Author Note

Hello there once more and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

I know I already said it before, but I have great expectations regarding this story. Also, from the reviews I received, which were excellent by the way, I'm sure that the readers also enjoyed it so far. Contrary to my other stories, this Naruto is more isolated from his peers, with only a few out there to whom he likes hanging with. Some of the readers asked me whether or not Naruto's team would accept him eventually. The answer is yes, though they will have to overcome some boundaries first. It will be Asuma who will bring them close as he works them through hell in order to increase their skills.

Now, that's out of the way, here's the chapter.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7 – Training and D-ranked missions

Beta: Kyuubi123

The sound of metal battling against metal could be heard throughout the training ground as Naruto and the Anbu Tori faced each other in pure kenjutsu. It was their first day as kenjutsu partners and the Anbu was impressed by the boy's stamina and will to learn and correct his form. The training began at 0600 hours and not a single soul could be seen wandering around Konoha.

Naruto found out that he enjoyed waking up this time of day.

The reason was because he didn't have many hours of sleep at his disposal, because of the nightmares. Also, the fact that he didn't need to worry about ignoring the villagers was a plus in his book. He appreciated training more than anything; he continuously appreciated Tori for his assistance. Little did he know, though, the Anbu found it as beneficial as Naruto, seeing as he wanted to practice his kenjutsu for a long time. The speed in which they were fighting was considered chunnin level and Tori was proud of the blond, even though he wished to increase the level in a couple of days. He knew that Naruto was able to increase the speed, using his Sharingan, but he concurred with the blond that he needed to practice his skills without it, first. As the practice progressed, Naruto was slowly losing his focus, seeing as it was quite hard to keep up with a veteran. He began to show a great deal of openings for the Anbu to exploit, before the man ushered Naruto to take a break.

"Rest a bit, Naruto. Kenjutsu requires finesse. When you began to show fatigue, it's better to stop and rest a bit. Now, although you showed improvement since yesterday, but you're still trying to parry my blows, using strength. It's fine against someone who has yet to master the art, but one could easily use it against you" It didn't take long to realize that Tori was an excellent teacher. He just knew how to explain a complicated art in simple words, allowing the blond to grasp the skills needed to learn kenjutsu.

"I understand Tori-sensei. Though how can I parry your strikes without using strength?"

"It's just a matter of deflecting my strike, nothing more. Defend and then strike, do not try to simply stop my movements. With experience, you'll come to realize that kenjutsu is nothing but a dance. When you master the art, you'll be able to lead your opponent through precise strikes aimed to disorient him or her, before you move for the final strike, either to incapacitate or to kill. Like everything, you'll manage in time. Now, I'll increase the speed of the fight, so feel free to activate your Sharingan. You indeed shouldn't depend on it, but as a weapon, you must be familiarized with it"

Naruto nodded, before closing his eyes. When he opened, the menacing red eyes appeared. The deadly dance started once more and like Tori said, the level increased. However, with his eyes, Naruto managed to anticipate his opponent's moves, before he even started them, allowing him more time to properly defend as well as attack. Tori always found it amazing how the Sharingan eyes worked. Before, Naruto worked his ass off to top a chunnin's level kenjutsu fight. Now, the blond had no problems in following Tori's movements and even managed to attempt a few hits. Of course, it wouldn't be fair to increase the level to jounin, but at least he knew that there was ground for improvement. The fight went on, until approximately 0800 hours when Tori had to present to Anbu Headquarters and Naruto had to meet his team for their first team training.

Not that he enjoyed it, but it was his obligation as a shinobi of Team 10.

Deciding to cool off a bit, Naruto went to the nearby river and gathered some water in his hands, before throwing it on his face. As he looked at his reflection on the lake, he wasn't surprised to see Sasuke's face instead of his. It happened before, he reasoned. Usually, when he finished his showers, Sasuke's face would be reflected on his bathroom mirror. Sighing in dismay, the blond left the training ground he was now in and went towards the barbeque restaurant where his team would meet. It didn't take ten minutes before he arrived only to see Chouji already there, waiting for Ino and Asuma.

"Good morning Chouji." Naruto said, surprising the Akimichi as he didn't see the blond approaching.

"Oh Naruto, you scared me…good morning as well. Did you see Ino on the way here or Asuma-sensei?" Chouji asked, before Naruto shook his head in the negative.

