CHAPTER 5: OF SURPRISES AND TESTS
Hinata was late to her class on her last day in the Academy – the day when the students who passed were assigned to their senseis. Well, she was not exactly late, but she was just two minutes early to the class, instead of her usual fifteen minutes. Her father had summoned her to his study when she was finding Koh.
"Hinata, you will be assigned to a team today. I had talked to Hokage-sama about your sensei. Though he didn't tell me who it will be, I hope he is an excellent shinobi and not just some available jonin. I had requested to him to give your team the best shinobi he can. You will not settle for anything less than best. If he does not seem good enough to you, I expect you to tell me and I will be having a talk with Hokage-sama. He already has my preferences. Understood?"
"Hai, Otou-sama."
Hinata left with Koh after that. The whole way she thought about whom her father would have preferred to be her sensei. She wasn't much bothered by it. Anyone would be good enough if he was already jonin, right? Not anyone was promoted to jonin. She also thought about other students who would be in her team. She didn't have much of a preference as far as they went. She could get along well enough with all of her classmates. Though she would like if the girls weren't in her team – they were louder than what she was comfortable with. And God forbid if her teammates included one of the girls and the Uchiha. She would rather fail and try again next year.
Really.
She remembered Naruto saying that they would be in the same team a number of times. He always hoped that he would be assigned in the same team as her. She felt bad for him that now it can't happen. It was a pity that he didn't pass the test – he had great potential. She assumed that he failed in the Clonetest, because he was all excited and bubbly before that.
She didn't understand how he failed. He was already good enough to be a genin. And even if he couldn't make a Clone, he can do a Substitutionand Transformationperfectly. That, coupled with his prowess in seals was satisfactory. But she wasn't the judge of that.
Oh well, she would have liked being in a team with him, even if he can't seem to shut up for more than a few minutes. At least she knew he won't give her special treatment like everybody else. Maybe she would discover some of those things he refused to tell her himself.
When she reached her class, she saw a group of girls huddled around Uchiha's desk. She sighed at the ruckus they were making and made her way to her seat. She could hear them defending him against – Naruto?
She frowned and looked at the centre of the crowd. Naruto was crouched low on Uchiha's desk and glaring at him. It looked like another of their stare-offs, except more intense. Their noses were almost touching.
It took her more than a few seconds to register the fact that Naruto shouldn't even be here. Only those who passed the Academy test were supposed to come today. Then she noticed his headband.
How?
But before she could dwell on it, someone in front of the desk leaned back and bumped Naruto forward – and it felt like pin drop silence when all the girls shouting before were suddenly speechless.
Wha-?
And a second later Naruto and Sasuke were both coughing and gagging their mouths out and the girls were beyond pissed and rest of the kids were laughing and even Hinata couldn't stop the small smile forming on her face. It was hilarious.
The more… violent of the girls took out all their anger (jealousy) on poor, traumatised Naruto. Thankfully, Iruka-sensei arrived before the girls could do any permanent damage to him. Naruto and Sasuke sat noticeably farther than they normally did, and the horror and humiliation between them were almost visible. They pointedly ignored each other, too.
"Beginning today, all of you are real ninjas," Iruka-sensei started, not wanting to know what happened in his class to make his kids behave so… strangely. (And why was Naruto beaten up? And why were all the girls not giggling or squealing or bickering? And why was Sasuke even more sulky than usual?)
"But you are still merely rookie genin…" And sensei went on to explain the formation and importance of teams and warned them about getting too cocky in the beginning before naming the teams.
"… Next, Team 7. Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto instantly glanced at Hinata, hoping to hear her name next.
"Sakura Haruno," a loud 'NO!' sounded from the girl's direction, followed by a blue cloud over her.
"And Sasuke Uchiha," the following 'YES!' coming from Sakura was totally drowned by Naruto's 'No Way!'
He jumped up on his seat and shouted furiously pointing at Sasuke, "Iruka-sensei! Why does an outstanding ninja like me have to be on the same team as the teme?"
