Sooooo… No C-rank this chapter, or next chapter... I apologize but there's nothing I can do about it. After all, I just write the characters, they decide the plot…

This chapter is pretty Slice of Life-y so if you're wanting more action, Friday will be the next chapter, and will have much more action. I just wanted to show the growth and camaraderie in this chapter.

Thank you for all the reviews! It's so exciting reading the comments, and I'm not sure why. I love it though, so keep it up! The suggestions for certain aspects have been great, and I am taking them into account! It is a little disheartening to read people say they will stop reading the story if it ends up being NaruHina. I know people say it's 'over done', but they end up together in canon so I don't really see how that is possible (I only have one ship figured out, and it does not involve Naruto or anybody on his team).

This chapter will hit 100 reviews and hopefully boost us to 300 follows! We hit 1k views in a day for the first time last Friday and 15k total!

Team 7 was given three days off in reward for their two weeks in the forest of death. Naturally a day off for them, the boys in particular, wasn't really a day off.

Naruto was busy abusing his clones in exchange for sealing practice and knowledge. He had sent word through toad summon to Jiraiya, and was waiting to hear back to see if he would be allowed to up his training regimen even more. Currently, he wasn't going over the roughly 100 clone training limit he had used in the forest, though they were going for several hours at a time. The unfortunate part of his newly discovered sealing technique, which he was dubbing Ink Release, was that he had to practice each seal he had in his current repertoire. Just because he could make a basic storage seal with his jutsu, didn't mean he could make an explosive tag. The fortunate part was that once he had the technique down, and he had it down, it only took his 100 clones a few hours tops to master a new seal design. In the three days since they left the forest, Naruto had been able to master eight of his seals, as well as two new ones that his clones had learned through reading.

The rest of his training wasn't exactly neglected either. While he wasn't physically developed enough to use resistance seals (they could stunt the growth of chakra coils if used too early in life), that didn't mean he couldn't resistance train. He was using his Ink Release sealing jutsu to put modified storage seals on his body, and then, with the help of his clones, sealing weights into them. The modifications allowed the user to feel the weight of what was sealed, and spread the weight across the entire body. This removed several negative aspects of typical weight training. He wouldn't be encumbered by the bulkness of the weights. The distribution of the weight was even, so it wouldn't affect his taijutsu or running forms when they were removed. The weight could also be added upon with ease. Instead of buying a new, heavier set of weights, he could simply buy another light set to add, or just grab a few rocks. The only real downsides that he could see, was that the weight couldn't be ditched as easily, and it put more stress on his spine than strictly necessary, meaning he had to limit the time per day he could use it. Still, he was making great strides with his speed and strength.

Sasuke was training separately from Naruto, though they were never far from each other while doing so. He had dug into the old Uchiha scrolls that were in the clan head's personal library. He had essentially resigned that Naruto would be faster than him. The Kyuubi healed his muscles from training much too fast and efficiently for Sasuke to be able to keep up, not to mention Naruto was already naturally fast to begin with. Speed wasn't everything though, and while Naruto had his biju, Sasuke had his eyes. Efficiency would be how he counteracted pure speed, but there wasn't a different aspect that the Uchiha was currently focusing on. Genjutsu. That was Naruto's biggest weakness. He was no slouch compared to other genin, he could detect and dispel just about anything C-rank and lower with ease. Some B-ranks and most A-ranks could ensnare him though. He had plenty of chakra output to break them, but his senses could be tricked into thinking he was dispelling with chakra when he actually wasn't. Sasuke was sure that was how Kakashi had gotten him. Sharingan genjutsu could also be notoriously subtle, and he could use it to steer Naruto into decisions that favored him.

The clan scrolls were only accessible with a three tomoe sharingan, a special clan genjutsu that was used on nearly all the clan scrolls to limit who could access them. Sasuke's upgraded hardware opened up many avenues. The sharingan itself was feared for the help it provided it's users, but it was the three tomoe version that made the clan so feared. The insight it granted users was unbeatable. The user could weave genjutsu nearly instantaneously through eye contact. Something as subtle as causing the victim to want to use water style, or as bullish as requiring them to try and stab their own teammate. The genjutsu options were nearly limitless, and Sasuke was intent on learning them.

