Chapter 3

Team Nine

Anko made her way into the Hokage's office, her fellow jonin shuffled in alongside her, some looking just as groggy as she felt. Despite her decade as a shinobi, she never quite got used to the early morning missions, but when the Hokage summoned you, you came running. So, here she was, standing amongst her more awake peers, trying to shake off the last remnants of sleep.

Anko stifled a yawn as she scanned the room, her eyes flicking over the familiar faces of her fellow shinobi. Some were awake and alert, eager to find out who was going to be their genin students. Few, however, looked like they could barely keep their eyes open, she watched on as Namiashi Raido nudged Sarutobi Asuma in the ribs, rousing him from his sleepy state.

As soon as the Hokage entered the room, the murmuring among the assembled shinobi came to a hushed silence. Anko quickly wiped the crust from her eye and straightened her posture, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. She knew that the Hokage's words would likely be about the new genin teams, even though they hadn't been explicitly informed.

Anko couldn't deny that the idea of being a jonin sensei filled her with a sense of trepidation. During her years as a shinobi, she had been on many missions where she was the team leader and had to make sure that not only the mission was successful but that her teammates got back home safely. However, the thought of taking on a genin squad was completely different, having to be responsible for a group of young and inexperienced ninja made her uneasy.

She had only been included in the pool of sensei candidates this year due to the Hokage's insistence due to her recent mission of tracking down her traitorous sensei that had gone wrong and the Hokage felt that it was time for her to focus her efforts on something else as he didn't want to lose one of his jonin.

She had been given a choice: become a jonin sensei or take up a part-time role in one of the specialized branches within the village. While she was hesitant about the prospect of teaching, the idea of being stuck in the Intelligence Division didn't appeal to her either. Sure, it would be fun to annoy Ibiki every day, but the thought of being bogged down by paperwork in a subdivision wasn't exactly enticing.

So, despite her reservations, Anko was determined to make the most of the opportunity. She knew that teaching was a significant role in the village and that as a jonin sensei, she could help mould the next generation of shinobi into skilled and competent ninja. With a deep breath, she turned her attention to the Hokage, ready to hear what he had to say.

"First of all, I want to thank all of you for being here," the Sandaime began, his voice ringing out clearly in the meeting room. "Today's meeting is about the new generation of shinobi who have just graduated from the academy, and who you will be mentoring as they begin their journey as genin."

He paused to light his pipe, taking a deep puff before continuing. "As you know, we create teams based on the strengths and weaknesses of the individual students, and also on your own areas of expertise as teachers. The goal is to create a cohesive unit that can work together effectively in the field."

The Sandaime's gaze swept around the room, taking in the assembled jonin. "Each of you will be assigned a team, which you will lead until the genin are promoted to chunin. If you feel that any of your students are not ready to be part of a team, for whatever reason, you may choose to send them to the reserves to continue their training."

He raised his eyebrows as Hatake Kakashi strolled in, fashionably late as usual. "Speaking of which, I see Kakashi has finally decided to grace us with his presence."

The late intrusion caused Anko to raise her brow a little. A part of her felt sorry for the kids who were going to get Hatake Kakashi as a sensei, the guy had just been recently discharged from ANBU and if what she had heard was true then the guy wasn't all there mentally.

The Sandaime cleared his throat, returning his attention to the matter at hand. "Now, when your name is called, please come forward and collect the files of your assigned team. You will have today to review their profiles and get a first impression of them, and then tomorrow you will collect them from the academy at 9 o'clock sharp."

He consulted his list. "So, without further ado, let's begin. Hyuga Hoheto, you're up first."

From there, Anko observed as the jonin in the room approached the front to collect their team files one by one until the scroll pile gradually diminished in size. As she scanned the room, Anko realized that she recognized only a handful of faces. Asuma had left, and Yamashiro Aoba had taken his place, engaged in a small conversation with Raido. In the corner, Kakashi was engrossed in a book, and Anko could not help but speculate that the Hokage was deliberately delaying his turn due to his tardiness.

As Anko's eyes scanned the remaining scrolls on the Hokage's desk, she thought of the possibility of being left without a team. She watched as Kakashi, the last jonin in the room, picked up the final scroll before making his way out, leaving her alone with the Hokage. Confusion etched across her face, she couldn't help but wonder if she had been forgotten or if there was some mistake.