"Naruto, we have to balance the teams," sensei patiently explained. "Sasuke has the highest scores in the class, against your least."
"It's not! And it still doesn't explain why it has to be him!" Naruto spat out the last word like even thinking it made him nauseous. "Can't someone else be on my team? Someone less… I don't know, insufferable? Like Princess?" Naruto argued and pointed at Hinata sitting at the back.
"Insufferable?" Sasuke scoffed in amusement. "I should be the one saying that, dobe."
"What did you say!?" Naruto yelled at him.
"Hard of hearing?" Sasuke snarked.
"No. I just couldn't believe you could actually form words with a stick that big up your ass," Naruto retorted.
"Forming and understanding words need brain cells that you obviously lack, you dobe, not a stick up the ass," Sasuke snarked, again.
"You wanna go, teme?" Naruto challenged and flexed his hands, but didn't move any closer.
"Aren't you eager to get your ass kicked by me already," Sasuke snarked, yet again.
It was strange hearing him say so many words at once. Most of the time he was laconic.
"Oh, yeah? Let's see you try it," Naruto snarled but once again didn't move. They were still more than two feet away from each other. Hinata could have sworn she heard someone near her mumble something about "lovers' quarrel…"
"I am sure that Hokage-sama had a reason for that, Naruto," Iruka-sensei interrupted them before they really started fighting. It happened often enough. "Now sit down."
Naruto sat down grumbling, "I knew that old geezer had a fucking wicked humour. Oh, he's so gonna pay."
And he proceeded to spent the rest of his time in the class planning a prank to get back at the poor old Hokage.
"Ahem. I hope we don't have any further interruptions. Next, Team 8. Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka and Hinata Hyuga," Iruka-sensei carried on with other teams.
"WHAT! Come on! Dog-breath and bug-guy? I can't be worse than them," Naruto shouted, offended.
"Hey! I resent that," came from behind him. It was Kiba Inuzuka; his companion Akamaru yipped from his place on his head, as if agreeing with him.
"No interruptions, Naruto. As I said Hokage-sama must have had a reason for this arrangement," sensei said sternly.
Naruto shut up and scowled (pouted), and went back to planning his revenge (prank) on the Hokage.
"Next Team 10. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi."
Hinata saw Ino slump in her seat and raise her head, looking at the ceiling. She drawled out a miserable, "No…"
Naruto grumbled dramatically in his seat, "At least Shikamaru and Choji gets to be with each other."
After all teams were named, they had lunch break after which they were supposed to meet their Jonin senseis. Hinata went back to sit under her usual trees and ate her packed lunch, observing other students as usual.
This time, more of her focus was on her two new teammates – Kiba and Shino. She knew them briefly as the heirs of their respective clans and about their clan jutsus.
The Inuzuka clan used ninken, ninja dogs as their companions and had numerous combination jutsus. Her teammate's companion, an adorable little puppy, was named Akamaru. They were always together as far as she had seen. Kiba himself was a loud troublemaker, second only to Naruto. He also seemed one of the few students who would actually spend any time with him. Even now they were together, having what looks like who-can-insult-the-other-more contest. It was common for them, that and skipping classes.
The Aburame clan used insects for their jutsus. As far as she was taught, the clan members gave the beetles shelters inside their own bodies and let them feed on their chakra, and in return, the insects did their bidding. This helps the users to perform ninjutsu without manipulating chakra or using hand seals – their insects do it for them. She didn't know much of Shino himself. He was quiet and kept to himself, often unnoticed in a crowd. Like any Aburame, he wore shades and clothes that covered most of his body.
She finished her lunch and just sat there thinking about nothing, until the bell rang. Everyone moved to enter their class and excitedly took their seats. Some sat with their teammates, others sat as far from them as possible (Sasuke and Ino). Naruto also came to sit beside Hinata this time around. Though, unlike the other times, he wasn't grinning or chattering.
