The vaunted return to the forest of death, and test for their first C-rank mission is here. It was really hard to write this without making them seem overpowered for their age and rank, but underpowered for the training that they have been through, and their natural talents. There will undoubtedly be complaints about it, so all I ask is that you keep it constructive, I'm still learning :)
Enjoy!
Team 7 reported for training at 6 am as they had been doing since their brief break after the forest. Yamato took it easy on them, focusing strictly on mental exercises rather than physical ones. If they were leaving for a real C-rank, they wouldn't be able to afford losing any chakra beforehand, so he wouldn't waste any of theirs now.
Two and a half hours of tactics, formations, and hand sign development later, and Team 7 had their break. One thirty minute lunch was all they were given before their test, a 'mock' C-rank mission, would begin. They sat in the grass and enjoyed a healthy lunch, enjoying each other's company. They had discussed their plans for the mission, according to the information provided to them, the night before. They were as ready as they could be, with many different plans and back up plans ready to go. When noon rolled around, Yamato interrupted their light conversation.
"Okay, Team 7. You asked for this test, so you will be doing it on your own." They all nodded, no surprise there. "You have been given the parameters of the mission in your scroll. Watch each other's backs, and good luck." He gave them a healthy smile. He hoped they passed the test. It was of Kakashi's invention, and Yamato hadn't even been able to read the scroll. All his former captain had told him was that they were to head back in the forest, and it would be over by sunrise.
"Right," Naruto took charge. "Standard formation, gear 3."
Sasuke took point, sharingan blazing. Three tomoe took more chakra to operate, so he hadn't gained any endurance with them. He was still limited to an hour and a half straight, if he had full chakra.
Hinata was in the middle, Byakugan activated. She had gained quite a bit of endurance with her own dojutsu, and would be cycling it on for 15 minutes, and off for 5.
Naruto brought up the rear, with two clones flanking Hinata. The three genin, and two clones, took off at a moderate pace. Much too fast for civilians to keep up, but not fast enough to alert any of the village's hidden protectors. Training ground 44 was on the other side of the village, and they wanted to get there as quickly as possible, as the journey outside the forest would be much easier than the trek inside.
Every minute or so, Naruto would call for a status report. Hinata hadn't seen anything suspicious with her Byakugan extended to max range. Sasuke's sharingan hadn't seen anything suspicious either, so they kept their pace.
The trip across the village was completely uneventful, save Naruto stopping for a split second to make a shadow clone. The clone jumped down off the roof tops, and helped an elderly lady cross the street. They kept going.
The three landed short of the fence right outside of the forest. Naruto didn't sense anything, and his teammates didn't see anything, so they settled down for one last safe discussion.
"Alright," Naruto said. "There's no shot the mission will just be delivering the scroll. We've already spent two weeks in the forest, so it'll be something much tougher."
"The forest is a no go for other genin and lower. It will likely be something dangerous if they're sending us where the weaklings can't get caught in the crossfire." Sasuke said, though there wasn't any venom in his voice. Naruto rolled his eyes at calling the others weaklings.
"It could be other ninja, or more dangerous animals. Do any of the jonin sensei have summons?" Hinata chipped in.
"Kakashi has dogs, but they're not any more dangerous than some of the animals in the forest. They are excellent trackers though, so hiding probably won't work." Sasuke was aware that it was Kakashi's test, but the jonin hadn't told him if he himself would participate. It was best to assume the worst when Kakashi didn't reply.
"They want to test if we're ready for a C-rank. We won't explicitly be tasked with fighting other ninja on one, but the possibility is there. I wouldn't be surprised if another team is going to be hunting us, likely with one of Kakashi's ninken to sniff us out." Naruto scratched the back of his head as he thought. "They know we have the skills, so what they'll be testing is if we can use them properly. They'll test our decision making skills, maybe even try and split us up. Sasuke, be prepared for Itachi's name or image to be involved somehow." The Uchiha scowled, but Naruto shot him a 'not now' look. "Hinata, I wouldn't be surprised if another Hyuga, maybe even Neji, is involved. They're going to try and get you away from us to test your resolve. Don't waver. You can do it, both Sasuke and I believe in you."
