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Accidental Gamer Hero by Knowing Autumn
 Anime » Naruto Rated: M, English, Fantasy, Hinata H., OC, Words: 198k+, Favs: 3k+, Follows: 4k+, Published: Dec 5, 2020 Updated: 15h ago1,954Chapter 13: Kakashi's Test
A/N: So regarding the jutsu names vis-à-vis Japanese-English translations; after reading some of the feedback I decided to go with a mix style for most jutsu except the more iconic ones. i.e. "Katon: Grand Fireball" and "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" or "Rasengan". This is how it'll be organized from here on out, just fyi.
Really, very, extremely touched by all the reviews praising my fight scenes. Although there might have been a misunderstanding – I do not intend at all to reduce or skip fight scenes, except for dungeon runs. I love writing them, and I understand many of you love reading them too. That said, I am super heartened by all the support y'all have given. Let's get this story up to the ranks of "Yami: The Gamer Kage" and "Ninja Gamer". Let's gooooooo!
After Asuma announced we passed our genin test, we were taken to another restaurant to celebrate. Once we got settled in, I took the opportunity to tell Team Ten why I chose to hide my true abilities in the academy. They were mostly the same reasons as I had shared with the Sandaime; not wanting to be treated differently and wishing to stay and graduate with my friends.
Hinata seemed touched that I would go to such lengths in order to not part with the Rookie 9, while Shino expressed confusion over such an 'illogical' choice. Although the Aburame also conceded that he too would have been hard pressed to make a decision in my shoes.
Regardless, the both of them forgave my discretion, though I didn't really feel like there was anything to forgive in the first place. I honestly felt that my actions were reasonable for someone in my position. I wasn't someone who sought fame or glory by mimicking the actions of vaunted prodigies by displaying my 'genius' for the whole word to see.
But what did I want then? It was a question that I had contemplated for some time now. These past four years passed by in a blur – training, academy and train even more. This was a routine that had dictated nearly every waking moment of my life. But what was the point of all that? Was it to become a hero along side Naruto and Sasuke and save the world? And then what?
I had chosen to reincarnate to the Naruverse in a fugue state thinking it was all just a dream; and ever since then The Gamer's Mind might just have been the only thing preventing the collapse of my sanity. I knew that I had to become strong to survive in this world of monsters and demons, human or otherwise. Thus, I trained. I exhausted myself grinding skills and stats, sparring and learning. All to become strong enough so I would never be threatened by said villains.
With the Gamer System, there was a possibility that my growth would be limitless as long as I continued accumulating EXP. What happens when I reach level 100? Or 500? Level 999? Would I become a demigod and remain as some sort of mythical overlord of this continent, or be content acting out the part of a mere human? I had chosen to reincarnate in this world thinking it would be fun… should I just continue following this mindset and just enjoy myself?
It was an existential crisis that would always be erased by The Gamer's Mind whenever I started spiralling downwards mentally – almost as if the system was telling me not to bother with thinking too hard about my situation. I was tempted to take its advice.
Rain started pouring just as we finished eating and Asuma began briefing us on our responsibilities and weekly schedule. From tomorrow onwards, we would begin taking missions assigned to us by the village. Specifically, D-ranked missions.
Asuma then took the time to explain the significance and importance behind D-ranked missions. What was the point of making shinobi, even if we were just genins, perform glorified chores for a wage that far surpassed market rate hiring regular workers? Shinobi who had been trained by the village for four years or more to be killers and spies at that.
Simply put, the reason for all these was to cultivate patriotism and loyalty within the genins. Before sending them out on dangerous missions that could potentially lead them to their deaths, the village leaders wanted the genins to remember exactly what they were doing it all for. They weren't killing for the old men and women on the council leading the village. They were especially not doing it for the decrepit daimyo sitting on his throne in his palace miles away in the Capital city.
No. Whether it was assassinations, espionage, seduction or even committing slaughter – all was done for the safety and prosperity of the common folk living within Konoha. And for the village leaders, they believed there to be no better way to instil this devotion to the village than having the newly graduated shinobi work for said common folk.
To put it nicely, we were being mentally prepared to work hard for our village. But if you thought about it cynically, it was a form of indoctrination. The process of inculcating the village's trained killers with ideas and attitudes that framed our cognitive mindsets. How we understood and saw the world around us would revolve around the idea that the village and its prosperity was our greatest priority, even more so than our selfish desires or lives.
It also had to be made known that this was not a practice shared by every hidden village. In fact, Konoha was the only shinobi village that actively pushed for their genins to take part in D-ranked missions. Perhaps it had something to do with the various S-ranked shinobi that eventually went rogue throughout our history or just a side-effect of Konoha's immense wealth and military might.
Which other village could heavily subsidize D-ranked missions, those being a lot more expensive than just hiring regular day-laborers instead of shinobi, or spare precious manpower and soldiers to paint civilians' fences instead of sending them out on more profitable missions?
D-ranked missions awarded 1000 ryo to every participating shinobi at least. That was the wages for an entire day of hard labour for most folk but only took at most an hour or two of the genins' time doing relatively easy work. Dog-walking, baby-sitting, fence painting; all of these tasks would pay something along the lines of 100 ryo an hour for regular workers, but ten times that for shinobi.
So why would mission requesters pay that much more just to hire genins? Because they don't. The mission requesters are not required to fork out the entire fee for D-ranked missions. They pay twenty percent of that at most. The rest of it is subsidized by Konoha's extensive treasury. If one added up all the subsidies and expenses provided by the village for things like D-ranked missions, veteran pensions or shinobi healthcare, it totalled a staggering amount annually.
While Asuma had not touched upon how exactly Konoha could afford to invest that much in their annual budget, I could speculate the source of the village's finances. If one asked why exactly does the Hokage answer to the Land of Fire's daimyo, the answer would be: money. The billions of ryo funded by the Land of Fire's treasury took up roughly 60 percent of Konoha's gross domestic product. Without this financial support, Konoha would be relegated to the status of a second-rate hidden village like Takigakure or Kusagakure.
Of course, it was not a one-sided relationship. In exchange for this funding, Konoha provided formidable soldiers, serving at the beck and call of the Daimyo and his ministers. Not only to fight in their wars, but also for the purposes of espionage, sabotage or assassinations. Yet, Konoha weren't directly servants of the Daimyo. The relationship was slightly more complicated than one between an emperor and his subjects. It was closer to something akin to a partially owned subsidiary company and the major corporation backing it. The Daimyo held 'board seats' and had voting rights, but day-to-day operations were still under the control of the CEO, the Hokage.
The subsidiary company's employees, meaning us, still answered to our CEO. Whereas the CEO had to submit quarterly 'financial' reports to our primary investor – the Daimyo, to show that his investments were not being put to waste. It was a symbiotic relationship, even though the power dynamics was complicated to pin down.
So then came the question behind why Kages of hidden villages did not simply charge into their respective sponsor nations' capitals and take the throne by force? First of all, even if you disregarded the hidden masters under the employ of the daimyos who were possibly at kage-level strength themselves, never has there been a country that prospered under military dictatorship. Just look at the world history in my previous life; governments that took control using military force were never able to maintain their political legitimacy or executive power.
Furthermore, the people of this continent were superstitious, and they believed in the right to rule by mandate of heaven. Meaning, the common folk living in the nations who paid their taxes and were essentially the lifeblood of any state power, believed that the Heavens decided who would rule. It was not up to the mortals to decide who were to be their king. Rather, the political legitimacy possessed by the daimyos were a result of a divine mandate.