He looked solemn. It was unsettling, honestly.
Hinata had found out pretty early that Naruto's attitude was contagious – the days he was happy (almost every day) were the days everyone was happy. The rare days he bothered to come to school while feeling down were always quiet. No one talked loudly, no one cracked jokes, no one snarked. Hinata knew it wasn't even conscious – they didn't even realise Naruto was under the weather. It just happened. And as soon as Naruto feels better, everyone becomes… warmer.
"So… we didn't get to be in the same team, after all, huh?" Naruto said quietly.
Hinata turned to look at him. He wanted to say something, but was scared to say it. It immediately made her curious. She hadn't really seen him scared to say or do anything, ever. She didn't know he could get scared.
After a while (maybe he was pep talking himself?), in which a Jonin-sensei came took his team out with him, he finally said something, "I… we, we will still be friends, right?"
Hinata raised her brows at the question. Friends.
She didn't realise that was what they were. She never expected anyone to even be allowed to become her friend. So, she never tried.
She never needed them. She was supposed to become one of the best kunoichis and lead the clan one day. She was supposed to be perfect in everything expected of her. She was supposed to be prim and proper always like a Hyuga. She was supposed to focus on getting better and only that. She was not supposed to lower herself to the standards of commoners or minor clansmen. She was not supposed to have any cracks in her mask. She was not supposed to show vulnerabilities – clan's or personal – to anyone. She was not supposed to even mingle with kids that were not Hyuga.
She was certainly not supposed to make friends.
So, of course, Naruto would become her friend.
He was the one person almost everyone in the village hates or despises or ignores. He was one everyone in the Hyuga Police Force considers the bane of their existence. He had one of the longest lists of (accused) crimes, felonies and misdemeanours. He was the dead last of the Academy. He was the exact opposite of what her father considered acceptable company – loud, obnoxious, troublemaking, disrespecting, ungraceful, uninhibited, unfiltered, carefree, laid-back and what not.
He was the last person her father would approve to be her friend. So, of course he would manage to become her one and only friend.
But her father didn't even know that she talked to him, let alone making friends with him.
She saw his face fall after a few seconds when she didn't answer. He opened his mouth to say something –
And she realised that she, too, wanted to be his friend.
"Yes, we'll still be friends… Uzumaki-kun," Hinata said with a small, genuine smile.
Naruto immediately grinned widely and suddenly the air felt a bit warmer.
"Great. That's awesome!" Naruto yelled, though no one paid much attention – everyone was long since used to his antics.
"Of course, it would have been even more awesome if we were in the same team, but oh, well, what can we do? Jiji is gonna pay, anyway. But it isn't so bad. You at least have Kiba in your team. He's a good guy. I asked him to take care you. Shino is ni–"
"You don't think I can take care of myself?" she interrupted him. This was another thing she never do – interrupt someone. But she learned the only way to talk to Naruto was to either interrupt him – he never takes offense – or to wait for him to finish, when he finally waits for at most two seconds before continuing on. It's usually a very long wait, so she just started interrupting him. Her father would sputter with indignity if he knew.
Naruto looked at her as if he couldn't understand her, "Of course not. Why would you say that?"
"Then why do you think Inuzuka-san needs to take care of myself?" Hinata clarified.
"I know you are strong, Princess – you are even better than Sasuke-teme – but no one is invincible. It's good to have someone have your back," Naruto said, almost chidingly.
Hinata resisted the urge to smile and after a second Naruto continued on with his ramblings – this time about how he is doomed with 'Teme' and one of his biggest fangirls.
Hinata honestly pitied him for that.
She was pulled out of his talks (when he was talking about one time when he rescued Sasuke from a small hoard of fangirls and 'the teme' left without even looking at him, let alone thanking him – he almost got stampeded during it!) when she heard someone call out, "Team 8."
She saw Kiba (after groaning something about Sasuke and Uchihas) and Shino stand up and walk towards a tall, black-haired man wearing a high-collared black t-shirt – and Uchiha, obviously.
