A/N:

Be prepared for adjustments in ages of some students. Longer note at the bottom.

Kagami Uchiha stood on the observation deck overlooking the Genin Testing Area, arms folded, legs set apart and locked, chin lifted, face set into an arrogant smirk. Danzo remembered Madara often standing in the same aggravating pose, and wondered if the method of holding one's self in such a manner was some kind of Uchiha jutsu.

Dismissing the thought as unworthy, he spoke in a soft tone. "This year's class appears to contain a great deal of talent. Aside from Naruto, there a number of remarkable talents. The Aburame boy is exceptional, one of the civilian-born applicants has nearly perfect chakra control, and the Hyuuga heiress is quiet impressive. Both of the Nara children show genius level intellect. And Sasuke, in particular, is proving to be quite the driven learner, the second best in the class – a single point behind Naruto himself."

Kagami snorted. "Hn. Second is not first, and yet the boy is still too arrogant in his skills. Not that arrogant behavior is bad in my clan – it often drives enemies to do stupid things or expose their skills for our eyes – but one has to be careful not to let such arrogance become blinding. More than one fool of a clansman has thought these eyes to equal invincibility and has died for it. They are tools, nothing more. If the boy can use his arrogance in the proper manner instead of being a fool like his father, maybe he'll be worth something."

Danzo gave a small shrug in return. "One could argue losing sight of such a thing is why your clan is in the condition it is now. And comment on the irony of the clan with the strongest eyes losing sight of anything at all."

Kagami grimaced. The idiocy of Fugaku and the Uchiha Elders had forced the hand of Danzo, just as he had predicted. While Homura and Koharu wanted to believe a negotiated settlement with the Uchiha clan was possible – more of Sarutobi's softness, even from the grave – the information provided by Itachi and Shisui showed this to be an impossibility.

Kagami was still astonished at the sheer impudence of Fugaku – thinking his own grandson would betray him for the clan was the very sort of arrogant thinking that he'd just commented upon. And yet, both Shisui and Itachi were brought into the conspiracy – which of course meant the Hokage and his advisers knew all about said conspiracy from the very beginning. It was the same kind of sloppy, arrogant presumption that marred much of the Uchiha history to think they could defeat the entire village...but that was Fugaku for you. Despite his skill and intellect, he was as rock-headed as the mountain of legends he was named for.

A part of Kagami could understand Fugaku's – and indeed, the clan's – frustration. The Nidaime had never trusted the Uchiha, and Sarutobi, for all his other faults, was not a fool. The Uchiha had been the prime suspect for somehow being involved in the Kyuubi incident, and despite Danzo and the ANBU having cleared them and laying the blame on a yet-unknown and highly hypothetical rogue Uchiha, the people's trust in the clan was broken. The fact most of them had not even participated in the fight, claiming they were 'defending the population', only made such distrust more open.

The Hyuuga and their less-than-subtle insults had not aided matters much, while Kagami himself was still privately irritated the container had not been put in the trust of his own Clan. While in the end that was for the best, given what had eventually happened...his pride was stung.

Nevertheless, the actions of the Uchiha had drawn down a great deal of attention. Itachi claimed his father was planning to kill the Hokage and most of the clan heads, and was boasting of a new 'secret weapon' that would make taking over the village much easier.

While the Hokage and Kagami had been busy seeking such a possible weapon, Shisui had been attacked by unknown forces, and had one of his eyes removed by whoever the attacker was. Danzo claimed it was the Uchiha Elders, who planned to use the special abilities of Shisui's Sharingan to dominate the clans and take over, hence the idea of a special weapon.

With open rebellion a possibility and his grandson mutilated, Kagami had agreed with Danzo's plan to remove the danger presented by his clan. Given that Shisui was recovering in the hospital under heavy ANBU guard, all he had to do was leave for a trip to the capital to, as Danzo put it, get out of the way.

And thus, the clan was nearly extinguished in a single night of blood.