Hinata felt a warmth flow there her body, so much so that she almost shivered. She felt, in that moment, that she could accomplish anything. She was worried about her captain though. "Naruto, you've covered the two of us," she gestured to herself and Sasuke, "What will they try to do to you?"
Sasuke replied. He knew Naruto probably wouldn't tell the truth. "The Kyuubi. Probably with a genjutsu. They'll use your treatment before you left with Jiraiya, and even a little bit now, against him." Sasuke smirked, "It won't work though, he's not the same hothead he was a year ago, and it'd have to be a strong genjutsu to truly trap him." He truly believed that whoever had the misfortune of taking on Naruto, would regret it. Hinata nodded in agreement.
Naruto smiled at Sasuke, even though the dark haired boy wasn't looking at him. It was nice having a best friend. "What the grumpy bastard said. I can handle it. We should focus on staying together. They'll likely engage one on one and try to steer us apart. Our goal is to steer the fight back towards each other, where our teamwork can be factored in. We're unbeatable when we work together." Whether that was true or not, Naruto believed it, and so did his teammates.
"Alright, they're probably watching us right now, but if Hinata can't spot them, they're far enough away that they can't hear us or see what I'm about to do. I'm going to prep several seals for each of you. Use them at your own discretion. When I'm done. We'll use Standard Formation B, Gear 4. Clear?" Naruto spoke even as he worked, laying out several seals on blank tags, using his Ink Release method.
"Yes." Both Hinata and Sasuke replied. Sasuke didn't mind Naruto making the calls, so long as he didn't mess up, and Sasuke got to fight.
When they had settled the tags in their packs, they stood. Naruto formed 8 clones. 2 returned to Hinata's flank, and 3 fanned out on each side, about 10 meters away from the group, covering their sides, front, and the area in between. Naruto remained in the back of the formation, ready for everything.
Being in the forest meant that they could move considerably faster than before. The only problem was, they didn't make it fifteen steps before traps began to spring. Kunai began flying at them from all directions, and poison gas sprang up on their left. They immediately moved right, as Naruto received the memories of the clones that were killed.
A large log riddled with spikes came swinging down at them as they evaded the other traps, and they were forced to roll underneath. A few kunai came flying at them, this time much faster. That meant they were thrown, not sprung. Naruto processed this information, and responded before they even dodged the kunai.
"Diamond C! Gear 5! MOVE!" 12 clones sprang into existence, forming a diamond around the trio. In the center, Naruto was in the lead, Sasuke on his left heel, Hinata on his right. His heart was racing now as the adrenaline that accompanied battle raced through his veins. Team 7's pace increased yet again, just coming shy of their all out sprint.
Whenever a clone was destroyed, Naruto simply summoned another one to take its place. This formation was designed for ambushes. It was more chakra intensive than any other team in the Leaf could handle, given the number of clones needed, which was the reason Naruto had to invent it himself.
The formation wasn't the best for traps though, as the clones were close enough that the actual team members were still in the line of fire if one was sprung.
The genin moved through the forest quickly, not a word being uttered as Naruto steered them strictly through hand signs. He was acting on instinct here, ignoring some of the signs that Sasuke and Hinata were undoubtedly picking up on, in favor of listening to his gut. It hadn't steered him wrong. Yet.
The attacks and traps died down, and Naruto formed and dispelled a single clone nearly instantly. The message was received, and the diamond of Naruto's quickly took three hard steps to form a circle, and used their chakra chains to form a barrier. Team 7 was now protected in a nearly inpenatrable dome, though they were stuck in place as long as it was active. The trio took a knee, all facing the direction they had run from.