She bowed slightly to Naruto as a goodbye and followed her teammates outside, vaguely wondering if an Uchiha would be acceptable to her father.
All of them followed the Jonin to the nearest training ground, where he stopped and faced them – checked them out properly.
"So, a Hyuga, an Inuzuka and an Aburame, huh? Guess they are after a tracking-based team," he mused out loud.
Then he clapped his hands twice and said, "Alright. Let's start with introductions. Me first. I am Shisui Uchiha. I like the downtime between missions and having fun with my family. I dislike the endless animosity among shinobis and warfare. My dream is to keep serving and protecting the Hokage and the village."
Shisui-sensei finished and smiled. Hinata recognised the name but couldn't remember from where. Then he gestured for the genins to start.
Kiba went first, "My name is Kiba Inuzuka and this is my companion, Akamaru. I like playing and training with Akamaru. I dislike traitors and stuck-up jerks. My dream is to become the strongest shinobi and the Hokage."
Hinata's lips quirked a bit at that. She went next, since Shino didn't look like he wanted to say anything yet.
"I am Hinata Hyuga. I like flower pressing, sweets and training in Gentle Fist. I dislike… nothing much, really. My dream is to make Otou-sama proud and become a… better clan head."
Finally, they all looked at Shino, and he started speaking, "My name is Shino Aburame. I like observing insects. I dislike being ignored or forgotten. My dream is to find a new species of insects."
Everyone went silent, and sensei muttered something like, "There's gotta be an Aburame with a different introduction."
Then, he sighed loudly and said, "Okay. Now, for the team. First of all, you should know that you are not genin yet."
"WHAT!" Kiba yelled, before he could continue.
Shisui-sensei looked at him and continued, "Yes. You are not genin yet. You have just passed the Academy test. You have to pass my test before I take you on as my students."
"But no one told us anything about that before!" Kiba argued.
"Because no one is supposed to. This is a surprise test. If you are not prepared to deal with unforeseen circumstances, you are not prepared to be a shinobi. It's the job description, pal," Shisui-sensei explained.
When no one said anything else, Shisui-sensei continued, "Okay, so, I am feeling quite nice today. So, let's have your test tomorrow. I'll tell you what it is then. Meet me here at 0900."
Somewhere at the end, he got lost in his thoughts and was pulled out of them by Kiba's loud acclamations.
"Hey, at least give us a hint."
Sensei stared at him weirdly, raising one brow.
"Please," Kiba added a bit politely.
Shisui-sensei's lips twitched and he answered after a beat, "It will be related to tracking. Probably."
"Uh, you don't sound so sure, Shisui-sensei," Kiba said suspiciously.
And Shisui-sensei vanished before anyone could blink. Hinata thought she heard a, "later."
…
The next day, Hinata arrived at the training grounds after Shino – five minutes before 9 o'clock. They waited in companionable silence after exchanging muted greetings.
She had told Father about her sensei as she was supposed to. He wasn't happy, but he wasn't complaining either. She knew he wouldn't be happy knowing her sensei is an Uchiha, but she was surprised when he just accepted it sourly.
She asked Koh about Shisui-sensei later that evening. He told her that he was one of the strongest Uchihas alive, and was known throughout the shinobi by the moniker 'Shisui of the Body Flicker.' Easily an upper A-Rank ninja in the Bingo Books. Hinata knew the name sounded familiar earlier.
Kiba and Akamaru arrived three minutes later.
"Hey Shino!" Kiba greeted loudly, to which Shino nodded with a quiet, "good morning, Kiba-san."
Then Kiba turned to Hinata and waved once, "Good morning… Hinata-sama," he mumbled awkwardly.
Hinata, too, bowed her head a bit, "Good morning, Inuzuka-san."
They waited for a while, and Shisui-sensei arrived exactly at 0900, out of thin air. Hinata wondered if that was his 'flickering.'