Hinata was also training, though she didn't have much say in the matter. Her father had been happy that she had passed both of her tests, and with the report her Jonin-sensei, a man he respected, had turned in. He did, however, think that she required more training. Given the status of her two teammates, and the reason the team was put together, it was safe to say that Team 7 would be in the Village, and the rest of the world's spotlight. It wouldn't do for her to embarrass the Hyuga in such a capacity. For that reason, Hiashi Hyuga had once again taken his eldest daughter's training into account. She was still weak, especially compared to her younger sister, who was a Hyuga heiress through and through. Hiashi did note, however, that she wasn't holding back quite so much.

It was at the Hyuga clan compound that Naruto met up with Hinata. The blond had managed to sneak into the dojo reserved for the main house via shadow clone. His clone didn't like what he saw, and ended up sparring with Hinata until the real him could get there. They continued the spar once the flesh and blood version of Naruto arrived. It was clearly written on the clan head's face that he had never seen Hinata fight like that.

Naruto was glad that he and Sasuke could bring out that side of her, but he wished she would do it all the time. He wasn't a fan of the way her clan viewed her. They thought her weak, when he knew she was strong. It was frustrating. He was brought out of his thoughts by the scuffling of Hinata's sandals. Her very new, and much more feminin sandals. In fact her whole outfit was different.

Naruto eyed Hinata analytically. The forest had changed her, just as it had changed him and Sasuke too. She wore the same navy shinobi pants as before, with her kunai holster bandaged to her right thigh. Her shinobi sandals now only had straps just short of her toes and up around her ankle, leaving much more of her foot exposed. They even had a small heel to them, and were much more feminine than her previous pair. She wore the same mesh body armor underneath her jacket, which was where the biggest change occurred.

She no longer wore the baggy cream colored jacket with fur lining. In its place she had on a lavender zip-up jacket, with white sleeves and a white hood. While it wasn't skin tight like a lot of kunoichi's uniforms, it was much more form fitting than before. He could actually see the figure of his Kunoichi teammate. One that was much more developed than he would have thought before they entered the forest.

(A/N: This is just Hinata's outfit from shippuden, though she hasn't grown, has shorter hair, and the necklace. No real crazy changes here.)

Naruto shook his head out of the gutter. The forest tended to dissuade you from the unnecessary. First, he had learned to ditch his sealing kit, though he still practiced as it was a part of the discipline and needed for more complex seals. Then, Naruto had put in an order for new clothing that should be ready any day now, and he suspected Sasuke had too. There was no reason to be surprised at Hinata's change, in fact it was expected. Still though, she looked so much more… girly. Yet stronger at the same time. He liked it.

He returned to his analytical view of his teammate. She had bruises in every exposed area, and no doubt in some of the hidden ones as well. She had grown her hair out a little since joining the team, and it was just starting to reach the top of her jacket. It was the longest that he had ever seen it. Her headband was, as always, hanging from her neck. The jaguar claw necklace was hard to spot. It hung just below the headband, and just above the top of the jacket zipper, right where the cleavage of her breasts would have started, if she chose to expose any. He blushed ever so lightly.

Naruto shook his head again, why was he having such a hard time focusing? She looked tired, like she'd been training for a long time, but he saw the determination in her eyes, and he grinned.

"I like your new outfit, Hinata. It looks really good! And way more comfy than your old stuff too! Do you want me to put any seals on it?" He asked.

Hinata smiled softly in return, her cheeks tingeing pink. "That would be great, Naruto-kun. Thank you."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head in his trademark sheepish motion. "Don't worry about it, Hinata. That's what teammates are for, ya know?"

Hinata only nodded in return. After a few seconds of comfortable silence, Naruto couldn't take the slow pace anymore.

"Alright, we gotta get Sasuke on the way to the training ground, and I am not walking like this. I feel like a freaking turtle crawling through jello. C'mon!" He put his hand on Hinata's shoulder, and formed a half ram seal.

The civilians in the area only saw a few leaves floating behind in place of the blond and his Hyuga teammate. They could only shake their heads at the boy's antics.

—

Team training, the trio had decided, sucked. It wasn't as dangerous as the forest, but there was no down time either. The forest was the forest, it wouldn't change for you. If you're weak, it will eat you alive. If you're strong, it will be a cake wake.

