AN: Hello, greetings.
As of posting this chapter, January 7th 2024, the story has 8 reviews, 110 follows, 75 favorites, and 111 views. The views only started coming in a few days ago, probably after New Year's since it was glitched/broken previously. So, the 111 views is likely less than a tenth of my all time view count, since this story's been up since late October. Oh well.
This chapter should provide some context towards somethings. It should be pretty obvious that I'm building up a few plot points, but how I'm going to flush out those plot points is still in the works, so stay tuned for that.
Enjoy! And please leave reviews!
Also, disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its charcters.
Andante III
Qb6 e5
Ne1 e4
Kumogakure no Sato
"Bro, are you sure?"
The man slams his fist down onto the table, creating tremors that reverberate through the air. "Yes. I've said it many times, and I'll say it again. I have a plan. Just because I'm hotheaded doesn't mean I lack intelligence, for goodness' sake!"
Killer B looks doubtful but accepts it anyway. "Alright, if you say so. But can you at least explain it to me? We've already sent Yugito on what amounted to essentially a suicide mission, can we afford to use our resources and manpower on this expedition?"
The fourth Raikage, A, stands up. "It's fine. Yugito's still in the game, those Konoha nin are not prepared."
He turns toward his brother in all but blood. "Do you remember that seal I had our seal masters create? Yugito and the other two jinchūriki are in an invoked state of stasis due to them, and when I trigger their seals, they'll immediately awake with their tailed beasts' chakra fully unsealed. Konoha will be in ruins. Unfortunately, this also has a high likelihood of killing them, so it's our failsafe."
B's blood turns cold. "Is that really your plan?"
"No, you dolt. It's my backup. My current plan is the one you were arguing against!"
The jinchūriki of the Hachibi raises his hands placatingly. "Alright, alright. I'll do it. So, just lead the army around to the southern border of Hi no Kuni and infiltrate there?"
"Yes. Over the past seven years, I've systematically had our forces establish bases in all the minor countries surrounding Konoha. We've cut off their trade routes and connections with Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves), created bases in Taki no Kuni (Land of Waterfalls; technically non-canon but it's my name for the nation where Takigakure is), Yu no Kuni (Land of Hot Water; literally the canon name), and Oto no Kuni (Land of Sound). You'll lead our army down to Kawa no Kuni (Land of Rivers). You'll ambush the hidden village there, Tanigakure, and once it's conquered, we'll set up our final base of operations."
The Raikage clenches his fist. "Sarutobi is not an opponent to be underestimated; had we simply rushed in attacking, we'd have lost. His tactical warfare, as my father told me, are nigh unrivalled by any living village leader. By using our superior resources and manpower to restrict the movement of Konoha and its allies, we now have them surrounded. Iwagakure is watching our backs, keeping potential enemies away, and so we can finally besiege them without worry."
His jet-black eyes glint with confidence. "This is their end. B, while on the journey, be sure to raise morale, as I know I've definitely lost a lot of support due to this long-term constriction strategy. However, it's for the best, and victory is near."
Konoha is doomed.
Killer B's respect for his elder brother shoots up immensely. No one ever expected A to be of the strategical kind, but it seems that everyone, including B himself, has been underestimating him.
With such a leader, how could they lose?
Konohagakure no Sato
Naruto wakes up with a heavy yawn.
It was still early, after all. No matter how much the old man tried to drill it into him, the boy simply was not, is not, and will never be a morning person.
Glancing at the alarm clock, Naruto relaxes. Four fourty; he has plenty of time.
The blonde boy drowsily stands up, stretches, and walks into the bathroom.
After a quick washing of his face, dentures, and body, Naruto feels refreshed, and changes into formal attire. Standard black mesh shirt and pants, covered by padded protective clothing and a black-and-orange jacket.
A growl of hunger from his stomach reminds him of breakfast, and one cup of instant ramen later, Naruto walks out his front door, ready to face the world.
