I do not own Naruto
The next day, Konoha's academy
"... Next, team 7 will be Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto…"
"YAY!" shouted Naruto, while Sakura slumped in disappointment
"... and Uchiha Sasuke"
"YAY!" shouted Sakura, while Naruto slumped in disappointment
"Iruka sensei! Why does an outstanding ninja like me have to be on the same team as that bum?!" Shouted Naruto, pointing his finger at a rather uninterested Sasuke
"Sasuke grades were first among all 27 graduates… Naruto… you were dead last. We have to do this to balance the teams, understand?" explained Iruka
Sasuke scoffed "Bah. Just don't get in my way, dobe."
"Well, isn't that the picture perfect image of a well oiled team."
The students turned their heads toward the ceiling, where a man sat upside down with his legs crossed.
"But then again, I suppose whipping you into shape is kind of my job, isn't it, Iruka-san?"
"I suppose it is, Risu-san. Can I ask you why you're here so early? You were told to come pick them up in the afternoon."
Risu touched the ceiling with one hand, flipping himself over and landing on the floor.
"I wanted to observe my future students. You know, get a feel for their personalities and all that jazz. Mind if I take them now?"
Iruka smiled "By all means."
"Excellent. Team 7, meet me on the rooftop." He said, before disappearing into a swirl of leaves.
Naruto bolted out of the class. This sensei was awesome! He was going to teach them how to walk on walls! How cool was that?
Sasuke followed, immediately followed by Sakura. While his sensei didn't sound very serious, he definitely showed some impressive stealth and what looked like two useful techniques.
The two reached the rooftop, where Risu was leaning on the guardrail and Naruto was sitting, fidgeting in excitement.
"Glad you could make it. Now, how about we start with some introduction?"
Sakura raised her hand "What do you want to know, sensei?"
Risu shrugged "Anything you think should be shared on a first meeting"
"That would be… likes, dislikes, dream, hobbies…?" asked Sakura to no one in particular
"Hey, hey, why don't you introduce yourself first?" asked Naruto
"No can do. That would ruin the test."
The trio looked at him quizzically
"What test, sensei?" asked the pinkette
the man shrugged "Don't worry about it for now. Why don't you start, blondie?"
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like cup ramen! What I like even more is the restaurant ramen Iruka-sensei buys me. What I dislike is waiting 3 minutes for the cup ramen to cook. My dream is to become Hokage and have all the people of this village acknowledge my existence!" In a lower voice, he added "Hobbies.. pranking, I guess"
Risu nodded, looking at Sasuke
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are tons of things I dislike but I don't particularly like anything. I don't want to use the word dream, but I have an ambition: resurrecting my clan and to kill a certain man"
Naruto gulped, while Sakura looked awe-struck at her crush. Risu made no comment while shifting his gaze at the girl
"I'm Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is… well, the person I like is… Should I say my dream for the future is…" She glanced at Sasuke and giggled "The thing I dislike is Naruto. My hobby…"
"STOP!" Risu shouted, face buried in his hands, startling his students, before glaring at the kunoichi. "What the hell was that supposed to be?"
Sakura looked confused "What do you mean, sensei?"
"I asked you to introduce yourself by saying what you thought would be appropriate to say when meeting someone for the first time. I even told you this was a test."
He pointed at Naruto "He was friendly. Perhaps a bit obsessed with food, but sufficiently professional. He revealed a potential weakness by mentioning Iruka, but Iruka is higher rank than him, so it doesn't really count as a weakness."
He pointed at Sasuke. "He was a bit cold, but extremely professional and revealed nothing that could be used against him."
He now glared at her. "Your behavior as a fangirl for the Uchiha showed absolutely no sign of professionalism, and revealed a weakness that is exceedingly likely to come up in a combat situation. Not only that, you also showed an open disdain for a fellow teammate, indicating another potentially fatal weakness while at the same making one of the people that are supposed to save your life far more likely to simply let you die rather than risking his own skin to help you."
"I would never abandon Sakura-chan!" shouted an enraged Naruto
"And that's good, but shouting that only pointed out a potential weakness. With the information you just gave me you have pretty much confirmed to me that should I take the Uchiha hostage and tell the girl to kill you she will jump at the chance while you would be barely able to defend yourself against her assault."
The two genin looked down, while Sasuke's eyes showed much more interest.
Risu sighed. "I want you three to prepare a letter of introduction, introducing yourselves with as many details as possible. Write down anything relevant to your shinobi career. if you know jutsus outside the one taught at the academy, write them down. If you don't know one of the jutsus taught at the academy, write it down. If you have past mental trauma, write it down."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the man.
"If you have a kekkei genkai, write it down, even if you can't use it yet. If you have snuck by the ANBU to paint the Hokage monument, write it down. If you have an ingrown toenail, write it down. If you have a tattoo, a seal or a birthmark somewhere on your body, write it down."
Naruto jolted at that.
"If your house has an AC that doesn't work and you lived without if for 2 years, write it down"
Naruto looked at him with wide eyes
"Just write everything down. Have it ready by 8 pm and deliver it to my house."
