Hias.h.i.+-sama had given me the Hyuuga's Jukengi as my graduation present last night. It was a loose-fitting, grey sparring robe with the Hyuuga crest on the back. This particular dogi helps facilitate Juken movements which result in better execution of the attacks. I proudly wore it that day along with the Fudo Masamune that was snug into Kakas.h.i.+'s present that was tied along my waist, subst.i.tuting the dogi's belt. My headband was in the place of my familiar black cloth, though I am considering buying a goggle-like Naruto's I don't have any favourable place for the headband. I tied my long black hair to a low hanging ponytail to keep it tidy. I went to the dining room and found Hinata that was cooking us breakfast. I took my seat on the table.

"Good morning, Hikari-Nisan! You look good today," she said while stirring something on the stove.

"Thanks, morning! Do you get up this early every day?" I asked her while pouring some milk into my gla.s.s.

"Not this early. But I do get up before everybody. I got team chemistry training this morning. Kurenai-sensei wanted us to meet early," she explained.

"Yeah, mine too. I have to keep watch over Naruto today and make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid," I said as I nibbled a slice of bread.

"Thank you for befriending him when no one would, Hikari-Nisan," her eyes were so soft as she said that.

"Don't mention it. No one ever deserves to be alone anyway and besides, I admired his personality. Speaking of which," I said, "you seemed to lose the stutter when you speak to me."

Her face flushed pink with embarra.s.sment and her stutter returned to her speech.

"I-I... it's easier when you're my family," she said and I had to chuckle.

"Well, you should try this with our friends. Be brave, Hinata," I said and she bowed at me.

"I'll try my best. Thank you, Hikari-Nisan," Hinata said.

"Hinata, may I have that Omurice as my bento again?" I asked to change the subject. She smiled at me and hand me a package.

"Already had done it," she said as I grabbed the bento from her hands. I rose from my seat and bid her goodbye before I made way to the aforementioned training ground.

As it turned out, I was the first one who arrived there. On a whim, I decided to test out the chakra nature transformation that I had lightly gone through with Kakas.h.i.+-sensei yesterday evening. Despite my enormous chakra capacity as Kakas.h.i.+-sensei so aptly put, my grasp of it was far from perfect to my liking. This was most likely caused by the awakening of the Rinne-Sharingan, I mean, my mother said that chakra manipulation would come naturally to an Otsutsuki but this third eye was not in the picture when she mentioned it to me. It multiplied my chakra, strength, and ability to a great length. My left hand unsheathed my Fudo Masamune and brought my right hand to form the Seal of Confrontation as I kneaded some chakra. The blade glowed with a blue hue as lightning spark appeared from the blade and crackled the air. Then I got the bright idea of moulding lightning and water chakra simultaneously. The blade glowed with a blinding white hue with a whirring sound that grew louder along with the increasing brightness. Suddenly, a beam of light and a loud bang was discharged from my Fudo Masamune towards a nearby tree. It punched a hole right through it which was significantly larger than the beam size itself. I then cut the flow of the chakra, in awe of my newfound accidental discharge of a technique. A few trees fell afterwards and when I closely observed, I found that the destructive power was immensely great that the beam went a full 500 metres before the damage capacity exponentially decreased. Like I said, my chakra manipulation was far from perfect.

"What was that?" Sasuke suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I was speechless for a moment as I looked at his expression and deduced that he wasn't aware of the jutsu, merely curious about what had just happened. I twirled the Fudo Masamune and sheathed it.

"I was trying a jutsu with this chakra blade that was given by my sensei," I answered. He merely snorted and resumed his brooding but then his eyes caught something namely, the see-through hole in the trees. He immediately looked at me and narrowed his eyes.

"You..." Sasuke gritted but I was saved by Naruto and Sakura arriving at our meeting point. They complained that Kakas.h.i.+-sensei was nowhere in sight. I had a hunch that he will be late again. So I climbed up the nearby tree and took a quick nap, correction, a long nap.

"You're late!!!" Naruto and Sakura suddenly screamed and I fell to the ground from my power nap. I stood up and rubbed my sore behind.

"That hurts, you idiots," I complained.