The Hokage seemed to read her thoughts and chuckled, pulling out two scrolls from his drawer. "Don't worry, Anko. I saved the best for last," he said, passing her one of the scrolls. "Take a look and tell me what you think."

Opening the scroll, Anko's eyes landed on the first name - Hayashi Shiho. She read the details about her abilities and skills, already making a mental note to work on her genjutsu or long-distance ninjutsu. As she scrolled down, she came across the name of her second student, Inuzuka Hana. The information about Hana's exceptional physical abilities and her ninken triplets, Haro, Shiro, and Taro, piqued Anko's interest. She had sparred with Inuzuka's dogs before and knew they could be vicious in a fight; the information also told her that the Hokage was wanting her to create a reconnaissance team if she had an Inuzuka tracker on her team.

But then, to her surprise, there was no third student listed. Anko raised an eyebrow and looked at the Hokage, "Was there an odd number of graduates this year Hokage-sama?" she asked, thinking that she would need to wait for her third position to be filled if she kept them as a team.

The Hokage responded by sliding her the second scroll from his drawer, taking it, she opened it and realised why they were on a separate scroll. Written at the top of the paper was the name "Uzumaki Naruto".

The reasoning behind the separate scroll became known immediately, despite it being the worst-kept secret in the village nobody actually knew anything about the kid other than what he was.

She quickly scanned through Naruto's profile, noting his age and his solid academic abilities and physical skills, his taijutsu seemed to be the best thing for him. She didn't show any outward reaction on being given his file and the Hokage's decision for him to learn under her, but the Hokage didn't fail to notice that she was thinking hard about it.

He was watching her carefully to see if she showed any distaste for the kid she assumed. She did know the kid was a bit of a troublemaker years ago, but besides that, she never really heard about him and the only time she actually ever laid eyes on the boy was when the Uchiha were still policing the village and were chasing him around the village.

In fact, the only thing that was clear on her face was confusion, and after a moment of silence she spoke up "I don't understand why you would give Uzumaki to me Hokage-sama. Surely someone with more experience would be better off for the kid".

The Hokage nodded, acknowledging her concerns "Your reservations do hold some credit, Anko. But I chose you for this because I believe you are of the very few in the village that would treat the boy indifferently and give him good guidance and support" he said, "You know what he holds within him, and you know that people tend to distrust those they don't understand" his words made her unconsciously rub at her neck.

Seeing her reaction, he continued "The main reason I chose you is that you will be able to relate to the boy, albeit a small amount, compared to others. You know what it is like for people to question where your loyalties lie and be judged by things out of your control" he frowned "A few have brought his loyalty to my attention and while I wish I could shrug it off, it does hold some credence".

Anko understood where he was coming from, when she awoke in that lab six years ago bearing the curse mark that her bastard sensei put on her coming back to the village was a hard one. Her friends were glad that she was alive and safe, but others who only heard about her through rumours tended to give her some looks.

A few times had it where she would be on a mission with other chunin and some openly questioned her loyalty stating that they didn't trust her, and she understood that she probably would feel the same if anyone connected to Orochimaru was working alongside them.

Her loyalties being questioned was what led her to focus all her effort on climbing the ranks and when she achieved jonin she put her name forth for tracking her bastard sensei down and wanting a hand in his death.

She didn't know how the Uzumaki kid hadn't snapped yet if she were honest, if the little things she had heard about him were true, but she figured that he just developed the same mindset as her and eventually stopped caring about what others thought and focused on himself.

"I have made many mistakes with the boy myself" the Hokage continued, breaking her from her thoughts, "I haven't spoken with him in years and while I wish I could say that we last spoke on good terms, we didn't. He had just left the orphanage and was confused that the villagers, people he hadn't ever met, were treating him as if he had the plague" he sighed, looking every bit his age.

"He wanted me to tell him the reason for him being ostracised and I couldn't tell him the truth, he was too young and wasn't mature enough at the time, so he couldn't be trusted with it. We argued and he left this office and never looked back, and I can't blame him for it" He said, a sad smile on his face.

