{Land of Fire, Konohagakure, Hokage Tower.}
March 14th.
Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma stood before Hiruzen as they gave their reports on their students' success in passing their tests.
Each Jonin gave their account of the events that transpired and how well off they were as a team until it was only Kakashi who had yet to give his report.
Both Asuma and Kurenai had their arms crossed, waiting to hear the infamous they failed my test that they heard Kakashi usually gives. Kakashi seemed to be pondering something before deciding to cut to the chase.
"Well. they passed... but barely," Kakashi said slowly, and the Jonin in the room all looked interested.
"You passed your team?" asked Kurenai in surprise. I figured that with having a class clown and a fangirl, they'd give you a hard time.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. 'I did too, ' he thought as he stared at a subtly smug Hiruzen. 'This old man surely knows about Naruto.'
Hiruzen nodded. "It's good to hear that the students passed your test successfully. I was afraid you'd once again fail another team like before. So tell me, how did they perform?
"Sasuke did as well as to be expected for the rookie of the year. "said Kakashi. " He shows promise in taijutsu and the fundamentals of the shinobi arts, setting traps, and the like. He even showed he has access to his clan's right of passage jutsu, the fireball jutsu. Admittedly, I overlooked this bit in his file because I didn't think he had the reserves to use it in combat. It seems I was wrong.
"Sakura on the other hand is a fangirl. She showed no talent for the shinobi arts save for her book smarts, which she failed to use when confronted with any real danger. She is the weakest link and needs the most work.
Kakashi paused for a moment before taking in a breath. "As for Naruto, he's... strange. The academy records explained that he was a bit of a loudmouth from time to time and had a positive attitude, if not a bit aloof. But the incident seems to have affected him more than what was anticipated. It didn't stop him from performing well on the test, but it was a huge factor.
Hiruzen raised a brow. "how so?
"He was cautious of me," Kakashi continued." Very cautious. This is a good thing in most cases, but in this one, I feel that he may be insecure about his own ability. He didn't engage me personally until Sasuke was added to the mix.
Hiruzen was interested in this bit. "and? How did he do?
Kakashi shrugged. "He did okay. He didn't make himself the center of attention and worked alongside Sasuke perfectly. I was truly surprised. He's a bit more talented than I initially gave him credit for, and we may need to do a separate assessment to find out how well he actually performs when put under pressure." Kakashi finished with a thoughtful hum.
Hiruzen chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "very well. I'm glad to see that the three of you have taken up your own teams. I need not say more since I've already lectured you on the importance of their growth, especially to you Asuma. I know you're tired of hearing the same thing.
The man looked amused as he nodded, and with that, they were dismissed—except for Kakashi.
"Kakashi. a word?
When the other Jonin exited the office, Kakashi closed the door, and Hiruzen stood, walked over to one of the office windows, and looked outside. "how well did he do on your test?
Kakashi was silent for a good moment before giving his answer. "Naruto can use wind release and has fuinjutsu at his disposal. He's fast—faster than Sasuke and hits harder. Though his form is unorthodox and could use work, he's the strongest on my team without a shadow of a doubt. To what extent is what I'm trying to grapple with?
Hiruzen stared out at his ninja village as silence filled the room once more, and was only broken when Kakashi spoke. "does he know about... them?
Hiruzen turned around. "he knows about his mother and the Ninetails. That's all.
"who trained him to use wind style? Was it you?" asked Kakashi.
"no," replied Hiruzen. " Jiraiya has taken to teaching him some ninjutsu. I don't know the extent of what he knows, but Jiraiya assures me that he hasn't overdone it with the boy, save for the shadow clone jutsu.
Kakashi nodded. "is that all?
Hiruzen nodded. "you may go. take care of them, Kakashi.
Kakashi gave a simple wave in response and exited the office.
Line break.
{Land of Fire, Konohagakure, Training ground 4}
the next day.
Team 7 hit the ground running when it came to their training since the first thing he had them do was practice the Mangi formation. It would help them learn to defend themselves not just against an assault from shuriken and kunai but also to defend others as well.
He felt that it would help in their teamwork and in their ability to communicate since that's also required. For this to work.
The kids followed Kakashi into the woods, going deeper and deeper until it was dense enough for Kakashi to be satisfied.
