Naruto 1. Chapter 1

AN: I just wanted to point out that this is my first attempt at any fanfic writing, though I'm an avid reader. As such I'm looking for beta's and positive criticism from all on both my story and writing style. Please review and let me know what you think~Jester

"A ninja's life is said to be one of deception, duty, and discipline; skills and abilities gained through hard work and wrought from sweat, blood, and tears leading to a well developed tool for a governing body to utilize"-Abata Tetsujin. Founder of the Abata clan.

A young blonde sat in a bush unmoving, his breath controlled despite the need to pant in the heat of the summer; sweat dripping from his brow from the exertion of remaining still in the stagnant warmth of the season. Though in the shade, the youth was still garbed in all black, soaking up the heat and holding in the uncomfortable temperature of the leaf villages weather. Controlled movements tensed and relaxed the youths limbs and muscles as he staved off the cramps associated with sitting still for a prolonged period, only his determination to shake his pursuers gave him the will to continue his game of cat and mouse. Cerulean eyes peered through the brush in concentration, seeking out any hint of motion that would betray the positions of the others.

'Hmm at least three out there, but I don't see Kai anywhere...' the youth thought to himself as he gazed at his surroundings through the slight gap in the brush. A soft smirk played across his lips as he wonders if he'd managed to give Kai the slip for once.

A soft snap was heard behind him alerted the young blonde to the presence of someone within his hiding spot. Turning his head slightly, so that he could turn his vision behind him without causing the brush to rustle, intense blue eyes lock onto light purple ones; he'd been caught.

"Shit" was all that could be heard as the youth dashed from the bush he'd been hiding in, the other hot on his trail. Two figures garbed in black darted from bush to bush, the sound of steel striking steel echoing every few seconds.

Naruto jumped over the bush before him, flipping in the air as he brought his short sword up to deflect the incoming kunai his pursuer was launching at him. Landing in a backwards roll Naruto regained his footing only to find the other male directly before him with a kunai in each hand.

Each was dressed in much the same manner, a soft looking black material that seemed to absorb the light encased both, shielding them from the harsh sun-rays. Long sleeves tucked into matching gloves, bound at the wrist to allow maximum movement without allowing any excess material to snag upon the brush they darted through. Atramentous shirt was tucked into similarly made trousers which tucked into soft black boots with padded soles; the attire was made specifically for speed and stealth. Only the eyes and a single lock of blonde hair escaping the face wrap of the blue-eyed shinobi marked a noticeable difference between the two.

Light purple eyes met blue as the two shinobi froze across from each other, not a single movement made. "Tag, you're it" Shouted the violet eyes youth as a sudden burst of sound erupted from the blonde youth's back; encasing Naruto in a shroud of smoke.

Coughing loudly the blond youth staggered from the smoke with an annoyed look passing across his eyes, black veiled fingers moving to pull the wrap from across his face as he pointed rather violently at the other. "You had that tag on me the whole time, didn't you!" Whisker marked face shifted into a grimace of irritation, mouth pursing as his eyes narrowed. "Why the hell did you bother chasing me if you'd already got me, Kai?"

The violet eyes youth pulled his own mask from his face as he smirked at Naruto openly. Shaking with his own amusement, the young shinobi named Kai, retorted in a mirthful tone. "Why not? It's more fun that way, besides I need to enjoy these moments when I can find them, you're getting better. I actually had to try to find you this time, and it took me a full twenty minutes to manage to sneak up behind you."

Naruto grinned as he accepted the praise from his friend. "Yeah, well if you hadn't hit that twig I set up for you, then I wouldn't have known you were there." Sighing loudly, Naruto shrugged his shoulders as he turned to the others in their game. "I got caught guys, game over for now."

Kai punched Naruto in the shoulder playfully as he walked by. "Just remember you're it next time. Bring your A-game cuz I'm not gonna sit in a tree for half a day again waiting for your sorry ass to find someone again."

The two laughed as they made their way to the large estate just over a mile away, joined by several others dressed much the same as the two boys. "Yeah yeah yeah. It's not my fault you ass, I'm new to Ninja-Tag."

Kai shook his head lightly at Naruto as he replied. "I still don't know how you manage to get caught in a game of Ninja-Tag, but you can sneak into the Gilded Swan and lace the councils food with ipecac...It's like you're a prankster idiot-savant."

"Yeah well it's easier to hide in the city; more crap to hide behind and more alleyways; I'm not used to all this open space to run through, makes losing people way harder...and besides, you have to admit, that was funnier than hell. One day I'll teach those assholes to stop messing with me." The blonde youth commented amused. He had to admit he sucked at hiding in the woods, but Konoha was his playground. "Just so you know though, that wasn't easy. I had to hide in the duct work for hours just to find out which orders went to which council member. I didn't want to get the shinobi clan heads with the civilians. I'm not one hundred percent, but I think the Akimichi'd notice the food didn't taste right and blow my cover."

Kai paused for a moment as he thought about it, while he knew that Naruto had friends who's parents were on the council he hadn't considered Choji's dad noticing the change in flavor; if anyone would, it would be an Akimichi. "I hadn't thought about that... anyway we better hurry up and get dressed for dinner or mom's gonna kill us. I told you we didn't have time for a quick game of Ninja-Tag."

Nodding in agreement Naruto followed Kai as the two hastily made their way to the mens' showers in the Abata complex. Showering quickly, the two youths changed into their casual attire for dinner.

Naruto now wore a pair of dark gray cargo pants tucked into a pair of matching boots; the pockets stuffed with an assortment of gear for general prankster and ninja usage alike. A dark burnt-orange shirt with a black swirl upon the black was tucked into the gray pants, adding a bit of flare to what could be a drab outfit.

Kai chose simply to wear a pair of plain black trousers with a gray T-shirt that was left with the hem hiding the leaf-insignia belt he wore. The youth's hair was swept back into a loose pony tail as he wrapped a band around the difficult locks. Leaning down as he spoke, Kaisui clasped the matte black metal bands across his boots. "I still don't know why you feel the need to wear that shirt, I swear you just like orange."

Stretching as he yawned, Naruto absently glanced at the mentioned garment before cocking a brow. "You do realize that besides the fact that animals can't see orange, this color blends in with the leaves during fall really well...That and I gotsta have spiffy threads. I know a shinobi is supposed to blend in, but there's no reason I can't blend in style." Chuckling lightly as he smacked Kai on the shoulder he motioned for them to get going. "Now c'mon let's head to dinner before your mom decides to flip out for us being late." Kai could only nod in agreement as they all but ran down the hallway to get to the dinning hall.

Pausing at the large ornate doors, Naruto reached out with a barely hidden wince to push lightly on the heavy wood. As the portal opened the two young men saw that the hall was already filling up with the other members of the Abata clan.

The room was equally as ornate as the doors, a vaulted ceiling with sconces set into the numerous support struts that had been carved and shaped to look like waves of water swaying and crashing in the ocean; soft blue flames flickering from the lamps and adding an almost surreal light to the artfully crafted beams. Stone flooring with alternating tiles of blues and greens wove across the flooring, adding to the oceanic motif of the room. Several large tables broke up the interior of the hall with each table seating the clans members with no apparent order; aside from a single raised platform at the back of the hall upon which a single table sat by itself, set aside for the clan head and immediate family.

