Another Choice

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Naruto x ?

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Author's Note

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For those who remember, this story is a decade old. There are old concepts and ideas that came long before we got to the final arcs of Shippuden. As such I am going back and changing some concepts from the much older stories to fix things to make them more in line with canonical material, but obviously not to make them just canon compliant.

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Story Start

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Kakashi's first impressions of his new team were they were going to need a lot of work. Attitude and mentality wise Naruto was fine.

Sakura was sort of a grey area. She didn't have a drive like the other students in the academy, especially her two team mates, but on the other hand she had some measure of talent, but she still had a long way to go.

Sasuke would be the most problematic because of his mental issues and anti-social behavior. He had all the makings of a gifted shinobi when it came to technique, but his behavior made him one he would need to keep an eye on.

Kakashi gave his new team an eye smile. They were all pleased that they had passed the test. But it was no time to celebrate, their training was to begin.

"Congratulations you are all shinobi ready to take missions on behalf of the village." He allowed them to bask in their satisfaction for a bit and then continued. "Starting tomorrow you will be given a "D" ranked mission. It might mean walking dogs, pulling weeds, baby sitting or other such jobs."

Sasuke only allowed a minor expression formed on his face, but it was obvious he was livid. Walking dogs? Pulling weeds? How would this help him grow stronger? This would be an utter waste of time.

Sakura wore an expression that she was confused, but did not argue. She was respectful and an astute young lady.

Naruto let out a small sigh, he knew about the procedure of D-rank missions. For years the majority of his training was mental. Instead of spending all the time learning cool explosive jutsu, the focus for the majority of his training had been mental. Politics. Money. Geography. Seals. Psychology. While it wasn't unheard of for an extremely powerful young prodigy to be born, Hiruzen and the others decided it was better to focus on nurturing Naruto's intellect and mental health over just making him an extremely powerful, but immature ticking time bomb.

"Kakashi-sensei, how long would you personally having us stuck with those rank of missions? I only ask because of my curiosity." The blond mentally congratulated himself on keeping in control of his impulse to verbally react how much of a waste of time D-rank missions were.

He knew just how serious Kakashi could be. In fact first hand he saw just how insubordinate shinobi could be disciplined.

It was a few years ago as Kazuma-oji took him with him for a trip out of town. They had visited Suna and were witnessing a Jounin training his students. One genin was being insubordinate and dismissing his sensei's order to focus on Genjutsu because he thought it was useless.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise when the fist collided with the genin's gut and he doubled over.

"You do not presume to make demands of me genin. We are shinobi. I am your Jounin-sensei, I out rank you. You a mere Genin need to remember your place and follow the orders of those who outrank you."

"You see that Naruto." The elder Uzumaki remarked as he saw the blond's expression. "You thought I was harsh when I was curbing your attitude with my cane, but that right there is the kind of discipline you can expect from a strict shinobi superior. Especially those who have been through war. They will not stand for disrespect and correct your behavior. Being a shinobi isn't about flashy jutsu or being in the spotlight. I know you desire to become Hokage, but a Hokage is more than just boasts and strength. The Hokage must also have a strong mind and the right political ties. You keep on the way you're going with building strong political ties with your classmates you will build up your resume. You must also keep in mind to try and build up potential ties whenever you are on a mission as well. There will be a time to express yourself with passion, but also a time to keep yourself in control."

"It will be dependent on the three of you. Once I am satisfied that all three of you are sufficiently trained up to the same efficient level capable of handling C ranks will you no longer have to worry about D-rank missions."

Sasuke grimaced. He couldn't do real missions until Uzumaki and Haruno were equal to his level? This would interfere with his development. Learning that Kakashi of a thousand techniques was his sensei had pleased him.

Kakashi was one of the youngest progressed Shinobi of his generation if not Konoha history. Not even Itachi had progressed as quickly as Kakashi during his initial years. His completion rate of A ranked missions was also one of the highest known and he was still young enough to have a long career for years to come.

Few shinobi in Konoha not counting the Sannin or Hokage were in Kakashi's league. Someone like him could surely bring Sasuke up to the level he needed to fight 'that man' but now the time it would take could not be estimated.

Kakashi took notice of Sasuke's body language. "Is there a problem Uchiha-san?"