The conversation ended soon afterward. The two male genins remained in silence, while waiting for the rest of the team. Naruto didn't mind as he was used to being ignored. Chouji however, wasn't, hence why his head began counting the seconds in silence and cursing this situation. His ass was saved, though, when Asuma appeared from a shunshin, carrying a smile on his face. The bearded jounin looked at his team and frowned since one member was still due to arrive. He was worried that, being a fresh out of the academy genin, Ino wouldn't lose his civilian way of thinking. Excuses like 'I took some time choosing what to wear' of 'brushing her hair' was heavily frowned upon. Not to mention the fact that it would ruin the images of kunoichis.

Ino appeared twenty minutes late to the meeting with an excuse that she had to wait for her hair to dry, before going outside. Chouji sighed at the girl's antics, so did Asuma. Naruto, though, kept it to himself, not bothered one bit at such a sad and pathetic behavior.

===Training Ground 10===

Afterward, the group went towards one of the training grounds. Asuma ushered everyone to sit around him as he explained the team's routine from now on. He spent all day last night, wondering about what to teach these kids and he managed to conjure a training regimen that could benefit them greatly.

"Ok Team, first of all, I'd like to run by you our timetable until one of you becomes a chunnin or something happens that would force this team to be separated. We will start our meetings here every day at 0800 hours and I mean everyone Ino. For each delay, there will be a suitable punishment waiting for you. Now, we'll train until ten and then we'll go to the Hokage to get missions. It would be nice to settle a routine of two or three missions a day. Experience is everything in the ninja world and I want all of you to be as ready as possible. Now, regarding training, I'll set each one of you against one another in taijutsu battle, in order to see your skills and see where you need improvement. First, it's Naruto against Chouji."

The two boys of the team nodded, before falling into battle positions.

Chouji, assuming that he had the advantage in strength, quickly attacked Naruto with a straight side punch, aiming for Naruto's face. However, his speed didn't compare to Naruto's and the blond dodged the strike before Chouji could blink and landed a fierce punch on his stomach. Asuma noticed that the punch was laced with chakra, hence why Chouji lost his air instantly. He was on the ground, holding his stomach. Getting pissed off Chouji used his partial expansion jutsu, before trying his luck once more against the stoic Naruto. However, like before, Naruto just twisted his body, before landing a reverse kick on Chouji's chest. Ino was pissed upon seeing Naruto treating her friend like a punching bag and demanded that Asuma punish Naruto.

"Naruto, this is just a spar, you shouldn't have used such force against your teammates." Ino showed her arrogant smirk towards the blond, but Naruto instead went to his teammate.

"My apologies Asuma-sensei, are you alright Chouji?" Naruto apologized, surprising Chouji a bit, hence why he nodded and smiled at the blond. Asuma was surprised at the concern, before telling Naruto to face Ino in combat, while Chouji rested. Ino showed her arrogant smirk once more as in her head, she would pound Naruto into the ground for what he did against her friend. Without wasting time, Ino charged like Chouji did. This time, though, Naruto just used his effort in dodging and blocking the weak attacks. Asuma sighed in dismay at the lack of effort required in dodging Ino's attacks. He now had firm knowledge on what to focus on, regarding their taijutsu. Ninjutsu wouldn't be much of an issue, seeing as Ino and Chouji had their clan techniques. Naruto was the only one he could teach elemental jutsu, but he figured that increasing the blond's taijutsu would be more beneficial.

"Ok that's enough. I can see that all three of you needs work in perfecting your skills in taijutsu. Chouji, you have the strength needed, but you lack speed. Ino, I'm afraid, lacks speed and strength. Naruto, your taijutsu is the best amongst the three, hence why I'll be your sparring partner. However, you'll be required to fight against your teammates from time to time. Now, would each of you put these bracelets on your wrists, please?" The team nodded, before doing as instructed. Chouji managed to hold his arms still, seeing as he had strong arms. Naruto managed as well, but his unsurprised look showed that he already trained with weights before. He made a mental note to ask Kakashi everything about Naruto's training. When Ino placed the bracelets, though, she was on the floor instantly, cursing Asuma and the bracelets at the same time.

Asuma only smirked at the girl and continued with the explanation.

"These bracelets will serve to increase your strength and speed in taijutsu. It's the best way I know to help you guys. At first, it will be tough, but then you get used to it. Now, the bracelets weighs ten pounds each and in Ino's case, five. I'll be increasing it from time to time, so don't get too comfortable. Now, let's begin the fun…I mean training. Everyone, give me fifty pushups and sit-ups. After that, three laps around the training ground." Ino tried complaining once more, but she realized that doing so would only increase the torture, so she kept her mouth shut.