"They've pushed us sideways. They should be attacking the barrier any second to test it. We've got to identify how many, and keep track of their skills. Sasuke?"
"Haven't seen any. Let's counter attack and force them to reveal their hand."
Naruto didn't even bother acknowledging. He asked Sasuke, so they were going to do what he said. No discussion needed.
"Hinata?" Naruto was just starting to get his breathing under control.
"Two ninja. Brace!" She yelled, seeing them run through hand signs.
The three genin felt the barrier rumble as they saw a large fire dragon crash into it. A flash of purple came flying at them, as a scantily clad woman attempted to break through using a kunai.
A large water bullet smacked into the barrier from their right at the same time. It didn't cause the ruckus that the fire dragon did, but the water seemed to stick along the barrier and the ground outside of it.
Naruto briefly took into account the attacks. His water release jutsu should be powerful enough to overtake the fire release user. The water user could be a problem though. They didn't have a single earth release jutsu among the three of them, and the viscosity of that water could be an issue. They couldn't afford to get trapped in it.
"There's a third ninja weaving a genjutsu over us!"
Naruto was never more thankful for Hinata's Byakugan. All three of them pulsed their chakra forcefully, and their perception returned. Both ninja were a few meters to the left of where they had been seeing them. The genjutsu was so subtle and simple that Naruto hadn't even felt it. He growled in frustration.
"I'm breaking the barrier. Sasuke, fireball directly at the sticky water on the ground and go after the water user. Don't bother with fire. Hinata, find the genjutsu user and engage hand to hand. I have the fire user. On go." Naruto barked out. His intensity was palpable, and his teammates were forced to match it, or feel the adverse effects of his chakra leaking in the area.
"3… 2… 1…" Sasuke flew threw hand signs, and Hinata crouched, ready to take off after the shinobi hanging out in the background. Naruto put his hand into his cross seal. "GO!"
Like lightning out of a bottle, all three leapt into action. Sasuke's timing was perfect. The great fireball smashed into the ground, obliterating the syrupy water, and the grass it stuck too. The size of it gave him cover, and he used it to make his way towards the water release shinobi.
Hinata sprinted for her target. The purple haired Kunoichi launched several kunai at her, but she did not falter. Before the kunai could reach her, they were struck out of the air by the kunai launched by a Naruto clone, one specifically tasked with watching over her.
She swallowed as she sprinted, throat dry. She trusted Naruto with her life, and he hadn't let her down yet, but it was still nerve wracking to intentionally ignore sharp objects speeding towards you. She pushed the thoughts from her head, as adrenaline flowed throughout her body, and tried to focus on her task. The genjutsu user was hidden amongst the trees, crouched on a high branch. Her byakugan picked up on his details. Small chakra pool, though definitely a chunin considering it's refined nature. He had two massive kunai strapped to the back of his chunin vest, crossing to make an X. It also picked up less relevant information, like his shorter stature, his spiky black hair, and the white bandage that bridged his nose.
She moved quickly but sharply to intercept him, much like the jaguar they had met a month ago. She saw his hands weave signs, and the chakra that accompanied his genjutsu, and dispelled it the moment that it entered her system. Inwardly she was pleased with herself. Genjutsu was one of the main causes of death for genin out in the field. Skills and physical abilities didn't matter if you were stuck in an illusion while your body went unguarded in reality.
The real purpose of the genjutsu was revealed shortly after she allowed herself to feel good. She had to slow down to make the ram sign and dispel the genjutsu. It was just enough for the chunin to flee his cover and draw his weapons. His hand to hand disadvantage was now cut down as he gained reach in the form of his blades. Hinata couldn't hurt metal with her taijutsu.
On the other side of the small clearing that Team 7 had settled into, Sasuke danced with his opponent. Sasuke had the chokuto out that Naruto had helped him seal, and was engaging in a kenjutsu battle with his opponent, a chunin wielding a large curved kunai, with an attached chain.