He stood up, ready to leave
"Wait sensei!" shouted Naruto "You haven't told us where you live!"
Risu looked back and smirked "That's another test"
And he shunshin'd away
Sasuke smiled and stood up. He liked this sensei. Too bad his test of was too easy.
"Hey teme! Where are you going?"
shouted Naruto. Sakura was about to reprimand him, but she stopped. Sensei's verbal lashing had hurt her deeply. Was she that bad? Sensei said she was antagonizing Naruto and despite her best effort, she couldn't help but to admit that the Risu-sensei was right. She had treated Naruto unfairly. Perhaps she should try to be nicer?
Sasuke smirked "To find Hinata and write my report"
"Hinata-chan? Does she know where sensei lives?"
"You really are a dobe. Haven't you seen Sensei's eyes? He's a Hyuuga, so of course the future clan head would know where he lives"
"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Naruto "He does have the same eyes as Hinata-chan. Well, better start writing my report then. I have to show sensei that I'm an amazing ninja!"
Sasuke ignore his teammate and took the stairs to find the Hyuuga heiress.
Five hours later, Konoha streets
"Oh c'mon!" shouted an exasperated Naruto. The search for their sensei's home had been an exercise in futility. Apparently, the Hyuuga had been on long term mission after long term mission for the past seven years and as a result, he had no house in the village. Hinata had asked a few branch family members that knew Risu, but she could only find an apartment that sensei had sold five years before. They had tried to ask Iruka, but the man didn't really know the jonin, so that was a dead end. Sakura had suggested that maybe their sensei was staying at a hotel, but after checking every single hotel in Konoha they learned that it wasn't the case. They tried to check on the man's teammates, but one of them died the night of the Kyuubi attack and the other was in ANBU, so the address was classified. Naruto went to ask the Hokage, but the old man told them that Risu-sensei had asked not to tell them anything.
"There has to be someone that knows where sensei lives!"
Sakura sighed "Maybe if we find sensei we can follow him?" she suggested half-heartedly
"We'll have to be insanely lucky to just see sensei walking around the village. Even if we were to split, there's only three of us and sensei could be anywhere" shot back Sasuke.
"Wait!" shouted Naruto "I know how to find sensei!" Under the curious eye of Sakura and the skeptical gaze of Sasuke, the blonde raised his fingers in a cross sign
Taju Kage Bunshin no jutsu
The street were covered in smoke, as thousands of Narutos popped into existence.
"Ok guys! Go find sensei! If you find him, come back to the academy!" With a chorus of "Yosh!" the army of clones scattered all over the village
"Dobe, what was that justsu?" asked Sasuke
"It's my specialty, the Kage bunshin no jutsu!"
"And where exactly did someone like you, who couldn't even make a clone, come across this technique? Can you teach it to me?"
Naruto let out a nervous laugh "Uhhh… I kinda promised Hokage-jiji that I wouldn't teach it to anyone without his permission…"
Sasuke scoffed. If the dobe could learn it, so could he. He just had to finish this stupid test and talk to Hokage-sama. "Fine. By tomorrow I'll be able to make twice as many clones as you can."
"What did you just say, teme!?"
"Guys, please don't fight. We still need to find sensei. Plus, if you fight in the street someone will call the ANBU" pleaded Sakura
"Tsk. I'm not scared of the ANBU. I'm too fast for them. And even if they can catch me, they just take me to Iruka-sensei and he'll understand." Boasted naruto, crossing his arms
Sakura raised an eyebrow "Why would they take you to Iruka-sensei? Wouldn't they take you to your guardian?"
"They used to take me to Hokage-jiji, but since I started the academy they brought me to Iruka-sensei. Told me as my teacher he was the one responsible for me."
Sakura stopped walking. If Iruka-sensei was the one responsible for Naruto during the academy, now that Naruto was no longer an academy student, they would take him…
"Start fighting"
The boys looked at her dumbfounded
"Uh?" muttered Naruto
"Listen. During the academy, every time the ANBU caught Naruto he was taken to Iruka-sensei because he was Naruto's teacher and his direct superior. Now that Naruto is no longer in the academy, they won't do that. They will take him to his new sensei and jonin commander, which means…"
"...that the ANBU will take us to Risu-sensei." concluded Sasuke
"Wow! You're a genius, Sakura-chan!" smiled Naruto
Sasuke checked his report, making sure it wouldn't get lost in the fight. "Are you ready, dobe?" He taunted, entering in a fighting stance.
Naruto cocked back his fist, shouting while charging the Uchiha
Twenty minutes later, Risu's house
"I have to admit, I would have never thought you'd find my house like this"
Risu wasn't sure if he was supposed to be angry at his team for getting into a fight in the middle of the streets of impressed by the fact they managed to let the ANBU do their job for them.
Naruto was tied up in a cocoon of ninja wire and had a busted lip, but was smiling like there was no tomorrow. His two teammates stood right next to him, smiling proudly.