"You'll get it eventually Ino." Chouji said, trying to encourage her as he and Naruto started the exercise. Getting up alone was the hardest work out she ever performed as she started with the sit-ups.

===Two hours later===

After the end of training, Team 10 was seen walking towards the Hokage Tower for their first mission. Ino, sometime during the training, didn't have the strength and stamina necessary and fainted. That meant that Naruto and Chouji had to rotate in carrying her around, which surprisingly, no one complained. Sure, Chouji wouldn't mind, but Naruto was a surprise. In no time, the team appeared before the Hokage, before Hiruzen expressed his concern over Ino's state of health.

"Asuma, please explain why on the first day of training, one of your genins is already unconscious?" The man's tone was firm, though he was surprised to see that his son was such a slave driver.

"Well, Tou-san, Ino here has very little stamina and strength, hence why I decided to change that, through the usage of weights. She actually handled more than I thought she would. Now, I believe my team is ready for their first mission, is there any available?" Asuma smiled at his father, who in turn just sighed in dismay. He supposed it wouldn't harm anyone since the missions aren't dangerous. It was just chores posed as D-ranked missions. Now that Hiruzen looked at the situation, he smirked at his son's hidden reason. He wanted to see the genins' faces complaining about the missions.

"Ok then, Team 10's first bunch of missions. I managed to separate two missions here that your team could perform today, even considering that Ino won't be doing them. The first mission is to help an old lady who lives far from Konoha. Because of her old age, she can't just come to the village and buy her groceries, so she hired a…"

Both Naruto and Chouji looked at the Hokage like he was an alien.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama…" Naruto said, interrupting the Hokage, who in turn stopped and looked at the blond. "I thought you said we would be doing missions now. Helping an old lady with her grocery is hardly one, to begin with." Naruto concluded, receiving a nod in approval from Chouji. Both Sarutobi laughed at the question, immediately while Iruka looked at Naruto just like he did at the academy. It was the Hokage who decided to enlighten the genins.

"It seems you forgot about some lessons given at the academy Naruto-kun. Our shinobi system has five different kinds of missions, going from D to S. D-ranked are reserved for fresh out of the academy genins. Their level of difficulty is practically zero and to most is considered simple chores. C-ranked missions are reserved to experienced genins and low-level chunnins to perform. Most of them are out of the village. B and A-ranked missions are reserved for high level chunnins and jounins. Last but not least, S-ranked, which are reserved to high-level jounins and Anbu. Since your team is composed of fresh out of the academy genins, only D-ranked missions for a while, at least until your sensei deems you guys ready for a C-ranked."

Both genins looked down at the information, but nodded anyway. To Naruto, it only served to inspire him into doing more D-ranked, so that he could ask for a C-ranked later on. Chouji, though, wished that he had a bag of chips right now.

"Okay Team, let's perform these D-ranked mission, then. Tou-san, what's the second mission about?" Asuma asked, before the Hokage grabbed another scroll.

"Training Ground number 42 is littered with kunais and shurikens used by the Anbu. Your team will have to gather them all and deliver to an Anbu member which will be in front of the Anbu Headquarters. She'll be wearing an eagle mask. I trust that Team 10 already knows how to use storage scrolls?" Hiruzen asked. He knew, from Kakashi, that Naruto already learned how and he was positive that every important clan member in Konoha taught their offspring how to use them. The team nodded, before leaving the Hokage's Office. Chouji, getting tired from carrying Ino, passed her to Naruto who positioned her without any complain.

The team slowly walked throughout the populated streets of Konoha towards the market to buy the groceries for their first D-ranked mission. Unsurprisingly, almost everyone looked at the blond with disdain. Chouji noticed this and frowned. The stories he heard was that Naruto meant trouble and that he was present when the Uchiha Clan was murdered by Uchiha Itachi. He remembered that Naruto received a katon jutsu straight at his face, burning his eyes. And because Sasuke was dead, they transplanted his eyes and gave them to Naruto. Chouji wondered, though, why everyone looked at him like he was the plague, based purely on rumors that Naruto helped Itachi in killing the Uchiha Clan.