Until he remembers Kakashi-sensei's assignment.
Tell your teammates about the fox. Either secretly or openly, they must know by the end of the week.
He groans. While he understands where his teacher was coming from (such big secrets being withheld could only act as a liability), that doesn't mean he has to like it.
To Naruto, this was equivalent laying bare all the dark secrets that make him hate himself sometimes. Well, not exactly hate, but rather despise his position.
Why'd it have to be him? Why does it have to be him that carries all this unwanted responsibility, this burden, this vital, inescapable role that was forced upon him since birth?
Naruto didn't understand. But since it came to him, he's going to do his darn hardest to not fail.
Otherwise, it would be the same as having wasted the efforts, the legacies, the lives of countless individuals. And he can't have that.
So, Naruto sighs. He guesses he'll just rip off the bandage as quickly as possible, and just openly reveal it after today's training.
There were two possible outcomes.
Ideally, they both accept him, and it's as if nothing ever happened, and everything is fine. He can even be more open, since this is a secret off his chest.
Or the worst case scenario, in which they are both either afraid of him or hate him, and their team falls apart.
Naruto shudders. The possible repercussions... maybe he's not ready. Not yet.
No matter. Training comes first, everything can be considered after it.
Sasuke is sitting on his bed, surrounded by nothing but silence and his own thoughts.
And those thoughts were not good thoughts.
You have until the end of the week to fully explain your situation in the clan. And I mean fully explain, including the situation with Itachi, your mother, all of it. If you can't do it, I'll do it for you. And I don't mince words. Your jealousy, anxiety, and overall insecurity will be nothing but a detriment.
That Kakashi, how dare he? How dare he pry into Sasuke's private life like that?
And how dare he make such assumptions?
Sasuke refuses to acknowledge that the reason he's so mad is because of how accurately his own feelings were portrayed.
He thinks (not broods, those are very distinct) for a bit more. Fine.
He'll just get it over with. After training today, he'll just casually throw it onto the end of their goodbyes, and book it. Maybe that'll work?
Sasuke humphs. This is the worst assignment he's ever been given.
Hearing noise from the room next to his, Sasuke knows that his relatives are beginning to wake. He grabs a bit of money to buy food with, and quietly slips out of the clan compound.
Sakura couldn't get much sleep the past night, so when she woke from her short-lived dreams, she was justifiably grouchy and tired.
Seriously, how is she supposed to tell her teammates about her situation at home?
Judging from Kakashi-sensei's words, chances are all of them were given a similar task, to reveal something private and personal.
Sakura contemplates what to do. Maybe she can just secretly seed little hints throughout the week, and by the end, her teammates will ask?
Probably not a good idea; Naruto seems oblivious to details, so that won't be happening. And Sasuke...
She snorts. The only thing larger that guy's ego is his stubbornness. Seriously, she got better grades than him academically in every single class and he refused her help before she even managed to get three words out? He had a serious problem.
Then again, they all did. Sakura had taken note of Naruto's apprehension when first approaching her when their team was first announced. And it certainly wasn't social anxiety, as that concept seems to not exist on him. Rather, she surmises that it's probably due to the unexplained hatred he seems to receive from everyone else.
Her peers have been secretly telling her to avoid him ever since she was a child, but those peers are the same ones that had bullied her for a large forehead, so Sakura just blanked that out from her memory. Even her parents had on occasion shown disdain for the boy, and she doesn't know why.
It makes no sense, and Sakura suspects that Naruto is assigned to reveal something to do that.
Maybe she'll just go for it. Yeah, sounds like a good idea; just walking up to them and explaining everything.
Maybe then, she can let go and make up her mind once and for all.
The house is silent. So utterly silent. It was as if her parents weren't there at all.
Honestly, at this point, she'd prefer it that way. At least, that way, she won't have to feel sad when they finally leave.
The whole mess may have been started off by her, but he never even tried to make amends.