Kaisui and Naruto quickly made their way to said raised platform and scaled the short set of steps beneath the disapproving view of a single middle aged female. Three males sat around the table already, silently laughing at the misfortune of the two youths. Kai and Naruto bowed lightly to Kai's mom before taking their place next to Kai's two brothers and uncle.

Naruto shrank in on himself slightly at the unveiled glare from Kai's mother, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that he may have been the reason they were late.

Kai simply shrugged and cut his mother off before she could begin her tirade. "Sorry we're late mom, Naruto wanted to play a quick game of Ninja-Tag and it took me a lot longer to find him than I thought it would. He's gotten so much better than when he first came here from the orphanage." The young male spoke hastily as he covered his hesitation with a false-sense of confidence in his actions.

Naruto shot Kai a dirty look for casting the blame on him as Kai's mother turned her gaze to the young blonde. "Asshat" Naruto muttered under his breath so only Kai could hear."

Mihane's glare softened as she gazed upon the blonde, lips twitching upwards in a small smile as she heard of Naruto's progress. "I'm glad to hear you're not only learning Naruto-chan, but excelling under Kaisui's questionable influences. Though I'm not sure it's a good thing you seem to be picking up his tardiness." Mihane spoke softly, pausing to glare briefly at her son before she simply let the matter drop. "So how are you two doing in the academy? Do you think you'll be ready for the exams this year? Kai, I know you held off last year to wait for Naruto to catch up, but you're the heir to the Abata clan...I'm not sure I can let you do so again without looking weak to the other clans."

Naruto sweat dropped as Kai's diversionary tactic seemed to succeed in averting the chewing out he thought they were going to receive. Shrugging lightly Naruto responded as he absently nodded to the servant that had approached to fill his plate. "Honestly if you and Kakeru-sama hadn't pulled clan rank to get me transferred to Kai's class I would say no...but with Kai already having learned what he needed at the academy and helping me with tutoring and training...and Kakeru-sama beating taijutsu into me" The elder of the other males laughed softly at the description of his lessons with Naruto. "I think I may actually be ready for the exams right now. Given that I have another three weeks before I actually have to take them...I'm pretty sure I'll be a ninja this month!" Naruto finished excitedly, grinning cheekily at Kakeru.

Kakeru broke into the conversation at this point, laughing lightly at Naruto as he spoke. "In all honesty Gaki I'd say you were good to go a few months ago, but he council has the examiners actually holding you to higher standards. If it weren't for the fact that we've declared you an adopted Abata I'd say they might go so far to sabotage you. As it is, the best they can do is grade your performance harshly in hopes to try and hold you back...I'm not training you to pass an exam, I'm training you to be a ninja." Kakeru paused for a moment as he spoke to bite into the steak before him, chewing quickly and swallowing before he continued. "As it stands now you're good enough that they won't be able to hold you back. You'll be a shinobi in a month, I'd bet the Abata clan's bank account on that." A grin plastered across his lips. "Better still, once you're a shinobi, the civilian council won't be able to do anything about the ipecac incident either."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he stuttered out. "W-what are y-you talking ab-bout Kakeru-sama?" Cerulean eyes glanced around nervously, hoping he wasn't going to get into trouble for his pranking. Gaze paused on Kai to see if his friend had given him away; though Kai's features showed just as much confusion as Naruto felt at Kakeru knowing who had laced the council's food.

Kakeru just laughed as Naruto tried to play it off, and failed to do so convincingly. "Boy, I know it was you; it's got your brand of crazy-messed up all over it. They think you did it too, but they have no proof, so don't worry...unless you don't pass your exam...then a little birdy might let it slip that he heard you admitting to the act." Dark brows rose mockingly as the older male feigned innocence. The threat wasn't lost on the youth as Naruto began to sweat at the implications.

Mihane hid a smile behind her tea cup as Kakeru's antics, knowing the incentive was unnecessary but useful for Naruto to try his hardest at the exam.

"You wouldn't!" Kai declared accusingly.

Kakeru merely smiled as he began to focus on the plate of food before him, hiding his amusement behind chewing.

The weeks passed with Naruto throwing himself into his training with a reckless abandon; going to sleep each night covered with dark blue splotches from his 'training' with Kakeru.

The sun rose over the quiet village, casting soft pinkish color across the brightly colored rooftops and walls of hardened stone and plaster. Few civilians were up so the streets were sparsely populated, the silence of a sleeping village broken only by the soft chirping of birds and other wildlife.

"SHIT! I'm gonna be late. Not good, not good, not good at all" Shouted Naruto as he ran along roof tops, using the zip-lines installed across the village roofs for training genin to use as they traveled cross-town. A blur of burnt-orange and gray left from roof tops only to precariously bound off of a wire connecting roofs as it sped to the heart of the village.

A young chunin stood before a class full of hopeful students as he called roll. "Sasuke Uchia." "Hnn" A rather disgruntled young male muttered from the back of the classroom; posture belaying his boredom and subtle arrogance in his demeanor. The soft chatter of the children talking amongst themselves could be heard as Iruka spoke loudly enough to be heard.

The sound of pounding footsteps could be heard approaching from down the hall, followed shortly by the door to the classroom being thrown open violently as a young male stormed into the room out of breath. "I'm... here...Iruka-sensei..." Huffed Naruto in between gasps of air.

Annoyance crossed Iruka's face as he motioned for the youth to take a seat, marking him present. "Naruto, sit down, and try not to be a distraction... at least you made it on time for me to count you present. You'll take the exam." Iruka smiled slightly as he continued with the roll-call.

Upon finishing his roll and finding everyone present the chunin teacher began to go over the rules of the exam. "Okay, so for those of you that are taking this exam for the first time, I'll cover the rules of the exam as well as the expectations. First of all the exam is split up into three parts; Knowledge, practical knowledge, and a practical examination of necessary shinobi skills. The first part is broken up into several sections and is given as a written exam. You will be answering questions on various topics. Basic history, chakra fundamentals, jutsu fundamentals, village protocols, weapon knowledge, and basic knowledge about key villages from other nations." Iruka paused for a moment as he waited for the depth of the examination to sink into the hopeful genin-to-be before him. "Some of you may wonder why we bother with a written exam at all, and I will give you the answer. Knowledge is necessary tool for all shinobi. Konoha requires all genin to know at least the fundamentals in each of these categories so you won't be ignorant in the field. The requirements are set by a council of jounin and chunin; so take this seriously. This knowledge may save you one day.

Now, the second part of the test will be a practical theory test where you show us how you would construct a trap, where you would set up and ambush, and a general knowledge of basic medic skills and other skills deemed necessary for all shinobi to possess. You'll be graded on a fundamental knowledge base, so don't worry if your not great at laying ambushes and traps. It's up to your jounin-sensei to teach you the finer points, we just want to assure that you'll have a little bit of knowledge for them to work with."

Pausing in his speech Iruka glanced across the classroom to see if he still had the classes attention. "Okay, and lastly the exam has the practical examination. You will be matched against a chunin-teacher for a single round of taijutsu. Obviously, since you are facing a chunin, you need not win, but merely show a basic competency to pass. Beyond that you'll be required to pass a thrown weapons course, and perform several jutsu under the supervision of a chunin-teacher to guarantee that you have basic survival techniques mastered."

"Your scores will be averaged across all three parts of the exams with a grade of 70 or higher being necessary to pass and receive your head-bands...Any questions?" Iruka waited to see if any of the youths would raise the hands for clarification. Seeing none, he decided to move along to the exam. "All right let's get started."

