Full fledged elite-Jounin were allowed to lead three-man cells of fresh Genin. The idea behind this was two-fold. First, Konoha would get her elite ninja to teach their young ninja at their most malleable; fresh with the basics of the academy to understand what they were being taught but without any of the jadedness that came with age and experience. Second, Konoha was digging her grasp deeper into her elite-Jounin, giving them another reason to care for Konoha and not defect or betray her.
All of Konoha's upper echelon Shinobis knew this, but that did not stop this from being an effective tactic. It allowed for ninja to build bonds, pass on techniques, and have a direct impact on the affairs and future of Konoha. For most, it was a win-win situation.
However, there are only a few elite-Jounin at once. To warrant removing these Jounin from taking important missions and essentially task them with babysitting young shinobi, the Genins had to be promising. In the usual graduating class at the Konoha academy, roughly 90 of an average class size of 300 students would actually graduate to Genin. On average, per class only one team of three promising Genin would be slated to be taught by a Jounin.
The rest would matriculate to the Shinobi Corps, taking on missions assigned and led by Chuunin and responsible for their own Shinobi growth. Many would find themselves sharpened by missions and combat. Others would join special Shinobi programs, like the Medical Shinobi program, Sealing units, or Tracking groups.
The average age of Genin graduates is 14 and the average Konoha shinobi career would last 15 years. Most Shinobi would retire by 30, taking on civilian jobs or jobs too sensitive within the village for civilians, but too menial for active shinobi. Roughly only a tenth of a Konoha Genin class would make it to Chuunin and very few would make it to being a full Jounin.
But Konoha was not blind, she took special interest in any promising student, particularly when she was at her weakest. Promising students, like Kakashi Hatake, would be allowed to graduate early and given direct instructions by the village's best. Many believed that it was an honor to have Konoha notice you, but most of these prodigies would go on to serve Konoha for the rest of their lives, dying in some backwater town completing a mission only they could or shattering under the expectations, like Orochimaru or Itachi.
Naruto Uzumaki had gotten her attention.
Naruto entered the small room where the academy instructors would announce individually to the students if they would receive their headbands. For most students, they knew if they had passed or not, but the instructors were still allowed to deliberate individually to suggest failing a student that had passed all the substantive requirements. This was done to allow instructors to decide if a shinobi hopeful lacked maturity or was a potential danger to other Konoha shinobi.
At nine years old, Naruto had mastered the Academy Three: clone, substitution technique, and transformation. During the academy test, he was able to perfectly execute all three techniques upon demand. He had passed the written exam with an acceptable score and despite his smaller stature, he was the top score for the physical exam.
As Naruto stopped in front of the desk across where Iruka and four other academy instructors sat behind, he could not help but feel nervous as they all blankly stared at him. On the desk, several immaculate Konoha headbands in the standard black cloth shone brightly. The white-iradescent light of the room bounced off the polished metal, signifying that these were not the non-reflective combat headbands that most shinobi wore during missions but those worn during ceremonies within the village.
Iruka slid one of the ceremonial headbands towards Naruto.
"Congratulations Naruto! You are one of the youngest shinobi to graduate from this program. I know you will go on to accomplish great things." Iruka stated with a smile.
All five academy instructors stood up, clapping with smiles. All of them were chuunin, and though Iruka was the main instructor of his graduating class, he got to know them all well from his time in the academy. Through his years in the academy, Naruto was able to win them over with his determination and lack of give. The fact that he was an orphan, unsupported from shinobi parents or clans, had further endeared him to the five chuunin who were either orphans themselves or clanless shinobi.
"Report to the administration office at the Hokage tower tomorrow at 11am. You will take your Shinobi registration picture and meet your instructor." Iruka said.
Naruto bowed low, trying to hide the tears that flowed freely from his eyes.
"Yes sir!" Naruto said with a smile as he straightened from his bow.
Ebisu sat at his dinner table drumming his fingers against the dark wood as he read over Naruto Uzumaki's academy folder. Uzumaki was young. Ebisu himself had graduated at ten, but that had been during a war, and during war the academy operated on a faster program and sent out shinobi graduates, even when they were not truly full Genin. Uzumaki was a true Genin, having mastered the Academy three to perfection and having a satisfactory basis of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu.