Thus, the Daimyos of this continent and their royal lineage were the only ones perceived by the common folk to have the divine right to rule over them. Anyone else, even if they were Kage-level shinobi who could take over a nation like Orochimaru and his self-titled Land of Sound, were sure to face backlash and insurgencies within their territory.
Sometimes, overwhelming might and military violence was not the answer to every problem. Especially so for Kage-level individuals; because to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Wise leaders like Senju Hashirama and the founders of other hidden villages understood such a concept and were able to adapt, eventually leading to the creation of hidden villages and their partnership with their respective Daimyos.
Other than the missions, we would also begin training under Asuma; working on our individual skillsets as well as teamwork drills to improve our coordination. The jounin began by praising our strengths before pointing out our weaknesses.
For Hinata, while she was skilled in taijutsu based on the Gentle Fist, she relied too heavily on close combat and getting close to the enemy. This wouldn't be an issue if she were the incarnation of the Yondaime Hokage, the fastest shinobi in the world to have lived. But she wasn't. Which made it a problem in cases where she could not physically be in range for her Gentle Fist. Against an opponent who specialized in mid to long-range ninjutsu, Hinata would be helpless.
For Shino, his Aburame clan techniques were extremely versatile tools that could serve many purposes. However, this also made him a jack of all trades but master of none. Asuma admitted that due to Shino's unique Aburame biology, the genin would be greatly limited when it came to non-Aburame techniques.
Since Asuma was not privy to their clan secrets, there was little he could do to teach Shino on that front. However, what the jounin could do for the genin was to reinforce his fundamentals, refine his close combat skills and work on advanced chakra control techniques like Chakra Enhancement - skills that were the essentials for breaking through to chuunin level.
As for me, Asuma talked about honing my combat sense and getting rid of the bad habit I developed through over reliance on the Sharingan. As well as starting to work on Nature Transformation; the moulding and changing of one's chakra by altering its properties and characteristics according to their elemental affinity. Mastery over their chakra natures was an unofficial requirement for promotion to jounin rank and jounin level strength which I sensed was a goal Asuma was setting for me.
I had wondered about how effective such a training would be for me who already had [Natural Fire Affinity] and [Natural Wind Affinity] perks. I also mused about Asuma's reaction when he found out about my chakra affinities, both of which were elements he had mastered as well.
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.
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The light shower in the evening had turned into a heavy shower by the time I got home after Team Ten's celebratory dinner. We had stayed longer than we initially planned because Asuma had started drinking and talked for way too long about this or that. Mostly they were stories about his time in the Capital; the who's who and what's what of the Imperial court. Interesting, but I doubted the relevancy of such information to our careers.
Shino and Hinata were too polite to interject even as they repeatedly glanced at the clock in the restaurant, subtly signalling to our jounin squad leader of how late it was getting and their desire to return home. Whereas I was paying courtesy to the unspoken social dynamics of socializing between the subordinate and his superior.
It took the Aburame to finally speak out about the time and need to rest for our early day tomorrow for Asuma to realize how long he had been talking for and dismissing us for the night. The man looked to have been overly excited about his new genin team, a rekindled passion of sorts.
When I reached the apartment complex I had been staying at the past four years, I noticed someone sitting at my doorstep. Since it was already late at night, the only light source being the streetlamp some distance away and add on the reduced visibility due to the heavy rain, I could hardly make out who exactly it was and why they were seemingly waiting for me.
I cautiously approached the figure, ready to either [Flash Step] away or fling a shuriken at the unknown person. Upon hearing my footsteps, the figure, who had previously been looking down and hugging their knees, looked up towards me. I relaxed my body when I recognized the brown hair and plain face of my childhood friend.
"Kaori, what are you doing here?" I asked, watching her shivering from the cold and rain.
As I stood a few feet away from her, both of us drenched from the rain, she started tearing up. Kaori launched herself at me, clutching tightly in a hug.
"Shinji-kun… I-I failed… *hic*" She sobbed into my shoulder.
I sighed deeply, awkwardly patting her back while returning the hug. To be frank, her team failing the jounin test wasn't unexpected. They were, to put it bluntly, nobodies, and certainly not deserving of personal grooming by the village under an elite jounin – strategic assets too precious to spare as glorified babysitters for genins without talent.
Rubbing her back soothingly while she continued sobbing and speaking incoherently into my shoulder, I waited for her to cry it out. I had been looking forward to checking out my newly acquired [Natural Wind Affinity] tonight, but it looks like that wasn't happening anytime soon. It would be too cruel to turn her away, and I wasn't heartless enough to leave a girl crying out in the rain.
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.
.
'That bitch!' Hinata venomously cursed in as she watched Kaori hug Shinji from a distance with her Byakuugan, 'How dare she!?'
She was tempted to come out of her hiding spot and break that bitch's arms for daring to put those filthy hands on her dear Shinji-kun.
'You're just taking advantage of his kindness. You don't know him like I do!' Hinata's hand trembled, as a faint glow of chakra was layered around her fingertips. 'Even I haven't hugged Shinji, and yet… and yet she dares to do so before me!?'
What was initially just her thoughts soon came out of her mouth as the Hyuuga heiress began muttering under her breath repeatedly. "Unforgiveable, unforgiveable, unforgiveable, unforgiveable, unforgiveable…"
The veins around her eyes bulged as she strained her Byakuugan to the limits, glaring daggers into the other girl. If looks could kill, Kaori would have died a horrible, brutal death.
Just as she was about to lose control of her emotions and explode in a fury, a voice nearby shook her from the indescribable wrath within.
"Hinata-sama. Hiashi-sama requests for your return to the compound. It is getting late."
Hinata turned and saw the familiar sight of her Hyuuga attendant, Kou, standing attentively next to her.
"Ah, of course! Silly me, I must have lost track of time. Let's return, Kou-san." She replied cheerily, though aware that the seething anger still remained. 'Well, I'm still in the same team as Shinji-kun. We'll see who laughs last, bitch.'
As Hinata walked off in the direction of the Hyuuga clan compound, Kou watched her back furtively. 'What a frightening mistress... Hiashi-sama really did a number on her.'
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Shino entered the clan compound without much fanfare from the guards. Theirs was a quiet clan; a reserved family that preferred the unostentatious. Silently dutiful was their unofficial motto. So even when the clan's heir who was to be the next leader of the Aburame walked by the clan members, even a nod of acknowledgement might be considered much too expressive.
He could feel the kikaichuu within his body moving more sluggishly than usual because of the rain. They were busy replenishing their numbers after the battle in the day that cost their hive thousands of their members. But with time, their numbers will burgeon once more, and he too would return to full strength. The Aburame were not suited for a battle of attrition or any such drawn out conflicts. It took time to re-establish their population, and they would be vulnerable in times like this.
Shino was still fixated on the image of the fight between Asuma and Shinji. Memories of blades clashing and blurry figures going faster than he could even comprehend plagued his mind. Shino could hardly believe one of them was his own age, someone who he had mistakenly thought of as being roughly the same level.
Shinji was an orphan, someone who lacked the tutelage and resources afforded to himself and the scions of other clans. Yet he was able to overcome such a disadvantage, displaying a talent and genius he had thought reserved for legendary characters of myths and hushed whispers. What did that say about Shinji, or rather, what did that say about they who thought so highly of themselves. They who believed, consciously or unconsciously, of their innate superiority over those who were clanless.