Sakura sighs. It's time to go, she can think about this later. After all, there's still six days left.
"Well, team," Kakashi announces. "I've got exclusive permission from the Hokage. We're going on a training trip out of town."
Naruto jumps up. "Really? Where to?" His excitement shows in his face, which is lit up with ecstasy.
Though Sasuke and Sakura did not share his loud reaction, their eyes still betrayed the truth. They were excited too. The anticipation hung in the air, thick and heavy, almost palpable.
Kakashi smiles, his eye curving along with it. "We're going on a decently long trip. Our destination is Sunagakure. They're still working on infrastructural repair over there, and you'll be helping with that effort. I'll be checking on our forces over there as well, so this trip is a necessary one."
He points at the trio of genin. "After training today, you three will discuss amongst yourselves what to bring. Each of you will be bringing a specific set of equipment and materials necessary for the week-long trek we're going on, so plan for that."
A thump sounds. Kakashi drops a storage scroll on the ground and unseals a veritable library of texts.
"Time to start! Today, we're going to be studying elemental ninjutsu. You've all been introduced to the first two steps of your primary element nature transformation training. Those exercises are enough for D rank simple ninjutsu. So, get going, choose one from the pile, and start trying it out."
He notices Sasuke's discomfort, and secretly smirks. Time for the nail in the coffin. "To build your team skills, you'll get no help from, only from each other. I'll be watching, of course, but do not rely on me. I'll come to check on you every hour."
And with that, he disappears into a swirl of leaves. Kakashi, now hidden in the thick foliage, watches.
What will it take for Sasuke to cave and learn to ask for help?
Yūhi Kurenai got very lucky. Of all the teams, her team is likely one of the best. Three clan heirs; the Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hyūga heirs are all part of her team. And despite their backgrounds, none of them are incredibly stuck-up, arrogant, or overly antagonistic against each other. The only source of conflict is Kiba's one sided rivalry with Shino, but that wasn't really too much trouble.
In comparison to Kakashi's bag of troubles known as Team 7, her team is comprised of literal angels.
However, there is one catch.
The Hyūga heiress has many problems, among which lack of confidence and self-deprecation lie at the core of.
She suspects that due to her role in the start of the war, she's suffered through harsh criticism and shouldered contempt that should not have been directed at her in the first place.
Kurenai sighs. Hinata is a sweet girl, and doesn't derserve any of that. The small moments when her genuine kindness shows poke at Kurenai's heart. But how could she help?
The shy girl has erected a barrier between her and every other person, always acting the part of demure, shy, yet cold and aloof Hinata.
Kurenai, as such, has absolutely no idea what's underneath that mask of hers.
She sighs. It's her job as the sensei to continue cracking at it. Perhaps one day, someone might come along and finally break through. But before then, she'll continue to chip away, one bit at a time.
But that'll be for later. For now, training them to live is of higher priority.
Hinata and Kiba are sparring. There were no sounds except for the wooshing of limbs and grunts of pain.
In little time, Hinata had dismantled Kiba's rigid taijutsu defenses, and lands a heavy blow upon his chest, sending the Inuzuka tumbling to the ground
Kurenai claps. "Good fight, Hinata, Kiba. Kiba, since you lost, can you explain why?"
The boy grunts, scratching his head. "Well, I didn't block fast enough, so she hit me."
Kurenai deadpans, waiting for an elaboration.
"And I was too aggressive again and lost focus on defending, when necessary," Kiba amends.
Kurenai nods. "Good. Now, keep in mind, recognizing issues is the first step to solving them. Remember your problems, and work towards erasing them. Now, Hinata," she turns towards the girl. "Anything to add? Kiba wasn't wrong, but he also wasn't completely right." Kiba scowls at this.
Her voice floats out softly, as if she is afraid of surprising the very air itself. "Kiba-san's defenses weren't bad. His problem was that he wasn't switching between offense and defense well enough; when he was attacking me, he had overextended, and thus I caught him during that moment of distraction, before his defensive maneuvers could be put into play."