Ebisu was a special-Jounin. It was not from a lack of strength, as he could give most full Jounin a good fight and even defeat some, but he had specialized in being an instructor early in his career. Without the necessary missions and opportunities to showcase his overall skills, he would remain as a special-Jounin. However, this did not bother him much. He was given the same respect as any other Jounin and because of his skills as a tutor, he was well paid by whatever Clan or shinobi hired him for his service. Even the Hokage valued his service as a tutor, having requested him to teach some of the Sarutobi clan members, including some beginning lessons to his grandchild Konohamaru.
The Hokage had given him a mission. The Hokage stated that Naruto Uzumaki, a promising shinobi, had graduated from the academy and would be his Genin. For the Hokage to trust him with one of this generations promising Genin was an honor he would not fail.
The Hokage tower was one of the first buildings built in Konoha. While it was beautiful, built by the First Hokage with excruciating details, it really served much more as a military vantage point. It stood tall above all the buildings and trees within Konoha proper. It was located at a point where you could egress to the mountains or across the Naka River.
The beautiful view from the Hokage office would always astonish Hiruzen Sarutobi. He loved his village, even with all her faults. He could only stare at the Fourth Hokage's face as he contemplated the current graduating class. Naruto graduated, ahead of schedule. He would have preferred to assign Kakashi to be his mentor, but currently with Jiraiya's spy network confirming that Rain is taking on more missions and the growing civil war in Mist, he could not pull one of his most elite from the active rosters. For now, Ebisu would have to do.
Ebisu had a talent for teaching, able to explain difficult concepts in simple terms and able to identify the best way to efficiently instruct his students. Ebisu may lack in combat abilities, but in the village his theoretical understanding was second only to himself. Ebisu would teach Naruto well and the fact that they would make a two-man cell would allow Ebisu to concentrate on teaching only Naruto.
Minato had been an exceptional shinobi, the strongest Hokage since the First, but he had been an idealist. Minato had wanted the village to view Naruto as a hero. Hiruzen had known that if he had made the knowledge of the Nine-Tails being sealed into Naruto common knowledge, the civilians and many of the ninja would not have understood. They would have hated Naruto.
Still, he felt as if he betrayed Minato by going against his wishes. Tomorrow, Naruto would be taking his first steps into adulthood as a shinobi and it would be time to disclose some information to him. Hiruzen would have to inform Ebisu about the Kyuubi as well.
Ebisu would understand and if he did not, then Hiruzen would deal with him the same way you deal with any other ninja that knew a secret that they could not be trusted with.
Naruto sat in his favorite swing at the academy, lazily kicking his legs to gain a bit of momentum. It had been four days since he finally became a genin and was told the secret of the Nine-tails. He had also met his jounin leader, Ebisu-sensei.
Naruto had always known he was different. He healed quicker, he was able to recover much faster than any other person he has met, he had a large pool of stamina, and he knew that his chakra capacity dwarfed most people, even than some of the Jounin he saw around the village.
The Hokage had told him the S-Rank secret that he was the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki, a human sacrifice that contained the unimaginable power of the nine-tail beast that killed many Konoha shinobi and citizens nine years ago. The Hokage stressed that Naruto was a hero, ensuring that the Kyuubi remained imprisoned and continuing to protect Konoha. The Hokage also alluded that at some point Naruto would have to learn to control the power of the beast and use it in support of Konoha.
Naruto stared absently at his hands. He did not understand what he was going to do. His goal had been to graduate the academy, spending endless hours perfecting his techniques and building upon his foundational skills. His next goal had been to learn as much as possible and become a well respected ninja, to show that even an orphan could become something. But now he felt directionless.
Even with his lack of social skills, he had made some friends in the academy. Would they think he was a monster if they ever found out he housed the nine-tails?
What could he do?
Ebisu suddenly appeared in front of the swing Naruto sat on, materializing out of a shunshin technique.
"You do what you can. Improve your skills and give yourself to the Leaf." Ebisu stated with conviction. Naruto scrambled to his feet to bow to his sensei. But was stopped by a wave of dismissal by Ebisu.
"I want to be stronger." Naruto admitted.
Ebisu smiled, the Konoha sun glinting off his sunglasses.
A few months since graduation….
Konoha mornings were Naruto's favorite. Aside from the shops getting ready for the day and a few ninja's he could see flickering from the rooftops, this morning was quiet. The last few months have been difficult, but fulfilling.
He wore a dark gray version of his iconic standard orange jumpsuit now. Having been ordered by Ebisu to wear something that would allow him to blend into the background and would not be an eyesore to look at.