"All right now. said Kakashi. "the goal is simple. As you were taught in the academy, the purpose of a defensive formation is to defend not just yourself but others around you properly.
The genin nodded, and Kakashi's eye smiled. "Okay, then. The first exercise we'll try out is the Manji formation. You get into a triangular formation and hold there, but also keep your eyes and ears open for danger.
Sakura raised a hand.
Kakashi sighed. "yes?
"you want us to get in the formation and... hold it?
Kakashi nodded." correct.
Sasuke raised a brow but complied, along with his two companions.
The three genin got into a formation, and Kakashi walked between them and placed a plushie doll in the middle.
"Ok. Whatever you do, don't let a single thing happen to the doll. Understood?
The group understood precisely what was going on at that very moment. "got it!" they yelled in unison.
Kakashi smirked and left them alone there.
Sakura looked distracted the instant Kakashi left the field, staring at her crush, and Sasuke grit his teeth in frustration. 'she better not screw this up, or I'm going to lose it.' he thought angrily.'
They waited there, tense and ready for anything. but after a good few minutes, they wondered if Kakashi had simply left them there.
Then it happened. A shuriken raced towards Sasuke's flank, and the Uchiha whipped out an extra kunai and began furiously deflecting the shuriken, trying to ensure the doll wasn't harmed.
Sakura looked shocked and was amazed at how well Sasuke was doing. so much so that she didn't see a shuriken race past her and hit the plushie.
Naruto heard the toy squeak and turned to see that the toy was compromised.
"Really Sakura? Are you kidding me?" Sasuke growled, causing the girl to wince.
Naruto sighed and watched as Kakashi walked out of the woods. "Well now, that's disappointing. I guess we'll try again then. Pay close attention Sakura, because if that were a baby, they'd be quite dead.
Sakura paled, and Naruto shook his head at the notion and spoke up. "Keep your eyes open Sakura.
Sakura glared at the blonde, and Kakashi sighed. "let's try this again.
And they did. But every time they seemed to be on a roll, Sakura seemed to fail, either not being fast enough to deflect the shuriken or simply being distracted when Kakashi's clones would halt their assault on them, and Sakura would get a false sense of relief.
Sasuke was evidently annoyed that they couldn't finish this exercise because Sakura couldn't focus. He'd send a glare every time she slipped up, and she would take notice and feel ashamed.
Even when she focused this continued, and they failed enough times that Kakashi put a stop to it.
"All right now, that's enough," said Kakashi.
They got out of their position and watched their sensei come out of his spot, the sound of shadow clones dispersing sounding out in the forest.
Sakura looked dejected at this point, and Sasuke was ready to go home.
Kakashi looked at Naruto and saw little in his expression. he seemed to want to help Sakura, but was likely keeping his distance.
As the three left the clearing, Kakashi thought of another solution to this problem: ' OK. I'm going to have to work with Sakura individually. She has a lot of catching up to do. As for Naruto... I'll need him to showcase his power. And there's no better time than now.
"OK. We'll work on this exercise tomorrow. Go get some rest. "said Kakashi in a bored tone.
Sasuke turned to leave immediately, and Sakura was hot on his tail. But when Naruto went to follow, Kakashi planted a hand on his shoulder.
"hang on there. I need you to stay behind for a bit.
The other two genin turned to their sensei curiously, and Naruto was just as perplexed as his teammates.
"I want to have a little talk with Naruto if you don't mind.
"all right then." Sasuke said as he walked off.
"I'll see you sensei," Sakura said as she raced after Sasuke.
That left Naruto with Kakashi.
"so, how are you feeling Naruto? Asked Kakashi.
"I'm doing ok. Just a little tired.
Kakashi tilted his head. "as in drowsy?
Naruto shrugged. "can't seem to get any sleep.
"Interesting. Well, I hope you don't mind exerting yourself a bit more. I want to see just what you are capable of.
Naruto tilted his head. "right now?
The response he received wasn't what Naruto had hoped for. One moment, Kakashi was lax with his hands in his pocket, and the next, his foot grazing Naruto's nose, Naruto leaning away from the sudden attack right on time before flipping back to get some distance.
That distance was closed fast, and the boy was forced to cross his arms to block a knee to the chest that sent him some feet back.