Last night, he questioned his parents and Shikamaru about it. His father told him that it was important to make his own judgment of Naruto and Shikamaru told it would be troublesome to believe what everyone said. Chouji was quite mad at him when they fought, hence why he started remembering the stories and almost believing them to be true. It all shattered when Naruto came and asked him how he was. Perhaps, Naruto wasn't all that bad. Asuma watched everything from the sideline and he saw that Chouji was in deep thought about everything. He smiled realizing that at least one had the decency to make his own observations, instead of believing in others. Ino, though, he wasn't sure if she would ever change. As the team arrived inside the market, Naruto immediately received glares from the owner and people inside, so he looked at Asuma. The man in question just laid one hand on his shoulder, ushering him and Chouji to pick up the groceries from the list.

As soon as the boys disappeared from view with their shopping karts, Asuma approached the owners, deciding to set things straight, before something bad happened.

"Ok, I noticed how you looked at my student and I won't have any of that" Said Asuma, surprising the couple behind the counter. "He is a human being just like everyone and he'll be treated fairly. If you do not comply, then the Hokage will hear of this and shut down your store. Do I make myself clear?" The fact that Asuma leaked a small amount of killing intent forced the two civilians to nod quickly, not from fear of the Hokage shutting the store down, but for their lives. Afterward, he just stood there in front of the counter as he waited for the two genins with the items requested by the client. It took both half an hour to go over the entire list, before they stopped next to Asuma. The jounin paid for everything, before giving the bag to Chouji, since Naruto was taking care of an unconscious Ino.

As they left the store, Asuma wondered if would be prudent to stop at the hospital after the first mission. Ino was taking too long to wake up and he was beginning to worry. If something happened to her, then both the Hokage and Inoichi would blame him for it. Thankfully, the blond kunoichi stirred on Naruto's back, before opening her eyes. The last thing she remembered was running the laps with the weights and almost closing her eyes. When she noticed that she was being carried by Naruto, she immediately jumped from his back.

"What are you doing to me, you pervert?" Ino shouted, while pointing accusing finger at Naruto. Before Naruto could explain, though, Asuma interrupted him.

"You passed out Ino. Therefore, both Chouji and Naruto took turns in carrying you around. After the training, we went to the Hokage and received two D-ranked missions. The first is almost over and you can help your teammates with the second one." The girl was at first embarrassed at screaming at Naruto calling him a pervert, but then she remembered the boy's reputation and just marched closer to Chouji. The fact that she didn't even say thanks to Naruto for carrying her around was appalling to Asuma and he would definitely talk to her about it when the missions were finished.

Naruto just ignored her and followed behind Asuma as they arrived at the old lady's house to deliver the groceries. When the door opened up, the old lady appeared. She wore a black and red kimono and had the warmest smile. However, when she saw Naruto, she narrowed her eyes, before grabbing the groceries from Chouji's hand and shutting the door with as much force as possible. Once more, Naruto ignored it and walked away. Chouji, though, wondered why such a sweet old lady would look at Naruto like that. Ino, though, didn't care and followed Asuma. As he followed the team, Chouji looked at the blond and wondered why he wasn't bothered by how the others were looking at him.

He acts like he doesn't care…People gave him the same treatment close to three years now. Maybe, he got accustomed to the situation.

Chouji compared said treatment to everyone calling him fat and was pissed immediately. All of this based on what? A mere rumor and that he now carries Sasuke's eyes? There was something wrong in this picture and he somehow knew it.

===Training Ground 42===

When the team arrived at the training ground, they looked at the mess created by the Anbu. It was like the aftermath of a bloody war, with shurikens, kunais, swords, all types of weapons littered on the ground. Since she wasn't awake at the time, she didn't know what her team was supposed to do.

"Asuma-sensei, what are we supposed to do here?"

Asuma remembered that Ino wasn't awake at the time and he could see her face of horror when she heard of the mission objective. He just wished he had a camera to show Inoichi afterward.

"Well, the mission is simple Ino. We just have to gather everything and take it back to the Anbu." The look on her face was enough to warrant a great deal of laughter from the seasoned jounin and he just wished that he had a photo to remember this moment of pure victory over his genins. "What are you guys waiting for? The sun will be up for about one hour. You have until sunset to collect everything, get to it" He smirked upon hearing Ino's protests. Little by little, the three genins collected a great load of projectiles, before dropping it on top of the huge scroll that Asuma opened to seal everything. Throughout the exercise, Ino's scream was constantly heard by the others, seeing as she tried catching too many kunais and one usually slipped from her hands, cutting her arm. Apart from this, though, the team managed to collect everything just as the sun began its descent.

"Okay team, let's just deliver the scroll to the Anbu officer and go home afterward." Asuma said, as he strapped the scroll on his back and walked casually towards the Hokage Tower, while the genins followed suit. Ino was busy nurturing the kunai wounds from her arms.