Three chunin-teachers proceeded to pass out the thick paper packets to the students, placing one packet and a single pencil upon each desk. As the three assistants passed out the packets Iruka addressed the class once more. "Now to avoid any cheating we're supplying the writing utensils. The test is exactly 700 questions long with each question counting for 1/7th of a point. When you are finished raise your hand and a chunin-teacher will collect your test. Do not leave your seat until your test is collected. Once finished you may proceed to the training field for the practical knowledge part of your test. You may begin."

Almost in unison every student grabbed up the pencils and began the written part of the exam, the soft scratching of graphite against paper filled the room. Naruto glanced down at his test, confused for a moment as the letters seemed to be hazy and shifting slightly on his paper. His brows furled for a moment as he contemplated what he was seeing, it almost looked like his test had a genjutsu on it. Pausing the realization hit him, this was actually a practical knowledge test to weed out the poor ninja. Closing his eyes Naruto focused on his chakra for a moment before whispering 'kai'. Seeing his test seem to solidify and the words shift once to what he assumed was the correct placement he began his test; running through the information with relative ease.

The minutes ticked by while the students worked arduously on the test, most scrambling to finish as quickly as possible as they cared more for the practical aspects than the written knowledge; with a few notable exceptions. A young pinkette seemed to be contemplating each question for several moments before carefully marking her answers, her lips turning into a smile as she moved on knowing she answered the question correctly. While the young girl answered slowly, a young male with a pineapple like haircut seemed to lazily mark questions with an almost uncaring demeanor. He simply scrawled his answers as he lazily made his way down the test; not even bothering to break the genjutsu as it was simply too troublesome since he could answer the questions anyway.

Naruto laboriously finished his written exam, flipping his paper over and raising his hand as he waited for a chunin-teacher to collect his test. He felt confidence in his answers. There had been a few questions he wasn't too sure about, but over all he'd managed to answer almost all of it with relative ease. A chunin with brown hair moved to collect his test, quirking a brow at the younger male for being the first one to turn hi paper in; though he was only the second one to finish with a lazy Nara sleeping on his own test.

Scratching the back of his head sheepishly Naruto could only grin at his speed, knowing his speed was more from study than carelessly answering the questions. Once the chunin took his papers Naruto jumped up to run out to the training fields, rushing in his haste to gain his shinobi license. Kaisui hid his smirk beneath a cough as he pretended to be going over his answers.

Naruto had breezed through the practical knowledge part of the exam as setting traps and evading detection were both skills he'd long since mastered from his elaborate pranks. Making his way to the side where the combat arena was Naruto approached the chunin there hesitantly. "Umm...I think I'm ready for the combat and practical examination part..."

The chunin leaning against a pole set up to mark off the perimeter nodded briefly before turning to the three chunin sitting at a long table that had been set up outside for the judges to sit at. "State your name and academy number and we may begin."

The youth nodded excitedly and shouted "I'm Naruto Uzumaki-Abata, Academy student three three zero one five four! You better get ready, because I'm comin, Teacher-san!" Without pause the young blonde took off after the older male, charging straight at him as he leaned in to gain speed.

The older male quirked a brow at the youths shouting before rolling his eyes as Naruto charged him. "Pfft, he's got about as much tact as a bull in a china shop, this will be over quick." Not bothering to brace the chunin merely waited for genin to close the distance before stepping to the side and pushing Naruto as he ran past.

The genin-to-be seemed to stagger and trip as he was shoved, falling to the side with his full momentum from his run causing him to tumble head over heels onto the ground. Rolling as best he could, he landed sliding on his hands and feet, an annoyed expression passing over his features as he charged again; his right arm cocking back as though he was going to try to punch the chunin in the face.

The chunin with brown hair merely sighed again as the youth charged him, stepping into his guard as he closed in and twisting his arm, flipping the younger male over and tossing him off to the side. Naruto, however, as he was being flipped grabbed onto the chunin's shoulder with his free arm, though his fingers slipped as his opponent shifted his arm, causing Naruto to go sprawling and the chunin to stagger slightly.

Smirking Naruto charged again as soon as his feet had touched the ground, kicking off with more speed than he'd shown so far as he took off towards the chunin-teacher. The chunin, however, was getting annoyed and stepped back as he threw a blunted kunai at the charging youth; hoping to end the fight quickly so he could simply fail Naruto and move on to the students that mattered. The kunai arced straight for Naruto's chest as the blonde charged, though just before it hit Naruto jumped into the air rolling back with the kunai as he brought his feet in front of him to drive both of his heels into the examiner. The chunin, caught off guard, felt two booted heels drive into his sternum causing him to stagger backwards and nearly fall down. As he fell, Naruto released the kunai that had nearly hit him, with a sizzling tag tied to the handle that air-burst as it passed over the chunin-teacher.

The chunin teacher quickly got to his feet before shaking his head as he tried to suppress the ringing in his ears, the tag had exploded just a foot over his head. 'If that had been a real note I'd be dead right now.' The chunin thought to himself before shifting into a fighting stance. 'I gotta end this quick before the brat passes'.

Smirking Naruto made a ram sign and muttered 'kai' causing a practice tag to explode beneath the chunin's feet. Though not lethal the note threw the chunin off to the side where he landed in a heap, having not seen the tag that Naruto had placed earlier. 'Brat must have placed that when I pushed him at the start of the fight...not bad for a twerp, but not good enough. If I end it now.'

Standing the chunin merely shook his head. "Alright I think that's enough. Your tricks are decent, but against an opponent taking you seriously that would never have worked. This exam is over, the judges will submit your score and you'll get the results later." The chunin turned to the snickering judges as he commented, knowing full well he ended the fight well before Naruto could attain a passing mark.

The blonde, however, had other plans. "Well that's cool, though I should still get credit for the tag on your back, Sir. I'm not sure if you noticed it, and I'm not sure you want me to set off a tag that close to your spine, even if it is a practice tag." He quipped with amusement as he sauntered off, knowing that they would have to pass him for what could be considered three lethal shots to a chunin-teacher. 'That's got to be a new record.' The amused blonde thought to himself as he wandered off to take tell Mihane the good news. Naruto was going to officially be a genin.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

AN: I just wanna say thanks for the 2 reviews I have so far, it feels good to get some positive feedback for trying something new. **Friaku: **Let me just say that you're likely to be surprised by the Abata clan's techniques...which I'll tease you all about for a few chapters. I'm still working out the mechanics for how it would work exactly. With that said though, I'm actually debating if I should kind of revamp the whole Naruto world with ninja's that scream and run at people(. Not very ninja-like) or leave it more or less the same and deviate with my chosen clan and friends. Thoughts? Suggestions? Don't forget to review people. Gimmie ideas!

Naruto sat across from Kai at the large table they had secured at the Gilded Swan, a joke from Kakeru-sama. Grins lay across all of the youngsters faces. Kai and Naruto elated that the next day they would meet their jounin-sensei, the others excited for the two youths accomplishment. The older members of the family sat to the left of the kids, smiling and talking amongst themselves as they let the younger ones enjoy themselves for the moment. The sounds of conversations filled the large room they had rented out for the occasion, the noise volume loud enough that the owner of the restaurant had to begrudgingly activate the privacy seal to prevent the rest of his diners from having their dinners interrupted by the jovial shouting and joking going on.