Kurenai claps. For all her personal and emotional issues, Hinata was a genius when it came to taijutsu. Perhaps the phrase pressure makes diamonds has some merit to it, as she couldn't imagine she had a stable and secure learning environment in that household, not when the Hyūga were mostly a bunch of stuck-up fools intent on keeping their bloodline pure and honorable while condemning half their kin to a life of slavery and bondage.
"That is correct. Kiba, your main issue was overextending; leaning into full offense only has merit when you either have planned counters and traps for opponents seeking to punish your lack of defenses, or when you know your opponent cannot counter in time."
Kiba nods, reluctantly accepting this point. "So, I should make sure that I can always defend and attack, instead leaning too far into one or the other?"
Kurenai shakes her head. "That depends on the situation. This is where instinct and quick judgement comes into play; the best warriors are not necessarily always the ones who are the strongest, but the ones who can make split-second decisions that give them the highest chance of victory. If you have a power and speed advantage, then lean into offense. If you're at a disadvantage in those areas, then defend more. If you're completely winning, you can choose the correct time to abandon defense and lunge for their heart. Understand?"
Kiba nods slowly, but Kurenai can easily decipher that hesitation as the lesson evading the boy. She clears her throat.
"Kiba, if you were fighting someone weaker than you, would you go on the defense knowing that they are slower and strike lighter?"
The boy frowns, the fang marks on his cheek distorting slightly. "No, why would I? I'd just go offensive and win... oh. I see. And I'd need to defend more if they are stronger?"
Kurenai nods. "This is the general rule of thumb. However, this does not include tactics and special cases. You'll learn as you grow, so just keep that as a rule of thumb, one that you're not afraid to break if necessary."
Kiba nods, more confident this time. "And when should I break it?"
"Whenever you feel fit. That's what I'm here to try and teach, and what you're trying to learn. Now, Shino and Kiba, you two spar again."
Kurenai grins slightly at Kiba's groan and Shino's stoic grunt. "Hinata, how's your progress with your nature transformation?"
"It's going well, sensei. I'm complete with the second step, I've successfully split an apple in half with my suiton chakra. Is the next step a low-rank jutsu?"
Kurenai silently praises the girl's intuition. "Yes. Here, this one should be a good starting point."
Hinata accepts the scroll from her sensei with a little bow and nod.
Kurenai notes the lack of a verbal response but doesn't comment on it. She turns her attention back to the sparring boys; Hinata's not the only member of her team, after all.
Sasuke glares at his lightbulb.
Secretly, he had snuck the device into his pocket and carried it to today's training, so he could walk off and practice the second step of nature transformation, since he had finally cracked the first step yesterday (he totally didn't have to stay up until midnight the night before to finally get it down).
Unfortunately, his teammates are already ahead. Even Sakura had progressed past the basic steps of manifesting and using elemental chakra and is now on actual shape manipulation in the form of a real jutsu. Why is he so behind?
A yelp sounds behind him, and Sasuke looks around. Sakura is on the ground, presumably after tripping and falling, with a pillar of rock jutting from the previously flat ground where she had once stood.
Had she already accomplished a full dōton (earth release) jutsu?
Sasuke growls, and forcefully tears his eyes away. He should focus on his own progress, not others. He will master both this stupid second step of nature transformation as well as the Raisen jutsu he selected from the pile.
But looking down at the light bulb that was nearly broken from all his failed attempts, Sasuke has never been less sure of his own beliefs.
Sakura groans as she slowly rises from her prone position on the sweet, sweet earth to lean on the side of a large tree.
It seems even light chakra-exhaustion is a serious problem; right now, she can barely gather enough energy to sit up, let alone stand or move around.
