at the blonde who still had his sword unsheathed.
Naruto tilted his head, "Too bad. I thought I had you, but I guess not. Well you are a Jounin so its no surprise I missed."
Kakashi stood up slowly actually observing the blonde, "That was pretty clever of you to lure me out here and trying to strike me down while pretending to be asleep."
"Thanks for the compliment, I thought you'd be mad." Naruto smiled.
"Well I did say to come at me with the intent to kill," Kakashi scratched his cheek, "I just didn't think you'd actually try and do it."
"Guess I'm just full of surprises aren't I?" a voice said from behind the Jounin, turning around he saw it was another Naruto that tried to take a swipe at him with a kunai but the man jumped back and right into the real Naruto that was in a stance.
"Senkō (Flash)." Swinging his blade as fast as he could he cut the Jounin in half, he had spent days trying to create his own sword technique and finally produced some results when he cut one of his shadow clones down. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a thump that sounded like wood making his sheath the blade, 'Kawarimi, huh? I kinda figure he'd do that.' He gave the clone his sword and decided to stick with ninjutsu for a little while. Closing his eyes he tried to sense where his Jounin sensei might be hiding and needed to concentrate. After about a minute his eyes opened and he back flipped to avoid being pulled underground just like Sasuke. He got some distance between them and felt his clone stand beside him still holding his blade, "You should get to a safe distance."
The clone nodded and did what it was told as Kakashi appeared from underground, "Interesting, you knew where I was hiding."
Naruto's mouth twitched, "One of the perks of being blind, enhanced senses."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes at that, 'So its true then. And Genjutsu has no effect on him either because he's blind, this is gonna be tough.'
Naruto himself was thinking about what to do next, 'Should I use it here or not? I could just use some Suiton or Futon jutsu's I've been practicing but something tells me he already knows some of his own,' he did the Snake hand sign, 'No choice then, guess I'll have to use it.'
Kakashi was observing the blonde carefully wanting to see what he would do, but what happened was not what he was expecting at all.
"Mokuton: Shinobigaeshi (Wood Release: Bamboo Spikes)!" bamboo spikes appeared from the ground and towards Kakashi who back flipped out the way of the bamboo spikes coming out of the ground.
He stopped the backflips and stared at the boy in complete shock, 'Th-That was Mokuton! How did he learn that?! Only Tenzo knows it! Is that why the Sandaime asked Tenzo to train Naruto?'
Naruto waited to see what his sensei would do next, 'I need to be careful. Kakashi-sensei know many jutsu's so there's no telling what he'll use against me. It might be earth, water, wind, fire, or something else entirely. I'll have to stick with Mokuton and pray he doesn't know a lot of the techniques.'
Kakashi did some hand signs: Tiger → Ox → Tiger → Rat, "Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Bomb Jutsu)!" Kakashi expelled a large quantity of water in the form of a powerful torrent and sent it at the blonde.
Naruto quickly acted using the defensive move Yamato taught him: Rat → Dog → Tiger, "Mokuton: Mokujōheki (Wood Style: Domed Wall Jutsu)!" wooden pillars sprouted from the ground and covered Naruto creating a dome of protection from the water technique.
'That was close! If I hadn't remembered that move from Yamato-sensei I would've gotten hit for sure!' he brought the wood dome down and sensed Kakashi was gone making his eyes widen wondering where he went until his enhance hearing heard something from behind and jumped backwards to avoid a kick to the back while still airborne he decided to use another jutsu Yamato taught him: Tiger → Horse → Tiger → Snake, "Mokuton: Daijurin no Jutsu (Wood Style: Giant Forest Jutsu)!" Naruto's arm transformed into branches and sent them towards Kakashi who prepared to defend against the attack.
Tiger → Hare → Boar → Dog: "Doton: Doryūheki (Earth Style: Mud Wall)!" an earth wall sprouted from the ground and blocked the wood attack making it shatter once it made contact.
Naruto landed back on the ground and stared at his sensei, 'What should I do now? Use a high level jutsu? No, if I do then I'll be too exhausted to fight back. So far I avoided being grabbed underground and kicked from behind thanks to my enhanced senses but I don't have a chance at beating Kakashi-sensei. Yamato-sensei told me many things about him, being in the ANBU when he was a little older than me as well as making Chunin. I'm just glad he's taking it easy on me right now because if he was serious then I'd be big trouble.'
His thoughts were cut off when he heard the alarm go off making him sigh in relief and stood up straight, "Looks like the plan worked." He heard footsteps and felt it was his clone that handed him his cane/sword.