Anko could feel a sense of sympathy for both the Hokage and Naruto. It was no secret that the villagers had always been wary of the boy because of the Kyubi incident, and it did surprise her that he had managed to do as well as he had with the way he has been treated.

"I'm not questioning your decisions Hokage-sama, but if he's graduated why don't you tell him of his status now?" she asked, genuinely she thought it was a little messed up the boy not knowing anything about himself.

"I was considering telling him the truth once he became a genin, along with a few other things but my student has asked to be the one to do it. I'm unsure of when Jiraiya will show face but if the situation calls for it, you have my permission to tell him of what he is, understood?"

"I understand, Hokage-sama," she said "and I'll do my best to guide him in the right direction. Everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves, and I'll make sure he knows that."

The Hokage nodded "Well said Anko, I can already see that my choice was a good one," he said, getting up from his seat and her following suit "Now, I'll let you go now and if you ever have any more questions, please feel free to drop by".

"Thank you, sir," Anko said, bowing her head in gratitude as the Hokage opened the door for her. She exited with the scrolls in her hands, one feeling significantly heavier than the other.

As she descended the stairs, she felt a heavy responsibility settle on her shoulders, her role as a sensei was now definitely harder than she would've ever thought but she was never one to shy away from a challenge and having Uzumaki as a student was one she definitely wouldn't back down from.

With a determined look on her face, she made her way out of the Hokage Tower and took to the roofs, making her way back home. She had her student's futures to plan, and she would make sure that they would be as strong as they could be.

The classroom was bustling with activity as everyone who had graduated sat chatting with one another. Today was when they would be assigned a team, and after years of training, they would finally get to experience the reality of shinobi life.

Sitting alone, however, Hana sat impatiently, her foot tapping with excitement as she waited for Funeno-sensei to arrive. She had been looking forward to this day for months, eagerly anticipating the moment she would finally be able to become a ninja and carry out missions with her squad. She stroked her dogs' fur absentmindedly, feeling their calming presence beside her.

The door to the classroom opened and their sensei walked in, behind them she spotted a cluster of Jonin waiting to take their teams. Funeno-sensei walked to the centre of the class and allowed his eyes to take in his pupils once more, smiling.

"Before you meet your jonin-sensei, I want to just say that it has been an honour to be your sensei for the past four years and I hope that everything you have learned here will serve you well out in the field so, once again" he bowed "Thank you all for the past four years", some of the class stood and replicated the gesture while others chose to stay seated.

"Now, let's get you introduced to your sensei, shall we?" Funeno-sensei made his way to the door and slid it open, only to be pushed aside by a woman with purple hair tied into a spiky ponytail. She wore a beige trench coat, covering her mesh body suit, a brown skirt, and metal shin bracers over her sandals.

"Finally!" she exclaimed, flashing a toothy grin. "Hayashi Shiho, Inuzuka Hana, and Uzumaki Naruto, I'm Mitarashi Anko, but you can call me Anko-sensei." She gestured for them to follow her. "Follow me".

Hana watched as the woman led them out of the classroom, with Naruto following closely behind. She rubbed shoulders with Shiho as she made her way out, her ninken trotting behind her. Anko-sensei didn't even give them a moment to adjust, and as soon as they left the building Naruto started jogging to keep up with her, causing her and Shiho to do the same.

"Follow me" turned out to mean "Keep up" as Anko-sensei took the trio and the dogs around the academy for four laps then they watched as she took to the roof of a nearby building, laughing over her shoulder, they pursued on foot, her ninken taking the lead.

Hana's breath came in sharp pants as she ran through the crowded streets and alleyways of Konoha, following the lead of her ninken. "Come on, they have her scent," she called to her new teammates, hearing their footsteps pounding behind her. The dogs were fast, weaving through the throngs of people and vendors' carts, and the occasional shout was usually met with an apology from Shiho.

The 'wild sensei chase' continued for a half hour, with Anko leading them on a winding path that sometimes led to dead-end streets or alleys with mocking messages scrawled on notes. Frustration grew with every false lead, and Hana could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. As an Inuzuka, her pride was on the line, and she couldn't let her new teammates see her fail at the one thing her clan was famous for. She urged the dogs to keep going, hoping that they would soon catch up to their new elusive sensei.