However, Sakura notes, her decision to take and learn the B-ranked technique Dōton: Doryūheki (Earth Release: Earthen Wall) was a good one. As she had previously surmised, certain techniques were chakra dependent. Thus, the usability of such jutsu is not dependent on the rank; rather, the rank of the technique depends on the skill of the user.
As of now, with her own meager chakra reservoir, it can barely be classified as a D-rank, but in time it should grow.
Sakura smiles contently. This was good; she's making progress.
Looking over, Naruto is also on the ground from fatigue. However, judging from his surrounding area that looks like it was hit by a waterfall, chances are, a lot more chakra was involved.
Said blonde boy looks over and gives her a crooked grin. He walks over, although at an overly leisurely pace that spoke of his tiredness. "How're you doing?"
Sakura grins back. "Can't you see?" She gestures toward the cluster of rocks and boulders. "My reserves are really small compared to yours and Sasuke's, so I get tired faster. That's all I could do before my chakra ran out."
Naruto shrugs, uncaring. "Well, my control is crap, so at least you have me covered there."
Sakura nods. "Have you seen or talked to Sasuke?"
Naruto shakes his head. "No, he's off to who knows where. He's always been like that, preferring to do things by himself." He grins. "And he's darn good at everything too, that bastard. As much as I hate to admit it, he's really good at the whole shinobi business."
Sakura frowns. "He was struggling with nature transformation yesterday, and if I'm not mistaken, he's either still working on the second step or just progressing on from it."
Naruto snaps his head toward her, confused. "Really? Why?"
Sakura snorts. "Because he's an idiot with a stick up his ass." Naruto blanches at the crude language, but Sakura ignores him. "Yesterday, he was struggling with the first step of nature transformation, because lightning chakra is the most difficult of the basic elements for theory reasons I'm not going to explain. I tried to help him, but before I even got three words out, he basically screamed 'no' to me."
"Really? Wow, I knew he was a bastard, but not that bad of one. Maybe it wasn't on purpose; knowing him, he'd rather die than apologize."
Sakura harumphs. "That doesn't excuse him though."
He agrees. "Eh, fair." They fell silent after that, and their breathing slowed to a normal frequency.
Sakura gets up, wincing at the slow response of her limbs. She wants to clear her head, and the only way she knows is to go for a walk.
Her feet splash through the newly made puddles of water and mud on the ground; Naruto really did a number on this place. From the looks of it, it was from some sort of forceful water current. Perhaps Suiton: Hatō (Water Release: Surging Sea), Suiton: Teppōdama (Water Release: Gunshot), or Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Water Trumpet)?
No, the damage is too concentrated and small scale for it to be any of the three, considering Naruto's frankly absurd chakra levels (the academy chakra volume test really spoke of the difference between him and their peers) and his below-average control. So, likely a compact forceful jutsu, maybe handheld/contained. The only Sakura knows of that fits the criteria is Suiton: Hahonryū (Water Release: Tearing Torrent), though it's a projectile. If it was, then Naruto likely either wasn't able to stabilize it enough to release it as a projectile and practiced adapting it into a melee jutsu, or put too much power into it. She could see either happening.
Tearing her mind from analyzing her teammate's training, Sakura continues walking off her fatigue until she feels a tap on her shoulder, startling her.
"Who?" she cries out, alarmed by the sudden contact. Looking around, she saw no one.
Her teacher then pops out of thin air and smiles. "Me, of course. Be more aware of your surroundings, Sakura," he chides. "I wasn't even concealing my presence, and you didn't notice until I tapped your shoulder."
Sakura flushes. "Sorry, sensei. I was lost in thoughts."
He gives her a look. "I can tell. Anything to do with Sasuke-kun?"
She scowls and ceases to talk.
Her teacher lets out a small sigh. "Sakura, how old are you?"
She gives him an odd stare but complies. "Ten, two months from turning eleven. Why?"