"SEE! I TOLD YOU I'D PASS! I'm pretty sure I set a record too! 3 lethal shots on the chunin-teacher in like 10 seconds. You should have seen the look on his face. He was soooo pissed." Naruto shouted to Kai as he ate his food with abandon; the adults not correcting his lack of behavior merely because his antics amused them.

Kai shook his head and laughed at his brother in all but blood. "You would have if I hadn't gotten him 5 times with my Seishin. He was weak in Taijutsu. I think he was a genjutsu specialist by the way he carried himself. No idea what to do against my techniques." Grinning Kai broke the news to his buddy. "Don't worry though I heard the judges talking about loop holes to try and fail you...so I may have put that douch-bag through the judges table. I wish you could have seen the look on their faces when they had to pull the idiot out of the wood. It was priceless."

"Kaisui Abata, watch your language young man!...and you know better than to use a clan technique during the exam. The only reason they didn't fail you is because you used Seishin for Taijutsu...which is technically acceptable as the Hyuga and Uchia use their Dojutsu for combat as well." Mihane chastised her son with a stern voice, despite the small smile she fought from her features at hearing her son defend Naruto.

"Yes mom." Kai returned in a small voice, looking adequately chastised, if one ignored the smirk on his face.

A voice broke through the noise as Kakeru stood up with his glass in hand. Tapping the side of the glass for attention the older male waited for the asembly to pay attention before continuing. "Everyone, I propose a toast. To the two youngsters we have watched grow from diaper wearing poop factories to honorable young men who do nothing less than make us proud to be in the same clan. To the heir and the blond knucklehead upholding the Abata clan honor and wiping the floor with morons. To the prankster and his best friend! To the genin sitting before us all, now on the long road to showing the village what elite jounin look like when they're wet behind the ears! To Naruto Uzumaki-Abata and Kaisui Abata, Once my students, but always my family." Kakeru spoke with amusement in his voice despite the slight catch in his voice towards the end. His eyes focused on Naruto as he spoke of family.

Nothing was said about the moisture that collected in the wide eyes of the blonde youth as the meaning washed over him. Glasses all around were raised and sips were taken. It was a family affair.

The next day found Naruto and Kai in the old classroom for the last time before they left the academy behind entirely. Neither wanted to teach so this would be the last time they were anything but visitors. Violet and cerulean eyes took in for the last time the chalk board and podium behind which their teacher stood. Iruka-sensei was currently explaining how they genin would be meeting their jounin-sensei. "On each of your desks there is a training field number. You will head out to that field when I dismiss you to meet your team and your jounin-sensei."

Clearing his voice Iruka smiled at his youngsters with pride as he spoke his goodbye. "This is the last thing I will tell you as your teacher, as from now on you're no longer my problem to deal with." A few of the students chuckled at Iruka's joke. "Now you're off to bug the crap out of some of our villages elite as they try to teach you what you need to be successful. It will be dangerous. Learn what you can, keep your eyes and ears, and most importantly minds open and hopefully enough will stick that I will call you my equal in a few years time. Some of you may even advance further than I in the ninja ranks...but always remember I gave you the foundation you needed to stand that tall...so no picking on your old sensei." With a wink at the youths, Iruka pulled out a box of headbands and lay them on the table before him. "I want you to line up so I can put your headband on you. It's somewhat of a tradition with my classes."

The group lines up, messily, and walked forward one at a time for iruka-sensei to tie the headbands across their foreheads befor returning to their seats. Iruka smiled the whole time whispering words to each as he did so. When Naruto arrived Iruka merely shook his head as he fastened the ninja marked upon the blondes head. "You will be something great one day. I know I've not been the best teacher for you, and others even tried to hold you back...but you've proven us all wrong. Time and again you've shown me what the will of fire is, reminded me what it means to be a shinobi. Good luck Naruto, I expect much from you."

Naruto grinned brightly at his teacher and walked back to his seat, noticing that both his and Kai's headband had a similar distinction from the rest of the markers; their metal bands had been powdered coated to a dull matte black unlike the shines the rest of the genin's held. Quirking a brow at Kai he wondered if that meant something.

As the assembled genin stood waiting their dismissal Iruka merely smiles at the lot of them. "I have only one more thing to pass onto each of you. Remember you're village and your comrades. You walk out of this room as true ninja of Konoha. Walk with pride." Gesturing to the door, Iruka watched as the group began to pile out to find the training grounds they needed to go to.

Kai punched Naruto in the arm and then through his arm around his shoulders. "Aight lazy I'm off to training ground 37, what about you?" Holding the slip out Naruto let Kai read his slip; it read "37".

Shaking his head in amusement Naruto smelled Mihane's touch all over the coincidence. "So what are the odds of that? I'd say almost as great as me ending up in your class when your mom adopted me into the Abata clan."

Smirking Kai couldn't argue with Naruto's words, he did have a point. "Yup I'm betting my mom pulled strings to keep us in the same squad. Cool though, we're officially squad mates!"

"Um...aren't clan members usually put in different squads? Why would we be allowed to be in the same squad?...I didn't think that was allowed"

Kai shrugged as he responded, guessing at what he thought the answer was. "Usually they're not, but you're adopted into the clan, so you don't use out techniques. I'm pretty sure the reason clan members don't end up in the same squad is to allow for diversity amongst the squads...and since you're not using Abata clan techniques, there's no reason to hold the same standard."

Pausing as the two made their way to training ground 37 Naruto had to admit it did make sense.

The two arrived at the training ground only to find it wasn't what they expected. Instead of a large wide open field like many of the others set aside for ninjutsu specialists, they found what looked like a series of obstacle courses all tied together in weird ways.  
They couldn't make heads or tails of where one would enter and exit, but the closest thing they could make to the structures connected by wires and poles with walls and roofs and other such features seemingly tacked on was that it looks like an obstacle course. Glancing around they saw another youth waiting against a near by tree, apparently also trying to figure out what the structures were as he seemed to stare at the wooden and stone field with mild confusion.

He stood with a large forst green trench coat covering much of his features, arms crossing his chest as he lazed against the tree; hints of elaborate looking arm guards peaking from underneath the long sleeved of the coat; black in color with oddly raised bumps running along the matte black finish. Just barely visible if one looked closely. High necked trench was lain with the lapels flat, wide swaths of cloth that seemed to reach the shoulder of the youngster. A dark gray shirt could be seen beneath the trench, laden with pouches and pockets attached with a molly strip system. Matching trousers and boots were offset only by a dark red trim that mirrored an odd pattern across the jacket. Died green hair lay unkempt across the male's features, hanging across eyes covered by orange tinted shades. His lips were pursed with boredom. He'd clearly been waiting a while.

Head tilted when he heard Kai and Naruto approach, his face turning towards them. "Yo. I'm guessing you're my squad-mates." Pushing off of the tree the green clad male made his way to the others. Extending his hand towards Kai he greeted the other jovially. "I'm Ioshin, but you can call me Shin. I'm hopin our Jounin-sensei gets here soon cuz I'm waiting to kick this party off." Kai admired the odd blades that ran across the youths fingers as he shook his hand; careful not to cut himself. The arm guards covered a pair of matching metallic gloves with a single plate of metal sewn into the back of the hand and an odd metal frame built across each finger that lead down into a mock fingernail that looked very sharp.