"Sensei, can I go home now? I don't have any medical kit with me." Ino asked, earning a nod from her sensei.

"You are free to go, however tomorrow I wish to talk to you Ino, regarding something very important. Chouji, please escort her home, just in case." The two friends nodded, before leaving. Chouji was the only one who told Naruto goodbye, quite surprising to the blond, but he managed to bid Chouji goodbye in return.

"You seem surprised that someone would befriend you, Naruto?" Asuma asked as they walked towards the Anbu Headquarters.

"More like intrigued to the fact that Chouji was the first amongst my age that didn't believe in rumors. Of course, he wouldn't do what he did if he knew the entire truth about me. All he knows is what happened with the Uchiha clan…" Asuma knew what Naruto was talking about and frowned in realization. He saw hope in Chouji's actions, but now that Naruto reminded him, none of them knew about the Kyuubi no Yoko inside the blond. He didn't know how Chouji would react, since the fox killed a great deal of clan members from the Akimichi Clan.

"Now, I assume you had a reason for sending Chouji along with Ino? Her wounds weren't life threatening…"

Huh, this kid…he's like a miniature Kakashi.

"I just wanted to see how you're handling your interaction with your teammates. From what Kakashi told me, this is the first time you interacted with anyone your age and Ino's behavior was beyond disappointing." Asuma wanted to assure Naruto that he would be there for him in that regard. Naruto must know that he could count on him and even Chouji in the future. Who knows, maybe the fact that Naruto was a jinchuuriki wouldn't bother the Akimichi so much. Naruto, though, remained neutral to the question. It didn't bother him that Ino couldn't see beyond what was told to her.

"There's nothing to worry about Asuma-sensei, I'm perfectly fine." Asuma frowned at the lack of will to talk about the subject, but figured that just pressuring his student would be counter-productive to his goal.

Therefore, the two walked in silence and arrived in front of the Anbu Headquarters as soon as the sky changed its color to black. A lone Anbu was there, with the eagle mask just like the Hokage said. It was clearly a woman by the size of her long dark blue hair. Naruto was quite surprised at the size of it. It went all the way to her thighs. Not to mention that Naruto saw great development while sizing her out, on a subconscious level. Asuma only smiled at the blond, after seeing the boy staring at the kunoichi Anbu. The boy may be a bit reserved for his age, but he at least he had hormones like any normal member of the species. He now knew that what he could talk to him about. The Anbu for her part looked at the brat in front of her and didn't enjoy that he was drooling at her.

"Hey little brat, either you stop staring at me, or I'll make you!" Her tone was harsh and the blond complied instantly, although he didn't know what he did wrong. How could he? The majority of his interaction with other women was carrying an unconscious Ino around.

"Okay Eagle, here is the scroll with your weapons. I'm sure my student here won't do it again, right Naruto?" He didn't know much about things in general, but he knew when it was time to simply nod and play dumb. The kunoichi Anbu nodded and vanished soon afterward, with the scroll. Asuma smirked at his first day as a jounin-sensei. He had some mental shots taken of his genins doing D-ranked missions. He already scared one of them with his method of training and now he saw his incredibly skilled genin drool at an Anbu Kunoichi. If this day were any better, Kurenai would appear, asking for a date. Looking at the blond, he just dismissed the blond for tomorrow, before he turned and left. The blond kept thinking about what happened and wondering what he had done wrong. One thing that I would agree with that Shikamaru person…women are troublesome; first Ino, now this Anbu kunoichi.

As soon as he turned to go home, he saw both Kakashi and Kasumi walking towards him while holding hands. As soon as Naruto saw the pair, He greeted them and, immediately, engaged in a conversation. Naruto started talking about his day and the joy of D-ranked missions. He cursed both for not warning him ahead of time, while Kakashi and Kasumi smiled. Naruto also told him about his teammates and how, surprisingly, Chouji bid him goodbye, genuinely. The jounins, like Asuma, were happy that at least one was able to look past the rumors. It certainly was a work in progress, but perhaps, Naruto may end up with at least someone he could call a friend.

"I'm glad that not everyone your age believes in rumors, so what about the other teammate, the Yamanaka?" Kasumi asked, practically knowing the answer to her own question.

"She is the same as the others, though I'm not bothered by her actions. So, are you two on a date?" Both Kakashi and Kasumi acknowledged the blond's attempt of changing the subject, but none of them pressured him. They both knew that when it came to personal questions, Naruto preferred avoiding them all the time. Still, if he wanted to improve as a shinobi, Naruto would have to learn how to socialize a little better, seeing as he would be tagged with other ninjas for missions in the future.