"Exactly. You're all ten. You're not adults; girls mature faster than boys oftentimes, you know? Sasuke will mature, all of you will. But before then, you shouldn't hold grudges for something for too long; it'd be like condemning a toddler for not being able to cook and feed themselves."
Sakura puffs up her cheeks. "Fine. But I don't have to like him."
"My, where did you learn such language? I'm not saying you have to love him all of sudden, just give him a chance, won't you?"
Sakura huffs and turns her head away, but both she and Kakashi knew that she's convinced.
"And if you really don't like how he acted, then why didn't you say anything? Why did you just let him walk all over you?"
Fine, she'll go over and volunteer her help. But if he refuses again...
She's going to smack him upside the head.
And she's also going to ignore Kakashi's last comment. Though she doesn't want to admit it, it did rub salt into a wound long forgotten.
Sasuke sees the familiar face of his sensei just as the lightbulb he'd been working with shattered.
The shards of glass and wire fly in all directions, even landing on the silver-gray hair of the man.
Kakashi brushes off the small specks of broken glass and smoldering wire. "Still working on your nature transformation? You were supposed to be done with that, weren't you?"
Sasuke scowls. "Hn," and the grunt was all Kakashi received from him.
His sensei sighs. "Sasuke, you're behind."
"I know!" Sasuke lashes out, scowling even harder.
Kakashi raises his voice a bit, enough to quell the rising anger of Sasuke. "Do you really know? If you know, then why don't you ask for help? If you keep this up, your teammates are going to leave you in the dust, you know."
The boy stays silent. "So, why? Tell me, what is wrong with asking or accepting help? Sakura offered help, and you refused. You hurt her pretty bad, you know."
Sasuke's facade cracks. "I didn't mean to."
"And that's fine. So, what should you do?"
Sasuke hates how he's being treated like a child. And he hates it even more that, even if he is a shinobi now, he is just a child.
"... Apologize?"
Kakashi brightens up and claps. "Good job!" He ruffles a very disgruntled Sasuke's hair. "I don't expect any of you to be perfect as you are, but I do expect you to recognize your own mistakes and improve, okay? We'll talk more about this later, for now, learn to accept help and be humble. Sakura's looking for you, you know what to do."
Sasuke nods begrudgingly.
After a few minutes of silence, the rustling of leaves parting alerst Sasuke to the presence of his pink-haired teammate.
Before Sakura even opens her mouth, Sasuke steels his nerves. "I'm sorry," he blurts out. "I didn't mean it."
She scrutinzes him closely, as if inspecting the truthfulness of his words. She nods. "Okay. Just don't do it again; if you want to reject my offer, at least wait until I've finished my sentence, alright?"
The light-hearted teasing brings Sasuke's mood up a bit, relieving him of any fears that his impulsiveness had damaged their team. His lips quirk up slightly, and a small chuckle slips out. "Alright, noted. So... can you explain why I was failing so much?"
Sakura scoffs. "That's simple. Are you going to listen this time?"
Sasuke side-eyes her, and she giggles before settling into a lecturing pose, with one arm bent underneath the other, one hand raised up to draw imaginary figures into the air.
"So, different chakra natures have different properties. The thing about raiton (lightning release) chakra is how volatile it is; it is a constant flow that requires higher energy output to maintain, and thus is denser in chakra than any other nature. Your problem is that you didn't 'compress' your transformed lightning chakra. In order to channel it properly, raiton chakra needs to be refined through compression. This compressed form is more controlled, and thus has less total output, so a greater amount of it is needed."
Sakura finally breathes. "Understand?"
Sasuke stares, still processing. "So, because my affinity is lightning, which just so happens to be very volatile unless compressed, I was putting in too much power? To solve this, I just need to compress the chakra flow and regulate the power more?"
"Exactly. Simple, right?"
Sasuke inwardly disagrees, but he isn't about to tell her that. Picking up a light bulb that Kakashi had left behind, he once again channels his chakra.