The public story was that Itachi, driven mad either by being pushed too hard to excel and his ANBU service or some other reason, had massacred the elder council, his own father, and much of the clan. The only survivors were Kagami, Shisui, Sasuke, Sasuke's mother Mikoto, and two other families with two children each who. Itachi was 'driven off' by the responding ANBU, lead by Kakashi, and was now an S-ranked criminal.

The truth was much darker. ROOT had done most of the killing, using plans and strategies Kagami himself had drawn up. Itachi had only been instructed to kill the ringleaders, but after having to kill his own father was in no condition to handle the rest. Some of the ringleaders escaped and tried to rally the entire clan to battle against Kohona – and all but the survivors had answered.

They were overwhelmed almost instantly, borne down by a tide of ROOT ANBU. They were killed and dozens of sets of Sharingan eyes were harvested, to be implanted Kakashi-style into the ranks of ROOT. The district was seized by the village and much of it sold off, although enough remained that the Uchiha who survived would still be very, very rich.

Although glad to be out of the walled prison that was their district, Kagami was somewhat troubled by the harvesting of the eyes, but then again, he'd warned the fools – repeatedly – of the cost of rebellion. And when Danzo had been gracious enough to surrender one of them so that Shisui could use it, Kagami felt making a fuss about it would have been somewhat hypocritical. He'd always been proud of his clan...but at the same time, the clan had changed so much since he was young that he sometimes felt it wasn't his clan at all.

Ah, the things one could achieve with moral gymnastics. But several troubling issues remained.

Itachi had fled without the planned debriefing from the Hokage, and had destroyed something in the small shrine of the Uchiha Clan, hidden below floorboards. Kagami had plead ignorance of what that could have been to Danzo, but he knew full well Itachi had destroyed the tablet describing the method of achieving the Mangekyō Sharingan. The fact that the shrine had been destroyed using Amaterasu, the Undying Flame, meant that Itachi had probably activated that fell eye himself in the course of slaying his family.

Given what the Mangekyō tended to do the psyche of those who activated it on purpose instead of accidentally, Itachi was probably crazy by now.

Second, the ROOT assault leaders reported finding information that the Uchiha Elders had been in contact with unknown persons in Ame and in Kiri. The communications they found were vague and some of it was in a cypher they had still not cracked, but the implications – that elements of those two villages were trying to cause disruptions in Kohona – was troubling. Shisui had not heard anything about that, but remembered that Itachi had been dispatched several times on orders from Fugaku to missions in Wave – close enough to Kiri and Ame to be reachable without raising any eyebrows.

Finally, despite searching all clan members and the entire Uchiha district, the missing eye of Shisui had not been found. Kagami was beginning to suspect that Danzo was behind the disappearance – either his ROOT agents had found the thing in the assault and Danzo kept it quiet...or that it was ROOT who assaulted Shisui and stole the eye in the first place.

He shook his head, unwilling to go too far down that line of thinking. Danzo never hid the fact that, like Kagami himself, he would go to any lengths to secure Kohona. Leaving the power to dominate minds in the hands of a young man from a clan that had just rebelled, despite the fact he had acted as a double agent and proven his loyalty, was unthinkable.

Unlike Fugaku, Kagami knew full well how dangerous Danzo was. Despite the fact that the two men worked well together and had for over forty years, Kagami knew Danzo would kill him and the rest of his clan in a heartbeat if there was an advantage for Kohona to be had, or if they became a danger.

The coldly pragmatic part of him, the part that had interested the Nidaime and driven him to become Clan Head at nineteen, the part that had steered the Uchiha Clan through a pair of Ninja Wars and built it up to become one of the most powerful forces in the village, could understand and accept such a cold action. The part of him that was a Uchiha hated it. But regardless, he was not about to bring it up. If Danzo had the eye, he would find it did not work on those who possessed an active Sharingan themselves – and if he wanted to brainwash the rest of the village to ensure Kohona's dominance, that was fine with him.

Unfortunately, that still left the problem that his clan now consisted of a grand total of less twenty people, and needed to rebuild its ranks quickly.

Well, and Obito, but that crippled fool didn't count. Quite frankly, if he'd died on that idiot mission it would have been no great loss, and the fact that the sentimental idiot had GIVEN away one of his eyes infuriated him. At least Kakashi had made better use of the thing than Obito ever could, given his condition.