All three genins stood at attention.
Shisui-sensei looked at them disapprovingly, "Okay. Lesson No. 1: Do not come to any rendezvous point early."
At the perplexed faces of his genins, he continued, "That doesn't mean you should be late. But you shouldn't be early, either. Come on time, exactly. You never know if the place or other party is compromised."
They understood and he smiled, "Alright. You will get another lesson if you pass my test. Ready?"
They all nodded.
"Well, then. I am sure you all have noticed the change in the scenery today," Shisui-sensei jerked his head a bit towards the Hokage Monument, which was at his eight o'clock.
Reflexively, his audience followed it, and stared at the monument, unsurprised.
Hinata was pretty sure there was no one in the village that have yet to notice the 'change in scenery'. The Hokage Monument was painted with bright, vivid colours… once again (it was the fourth time actually – the first time was two months before Hinata joined the Academy). But unlike the earlier paintjobs, this time it was focused the most on the Third Hokage.
Not in a good way either.
There were some pretty insulting phrases written on there (but not the worst Naruto could do; Hinata knew because she had heard some way more offending words from his mouth) and some rude images and gestures were drawn, too. Not perfectly, but it wasn't that hard to make them out.
Other Hokages weren't spared, but they weren't insulted, either. They just had their hair painted bright red, and the Fourth had eyes painted a nice, light, sky blue in addition. (It didn't go well with the red hair.)
Hinata was sure the Police wouldn't (shouldn't) even be surprised by the pranks anymore, and wondered how long it would take them to catch him this time. She vaguely wondered how his test went and whether or not his team passed.
"So, your assignment is to track and catch the culprit," Shisui-sensei's voice pulled her back to the Earth and she whipped her head at him incredulously.
Kiba voiced the thoughts all three of them had, "What does that mean!? Everyone knows who did it!"
Shino and Hinata nodded minutely.
Shisui-sensei just raised his eyes and drawled out monotonously, "Really? Care to tell me who it is?"
Kiba stared at him slack-jawed, wondering if that was a trick question. Hinata wondered that, too.
"It's Naruto, of course," Kiba answered when he realised that it wasn't.
"Oh? And how would you know that?" Shisui-sensei asked.
"Everyone knows its him. Who else would do that?" Kiba reasoned at once.
"I don't know. There are a lot of people in the village. Anyone could've done that," Shisui-sensei shrugged.
Kiba stared at him dumbly, "You can't be serious!"
"But I am," sensei replied coolly.
Kiba looked like he still wanted to argue but Shino spoke before he could, "He is right, Kiba-san. You should not accuse your friend of felonies just like that. Why? Because you don't have the proof that it is he who painted the Hokage Monument. Even if he is accused of many other misdeeds in the past, most of them were never proved to be done by him. Therefore, you cannot blame Naruto-san of vandalising the Hokage Monument until you find evidence sufficient enough to support your claim."
Kiba blinked twice when Shino finished, "Damn, Shino. I didn't know you could speak so much."
Then, he turned towards sensei, "Is this about proof? We have to find proof that Naruto vandalised the monument?"
After listening to Shino, Hinata too realised that she was also always assuming Naruto to be the one behind any felony/crime (prank). But she knew she was never judging him over that. And even if she did, what was there to be judged negatively?
It just shows how sneaky he is and what's wrong with that considering he is a ninja? He never hurts anyone, either.
"No, Kiba-kun. I want you all to find who vandalised the monument. Don't go assuming who they are beforehand," Shisui-sensei chided. "Who knows, maybe it is someone else this time."
Shisui-sensei grinned like he knew nobody here bought that.
"So, we have to investigate the sight of crime and find the criminal?" Kiba asked uncertainly.
"Yes." Shisui-sensei nodded once.
"Isn't anyone else supposed to be doing that? Like, the Police?" Kiba asked.
"No. Why would they? Naruto passed the Academy, he is no longer a civilian," Shisui-sensei told them.