The newly minted genin upped their speed as the dogs did. The non-Inuzuka's noticed Hana's frustration, Naruto thinking it was due to having to play a game of hide and seek when they had just graduated, whereas Shiho knew full well the reason of her frustration. Not being able to rise to the occasion when needed would be detrimental if they were out in the field but they had just graduated and Shiho knew that this was the official start of their ninja career, everything before now was just making sure they were responsible enough to be considered for fieldwork.

"It's okay Inuzuka-san, I'm sure we'll find her soon" Shiho smiled, turning so the Inuzuka could see her as they ran.

The tension in the girl's shoulders dropped but she still held a frown on her face, "I hope so," she said, blowing a bang out her face "Either way I'm upping their training after today".

The chase went on for a further thirty minutes, with the dogs leading them away from the streets to a large overgrown forest, the only thing preventing people from entering was the high barbed chain link fence.

It must've only been a deterrent to civilians since Anko was standing atop the fence without a care in the world, "'Bout time you got here" she yelled, "good job on passing the first test. Now let's see how well you can track someone with the threat of being attacked ".

Hana watched as Anko flipped backwards and walked deeper into the forest, seemingly unconcerned with how they were going to get over the high fence. Hana looked around at her teammates, and they all wore expressions of confusion and frustration. Their sensei clearly had a technique that allowed her to jump higher than normal.

They didn't, so it looked like they were having to do it the old-fashioned way.

"So, how are we going to play this out?" Hana asked, starting their first conversation as a team, despite the chase they had just done.

Shiho spoke up, "Cutting the fence isn't a good idea. It's there so people can't just walk in and get lost but it's probably there to stop things getting out as well."

Naruto nodded, chiming in, "We can easily climb over the fence, but the dogs won't be able to follow us. So, we'll have to track Anko-sensei ourselves."

Approaching the fence, Hana and Naruto kicked it in frustration. Naruto then looked at Hana and Shiho, his face filled with defeat as he took off his orange jacket. Hana failed to hide her smile, knowing what he was about to do.

"We better start climbing," he said, biting down on his jacket as he started to climb the fence. Reaching the top, he swung his jacket over the barbed wire and gently coaxed himself over to the other side, the barbs biting his jacket.

Shiho went next and landed safely but Hana surprised them both when she climbed halfway up and whistled. Her teammates watched on as her dogs pounced from their position, landing on her shoulders, and used her as a springboard to get over the top.

"Well, that's convenient" Shiho smiled, "I forgot that ninken were capable of such abilities".

Naruto just shook his head as Taro approached him, licking his hand with a bark. "Show off," he muttered, but the pat he gave the dog contrasted his words.

Hana landed with a grunt and looked around, noticing both Naruto and Shiho had pulled out kunai, while her dogs were waiting in front of her, eagerly awaiting her command. Motioning to them to move out, Hana took up position behind the dogs, with Naruto and Shiho flanking her on either side.

They had a sensei to find.

As they continued deeper into the forest, Naruto remained vigilant, scanning the surroundings for any signs of danger. The high fence and strange noises only heightened his sense of caution. The dogs were leading the way, their noses sniffing the ground for any scent to help track down the missing animal.

The forest was dense and humid, a stark contrast to the cool breeze of the academy grounds. Naruto's mesh shirt stuck to his skin, but he didn't let it distract him from his task. He had to focus on finding the animal and getting it back safely to the academy.

As they moved further into the forest, the sounds of wildlife surrounded them. Birds chirped and monkeys screeched in the distance. The occasional rustling of bushes caused Shiho to grip her kunai tighter. He knew that the forest was home to many dangerous creatures, and he was prepared for any encounter.

As if testing them in the moment, a hissing noise came from the tree behind them. They all tensed and turned around to face the noise, their eyes widening in shock when they came face to face with a giant snake. Its body wrapped around the giant tree that it was nested in, its head moving side to side as it sized them up. The three dogs, now at the back of the group, growled at their new foe, but Hana quickly held out her fist, commanding them to stop.

Naruto's senses were on high alert as he considered their options. They definitely weren't experienced enough to go toe to toe with this thing, and even if they could it would be best for them to continue searching for their new sensei, wherever she may be. Deciding the roles of who should stay and who should go was easy, Hana had her dogs and Shiho and him were familiar enough with the way each other fought so it was a no-brainer. With a subtle shift of his body, Naruto outlined his plan.