Thus, he was here, watching Sasuke in the open demonstration component of the test, being evaluated on his physical fitness and chakra nature, hoping to see that the boy was at least able to live up to his name given the trauma he'd been exposed to.

Danzo glanced over to look at him. "You seem lost in thought."

Kagami gave a faint smile. "Attempting to determine the best way to rebuild the clan again, that is all. We no longer have the members to do in-clan marriages. Mikoto is still young enough to have one more child, but I doubt she will ever want to enter into marriage again – she is already making noises about rejoining the jonin ranks. Shisui is dating that Nara girl, and we'll have to see about the younger children once they get a bit older."

Danzo nodded. "And Sasuke?"

Kagami gave a chuckle. "He's got four or five years of dodging love-struck girls ahead of him. If he's like most of us, he won't want to settle down for a bit yet, especially once he's old enough that the girl's attentions are … appreciated instead of irritating. It's a stage most of us pretty boys go through."

Kagami was slightly surprised to hear the rusty chuckle that was the closest Danzo ever got to full out laughter. "You were never a pretty boy, Kagami. You were just stubborn. I remember Iyalia hitting you in the head every time you asked her out for a date, and I thought Old Man Yamanaka was going to fry your brain when you got her pregnant."

Kagami winced. Given the often delicate appearance of the Yamanaka, his wife's father – a mountain of a man with a voice like irritated thunder – had been incredibly intimidating to a seventeen year old boy. "Worked out in the end, though, didn't it?" He then sighed, and shrugged. "You haven't asked about her recently. I'm assuming you haven't found out anything?"

Danzo gave a careful shake of his head. "Whoever nearly killed her was very good at covering their tracks. I can only speculate as to motive, but the equipment used was made in Sea Country – which provides gear to a dozen minor nations, nine of which have hidden villages. The cats-paws of some other group, no doubt." He made a fist with his good hand. "Do not worry, old friend. I will find out who was behind it, and they will pay."

Kagami waved it off. "Vengeance is a road my clan should never travel, Danzo." He would have said more, but instead arched an eyebrow as the chakra nature testing was beginning. The testing was simple enough : a student channeled chakra into a specially prepared plate of chakra metal, and fuinjutsu symbols along the top rim would light up based on the elemental nature. A symbol that did not illuminate meant no talent in that type. Blue was weak, green was strong, and white was very strong. Red indicated an elemental dual-nature – something almost never seen.

He narrowed his eyes as Sasuke stepped up, channeling his chakra into the fuin-inscribed plate of metal at the front of the room, then smiled widely when the symbols for fire and lightning both illuminated, the fire glowing green, the lightning white.

"Good fire affinity and outstanding lightning affinity. Quite a surprise for the boy to have lightning instead of the usual wind." Danzo's voice was musing.

Kagami nodded at Danzo's words. "The question is, who should he be apprenticed to? The only good lightning users of jonin rank are Kakashi and that utter fool Gai, who doesn't even use ninjutsu. There are a few others who have the skillset...but they are all chunin."

Danzo nodded. "I have a member in my own ranks who is excellent at lightning release, he can tutor the boy. But given what we plan to do with this year's ranks, it's most likely he will end up in a team and can learn at his own pace."

Kagami watched a few other children test their chakra, with most unable to activate even a single sigil. "Oh? You are still committed to going back to three man jonin-led teams?"

Danzo nodded. "We now have enough new ninja that one-on-one training would mean some possible outstanding students don't get taught. Given the size of this class...twelve should be sufficient, four three-man teams. The rest will be handled per normal." He looked at Kagami. "Which leaves the question who exactly should your child be paired with?"

Kagami thought on this as he watched Naruto touch the chakra plate, with bright white symbols for earth and water and a very faint green symbol for lightning. "Huh, three elements."

Danzo nodded. "The Earth and Water are probably from the Kyuubi. People assume it is related to fire, but the elemental make up of most of the attacks we saw were doton. After all, the stories claims it raised earthquakes and tidal waves, not firestorms."