Walking towards the Hokage tower, Naruto began to think about his current life.
In the academy, the instructors could only teach the general concepts, going through them for the whole class, giving demonstrations, and lectures. They did not have the capacity or the time to focus on individual students, only fixing mistakes where they could and moving the class along as a whole. This is where the children from clans or those with shinobi parents had an advantage over the other children. But now as a genin, Naruto had Ebisu's sole focus. Ebisu-sensei wanted to focus on his foundational skills before moving on to more advanced techniques.
Though Naruto had a headband which made him an adult in the eyes of the village, in reality he was still an impressionable child. He had complained to Ebisu that he had already mastered the basics and he wanted to grow his jutsu repertoire. Ebisu had laughed and had asked him to spar, stating that Naruto was free to come at him with the intent to kill and that Ebisu would only use the basics taught at the academy to defeat him. The spar lasted a few seconds and Naruto never complained again.
Ebisu-sensei was a hard, but fair instructor. Ebisu-sensei tore through the imperfections of his taijutsu and ninjutsu, taught him how to properly use hand seals, how to perform them quicker, and had even begun to teach him how to perform them with a single hand. Naruto was taught the tree climbing technique to improve his chakra-control and once he had mastered that, he was moved on to the water walking technique. Ebisu-sensei also required a strict physical regiment, to keep improving his physical strength and stamina.
Ebisu-sensei had stressed that balance was essential to his survival as a shinobi, but also as a person. Ebisu-sensei taught him how to conduct himself in formal settings, how to prepare balanced meals, and other life essentials that as an orphan he did not learn.
Naruto had learned that Ebisu-sensei was also an orphan, that his parents had died when he was young during the Kyuubi attack. Naruto had felt a pang of pain, but Ebisu-sensei had stressed that he was the reason the village still stood and not responsible for the Kyuubi's attack.
Naruto arrived at the Hokage tower.
"Today is different Naruto, you are going to receive your first C-rank mission."
Ebisu stated, appearing behind Naruto in a shunshin.
Over the last few months Naruto had conducted D-rank missions. Simple missions around the village that were either too dangerous for civilians and too tedious for higher-level shinobi, like scaling buildings to paint them or catching feral strays. Some of these missions Naruto would conduct himself, some he was paired with other genins.
As they walked up the stairs to the conference room where the team of administrative chuunin's assigned missions, Ebisu explained the importance of C-ranks.
"C-ranks are considered the life-blood of the village. They are the most diverse missions around, some are just simple missions similar to D-ranks that just happen to lead outside the wall while others require eliminating bandits or thieves. The bulk of Konoha's budget comes directly from the amount of C-ranks our forces conduct. I think you are finally ready."
As they entered the mission assignment room, chuunins sat at a table arranging paperwork and handling missions to a variety of shinobi.
"Ebisu! One of my favorite genin teammates! You look as youthful as ever! Your sunglasses make you look very hip!"
Naruto could not help but stare at this giant of a man who was casually slapping his sensei on the shoulder.
"Good morning Gai… I hope you are doing well. This is my student, Naruto." Ebisu stated, identifying the mysterious jonin as Gai.
"Good morning Gai-san, it is a pleasure to meet you." Naruto stated with a short bow.
"THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE! I must now improve myself to become a mentor just like you EBISU! Choza-sensei must be proud! I will not fall behind you, my eternal teammate!" Gai yelled, sprinting out of the room.
"Ah…Sensei… what just happened?"
"You will never get used to it, I haven't…"
Hours Later Outside Konoha Walls…
They had been assigned a courier mission. Naruto and Ebisu were ordered to deliver a scroll with a message and fresh supplies to post on the outskirts bordering Taki. Taki was a small country that housed Takigakure - the Waterfall village, a village with a small elite shinobi force. Takigakure is the only small village to repel all attempts of invasion, renowned for their shinobi's willingness to die rather than live in shame.
While Takigakure and Konoha had no treaty, they operated peacefully. They conducted a lot of beneficial trade together, but they remained ever vigilant of each other. Regardless, this mission had no expectation of combat and the only reason it was a C-Rank was because it led outside the village and was technically within close distance of a non-formal ally.
