Chapter 24: Chapter 24 Pass and fail
The alarm woke Naruto up with its loud beeping noise as he groggily slammed his palm onto it silencing the evil device. He had been having a nice dream involving him being Hokage and demanding that all ramen was now free. He got up and yawned as he stretched himself out it was still dark out and even though he went to bed early he was still tired. He got a shower, dressed and was about to eat when he remembered his dad's rules. That thought made him stop for a second and realized that his dad wasn't even up yet. He snuck to his room and opened the door and looked inside and frowned as his dad was still asleep.
'That bastard he's playing with us isn't he?' Naruto thought to himself knowing now his dad was going to make them wait forever before showing up so they would be tired. 'Well two can play it that way dad.'
He grinned as he got a few supplies ready and laughed as he made his way to the training grounds. It looked pretty ordinary to him, lots of trees, a wide open space, three logs were in the ground for what he wasn't sure and he knew that he was close to the memorial stone as well as his father took him to see it with him now and again. He smiled seeing that his teammates were there looking just as tired and most likely as hungry as he was.
"Hey guys!" He called out to them.
Sasuke saw him and wondered why he had a backpack with him, "What's with the luggage?"
"My dad is still asleep and I know he'll keep us waiting for hours so I decided to pay him back for not being on time like I know he's not." He smiled as he took out sealing scroll that he got for one of his birthdays, he smiled at the memory that was when his father took him camping for the weekend after his party, he had just been alone in the woods with his dad for two days as his dad taught him all about the forest and how to live off it. It was one of his favourite memories.
He pulled it open and three sleeping bedrolls came out he placed them aside and then pulled out a box and opened it to reveal some food and juice boxes.
"Naruto you can't do that it's cheating!" Sakura shouted at him.
'Yeah...but that looks good and we're so hungry and tired, maybe just a little snack and a rest?' Inner Sakura asked her counterpart. Sakura was about to protest but then her stomach chose that moment to growl and she blushed embarrassed. Sasuke's stomach soon echoed hers but he just turned his head and grunted trying to play it off.
"Come one guys I bet my dad did this so that we'll just be tired and hungry, and he said it only as a warning didn't he? I mean if we chose to eat and not throw up then so what he never did say you be here on time and don't sleep and don't eat or you'll fail." Naruto grinned under his mask, if there was one thing he learned from his father it was how to look underneath the underneath and also how to work your way around things. It was hell with Iruka back in school because he had to make sure that there was no leeway in class assignments, although Naruto usually found a loophole or something which of course Kiba and Shikamaru joined in because Kiba wanted less work and Shikamaru was naturally just lazy.
Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other for a moment before the Uchiha prodigy just shrugged and took a snack and juice box and sat on one of the bedrolls. He didn't care if it was against the 'rules' or not but he was hungry and tired and he would take advantage of that if he could. Sakura looked a little unsure what to do and saw Naruto take some and do the same as Sasuke. She just sighed and hung her head in defeat and joined them.
"So how long until your father shows up?" Sasuke asked him.
"On average he's two hours late for everything so I'd say two hours after our timing so I'm going to get some sleep." Naruto yawned but then they watched as he put an search apple to his mask and both teens looked in the hopes of seeing him pull down his mask. But to their amazement the search apple just went through it and there was a bite out of the apple.
"The hell was that!?" Sasuke shouted at him.
"Huh?" Naruto asked.
"Don't 'huh' us Naruto," Sakura said a little angry that she had once again failed to see what was behind his mask. For years everyone tried but only Hinata knew and she wasn't telling. She was wondering how he did it when she realized what he had done, "You got a genjutsu on your mask!"
"I thought that was your worst subject dobe." Sasuke said to him knowing full well that in genjustu he had beaten Naruto every time while he had barely passed the subject.
Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Heh, yeah it is but I can do a few things I just can't really detect them all that great and do them. It's just so complex and all that stuff but the very simple ones I can do and besides this is a Hatake family jutsu."
"Hatake jutsu?" Sakura asked him eager to know it.
"Yep," Naruto smiled proudly, "Hatake Mask Illusion Jutsu. We use it all the time to cover our faces and so we can eat with our masks down so people will see us with a mask."