Kagami nodded. "Interesting choice." He watched the next few children test, frowning as one came up with pink hair. "Pink?"

Danzo glanced over the railing, and gave a black scowl. "Dye, perhaps. Frivolous." He then gave a soft exhalation as the girl activated bright green for lightning and blue for wind. "...interesting. No one else had expressed lightning affinity except those three. And between them they cover Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, and Lightning."

Kagami gave the Hokage a look. "I do not think putting Naruto on a team with Sasuke – much less some civilian girl – is necessarily wise." He paused to watch the Nara boy test his affinity, coming out with a strong connection to the usual earth, and continued. "Despite how well the boy's tenant is hidden, the Sharingan will see the chakra if Naruto becomes unable to control it, and will have questions that are difficult to answer."

Danzo nodded at this. "Very true. However, consider – this is going to be true of any team the boy is on. Shibi's son probably already knows, and if he doesn't the first time they get into a life or death fight he's likely to find out. Ino Yamanaka is, by all reports, too nosy and headstrong to resist using her clan jutsu without being told exactly why she cannot do so. Hinata already suspects, based on what Hiashi tells me."

He gestured to the rows of children below. "And in any case, whoever he is paired with will eventually have to know once we begin attempting to have him use that chakra. Some of what we have learned with Sai will be useful there. As it stands, I already have workable team templates setup – all that remains is to brief the jonin I have chosen."

Kagami shrugged. "Then at least let me tell Sasuke myself. It would help to frame the issue in … a certain light that will be constructive and motivating."

Danzo mulled this for several seconds. "...as you wish. Now, the main bulk of the tests is done, it is time to speak to the cadets. I trust you will handle the Silent?"

Kagami nodded. "Yes. I'll have a report for the ROOT when I'm done."

O-DANZOSAMA-O

The class, once over a hundred twenty students strong, had been broken down into smaller groups, each sent into a separate room. Each room was identical – sixty desks and chairs, arranged in a semicircle around an elevated plinth with the teacher's desk, flanked by chalkboards and chakra resistant plates for the demonstration of jutsu. Charts of human anatomy and maps of the Elemental Nations crowded the back wall.

After the long series of tests, each group had been herded along, and given a particular armband to wear designating their skillset – or lack thereof. They were instructed to wait patiently to be briefed.

The largest group, some fifty five students, were those with some minor chakra ability, but not really enough to join the ranks of the genin. These were slated to join either a civilian finishing school or the reserve program. Each one had been given a pale blue armband. They talked quietly among themselves – all of them were civilian born, and this result was hardly a surprise or disappointment to most of them. The jonin in charge of the militia program was even now briefing them on the choice they faced, along with the advantages and needs to join the program.

In the room next to them , dwarfed by the number of empty seats, were six boys and two girls with zero chakra capacity who were going to be enlisted in the ranks of the Silent. Such children were rare, and to have eight in one year was almost unheard of. Each one wore a black armband, and glanced at each other nervously, and then at the man who entered their room – an old man with dark hair and a dangerous air about him, who smiled thinly at their trepidation.

A third room held the forty-five or so children with the chakra levels suitable for further training, which would last until they were moved into the general ninja ranks as high genin. While the majority of these children were from shinobi families or even clans, there was a sprinkling of civilians with innate talent. Each one had a green armband, printed with their chakra affinity and several other numbers.

Finally, twelve boys and girls sat in a class room by themselves with white armbands and numbers from 1 to 12 showing their overall class ranking. With a single exception, all of them were members of one of the Great Clans of Kohona.

The standout, a smaller girl with thin limbs and pale pink hair, chewed her lip nervously, eyeing the bold number nine on her armband. She'd expected to maybe make it to the lower ranks of those at least chosen for further shinobi education...but never had she even dreamed to be one of the top ten percent of the class.

The others in the room had broken up into small groups – the Aburame and the two Hyuuga off by themselves, the Yamanaka, Akamichi and the two Nara siblings sitting in the middle, the lonely looking Uchiha boy who was so cute by himself, and the two dog using Inuzuka sitting close to the door and chatting with the Sarutobi boy. The girl was too intimidated to try to talk to any of them, so she instead nervously went back over the thick test packet she'd been handed.