Yamato-sensei's training was the opposite. It started out hard, trying to coordinate between the three of them to best succeed at the tasks. They adapted fast, as they had strong bonds, and a willingness to work together. So, unlike the forest, their sensei adapted. Sasuke wasn't allowed to use his sharingan, Naruto wasn't allowed to talk, and Hinata couldn't use Gentle Fist. The handicaps grew the better they got, and varied depending on the task.

Two weeks of this found them on training ground 7 with Sasuke blind folded, Naruto with a chakra suppression seal slapped over his mouth, and Hinata with her hands tied behind her back. Still, they persevered.

Despite their hatred for their sensei's training, and his slightly sadistic tendencies, they grew fond of the man. He was honest with them, encouraging positive actions, and punishing negative ones. It was quite literally textbook training methods, but after getting to know him, they knew there was no higher compliment than Yamato doing something textbook for you. The man loved his procedures and rules.

The training tasks varied. Sometimes, they had to land blows on him, just like with their first genin test. Sometimes they had to reach an objective, sometimes they had to prevent him from reaching one. Yamato told them it was a simulation for real missions. Often they had to protect 'cargo' while they did them. The cargo was usually Naruto's shadow clone, who popped at the slightest hit from their sensei. Therefore, they accurately impersonated most civilian merchants, who were the main procurers of missions. Today they were trying to steal important 'intel' from an enemy shinobi.

Their communication was mixed. Naruto couldn't speak, so he had to find non verbal ways of communicating. The easy fix was to use hand signs. The team's vocabulary and capability with them had grown immensely since they trekked into training ground 44. The only problem was Sasuke had a blind fold on. They found quickly that the translation of Hinata reading Naruto's hand signs, and speaking them out loud for Sasuke, was just too slow in battle. Because of this, Hinata was forced into a leadership role, at least for this exercise. She was the only one who could both see and speak, so she had to be the one to make the calls. Plus, with her hands tied up, she wasn't much help in the fight anyway.

Yamato had attempted to take away their greatest strengths as a team, so they could better train their weaknesses. Sasuke lost sight, because even without his Sharingan, he had sharp eyes that he relied on too much. His other senses were underdeveloped, at least in comparison to his eyesight and other shinobi skills. He wasn't a natural sensor like Naruto, but that didn't mean that he couldn't sense. He was forced to combine chakra sensing with his other three senses that came in handy while fighting. He couldn't waste jutsu either, which was a habit of his from sparring with Naruto for so long. When your opponent whipped out jutsu after jutsu, it was easy to get caught up in it. Not being able to rely on his strongest sense forced him to be absolutely sure that an attack would land.

Naruto lost his voice and his chakra use. The boy was the unspoken, loud-speaking leader of the team, and the glue that held them together. He was also a chakra powerhouse, and needed some more finesse. He needed to understand what it was like for his teammates to fight, given they didn't have his chakra reserves. If he was to be an effective leader, and someday, Hokage, he needed to feel what the average ninja felt. He couldn't properly command them if he thought they could all go nonstop like him.

Hinata, was handicapped by her clan's styles, and although Jonin-sensei weren't to meddle in clan techniques, nothing was stopping him from showing her it's weaknesses, or teaching her other things. Because of her teammates' handicaps, she was forced to lead. It didn't suit her one bit, but there were times when she would have to make decisions on her own when Naruto or Sasuke didn't have time to, or weren't there. She would be making Chunin in no time too, and would need to be able to lead a team effectively if called upon.

Of course, being Team 7, they found a way to make do. Yamato was beginning to become scared of them. They were all chunin level, in his opinion. The boys were quite a bit higher than entry level, but he hadn't seen them go all out, so the sky was the limit for them. The ANBU training that he was giving them had solidified that their weaknesses wouldn't keep them from the level though.

Hinata was the 'weakest' of course, though her taijutsu skills were the best. Even if she couldn't defeat the boys yet, the personal training with Hiashi, combined with Hinata's renewed effort, had seen to that. She learned quickly, and it didn't take long for her to correct the few mistakes she had. Of course, having Naruto at just about every individual training session was great motivation for her, even if Hiashi had to bribe the blond with ramen to get him there. Yamato still wanted her to learn some techniques that weren't her clan's, so that she would have something to fall back on if an opponent was a counter to her. The Byakugan wasn't infallible, nothing was in the shinobi world. It would be good for her to have strength that wasn't hereditary. Speaking of which, now would be a good time to truly show her that, now that he had some jutsu in mind.