"Inuzuka," Naruto whispered urgently, "when I say go, take your dogs and follow the trail." He slowly moved his empty hand to his side-pack. "Hayashi, we're gonna keep it busy and take the pressure off of her as she tracks our crazy sensei, got it?"

"Wai- "Hana tried to refuse the idea, only to be cut off by Shiho. "Got it," the quiet girl said, determination etched on her face. She turned slightly to give a small smile to Hana.

Although Hana was slightly miffed about being left out, she understood that she was the only experienced tracker in their group. If she wasn't, then she would be shaming her family, and that wouldn't do one bit. Grinning, she got her feet ready and sent the dogs behind her a hand sign that got them ready for the fight to unfold.

"GO!" the brighter blonde yelled, launching a kunai towards the snake's eye, and pulling forth a handful of shuriken to send after it. Shiho didn't waste time either as she formed a few bunshins to throw the snake off, whilst pulling two fistfuls of shuriken out also launching them to its eyes.

The snake struck out, rearing its head back first and aimed at Naruto, who narrowly dodged the first strike.

"Fuck, this thing's fast, Hayashi" Naruto said, now duel-wielding kunai as he sprinted towards the back side of the snake, hoping to get a slash or two into its skin.

The snake looked towards the clones that Shiho had made, the creator of them saw the snake blinking and then look straight at her. Forgetting the bunshin, it dashed her instead. Its tail whipping the fakes out of existence as it moved.

Shiho gasped as she realised what had just happened, quickly dashing behind a tree, forming another clone to test and see if her theory was true. Leaving the clone to walk back out to where she just was, she ran towards where she saw Hana go to last, wanting to make sure they didn't get too separated.

As she stepped out, she saw that her theory was right. The snake once again looked at them both before going straight for her. She thought, "It can somehow see that I'm the real one, or it can smell it," still backing away, launching another shuriken at it to distract it. She heard Hana's voice not too far behind her commanding her dogs, but her eyes widened as she saw Naruto running up the snake's back and jump, trying to give the snake a solid blow to the head as the two kunai he held aimed for a downward strike.

As she thought he was about to hit its skull, the snake moved its head to the left and quickly right, smacking the airborne Naruto who went flying into a nearby tree. A yell fell over the area as he impacted against the solid bark. "Uzumaki!" Shiho yelled, running to him, only to stop. "I'm fine, just keep going," true to his word, he was already advancing on its position.

The snake must've not liked how little the attack affected the blonde as it targeted him once more, swinging its tail around for a swipe causing Naruto to run up a tree as far as he could and springboard over the snake's appendage, the attack splintering the bark of the tree.

Shiho was in a lucky spot as she witnessed a large splinter stick into the snake's tail, how could she be so stupid. "Uzumaki, aim for the things ventral section" she shouted, throwing two kunai at the area herself.

"The what?" he yelled, as he and Shiho were separated by the snake.

"The underbelly! Aim for its stomach!" Shiho shouted again, dodging the snake's tail as it struck out at her. Naruto nodded, quickly analysing the situation. He knew he had to act fast before the snake made another move. He charged forward, dodging the snake's fangs as they snapped at him.

He was grateful for the distraction Shiho created in that moment as a shuriken she aimed at the snake's head hit under its eyelid, causing it to thrash its head, leaving its underbelly wide open. Dashing forwards, pulling a single explosive tag from his pouch he wrapped it around the kunai's handle, stabbing it into the soft flesh of the snake.

"Take cover Hayashi" he yelled making a beeline towards her, Forming the activation seal to activate his chakra-coated tag.

The explosion that wrang over the area echoed across the forest, the snake despite its size flew back into a tree a foreign noise coming from its mouth as he and Shiho continued running. Naruto managed to catch up to Shiho, both of them taking cover behind a downed log, their eyes peaking over the trunk noticing the large amount of smoke the tag set off.

As the smoke cleared, Naruto and Shiho were surprised to find that the snake was nowhere to be seen. There was no blood or any sign of its demise in the area. They looked around cautiously, wondering where the creature had gone.

"Do you think we got it?" Shiho asked, her voice filled with uncertainty.