The boy was getting angry and trying to understand what Kakashi was playing at. But before he could question, he was sent a barrage of shuriken from the Jonin, much more than most genin could handle.
It was here that Kakashi knew he was dealing with something quite different when Naruto ran into the path of shuriken while deflecting them and jumped into the air to deliver a descending palm strike.
The Jonin sidestepped him and avoided a follow-up sweep kick from the Genin.
Avoiding Naruto's flurry of punches and kicks, Kakashi removed a hand from his pocket and caught Naruto's before pulling him into a knee attack that sent Naruto flying back a few feet.
The genin was sent rolling across the ground, flipping onto his feet fast enough to confront a charging Kakashi. To Kakashi's surprise, Naruto had been performing hand signs mid-tumble.
"Wind style: air bullets!" yelled Naruto and Kakashi's eyes widened in shock.
Kakashi blurred out of the way of the invisible attack as it blew holes into the ground that would have definitely maimed him.
'A B-rank wind Jutsu. his ninjutst is far more advanced than i thought.' Kakashi mused in his head.
"is that your strongest jutsu?" asked Kakashi.
"I think so.
Kakashi nodded. 'So physically, he is no different from Sasuke. But his ninjutsu is far more advanced, and his understanding of fuinjutsu is probably better than even mine. Is there anything else I'm missing?' he thought to himself before asking Naruto himself. " What else is there?"
"I know a bit of kenjutsu, but it's useless compared to my taijutsu, so yeah," Naruto replied.
Kakashi nodded. "ok. I apologize for springing all that on you. i needed a measure of your strength before i could properly decide what to do next. Is there a way for you to showcase what you know and don't know?
Naruto gave a sigh. "yup. Sit tight.
Naruto would go on to show Kakashi the notes and scrolls Jiraiya sent to him, as well as a list of the Jutsu he's familiar with.
"So, for Wind style, you know wind stream, wind cyclone, wind bullets, and wind pulse? "Kakashi asked.
Naruto nodded, and Kakashi shook his head and looked at his water scroll. "just toad bullet and toad gun?
Naruto shrugged. "water style is harder for me to learn for some reason.
Kakashi sighed. "how long did this take?
Naruto shrugged. "for each jutsu, it was about a week with shadow clones. Two to three for the water jutsu.
Kakashi's eyes widened. ' Of course. Shadow clones. And With the amount he can make, he's cutting the learning time by at least many times. This kid could rival Jonin status in a few years—or less.
" I understand where you need development now. it seems taijutsu is what me and you will be working on.
Naruto was rubbing his shoulder and chest, checking for any potential bruising as he listened. "cool. anything else?"
Kakashi waved him off. "No, That's all I need. Thank you for showing me. Go home and rest up.
Naruto nodded and headed off while Kakashi scratched his head. 'So, for Sakura, I need to start from scratch. Naruto needs taijutsu, and Sasuke needs his Sharingan. Well now, it seems that I lucked out, save for Sakura.
Line break.
{Land of Fire, Konohagakure, Hokage Tower }
March 18th, Nightfall. Three days later.
It wasn't a rare thing for Hiruzen to be caught up on paperwork. He would skim past anything mundane and unimportant and move on, sometimes stamping at random when he felt he knew what he was reading. It was rare, but a weakness for most Hokage who are tired of the same thing repeatedly. There were plunders where he'd been forced to attend a meeting here and a conference there due to him approving something on accident, but it worked itself out. But on a night like this, he was reminded why it's important to be careful what you stamp.
The old man sighed as he stared at the approved meeting of Haruno Sayuri, his signature and all.
'Surely, I wasn't paying attention when I stamped this. ' he thought bitterly.
For three days, he'd received a complaint from Ms. Haruno at a different time of day: one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening.
What was the Nature of these complaints, you might ask?
Naruto.
When Sayuri found out her daughter would be stuck with Uzumaki Naruto, she was mortified. Her daughter, her precious angel, was forced to be with that monster? she would have none of it! She filed for three days and waited, but no response. Now, she has decided to confront him on the matter in person. And he accidentally approved the meeting.
His assistant knocked on the door and Hiruzen called out for her to come in.
"Ms. Haruno is here to see you, Lord Hokage.
Hiruzen gestured, and Sayuri walked in, the door closing behind her.