"Break. Take 10, then we'll move to spars." Yamato said. His rhetoric was still short and efficient with them, but some of his emotions had started to leak in, and they could tell he liked being around them.

Sasuke yanked the blindfold off his head, and burned it with a small fire jutsu in a tantrum that academy Naruto would be proud of. Current Naruto made the ram seal and released the chakra suppressing seal on his mouth, before removing the tag itself. The rush of chakra through his system revitalized him. He immediately made 5 clones, who all began talking at once. Hinata giggled as she unbound her hands from behind her back with quick bursts of chakra from the tenketsu on her wrists.

"Naruto-kun, you don't have to make clones to talk just because you had to be quiet for a little while." She giggled again.

"Ugh, Hinata, you have no idea what it's like to go that long without talking. That was an hour!" He yelled, arms waving wildly. "Of course I have to use clones to catch up, or I'll always be behind no matter how much I talk ya know!" She had to focus on what he was saying, as another clone was currently trying to talk with her about the merits of using ramen in place of standard medical techniques. He claimed ten bowls of Ichiraku's could replace a surgery. She couldn't help her giggles, the blond was just so goofy, even when she was sure he was being serious.

Sasuke locked eyes with two of the clones, sharingan flaring, and they were put under a basic genjutsu. He made the two appear like they had bowls of ramen on their head, and they soon began struggling to lick each other's hair in an attempt to get the liquid gold. This left two clones to pester Yamato-sensei about a C-rank mission.

The other thing the trio had agreed on in the last two weeks, was that D-ranks were not fun. Hinata didn't seem to mind them that much, but they made her two teammates much less enjoyable to be around. The two would first complain for an hour about how boring it was and how it was a waste of time. That would then devolve into posturing about who was better at said boring task. They would lock eyes, and the mission would wordlessly turn into a competition. If it was pulling weeds, it was who could pull the most. If it was painting a fence, it was who could paint the most. It was ridiculous stuff to compete over, and the Hyuga didn't get it. It was entertaining enough at times that she didn't complain about them, but she too was beginning to look forward to a C-rank. The confidence she had gained over the last month made her feel like they could handle it.

"It's only been a month, Naruto. No genin team takes a C-rank after a month. You're being trained harder than any other team, and it's still recommended that we wait three." Yamato explained for the 11th time.

"But we're even better than expected and you know that. Hinata and Sasuke have made gigantic strides, and I can do like 200 things at once." He said, referencing Jiraiya's improved clone training limit. Sure after 150 he started to get a bad headache, and 200 could make it blinding if they were active for too long, but he could still technically do it.

"You're not ready." In truth, they were. At least skill wise. More than ready even, given he's view on where their skills rank. They weren't mature enough though. Would Naruto forgo a plan to rush headlong into battle? Would Sasuke ignore an order to fight a powerful enemy? Would Hinata freeze up if she had to land a killing blow? What if they came across a jonin with a team of chunin? It was almost not possible, but C-ranks were C-rank for a reason. Leave the village and things can get dangerous fast. It only took one blade to the proper vital to end a life.

They either had to acquire more experience through the training exercises and D-ranks, or become so strong that their immaturity was not as much of a factor. The second option was coming up scarily fast.

"We are, and we're willing to prove it." Naruto said.

Yamato thought about it for a while, long enough to hear the birds of the forest sing back and forth twice. "Fine. In 3 day I'll have a challenge ready for you, and if you pass, I'll allow you to take a C-rank. It will be treated like a C-rank. You'll be given the mission parameters the night before, and allowed to prepare for it. Fail, and you'll have a week straight of no training, just D-ranks."

"Deal!" Naruto shouted, before either teammate could even begin to protest. It wouldn't be maturity that got them the C-rank, that was for sure.

—

The genin of this year's rookie class got together at Choji's favorite barbeque joint. This was a new tradition that Naruto was trying to start, at least on a monthly basis, though it was unlikely that they would all be able to show once they started leaving the village regularly. The restaurant was owned by an Akimichi, and as such, was one of the few restaurants that could seat nine genin, a puppy, and a toad summon. It was also the only restaurant that gave Choji a discount, and he was by far the most expensive of the nine to feed.