"Kakashi promised to take me out for some sushi." The blond smiled, which was a rare feat in itself. In fact, Kakashi and Kasumi were the only ones to whom Naruto had intimacy with.

"Well, don't let me keep you, then." Both jounins nodded and said their goodbyes to Naruto, who in turn went to his small apartment. He had a scroll full of earth techniques and a bucket of instant ramen waiting for him back home.

===The next day===

Naruto woke up at the same time as yesterday for his kenjutsu practice. However, upon arriving at the training ground, he saw a Kunai on a tree nearby, holding a note. Upon close inspection, Naruto sighed seeing as it was a note from Tori. Apparently, his team was busy all day and he wouldn't have time to spar with Naruto. Naruto shrugged it off and placed his sword inside a scroll he took that was inside his kunai holster. Seeing as his plan had changed, Naruto decided to practice the earth techniques he studied last night. Until now, Naruto learned to use doton ninjutsu only for defensive purposes. The inner decapitation jutsu wasn't exactly offensive, as the only thing he did was trapping the enemy below the ground. The scroll, elaborated by Kakashi, related C and B-ranked earth techniques for him to learn. Last night, he focused his attention on two:

Doton Doryuusou (Earth Release: Earth Rising Spears Technique)

Doton Ganban Kyuu (Earth Release: Rock Plate Coffin Technique)

Both techniques required expanding his chakra throughout the ground towards a specific area, meaning he couldn't do both techniques in mid-air or on top of a lake, for instance. He could either slam both hands on the ground or use his feet, though he figured that using his feet would be faster in the middle of the battlefield. He just needed to use the tree walking exercise in conjunction to molding earth chakra. Another problem was the enemy's distance and how to use the technique accordingly. Immediately going over the hand seals, Naruto tried the first one. However and much to his frustration, only one single spike erupted from the ground and right in front of him. He needed to focus on two things, how many chakra would be needed for a full ten spikes, like the scroll said and how to make it erupt further away. This time, pumping more chakra, he smiled upon seeing eight spikes erupting from the ground in front of him. He recorded the amount of chakra needed and tried once more. This time, he tried using his hands on the ground and expanded his chakra throughout the earth and was surprised when the spikes erupted close to ten meters away from him.

The blond supposed it was a work in progress as he now changed to the second technique. The second one, like the first, demanded the distance control. However, he didn't need to focus on molding the earth into spikes.

The technique consisted of creating three plates of rock, before sending them into collision course with one another. The unlucky enemy would be crushed immediately. It required a long series of hand seals, though, but by a difference of three hand seals. After finishing the sequence with the snake hand seal, Naruto smiled upon seeing the pillars of rock emerge from the ground and crashing with one another. The distance part of the technique required more practice, but at least he managed to mold the technique accordingly. With the second one almost covered, the blond returned to the first technique for a while. He was happy upon managing to use his feet, instead of his hands, to send chakra below ground, however no matter how much he tried, he couldn't mold the spikes and make them erupt at a distance at the same time.

Deciding that it was enough training for doton, Naruto now went through his fire techniques. It was important to learn new ones, but it was also important to practice the ones he already knew.

===Team training===

Two hours later, Naruto went to the training ground where he met his team for training. Chouji and Ino were already there, but only Chouji greeted him. Naruto, however, greeted both, but Ino only snorted in annoyance.

Naruto wondered if perhaps questioning her about the reason behind her behavior would change anything, but shrugged it off once Asuma arrived.

"Good morning my sweet little genins; it's nice that you graced us with your presence early this time Ino. Now, seeing as Ino can't take the regime from yesterday, her workout will be reduced for the time being. Therefore, Chouji and Naruto will do the full circuit while Ino will do half. Afterward, we are going to do an interesting new exercise." Naruto, Chouji and Ino started their exercises without complaining this time. Ino finished hers faster, since Asuma reduced her workout. He did this for two reasons. First, he didn't want her to faint once more and second, he wanted to talk to her about Naruto.

"Nice work Ino, now I'd like to have a word with you while the boys finish their exercises." Ino nodded, though a part of her knew that she wouldn't like the subject.

"What did you want to talk about Asuma-sensei?"

"Ino, your behavior towards your teammate reached my attention and I'd like to know why you treat Naruto the way you do?"