Naruto shook his head. "No chance. It was too big for it to just disappear like that."

The two of them stood up, ready for anything. As they cautiously looked around, they noticed that the ground around the explosion showed no sign of tracks. "Where the fuck did it go?" Naruto questioned out to the clearing.

Shiho took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. "We should keep our guard up and get back to Inuzuka-san. She must've found a solid lead by now".

Naruto nodded in agreement, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of the snake. Suddenly, he heard a strange noise coming from the trees behind them.

Both of them turned, side to side, prepared to attack but let out a sigh of relief as a familiar head of fur peeked out from a bush, barking at them in recognition allowing itself to walk over to them both.

The dog barked at them and tugged at Naruto's trouser leg, motioning for them to follow. Naruto and Shiho exchanged a quick glance before following the dog, their senses' still on high alert from the fight. No snake that size disappears without a trace.

The dog led them through the forest, darting through the trees and past the bushes with ease, it took them around ten minutes to reach Hana who was crouched behind a rock, motioning them to be quiet as they approached.

As they got closer to her, adopting the same position as her she managed to get a good look at their clothes and expressions.

"What happened back there?" Hana questioned as they regrouped.

"The snake disappeared on us," Shiho explained, while Naruto still kept his eyes on the area they had come from. "Uzumaki-kun primed an explosive kunai to its soft spot and once the smoke cleared, it was as if it just disappeared, no track marks or anything."

Hana frowned at the situation. "You sure you never just blew it back with the explosion?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I've used those tags once before and it never caused that big of an explosion," he said, trying to recall the area where he had tested the effects of the tags before. "I might've set up the tag wrong when I did it myself, or the tag I just used was faulty in a bad way. I don't know what to think."

"At least you made it back to us, I guess," Hana said, motioning for them to look over the rock. "The good news is I found her, she's right across from us on the top branch. You see her?"

Shiho looked across the open area in front of them. With no trees or bushes in sight, the sun blazed down upon the open expanse, casting a warm and inviting glow across the ground. Here and there, scattered rocks dotted the flat landscape, providing minimal cover from the elements.

"I see her, she looks bored," Shiho whispered, observing the woman lying flat on her back with her feet dangling from the sides of the branch. "What should we do now?"

"Well, I don't wanna track her down again; she's crafty and the triplets are getting tired," Hana commented.

"I don't think any of us are getting that high up," Shiho responded, turning to Naruto for his input, only to see him still watching their backs. "You okay, Uzumaki-kun?"

"Hm? Yeah, I'm good," he said, turning to look at their sensei's position. "The only way we're getting up there is if you have another dog trick up your sleeve?" he said, getting a laugh from Hana.

"Unfortunately, I don't. So we're gonna need to come up with an actual plan".

Shiho thought for a moment before speaking up "Why don't we just flank around the clearing and get underneath her instead then we can just ask her what this is all about?".

Hana and Naruto looked at her and shrugged their shoulders, "It's better than nothing I guess" Hana said, "I just hope she doesn't run again".

The group moved and retreated back so that the trees and foliage covered them from afar and circled around, occasionally popping out to make sure she hadn't moved yet. It took them another ten minutes to carefully navigate around, finally making it within throwing distance of the tree.

Naruto stepped forward, deciding to be the voice for the team and shouted up towards the woman above, still dangling from the branch.

"HEY!" he yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth "YOU WANNA EXPLAIN THIS SHIT?"

"Uzumaki-kun be polite" Shiho chastised, watching as the woman turned and began laughing down at them.

"You finally made it huh?" Anko said, applying chakra to her feet as she stood upside down on the branch, her smile growing at their reactions.

"You took long enough that's for sure, any longer and I woulda failed you guys"

"What d'you mean fail us, we passed the exam" Hana pointed out, finger tapping on the leaf protector around her arm.

"Hah, those tests at the academy don't mean shit," the purple-haired woman said, cutting the flow of chakra to her feet and effortlessly flipping to the ground, "those were to just weed those with some potential to have a chance at being placed in a genin team" she explained.

"So, you're saying that those who failed were just scrapped off?" Naruto questioned.

"Of course not, that would be a waste of time and resources on the village. They get sent to the reserves, do mandatory training and are glorified D-rankers, few make it to chunin, and even less make jonin." She said, "But you guys are the lucky ones".