"Hey, I'm Kaisui, and this here's Naruto. You can call me Kai and you can call him trouble." Grinning Kai glanced at Naruto as he joked only to see the blonde roll his eyes at his best friends antics.

After shaking both Kai and Naruto's hands he took a step back to look at their gear; after all one had to have spiffy threads.

The black haired youth wore fingerless black gloves that tucked into a long sleeved shirt that seemed mottled in color. It was a spray of shades of dark gray black and dark green with a little burnt-orange thrown in, at Naruto's insistence. Matching trousers tucked into black boots which were bound at the ankle by metal clasps which were powdered black. Upon his hips he had two pouches set across his belt which held his kunai and shuriken while the lower back was sewn in with odd holsters which held what looked like a plethora of slim scrolls tucked in safely.

Naruto took Shin's hand as he commented "Just ignore Kai here, he thinks he's funny, but he's too dumb to realize how bad his jokes are. It's a pleasure to meet you Shin." Trailing off for a second Naruto absently wondered aloud. "I wonder what our squad specialization will be...Really it depends on our jounin-sensei, but we all look like competent fighters and unless you're a tracker type then we're lacking that all together...Kai and I are trained at tracking but we don't have any advantages there other than knowledge and experience...and we're both garbage at genjutsu..."

Shin answered the rhetorical question absently as he took in Naruto's new look. "Well I'm actually trained in hunter-nin tactics and tracking, though I'm still learning a lot...so most likely either a response squad, hunter squad, or infiltration squad. I specialize in disabling techniques as my father trained me and he was a hunter nin...so you're guess is as good as mine. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

The blond was now decked out in a similar style to Kai though with the Uzumaki flare thrown in. He wore a dark burnt-orange short sleeved shirt with a pair of fingerless gloves, odd blades sewn into the gloves between his fingers so that they curved out and ended just passed the first join of his middle finger. Each blade was curved so that they would be a present factor when either grappling or striking. A soft wire mesh undershirt lay beneath his clothing as it broke up the coloration of the boys tanned skin. Across his shoulders lay a knee length coat with the sleeved ripped off, mottled gray, black, blue, and orange in color for camouflage. Across the back of the coat was the Uzumaki swirl in a dark blood red. On his hips we wore two pouched, and presumably he had matching scrolls across the small of his back. Dark gray trousers tucked into matching boots, fasteners and all. Over top of the jacket he word was a three point harness that kept a small pack nestled against the male's left side, a single toggle fastener keeping the pouch flap locked down and hiding the contents.

"Ahem" A soft voice broke their conversation as the three boys turned to look at a large figure that seemed to simply one moment exist beside them all.

He stood towering over the teens before him, long brown hair tied back into a ponytail managed by a series of leather thongs. Lightly tanned skin marred by several scars across his rather intimidating visage; one scar bisecting his left brow from his forehead to just below his left temple, the thin white line raised slightly as though it didn't heal properly. Piercing green eyes regarded the genin before him with a serious gaze, taking in every detail about each of them seemingly in an instant before moving on to the next. A thin black shirt was left bare at the elbows with wire netting covering the joints as the ends tucked into fingerless black gloves. Seemingly intermittently sewn into the shirt where a series of overlapping shuriken, held securely but designed for easy removal for utility-sake running both along the top and bottom of the large male's forearms. Atop the shirt a dark olive colored vest deviated from the standard jounin design in that it wasn't thick and bulky; instead the material was thin and sewn with small matte back metal plates at various important spots, the kidneys, lungs, and heart. Strategically placed along the vest were molly strips which allowed for small pouches to be secured with ease. Two weapons rested against the jounin's lower back, the sheaths made of soft cloth with a wire meshed edge to prevent the blades from slicing through the silent-draw harness. The blades were thick and heavy looking with a spiked guard along the handle, the curve of the blade reminding one more of a butchers knife than a shinobi weapon. Dark gray trousers, almost black, adorned the older male's legs having been tailored to sit snugly across the muscular thighs of the imposing figure. Upon each thigh a small pouch was fastened using a similar molly strip design, presumably full of ninja gear. Three such pouches lay across the outside of each leg. Matching boots bloused the legs of the trousers, fastened with matte black metal bands which, like every other piece of metal, had been powdered to absorb light rather than reflect. Over all an impressive figure, the full extent of which was lost upon Kai shouting "Cousin! You're our Sensei! Sweet this is gonna be fun, Abata clan taken ass and kicken names!"

Diaki face-palmed at his younger cousins elation. "Kai-kun, you do realize this isn't a game. I'm not going to be going easy on you like when we play Ninja-Tag. This is life or death. I'm going to take the three of you and shape you into hardened killers. Night-warriors the likes of which this village has never seen. We need to make an impression as the Abata clan is still new to Konoha, and you're the genin heir. We're gonna make the other squads look like a bunch of pussies if I have my way...and I WILL have my way. So get ready to hurt. Get ready to bleed. Get ready to be beaten until you break so I can build you back up into the best I can."

Kai grinned at his cousin and nodded slightly, a sadistic gleam appearing in his eyes at the remark of making the others look like pussies. "Cousin, I like the way you think. Let's start this. After all the three of us don't have all year to become chunin." Conviction and determination laced his declaration of the timetable for their promotion, the sentiment was matched by both of the youths by his side.

Diaki spoke softly as he expected them to listen. "You all were hand picked for a reason. Mihane thinks that each of your skill sets will compliment each other quite well. Now I'm supposed to give you a test to make sure you know what it means to be a shinobi...but I've seen all of you in action; it would be a waste of all of our times. So instead I'm going to have a team skill assessment. I want the three of you to come at me with the intention to kill me. Don't hold back or I'll stop going easy on you. I need to see both how good you all are individually, as well as how well you all work together as a team. With no training I'll get a better feel for the chemistry you guys are going to naturally have. Then with training I'll make you into a force that is far stronger than any of you three alone...the assessment begins...now"

With that said Diaki jumps back away from the youths, landing amongst the odd obstacle course to stand sideways upon one of the walls. Arms crossing his chest as he waited to see how coordinated his students could be on the fly. A sadistic smirk crossing his face.

AN: Cliffy, mostly because I want to hold off on showing the Seishin for another chapter. Though it WILL be in the next chapter during the fight. I'll wait to explain why it's super awesome for a few chapters after that :D

Read and review. Hit me with suggestions, ideas, and critiques. Gimmie gimmie gimmie! ~Jester


	3. Chapter 3

Friaku: Thanks for the continued reviewing. I appreciate the suggestions and comments. As for the poisons...let's just say that's already been addressed. I've always found it odd how Naruto is basically immune to poisons naturally but he doesn't utilize them in his repertoire. As such I've corrected this odd oversight. As for the nature of his squad and the reasoning for his headband...well you'll see. ^.^ Anywho onto the third chapter.

"Assassination and espionage are the bread and butter for those who walk in the shadows. A true ninja is a mechanization of fierce combat tactics and strategies wrapped in the unknown and lost in the shadows; striking when unexpected to fell an opponent politically, emotionally, or physically, and quite often in that order." -Abata Tetsujin. Founder of the Abata clan.

The three youngsters took a moment to glance between each other before Naruto and Kai nodded to each other, attention turning to Shin for a moment as they spoke. "Let's do this right. Naruto and I know each other so we'll take the lead. Back us up and take any opening you see." A sadistic grin passed across Shins face as he nodded in response. "Sounds like a plan. Let's put him to the ground."