Sasuke definitely had the upper hand on the chunin with the speed and reach of his blade, paired with his sharingans ability to read movements. The chunin, however, kept slipping away and resetting the bout, before Sasuke could land anything solid.
Their blades clashed a few more times, Sasuke being the aggressor. His opponent was wearing a bandana forehead protector, with hair completely covering one of his eyes. Sasuke's best bet was that the eye had been destroyed in battle. A seasoned shinobi then. The shinobi seemed to stay away from attacks, relying purely on blocks. His style was beginning to become infuriating. His sharingan couldn't read the opponent's movements if the opponent wasn't moving.
Sasuke leapt back, planting his sword into the ground, and flying through hand seals before his momentum even halted.
"Lightning Release: Thunderclap Arrow," Sasuke said with a growl. It was one of his only medium to long range lightning jutsu, so it would have to do.
The lightning arced wildly, but tightly towards his opponent, who was running through hand seals himself.
"Water Release: Gunshot." It was barely more than talking volume, and in the chaos of the forest, Sasuke could barely make out what was said. He smirked nonetheless, as his sharingan caught all the signs, and read his opponents chakra flow, committing the jutsu to memory. It was one of Naruto's favorites, but Sasuke had never managed to catch the full set of hand signs and chakra molding with his sharingan activated.
The large ball of water sped forward briefly, before enveloping the lightning. The force of Sasuke's attack killed the momentum of the counter attack, and evaporated much of the water. The remains of the jutsu fell to the ground, but it had done its job.
When the jutsu cleared, his opponent was gone. Sasuke cursed, and made his way to where Naruto was fighting.
Naruto was sure the Kunoichi was absolutely nuts. He had pulled out a number of tricks on her, and it only seemed to excite her more as he did so. His twin Dao blades, the ones that seemed to belong to the first Uzukage, had laid a few cuts on her. He was starting to think it was intentional, as she kept taking a sample of the blood, and then licking it. Definitely crazy.
Her fire attacks were powerful and quickly molded, which is why he had chosen to go the kenjutsu route. She was extremely fast though, and kept launching snakes out of her sleeves.
She was slippery too, dodging and weaving in ways that almost seemed inhuman. He had no doubt in his mind that this had been Orochimaru's student, based on everything Jiraiya had told him about the man. He was ready to double down on his efforts, when she suddenly retreated.
He sported a confused look, when Hinata landed next to him, coming out of the trees. He didn't even need a hand sign to ask his question.
"I managed to land a gentle fist strike on my opponent's forearm. He retreated immediately after, as he was struggling to hold his blade. I did not pursue since we were split up." Naruto nodded. She had done the right thing.
"My opponent retreated too, though I didn't manage to wound him in any significant way." Sasuke said, the scowl on his face betrayed the even nature of his tone, as he walked out from behind a tree.
"Same here, I actually think she let me cut her a few times for fun." A shudder ran down his spine. "It seems like they're using hit and run tactics. I think they're just trying to make this as hard as possible, rather than outright trying to ruin our mission, ya know?"
"It's barely been an hour. We should move out of range so that they have a harder time tracking us, and go over the information we acquired, and come up with a new plan." Sasuke said.
Naruto nodded. Sasuke didn't often make the plans for the team, but when he did, they were always sound. He had no problem relinquishing control to his best friend.
"We continue moving west then. If we try to make a hard break for the tower, they'll come at us full strength, so we'll move parallel until we have a plan. Scouting formation. Gear 4." They nodded. They had their formations and speeds down pat, and they trusted Naruto to plan properly.
They moved at speeds fast enough to avoid any of the predators, both plant and animal, that inhabited this part of the forest. This section wasn't particularly dangerous, which was part of the reason that Naruto chose it.
They still had over 90% of the distance to cover to get to the tower, and 90% of the time to do it.
As they sat down to discuss what they had learned from their fights, Naruto's clones branched out to form his patented forest of death camp security. A healthy distance away, their opponents also gathered.