Ino knew that this time would come. After all, she never tried hiding her feelings against her teammate. Asuma was looking at her and the look of disappointment was evident. She just smiled, though, and innocently asked.

"What about my behavior towards Naruto, Asuma-sensei?" The bearded shinobi hardened his gaze towards the blonde kunoichi, causing her to back off slightly.

"As sensei of Team 10, it's my duty to prepare you three to the best of my ability so that if any need arise, you guys would be able to trust each other, thus protect each other. This is the base of Konoha's strength and it won't change anytime soon. Why do you treat him like he's just a plague that walks among us, when he never did anything to you?"

"Of course, he did nothing to me, sensei. But he was there when the Uchiha Clan was slaughtered. He was there and killed everyone, along with Uchiha Itachi. I can't believe that people are allowing him to roam among us, after what he has done. I also can't believe that you're even asking why I treat him like this" The way she spoke carried such confidence that it looked like she knew the truth.

Asuma's respect for the Yamanaka Clan just lowered a couple notches.

"Ino, how do you know what really happened that night?" The first question caused her to wonder, but Asuma continued. "Did you witness the events?" To the second question, Ino only responded with a timid head shake, saying 'no'. "So how can you be so sure that Naruto was the one who killed the Uchiha Clan? He was the same age as you at that time; he was but an academy student with dead-last grades and pretty much half the village wasn't sure if he would ever manage to pass the academy. Therefore, how could he defeat not one member but the entire Uchiha Clan?"

Now that Ino thought about it, she never once bothered to learn the real truth of what happened. She just trusted what perhaps the entire village talked about. And surprisingly, everyone had the same opinion of what happened. Asuma saw that he managed to show his point to the young Yamanaka, so now it was time to soften the blow and close his argument. It was never his intention to slam the truth to her face, but rather train her mind to think like a shinobi. Of course, he wasn't expecting to change her mind over this matter so soon. After all, you just don't change your way of thinking overnight.

"Ino, I'm not saying that you should never believe what others say about something or someone. I only ask that you interpret the situation like a shinobi. It's always nice to ask questions and you must always see the variables of the situation. Chouji made the same mistake you had and right now, he's questioning his beliefs as well. If you wish, you could ask Naruto about it. I'm sure he'll provide you what really happened to him and why he was there at the time of the slaughter. Now, I believe the boys already finished their exercises, so if you wish, we can talk later".

She nodded, just as Chouji and Naruto appeared by her flanks. All three of them eyed Asuma as he had a smile on his face.

"As I was telling Ino, Konoha's strength is based on our teamwork, it's our ability to work in teams that we managed to survive this long as the strongest hidden village of the elemental nations. Therefore, today, we'll be training Team 10's teamwork skills. For that, you three will be facing your sensei, together. The objective of the exercise is to land a hit on me. Now, you three will have ten to fifteen minutes to talk between you, regarding your skills and to settle on a strategy against me. Remember; though, in the battlefield, the enemy won't give you time to plan ahead. I'm just doing this because it's your first time fighting together. We'll be doing this exercise two times a week. Now, feel free to talk and then let me know when you wish to begin."

As soon as Asuma stopped talking, he saw the three genins huddling up, what he could imagine, in order to discuss their strategies.

Ino, Chouji and Naruto looked at each other, not entirely sure of what to talk about. Naruto never had much interaction with people his age other than the occasional greeting. Chouji was slowly adapting to the fact that Naruto may not be what everyone say. Ino, although conflicted with herself, wasn't necessarily convinced that she was wrong. Sure, she answered 'no' to every of Asuma's questions regarding Naruto's involvement that night. Now, if he was actually innocent as few said he is, then why did the majority of the population consider him guilty of something that wasn't proven? As a passionate gossiper, Ino enjoyed digging into people's lives. The only problem was that she was too trusting in what others said and didn't investigate it further to discover whether or not Naruto was responsible for the vile act made against the Uchiha Clan. So, she supposed that for now, she would give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Alright then, since we don't know each other that well, aside from the fact that Chouji and I practically grew up together, I suppose it's best for each to tell our skills. Naruto, you go first." Naruto narrowed his eyebrows, at first, but shrugged it off.