Three blurs fanned out across the obstacle course, three shinobi going in for the kill against their jounin-sensei.

Blonde hair seemed to defy the wind despite the speed at which the male hauled ass across the beams towards Diaki; sable haired youth hot on his heels as they closed the distance. Vaulting a half wall with one arm and a single jump, the blonde male planted his feet firmly upon the wall as he passed over; kicking off with all of his force as he shot himself towards his instructor at impressive speeds.

Blades flew from Naruto's hands as he neared the rapidly approaching target; three kunai from each arm flung before him as he flipped in the air to bring the bottoms of his steel clad boots before him in a double heel kick.

Amused by the sudden assault, Diaki dodged to the side of the kunai as they flew past him, the grouping somewhat impressive for a genin, but by no means threatening. Following his side step, the older male seemed to lazily reach out and snag the aggressive youths leg and toss him head over heels away from him as he spun; knowing not to let the kid get a hold of him. He'd been watching the genin exams with interest.

Kaisui broke off to the right as Naruto launched himself at Diaki, choosing to move in for a pincer formation and split the more experienced male's attention for an advantage. Twin kunai erupted from the youths hands suddenly as he saw Naruto being thrown, the aim of which seemed to be off. Passing on either side of the Jounin, the kunai missed by mere inches.

Diaki quirked a brow as he saw his relative miss, knowing he'd never miss that blatantly. Eyes widened for a moment as he caught the thin wire streaming in the air behind the weapons. Smirking the Jounin whipped out one of his combat knives, bringing the object between him and the wire to avoid becoming tangled by the line.

Naruto landed from his sprawl upon both feet in an oddly graceful manner, nodding slightly to himself as he saw Kai's kunai. Jumping forward the blonde youth snagged the weapons out of the air, turning with force and yanking hard on the kunai attached to the wire line. Pulling his Joinin-sensei off balance, the blond stepped towards him as he ran the wire around his armored gloves almost absently; closing the space between himself and the older male while not allowing for a build up of slack.

Diaki could only grin at the combined attack; he knew they often trained together, but this was still impressive...if underwhelming for a trained Jounin. Simply turning his attention he allowed himself to be pulled off guard as he brought his knife to bear towards the incoming blonde. Naruto, not one to be easily dissuaded brought his arms out to either side sharply as he jumped forward; using the line as an anchor to pull his feet into his sensei while keeping his vital organs as far away from the rather nasty looking blade as possible.

Shin, not one to be left out, at this point seemed to come barreling out of the shadows several feet away from the other three; a simple spin and twist of his left wrist flinging several odd looking senbon from the metal nubs on his right gauntlet. Following through as he spun, the male brought his right fist forward in a sharp jab towards the lower back of his sensei.

Kai stepped in as he saw Shin move in, jumping towards Diaki as he spun in the air, bringing his left heel towards the back of his opponents shoulders.

Diaki, however, had plans that involved not getting bludgeoned by the barrage his new students were throwing at him. Rolling his right shoulder down he popped the wire line over his arm as he tucked under it; throwing his body to the side to avoid the three attacks approaching his previous location.

Naruto, now in danger of kicking the shit out of Kai, tucked his feet down as quickly as he could, arching his back to pass underneath his friend. While Kai merely tucked his left leg in and shifted his weight mid flight to his right leg and twisting into a mid air barrel roll instead of spinning kick; his foot barely missing Shins face as the other youth tucked and dove between the other two following through with his punching motion.

Shin landed in a roll only to pop up before Diaki, lashing out with another right jab seamlessly as he broke from his acrobatics. His squad-mates recovering and flanking him as they recovered from their missed attacks and rejoined the fight.

Diaki stepped back as his brought his left arm up to block the attack from Shin, right hand slashing the air before him as dust particulates were released into the youths eyes and face. Attention now shifting towards naruto for a moment before he noticed an aberration in his left forearm. Shin's bladed fingers had opened at the last second only to dig into the Jounin's forearm lightly, barely piecing the flesh, before the youth had been disabled by the dust. Grunting to himself as he felt the feeling in his left forearm dulled and his fingers responding sluggishly.

As Shin staggered back from the assault to his eyes, Naruto steadied him with a single palm to his teammates shoulder. Kai jumped to the right as he sought to distract his Sensei from the injured party. A single kunai appeared in his fingers before flying towards the feet of Diaki, Kai grinning as the small slip of paper smoldered lightly across the handle of the kunai. Naruto turned and stepped to shield Shin from the small explosion, both he and Kai knowing his healing factor would let him shrug the blow off far better than their new friend.

Diaki, to his credit, noticed Naruto move to soak the blow and merely jumped into the air to dodge the attack, knowing his genin were safe enough at the moment. A single incredulous look passed across his features at the balls Kai had shown in willingly throwing an explosive device near his teammates. However as the flash-bang went off he registered the ruse for what it was, having closed his eyes to avoid any debris damaging his sight, he failed to see the senbon that had been thrown blindly by Shin at Naruto's insistence. Three such objects struck the surprised Jounin in the torso, seemingly drawing blood as they punctured several inches into his form, only for him to be replaced by a rather thick looking wooden beam.

Clapping could be heard off to the side of the genin. Diaki stood several meters off to the side of the genin as he smiled at them in amusement. "I've never seen that one before from a group so young. I've got to say...I'm amused...however you're going to have to do better if you want to impress me."

Having knuckled the dust form his eyes Shin, now able to see properly, merely scowled in response, not at all amused by the cheap shot used by the Jounin. A grimace of irritation passed across his features for a brief moment before shifting into a sadistic gleam in his eyes. Fingers twitched as the male crossed his arms before him, his hands resting lightly upon his gauntlets, digits resting lightly on the throwing weapons concealed within. "Don't say you didn't ask for it." He whispered softly before stepping away from the two male's beside him. "I'll cover from a distance, just try not to get hit by friendly fire, these're gonna hurt."

Finger tips tugged lightly upon the nubs on the bottoms of his gauntlets, drawing forth the flattened senbon, arms straightening without warning and flinging said weapons at the Jounin-sensei. Seals etched into the blades themselves seemed to glimmer in the light; a soft crimson light sliding across the symbols etched into the metallic weapons from the tip towards the base.

Diaki merely jumped to the side, knowing what was coming his way, as he turned his attention to the soon-to-attack males to Shin's left. Naruto glanced to Kai before smirking. "It's just like Ninja Tag against Kakeru-sama, isn't it?" He asked Kai softly, confusing the other boy for a moment before he understood the cryptic request.

Pale lips pulled away from ivory teeth as the boy grinned sadistically. "It's exactly like playing Ninja-Tag against Kakeru-sama."

Two Shinobi dashed forward as the senbon behind their Jounin-sensei exploded in a sudden racket of noise. Naruto shifted to take the lead as they closed the distance between them and Diaki; Left arm held forward as he cocked his right arm back to a rather obvious punch.

Lashing out with a feint, Naruto chose to dive to the left as he rolled his right shoulder, tucking inwards as he rolled to his Jounin-sensei's right; the kunai following his original path having been blocked by his form from Diaki's sight. Landing on his left leg with his right curled underneath him, Naruto lashed out with a left punch towards Diaki's lower back as Kai's kunai kept the Jounin busy for the moment, the youths right hand planted as he braced for the rather awkward attack. Kai leaped into the air over his relative as he rained kunai down on the older man; his own path being riddled with the senbon from Shin. A double feint attack, or so it seemed.