"Kakashi, what the fuck!" Kotestu yelled. His forearm was still numb, and he hadn't regained the ability to properly grip his weapon.
Kakashi lazily tilted his in question, though he knew exactly what the chunin was complaining about.
"No shot those three are genin!"
"I have to agree. Their skill level is definitely chunin." Kotetsu's partner agreed. Izumo had fought the Uchiha, and it had not been easy.
"I dunno boys, I really enjoyed it. The little blond brat wasn't all that." Anko said.
Kakashi just shrugged.
"What do you mean! Those aren't some genin we're supposed to scare! The only reason we didn't lose is because it was their first taste of a real battle!" Kotetsu continued to complain.
"Relax Scarface, you two didn't even fight as a team this time around. Next time we won't split you up, and you can use your teamwork to your advantage." The purple haired Kunoichi displayed a twisted smile. She was so looking forward to fighting them again.
"You could have told us they all were Kekkei Genkai users, Kakashi." Izumo mentioned.
Kakashi shrugged again. "Must've slipped my mind." He drawled lazily. He hadn't given any information on the opponents to team 7. He didn't see why a team of two chunin and a tokubetsu jonin would need info on genin. Especially ones that were over a decade their junior.
"Whatever man, just summon Pakkun again so we can track them down."
Kakashi listed his head expectantly, he looked at Kotetsu out of the corner of his lone eye.
"You're kidding."
"Oh I never joke." The jonin said, sarcastically.
"Fine. Will you please summon Pakkun to help us track them."
Kakashi bit his thumb. "You know, you should really develop some tracking skills, it might help you get promoted." Kakashi said. The blood smeared onto all five fingers, and hand signs summoned his favorite dog.
"Pak, can you help them locate Sasuke again?" His tone was polite.
"Sure, Boss." Pakkun said, and he inhaled deeply, trying to catch the scent. "Uhh, it seems like he's well… everywhere?"
Kakashi smiled under his mask. Those clever, cute little genin.
—-
Naruto thought that Kakashi might get involved, and so he sent his clones out, carrying Sasuke's dirty laundry that he unsealed from god knows where. He was trying to throw off the scent, much to Sasuke's chagrin. Naruto hadn't even asked if he could take it, nor had he explained how or when he got it.
Kakashi would be able to track Naruto by scent, but Naruto didn't believe he would do it himself. It would either be Pakkun, who only knew Sasuke's by heart, or not at all. He was hoping the team they just fought didn't have any strong sensors.
Their discussion had provided results, and they had a better game plan moving forward. After an hour's rest, they still hadn't been attacked, so Naruto had them begin their hike towards the forest. This time they were moving at Gear 2, hardly much more than a light jog. He knew the opposition would find them, and he didn't want to lead them into a trap at full speed. Standard formation B was in effect, the clones fanning out to the sides and front to warn of any danger.
They made it two more kilometers when a kunai flew past Naruto, leaving a small cut on his cheek. Orders didn't need to be issued, his team knew what to do.
Sasuke rushed for the genjutsu user, having found out he was slower than the water user. Naruto went after the crazy snake lady again, determined to take her down and prove his sensei was the superior Sannin. Hinata moved towards the Water user. That was the worst matchup for them, but they firmly believed that Hinata could at least hold out until either of the boys had won.
This time, however, the opponents didn't break up. The Kunoichi maintained her distance from the other two, but kept within visual range. The two chunin were the problem. They stuck together like glue, and their flow of movements together, as well as the linked kunai swords, indicated that they would be a greater threat together.
Naruto took this information in, and made a split second decision. He put two fingers to the interlocking seals on his right thigh, his own invention, and overcharged chakra into them. Just like the first time Jiraiya taught him to use a storage scroll, there was a huge explosion of chakra smoke. It wouldn't last as long as a traditional smoke bomb, but it made for a hell of a distraction.