Risu thanked the ANBU for his service and invited the students into the still half-barren apartment he had just bought the day before.
"Out of curiosity, sensei… how were we supposed to find your apartment?" asked Sakura
"Konoha's Register office. Hospital contact details. Ask the only real estate in Konoha if they saw me. Basically any official form with my name on it also has an associated address. That's how the ANBU found me" shrugged Risu, cutting Naruto free.
"Your reports?"
The three recovered their papers, while Risu made a familiar hand sign
Kage Bunshin no jutsu
Three clones appeared in a puff of smoke, each taking one document and sitting down on the couch to read them. He knew everything already, of course: he was a professional spy after all, but he was curious to see if the kids were being honest about their skills. If the clones found anything to comment about, they would tell him.
"Hey sensei! I didn't know you could use shadow clones too!"
"Every jonin knows that jutsu, Naruto. Once you become a jonin, they hand you your flak jacket and let you read the first jutsu on the scroll of sealing. It's a symbolic gesture of trust from the village to our position." commented Risu
"So How come Naruto knows it?" Asked Sasuke, curious
Risu shrugged "It's an Uzumaki clan jutsu. It's his birthright."
The trio stared at him
"I HAVE A CLAN!?" shouted Naruto
"Used to. Didn't you pay attention at the academy?"
"Uh, sensei…" Sakura raised her hand timidly "The academy never mentioned an Uzumaki clan"
This time it was Risu who stared at his students. "Is this supposed to be a joke?"
Sakura shook her head. Sasuke was paying full attention to the Hyuuga. Naruto was still in shock. Risu sighed, gesturing to the three to sit down at the kitchen table. He was planning to make three get used to one working together by cooking something, but it sounded like he was in for some remedial history lesson. But then again, considering the circumstances… Maybe this could help them more.
Over the next hours he went through a crash course on the descendant clans, with the Uzumaki distantly related to the Senju and, to the incredulity of his students, the Haruno being distantly related the Yamanaka and the Fuuma being distantly related to the Uchiha. He then swiftly went over the creation of the shinobi village system, the village of Uzu and the land of whirlpool, the marriage between Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki and finished with the destruction of Uzu that kick-started the third shinobi war.
"... and because of what happened in Uzu, gas masks are now standardly issued equipment for all shinobi."
The three genin stood in silence. They had learned of the destruction of Uzu, but the academy had skimmed through that particular event, only mentioning it in passing. Risu sensei had gone into details, to the point that he sent one of his clones to pick up some pictures he had taken of the ruins. Naruto was just staring at them, still trying to process the information.
Sasuke looked at the blonde. While he and Naruto were almost polar opposites, they were both the last of what was once an incredibly powerful clan. He wasn't pitying Naruto, of course, and Naruto could never understand the pain of losing his clan like he did, but maybe, just maybe, the two had more in common than he first believed. After all, if the Uzumaki were related to the Senju, the only clan able to stand on par with the Uchiha, then Naruto had the potential to become a worthy rival one day. He was possibly the only one that could become a stepping stone before his duel against Itachi
"I can't believe Mizuki-sensei never taught us those things. Naruto was right there…" whispered Sakura
"Mizuki?" asked Risu
"Our history teacher. White hair…" started Sasuke
"I know of Mizuki. Prisoner 99 in Konoha Strict Correctional Facility. Arrested and sentenced for attempting to steal village secrets and the attempted murder of Umino Iruka and Uzumaki Naruto. Apparently, we need to add sabotage to the list of charges."
Sakura grasped. Sasuke was shocked, but tried his best not to show two looked at their blonde teammate, still shocked by the revelations. Tentatively, Sasuke put his hand on Naruto's shoulder to comfort him.
Naruto was shaken out of his state and looked at Sasuke, who in turn looked away in embarrassment.
"Thanks" he whispered
Sakura followed Sasuke's lead, doing her best to comfort Naruto.
"Hey, Naruto, Look, if you need anything…"
"It's fine, Sakura-chan." He smiled at her "It just means that when I become Hokage I'll have to rebuild the Uzumaki clan. I'll expand the village and build New Uzu right next to the Hokage monument, 'ttebayo!"
Risu smiled. While not exactly the team building activity that he planned, he wasn't going to complain. He could always use his intended exercise another time.
"Well, i suppose i have no option but to pass you three"
"Pass? Didn't we pass your test when we found the house?" asked Sasuke
"Yes and no. After the graduation, each jonin sensei is supposed to do a teamwork test to ensure their team can work together to an acceptable level. While it's true that you three have worked together to find my house, I wasn't entirely convinced. I was planning to test you some more tomorrow, but after seeing you three there I don't feel the need to do it. Congratulations and welcome to team 7"
"Yatta! we are ninjas!" Naruto jumped "We have to celebrate! Let's go to Ichiraku!"
Risu looked at his remaining two students. He could read the doubt and uneasiness on Sasuke's face, but the boy nodded anyway. Sakura was possibly even more hesitant, but immediately agreed as soon as she saw her crush giving his approval.