"There is a lot of place to sleep other than high atop the trees, you know?" Sakura said and I could only muster a grin at her. Kakas.h.i.+-sensei pushed a b.u.t.ton on a strange-looking device that was ticking on top of a tree stump. I was puzzled by its appearance and it was ticking by the way.

"Ok, it's set for noon," he said. "this is a clock, Hikari. A device to tell the time if you are not aware of its existence."

Sakura and Naruto laughed at me when I grinned widely and rubbed the back of my head.

"Here are three bells. Your task is to take these from me before the times up. Those who don't have a bell by noon get no lunch. I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps, but I'll also eat right in front of you," Kakas.h.i.+-sensei began. We shot him an irritated look. This was cruel for his standard.

"You only have to get one bell. There are only three bells, so one of you will be tied to the stump and the person who doesn't take a bell, fails. Thus, at least one of you will be sent back to the academy," Kakas.h.i.+-sensei continued, "if you want, you can use ninja tools. You won't succeed unless you come at me intending to kill."

"But, you'll be in danger!" Sakura cried. Naruto nodded at her a.s.sent.

"Yeah, you're so slow you can't even dodge a blackboard eraser, we'll kill you," Naruto was feeling ahead of himself.

"In the real world, those with no talent often bark the loudest. Well, ignore Mr. Dead last and start when I say..." Kakas.h.i.+-sensei wasn't finished yet but Naruto already withdrew his kunai to throw at Kakas.h.i.+-sensei. Then, in a flash, someone grabbed hold of Naruto's hand and his hair, it was Kakas.h.i.+-sensei.

"Calm down, I haven't said start yet," Kakas.h.i.+ said. All of us were startled at movement he just did then we swallowed the non-existent bile in our throats.

"So this is the speed of a Jounin," I thought to myself.

"Well, it seems you're finally prepared to come at me with the intent to kill. So you've finally acknowledged me? Hehe, it seems like I'm beginning to like you guys," Kakas.h.i.+ said and Naruto smiled widely in confidence.

"Ok, let's get going, ready, begin!!" Kakas.h.i.+ announced. I immediately fled from my spot, finding another to hide in.

"A good ninja must be able to hide his presence well and with your Byakugan, you would be invisible and invincible. Your enemy wouldn't know what's coming to them," Sarutobi-sensei's words were ringing in my head. I was hidden behind the cover of the leaves hundreds of meters from Kakas.h.i.+-sensei. I brought my hand to form the Seal of Confrontation and focused my chakra to the Byakugan. Veins were showing as I activated the eyes. My Byakugan range had increased a bit since I have been here and Sarutobi-sensei was the one I should thank for it, that gruesome training of his, who knew a monkey Henge into a staff could extend its length that long. I immediately saw where everyone was and I immediately noticed that Naruto was facing our sensei head-on. Ah, this knucklehead of a ninja.

"Uhm, you're a little bit off," Kakas.h.i.+ said and Naruto started running towards him.

"The only thing that's a bit off is your hair cut," he yelled as he ran. Kakas.h.i.+-sensei reached for something inside his pouch and Naruto immediately stopped at his track.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and attack me!!" Kakas.h.i.+-sensei dared.

"But, hey?! What's with the book?" Naruto asked.

"I just want to know what happens next. But don't worry; it won't make a difference against you guys," Kakas.h.i.+-said, poking fun at Naruto.

"I'll kick your a.s.s!" he yelled and he was easily triggered for sure.

"Áh, Naruto. Today is not going to be your day," I muttered. Naruto charges at the sensei relentlessly but his entire blows were missed. It was expected since he is a Jounin after all, attacking an experienced ninja head-on is not a good idea to do. Sensei then appeared behind Naruto holding the Tiger seal.

"Oh, no! Ninjutsu?" I mumbled, panicked.

"A s.h.i.+n.o.bi isn't supposed to get caught from behind, idiot," Kakas.h.i.+-sensei darkly said.

"Naruto! Danger!" I yelled.

"Naruto! Runaway!! You're going to get killed!!" Sakura yelled after me.

"Too late," Kakas.h.i.+-sensei's eyes lit up and then he said, "Konohagakure Hiden Taijutsu Ougi: Sennen Goros.h.i.+!!"