Grinning Diaki shifted to his left as he avoided Naruto's attack, blocking the incoming projectiles with an almost careless ease as he did so, dodging only the senbon from Shin in case they were exploding etched like the last. However, much to his surprise as Naruto missed his punch he rolled with his attack, left hand now planting as the youth pushed off with his curled leg only to throw himself into a flip; landing behind the Jounin and beside his teammate Kai as the youth landed. Diaki turned slightly to keep all of the youths within his line of sight, though a sift sizzling sound drew his attention to the ground from which Naruto had lept; the two exploding tags about to go off.

Grimacing as he'd fell for the mistake he'd been trying to avoid; the Jounin-sensei got caught in the explosion from Naruto's seemingly signature move.

As the dust cleared though the Jounin-sensei was seen to be fine, the damage absorbed by a large construct made from stone having appeared before him to absorb the blow. "Hmm you made me break out my Seishin. Now I'm impressed." The golem like creature turned slightly to look at the youths before him; soft grinding noises accompanied the movement as small pebbles and rocks fell from the constructs form. Inhuman lips curled into a grin as the creature nodded to Kai, recognizing another of the Abata clan. "Now we get serious."

Kai jumped back as he saw Diaki's seishin now released on the battle field, hands blazing through signs as he concentrated his chakra onto a single scroll held in his mouth. With a puff of smoke the scroll disappeared, leaving a puddle of water in its wake. Tendrils rose from the puddle, banding together as the liquid seemed to pull itself together into the form of a small fox made from water. Leaping upwards the small fox landed upon Kai's shoulders, oddly not causing any wet spots to appear upon the youth's garments.

"We need to end this quickly Naruto, I can't touch Diaki in use of the seishin, this is gonna suck." Naruto could only nod as he stared at the fully formed seishin before him, having never seen a full manifestation before. "...yeah...I think you're right."

Forming the ram sign, Naruto made several shadow clones appear around him for assistance.(AN: Yes he's gonna use the shadow clone technique. No he's not gonna spam it like in cannon, but he's STILL got a crapton of chakra in this fic, so he needed something to pass the clone portion of the ninjutsu exam.) Rushing forth the group of clones moved to attack Diaki with a barrage of shuriken. Kai ran into the fray with Naruto beside him, both moving in to avoid the elder seishin as they let the clones deal with it. Sharp blasts of solidified water shot from the fox upon Kai's shoulder as Naruto split to the left, Kai hanging back just a moment before engaging. Naruto began tossing tag-wrapped kunai at the jounin-sensei, all tactics lost by the sudden shifting of advantage; they knew they were fucked.

Kunai and shuriken merely bounced off of the stone seishin as it seemed to change shape and wrap around Diaki, shielding him from much of the explosive assault. Diaki planted a foot upon his seishin and vaulted upwards, a small column of stone appearing beneath his foot and driving him upwards with greater force as his seishin aided his action. A single kunai was released from the jounin-sensei, streaking towards Kai with insane speed. Diaki landed behind the two males, a his single drawn blade shifting to a defensive reverse grip.

A puff of smoke upon contact revealed Naruto having replaced Kai with a shadow clone last second to avoid his teammate from being injured.

Kai was far from discouraged however as he began his assault with a near reckless abandon; leaping forward as he twisted at the waist. Liquid fox seemed to curl in on itself before lashing out with whip-like appendages striking out from Kai's shoulder forcing Diaki on the defensive. Kunai and shuriken were all but forgotten by the young male as he embraced his seishin combat. Violet iris seemed to glow with energy as jutsu after jutsu were volleyed at the older male. A hail of water spikes followed the initial barrage, only for the whip-like appendages to grow spikes as they continued to pelt Diaki with bone shattering force.

Naruto ducked and weaved through the attacks as he moved to engage Diaki in hand to hand; knowing Kai had enough control not to hit him as long as he didn't do anything stupid. Kunai shifted to a reverse grip as Naruto had to suddenly block the sudden onslaught of sharpened stones launched from the golem like construct.

Diaki in the mean time dodged the incoming assault from his younger kin with agility and grace; each attack missing by scant hair breadths as the Jounin slid between the holes in the attack. His free hand suddenly flew through a series of signs before Diaki released a sudden wave of wind from his mouth; blowing the two youngsters and accompanying water fox away from him. Light green eyes seemed suffused with power as Diaki's seishin released another wave of spikes, this time the lumbering construct moving in with speed which seemed surreal with the sheer size of it; bipedal form shifting with a sudden succession of grinding and cracking noises as the arms split and elongated into wing-like forms. Stone body shead extra mass as the creature seemed to simply shed excess rocks as it fell away into the shape of a falcon, albiet a 3 foot tall falcon made of stone. Taking to the air on nearly visible wind collected beneath the wings, the seishin returned to Diaki to land lightly upon his shoulder to curl protectively around the older male.

Leaning back suddenly as another senbon flew passed his face, Diaki turned his attention to Shin; who had for the last several moments been relatively passive in the combat. Diaki's eyes widened as he saw Shin going through a series of hand signs. Blue energy laced with an odd purplish green spread from the boys form and hung in the air around him; sweeping out across the battlefield the odd energy seemed to pull the moisture from the very air as it collected it into a smothering fog. Diaki decided it was time to end the test as he'd seen all he needed.

Jumping away from the two young men before him, the Jounin curled and gestured with his arm, much the way a falconer would, as he released his seishin towards Naruto and Sai. Rather then allowing the drawn out fight to continue Diaki enhanced his body with a quick burst of chakra to close the distance quickly between himself and Shin. Simply appearing behind Shin, the older male moved to chop the youth in the neck, only to find a rather nasty surprise.

Naruto shifted as he shielded Kai from the falcon construct, feeling the volley of air enhanced stone projectiles bite into his skin through his tough clothing. Grinning despite the disheveled appearance of his clothing post-assault, Naruto waited for the amusement he knew would follow. As Diaki appeared behind Shin a soft "Kai" could be heard from Naruto, who was now making the ram sign. Placed upon the single youths back, presumably planted when Naruto steadied him earlier, was a small tag covering a metal plate with adhesive on the bottom. Shin quickly plugged his ears when he realized he lost sight of his teacher.

A loud thunderous crack echoed across the training field as the make-shift claymore set off directly before the Jounin-sensei, the thin plate protecting Shin from the force of the tag exploding. Th youth staggered forward from the sudden force, while dulled it was still an explosion, feeling as though he'd been punched in the back. The same beam from before falling to the ground behind him, riddled with small ball bearings that had buried themselves several inches into the replacement.

A rather disgruntled looking Jounin-sensei stood in the same place where he had substituted from last, eyes wide as his mouth hung agape from the insane move his genin had just pulled; it nearly worked. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Diaki screamed as he lost his composure. "Are you idiots insane or just plain stupid?!" The Jounin-sensei asked rhetorically, calming himself from nearly crapping his pants. Diaki's fingers moved to rub small circles over his temples as he tried to regain his composure. "Naruto...why the FUCK did you plant a claymore on Shin...Shin did you know he did that? HELL, did ANY of you know if that was safe or were you just hoping not to blow him up?" Single hand rose before the jounin-sensei as he called a pause in the test.