As she did so, however, the door opened, and an old man walked into the room. His rich black kimono was obscured by the white and red Hokage robes, and his hat was in his hands, revealing his bandaged eye. His other eye was fierce, dark, cold and narrow, the hard planes of his face set off by scars, most prominent the X shaped one on his chin.

What little of his hair that could be seen was still thick and black, although a bit of silver was visible on his left temple. With an elegance that belied the need for the cane he held or his bound arm, he sat down on top of the teacher's desk at the front of the class slantwise.

His voice was deep, rough and grave, and completely without inflection. "You have proven yourselves to be the most talented students of this year's cadet classes. You have been soldiers from the moment you entered our scholastic system, but now you have made your first steps towards progress – in your future ninja careers and in defending our home."

His eye flickered over the class. "Congratulations on the first step, but keep in mind this is only a step. You are no doubt aware of the general practice when it comes to the top students of each class – a private, one-on-one apprenticeship to an elite jonin-sensei."

He glanced around the room, measuring interest. Sasuke was fixated on him, the Inuzuka twins looked pleased, and the Nara boy was clearly bored, while his sister looked like she was going to fall asleep. As expected, Naruto was listening attentively, while Shino merely adjusted his glasses. The civilian girl, Haruno, looked worried.

"However, such a method was put into place mostly due to the fact that we needed forces trained as rapidly as possible, with as many skills as possible. It has been a successful program for the most part, and produced many fine ninja. But by definition it is limited by the number of available elite jonin without an apprentice for any given year, and we have almost reached capacity."

"As such, your records and test results will be used, along with other methods, to determine the best results for you as you are placed in three-man teams lead by a jonin. This is the method Kohona used once to train students – I myself was on one such team, along with Kagami Uchiha and Choji's grandfather, Torifu."

He saw the Akamichi's eyes widen, and continued. "This method will enable you to learn the true power of Kohona. Teamwork. Each of you is talented, but as genin, very limited. But even when you are in the fullness of your power and maturity, you must remember that the ninja world you are entering is not something you can survive without backup."

"You are, like all shinobi and kunochi, tools for the village. But a swordsman's blade, while being a tool, is also his most valued possession. It must be honed, cared for, and used in the proper manner, or the blade will shatter, regardless of how strong it is. Thus it is so with us. I will not coddle you due to your youth and claim this is a job for anyone. Your job is murder, terror, confusion and deception."

He glanced around again. "You may have expected ninja life to consist of huge and powerful jutsu and flashy maneuvers. This is not so. The average battle between two ninja lasts less than ten seconds. That brief span of time could be your last one day, if you are not prepared. Battles that drag out are only found at the very highest levels of power, and it is … unlikely … that you will see or have to face such enemies for a decade or more."

He straightened slightly. "If there is one thing I must impress upon all of you, it is simple." His left hand made a subtle hand-sign, as his voice took on a ringing tone of command. "Emotions are dangerous when left uncontrolled. Master your emotions lest they master you."

Everyone in the class blinked, as if confused, and the old man in front of them seemed to sag a bit, before grunting and standing. "The instructors for this year are meeting even now. You are dismissed for thirty minutes to obtain lunch, then report back to this room at two. Anyone not on time will be dismissed from the shinobi program – am I clear?"

In unison, the class responded. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Off you go...with one exception. Haruno, a moment."

Sakura Haruno stiffened in fear before shivering and standing, walking over to the Hokage and bowing nervously, as her mother had taught her to do. "Y-yes, Hokage-sama?"

Danzo waited the few seconds until the class emptied to speak. "It has been many years since a civilian-born ninja was able to place so highly in the rankings. The last person to do so, in fact, was Jiraiya of the Sannin. Your teachers were very impressed with your chakra control...and the fact you have two affinities. That is … highly unlikely in a child of non-shinobi parents."

Sakura bit her lip. "M-my mother doesn't know much about her parents...and my great-grandfather was a Kumo samurai who was a failed ninja."