The woman bowed and sat. "thank you for taking the time to hear me," she said.
Hiruzen smiled. "of course, Ms. Haruno. What brings you here?
The woman cleared her throat. "as you know, my daughter has recently graduated and become a full-fledged genin, but as you also know, my daughter will be working alongside Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, who, as I have recently learned.
Hiruzen didn't say anything, so she continued. "I am requesting that my daughter be placed on another team or that it be done for... Uzumaki Naruto.
"Denied. Is that all?
Sayuri furrowed her brows and shook her head. "of course it's not! Naruto Uzumaki is a danger to my only child! he holds something that could harm her if not carefully managed!
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. He could hear her husband speaking through her just then. After all, the man is a shinobi and likely had her word it in a way where she wouldn't be seen as an ignorant civilian. But Hiruzen knew better.
Hiruzen folded his hands on the desk and took a breath before speaking. "Ms. Haruno, you must understand that once a team roster is in place, it can't be switched around unless it is for a more pressing issue.
Sayuri furrowed her brow. "I see this as a pressing issue. That boy may get her killed-
"And if it happens, then it is that." Hiruzen cut her off. " It is the same if Uzumaki Naruto dies or Uchiha Sasuke; it is no different for any of them. They are shinobi now and are expected to go through whatever the universe throws at them, and so too shall your daughter.
Haruno stood up. "I want to be heard, Lord Hokage! This is my only child! I will do anything it takes to have her taken off that team! Is it money you want?! Leeway with the Merchant Council?!
Hiruzen shook his head. "My answer won't change, Ms. Haruno. Sakura was placed on the team based on the system we have in place, not me. The only thing I personally did in managing the team was assigning Kakashi to them, nothing more.
Sayuri went to say something, but Hiruzen's hand went up, a touch of killing intent to make the room tense. "you may leave now. I have other matters to attend to.
The woman grit her teeth and turned on her heel, stomping out.
Hiruzen shook his head and pulled out his smoking pipe. 'hopefully, that's the last I'll hear of this.
Line break.
Sayuri stomped into the lobby, where her husband, Kizashi, sat in one of the chairs waiting for her return.
Upon seeing his wife come back down, Kizashi stood up and sighed when she stormed past him without a word. He'd had an inkling that this would be her reaction when they agreed that the best option for them was to have the Hokage take their daughter off of this team, but Sayuri was the one who wanted it more than him.
"I'm guessing he-
"Yes!" the woman cut him off. "Hokage or not, the audacity that man has to say my daughter's life is forfeit is despicable! He didn't even offer a potential solution nor an ultimatum!"
Kizashi fast-walked to keep up with his wife's walking pace, and he replied, "We knew the risks in letting her join the Shinobi Academy.
Sayuri glared at him for that comment. "her getting stuck with a monster was not a part of the risks taken into account! That thing has no business being with my daughter. It should have been executed long ago." she spat as she rounded a corner, leaving a group of startled people behind her.
The man shook his head. He wanted to make a correction, but he felt that letting her talk her anger out would be a good way to cool down. This may have been a blessing anyway. Their daughter spoke of how she wished to be on Sasuke's team for years, so pulling her out of the system would have sown resentment towards them anyway.
'It is what it is' the man thought tiredly. He knew he wasn't getting sleep tonight. Not when his wife needs to vent.
Line break.
{Land of Fire, Konohagakure, Naruto's apartment.}
the next day.
Naruto opened his eyes after a long night of sleep and was actually stunned.
'Finally. ' he thought to himself.
He got out of bed clumsily, a smirk on his face as he made his way to the bathroom to freshen up.
He'd had a rough day talking to his new therapist two days ago, and the same the day after that. But yesterday, he seemed to have found the key to calming his mind and being able to sleep soundly.
He finished washing his face and began his routine of brushing his teeth, washing his hair, and changing into his standard attire.
He made himself a nice breakfast afterward and ate in peace.
After eating, he made his way out the door with some haste, having decided to enjoy himself rather than wait for his late sensei.
As he jogged down the street, he noticed something unusual: a chakra signature fast approaching. He figured it was just a random shinobi in a bit of a rush.
This notion went out the window when he was rammed from behind out of nowhere, and he, along with a green spandex-wearing person, went tumbling.