Naruto grinned sheepishly as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Umm...well...that was a claymore mine...and I was PRETTY sure it was safe. I've used them in pranks before and they didn't seem to break what I put them on once I figured out to add the metal plate..."

Shin's eyes widened as he heard that Naruto had never tested his plan before the training session to be sure it was safe enough. "...You ASSHOLE! You could have blown me up and you were PRETTY sure? WHAT THE FUCK MAN?!"

Naruto held his hands up to placate his teammate. "Hey hey hey, Shin it's not like I just thought it up and hoped for the best. I've used that combination several times and it didn't do anything more than slight powder burns to the branches I'd put them on. I figured with your jacket you'd be fine. Worst case scenario was it hurt like hell and 'maybe' left a few fractures...which is why I put it on your shoulder and not in the middle of your back. I'm crazy, not retarded. Granted, I normally store flour or some dye in them, but I figured the pellets wouldn't cause any more kick back than a few gallons of red or blue dye."

Kai merely snickered behind the blond while he hid a "both" behind a thinly veiled cough. He ignored the glare from the blonde. Though he duly noted the secret to how the prankster had managed to turn Iruka-sensei into a rainbow for a week.

Diaki muttered to himself as he pinched the bridge of his nose in vain as he attempted to suppress the headache he knew was coming on. He HAD to get the crazy ones. "Alright boys, let's go grab food. That was more than enough for me to get an idea of what you can work on individually and where you need to train as a group...Where to?"

As soon as the inquiry had left his mouth Naruto shouted "Ramen! Yup! Follow me, I know the best place!" Without waiting for a response the young man strode off in the direction of his favorite ramen stand; two amused teammates and a squad leader following behind him, all three shaking their head at the blonde knucklehead.

Ichiraku's was scarcely populated as many of the citizens of Konoha avoided the same stand that Naruto enjoyed to frequent. The four male's were currently taking up half off the counter as they dug into what, even the non-ramen-lovers had to agree, was an amazingly well done series of ramen bowls. Diaki had promised to pick up the tab, though he was starting to wonder if that was such a good idea as the hyper-active Naruto had already managed to more or less pour fifteen or so bowls down his gullet in the amount of time it took Diaki to finish a single bowl, apparently chewing was overrated.

"Okay guys, so basically you're all well above average for graduating genin as it stands right now. Naruto and Kai, your teamwork is as good as I'd expect with how often you tag-teamed in the Ninja-Tag you guys play. Shin, you actually fit in rather well. You did a good job running support without getting in the way. I know you prefer to be a close quarters specialist, so you did a good job winging it. As for you Kai...we're going to make you the mid to long ranged support for the squad. With your seishin I think you know why. Naruto, You're going to be our close to mid ranged offense, with Shin taking it to straight CQC for his battles. I know you two didn't see it, but I had to stay away from him and those bladed gauntlets." Turning to Shin, Diaki grinned slightly. "You got into your fathers books didn't you?" Nodding politely Shin affirmed that his ninjutsu and techniques had indeed been based on his fathers.

"I figured when you nearly paralyzed my left arm with one attack. Not bad for a graduate, by the way. You may have missed, but not by much, and what counts is improving from graduation. I see a lot of potential in this squad. "  
Stifling a yawn, the older male gestured to the bowls before them. "Enjoy the meal, because this will likely be the last time you're feeling up to going out for dinner until I deem us ready for real missions. We'll be starting our training schedule tomorrow at 6 am sharp. From 6 until around 10 we will be working on conditioning your bodies into the weapons you should be. The academy was a walk in the park compared to what I have prepared for us-"

Naruto at this point raised his hand as he finished his most recent bowl of ramen. "Diaki-Sama, you said 'us'. Are you going to be training us, or training with us?"

Diaki genuinely smiled at the question. "Yes and yes. I will be whipping you into shape physically while I do my exercises with you. I need to stay in shape as well and with the full days we will be having I find it is easier to kill two birds with one stone; besides watching me doing the more advanced techniques will not only show you how much you have to work towards, but also give you ideas for when you're no longer my students. I'm training you as genin to be more than genin. I'm not training you so you can then pass a test and then learn to be chunin. Some Jounin-sensei do that, but I find it's counter productive in the long term for a fresh genin's career. I'm not training genin, I'm training Shinobi.

Now as I was saying; From 10 until 12 we will take a break as we discuss chakra theory and jutsu crafting. I'm not going to teach you all a bunch of random jutsu. I'm going to teach each of you one modification of a wide spread jutsu and work with you until you make it your own variation. Then you'll work on tactics and unorthodox ways to use it.

We won't move onto a second jutsu until I have decided you have the first one mastered fully. Now we will eat lunch as we discuss these things, and I'll have you doing chakra conditioning at the same time. Afterward we will do a few of the D ranked missions...I'm not going to lie. They're dumb, they suck, and it's not going to be enjoyable. You all will learn nothing from them. However this is how we require genin to pay for their tuition at the academy. We train you for free for several years and require a certain number of D ranked missions in return. It's a necessary evil, so just go along with it."

Waiting for the grumbling to subside, Diaki continued explaining their schedule. "Now I figure we should be able to do around 5 or 6 a day with Naruto being able to make shadow clones, instead of the usual 1 or 2. As such we should only be doing these for a few months instead of the year or so most genin spend giving back to Konoha.

That aside, we will do missions from 12 until 6 or so each day and each evening I will pair you all off in spars against me or each other. I'll switch it up a little each day to keep it from getting to monotonous. Every once in a while I'll have you all spar against another Konoha genin squad, just to see where you're at compared to your peers...Any questions?"

Ioshin raised his hand at this time to draw Diaki's attention. "Just one...what kind of squad are we going to be? We all know how to track, even if we lack bloodlines, we're not a support squad with our skill sets, and I'm wondering why our headbands are different than everyone elses."

Grinning as he responded the Jounin-sensei explained in a sadistic voice. "We're going to be a first response squad. Special Task And Reconnaissance 9th squad. Or S.T.A.R. 9ers for short. We'll be in charge of supporting allies in high risk zones and responding to threats from any outside forces. While not an assassination squad per-say. We may very well be tasked with the elimination of specific targets in hot zones. Hence you all have subdued headbands and clothing. This is also the reason we'll be training so hard. We won't have anyone who can save our butts when we're out there; we'll be doing the saving." Diaki slipped away from the stand before the youths could reel in their jaws from the counter top; having left the money to cover the food and gratuity on the counter top. "Be at our training ground at 0600 sharp. If you're late...well let's just say you don't want to find out what happens if you're late...if anyone's late, that is."

As the bewildered youngsters turned towards their Jounin-sensei's voice, the shock of being trained for such an elite roll slowly fading, they found themselves staring into nothing but open air; their sensei having simply blended into the shadows and seemingly disappeared from view. Gulping in unison, the youngsters looked at each other for a moment before scrambling off to their homes. None of them wanted to be late.

AN: My longest chapter so far as I got a little carried away with the combat part. Tell me what you thought. I think it reads well, but, since I wrote it, I'm not entirely sure that might not be just because I KNOW what I'm trying to get across. Lemme know if you liked it, hated it, have any questions or concerns about the story or just my writing style. As an aside, I'm looking for an experienced Beta, so if anyone is interested, PM me.

P.s. As a hint; the seishin IS similar to puppetry and yet so very different at the same time.

~Jester


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