Shino thought he had been a hardworker. Someone who put their head down, silently and dutifully training, without being conspicuous, as is the attribute of the Aburame. What a joke. Could the time and effort had been putting in since the moment he could walk all just a joke in front of a monstrous prodigy like Shinji, or might it just be a reflection of his own arrogance? Not even logic nor rational thinking could discern the answer.
Thus, reason would dictate that since he could confirm neither, there was only one option left to the Aburame. There was nothing he could do if Shinji was truly the most talented of his generation other than to maintain his current plan of growth and be content forever remaining under Shinji. But, if it was the latter, then the answer was clear. Shino would just have to double, triple, no, quadruple his efforts.
He would erase the arrogance he never knew existed within him, return to the fundamentals and actively seek strength like he never did before.
It was with this resolve swimming in his heart when Shino entered his home and went to find his father in his study.
Shibi Aburame could sense his son was troubled the moment he entered his study. Though others outside the clan may find it difficult or next to impossible to read their emotions, between Aburame members it was as clear as day. Their kikaichuu could pick up the pheromones exuded by each other's hives, which were influenced by their owner's emotions. Furthermore, every Aburame member had tons of practice identifying what another was feeling just through micro-expressions being made unconsciously.
"Father. I have returned." Shino greeted.
His father could not continue sitting upon hearing the slight waver in Shino's voice. The last time he had showed this much emotion was when Torune went off to join Root. Whatever had happened, Shibi theorized, must have had a huge impact on the boy. To be honest, parenting wasn't his forte. His wife was the one who usually dealt with Shino's more emotional side where as he handled the instructional side of things.
However, given that Shino had come to find him instead of his mother, meant it required instruction rather than emotional comfort.
"Mm." Shibi succinctly responded, as per his usual concise conduct, but he hesitantly continued, assuming his fatherly duties as a pillar of support for his troubled son, "How was your day?"
Shino raised an eyebrow at his father's overt, out of character attempt at familial intimacy. It was rare for them to exchange even a few words throughout the entire day and even rarer for him to ask about something as monotonous as his day. But seeing that it was his first day as a genin, Shino guessed his father might be feeling some sort of paternal pride.
"It was… fine." He answered but talking about his day wasn't the objective of his visit. Though admittedly he found it difficult to broach the topic he wanted to bring up.
"Father, I…" Shino started, but incongruous to his usual behavior, had difficulty speaking his mind.
"What is troubling you son?" Shibi asked, placing a comforting hand on Shino's shoulder.
Shino was startled by the intimacy his father was displaying, unused to such physical contact which was rare and far between amongst the Aburame, though he managed to collect himself.
"…I want to become stronger."
The nearly imperceptible heightened buzzing of Shino's hive told Shibi everything he needed to know without the need for further elaboration. This was the first time his son had made such a bold declaration with that much conviction in his voice. It was the equivalent of a non-Aburame screaming at the top of their lungs.
It surprised Shibi to witness what would be perceived as a frantic plea to the stoic Aburame from his son. How could he deny his son when Shino was making such a sincere request while being this agitated?
"Very well. I will help."
Shino looked through his shades with barely disguised gratitude at Shibi. The father and son shared a moment of familial warmth, practically an outburst of emotion akin to hugging in tears for anyone else outside the Aburame. Although to an outside observer, all they would see would be the two of them standing in silence, staring at each other oddly.
Reminiscent of the scene back when the gathered elites were observing the Academy's graduation exam, once more did they assemble in the Sandaime Hokage's office. This time, however, the jounin squad leaders were here for the purpose of reporting whether or not their team had passed the 'real' graduation exam.
"Is everyone here yet?" Someone asked, and the various shinobi looked around before another blankly replied, "One's missing… you know who."
Hiruzen shrugged, "Then we shall begin first."
"Hokage-sama! How long will you entertain that impudent man's disrespectful behavior?" One of the jounin asked, trying her best to keep her tone respectful while still calling attention to her frustration.
The Sandaime turned to the kunoichi who had spoken, "Hmm, I will give him a stern talking to when he arrives."
"But still-!"
Hiruzen frowned, "Jounin Akane! You forget yourself!"
The kunoichi blanched and quickly fell to one knee, "M-my apologies, Hokage-sama! I meant no disrespect!" A drop of cold sweat creeped down the side of her forehead. One often forgot the sheer power the old man still contained due to his often grandfatherly disposition.
"Kakashi is a good shinobi, despite his bad habits. I know the two of you have some… history. But do not let your personal grievances take over your senses. Am I clear?"
Akane bit her bottom lip, nearly drawing blood. Her face flushed from the embarrassing mention of her past dalliance with that one eyed bastard. Neither of them was expecting anything beyond a casual fling, sure, but when he had pretended to not recognize her the very next day, saying shit like, 'huh, do I know you?', that infuriated her like nothing else. What's more, somehow the entire village seemed to have found out about it and rumors had spread.
Casual relationships between shinobi who lived on a knives edge between life and death were not uncommon but hearing people talk about how Kakashi had a one night stand with someone who he forgot about right after was just humiliating.
"Hai, Hokage-sama. Forgive my impudence." She conceded, though the grudge she had against the jounin amplified manifolds.
The Sandaime was aware of Kakashi's bad reputation as being a tardy shinobi. However, after Hiruzen pulled the jounin out from ANBU, against the man's own wishes, to take on the role of jounin squad leader to a genins, the least he could do as the man responsible was to show some leniency towards his bad habits. Those habits were, after all, likely the man acting out after being dismissed as ANBU commander.
Hiruzen nodded, "Good. I shall forget your outburst. Now, let's start. Team One?"
"Team One fails, no redeeming qualities at all. My suggestion would be to send them back to the academy. They aren't even at the standard of the genin corp." One jounin stepped forward and reported as the other squad leaders of the various genin teams followed soon after.
"Team Eight passes." Kurenai reported when it was her turn. "They almost failed, but at the end they managed to pull through."
The Hokage leaned forward, interested in how three heirs of Konoha's most prominent clans nearly failed what should have been an ease for them, "Oh? Please elaborate."
All eyes landed on Kurenai and the newly promoted jounin confidently proceeded, "Of course, Hokage-sama. In the first place, the team dynamics was greatly disrupted because of a clash of personalities. Yamanaka Ino and Inuzuka Kiba both sought to take the lead which led to numerous arguments when neither refused to back down. The third member, Akimichi Choji, was content with being led around by the two, but there was little effort to mediate the conflict on his part."
"My test for them was simple; it was a scavenger hunt where they had to locate a few items which would reveal clues for the subsequent ones. Honestly, their biggest obstacle were themselves. Between the incessant arguments and lack of thought put into deciphering the clues, they only narrowly managed to find the last of the items. Had it not been for the Inuzuka's excellent tracking ability, they would have missed the cut off point altogether."
Hiruzen chuckled, "Ah yes, putting two opinionated and young, passionate shinobi together is often cause for dispute. Many a squad leaders have had to face such an issue, you are not the first and definitely not the last, Kurenai. I trust you will be able to handle them without issue." He fondly remembered the arguments between his own students - the hot-headed Jiraiya and the analytical but sarcastic Orochimaru, before his face fell as he recalled the latter.