Sasuke's glare did not lessen as he answered. "While I will follow your orders sensei this is a waste of my time having to wait until those two catch up to my level."

"You arrogant…" Quickly angered, Naruto was about to shoot off, only stopped when Sakura grabbed his wrist and shook her head no.

Naruto was quick to release his anger. He cursed himself for losing control like that. Being underestimated or dismissed was still a sore subject for him. It made him feel embarrassed and unworthy. That he wasn't trying hard enough or making enough progress to bring prestige to the Uzumaki name.

The combination of factors that contributed to his life and the knowledge of his parents sacrifice and hopes for him influences so much of Naruto's mindset. He just had to succeed. He just had to.

Sakura couldn't help but be wounded by Sasuke's comment. Even if Sakura's affection towards him had waned it didn't change the fact he was her first crush. The fact he dismissed her so casually also bothered her, because Sakura knew that being from a civilian family she was already looked down upon by shinobi who were from clans. They were expecting her to fail or be a burden on her team.

Kakashi chuckled. "You seem so certain of that Uchiha-san, but seeing as you have no knowledge of your team mates outside of the academy, how can you be so certain what they have shown in the academy the true level of their skill? The prideful and foolish strut about with their abilities exposed to the world and that pride gets one killed. The point still stands until all three of you are an efficient level we will not be doing anything above d-rank missions."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "I could get further on my own! Why waste my time training them?" Sasuke just could not comprehend wasting efforts on those he deemed as losers.

The wrong thing to say as Kakashi's expression sharpened and his fury manifested in the form of killer intent.

Naruto went rigid. He was all too familiar with this sensation. The fear. The dread that came when facing an opponent with killing intent. The humiliation of the incident came to the mind of the memory of one of 'Kazuma's training exercises' he called. Two things contributed to the Uzumakis demise all those years ago. Lack of support from their allies and being too prideful in their blood line and abilities. As a result issues of pride were something Naruto was intent on not succumbing to.

Able to shake it off Naruto realized Sakura was frozen stiff in terror. Naruto was quick to grab her by the shoulders and call out to her, in an attempt to calm her down.

"You arrogant fool. This is a team. The difference between survival and death relies on the effectiveness of the team. The level of missions you do as well as its success depends on the effectiveness of the individual's ability to work together. Either by boosting each other strengths or covering each other's weaknesses. Consider yourself lucky that the only reason why I don't kick your ass back to the academy is because it would unfairly punish your teammates by making them have to wait an undetermined amount of time for a suitable replacement." That and most likely a huge stink would be raised about it by the councils. The loss of the Uchiha clan years ago has been rather catastrophic in forms of both their security and their military power. The substandard graduation requirements that followed it in order to beef up their numbers and cover this loss of power resulted in an even higher failure rate from the graduation as well as cutting in the time of proficient Jounin had for higher ranked missions as he additional time they had to play catch up with their Genin resulted in situations such as this.

Time being spent correcting the behaviors that should have been trained out of them instead of devoting it into helping them decide their craft or specialty resulting in their Shinobi not pursuing such serious training methods until they were at least Chunin.

Kakashi shuttered to think how bad the situation would be if Naruto had been left to his own devices and if his friendship with Sakura didn't change the girl.

Naruto still needed to improve his Taijutsu. It was also time to up his weights from 50kg. Not that they were around the time where graduates bodies were developing they could began physical conditioning without fears of damaging their bodies.

It was a shame that some villages adopted the ideal that simply tossing in as much training as possible could fix what was wrong with training a child heavily from the moment they could walk. The long term damage done to the organs and tissue from overexertion or impractical training techniques could lead to early deaths, sometimes in their thirties or forties or an imparity to occur during combat and causing the loss of that shinobi's life.

Thinking about what else Naruto could need help in he decided to increase how many jutsu the blond knew. Since he spent a good deal of time with Sakura and Sakura not only had potential in Genjutsu, but also received tutoring from Kurenai he was sure the simply suggestion of working on their weaknesses would solve that potential issue.

Sasuke's issues were more attitude base. So teamwork exercises and mental conditioning as well as bribery should do the work. If worse comes to worse Sasuke would request he either attended mandatory counseling or be removed from the program. Seeing as Kakashi himself was the only shinobi that could actually train Sasuke to his full potential there was no worry about him being a flight risk on another team.