The rookie nine sat in a circular corner booth, grouped by teams, with team ten on one end, Choji getting the aisle seat, and Team 8 in the middle, Akamaru peeking out of Kiba's jacket. Team 7 sat on the other end, Sasuke taking their aisle seat. He had warmed up to the rest of their class admirably, but he still liked his personal space. Naruto was, of course, seated next to him. The blond was trying to draw him into the conversation by telling wild tales that included Sasuke, and most certainly didn't actually happen.

Ino was actively engaging with Naruto, the two blonds unsurprisingly taking up a majority of the conversation. Ino considered herself the center of Konoha's gossip mill, and possibly, the world. Naruto just liked to talk. Somehow though, they didn't clash when put together, instead they worked together to vanquish any possible silence that could be had. Their repertoire together was playful, almost flirtatious. Not that Naruto really knew what it looked like to the others, he just liked talking to her.

Kiba, never one to be out done, was bragging boisterously about how he and Akamaru were the strongest genin. Sasuke quickly pointed out that the two of them couldn't be one genin. Kiba couldn't wrap his head around that, so the conversation was forced to flow on.

Sakura even jumped into the yelling with the boys and Ino. Ever since she started training with Naruto, she had become a little bit more of herself, and a little bit less of what she thought the ideal Kunoichi should be. Kurenai had helped strengthen that ideal within her, showing her that a powerful kunoichi was a beautiful one too. She liked it that way, and it seemed like everyone else did too. Except Kiba, whose arm was always bruised from her punches.

Choji was too busy stuffing his face with food to jump into the conversation at first, but he joined in between rounds of meat, happy to drag Shikamaru in with him. The Nara thought it was a drag, but he hated letting his friend down, so he obliged.

Shino had gone the whole get together without speaking when Naruto turned to training as a topic. After Team 10 finished complaining about Asuma being a 'slave driver' (Ino's words), Naruto queued the Aburame in.

"Shino, how's Team 8 doing?" Naruto asked.

"Everybody is in good health and progressing well, Naruto." Shino replied.

Naruto's eye twitched ever so briefly at the response, but he recovered and dug deeper. "Can you give me specifics on your training? How is your teamwork coming along?" The mood soured slightly at this, most noticeably between Kiba and Sakura.

"Kurenai-sensei is having us work on it, as well as our individual skills. I do not believe Sakura likes having a dog around all the time though, and she doesn't seem to be fond of my insects either. Kiba and I get along fine, though he is brash and ill-tempered." Shino summarized the answer as efficiently and logically as he could, but for some reason both his teammates appeared to be mad at him. He was at a loss, as he knew his observations were correct.

"Shino, I don't mind your insects one bit." Sakura said, and if that was true, she had grown a lot in the month. "My problem is with how you use them. You shouldn't leave them crawling all over us without our permission!" Sakura said, heat rising in her voice.

"It's only logical to place them on my teammates. If an emergency were to occur, I can track them." Shino stated.

"Yeah, Sakura. What if there's an emergency? Maybe Shino should put more bugs on you just in case?" Ino teased.

"Maybe Shino should put bugs on all of us? I mean we're all comrades, and it'd be really helpful if somebody needed to be tracked. Right, Ino?" Naruto interrupted with a smirk on his face. Bugs didn't bother him, he'd eaten enough on Mt. Myoboku to be desensitized to them. They did tend to bother most girls though.

"Don't antagonize her, Naruto. She's bad enough as it is." A bystander would have thought Shikamaru was just complaining, but any of the rookie 9 new he was being playful. He just didn't have the energy to properly show it.

"I-I don't think you should put your insects on people without their permission, Shino. I give you permission to tag me if you think it's necessary though." Hinata said politely. The slight stutter in her voice was from speaking in front of such a large group. It had been a while since she'd had to speak to anyone but her team or family.

"I suppose it is not necessary as long as we are in the village. Though there has already been an attempted kidnapping on you, Hinata, so maybe I should mark you." Shino said.

Everybody who was listening at least raised an eyebrow at this. Shikamaru, of course, knew what had happened. His mom had forced him to do extra learning on history, since he failed the subject one year.