Kakashi raised a brow at the boy's words, "And what do you mean by that?"
Instead of answering he dug in his pocket and pulled out the two bells jingling them in his hand.
Kakashi's eyes widened and he moved his hand to both sides of his pants and realized that indeed he didn't have the bells strapped to him anymore, "When…?"
"It was when I was pretending to be asleep," Naruto told him, "The second you were close enough to me I used my sword to cut the bells off from the side of your pants making them fall to the ground. I picked them up and stuffed them in my pocket once I heard them fall to the ground."
Kakashi blinked at the explanation, "Then why did you engage in a fight with me if you already had the bells?"
"To distract you so you wouldn't notice the bells were gone from the side of your pants, and it worked. You didn't notice until just now." He said.
The Jounin couldn't help but feel impressed despite being outsmarted by a Genin, "I see…well done then. By the way, Sasuke, Sakura you two can come out of hiding now."
Naruto felt the urge to slap his forehead with his hand, he forgot all about them. He dispelled his clone and sighed at the fact he forgot about his own teammates but in his defense he was concentrating on fighting.
'Maybe I should go find Yamato-sensei and ask him to spar with me again. We haven't sparred for awhile now.' He thought as he heard his teammates walk towards them, he felt their eyes on him but couldn't see their reactions when he used Mokuton and didn't really feel like explaining things either.
Kakashi saw the looks the two of them were giving the boy and he couldn't blame them. Naruto just used the Shodaime's famous Mokuton kekkei genkai. The only user he knew of who could use it was Tenzo but now Naruto knows it, he made a mental note to ask the man how the boy managed to use it.
"Before I determine whether you three should pass or fail, can you tell me the reason for this test?" Kakashi asked making the two of them stop looking at Naruto and looking at him instead.
"Wasn't it to test our combat strength?" Sakura questioned.
Sasuke was thinking the same thing.
Kakashi looked over at Naruto, "Well what do you think?"
"Well first off," Naruto gave one of the bells to Sasuke and the other to Sakura taking them off guard, "I thought it was strange that you only had two bells when there are only three of us, not to mention that if one of us fails to get the bells and fail the test then we all fail and get sent back to the Academy."
Sasuke and Sakura froze when they heard his explanation.
"But after thinking about it, I realized that the main point of this…was for us to work together as a team and not individually." The blonde concluded.
Kakashi eyed him with a smile, "Correct."
Sasuke and Sakura looked at him in shock.
"That was the whole point of this test, and that was to work together as a team and look out for each other. And although you didn't work together as a team to attack me, you did show some signs of looking out for each other. For example, Naruto distracted me with his shuriken so he could get Sasuke to safety, and waited for me to leave to get to Sakura so he could take her to a safe location. That's what it means to lookout for one another. To not abandon your comrades." He smiled from underneath his mask, "Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash. Remember that."
Naruto nodded his head, while Sasuke and Sakura looked thoughtful.
"And on that note…you all pass!" Kakashi announced.
Sakura smiled, Sasuke put his hands in his pockets closing his eyes, and Naruto simply blinked.
"You can all go home and relax for tomorrow we begin starting missions. Dismissed." Kakashi told them disappearing in a swirl of leaves.
Naruto was the first to leave wanting to get some lunch when a voice stopped him, "Hey." Sasuke called out.
Naruto stopped but didn't turn around, "What?"
"Where did you learn that?" Sasuke questioned.
"That?"
"Mokuton."
Sakura was just as curious but didn't have the courage to ask the blonde unlike Sasuke.
"You don't need to know." Naruto walked away from them. He wasn't sure why he asking about how he learned Mokuton but knew telling him would be bad.
'I hope he doesn't make this a habit.'
Little did he know his teammate would keep asking the same question until he got an answer.
Hokage Tower
Hiruzen had Kurenai and Asuma in his office after they got done testing their students, now all they had to do was wait on Kakashi. Yamato and Iruka were there as well just waiting, in a swirl of leaves he arrived and stood on Asuma's other side, "Yo." He greeted.
"Now that your all here report." Hiruzen ordered.
Kurenai spoke first, "I, Kurenai Yūhi report that Team 8 has passed."
Asuma spoke next, "I, Asuma Sarutobi report that Team 10 has passed."
Kakashi was the last one, "I, Kakashi Hatake report that Team 7 has passed."
That took the occupants in the room by surprise but Yamato smiled proudly that Naruto passed Kakashi's test.