Naruto and Ebisu moved to the trees in a loose satellite formation. Naruto, carrying the supplies and as the slower shinobi set the pace, Ebisu loosely patrolled around Naruto as they moved. This formation, while slower than others, allowed Ebisu to conceal himself and better respond to an attack on Naruto. It was a formation usually used when you needed to protect the main body of your forces and conceal your actual strength.
Generally, this type of formation is not that useful for a two-man team. But Ebisu had stated that it would be good practice for Naruto. Naruto had a suspicion that Ebisu was being overprotective because this was their first real mission together outside the village.
"Stop. We will rest here before dusk fully sets." Ebisu stated.
"Generally, we do not move at night unless we have an advantage over potential enemies like a teammate with a Byakugan or the Inuzuka's enhanced senses and ninken. But given that we are still within Fire country, I am very familiar with this area. Enemy shinobi are likely unfamiliar with this area so we could keep moving, but there is no rush to complete this mission. Let's set up camp" Ebisu stated as he climbed down a tree to the forest ground.
Naruto dropped to the forest floor and set the supplies down by a nearby tree. They worked together to set up a standard field camp ensuring to use basic techniques to hide the glow and smoke of the campfire. As Naruto finished setting up the basic traps that Ebisu had taught him around their camp, Ebisu gestured for Naruto to sit next to him around the campfire.
"Since it is your first mission, I will take the first watch and the last watch to give you the most rest possible. We will move before the sun rises and should be at the post by noon." Ebisu said.
Naruto nodded in understanding.
A gentle Fire country breeze moved through the trees. The sun had set and the night sky was glittering with stars. The fire country evening was pleasant, cooler than the day but warm enough that sleeping with a waterproof liner and tarp would be more than comfortable enough.
"Fire country is beautiful. We have bountiful land and yearly great weather. It is one of the reasons why the Shodaime and other founders decided on building Konoha here. It can provide food for plenty of people and winters are mild." Ebisu said.
"Do you remember months ago when you told me you wanted to get stronger?" Ebisu suddenly asked.
"Yes sensei." Naruto responded.
"Well, getting stronger is a good goal, but may not be the most fulfilling." Ebisu drawled.
Naruto looked confused as Ebisu. Ebisu could not help but laugh. Given Naruto's maturity and independence, Ebisu sometimes forgot that he was a young boy.
"Sometimes you can be so powerful, but have no reason to use your strength that it is a waste. For example, the Sandaime is the strongest shinobi in the village, in part because of the techniques he has mastered but largely because he has a reason to be so strong. His reason is the will of fire. I know you learned the will of fire mantra in the academy, but it is more than Konoha military propaganda, it is a genuine ideal."
"It is the belief that love protects peace. For the Hokage, this peace is the whole village. It is their duty to protect the village because they love it, considering each and every person that is part of the village as their family. For individual shinobi that peace does not have to be as large as the whole village, it can be your direct family, your clan, or even your cute little Genin." Ebisu said with a teasing smile.
"But what if you do not know what you love?" Naruto grumbled.
"Well, I am sure that's not true. If I was injured, would you not want to protect me? How about the friends you made in the academy, if they were hurt would you come to their aid? The father and daughter that run your favorite ramen stand? Or even the Hokage?" Ebisu stated.
"Of course I would!" Naruto said.
"Well that is part of your peace. In order to protect those precious people of yours, that can be the reason you want to grow stronger. Now lay down, we traveled at a speed your body is not used to and you will need the rest so we can continue tomorrow." Ebisu ordered.
Naruto laid down on the ground next to the campfire, using his backpack as a makeshift pillow. He zipped his jacket as high as possible, foregoing setting up a sleeping bag because of the pleasant weather.
As he drifted to sleep, Naruto thought about what Ebisu just told him.
Next day…
After clearing their campfire and making it appear like no one had ever been in the small clearing, they had set pace for the outpost. They had arrived a bit before noon by making good use of the rest they had. As they approached the outpost, two chunins on guard had noticed them and Ebisu responded with a quick chakra flair and accompanying hand signs to prove they were Konoha shinobi.
They were led inside by one of the chunins. The outpost was larger and better manned than Naruto had expected. As they walked through the hallway of the outpost to the command room, they passed several sleeping quarters.
As they entered the command room, an older jonin sat at a table organizing several documents. The jonin ordered the chunin to take the supplies from Naruto. Ebisu-sensei and the older Jonin greeted each other warmly and Ebisu-sensei passed the message scroll to the jonin. The jonin unraveled the scroll and quickly read it. Once finished, based on standard procedures the jonin burned the scroll.