Kurenai smiled at his comment. "That puts me at ease, Hokage-sama. Your confidence is much appreciated." she replied before stepping back to indicate the end of her report.
The Hokage nodded before turning to his wayward and only living son. "Asuma, report."
The younger Sarutobi looked irked at being the only one his father had called out by name, though he shouldn't have been surprised at such an attitude from him. It had always been this way.
His older brother, Katsuro, bless his soul, had always been the apple of his father's eye when he was still alive. The son who he had been the most proud of and his attempts at hiding this favour was poor, almost as if the old man were hinting to Asuma to work harder to gain his acknowledgement.
Being born in the Sarutobi clan, or rather, being born as the son of the legendary Shinobi no Kami, meant there was extreme pressure from all sides for Asuma to excel. Naturally, everyone around Katsuro and himself expected the both of them to live up to their father's sterling reputation. However, it wasn't the expectations from the village that pressured him, but his father's that eventually pushed him away. Although, his brother thrived under that pressure.
Katsuro was the obedient one, while he was the rebel. Katsuro graduated at 10, made chuunin at 14 and then ANBU commander at 20. Whereas Asuma only became jounin when he turned 18 before leaving to join the Twelve Guardian Shinobi. Their brotherly relationship was… fraught. He never hated Katsuro, not at all. But he couldn't stand that his only brother was often on his father's side whenever there was an argument when the two of them should have been standing together.
Asuma was distraught when he heard both Katsuro and his wife had died during a mission just a couple years back and sometimes, even till today, he wondered if his absence from Konoha was to blame. If only he had been around, would they still be alive to be there for their son, his nephew?
It was not his proudest moment when, out of cowardice, shame and guilt, he remained in the Capital city instead of returning to take care of Konohamaru. He even teared up upon receiving news that he was going to become an uncle back when Katsuro and his wife were still living. But he couldn't face Konohamaru, not after abandoning the village to join the Twelve Guardian Shinobi because of a petty argument with his father which he could hardly even remember what it was about.
But after some time had passed, he resolved himself to throw away his pride and swallow his guilt to return to Konoha. Largely for the purpose of being there for Konohamaru when he was growing up. Initially, he had been nervous. Anxious at the possible reactions the child would have upon learning of his uncle. But Konohamaru held no malice towards him at all. It seemed like the old man was not poisoning the child's mind with any accusations like he had been worried about.
Rather than the tense face off he had been expecting with his father when he returned, it was a lot more amiable than he thought it would be. His father looked to be glad he returned at the very least and welcomed him back. For a few days, Asuma was pleased to have been received warmly, even more so when he met Konohamaru and began spending time with him. But his relationship with his father quickly strained again.
Asuma worked hard to receive his father's acknowledgement, but to no avail. He had thought that after working 8 years tirelessly to protect the Land of Fire's Daimyo, there would be some form of an admission of pride from the stubborn old man. He was wrong.
Their confrontation started off again when his father, one day questioned who were the people he should have been protecting instead of the Daimyo. Implying that the 8 years he spent had been a complete waste of time in his father's eyes, and it would have been better spent serving the village and its people. Or even worse, that there might have been an undertones of an accusation for not being present to prevent his brother's death. What hypocrisy, he had thought, when the old man spouted off about the will of fire.
Although, if Asuma was being honest, for a moment he finally understood what his father was talking about. When he faced off against his new genin team and watched with such pride at the new generation of the village's protectors, he could understand what the will of fire truly meant to the Hokage. Not that it would repair their already seemingly irreparable relationship.
"Team Ten passed." He brusquely answered and stepped back, not wanting to converse with the man any longer than he needed to.
A snide comment came from one of the jounins that sounded something like, 'pfft, duh, you got like the best team'.
The Hokage shared no such thoughts however and pressed for more information, "Elaborate, Asuma."
Groaning, Asuma continued, ignoring the glare sent his way by the Hokage for the show of disrespect, "What more can I say? They succeeded with flying colours. They tracked me down in under two hours from the little clues I sprinkled during an hour long conversation before I even told them about the details of the test, demonstrating excellent situational awareness and attention to detail. Then they worked together to give even myself some trouble when attempting to retrieve their mission objective. Or rather, they actually succeeded in retrieving it."
At that revelation, several of the gathered jounin audibly reacted while one spoke up, "Genins got the drop on you, Asuma? Man, your time at the Capital must have made you rusty huh?"
The Sarutobi glanced in annoyance at the speaker, "Tsk, don't go running your mouth off if you don't know what happened, Kenji."
The now identified Kenji raised both his hands in mock surrender, "Alright, chill man, I was just teasing. So what did happen?"
Now that his reputation was on the line, as well as his team's, Asuma looked to be more serious in reporting the circumstances that led to his team's passing.
"All three of them are talented shinobi, above the average genin in most aspects. Hyuuga Hinata displayed excellent proficiency in her clan's Gentle Fist, even managing to close two of my tenketsu at one point. Although I'm not a Hyuuga so I can't be too sure about the specifics, I can tell Hiashi has trained her well."
"Aburame Shino has a tactical mind beyond his years and possesses the cold, rational disposition that is characteristic of his clan. Again, like Hinata, I can't make an accurate judgement of his expertise with his clan's techniques, but from I had observed, he has little to prove in that regard."
"And Shinji Ikari, well," Asuma paused and pondered on how much to share without spilling too much of his disciple's secrets. A successful shinobi was one that could the tricks up his sleeves concealed. Too much publicity was contradictory to the purposes of said tricks. "He is the obvious leader of the trio, taking charge and strategizing their approach. He well deserves his title as Rookie of the Year and has shown that he is well versed in many aspects of the Shinobi Arts. I'm sure many of you have already heard the rumors of how he had been hiding his true skills in the Academy. Let me just say those rumors were not unfounded."
Just as the other jounin wanted to ask for Asuma to share more, the door opened and in walked the tardy Kakashi, calmly reading his copy of Icha Icha Violence.
The Hokage lazily glanced at the jounin, "You're late, Kakashi."
The one eyed jounin scratched the back of his head embarrassedly, "Ah my bad, I got lost on the road of life."
Hiruzen looked unamused at the answer and sternly replied, "Keep a map on yourself, so you won't be late next time."
"Roger." He sloppily saluted before stepping in to the line with the rest of the jounins.
"Since you're here, you can report on your team's status." The Sandaime ordered.
Akane gritted her teeth while glaring at the man. How in the world was that a stern talking to!?
"Hmm? Is it my turn already? Sure." The jounin replied, acting as if he had been here the whole time waiting for his turn while the rest just deadpan scowled at the cheek.
"Team Seven… passes." Kakashi began recounting what happened in his test.
*Flashback*
Team Seven was able to look underneath the underneath and discover the true purpose of the bell test.
*Flashback end*
"…that's about it. End report." Kakashi concluded, going back to reading his book.
"What the hell do you mean end report, you barely said anything!" Everyone in the room chorused, screaming at the lazy jounin for his less than descriptive account of the test.
"Really? I thought that was pretty detailed." With one pinky scratching his ear, Kakashi lazily responded.
The Sandaime's eyebrow twitched, "Last chance, Kakashi. Do it properly."
Sensing the seriousness in his tone, the one eyed jounin put away his book and prepared to give a long, detailed, and needlessly protracted recounting of what actually happened.
*Flashback*
"The test is to take these bells away from me by dinner time." Kakashi started explaining, holding up two silver bells.