"That...is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of," Sasuke sweat dropped at that. To think a family would go to all that trouble just to keep their faces hidden was a bit eccentric to him. Sakura did the same but was wondering if she could cancel out the jutsu but knowing Naruto he would have placed a lot of chakra into it like he usually did. She was about to try when she noticed that he had finished the search apple and it looked like he mimed pulling on a mask and there was a slight ripple over the mask.
'Damn it I was so close!' Sakura screamed in her head knowing that he was wearing the real one this time.
'We'll see what's behind that mask one day and see what's he hiding SHANNARO!' Inner Sakura yelled out making punching movements.
-Team 8 training grounds-
It was early in the morning and Hinata had arrived at the training grounds for her team. It was a forested area but there was a lake that was fed by a waterfall that went into a river, a few large open spaces and there was an area of tall grass as well as large rocks and boulders all over the place. It had a lot of places to hide it seem and she wondered what their test would be. She had met up with her team yesterday as they met and got introduced to their jonin sensei Kurenai Yuhi, she was one of the most beautiful women that she had seen and she was so strong and confident everything that she wanted to be.
'Maybe if I become like her Naruto-kun would notice me more?' she thought to herself although she didn't think she could become as beautiful as her sensei. She felt very plain and didn't really stand out, she looked just like most other Hyuga only she had short hair. She saw Kiba and Shino were there waiting for their sensei to show up.
"Shino-kun, K-Kiba-kun is Kurenai-sensei here yet?" She asked them.
"No so far it's just us," Shino said behind his high collar.
"Yeah I wonder what this test is anyway?" Kiba asked everyone there with Akamaru sitting on his head as usual giving a questioning bark as well.
"Well you don't have to wonder any longer," came a females voice from out of nowhere and they looked around to see nothing but suddenly Kurenai seemed to melt into existence. The genjustu mistress of Konoha appeared before them with a small smile on her face seeing their reactions. They have been trained in only basic genjustu so something a bit more advanced would be a surprise to them all.
"Now then here's your test, you have to find me and all of you better do it soon because you have until noon to finish it. If you don't find me you all fail and you'll spend one more year at the academy." She told them seriously. Since her team was a tracking team this would be the perfect way to test them to see where they're skills were at.
"Our test is a game of hide and seek?" Kiba frowned.
"If you want to put it that way then yes but just remember this is no ordinary game and you're futures ride on it," Kurenai smirked as she made a few hand seals and suddenly started to vanish.
"No problem. Akamaru go get her scent!" He commanded his puppy he yelped as he jumped off his head and started to sniff the area she was in but something was wrong as he barked back at him. "What do you mean there's no scent? She was standing right there how can you not smell where she was standing?"
"She wasn't there to begin with," Shino said calmly looking around, "I tried to placed one of my bugs on her but it didn't see anyone there we were under a genjutsu."
Kiba hadn't even noticed that they had been under one, he suddenly felt that this was going to be a lot harder than he originally thought. Shino looked around the place there were many places for her to hide and that was just for a regular ninja with someone who was an expert with genjustu it was even more difficult. But there was a way to get around this although it would take planning but they're skills were very well suited for the task.
"I think we should use our strengths to try and find her, I can use my insects to search for chakra that way if there is an illusion they'll tell me not to fall for it. Kiba you have your nose as well as Akamaru's so that will also help track her down. Hinata with your eyes you should be able to find her very quickly and help guide us. With the three of us working together we should be able to find her." Shino said to them and saw that they were all speechless.
"Dude...that's the most I ever heard you speak in all the years I've known you," Kiba said to the other boy who just shrugged his shoulders.
-Team 7-
Kakashi was humming to himself as he made his way to his new victims-er team he corrected himself. Although he hoped that they would pass he would fail them if they failed his test. He was in a good mood wondering how cold, hungry and tired they would be when he got there. He made a few hand seals and he disappeared. He appeared in a poof of smoke in front of his team, "Yo sorry I'm late but..."
He trailed off seeing that they were all asleep, he sweat dropped at this since he never had this happen to him before. He saw Naruto's backpack and a sealing scroll and a box with garbage in it of leftover food.