Naruto was just as curious as everybody else, but he knew Hinata would tell them when she was ready, so he did what he did best, and distracted everybody.

"Speaking of leaving the village, Team 7 has a test tomorrow to determine if we're ready for a C-rank." Naruto said proudly.

The other six genin seemed in awe at this, and Hinata touched Naruto's knee under the table in thanks. Kiba seemed upset that Team 7 was getting first crack at at least being tested for a C-rank, but Sasuke brought him back down to earth.

"Kiba, our worst person in each shinobi art, could probably defeat your best with maybe the exception of genjutsu." He looked at Naruto for confirmation, but the blond just shook his head. His efforts to learn one had been fruitless so far, as well as taken up a lot of shadow clone training time.

"It's not a bad thing, you guys just haven't had as much extra training as us." Naruto offered. He didn't want a rift between his classmates just because they were better.

"Tch. Whatever, Uchiha." Kiba replied. He didn't have a lot of ammo when it came to trash-talking skills. Team 7 really was the best of them. So far at least.

"It's alright, Kiba. We'll catch up to them soon enough, right guys?" Sakura asked. Four heads nodded, though it went undetermined if Choji's nod was just him chowing down. Naturally, Shikarmaru didn't bother to move, but his eyes told the truth. He didn't like being behind any more than them.

"So what's the test gonna be?" Kiba asked. He'd licked his wounds sufficiently, and was curious so his team could learn what they would have to face in the future.

"The mission scroll says we have to deliver it to the tower in the center of training ground 44. We have till sunrise the next morning to do so, so about 19 hours to work with." Naruto explained.

"44? That's the forest of death!" Kiba exclaimed. "Genin are forbidden to go in there, and I only know about that because I tried to follow my sister, and my mom caught me. That punishment wasn't fun." A look of horror showed on Kiba's face, and a few of the genin shuddered. Most knew what it was like to be punished by parents.

Sasuke nodded, "Not like it'll be our first time. And it's less than a day. No problem at all." Uchiha arrogance strode through into his words.

"No way you guys have been in there before!" Kiba denied.

"It's true, Kiba. Our genin test was a survival exercise in the forest by ourselves, with minimal equipment." Hinata replied.

"Wait, is that where you three were for all of those first two weeks?" Ino asked. She was as well informed as ever.

All three members of team 7 nodded in their own ways. Hinata shyly, Naruto proudly, and Sasuke smugly. The remaining rookies were even more impressed.

"Two weeks alone in the forest of death, while the rest of us aren't even allowed in." Kiba shook his head at the realization. They all knew they were behind, but the gap was big enough that they couldn't even see how big it truly was. Now they were getting an idea.

They knew that Hinata wouldn't lie to them, she just wasn't that kind of implication was caught on by all six of the other rookies. If only chunin were allowed, it was safe to say that surviving two weeks in there put them at least close to chunin level. More importantly, their sensei's, and the Hokage, allowing them, heck, sending them in there, meant that they were probably sure they were Chunin level. They wouldn't risk the lives of the most promising genin so needlessly. One month since graduation just wasn't enough time for the rest of them to grow that much.

One genin in particular saw the implications better than the rest. His half lidded eyes dragged slowly over his comrades. He knew the Hokage wouldn't risk their lives that early in their careers without a true need for it. That implied that there was bad news around the corner. Shikamaru inhaled slowly. 'Troublesome' he thought, before returning his attention, halfheartedly, to the conversation.

All six genin now had individual plans to step up there training even more. They couldn't afford to get left in the dust. Not by their comrades, and not by their future enemies.

—

"Ah, Kakashi. Please sit. I'd love to hear your report on the genin, Commander." Hiruzen Sarutobi said, puffing on his pipe.

"Training is going… well." The Hokage gestured for Kakashi to elaborate, though the copy-nin already planned on it. "All three teams' strengths are even better than expected, and they are currently addressing their weaknesses as well as baseline skills. This class of genin will be the most well rounded we've ever had." Kakashi said, and he meant it.

"I've received the same reports as you, so I'll spare you the details and just confirm that they are all accurate." The Hokage nodded at that. He had expected as much. "I would like to request a shift in the training though." Kakashi said. What he was about to propose had never been done, but then again, there had never been a Genin Commander. Or eight clan heirs in one class. Or multiple geniuses on one team.