"White-Blue switch!" He ordered, and the team moved seamlessly. When the smoke cleared, Hinata was standing where Naruto had been, while Naruto was now near Sasuke, ready to take on the paired chunin. "Hinata," He said, looking over his shoulder at her. "You got this, ya know!" He yelled, and she believed him.
The purple haired Kunoichi cackled, and grinned maniacally. A little bit of Hinata's confidence left her, but not more than what she gained from Naruto's support.
Naruto turned back to his opponents, placing his trust in Hinata. He glanced at Sasuke, and they both grinned, and sprang into action.
Naruto went after the genjutsu user, and Sasuke the water user. They both attacked with kunai in hand, sparks flying as metal clashed with metal upon their first strike. Both genin sported even wider grins, as they turned, and left their guard wide open for their opponents.
The chunin were a little bit confused, but were nothing if not opportunistic. They simultaneously went for strikes on their open opponents, aiming to maim seriously, but not kill or cripple. Their faces contorted into confusion, when the opposite genin was the one to block their strikes. That had been planned?
Both chunin were back on their heels, as the genin viciously struck at them with kunai. Naruto slashed at the bandana'd chunin, then spun, using the speed built to attack with the kunai in a stabbing motion. Predictably, it was blocked, and he spun back while leaping into the air. Mid jump, he unsealed several kunai, and launched them all at Izumo. The chunin had to concede two scrapes in order to avoid taking the full brunt of several others.
As Naruto was coming back towards earth, he formed a single hand seal, and two shadow clones came into existence. The first locked arms with him, and threw him at Sasuke's opponent, Kotetsu, while the other began forming long since mastered hand signs. Sasuke was perfectly in rhythm with Naruto and his clones, and shifted away from the genjutsu user as soon as Naruto was thrown towards him. He knew what the blond's clone was going to do before he did it. He didn't even have the sharingan when he first saw the hand signs Naruto was using, and he didn't need it now to recognize them. He began forming his own familiar hand signs with a smirk on his face that threatened to turn into a genuine smile.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!" There was no use in hiding the name of the technique, obvious as it was.
"Toad Oil Bullet!" The clone yelled.
The two jutsu collided mid air. The chakra was perfectly balanced, and the effect immediate. Oil spread the now white hot flames all over the forest.
Izumo saw the combination coming, and was inwardly terrified. He raced through hand seals as fast as he could, substituting as far as possible. He knew it wouldn't be far enough, and was flying through more signs. A water wall sprung up on all sides. He struggled to enclose the top so that oil couldn't find it's way in.
Luckily the chunin had made it far enough away that his water formation wall didn't take the brunt of the attack. Unluckily, his vision was blocked while the wall was in place, and he was nearly out of chakra, as there wasn't a water source nearby.
When the wall receded, more from a lack of chakra fueling it than choice, the Uchiha was flying at him from the left, arm outstretched. The genin's fist collided with his jaw, and sent him flying to the right, to a waiting Naruto. The clone caught Izumo with a hand to his back, and the Chunin felt his body lock up, and his chakra get disrupted. It was a strange feeling, almost like his whole body had fallen asleep, the pins and needles feeling rolling all over nerves. His chakra felt as if it were vibrating hard. He could access it, but it was completely out of his control.
"Ink Release: Paralysis Seal complete. Go help the real me. Can't afford to get caught in a genjutsu." The clone said. Sasuke wasn't listening though, as he was already on his way to help Naruto. The clone sighed, and used what chakra he had left to water down the forest, and prevent a wildfire.
Naruto was trying to get in close, and keep Kotetsu busy. He didn't want the genjutsu user to have a chance to weave signs. However, when the chunin pulled out a giant conch-mace and threw it at him, he was forced to dodge. When he regained sight of Kotetsu, he was finishing up his hand seals. Naruto felt the chakra fall upon him, and a giant meteor was suddenly falling right at him. He stayed calm, just as Jiraiya taught him, and breathed deeply. When he exhaled, he dispelled the chakra that he had been building up, along with the genjutsu.