"That little...son you're going to get it now," Kakashi said in a sour mood that his fun was ruined thanks to Naruto.
He looked around and managed to find cups in Naruto's bag, he walked back to the bridge by the river that was near their training grounds and came back with three cups of water one in his left and two very carefully balanced in his right. He lined them up and dropped the water onto the face of his genins.
"Ah what the hell!?" Naruto sputtered feeling the cold water hit his face as his teammates also shot up. He looked up to see the glare his father was giving him and he chuckled a bit nervously, "Uh hey dad."
"First I thought I told you to call me Kakashi-sensei and first what is going on here I thought I told you not to eat and sleep?" He demanded.
"First you said to get here on time nothing about sleeping while we waited for you and second the eating was more advice that to take besides you said not to eat anything in the morning so we ate later." Naruto smirked under his mask knowing that he got one over his father.
Kakashi sighed as he figured something like this would have happened as his son was a genius at abstract thoughts for some reason. Well it was no use crying over spilt milk so he might as well go on to things. He pulled out his two bells and told them how the test was to get the bells from him of course when he told them about how only two would pass that got several reactions. Sasuke looked more determined than ever, Sakura looked unsure but Naruto glared at him.
"That's a mean thing to do dad, I mean we all worked hard to get this far and only two of us will pass that's a crappy thing to do to someone." He said to him.
"Tough that's the way things go sometimes Naruto," Kakashi walked over and put an alarm clock down and set it. "Now you'll have to come at me with the intent to kill but don't worry I can handle it I need to properly see where all your skills are at. Also there is a real test to this as well but I'll leave that up to you, just remember that a ninja must learn to look underneath the underneath. Not everything is crystal clear and as ninjas we work with deception and illusion all the time. You'll have to learn to see past the surface in order to survive in this life."
"You all now have until noon to get the bells so the test starts...NOW!" He grinned as the three genins jumped away and he waited to see who would go after him first. He wasn't surprised when he felt Naruto's chakra signature not too far away knowing that he was trying to get behind him and attack from his blind side which was the side where he couldn't see with this eye covered.
But he didn't need the eye uncovered to know that an attack was coming, he ducked the kick and jumped the sweep kick that followed. "You know you should have known that this wouldn't work Naruto."
He smirked at his father, "True but I got a few surprises for you dad." Just then the ground exploded as several clones came out of the ground and attacked at once. Kakashi had to admit that was a neat little opening with a distraction followed with a full on assault but he was handling the clones easily enough even when Naruto started to make more clones.
In the forest both Sasuke and Sakura from their places watched as the Hatakes were battling it out, Sakura watched in awe as Naruto used solid clones, she didn't know you could even make solid clones like that and was amazed at how well Naruto was using them. Sasuke admitted to himself that it was a good opening but Naruto was doing poorly. Kakashi had even taken out a book to read while Naruto fought, this only served to anger Naruto more as it was something that really pissed him off that his dad did. Kakashi knew all of Naruto's moves since he either taught him all his moves of spared with him enough times to know what to look out for.
Although someone was wrong when all the clones held him down instead of trying to fight as one of the clones ran at him. "Alright you said come at you with the intent to kill so you better be ready for this one!"
Kakashi felt someone was really wrong when he felt the chakra build up in the clone suddenly and there was no way sign of it ending he wasn't sure what it meant at first but he suddenly remembered something from a few years ago when he was still in ABNU about a certain Uchiha. His eye widened at what he thought Naruto couldn't possibly know. The others in the woods watched as the one Naruto clone as soon as it touched Kakashi exploded. There was a large poof of smoke from the other clones but as it cleared there was nothing but scorched earth and pieces and pieces of a log that he had been used as a replacement.
"Damn maybe that was a bit overkill?" Naruto wondered to himself out loud.
"Son we are going to have some strong words when we get home tonight," Kakashi's voice said behind him and Naruto was looking up into the glare of his father. The next thing he knew he was tied up and on the ground, this was another thing he hated happen to him because of his dad. He wasn't sure if his dad got the idea from Anko or not but it would take him at least eight minutes to get free. While he was struggling to get out that was when Sasuke tried his luck as he figured that Kakashi was finally too distracted to notice him.