The members of Team Seven which included Sasuke, Naruto and Shikamaru, were brought to training ground three after a frustrating introductory meeting with their assigned jounin squad leader.
To the genins, Kakashi appeared to be a lazy, tardy and overall dislikeable person who didn't seem at all interested in being their jounin squad leader. So when they were told that only three or four teams out of all that had passed the Academy's graduation test could actually become genins, they were dismayed that this was the person who would administer the 'real' graduation test.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow curiously, "Kakashi-sensei, why are there only two bells?"
Kakashi took on a more sinister appearance, "Well, that's because out of the three of you, only two will be able to pass. The person who isn't able to retrieve a bell will be sent back to the academy."
The lazy genius narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Four man teams were a tradition, nay, a rule. Who ever heard of three man teams with two genin and one jounin? Even teams who suffered a casualty would receive a replacement from the shinobi reserves. Something wasn't adding up…
"HUH!? No way! How could you send us back to the academy?" Naruto yelled in disbelief.
The jounin tilted his head, "Why not? I am the jounin in charge of your team and what I say goes. Well, only one of you will be sent back. So as long as it isn't you, then there shouldn't be a problem right? Or are you not confident in yourself at all?"
Naruto recoiled before collecting himself and shouting back with false bravado, "Of course I am confident! I am going to be Hokage, dattebayo!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes at the noisy blonde. Though admittedly he too was excited. A chance to test himself against a jounin was rare, and he looked forward to seeing how far he would measure against a real shinobi.
"You have until dinner time. Whoever doesn't get a bell by then will be tied to the log post and won't get to eat dinner." Kakashi continued, motioning towards the three logs conspicuously located in the middle of the training ground and with only two bento boxes placed on them.
At the mention of food, all three of the boys' stomach growled. They had waited in the academy for their jounin sensei for two straight hours and had been brought here without having an opportunity to have lunch. Needless to say, all three of them were starving. So the bento boxes were positively irresistible to them.
Naruto harrumphed and fished out a kunai, "I will take you on alone and win, dattebayo! One of those bells is going to be mine!" With that, he ran right at the jounin ready to end the test right away.
Of course, it was never going to be that simple. Kakashi watched the blonde running slowly and sloppily, the kunai held in what was supposed to be a threatening manner only looked like a toy being swung around by a child in the eyes of the jounin.
From Naruto's perspective, all he saw was the jounin suddenly disappearing before he felt a hand grab his wrist from behind and point the kunai he was holding right at his own neck, while another hand grabbed the back of his head with such strength that it stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Well, don't be so excited, I haven't even said start yet." Kakashi slowly drawled out before releasing Naruto, who looked taken aback by the sheer speed the jounin had exhibited.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. 'How foolish…' He had fought and lost dozens of times against Shinji. Losing so much did wonders to his arrogance. Sasuke recognized that no matter how talented he thought he was, there was no way he could compare to a jounin. There was a chasm between a genin and the man before them; a chasm so wide one could compare it to the distance between heaven and earth.
'Prepare, gather comrades, conduct reconnaissance, plan an ambush, and wait for an opportunity.' The Uchiha repeated the mantra Shinji had imparted to him years ago. That was the strategy one had to employ in order to defeat a stronger shinobi. Being smart and patient could be the difference between mission failure or success, between life and death.
Shinji's efforts to temper Sasuke's recklessness was more effective than the Rookie of the Year had thought. Not only did it quell his blind rage, Shinji helped the Uchiha sharpen his wit, understand the virtue of patience and broadened his perspective. No longer was he singularly focused on the sole act of killing Itachi. He began paying attention to what he had to do to lead up to that moment.
After releasing Naruto, Kakashi vanished once more and reappeared back where he had been standing originally. It was a display of an elite jounin's physical ability that only further cemented the difference between himself and the trio of freshly graduated genins barely a day out of the academy.
"If there are no further outbursts, then we can start." Kakashi announced, and immediately, Sasuke and Naruto ran off into the forest to hide.
The jounin turned to the last remaining member of Team Seven who remained where he was standing and looked like he had no intention to move, "You know you're supposed to hide right?"
Shikamaru looked back at him lazily, "What's the point? No matter how well we hide, a jounin like you will be able to find us anyway. Since the bells are on you, you don't have to come looking for us, rather, we are the ones that have to come looking for you. Might as well conserve my energy and look for another angle. Besides, who knows if taking the bell is all there is to this test."
The Nara then turned around and walked away leisurely.
Kakashi made a hum in amusement, 'This kid's sharp. As expected of Shikaku's son.'
Right as the jounin was about to pull out his Icha Icha Violence and pick up where he left off, a blonde blur came running out of the forest and stopped a distance away from him.
Kakashi glanced at the blonde but brought out his book anyway. He thumbed the page where his bookmark had been left, flipped the book open and continued reading.
"I was going to hide, but after thinking about it, that really doesn't suit my style. So let's have a rematch, Kakashi-sensei! Fair and square!" Naruto declared, index finger pointing at the nonchalant jounin who wasn't even paying attention.
"Hey! Look at someone when they're talking to you, damnit!" The blonde yelled, irked that he was being ignored.
Kakashi lifted one hand and shooed away the boy like he was being annoying and disturbing his reading time.
Naruto gritted his teeth and growled before putting his hands together to form a handseal, "This will teach you to ignore me! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A plume of smoke signalled the arrival of a few dozen shadow clones, all ready and willing to pummel their disrespectful sensei.
"Charge!" Naruto, presumably the original one, yelled, and the mass of shadow clones swarmed the nonchalant jounin who continued reading without interruption.
However, the moment a Naruto clone reached the man, Kakashi reached out and with a swift kick destroyed the clone. He carried on steamrolling the clones with a flurry of lazy kicks and occasional punches, his eyes never leaving the pages of his book.
Seeing the ineffectiveness of his clones, Naruto spat out a curse and formed the familiar handseal to make even more. Another couple dozen clones appeared and joined the rest but were similarly mowed down all the same without even being able to make contact with the jounin.
"You have a taijutsu score of zero. A hundred multiplied by zero is still zero y'know?" Kakashi commented as he dispatched the last of the shadow clones to Naruto's chagrin. "You're just wasting your chakra if you're using shadow clones like disposable shuriken."
Naruto flared with anger, "Fine! I don't need shadow clones! All I need is me, myself and I!" The blonde charged forward, this time sans the clones.
Unexpectedly, Kakashi glanced at the incoming blonde with one eye, momentarily distracted from his reading. 'Minato-sensei, your son… how shall I put this. He's really, really dumb.'
Naruto launched a fist, easily deflected by Kakashi, and then a series of punches that were all similarly blocked or parried. His assault was finally stopped when Kakashi gripped one arm with a vice grip and twisted it so that Naruto was helplessly being held on to with just one arm.
"Let me show you how to really use Kage Bunshin." Kakashi offered, before smilingly sinisterly.
Another Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and ran towards Naruto, his fingers placed together in a tiger seal.
Sasuke, who had been watching the whole encounter from a distance hidden away in the shrubbery, widened his eyes at the familiar looking seal, 'Danger! That's a tiger seal! It's used for fire jutsu. He's going to kill Naruto!'
Said blonde looked back, confused at the sight of another Kakashi headed towards him rapidly, "Too late. Konoha Secret Technique: Thousand Years of Pain!"