Danzo said nothing for two long seconds, then nodded. "Interesting. I am impressed with your performance, Haruno, as well as your potential talent. However, I expect all of my potential shinobi to be serious. Hair dye is not professional."

She blushed. "Hokage-sama, that is my natural hair color. M-my father has the same."

Danzo gave her a clear look of incredulity for a split second before surprising her with a rusty-sounding chuckle. "Is that so? How strange." He ran a finger down his jawline thoughtfully. "Very well. You may go."

He watched her leave and then made a subtle signal with his good hand. One of his ROOT appeared next to him. "Danzo-sama?"

"Do a workup on a civilian family. Haruno. Petty merchants, I believe. Hospital records, blood work, and financial. Bizarre hair color is usually a signifier of some kind of genetic modification...like a kekkai genkai. It's possible the girl is a plant...however unlikely. Make sure that isn't the case."

The ROOT member paused. "And if it is the case, Danzo-sama? Liquidation or T&I?"

Danzo was silent for two seconds before speaking. "Neither. Localize the backers and report back, take no action at this time."

The ROOT gave a short nod and vanished, as Danzo slowly picked up his cane and thought ahead to the afternoon.

O-DANZOSAMA-O

Naruto frowned as he entered the food stand, walking behind Shino and in front of Hinata and Ino. He'd never been here before – he'd rarely been anywhere in the village, actually – and was content to follow Shino's lead.

The food stall was small – a kitchen behind a serving counter with six seats, a pair of tables in the rear with more seats protected by a canvas overhang – but the smell was certainly appealing. Shino walked quietly up to the counter and took a seat, and the rest followed his actions.

The proprietor was an older man, with unusually hard features set into a pleased smile. "Ah, Shino-san, good afternoon? You brought friends, this time?"

Shino nodded, his lower face concealed behind his high collar. "Hai, Teuchi-san. These are my classmates, Ino Yamanaka, and Naruto and Hinata Hyuuga." He paused. "We have been chosen to join the elite program, and were given until two to find sustenance."

The ramen chef gave a surprisingly sharp glance over the rest of the children before nodding briskly. "A pleasure to meet you all. Shino, I'll have your favorite made up – what would the rest of you like?"

Ino glanced over the menu, sighing. "A chicken ramen, please."

Hinata's soft voice sounded next. "Miso ramen, sir."

Naruto glanced over the menu absently. To be honest he was not that hungry, but he was responsible for the safety of Hinata, and he supposed working to get to know future teammates would be of some use. His mind was still recovering from the shock of learning his burden. With a sigh he gave a shrug and placed the menu down. "I'll take a miso ramen as well."

The chef was already in motion, deftly moving ingredients about and stirring various coppered kettles full of boiling noodles. Shino spoke softly as he watched him cook. "When I was small, my father would bring me here to eat. Some restaurants do not … appreciate the sacrifices of my clan, and prefer not to have us in their facilities. Teuchi-san, on the other hand, was honored. We have patronized his business for years."

Naruto arched an eyebrow, but Ino gave a frown. "People don't like your bugs, Shino-kun? Stupid idiots."

Hinata sounded apologetic. "People often fear what they do not understand...and people do not want to understand what they fear." She sighed. "Look at how they treat that poor boy with the Kyuubi sealed in him."

Ino rolled her eyes. "That's different. I can see people being nervous about that, even if it's stupid – that guy is the creepiest person I've ever met. But … I've seen Shino's bugs. My family has them all around, they help us with the arboretum we use for our poisons and trance medications."

Naruto gave a faint, bitter smile. He wondered how his friends would react when the truth about him came out. Shrugging it aside, he spoke. "Hiashi-sama always has said that to cater to the whims of fools is to make yourself a fool." He turned to Shino. "I'm sorry your family has to put up with that."

Four bowls were placed in front of them as Shino nodded calmly. "I was merely explaining my familiarity, Naruto-san."

Naruto took a pinch of the noodles into his chopsticks and ate, then raised both eyebrows in surprise. "...this is delicious!" He ate more rapidly, although careful to maintain the rigid decorum drilled into him by Hiashi, and Hinata giggled.