He tried for a flying kick but Kakashi was too fast and quickly blocked it so Sasuke twisted in mid air and tried with a punch but yet again Kakashi's other hand went out and grabbed it but with both hands filled Sasuke smirked making a grab for a bell, Kakashi was surprised by the young Uchiha's advanced skills. That was the closest anyone had gotten to the bells in years. He threw the boy away and jumped back but Sasuke was already making hand seals while in mid air.
"Grand fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled out as a giant flame went after Kakashi. For a moment Sasuke thought he had actually nailed him but he heard a sound beneath him and jumped away as Kakashi came out of the ground. He landed a few feet away from Kakashi as he glared at him, that was the same move that Naruto had used on him a year ago and he wasn't going to fall for the same move twice. What he didn't know was that Kakashi remembered how Naruto had bragged about that and just as Sasuke landed a shadow clone that he had made under the ground pulled Sasuke under the ground.
Sasuke was livid not only had been so close but he had fallen for this same damn thing twice! Kakashi want off in search of Sakura and soon the forest was filled with the scream of a young girl, Kakashi came from the forest feeling like he had been a bit overboard, he had given the girl an image of both Naruto and Sasuke dying and the girl had taken it pretty hard. Maybe that was a bit much for her but she needed to see what type of thing that could happen this wasn't an easy life after all.
-Team 8 training grounds-
Kurenai had to admit this team had very good skills, for the past few hours she had been keeping ahead of the kids but it wasn't easy. Shino's bugs couldn't be fooled by a genjustu so she had to keep them away from her, Kiba and Akamaru had powerful ability to smell but she had put on something earlier before the test that masked her scent just in case. Hinata was a lot harder to trick with those eyes of hers, she had to put the girl into several genjustus just to make her think she was seeing chakra in another directions. Shino was proving to be a good tactician of the ground he was totally logical and methodical. When it was obvious that searching differently wasn't working he had them all change things around. Now they were searching each area in a grid pattern, Shino was leaving his bugs behind to mark the areas so she couldn't return.
They were slowly boxing her in and she couldn't be prouder, at the moment she was standing on the water of the small lake looking for a place to go, she knew the training area well but there were only limited places to go.
Hinata was looking all over the place as best she could but it wasn't easy to punch through a genjustu that Kurenai was able to put up these were more powerful than anything she had ever came in contact with and she hadn't been trained that much in using her eyes to see through them. She thought about Naruto and hoped that his team was doing well when something seemed odd. She noticed something was wrong with the lake, there were ripples on the water but nothing was on the surface. She concentrated on the area and she could see a slight ripple in the space above the water.
"Shino-kun, Kiba-Kun she's on the water!" Hinata said quickly.
Shino was quick to act as he raised his sleeves and a swarm of his chakra eating bugs flew out and made a circle over the lake he slowly commanded them to close in and soon Kuerenai's image slowly came visible. She smiled at the three students at them as she raised her hands in mock surrender, "Alright you found me, I'm glad that you did. You all showed true team work and managed to get through my test you all should feel proud."
Kiba yelled out that they had finally done it, Shino was passive as ever but Hinata was beaming. She felt like she had finally accomplished something very big in her life. She couldn't wait to see Naruto and her other friends and tell them that she had passed.
-Team 7 grounds-
Naruto saw the bell on the ground near the tree and couldn't believe his luck he gleefully ran over to it but suddenly stopped. He looked at the bell that was next to the tree and gave a small laugh as he pulled out a kunai and threw it near the bell. The rope trap was triggered and Naruto felt proud of himself for seeing the trap.
"Come on dad you got to do better than that to beat-AHHHH!" Naruto had taken a few steps when the ground gave way and he fell into a pit. "Ow! Damn it!"
Kakashi appeared and looked down the hole dangling the bell, "Naruto I keep telling you to look underneath the underneath maybe now you'll remember that lesson."
"I'll get you for this when I get out of here!"
Kakashi chuckled as he put the bell back and went off in search of the other two so far it was turning out to be pretty fun.