The energy changed from a warm, uniform flow to prickly, white-hot streaks of electricity in his veins. Sasuke focuses, and the arcs slowly settle into a warm buzz that felt far righter than what he had before. The boy then slowly directs the flow into the small object in his hand.
And once he opens his eyes, Sasuke is immensely pleased by the sight of a lit bulb.
He looks at Sakura, seeing her in a whole new light. Despite her civilian upbringing and weaker body, Sasuke couldn't hold a candle to her knowledge. He had already suspected this before, with her dominant grades in the academy, but this proves that not only does she have valuable knowledge, but she can also use it to great effect.
"Thank you," the phrase naturally comes out before Sasuke even realizes he said it.
Sakura waves it off. "Don't thank me, just don't be an asshole about it next time."
Sasuke glares lightly and Sakura returns the look, but both fail to hold in their smiles and simply join each other in the peals of laughter that come out.
With renewed vigor, Sasuke once more sets out to master his chosen jutsu (a simple jutsu named Raisen – Lightning Flash – that applies raiton chakra to conductive, mainly fūma shuriken, and creates a self-sustaining electric projectile; simple but deadly).
Maybe, Sasuke thinks. This isn't too bad after all.
Kakashi calls, and the three genin regroup one last time.
It is the end of the day, dusk is upon them, and the sensei wishes to see their progress.
"So, all of you, name your jutsu, its supposed rank and actual rank as performed by you, and demonstrate said jutsu. Naruto, you're up first."
The blonde boy stands. "My jutsu is Suiton: Hahonryū." Sakura silently pumps a fist in victory; her guess had been spot-on. "It's B-rank, but my performance is more like a D-rank."
He holds out a hand, and chakra begins to swirl. His teammates and sensei watch as water starts forming in the center of his palm. The liquid swirls faster and faster, until Naruto finally yells and throws his hand forward.
The spiraling torrent of water left his hand like a jet, flying through the air. Despite the obvious loss of power and stability, the projectile still manages to snap a thick tree branch cleanly off the tree.
Kakashi nods. "Not bad for just a single day. I don't think I need to tell you your faults, just keep refining the stability on the jutsu and it'll be good to go."
Naruto smiles, and backs up. "Sakura, your turn," Kakashi orders.
She nods and stands. "I picked Doton: Doryūheki, which is a B-rank jutsu. At my level, it's closer to a D-rank."
Carefully going through a set of handseals, Sakura then channels her doton chakra, and slams a hand onto the ground. The earth rises in response, forming a jutting rock that measures to about chest-height for Kakashi, or rather, equal in height to the children.
"Very good; you picked a good jutsu; this one will go as far as you can make it. Very good defense, work on shortening the seal sequence, and if possible, eliminating it altogether. Your chakra reserves also need improvement but that's a different topic."
Sakura nods; she knows that despite all her knowledge, she remains the weakest of the team by far.
"Alright, are you ready, Sasuke?"
The Uchiha nods, and carefully takes out a shuriken. "I chose Raisen, a C-rank jutsu. I have it down at the same level, as a C-rank."
He dips his chin in concentration. Sasuke's hand begins to glow with white-hot energy, and the arcs of electricity quickly transfer into the highly conductive metal of the shuriken. With a grunt, he flings the shuriken towards a tree branch.
The branch explodes into two. The shuriken flies past the broken splinters to imbed itself within the trunk of the tree behind it, sparks still lingering upon the dark metal.
Sasuke smirks at the damage; he is pleased by the fact that despite his slow start, he is now essentially caught up. Only kind of, since Naruto is still far ahead, but that won't be for long.
Kakashi claps. "Very good. It seems that all your muddling around prior to Sakura's explanation worked in your favor, as you now have a much more concrete and fleshed-out understanding of how your chakra nature operates. This jutsu, though lower ranked, will be very useful."
Sasuke takes that as a compliment.
"You've all done well! As a small treat," Kakashi hefts a large brown bag. "I got your favorite foods."