Hearing the words, Naruto flinched. What kind of a secret technique was named a thousand years of pain? This was… dangerous! He tried resisting, to get out of his sensei's grip but failed.
Soon, the Kakashi clone reached the blonde and to everyone's surprise, stuck his fingers up Naruto's butt. The shock and pain from the sudden intrusion into his rear blasted Naruto into the air, with the boy yelling in pain.
'Those two… are total idiots.' Sasuke thought as he looked away, embarrassed that he had been concerned for Naruto for nothing. But he had also realized something off about the whole exchange, 'Those clones were solid!'
The Uchiha couldn't figure out how such a phenomenon was possible. However, he did know that it was a power that would serve to be of more use in his hands, or rather, in his and Shinji's hands. He made a mental note to ask about the ability from Naruto after the test was over. For now, he had to find his other teammate for the first and second step of his mantra – prepare and gather comrades.
Shikamaru had been similarly watching the exchange between Naruto and Kakashi from a distance, although not bothering to hide himself. Contrary to his lazy appearance, the Nara had actually been hard at work taking in every single bit of information his eyes could ferry. He first analyzed the capabilities of his teammate, and though surprised by the use of solid clones, Shikamaru file that tidbit of information under potential tools to combat Kakashi.
Then he evaluated the jounin squad leader's competence, which as expected, revealed little about the older man's true prowess. One thing was for sure though; Kakashi was a formidable shinobi, and one who could make light of all three of them with his eyes never leaving the pages of that book he was always reading. Of course, the caveat to that would be if the three of them rushed in blindly without prior planning.
The Nara Clan specialized in a unique Yin Release branch of techniques involving the usage and manipulation of shadows. It sounded cool, yes, but the reality of it was not as sensational. While their shadow jutsus were extremely useful under specific circumstances, it was those very specific circumstances that led to the severe limitations holding the technique back as well.
As a result, Nara children were generally raised from young to develop a critical thinking mindset; to think outside the box per se. Problem solving was the number one issue every shinobi faced in the field, but for the Nara members especially it was a constant predicament. Their clan achieved fame with their shadow techniques following the Second and Third Shinobi World War, precisely due to their excellent strategic minds.
However, with this fame came publicity – a double edged sword. Their techniques, once a hidden trump card that excelled when taking their opponents by surprise, became exposed to the world at large. Their clan had become renowned for their techniques, but at the same time, what was once in the shadows were now brought to light. Their enemies became aware of the limitations behind their techniques and developed countermeasures – which only forced the Nara to become even more innovative and creative with the employment of their shadow jutsus.
Hence, the Nara, with their naturally limited chakra reserves, had to be smart with even a single usage of their shadow jutsus that drained chakra like a sink did water. And the prerequisite for tactical deployment of said techniques were the careful analysis of any battlefield situation. The strengths and weaknesses of their targets, any psychological flaw, their habits, the environment, their teammates; as well as a hundred other factors that needed to be accounted for before an embryo of a plan could even be formulated.
What Shikamaru saw when he witnessed Naruto's clones were not their combat ability, which if compared to the jounin proved less challenging than a mosquito. Rather, he saw the dozens of shadows cast by the clones, which were a veritable buffet of areas a Nara's own shadow could merge with and thus extend their range.
What Shikamaru saw when he witnessed Kakashi's arrogance of not even bothering to lift his eyes off the pages of his books to combat Naruto was a potential flaw he could exploit. As long as Kakashi didn't take the blonde seriously, there would be opportunities to surprise the man who had let down his guard.
Yet, it was also arguable that it would be incredibly unlikely a jounin would ever let down his guard. People who were able to achieve that rank tend to have experienced dozens if not hundreds of life and death battles where even the slightest carelessness or mistake would see them lose their life. So if a shinobi made it as far as jounin rank in a world where the average highest rank a shinobi could achieve in their lifetime was genin or chuunin, then that said something about their danger senses that had been honed by multiple near-death experiences.
The Nara thought that what they were facing was simply an impossible situation. Three genins against a jounin? What a joke. If Kakashi had been serious, they wouldn't last a minute. Therein lies the catch, however. Kakashi wasn't being serious – that indicated to Shikamaru that the jounin was indeed sincere in wanting to test his team. If so, it was likely that the man was limiting his strength to chuunin level to give them even the slightest possibility of succeeding.
Three genins against a chuunin sounded like much better odds, especially if one of them was an Uchiha genius while the other could spam solid clones as easily as others could use the regular bunshin. But, Shikamaru also realized, it would be up to him to coordinate the assault of these two forces. Sasuke was a loner, plain and simple. While not quite arrogant, the Uchiha held utmost confidence in his own skills so he might not take kindly to any offer to team up.
Whereas Naruto was impulsive, reckless, and lacked the ability or desire to think before he acted. However, that didn't mean the boy would stubbornly cling to a 'fair and square' match against a jounin after being thoroughly trounced and humiliated by said man. That was something Shikamaru could work with if he so desired.
The Nara scratched the back of his head in frustration. Why was he thinking so hard about this? To pass the 'real' graduation exam and thus be selected for preferential grooming by the village under the wing of an elite jounin whose standards would likely be set higher than average? That was the opposite of the laidback, unremarkable and carefree life he wanted.
'Should I just fail on purpose…?' Shikamaru pondered while laying down on the cool grass. Being assigned to the unofficial genin corp and sent for guard duty where he could just nap as much as he wanted, when and as he liked, sounded much more enticing than a life full of hardships, training and being sent to risk his life in dangerous missions. Although his dad might be slightly disappointed by his failure, the old man would understand where he was coming from. At most, the mantle of the Nara Clan head could be passed to one of his more overachieving and ambitious cousins. That wouldn't bother Shikamaru even the slightest bit.
He watched the clouds drift by slowly and felt the refreshing breeze sweep past his motionless body. This… this was the life. No mom screaming at him, nor any blonde Yamanakas too. The lull of the soothing and comfortable wind as well as the rays of sun partially blocked by the clouds was slowly but surely luring him to sleep.
That was until his view of the clouds were blocked by a familiar raven-haired genin looking annoyed.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sasuke asked, forehead scrunched up in displeasure.
"Watching the clouds." Shikamaru sleepily responded before yawning and his eyelids slowly flickered as if he was barely trying to stay awake.
The Uchiha's eye brow twitched. These were his teammates? One dumb as rocks blonde and another lazy as hell pineapple head? Sasuke cursed in his head. If only Shinji had been on his team, then this test would have already been over and done with. Instead, he was stuck with these two morons who were continuously trying his patience.
"Get up. We have bells to take." Sasuke demanded, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently.
Shikamaru opened one eye lazily, glancing at his teammate, "What's the point?" Although inwardly he was slightly surprised that his analysis had been wrong. Sasuke had taken the initiative to propose a collaboration instead of going lone wolf like he had expected. Odd.
Said Uchiha gritted his teeth, his fist trembling as he held back socking the lazy Nara in the kisser. "The point is to pass the damn test!"
"Pass." Shikamaru waved away what he thought of as an annoyance and turned to his side to sink deeper into his attempt at falling asleep.
Sasuke reached down and grabbed the Nara's collar, his eyes flared and black turned to red, "Look, I don't give a damn what you want. You might be content with mediocrity, but I'm not! So if you're not going to bother trying, then I'm taking charge!"