"I would like to mix their sensei's for training, in addition to larger group training." Kakashi continued. "Team 7 and 10 already have nearly flawless teamwork, and Team 8 is way ahead of schedule in that aspect." It seemed that Naruto's efforts to unite the class had paid off. "A genjutsu specialist, former guardian ninja, and an ANBU captain, all have different views on what a shinobi is, and the different shinobi arts. It will only benefit them to receive training from each of the three." Kakashi explained.

Hiruzen continued to nod, sitting back in his seat behind his desk. He puffed lazily on his pipe again. Giving Kakashi command of the genin teams was his best idea in a long while. Not only did it help the genin and lessen his load, but it pulled his best jonin further out of the rut that he had been in before he started mentoring Sasuke.

"I would include Gai too, and train his team in exchange. It will benefit all 12 genin." Kakashi said.

"Anything else? The Sandaime didn't have a problem with any of Kakashi's plans so far it seemed, so Kakashi decided to go for it.

"Medical ninjutsu." It was part question, part statement.

"Oh? Which ones?" The Hokage knew the impact that a skilled medic could have on the battlefield having trained the best one himself.

"All of them. All nine. Maybe even Gai's Kunoichi too, if she wants."

Sarutobi's eyes raised at this. "Kakashi, that will take considerable resources and time to pull off, both of which we are short on, as you know. I'm sure you know that some of them won't be able to learn it, Naruto, for example. Others, Kiba and Sasuke, likely won't want to learn it. Are you sure you want to waste time on it?"

"Respectfully… if there's one thing I've learned, Hokage-sama, it's that Naruto will not be denied. He cares for his teammates and will want to be able to heal them. If he can't do it by conventional methods, he'll invent his own method, just like he did with his…unique training. I honestly wouldn't put anything past him at this point." Kakashi said, pride filled his chest, and fire danced in his lone eye. The Sandaime nodded, a similar feeling coursing through him. "Kiba will see the benefit if it's supplemented with veterinary knowledge." It didn't need to be explained why that would convince the Inuzuka. "And Sasuke, well… I'll show Sasuke the upside myself. You won't have to worry about his motivation." Kakashi explained.

The Hokage mulled over Kakashi's plans, just as he mulled over the smoke from his pipe. He released them at nearly the same time, first the smoke, followed by his thoughts.

"I will make it work. See to it that the training is not wasted, I will speak with the head of the medic nin division, and see what kind of resources he can provide." He finally said.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Kakashi bowed lightly. "There is, however, one last thing on the agenda. I'm sure you've heard of the test Team 7 will be undergoing tomorrow to determine if they're ready for a C-rank yet?" The question was rhetorical, but the Hokage nodded nonetheless. "I fully expect them to succeed, and I wished to hand pick the mission myself, if that is okay with you?"

It wasn't normal procedure, but neither was a genin team taking a C-rank one month in.

"Very well, Kakashi. Report back after the test, and I will allow you to sort through the C-ranked assignments." Kakashi bowed, a little deeper this time, and disappeared in a shunshin, leaving a few leaves floating behind. The Hokage just smiled lightly at his antics. A year ago, Kakashi would have lazily walked out with his eye buried in a little orange book. He seemed he was gaining some of his edge back, along with a flare for the dramatic.

—

Apologies for the longer than usual wait. Baseball team had playoffs (we lost :( ), and I tried to get this out before the weekend, but I just couldn't get it ready in time, despite having everything written. Most of the chapter has been rewritten, though it still doesn't feel quite right, it's the best I could do. The good news is that the chapter was originally 13k words, and I split it, so the next chapter is already done, and much more action packed. I'll probably post it Friday to give a few days for reviews and what not and see how this chapter is received.

The downside is that their first real C-rank isn't this chapter, and won't be the next chapter either, although there will be a lot more action, even though I pretty much said it would. Maybe the chapter after that? I won't make any promises, but that's the plan as of right now.

Please review! :)

P.s. It's still not a Naruto and Hinata ship story. I'm just writing how I think they will act in the situation they're being put in. Ino will get some flirtatious time eventually, and probably TenTen too. Sakura's relationship will continue to develop with Naruto feeling more like a big brother to her, and vice versa, sorry if you were hoping for him to end up with Sakura.