He then poked the tiger seal onto Naruto's a.r.s.e, causing the blonde genin to fly away. A sweat dropped on my forehead. Great, now I got to deal with two idiots. Still, Kakas.h.i.+-sensei was stronger than any of us. We obviously needed to work together. I appeared next to Sasuke in the hope that he could saw through this test. His face changed when he saw me.

"Yo, we can't beat this guy alone. Want to team up?" I asked using Kakas.h.i.+-sensei's trademark lazy tone.

"Go away!" Sasuke snarled. I chuckled but then I honoured his wishes. Once again, I hid. There was a couple of shurikens flew towards Kakas.h.i.+-sensei but he caught it without batting an eyelid, surely they should know their limits. Then, I decided to flicker next to Sakura. She was about to scream but I shut her mouth with my hand just in time. We continued to observe when Naruto suddenly surfaced from the river.

"Hey, what's wrong? If you don't get a bell before noon, you won't get lunch," Kakas.h.i.+ said, taunting.

"I know, I know!!" Naruto yelled.

"You sure are weak for someone who's going to surpa.s.s the Hokage," our sensei taunted yet again.

"d.a.m.n IT! I can still fight on an empty stomach," the blonde boy exclaimed. Then, I heard Sakura's stomach growled. Her face went crimson red and I was close to bursting out laughing but I managed to hold myself together.

"Want to team up? Sooner we deal this, sooner we'll get to eat." I suggested while holding my laughter. Her face was still red when she exhaled and nodded minutely. Suddenly we were left with Naruto arguing with his clone and Kakas.h.i.+-sensei was nowhere in sight. Naruto dispelled his jutsu but he noticed a bell was dropped near him.

"A trap, obviously," Sakura and I said in unison. We both slammed our hand to our forehead when Naruto fell for it.

"Idiot," we muttered yet again together. Kakas.h.i.+-sensei appeared to claim the bell and scold Naruto that fell for his trap. Suddenly, a group of kunai flew at him, taking him by surprise, and hit him but it hit a kawarimi.

"Oh no, we need to run," I said. Sakura's attention was elsewhere as we saw Sasuke heavily injured and mangled right in front of us. I immediately form the seal of confrontation and disrupt the chakra within me but Sakura, she yelled in despair.

"Kai!" I said.

"I think that was a bit too much. s.h.i.+n.o.bi fighting lesson #2 Genjutsu. Sakura easily fell for it," Kakas.h.i.+-sensei said.

"But not me. Sasuke isn't that weak you know," I grinned. I immediately crouched down and Kakas.h.i.+-sensei immediately corrected his stance.

"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho," I said and his eyebrows rose. I dashed forward and hit him with the 64 series of gentle fists, the special technique that Neji was about to use against me. Kakas.h.i.+-sensei was blown away because of my blows but he was gone in a puff of smoke.

"Tch, Kage Buns.h.i.+n, huh?" I said and then I disappeared. I appeared next to Naruto that was hanging upside down.

"Hey, I'll get you out if you want to work together?" I asked Naruto. The boy grunted and looked away.

"Suits yourself," I exhaled then I disappeared from there. I appeared near Sasuke and sensei's fight when I saw him weaved a series of hand seals. Sasuke inhaled deeply as Kakas.h.i.+ couldn't contain his surprise. A fireball appeared from his breath but he missed. That said, for a Genin to master such a technique, he was truly a remarkable ninja. He looked around for the sign of Kakas.h.i.+-sensei.

"Below you," somebody announced said while a hand burst out from the ground and grabbed Sasuke's leg.

"Doton; s.h.i.+njuu Zanshuu no Jutsu!" the man under the ground said and Sasuke was pulled down until just his head was left outside. After a few exchanges with Sasuke, Kakas.h.i.+-sensei disappeared and appeared next to me.

"So how did they do?" Kakas.h.i.+-sensei asked me. I remembered our conversation yesterday evening.

"Have you done the bell training with Sandaime?" he asked.

"Yeah, I had done it with Enmsama. But we couldn't get the bell because of we never could work great with one another," I said and then something lit in my head, "oh, that's the training for tomorrow."

"Yeah, because you have already gone through it, you have to help me tomorrow. See if they can accept your offer of help tomorrow," Sensei said and I bowed at him. Chuckling at my memory, I shook my head.