Well, this at least told Hinata why Hyuga Police wasn't overreacting again and trying to find Naruto. They were probably celebrating the fact that he is off their hands now.
And right now, even without any evidence, she was sure the culprit was still Naruto. He is nothing if not an exhibitionist.
She had been to his favourite hideout – multiple times. Because it was hers too.
She knew at least two more of his hideouts (or she knew she could guess pretty accurately where they were) and he had more than once admitted to her of several of his pranks – indirectly, of course. That way she could honestly say that she heard nothing about them from him. That is, if she ever wanted to report him. She didn't.
And she knew their common hideout (her only hideout) was the one where he kept most of his non-perishable prank supplies, because he knew that they will never get discovered.
And he was muttering yesterday in the class about taking revenge on the Third for placing him in a different team than her. The Hokage Monument look quite like someone used it for revenge, specifically on the Third.
So, she, essentially, just have to find evidence that Naruto is the culprit – and that she knew was damn hard. He didn't have no jail records and still longest list of accused crimes for fun. She knew for a fact that Captains (whom Naruto referred to as Level #5s) were summoned to interrogate him or find evidence to arrest him. He was a pro at giving answers without giving answers, as she knew very well firsthand.
"So, why don't the Hokage send people to capture him?" Kiba wondered.
"Because he isn't a registered ninja yet. Kakashi's test is today, too. And the Hokage doesn't want to bother wasting his manpower on a useless mission," Shisui-sensei answered him.
Kiba groaned, and Shino sighed.
"Get going, kids. You have till 1300 to complete the assignment. Or you will be going back to the Academy. Hurry!" sensei cheered them and Kiba's eyes bugged out.
"That's less than four hours! Come on, at least give us a week!" Kiba yelled.
Shisui-sensei just grinned and… flickered.
Kiba scoffed and then sat down after a moment.
"So, what now? Any ideas?" Kiba looked at Hinata and Shino, stumped.
…
In the end, they decided to first head to the Hokage Monument. Sitting around brainstorming was just killing their very limited time. Shino and Kiba had asked Hinata about anything she knew about Naruto, considering she was the one he chatted with the most.
She refused to tell. Everything he told her that no one else knew was because he considered her a friend, and she wasn't going to break his trust in her. But she did promise she would tell them just one secret if it was the last resort – passing the test was important, too.
Kiba and Akamaru could smell faint traces of a lot of people near the monument, but none of them were recognisable to them, and they didn't have time to search each and every one of them in the village – they knew it was useless anyway.
Shino told them after half an hour or so that his kikaichu found faint traces of chakra on the Hokage faces, specifically on the painted area. Kiba and Hinata could not do anything about that – the chakra was fading and was mixed with Earth, and thus, not visible to the Byakugan. So, Shino searched a bit more around the faces for any other clue.
He told them after another ten or so minutes that his kikaichu could sense a faint trail of chakra going around the Hokage faces, and downwards from the face of Third Hokage. He said it had a certain signature – the chakra his insects sensed before was elemental, and didn't have any particular signature to it – but it wasn't enough to recognise the ninja.
Kiba and Hinata followed where he pointed the trail to be, and Hinata activated her eyes. She still couldn't see the chakra, but now that she was concentrating on a specific area, she saw something minuscule on the foot of the monument – she would have definitely missed it if she hadn't known what to look for. She focused her vision on it and could see some tiny points of chakra scattered here and there on the ground.
She reported her observation and all three of them ran back to the village, to the base of the cliff. There, Hinata pointed out where the chakra was visible, and they found several blank parchments. Hinata told them the sheets have some residual chakra in them left. And Kiba could smell Naruto on them. And Shino could match the chakra signature with the one trailing down the cliff, and he could also match it with the one and only Naruto.
They had all known about Naruto long enough to know that the parchments were supposed to be seals.
Hinata sighed in relief, and fought the urge to smile – it felt good after completing your first mission successfully. And in just three hours, too.