Sakura had a lot of potential. Her chakra control was on a level not seen in the village for decades. She was also bright too and her academic skills were off the charts. The girl also had a talent for Genjutsu, but she would need major improvements in her Taijutsu and Ninjutsu as well. She had all the makings of an excellent support type.

"I wish to make something loud and clear to you three. I am not like most jounin in this village. I will not humor your delusions or coddle you. The moment you accept those hiate-tie you became shinobi. So get all delusions of grandeur out of your heads right now. We are both the blades that cut down our enemies and the shield that protects this village. I expect you three to follow my letters to the tee. I will not accept insubordination or disrespect. You are now a part of Konoha military force and what you say or do reflects on all of Konoha. What you show to the world no matter how small can have consequences that can carry on for years to come. I trust there will be no issues and you all will act in accordance to what it means to be a Konoha shinobi. Is that clear?"

All three genin hastily responded with "Hai sensei."

Kakashi nodded firmly.

"Tomorrow we will begin by doing a few rank "D" missions followed by training. Until then you are dismissed."

With that Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Without a word to his team mates Sasuke already left. For someone stubborn like him it would take more than words.

Helping Sakura to his feet Naruto led the girl back in town. By the time they had arrived she had managed to calm down. Waiting for them was Shino.

"Haruno-san. Naruto-san." He greeted them, having already ordered a bowl of vegetable style soup.

"Aburame-san." Sakura greeted him politely. What little of Shino she knew was through Naruto. He was quiet and smart and was from the Aburame clan who used creatures known as Kikaichu. They were one of Konohas four great clans.

"Hey Shino, how'd the team bonding exercising go?"

"Satisfactory. Our team passed." He answered as Naruto was greeted by the daughter of the owner.

Ayame Ichiraku, a civilian girl, remarkably pretty with chocolate brown hair. She was dressed as a cook, chef's hat and apron showing she was on duty. A part time worker at her dad's stand she was saving up money for her education. Naruto and Ayame chatted for a bit, the latter congratulating him as he and Sakura placed in their orders.

The Ichiraku were one of the few civilians who Naruto found approachable. They didn't ignore him nor were they weary of him so nearly every other day he would come to their stand for lunch. This had the unfortunate effect of a stigma being placed on the stand meaning the diversity of their customers were low for their kind of business. It was thanks to Naruto's vast weekly patronage that they were still even running let alone being able to pay the bills.

"So what did you guys have to do for the exam? Sakura-chan, the Uchiha, and I had to do the bell test making sure we got the hidden meaning of needing to work as a team to pass." He explained as they waited for their order.

"Our test was suited towards our clan abilities. We needed to track our sensei and dispel her jutsu. Hinata-san was instrumental in the second part."

Sakura couldn't help but quirk her lips slightly. Even the way Shino ate his food was so precise and quiet.

"What about Kiba?" he asked, despite having an idea on what Shino's response would be.

"He is a character. Loud. Brash. Headstrong. He has the makings of a combat type without any of the discipline and patience. Hopefully sensei will drill into his head that the kind of behavior he displays can get others killed." Shino finished his meal. "I cannot stay Naruto-san. My father has expressed an interest in celebrating my graduation with expanding my colony with a fresh new hive. As you can see I am quite excited." He finished not changing tones or expressions in the slightest.

Naruto began laughing pretty hard at that as Sakura looked between the two, quiet confused. "Only you Shino. See you later." He said as Shinobi nodded and acknowledge Sakura with a goodbye before he left. "What?" Naruto asked as he noticed Sakura was staring at him.

"Don't you 'what' me. What was that about?" she asked, wondering if Naruto had temporarily lost his mind.

"That was just classic Shino. He has a great sense of humor and he was poking fun at himself. How did you not get it?" he asked as Sakura groaned and began massaging her forehead.

She really needed saner friends besides Hinata.

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Chapter End

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This start is going to focus a fair bit of time on the team, training, and establishing their background so hope you guys are patient. XD

And as you can see, surprise surprise I am playing things straight and no bashing unlike 95% of fics nowadays.

Also there is no Clan restoration act. Quite honestly the concept and overuse is retarded, but a similar ideal or practice will be in the story as part of the history or world building that help explains why their are massive blood line clans and why such divisions as the Main/Cadet branch of the Hyuugas being a thing and how the ideal is handled in each of the different villages.