"Naruto-nii, you usually don't like things like this." She smiled, happy to see her brother-figure so animated for once.

"But this is really good!"

The stall was silent for several minutes, save for the sound of slurped noddles, and then the sound of an empty bowl. "...um, Teuchi-san, could I have another?"

Ino's voice was louder than usual. "Kami, Naruto! How can you already be done?!"

O-DANZOSAMA-O

The four jonin stood uneasily in the Hokage's office, watching as their leader sat down slowly behind the desk, setting aside the hat of the position and examining each of them in turn.

Leaning against the wall, Kakashi Hatake met his leader's gaze placidly. He often found himself missing the old days, before the death of the Third Hokage. Sarutobi had often been exasperated with Hatake's lateness and excuses, but had tolerated such. Danzo wasn't someone to play around like that, unfortunately.

That didn't mean he was going to care about what Danzo wanted, but it wasn't worth getting the old warhawk all riled up. Besides, he usually left pissing Danzo off up to Obito, since he was so good at it.

He instead glanced over the others in the room, curious as to the collection of jonin here. As usual, none of them were from a clan – Danzo had done away with the very concept of 'minor' clans years ago, and only the Major Clans had any special rights nowadays.

Still, the group was rather … odd.

Anko Mitarashi was the former apprentice of the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru. Her loyalty had been savagely tested in the aftermath of her master's betrayal and death, but she had come through it, determined to prove herself and her dependability. She had succeeded in even winning over the ever-distrustful Danzo, and her presence in this room spoke of her progress. Kakashi was sad she no longer wore nothing but mesh and a skirt, but her more professional appearance nowadays bespoke of her not needing coping mechanisms as much. She was known for a focus on assassination, stealth, seduction, and poisons, as well as her lethal snake summons.

Kurenai Yuni was the daughter of one of the old-school shinobi who'd been tight with Danzo and his little clique back when the Second Hokage was still around, and the woman shared her father's nasty skills with genjutsu, especially chakra-parasitic layered genjutsu that only got worse the more you tried to dispel them. She was also rather skilled in diplomacy and etiquette, and an expert tracker and scout, but not much for direct combat – a curious specialization in the more military focus of Kohona's shinobi forces. She had barely made jonin a month before, however, and was considered somewhat green – making her an unlikely choice for jonin-sensei.

Ebisu Tsuku was a thin and delicate looking man specializing in the training of ninja, and was typically one of the instructors of the general ninja corps who showed a great deal of promise. While certainly not a powerhouse by any means, he was one of the few jonin who had experience and knowledge in wind, water and earth jutsu alongside the normal fire affinity, and was surprisingly nasty in the use of traps, ambushes and collaboration jutsu. He was especially skilled at conditioning, however, and had turned more than one seemingly unimpressive civilian cadet into nightmare shinobi.

Aoba Yamashiro was a tall, thin and somewhat aloof ninja who had only come back onto active duty after recovering from an A-ranked mission turned S-rank. Another genjutsu specialist, he was more well rounded than Kurenai – skilled in traps, mental invasion, forgery, and stealth, often combining his genjutsu and speed with such things to create truly ugly ambushes. He was also one of the few in the village who could combine kenjutsu with elemental attacks or even genjutsu, making him extremely lethal.

Danzo glanced at each of them in turn before opening the file folder on the desk. "The class for this year has produced a higher than expected number of talented recruits. The last three years of classes have produced a total of twenty three shinobi in apprenticeships – this year we have twelve students that qualify. Unfortunately, we only have nine qualified jonin, and four of those are borderline for the sort of experience an apprenticeship would entail."

Danzo's good hand turned the page. "Therefore, we will be reverting back to the traditional three-man genin teams as of this class, which is why you are here. You should have already received the information packets for each student."

Ebisu spoke up. "Hokage-sama, have you already designed teams, or is that something to establish in this meeting?"