Kiba smirked and barked at them to get moving to find Shisui-sensei and show him the proof.
Shino stopped him, "Our assignment is not yet completed, Kiba-san. Why? Because Shisui-sensei said that we have to track and find the culprit. Therefore, we cannot re –"
"Oh right! I almost forgot, Shino. We have to find the idiot, too!" Kiba yelled.
He turned around in the general direction the centre of the village and snapped, "Come on, let's go find him."
They realised pretty soon that none of them knew where he lived, and then they started getting antsy because they had less than twenty minutes till one o'clock. He wasn't in Hinata's range and Shino wasn't that good at tracking people. So, it was Kiba and Akamaru doing most of the work.
Luckily, they stumbled along his scent near the marketplace and followed it to a training ground. But when they were about to enter the training grounds, a kunai flashed through Hinata's vision, and she swiftly pulled out her own to parry it. Another followed and dug into the soil before them.
They stopped and observed the clearing. There were three stumps in the middle of it, a river flowing across from them, and the Memorial Stone on their far right. Naruto was tied to the middle stump, and his teammates were sitting in front of the other two and – feeding him?
Hinata, Kiba and Shino didn't move, just observed, acutely aware of their fast-approaching deadline. All at once, a white-haired ninja stood before them, looking furious, with smoke clouds all around him. Hinata supposed that that was Kakashi (from what Shisui-sensei said before).
He chewed them out, and they cowered under his glare. But then, Naruto dared to speak and yelled back something about being a team and helping each other out. Sasuke and Sakura, too, agreed with him and supported him.
"YOU THREE…" Kakashi thundered, and then said something that instantly shut them up and then breaking out in a victory dance (well, Sakura did, and Naruto tried to).
"Come on! We have just ten minutes left," Kiba groaned and tried to enter the clearing. When no kunai appeared, he charged in there and Hinata and Shino immediately followed.
Kiba stood beside the tied-up Naruto, and shouted into the sky, "Alright, sensei, we found him!"
Sasuke and Sakura looked at him like he was crazy. A few moments later, Shisui-sensei flickered behind him and nodded at Kakashi, "Who did you find?"
Kiba jumped and turned and pointed at Naruto and shouted, "Naruto. He is the culprit. He painted the Hokage Monument."
Sasuke scoffed, "Everyone know that."
"Oh yeah, do you have proof, Uchiha?" Kiba turned towards Sasuke.
"Only an idiot will need a proof to see that," Sasuke muttered.
Kiba opened his mouth to retort, but he was stopped by Shisui-sensei, "Now, now, Sasuke-kun, you shouldn't be blaming your teammate like that. Be nice."
Sasuke scowled stubbornly.
Shisui-sensei turned to his team, "So, I told you to find me some proof."
"And we did find the proof," Kiba exclaimed loudly. "There were blank sheets littered on the ground beneath the monument, and they smelled of Naruto. He used the seals."
Shino also picked up from there, "We also found some chakra in them that I identified as Naruto's. That same chakra was also littered all around the Great Hokage Faces, specifically on the painted areas."
Hinata took out the seals they had picked up and gave them to sensei, "These are the seals, Shisui-sensei."
Shisui-sensei examined the seals for a few seconds, "Wow, you are quite good at seals, kid. There is no indication that this sheet was ever used as a seal, except the faint chakra left that apparently only Hyugas and Aburames can trace."
Naruto grinned bashfully from the stump, "Hehe, thanks, sensei."
Shisui-sensei looked at his team and smiled, "Well, you passed. You have nice skills and teamwork. Looks like I won't have to do much with you. Tomorrow we will start with missions."
"Yahoo!" Kiba yelped and jumped happily, while Hinata and Shino just smiled.
Suddenly, Kiba's stomach growled, and was immediately followed by three more from team 7. All three of them turned towards the two half-finished lunches beside Naruto.
"So… who wanna go to Ichiraku's?"