"Well this is rare, so which one of them figured out the true purpose of the test? Naruto or Sasuke?" Asuma asked.
"Naruto." Kakashi responded.
Yamato kept his proud smile.
"He figured out what the true purpose of the test was and it was because of him the whole team passed. Sasuke was only focused on trying to take me down trying to prove he was superior than his teammates an Sakura was only concerned about Sasuke." Kakashi reported.
Kurenai shook her head in disappointment, "That girl is a disgrace as a kunoichi."
"Hate to say it but so is Ino," Asuma agreed, "She'll only work seriously if she's put in a situation where it forces her to take her duties as a kunoichi seriously. So far only Hinata and Gai's girl are the only proper kunoichi around here."
Iruka couldn't help but sigh himself, such good talent they have. If only they weren't so obsessed with Sasuke, then the two of them would be the top kunoichi in the village but so far only Hinata and Gai's girl fit that profile.
"Naruto meanwhile distracted me so he could free Sasuke from my, "Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique), and got Sakura out of harms way when I used Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique) on her and she passed out." Kakashi continued.
Asuma snorted at the mention of Earth style jutsu he used on Sasuke, oh god he would have loved to see that. Kurenai rubbed her temples when she heard Sakura passed out after Kakashi used a simple D-rank Genjutsu on the girl. It would take something serious to wake this girl up and bring her back to reality.
"I'm not surprised," Yamato smiled, "I've been with Naruto since he was a kid and he's always put others well-being above his own."
Iruka smiled, "He does, doesn't he?"
"His Kenjutsu skills could still use some work, but I'll admit it that it caught me off guard." Kakashi admitted.
"Wait, hold a minute. You mean to tell me the kid fought you one on one?" Asuma looked at him.
"Kinda, he was distracting from the fact he got the bells from me when I let my guard down." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.
Yamato smirked making Kakashi narrow his eyes at him.
"Really? I didn't see a sword on the kid." Asuma commented.
"Its in his walking stick," Yamato told them, "It's a long sword disguised as a simple walking stick."
"That's clever and useful." Kurenai said.
"I agree," Kakashi agreed, "When I was done dealing with Sakura I found him sleeping against a tree and thought he wasn't taking the test seriously so I intended to make him see how serious the situation was, but it turns out that was a trap and when I was close enough he took a swing at me with his sword and cut the bells right off from me and engaged me one on one to make sure I didn't notice they were gone. I only noticed I didn't have them with me when the test was over."
"Losing your touch, sempai?" Yamato smiled.
Kakashi gave him a warning glare.
"So he's good at formulating plans too, huh? He and Shikamaru should get together sometime." Asuma said impressed.
"That's not all," Kakashi's tone turned serious getting their attention wondering if something else happened, "Hokage-sama…Tenzo…why didn't you tell me Naruto has the Mokuton?"
Asuma's cigarette fell out of his mouth, Kurenai's eyes went wide, and Iruka was speechless.
Yamato and Hiruzen looked at each other then back at Kakashi, "So…he used it in front of you then, did he?" Hiruzen said.
"You mean its true?!" Iruka stared at the Hokage.
Yamato narrowed his eyes at Kakashi, "I told Naruto not to use it unless the situation calls for it. What do you think the council would do if they found out he has the Mokuton?"
Kakashi closed his eye, "I see your point, but it would have been good to know."
"I don't see why you should know," Yamato countered, "I regret not telling Iruka but I see no reason why you should know at all."
Kakashi and Tenzo had electricity coming from their eyes forcing Iruka to intervene while Asuma and Kurenai watched with interest.
Hiruzen sighed, "That's enough both of you," he ordered, "Kakashi, I'm sorry for not informing you but I wanted to protect Naruto and so did Yamato so we agreed to keep it to ourselves and told Naruto to use it for emergencies only. Please try to understand."
Kakashi stared at the man, "I understand Hokage-sama."
"Good. Is there anything else you'd like to report?"
"No nothing else, sir."
"I see, then your all dismissed." Hiruzen told them.
Asuma and Kurenai left the office leaving Kakashi, Iruka, and Yamato in the office.
"I take it you'll be doing D-rank missions tomorrow then?" Yamato questioned.
"Yeah."
"Naruto won't complain about it, but I don't know about Sasuke Uchiha." Yamato frowned.
Iruka was inclined to agree.
Kakashi sighed, "You have no idea."
Next Time: Wave & Discovery.