Shikamaru widened his eyes at sight of the Uchiha Clan's famed Sharingan. He never knew that Sasuke had successfully awakened the doujutsu. That changed things. Rather than the intimidation factor Sasuke had been going for, the Sharingan instead sparked hundreds of possibilities that ran through the Nara's mind. It was an involuntary habit for Shikamaru to think and overthink when encountering a new element he never considered before.
The Uchiha was not at all pleased with the shocked silence. To him, every second wasted was one less he could spend training. And wasting time was not part of the 'Weasel Hunt' plan he and Shinji had concocted. "Bastard, are you even listening to me!?"
"Tsk, I got it. Let go." Shikamaru pulled himself away from Sasuke's grip on his collar and picked himself up. He massaged his neck and stretched away the drowsiness that had begun to sink in his bones from when he was falling asleep. "It would be more troublesome to sleep than to help you."
"Good. Now we need to think of a plan and lay a trap in order to grab those bells. From what I've observed, there is no way we can take on sensei just by charging in head on. The man is confident of his skills, as he rightfully should be, but because of that he looks down on us. With just the two of us, we should be able to exploit that confidence." Sasuke stated, turning off his Sharingan before continuing.
"If you can catch him with your Nara clan's shadow jutsu, I should be able to run in fast enough to take the two bells. One for you, and one for me."
The Nara was slightly surprised, "Then what about Naruto? You know, our third member?"
"Hmph, that idiot is useless. He would only hold us back. Besides, there are only two bells, why should we include that idiot in our plan?"
Shikamaru shrugged at Sasuke's answer, "I don't think that is the best course of action."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow curiously, "Hoh? Why do you say that?"
"I am suspicious of the rules of the test. I have never heard of three man teams with two genins and one jounin. Have you? It's either an apprenticeship between one genin and one jounin or a full squad between three genins and one jounin, but never two. So why would Kakashi-sensei threaten to send one of us back to the academy if they fail?"
The Uchiha rubbed his chin contemplatively, "Hmm, there is some logic in what you say."
"Furthermore, there is no way three genins can reasonably challenge a jounin, let alone any one of us individually. I suspect what he said in the beginning was only meant to drive a wedge between us, make us fight between ourselves. I think what he is truly testing is whether we can work together as a team even in the face of a difficult choice. Ergo, we need Naruto." Shikamaru concluded.
"I see… but what if you're wrong?" Sasuke rebutted.
"Three heads are better than two. And didn't you notice? Naruto's clones were solid. We are going to need that manpower only he can provide for my plan. Besides, say we're wrong and only two of us gets to keep the bell. In that case, I will voluntarily withdraw. I was going to give up on the test either way, so it wouldn't really matter to me." Shikamaru countered.
The Uchiha paled, "And leave me stuck in a team with that moron? No thanks. We'll see what happens if push comes to shove… You mentioned a plan?"
The Nara nodded, "Yeah, but first, we have to find Naruto. Then I'll explain my plan."
.
.
.
Kakashi remained where he had been standing and waiting for his students the whole time, indifferently reading his book and waiting for his new genins to make a move. He looked up at the sky, noting the setting sun, 'They have roughly an hour left… Should I go find them now?'
Just as he was about to put away his copy of Icha Icha Violence, a loud rumble came from the forest. More accurately, it came from the forest all around him. 'Hoh, what are they up to now?'
Out of the thickets, a flood of Naruto clones came running out, charging and yelling loudly.
"Charge!" They all chorused at once.
Kakashi eyed the clones with some surprise, there had to be a couple hundred of them that Naruto had created. Such a chakra capacity left even a jounin like him astounded. Without a doubt, the Kyuubi's influence on the boy's chakra reserves were strong.
But… it was going to take more than mere numbers to deal with a jounin as Naruto would soon find out, Kakashi figured. Perhaps he should demonstrate just how far the distance between himself and the boy was with an overwhelming show of force? '…nah, not worth the effort.'
Kakashi waited for the clones to approach before once more launching into a combo of kicks and punches, a hand still holding on to the book. The Naruto clones who tried desperately to land a hit were easily dispersed. Every kick would pop two or even three of them while occasionally Kakashi would throw one of them into a group of even more clones, destroying them all.
'What a waste of chakra… If they pass, I will have to teach him how to use his clones more efficiently.' The jounin mentally noted, when suddenly his movements froze.
Kakashi looked down, only his irises moving as his head couldn't, and found a shadow extended from somewhere that connected to his own. Tracing where that shadow had come from, he found that it had merged with a dozen Naruto shadow clones in order to extend its range and successfully reach Kakashi's.
Tracing the shadow further back, he quickly found one similarly blonde and orange boy down on one knee with his hands together in a rat seal amidst a sea of Naruto clones. The 'Naruto clone' smirked with an uncharacteristic intelligence in his eyes, "Shadow Possession Jutsu, success. Now, Naruto!"
'Hoh, a henge?' Kakashi mused, while a dozen Naruto shadow clones moved towards the man upon receiving the signal.
"Heh, the bell is mine!" One of them yelled, hands reaching towards bells hanging on the jounin's waist.
"Clever, but when there is an overwhelming difference in chakra…" Kakashi began.
The 'Naruto clone' now revealed as Shikamaru began sweating heavily; the thin layer of illusion that transformed his appearance was released, lacking the concentration needed to maintain the disguise. "Kkh, I can't… hold him…"
"…your Shadow Possession won't have an effect." The jounin finished as a stream of thick, potent chakra saturated his muscles and another wave of chakra blasted outwards, breaking the connection of the Shadow Possession jutsu.
Now freed from the hold, Kakashi was able to handily dispatch one of the clones who had ran in to snatch his bells.
At that moment, however, Kakashi sensed another surge of chakra from the opposite direction.
"Katon: Grand Fireball!" Another 'Naruto clone', exhaled out a massive sphere of flames, rocketing towards Kakashi and the bunch of clones that had gathered around him.
The jounin was about to jump away to avoid the deadly fire technique when a panicked yell sounded out from behind him.
"Sasuke-teme! Are you crazy? I'm the original!" One of the Naruto clones Kakashi had assumed to be a just another Kage Bunshin called out.
'A clone or the original? I can't tell. If I avoid the fireball I might be putting the real Naruto into danger… Better safe than sorry.'
Kakashi flashed through his own set of handseals and slammed them on the ground, "Doton: Earth-Style Wall!" A wall of rock and dirt rose up in front of him, wide enough to sufficiently block the incoming fireball that threatened to burn Naruto into a crisp.
The fireball splashed harmlessly against the rock wall and dissipated into embers.
The Naruto clones, seeing that Kakashi was distracted, yelled out "Chance!" and ran towards the jounin, seeing an opportunity that could be seized.
Kakashi, however, was now furious. He didn't care if Naruto had consented, this team putting any of their members in danger just for a stupid test was grounds for an immediate failure in his eyes.
The rage in his one eye brewing, the jounin turned around and flashed forward. In an impressive display of speed and skill, he eliminated all of the clones in a single moment.
'Wait… they were all clones?' Kakashi realized before once more, his movements froze.
Again, a shadow had merged with his own, this time utilizing the shadow of the dirt wall he had created to both extend its reach and approach from the jounin's blindspot.
The tapping sounds of footsteps drew his attention from behind him and Kakashi forced his neck back, resisting against the constraint of the Shadow Possession, to see Sasuke, now with his Henge released, launching off the dirt wall towards him.