"Unfortunately, they didn't make it, Sakura was a close call until your Kage Buns.h.i.+n scared her to death," I said.

Ten minutes later, Naruto was tied to the stump for trying to steal the bento and the rest of team 7 gathered near him. I was leaning against the stump next to Naruto's.

"You guys look hungry, oh, and by the way, something about the training. Well, there's no need for you guys to go back to the academy," Kakas.h.i.+-sensei said. Their faces lit up.

"Then!! Then!! All four of us..." Naruto yelled.

"Nope, three of you should quit as s.h.i.+n.o.bi!" Kakas.h.i.+-sensei said loudly. All of their faces visibly changed.

"Quit as ninjas!? What does that mean!?" Naruto yelled as he struggled from his bindings, "Ok!! Ok!! We couldn't get the bells but, why do we have to quit!?"

"Because all of you are just punks who don't deserve to be ninjas," Sensei announced. Sasuke was triggered by this word, he rose and charged towards Kakas.h.i.+-sensei but he was immediately pinned down by our sensei.

"NO!!! Don't step on Sasuke-kun!!!" Sakura yelled angrily.

"Are you guys underestimating Ninjas? Huh? Why do you think that you were divided into teams and are doing this training?" Kakas.h.i.+ said, angrily.

"Huh? What does that mean?" Sakura asked.

"You guys do not understand the answer to this test," Kakas.h.i.+ went on.

"Answer?" Naruto was back to his usual puzzled look.

"Yes, the answer that helps you pa.s.s this test," Kakas.h.i.+ answered.

"So, when are you going to tell us?" Sakura inquired.

"Geez," Kakas.h.i.+ said. Naruto yelled demanding the answer.

"It's teamwork. Seriously, I am only a few days in the academy. I figured it out the first time my sensei gave me this test and it was with a monkey. How thick could your skull get?" I said, irritated by the team's cluelessness and all of their faces changed.

"The four of you working together may have gotten the bells. Maybe even knocked me out," Kakas.h.i.+-sensei added.

"What do you mean by teamwork? There are only three bells. Even if we work together and get the bells, one of us would still fail. What teamwork? That just makes us fight each other," Sakura complained.

"That is exactly the point, Sakura," I said as I sat down on the ground.

"The purpose is to see whether you can forget about your interest and successfully work together under these designed circ.u.mstances," Kakas.h.i.+-sensei explained.

"Sakura, instead of Naruto who was right next to you, you were only thinking about Sasuke who was far away. Naruto!! You were just running around by yourself. Sasuke!! You just a.s.sumed the others would get in your way and tried to do everything yourself." He said. "I even had Hikari offer each of you help yet you guys refused to listen to what he is offering."

"The duties are done by the team. Of course, the superior individual ability is important to a ninja but what's even more important is teamwork. Individual play that disrupts the team can put your comrades in danger and even get you killed. For example..." Kakas.h.i.+-sensei said as he pulled out a kunai and brought it to Sasuke's neck, "Sakura! Kill Naruto! Or Sasuke dies!"

Naruto yelled 'what' while Sakura gasped in surprise.

"You see? If a hostage is taken, you will have tough choices and then die. You will be risking your lives in these duties," Sensei said as he stood up from Sasuke. He then walked towards a stone slab near the tree stumps.

"Look at this, numerous names carved on this stone. These are ninjas who are recognized as heroes of the village," Kakas.h.i.+-sensei said while patting the stone slab.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!! I've decided to get my name carved on that stone too!! Hero!! Hero!! That's what I'll become!!" Naruto interrupted loudly and Sakura was irritated.

"But they aren't just normal heroes," Sensei went on. His eyes were distant and I immediately caught his drift.

"Naruto, you aren't getting the picture, here," I scolded.

"They died while on duty," Kakas.h.i.+ said. Our faces were changed to chagrin.

"This is a memorial; my best friend's name is also carved here..." Sensei said. Now I understood his personality. He was the one who endured all these pains by himself. There were a few minutes of silence before Kakas.h.i.+-sensei turned to face us.

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"A s.h.i.+n.o.bi is the one who endures..." A memory suddenly tugged into my mind.