Naruto groaned in annoyance while holding the back of his head and glared at Lee, who seemed to recover in an instant and ran off, apologizing along the way.
Naruto blinked, having no clue what he said, but assumed he was sorry since the man had run off.
it was then that Tented landed next to him. "are you ok kid?!
Naruto nodded while rubbing his head and checking for blood. "Y-yeah. I'm...- kid? We're the same age.
Tenten smirked and crossed her arms. "actually, I'm your senior. I've been a ninja a whole year longer than you, so you can call me Senpai."
Naruto gave a flat stare, causing Tenten's smirk to grow. "I'm just messing with ya. Come on. Can't you take a joke?
Naruto shook his head and checked his head once again. "why the hell was he running?
"he's doing 100 laps around the district. " she said while rolling her eyes."
"100 laps?!" he said in bewilderment.
"It's his morning warm-up," she replied with a chuckle."
"That's his warm-up?!"
"all right now. Get up," she said as she helped him to his feet. "the name's Tenten. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Naruto nodded and rubbed his eyes. "it's... nice to meet you too... I guess. I'm Naruto Uzumaki.
Tenten nodded, and when she saw Neji pass her, followed by Lee, she paled. "gotta go! I'm behind by a whole lap!
Naruto waved her off with a shake of his head and made his way to their meet-up point.
"you're late Naruto," said Sakura as she sat next to Sasuke on the bench.
Naruto didn't respond to her words as he looked around for Kakashi. 'so he's late again, huh? Then, technically, I'm not late. Very good to know.
Naruto smirked and plopped himself down to start reading his mom's journal.
After an hour, they all became bored of waiting, and though Sasuke tried to ignore Sakura to the best of his ability, he'd had enough and needed an escape.
"Uzumaki. Come spar with me, "Sasuke said while standing.
"oh? you wanna fight me after seeing what i could do during the bell test?" Said an amused Naruto.
Sasuke raised a brow at this. "don't get the big head. You prepared beforehand to get those results, and in a real fight, i'd have the advantage anyway. i have the fire element, and you have wind. do the math.
Naruto smirked. "oh, the ignorance. Ok Sasuke. Let me finally put you in your place.
Sakura frowned. "should we really bother with something like this? We already know the results Sasuke, and Kakashi will be here any minute now.
Sasuke ignored her and walked further into the park they were in, Naruto following close behind.
Sakura just sighed and decided to watch.
"any rules teme?
"None," replied the Uchiha.
Naruto shrugged. "Fine by me then.
And with that, Sasuke got into his clan's stance, and Naruto smirked while getting into his own rough version of his Jiraiya's frog kata form.
The two had a bit of a standoff. As usual, Sasuke wanted Naruto to make the first move, and since Naruto was more than eager to show some aggression towards his rival, he did just that.
He darted towards the Uchiha, and Sasuke, though a bit surprised at how fast Naruto closed the distance, was ready. He blocked the three quick jabs sent his way and weaved under and around some of Naruto's palm strikes before bending back to avoid a chop to the throat. He then proceeded to kick Naruto in the chest to give him some distance, the blow having been blocked by Naruto, the boy crossing his arms to do so.
Naruto skidded back only a few feet before sending a high kick that the Uchiha once again weaved around. Then, Naruto dropped into a low kick to catch the Uchiha from under, and Sasuke lept back to avoid the hit.
Sasuke then saw an opening as the blond rushed him again and lunged, fist at the ready, but the blonde leaned his head to the side last second and caught Sasuke in an arm/shoulder grapple, whirled on his heel, and went to throw Sasuke to the ground.
But the Uchiha was nimble and landed on his feet, catching himself before he could hit his back. Gripping Naruto's arm, he forced himself to twist out of his hold, flipping over, and forcing Naruto to do the same, lest he dislocate his arm.
The two were on the ground, grappling, and Sakura was on the edge of her seat, not expecting Sasuke to have to work for his victory. 'What is going on? C'mon, Sasuke, this is nothing. Get out of this,' she thought to herself as Sasuke was on the verge of getting caught in a chokehold.
Sasuke growled and managed to find the right angle to elbow Naruto in the ribs, and the blonde, not liking that at all, released Sasuke in time for the Uchiha to lift himself up and turn the tide.