The fight was already over though, and Naruto sighed. Sasuke held a kunai to the chunin's neck. "Yield or suffer the consequences."
"Tch. I yield." He grumbled. "Sheesh, you guys are monsters. Frickin Hatake." The genin didn't hear him though, they were already on the move to Hinata, who had been pushed back quite a ways.
When they got a visual on her, she was sitting down, crawling back until she bumped into a tree. There were small cuts all over her body, including on her brand new jacket and pants. The purple haired kunoichi was walking towards her, kunai in hand.
"Well well well. It seems we found the weak link." Anko said.
"P-please don't hurt m-me. I'm just a g-genin." Hinata stuttered, her face was red.
"Oh I won't make it hurt… too much." She licked her lips and stepped forward, intending on running the kunai over the Hyuga's face, just to scare her a little more.
When she reached her arm out, the girl snapped out quickly, grabbing her wrist with her left hand. Her right hand struck Anko's right shoulder, rendering the arm useless. Before the tokubetsu jonin could recover from her surprise, Hinata ducked her shoulder under the limp arm, releasing her grip. She slashed her left hand, and stuck the kunoichi in the kidney. She layed off that blow a little bit, but there would still be a laceration. Finally, Hinata shifted her weight back to the right, and struck her in the left thigh.
She heard a yelp of pain, but only felt slight remorse. Leaf nin or not, you didn't attack Naruto and get away with it. Not on her watch. Before Anko could retaliate, Sasuke sped in front of her. The two made eye contact, and the last thing Anko remembered was seeing the whirling tomoe of the sharingan.
The crazy snake lady was laying on the ground screaming. Team 7 all took a moment to catch their breath.
"What the hell did you do to her?" Kotetsu asked, Izumo slung over his shoulder, still paralyzed. He was the only one who wasn't completely incapacitated.
"Genjutsu. I showed her Orochimaru. Don't worry, she won't remember it." Sasuke said quickly.
"That's kind of a dick move." Izumo said, rubbing his jaw. Naruto had already released the seal his clone had placed, not wanting to keep a comrade down for too long.
"It's a mission, not a spar. Besides, the sharingan will make sure she doesn't remember ever seeing Orochimaru, so it's just temporary to keep her from stopping us." Naruto said, moving back to his team.
"Nice moves." He whispered to Hinata. She blushed.
"Alright, well… Can you two take care of her? We're kinda busy ya know?" Naruto asked. The chunin nodded, dismayed that they failed so outright.
Naruto turned to his team, "Standard trap formation. Gear 6." Naruto ordered. The edge was back in his voice after awkwardly asking the chunin to take care of Anko.
Ten clones came into existence, and took off nearly full speed, sweeping the area. The regular formation of Sasuke in the lead, Hinata in the middle flanked by two clones, and Naruto leading from the back took off, leaving the chunin in awe.
Anko finally stopped writhing in pain and came too. "Ow! What the fuck was that!" She yelled. "I'm gonna KILL that Cyclops Bastard!" The chunin backed away, more terrified than they'd been in a long time. Gate duty tended to dull the senses, and Anko tended to wreak havoc on them.
—-
Team 7 was prepared for anything that might be thrown at them, but it seemed that the trio they faced was the only challenge. They made short work of the sprint to the forest. Hinata was pretty tired by the time they made it to the tower, and Sasuke was breathing hard, though he did a good job of hiding it. They walked through the designated doors, still no guard. Anything was possible when it came to Kakashi-sensei's tricks.
The silver haired jonin greeted them, as did their own jonin-sensei. Most surprisingly though, was the Hokage, dressed in the full garb that comes with the position.
Sarutobi looked on at the three genin of Team 7. His chest swelled with pride. Never had the Leaf had a team that embodied the Will of Fire more. All three would lay their lives on the line for the others, without a first thought, let alone a second.