"I have knowledge of fire and earth jutsu and a limited knowledge on genjutsu. Taijutsu against Asuma-sensei would be irrelevant. Also from what I understood from both the Yamanaka and Akimichi Clans, you two work well together, so it would be prudent to devise a strategy using your coordinated prowess. In which the case being close, mid or long range, I can provide the necessary support." Naruto didn't much care about sharing custody over the team's leadership or berate the people he was going to work together with for quite a while. The least he could do, then, was to be supportive and not exert his superiority in skills. Ino and Chouji, though, looked at him like he was saying non-sense. Elemental ninjutsu was so far out of their reach of knowledge, so they wondered how Naruto knew two elements. Nevertheless, they figured that, if Naruto was telling the truth, then they had an advantage over their opponent.

Fifteen minutes passed and Asuma was alone in the middle of a clearing, with his arms crossed. It was hard to predict which sort of attack would come from this team, seeing as all three of them were different from the other. Chouji had his brute strength and the Akimichi Clan jutsus, which focused on expanding their body parts and using it to attack the opponent. Ino's clan techniques were more focused on the mind, or rather the opponent's mind. Both Ino and Chouji, even together, would be ineffective against someone with knowledge on their techniques. Ino's techniques are restricted and so were Chouji's. Without a third party to back them up, surely one of them would be dead in the battlefield. Here was where Naruto came in, he supposed. Being a jack of all trades as he believed the kid to be, he could adjust to any strategy the team might conjure. In all fairness, the blond was an Uchiha with limitless amount of chakra.

All of a sudden, five projectiles appeared in his line of sight, before he grabbed one of his and deflected the projectiles effortlessly. He didn't have to wait long, before he saw Chouji expanding his entire body and rotating towards him like a tank. Asuma was about to jump away from the technique when he sensed two hands grabbing both his legs, before bringing him underground. Asuma looked at the approaching tank and used a simple replacement technique to get out of the way. He didn't have much room to breathe, before more kunais and this time shurikens came at him. Focusing on a simple wind technique, Asuma focused a small draft of wind in front of him that blew the projectiles away, just as he saw Ino from the corner of his eyes, forming the sign for the Shintenshin no Jutsu and dodged slightly with a smirk, while charging straight at the frightened Ino, who saw her attack being dodged so easily.

Before he even began to reach within striking distance, Naruto suddenly appeared in front of her doing hand seals, before transforming the air gathered inside his lungs into fire.

Katon Dai Endan (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

Asuma winded his eyes as soon as he was enveloped by the technique, since Naruto couldn't have known such a strong fire technique. He made a mental note to have a serious conversation with Kakashi, once this was over. All the man said was that Naruto only began learning elemental ninjutsu. Asuma wasn't able to ponder further when a giant fist came straight at him. He managed to dodge the attack, before he charged Chouji with plain taijutsu once more. However, once more Naruto proved that Kakashi was just screwing with him. Asuma was about to attack Chouji, when three earth pillars circled Asuma. The seasoned jounin knew which technique this was from previous fights against Rock-nins. He knew what usually happened right after the pillars surrounded the enemy and he didn't want Naruto to have any ideas. The man found it reasonable to end the exercise, unless the blond wanted to test more dangerous techniques against him.

"Okay, that's it for now guys. Great job all of you, managing to fight as a team is hard work and you three managed to impress me. However, if this was a real fight, then I wouldn't be as passive as I was just now. Next time, I'll increase the stakes a bit. However, you three are on the right track. Ino and Chouji work well together and for what I've seen, you acted as their support from afar, right Naruto?" The question was more like an affirmation, but Naruto nodded anyway. "Now, let's go and take some missions with the Hoka…" Asuma stopped when he heard Chouji's stomach growling like a beast.

"Well, I believe it's best if we had some lunch, first. To the Barbeque Place, then" Naruto and Ino weren't as enthused as Chouji upon hearing that they would have some lunch, which earned a warm laughter from Asuma.

The team started out rough, but they were on the right track now. Even though Ino and Chouji had their reservations concerning the events that surrounded the Uchiha Massacre, both managed to set that aside and work together with someone they always believed as being a criminal. Asuma sure had his work cut out for him, but after watching the fight, he knew that, in the right circumstances, team 10 could very well be a force to be recognized in the future. Tonight, he would conjure a different set of training for each of his three genins. I did the right thing, asking Tou-san for a team of genins.

Author Note

For those who believed that the story would be drama and angst the entire time, thought wrong. Like always, things gets worse, before it gets better.

Now that Ino and Chouji are wondering about the real truth behind Naruto being at the Uchiha Clan, their interaction will improve with time. Of course, there will be obstacles up ahead, but nothing that a team can't manage together.

Furthermore, who is the Anbu and what relation she'll have with the story? That's an answer for a later date.

Tell me what you think.

See ya!