Sasuke was met with a kick to the face, though, one strong enough to send him sprawling away from Naruto.
The blonde got up, holding his rib, and smirked at seeing the blood run down Sasuke's nose.
"if this were til first blood, it'd be my win," smirked Naruto.
Sasuke glared and rushed the blonde, Naruto rushing back, and the two once again engaged in a flurry of palm strikes and parries, though Sasuke was making way more contact than Naruto was, and managed to deflect two jabs, slap away Naruto's right hook, and backhanded Naruto.
Naruto was caught by surprise by that blow and received a follow-up kick to the gut that sent Naruto to the ground.
Sakura was staring wide-eyed at the scene as Naruto got up and growled. "Oh, you've done it now!
Naruto darted toward the Uchiha and Sasuke rushed back, performing a spin kick, almost catching the blond on the jaw had he not been fast enough to block with his arms.
Sasuke didn't let up, though, sending a flurry of well-aimed punches that Naruto was having trouble dealing with.
Naruto caught an arm, but another found him in the ribs, sending the boy reeling.
"How does that feel, Uzumaki? Huh? Are you just all bark?
Naruto caught the next jab, and they were in a hand struggle, both boys pushing against each other. But to Sasuke's frustration, Naruto was pushing him back a lot. His feet couldn't seem to grip the ground.
Sasuke's eyes widened at the pressure being put on his hand, the blonde's grip strength being greater than expected, and though he didn't want to, he was wincing and groaning in pain with how much force Naruto was applying.
'why is he so strong?!.' the Uchiha thought.
Sasuke pulled back and head-butted Naruto, and the blonde definitely felt it.. but it seemed it didn't do enough to daze him.
The blonde pulled Sasuke into his knee, and Sasuke reeled in pain, and without any time to recover, the Uchiha was released into a punch that sent him sliding back.
Sasuke held his stomach, and Naruto held his nose, feeling for any bleeding.
Narut seemed to be the first to move again, and Sasuke didn't have the patience to deal with an opponent that could tank through a blow to the face like that.
Sasuke went through hand-signs, and Naruto stopped and did the same.
"Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" yelled Sasuke.
"Water style: toad gun!" yelled Naruto.
The two moves collided, with the jet of water whizzing through the flames and slamming into Sasuke's chest harshly and sending him rolling across the ground endlessly until he stopped and was left dazed.
Sasuke struggled to his feet, holding his stomach, and looked at a smirking Naruto. The flames were dispersed so that the blonde was obviously left unharmed.
'Water jutsu?!' thought an enraged Sasuke.
Sakura rushed to Sasuke's side. "Oh my gosh, Sasuke! Are you ok?!
The Uchiha was back up but fell on his knee, his eyes wide when realizing the damage he had taken was bad.
He held his chest and winced in pain. Terrible bruising. Had his jutsu not muffled Naruto's slightly, he'd be dealing with a fracture or two.
Naruto walked up to Sasuke, a smirk on his face. "It looks like I win Teme.
Sasuke glared up at Naruto with clear annoyance. "that was luck! You never showed that you could use water jutsu! i would have-
"It doesn't matter what you would have done. In a real setting of life and death where the enemy doesn't share intel, you'd be cooked right now." interrupted Naruto.
Sakura stood up, angry at Sasuke's loss. "Naruto! You went too far!"
"No, i proved who's the stronger of us. can't call me loser now, can ya Sasuke?"
Sasuke grit his teeth, his glare intensifying.
"what are you kids doing?" asked a slightly perturbed Kakashi as he made his way towards them. "i told you guys to wait at the park entrance.
Sakura turned to Kakashi with an apologetic look on her face, but Naruto wasn't worried, and Sasuke was seething in anger.
"We were bored waiting for you and wanted to practice," said Sakura.
Kakashi looked at the battered boys and resisted the urge to facepalm. 'this is why i need to sstop being late. If leaving them unoccupied leads to... what's that smell?
Kakashi turned to see burnt grass and scowled under his mask. "what the hell were you kids thinking?" said a now pissed-off Kakashi. "Using ninjutsu without the supervision of a chuunin or Jonin? And in the middle of a public space outside of a training ground?!
The genin all paled, realizing that this wasn't a good look.