His pipe was inconspicuously absent. He was ditching the loving grandfather routine for the moment. Right now he was the Third Hokage, God of Shinobi, and the genin could feel the power radiating off of him. Naruto wanted to let his own power leak, never one to be outdone, but Sasuke laid a hand on his shoulder. The corners of his lips were upturned as he shook his head.
"Team 7. I believe congratulations are in order. We expected you to pass, but not quite so easily. I think it would be accurate to say you surprised even the sensei who trained you." The Hokage said.
"Speak for the other two, Sensei. I'm not surprised one bit." A deep voice said from the corner of the room. Yamato, Hinata, and Sasuke looked confused. Kakashi and the Hokage were unreadable. Naruto had his 1000 watt smile on his face.
"Pervy Sage, I thought I sensed you!" Naruto shouted, throwing a kunai where the voice had come.
Jiraiya materialized, seemingly out of thin air, as his camouflage jutsu was released. He caught the kunai between two fingers casually, trying to look cool in front of the other jonin.
"Yeah right, Gaki. You're not good enough to sense me ye—" a cloud of green smoke released from the Kunai, and Jiraiya's face turned a similar shade when he smelled it.
"Hahaha! Ink Release: Stink Bomb is a success!" Naruto shouted. Gone was the intense leader that had steered the prodigious team through the forest. He seemed much more child-like now that Jiraiya was in the room, and the mission was over. The way a 12 year old was supposed to be.
"You insolent little Brat!" Jiraiya yelled when he (kind of) regained his composure. "I'm gonna make you do push-ups with 'Bunta on your back! Come here!" Sannin chased after Genin, running circles around the other ninja in the room.
"Ahem." The Hokage cleared his throat after they made a few laps. Jiraiya recognized the look on his face, and came to a stop. Naruto followed suit. "As I was saying. Team 7, you have come a remarkably long way, not just overall, but in the month since you became a team. Your individual skills are well above the standard for newly graduated students, and more impressively, your teamwork is top notch. I wanted to come to personally congratulate you on being the fastest team to ever be given a C-rank. You broke the 'record' set by my own team by two and a half months."
Naruto and Sasuke puffed their chest out, almost imperceptibly, while Hinata's chin raised a fraction of an inch.
"Let me make this clear though. C-ranks will never be normal for your team." The Hokage said, his voice gaining an edge. "You have the last Uchiha, a member of the main branch Hyuga, and perhaps the last Uzumaki, who also happens to be a jinchuuriki. Any enemy combatants you come across will likely try to capture at least one of you. You must always be on edge when you're outside the village. You three have the potential to be even stronger than my genin team turned out to be, I'd hate to see it wasted because one of you got careless." He emphasized his message by releasing just a little bit more of his chakra. He was inwardly pleased to see none of them react outwardly.
Hinata was nearly sweating when the Hokage let his presence be known, but it seemed he was holding back comparatively. It was slightly easier to withstand than when Naruto drew the Kyuubi's chakra and formed a single tail.
"Kakashi will be hand picking a mission that suits your team in order to ease you into missions outside the village. Until then, you'll have the week off of missions to prepare." The Hokage said. He disappeared in a body flicker that was so fast, it seemed that he just blinked out of existence.
Jiraiya rolled his eyes at his sensei showing off in front of genin. "Alright, Kiddo. You wanna get some training in? I'm only here for about a week." He asked Naruto.
Naruto nodded vigorously, then looked at his team. "Can you help train us all? If that's okay with Yamato-sensei of course?" Yamato only nodded, though a smile graced his face.
Jiraiya made a mock thinking pose, and hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm, I suppose that's alright if they're fine with it. I haven't gotten to beat up on genin in a long time, so it should be fun!"
Team 7 sweat dropped. Their sensei was strong, but he wasn't sannin level. Training with Jiraiya would probably end up being miserable… for them.
Next chapter will bring a little bit of training, the first appearance of a well known character, and their first C-rank!