Danzo gave a slow nod. "I have already put together potential teams based on skill level and the needs of the village. The first team would be Naruto Hyuuga, Sasuke Uchiha, and a civilian-born girl who made the cut, Sakura Haruno. Naruto would provide scouting and melee ability. Sasuke genjutsu defense and primary ninjutsu, and the girl has nearly perfect chakra control, making her useful for genjutsu support and medical jutsu. This would be a free-response team."

"The next team would be a heavy combat team, composed of Kiba Inuzuka, Kira Inuzuka, and Shikamaru Nara. The Nara would be the planner and use his Shadowbind to hold targets for the two Inuzuka to flank and attack. The boy is decent enough with fire jutsu for offensive ability and the girl is good at genjutsu, and they are trained to work as a single unit so breaking them up is pointless. The Inuzuka hounds would give the team a level of tracking capability if needed."

"The third team would be composed of Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame. This would most likely be an ambush and assassination unit. The Yamanaka mind jutsu combined with the Aburame barrier and insect techniques would allow for rapid scouting and information gathering, while the Hyuuga shows excellent prowess with the Juken and is being trained in medical ninjutsu as well."

"The final team would be a capture and containment team, comprised of Choji Akamichi, Sarakai Nara, and Kohonamaru Sarutobi. It is a slight modification of the Ino-Shika-Cho unit, swapping out the Yamanaka component for the Sarutobi's higher combat ability. The Nara would bind and the Sarutobi would be able to use heavy ninjutsu to hold off reinforcements or attackers while the Akamichi took out the primary target. The Nara girl has an interest in medicinal herbs and may want to look into medical jutsu or poisons as well."

Danzo closed the folder. "Some modifications to the teams is acceptable, but the teams as designed would give us exactly the components we need at this time." His good eye narrowed. "Team One would be trained by Kakashi. Team Two would be handed over to Aoba."

The Hokage leaned back slightly in his seat. "The best sensei for teams Three and Four is somewhat more difficult. Ideally, Anko would lead the third team and Ebisu the fourth, but the chakra control of the Yamanaka and the Hyuuga means that they could also become devastating genjutsu specialists."

Danzo glanced between Anko and Kurenai. "You two work well together, yes?"

Kuranai gave a single nod, while Anko looked amused. "Nai-chan and I make a good team, Hokage-sama."

Danzo nodded. "Very well. Kuranai, you will train Team Three along with Anko. When you are not engaged in such training, you will offer genjutsu and diplomatic training to team one. Assuming the teams perform well, this will be useful training for you and you will be assigned your own team on the next school cycle."

Kurenai bowed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Danzo turned to Ebisu. "You will work with Team Four, but I would appreciate it you drew up a conditioning schedule for all four teams to adhere to. Your skills in pure training are highly effective."

Ebisu was astonished at such praise."Of course, Hokage-sama! I will begin immediately!"

Aoba rubbed his chin. "How is this supposed to work? Do we test them like back in the old days?"

Danzo shook his head. "No. Or rather, how you choose to train them is up to you, but you are not allowed to send them back to the general corps. The only real restriction I have for you is that they must be blooded in live combat and with a kill to their name in three months. We have no time to coddle them like children, the situation in Iwa and the uprising in Kiri is destabilizing faster than expected."

Danzo's eye narrowed. "There is also the rumor of a new Hidden Village somewhere in Rice, but so far our intelligence is sketchy. If it is true, then the situation in Grass and Tea is likely to become hot rather fast. Your teams may see full combat before the year is out if that happens, so train them accordingly."

"The students should be returning from lunch. You have your orders. Hatake, do not even think of being late."

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Hokage-sama."

Danzo glared. "You are even worse than Obito."

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Hokage-sama." Kakashi gave an eye-smile and vanished in a shunshin.

A/N:

Some very minor OCs introduced here to round out some of the teams.

I've changed around a few ages (Kohonamaru in particular) and made some adjustments to the skillsets of a few characters. Gai is apprenticing Rock Lee, Tenten is being apprenticed by Yugao, and Neji is being apprenticed by his father.

Yes, Obito is alive and in Kohona. I wonder who the Uchiha was that pulled the Kyuubi out of Kushina?