They cheer as Kakashi sets up a place for them to eat. The spread of fresh, steaming hot food includes large bowls of take-out miso ramen from Ichiraku's stand, pork and vegetable buns from Sakura's favorite vendor that she has a near-dependency on, and several types of udon from Sasuke's favorite udon restaurant.
"Well, dig in!"
After finishing their meals and cleaning up, Team 7 reassembles once more.
Kakashi claps to get their attention. "So, team, remember what I said about the trip? Well, here's some more information."
He hands them a slip of paper each. "This is your mission info, read it. Since you're all official shinobi of the village, guardian consent is unnecessary. As for packing, you three can decide among yourselves after reading. We leave tomorrow at dawn."
He waves cheekily. "Goodbye!"
The three genin are now alone once more.
Naruto breaks the silence. "Well, what should we do?"
"I... I'm not exactly on great terms with my parents now, so I can probably only gather so many things. I can probably do provisions and medical supplies, but that's about it."
Sasuke nods. "That should be fine. I don't know about Naruto, but my clan has enough resources to probably provide for all three of us if necessary, given that my dad isn't stuck up about it."
Naruto agrees. "I've been managing my stipend for years, I have a couple thousand ryo saved up, so I have enough money as well, you're fine."
Sakura let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you both so much. Oh, right!"
She stands up suddenly, and takes a deep breath. "Remember how sensei said he gave us all assignments to be completed by week's end? Well, mine is to tell you something, and if I'm not wrong, yours are too."
A moment of uncomfortable silence confirms it. "Okay. You can follow after me, but I'll just tell you straight up, as I don't want to keep thinking about it."
Naruto looks at her, eyes wide. Sasuke is listening with equal rapt attention.
"I... I haven't talked to my parents for a long time. My current mom is a stepmom; my real mom died a few years ago in the war. My dad wanted me to leave with him for somewhere else, but..."
She seizes up a little. "But I don't want my mom's efforts to go to waste! I wanted to be a shinobi, to take on her dream of fighting for the village! And so, we argued, and my dad later took on a new wife. I haven't talked to him since, and the only thing he's been doing is giving me enough money to feed myself. It's like I don't even exist for him anymore."
Sakura plops down on the ground. "... That's it."
The brief shot of courage that had instilled inside her to allow this confession left, gone like the wind. Sakura slowly curls up, and slams her head onto her knees, waiting for their inevitable responses.
Naruto finally speaks, after what felt like an eternity to the girl. "I think your parents are idiots."
Sasuke slaps his arm, inciting a yelp from the blonde-haired boy. "Be a bit more sensitive, dimwit."
Naruto scowls. "What? I'm just saying the truth. What's wrong with following your dream? As long as you understand what you're getting yourself into and you have the ability to back up what you claim you want to do, then why not? And Sakura has both of those, right?"
Sasuke grudgingly agrees. "Fair."
Sakura shakily lets out a breath. "Ha... ha..."
And she throws back her head and laughs.
The two boys simply stand there in silence, confused by her reaction.
When Sakura finally calms down, she simply smiles, this time a bit more reserved. Understandable, as she just outed one of her most personal secrets. "Well," she pokes her hands together. "Anyone else?"
Silence.
Naruto begins, "I'm not sure I'm ready."
Sasuke nods. "Same."
Sakura purses her lips, but sighs. "Alright, then. Shall we get to planning the trip, then?"
It was only later, at night when she was quietly packing her bags, that Sakura realizes that somehow, within the span of a mere two days, she feels like she's known her teammates for an eternity. Honorifics are a thing of the past, long forgotten between the three of them.
Oh well, they didn't seem to mind, anyways.
When Sakura closes her eyes, she can hear the haughty, proud voice of Sasuke and the brash, cheery voice of Naruto arguing. A smile grows, and Sakura let the warmth in her chest swell.
She sleeps, the most restful sleep she's had in years.