The genin held on to an unsheathed wakizashi, the red eyes of his Sharingan spinning wildly and a victorious smirk donning his face, as the boy flew towards him, poised to cut him down.
'Heh, I underestimated these brats…' Kakashi mused.
*Flashback end*
"…and that's about it. End report." Kakashi concluded after the lengthy story he had just narrated.
The rest of the jounins as well as the Hokage perked up, "And then what happened? You can't just say end report before you finish the story!"
"Huh? Oh, I broke out of the Shadow Possession, so they didn't get the bells in the end. But since they worked so well together, I passed them."
The Sandaime leaned back, exhaling the cloud of tobacco smoke and contemplated on the story Kakashi had just recounted. "So Sasuke had unlocked his clan's eyes… Interesting. And Shikaku's son is definitely living up to his father's reputation hmm?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama. Shikamaru utilized my confidence and lack of caution against Naruto to formulate a plan where he and Sasuke were hiding amongst the clones under their own transformation jutsus. Seeing that I let my guard down against who I thought was reckless and impulsive, they laid a trap that forced me to turn my attention away from the clones. I was initially furious that they would let Naruto be in danger but turns out it was all just part of a plan to trap me again." Kakashi summarized before stepping back into line and carried on reading from where he had left off.
Hiruzen nodded with satisfaction, although he eyed Kakashi with mirth, "You didn't really let down your guard, did you?"
The jounin eye-smiled, "Well, I knew most of what they were doing, but I was curious what they were up to, so I let it happen. But I really was surprised at the end when that Naruto clone faked being the original. That was something unexpected."
The Sandaime chuckled appreciatively at Team Seven's genins' plan that could even catch Kakashi by surprise. "Are there any other teams that passed?" He asked the gathered jounin, who all indicated in the negative.
"Very well then, aside from Team Seven, Eight and Ten, all others will be relegated to the genin corp. Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, I have high hopes for your teams. Do not let me down."
""Hai, Hokage-sama!""
Sort of an 'omake' chapter that didn't really drive the plot, but something I wanted to do just for the sake of writing Team Seven's test.
Chapter Breakdown
I wanted to explore Shinji's mentality regarding his reincarnation. He hasn't really thought too deeply about his new life, being distracted by all the cool new things going on. But I feel like any normal person would start questioning their existence at this point, like 'what am I doing here', 'what's my end goal', 'what about my friends and family back home'. Yet, the system is preventing him from falling into depression or an existential crisis, even if doing so would be a healthy catharsis.
I then tried to explain why genins needed to fulfil D-ranked missions and the reasons behind them. I think that for the village leaders, or any military authority, equipping their soldiers with the necessary combat skills is just half of what needs to be done to produce loyal and competent soldiers. They also need to inculcate the devotion these soldiers would have, not to their superiors, but to the people they want to protect.
D-ranked missions serve as a reminder to show the genins who they are doing it all for – the common folk and their peaceful lives, before being sent out to kill on missions.
Next was about why Shinobis obey the Daimyos. This wasn't really explored in canon and quite a few reviewers had been dissatisfied with the Hokage being subservient to the fire Daimyo. So I used financial and economic justifications as the reasons why they work for the Daimyo instead of trying to rule on their own. Also, there is the whole 'mandate of heaven' idea that acts as a deterrence for the Kages to take over the nation.
The mandate of heaven is a very real idea that exists in East Asian countries way back in the past. China's emperors, for example, would be recognized as the 'son of heaven' who was selected by the gods to rule on their behalf on earth. But that also meant the emperor had a divine obligation to rule with benevolence – and if the emperor is violently replaced by a coup or something, that too is heaven's will. It would mean the emperor was doing a bad job; thus the heavens selected another individual to rule instead.
That's not how the mandate of heaven is perceived in this world and in my story. As you will find out in later chapters when we get to the Capital arc, there is an actual reason behind the mandate of heaven instead of just a collective belief in the gods. For now, just keep that in mind as we make our way there.
Yandere Hinata is an idea I'm quite fond of and never really see on this site. So aside from the desire to bring something new to the table, I am also quite curious about the reader's reactions to this. Right now, Hinata is still a developing Yandere, so her obsession can either taper down if reader's aren't happy with it or maintain if you guys like it. I'm leaving an opening for me to write Hinata out of her Yandere-ness if need be depending on your reviews. If it gets overwhelmingly negative responses, I might just retroactively remove that section altogether.
The Aburames lacks the need to converse in order to communicate what they are feeling. Their Kikaichuu does it for them. So between Aburames, conversations are purely based on facts. I also found it quite funny writing the interaction between Shino and Shibi, where even a slightly raised voice is the equivalent of screaming and crying for anyone else.
Shino actually has to make clear his intentions when talking to people outside his clan which is frustrating since amongst his clan members, little words do trick.
I feel like Kurenai's test and Asuma's test were ones that could have been reasonably passed by their original teams too. Shino would have taken the lead in the scavenger hunt, using logic to decode the clues, while Shikamaru would have figured out the trick behind Asuma's test right away. And that was the thought process underlying their tests when I wrote them.
So according to canon, Kakashi had a pretty self-destructive lifestyle when he was in the ANBU, described as someone seeking to die. The Sandaime pulled him out of the ANBU and assigned him as a jounin sensei to fix that mentality. But Kakashi kept failing teams because they could never live up to his standard that had been heavily influenced by Obito's 'death'. So the Sandaime feels slightly guilty towards Kakashi and so is more lenient towards him than others.
Team Seven's test: Naruto is the same as always. Sasuke listens to Shinji and has kept that mantra in his mind since that day. He is now more open-minded when it comes to the process of killing Itachi. He also lacks the arrogance that would have plagued him if not for losing to Shinji so many times. Sasuke is aware of his limits, but also knows that he is ahead of everyone else in class but Shinji, so there is some cockiness when he is facing anyone from his class.
That leads to the confrontation between Sasuke and Shikamaru, where even though Sasuke knows he needs to gather comrades, he is still awkward with amicable communication. Instead he resorts to force and threats to get his way. It 'worked' with Shikamaru because the Nara's curiosity was stronger than his desire to just give up after the introduction of Sasuke's Sharingan.
Shikamaru's plan was harder to write. Because of their limited skillsets, there wasn't much I could do in regard to being creative with their plan. I hope what I came up with was something conceivably smart enough to be something Shikamaru would have come up with.
If you didn't catch what actually happened:
They found Naruto, told him the plan. Naruto made hundreds of shadow clones while Shikamaru and Sasuke mixed in with them under henge. When Naruto first charged in with his clones, Kakashi thought Naruto was just being an idiot as usual. Shikamaru then caught Kakashi with his shadow, but that was just a red herring for Kakashi to think that was the actual trap.
They had told Naruto that Sasuke would use the Grand Fireball and got one of the clones to shout the line that they had prepared beforehand. Knowing that Kakashi would place the genins' safety as a priority, they expected Kakashi would block the fireball somehow, which would let the Naruto clones have a chance to take the bells. But of course, that was the second red herring.
Sasuke was the last step of their plan, where he ran up the dirt wall using tree-walking and would take the momentary distraction to cut off the bell strings and take them. Though the plan ultimately failed (because no way Kakashi would be slow enough to be unable to respond even if he was caught by surprise), since they worked together Kakashi passed them.
That's about it. Question of the week: thoughts on Yandere Hinata?
Yes
No
Maybe so
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