"Thanks for the supplies Ebisu. The message scroll asked us to increase our patrol presence in the nearby area for the next few days since we expect some merchants to pass near our post heading into Konoha. You guys are welcome to rest here before you set out back to Konoha." The jonin stated.
"Thanks, but I think it's best we take advantage of the sunlight and weather to make haste back to the village." Sensei said as he shook hands with the jonin. Naruto bowed to the older jonin. The older jonin responded with a smile, ruffling Naruto's hair.
As they walked out of the post, a team of four passed by them in the hallway, likely heading back from a patrol. It was a team led by a chunin and three genins, all young adults. They greeted Ebisu respectfully and some smiled at Naruto. The tallest of the genins looked at Naruto incredulously and as they walked away, Naruto heard the tallest genin remark to the rest of them.
"He is so young…" His remark trailed off as the team headed deeper into the outpost.
They exited the outpost and bid farewell to the chunins on guard. They jumped into the trees, sat in a standard two-man formation meant for speed and began their travel back to the village.
"Better get used to it. You are young and many people will underestimate you as your career moves forward." Ebisu addressed the comment the tall genin said.
Naruto accepted this, but it did not stop it from bothering him. They traveled in silence for a couple of hours back to the village. Based on their speed, they should be back to the village right before nightfall.
Ebisu suddenly appeared in front of Naruto and signaled for him to stop. He pointed in front of them, using standard hand signals Ebisu relayed to Naruto to remain silent and that in 100 meters someone was approaching.
They hunkered down in the trees and stayed quiet. Within some time, a group of civilians appeared within Naruto's line of sight, walking in a line down the pebble road path. It looked like the merchants that the older shinobi had mentioned when they left the post. They traveled with two carts, each dragged by a mule.
Ebisu signaled to Naruto to look to the side of the path that the merchants were walking. Four bandits wearing camouflage and carrying blades, two on each side of the paths were slowly circling the merchants. The merchants were clearly unaware that they were being followed. Naruto looked at Ebisu in alarm.
"You take the two on the right side and I will take the left. Once I finish, I will assist you." Ebisu whispered.
As the bandits begin to move into action, Ebisu sprung into action. As he dropped from the trees, Naruto flung a handful of shuriken at the bandits on the right side. Several shuiken's bit into one of the bandits. One of the shuriken bit into the side of one of the bandits' temples, spraying blood and instantly killing the bandit.
Naruto remained rooted, staring at the body of the person he just killed. The other bandit reacted quickly, dodging the other shurikens and shifting his focus to Naruto. As the merchant yelled and the mules shrieked, Naruto's focus snapped to the present. The remaining bandit was already within his guard and mid-swing, the swing would be finished before Naruto could react.
He was going to die here. His dreams of becoming stronger would die to a bandit who could not even properly hold a blade. He closed his eyes, anticipating the pain of the blade.
The pain never came. Opening his eyes, Naruto came face to face with Ebisu-sensei's back. Ebisu-sensei held the bandit's wrist in a vice grip, the blade innocently claterred to the ground. Sensei had been quick enough to save his life, but not avoid getting injured. A gash on the same arm that held the bandit's wrist freely flowed with blood.
"Sensei!" Naruto yelled.
Ebisu-sensei's focus did not waver from the bandit. In a sudden movement, Ebisu broke the bandits wrist and slammed him to the ground. The bandit screamed in pain. The merchants, still wary and scared of the commotions, gasped at the actions.
"We are Konoha shinobi, we ran into you as we returned to our village. I apologize that we could not warn you beforehand, but we had to ensure that you were safe." Ebisu stated to the cowering merchants.
"Naruto, check all the bandits and make sure they are either dead or incapacitated." Ebisu ordered.
"But your arm sensei…" Naruto never got to finish his sentence.
"When I order you to do something, you do it! Your inactions could have cost innocent lives!" Ebisu angrily stated, finally taking his eyes off the bandit to look directly at Naruto.
He had never seen Ebisu-Sensei angry, let alone livid. He weakly nodded and began to check the other three bandits, finding that they were all dead. Ebisu's bandits had been dispatched efficiently, kunai cuts cleanly dragged across their throats. Comparatively, the bandit he had killed was a gory mess.
As they calmed the merchant's fears and prepared the remaining bandit for the trek back to the village to be tried in Konoha courts, Ebisu-sensei never looked at him.