"I wouldn't say this is lucky" Hana said pointing to their surroundings.

"Ha, guess not" Anko laughed, smiling at their dismay "But seriously, you guys passed the test. Yes, there's a shit ton of things that you guys could improve on – the village chase for one" she whirled a kunai in her hand as she continued talking, "props on clearing the fence, but then there was the snake summon you came across. You would have been better off fighting as a unit instead of splitting up" the mention of the snake summon made Naruto's eyes widen whereas Shiho developed a look of interest, that explained the issue.

"You two did a good job at fighting my snake but I made sure it didn't go all out on you guys" she said, her hand rubbing her neck "I hope she made it back without too much of an injury, hehe" their sensei's laugh wasn't too convincing.

She turned to Hana as she continued "No slight against your tracking skills, they are good for your age, but they're still shit" Hana bristled at the wording but nodded nonetheless making Anko laugh "Luckily you have me as a sensei, we're being melded for a tracking and reconnaissance team".

Anko watched as they all had varied reactions on their faces. Unsurprisingly Hana looked excited, the three dogs at her feet shared the feeling as their tails wagged along. It would give the Inuzuka the best chance to progress in her clan's speciality and become a strong tracker in the future.

The blonde girl, Shiho, looked to be happy with the news, from reading her documents Anko summarised that the girl would've enjoyed any team she was placed on if it taught her a useful skill, the kid would probably pick up tracking faster than most would with her smarts.

Finally, she looked to the whiskered blonde who had his hands folded across his chest, nodding away at their team role. a thoughtful look across his face. Anko knew from the moment she was given him as a student that she would train him to be the outlier of the squad, he would be the one that would assist her in getting them out of shitty situations if it came to it.

"As of today I'll be training each of you how to become a better shinobi, by the time I'm finished with you lot you'll be some of the best at recon in the village, I'll make sure you each have your main roles though," she said, pointing at Hana "You've already shown your skill in tracking so your role's obvious; your gonna be the navigator – getting us from A to B using your own senses and your ninken and when we get into fights your gonna be a close range combatant if it comes to it".

Her finger moved to Naruto, "Whiskers here is gonna be the powerhouse" she didn't expect the slight flinch at her nickname, she kicked herself mentally at the mistake. "I'll train you up so that if shit does go down it's mine and your job to make sure that we get out of it safely, an overspecialised team is a dead one in my books so having you trained as someone who could turn the tides of battle would help the team out greatly," she said, Naruto nodded to her reasoning.

Finally, she pointed at the Shiho, a toothy grin across her face "Specs, you're gonna be the brains to level out the brawn on the squad." Naruto nudged the girl in the arm, whispering something to her making her face go red "I'm gonna have you focus on your communication; get a few languages under your belt and make sure you're familiar with foreign customs, there will be a point where you will need to go undercover, also you bet your ass that ill have your encryption and decryption skills up to the same level as me", the girl smiled a determined look setting itself on her face, she looked the most excited out of the three.

"I think that's enough for today anyway so here- "Anko pulled out three forms from her jacket, handing them over "-this makes it official, sign that and get it back to me tomorrow before we go for a team photo, okay?" she asked, receiving nods.

They looked at the forms, smiles encapsulating their faces as they did so. Basic information confirming that they agreed to serve the country with their lives and all that stuff was at the top, their team information was at the bottom where each of them got to see their official name.

Team Nine

Squad Leader - Tokubetsu Jonin; Mitarashi Anko

Squad Members:

Genin; Hayashi Shiho

Genin; Inuzuka Hana

Genin; Uzumaki Naruto

Anko chuckled at their reactions, the reality of their position finally setting in. Deciding to snap them out of it she began walking away, calling out over her shoulder.

"Hey, if you don't wanna get eaten by a bear I suggest you move your asses and follow me", the scramble to put the document away and chase after her made her cackle as she broke out into a sprint back to where they came in.

Let's just say once they got back to the fence Naruto wasn't too happy with the new holes in his jacket, the laughter from his new team didn't make it any better.

'At least I can put my graduation present to use now' he thought as he flung the now old jacket over his shoulder, walking back to the village with his new team.