"W-we thought we were going to be training here anyway? A-and besides, it was Naru-
"Don't you dare go blaming me Haruno! "yelled Naruto, interrupting Sakura. "it was Sasuke's-
"I don't care who started it!" yelled Kakashi. God, you kids are so negligent. I can't even take you out on your first mission now. Look at you! Sasuke can barely move!
Kakashi put his hand on his head and groaned. 'I hope you're watching Hiruzen. This is why i didn't want to be an instructor. Children can be so stupid.
Line break.
{Land of Fire, Konohagakure, Training ground 4}
April 3rd.
2 weeks later.
Since the sparring incident, the genin never dealt with a late Kakashi again.
They were punished in that the pay they'd receive would go straight to any damage they caused to the park that day, which thankfully wasn't a lot.
Since then, Sasuke has been pushing himself to surpass Naruto. Not that he thought the blonde was definitively stronger since the spars after that have proven that Sasuke is more skilled than the blonde in hand-to-hand, technically speaking.
Naruto is just a beast physically. He's faster and stronger. If he had his Sharingan, it wouldn't matter, and he could run circles around the blonde. Until then, he'd have to deal with someone he deems close to his own power.
Kakashi knew better and kept the two from using ninjutsu on one another whenever they spar.
Right now, Kakashi was working with Sakura alone, drilling her into the ground. It was to the point that she'd drag her legs to bed at night, barely having enough energy to make it down the stairs of her large house for dinner.
Naruto and Sasuke sat on a nearby log, watching as the blonde practiced some kind of exercise with a leaf.
They'd both finished their training and were waiting to be called up if Kakashi needed them to help Sakura with something, to which the Uchiha hoped it'd be Naruto called up instead of him.
Sasuke glanced over at NAruto, and his curiosity got the better of him. "what are you working on?
Naruto crumpled up the leaf and scowled. "I'm trying to unlock my lighting release chakra. It's an annoying process, and I don't understand how I've failed to succeed after so much time poured into this endeavor.
Sasuke stared at him strangely. 'wind, water, and now lightning?
"is it even your affinity?" asked Sasuke. "if not, then you can't expect results for a couple of years or more.
Naruto sighed. "i have a minor affinity for it, so technically speaking i should have it down in maybe a month if i concentrate on this alone.
Sasuke scowled at his answer. Afterward, he said nothing, simply planning a new training schedule in his head.
After their training concluded, they were given their schedule for the next week and went their separate ways.
During the walk to the commercial district, Sakura watched both boys and sighed, at a loss for what to do.
Being on this team wasn't the wonderful experience she had expected it to be.
Sasuke obviously doesn't like her company and does what he can to avoid her. Though she doesn't like Naruto all that much, she has recently come to respect his strength. She is forced to acknowledge that he is as strong as her crush, and she notices that he doesn't fawn over her like he did before.
Where he'd be head over heels and ready to cheer her up after every rejection, the blond would just ignore her. Even now, he hadn't said a word to her today—just a simple hi, and that was all.
'Maybe I was a little harsh on the guy. He wasn't that bad, and I did try to accuse him of starting something he didn't last week. '
"Hey, guys. I think we should do something together. You know, as a team.
Sasuke seemed to think on that idea for a moment since Naruto being there dashes the possibility of it being a date. "yeah, we can train toget-
"No, i mean like, i don't know, maybe we could go to Ichiraku?
Naruto looked at Sakura momentarily. "why Ichiraku?" he said stoically.
"i mean, you like the place, right?
Naruto nodded. "I do, but I'm not in the mood for ramen today.
Sakura nodded, "ok, then-
"Let me stop you right there. I don't want to eat with you. Thanks, but no thanks," said Naruto as he kept walking.
Sasuke raised a brow before shrugging. "I guess that's that, then. See you tomorrow.
Sasuke dashed off onto the rooftops and decided just to book it home.
Sakura was left dumbfounded at how bluntly Naruto rejected her, and a weird feeling crept in.
She didn't like that feeling.
She hated that feeling.
Line break.
End chapter.
{Authors note}
My computer stopped working for a minute. I'm back with chapters back-to-back. Sorry for the wait. I will be taking a short break next week, though—only a couple of days.
land of Waves is up next. This was supposed to be in the same chapter, but i feel that i may need to start isolating them. they are rather long.