"You guys... I'll give you one more chance. But after lunch, I'll make it even tougher to get the bells. Hikari, you will join them for the next round. Those who still wished to challenge can eat lunch but, don't give any to Naruto. It's a punishment for trying to eat by him selves. If anyone gives him any food, they will fail immediately. I am the rule here! Got it?" Kakas.h.i.+ said and he disappeared.

"Heh! I don't need any food. I'm fine," Naruto said and on cue, his stomach croaked. I opened my bento and gather halves of everything and put it on the lid. Sasuke was glancing at Naruto whose stomach was still growling.

"Here!" Sasuke said to Naruto while handing out his bento. Sakura almost barfed out what was inside her mouth.

"Huh, so you have pulled out the stick eh?" I teased and I handed Naruto my halves of bento. Sasuke let up a half-smile.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun, Sensei just said," Sakura tried to reason with him.

"Don't worry, I don't sense him near here. After lunch, we'll work together and get the bells. Without food, he'll just be in the way and that will only hurt us," Sasuke explained and Sakura was speechless. She knew that Sasuke was logical so she gave Naruto her bento too.

"You guys..." Naruto was startled by our behaviour, "Thanks, hehe"

"I wish that I could agree with you, Sasuke. That he isn't near here," I said because Kakas.h.i.+-sensei was not hidden from my Byakugan.

Suddenly a puff of smoke appeared and someone inside yelled, "YOU GUYS...!"

Sasuke braced himself for the aftermath while Sakura and Naruto screamed at the sudden appearance. I sighed at the Jounin's theatrics because all of our foods were tossed away due to the sudden appearance.

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"Over-dramatic idiot," I muttered and then I received a good clunk on the head from Kakas.h.i.+-sensei, "Ow!"

"Pa.s.s? But why?" Sakura was so surprised.

"You guys are the first. Everyone else would just do whatever I told them. They were all just morons," Kakas.h.i.+-sensei explained.

"A ninja must see underneath the underneath. Those who break rules and codes of the ninja world are called sc.u.m. But you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades are worse than sc.u.m," he elaborated. All of us had a new appreciation for our sensei.

"That ends the training. All of you pa.s.s!! Ok! Starting tomorrow team 7 will begin its duties!!" Kakas.h.i.+ exclaimed proudly while giving us a thumb up.

"Yay! I did it!! I did it!! Ninja!! Ninja! Ninja!" Naruto couldn't contain his excitement.

"Let's go," Kakas.h.i.+ said while walking away with Sasuke and Sakura.

"G.o.d d.a.m.n it!! I knew this would happen!! Untie me!!" Naruto yelled. In one go, I unsheathed my Fudo Masamune and cut the ropes.

"You didn't forget about me didn't you?" I asked him. Naruto grinned at me and then he remembered something.

"Hey, if you had already gone through this test, why didn't you tell us the secret?" Naruto asked. I rubbed the back of my head and grinned.

"Well, I couldn't take away the experience of learning a valuable lesson from you guys. My sensei was always adamant about teamwork being natural for Konoha ninja," I said and all of them smiled at me.

"Who is your sensei, anyway?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, you didn't know? It's the Hokage," I answered. Naruto and Sakura let out a loud 'eh!' and Kakas.h.i.+-sensei laughed along with me. Sasuke just gritted his teeth.

"That explained the damages done to the trees," Sasuke gritted. Kakas.h.i.+-sensei raised his eyebrow at me.

"Oh, what did you do?" Kakas.h.i.+-sensei asked.

"Practicing what we had done yesterday but with mixing two things together. I invented a failed new jutsu this morning. Such a shame really, it was not very effective," I said nonchalantly. All three of them stared at me and Kakas.h.i.+-sensei. Kakas.h.i.+-sensei, on the other hand, was sweating unsure of how to pa.s.s through this information to the team. Sasuke then narrowed his eyes at me and I returned his gaze with a grin.

"Hey, why don't we go to Ichiraku to celebrate your success today?" Kakas.h.i.+-sensei suggested changing the subject. Naruto and I immediately jumped high five each other.

"Yeay! Ramen!" We said in unison. Sakura shook her head at our enthusiasm while Sasuke was back into his brooding mood.