After Naruto got himself out of the pit he was dirty and very pissed off. He was going to go after his dad when he came across Sasuke, he couldn't help but laugh and point. Of course that only led to Sasuke yelling at him which of course led to Naruto yelling back at him for five minutes straight and they would both would have been at it until Sakura who had wakened up lost and confused as to why Naruto and Sasuke weren't dead and heard the yelling. She couldn't believe that she was seeing them and ran over to make a flying glomp at Naruto (since he was the only one she could as Sasuke only had his head out of the ground). Naruto blushed at the close contact with Sakura nearly in tears seeing them, and Naruto had a happy grin on his face that is until Sasuke interrupted and broke the mood.
And thanks to Sakura telling him to dig him out, he was now forced to dig the emo bastard (in Naruto's words) out of the ground again. After that the three of them made for the woods to regroup. The three genins were together when Naruto looked at them both, "Okay we're running out of time so I have a plan but it might not work."
"What sort of plan?" Sakura asked him.
"Well I know how we can get the bells from him but it will take time," He formed the seal and made a shadow clone, "Okay you know what to do right?" The clone saluted and ran off and Naruto hoped that nothing happened to it.
"Where did you send the clone?" Sasuke asked him.
"Well it's a backup in case the plan doesn't work I just hope he can get it in time," Naruto simply said vaguely. "Anyways something seems off to me about this test I mean aren't we supposed to be a four man cell like Iruka-sensei said? So why is my dad trying to take one of us out? It makes no sense especially given that one of the things he's pounded into my head from day one was teamwork."
Sakura thought about it she had never heard of a ninja team that didn't have three genin in them, in fact it was unheard of. She suddenly thought of something at that moment, "The test isn't the bells is it? It's to get them together that's what he meant earlier about the real test wasn't it?"
Naruto brightened up at that, "Ha I knew you would get it you really are the smartest in the class."
Sakura blushed at the compliment but then frowned at how they would be able to beat him since so far even if they did team up it wouldn't be easy but she had a thought as she looked at Naruto. "Hey Naruto he's your father don't you know how he fights and what weaknesses he's got at least?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously, "Well the only weakness that I know of is what the shadow clone is going for. I mean other than that if I knew of any weakness that my dad had I would have used that years ago anyway."
"He can't be that good," Sasuke commented.
"Hey my dad knows over a thousand jutsus! There is a reason why he's called the Copy Ninja of Konoha you know and Kakashi of the Sharingan."
"What did you just say!?" Sasuke asked him surprised. Naruto blinked a few times as Sasuke got in his face, "What do you mean by sharingan?"
"Uh...you know that weird eye thing that your clan has, my dad has one what do you think he's covering?"
"Where did he get that?" Sasuke demanded wanting to know how his family's most sacred treasure was in the hands of someone else and why did Kakashi only had one? There were a lot of questions he had and that Naruto should answer to him like why Naruto had not only shadow clones but also a move that he remembered that his older search brother invented. When he saw Naruto use that move he couldn't have believed it at first where he had gotten that move from he didn't know but Sasuke didn't like the fact that Naruto knew a move of his search brother's.
"We don't have time for this," Naruto told him and Sasuke let it go but he would save this for later one way or another Naruto would answer all his questions. Soon the three kids started to shoot around ideas on what to do.
Kakashi sighed reading his book wondering what was going on and why the kids were taking so long. It was a bit odd and he knew the boys at least wouldn't give up. He looked up and moved aside as a kunai impacted into the tree next to his head. He heard the snap hiss sound and jumped at the explosive note detonated. The three genins came at him and he had to put his book away for them, he fought them but something was off they weren't fighting the same way in fact they were fighting like...Naruto.
He jumped up and fired off several kunai hitting the shadow clones that had been transformed into the team. He landed and wondered what was next, he soon found himself surrounded by an army of his genins and he had to admit it was a good tactic. He wouldn't be able to know which one was which but he fought on displacing clones. What he didn't know was that his team was already moving him towards their trap. Just then the real Sakura from her position in the bushes threw several of her kunai that had explosive tags on them.
Kakashi was forced back into an area where Sasuke from his place in a tree fried off several shuriken with ninja wires on them. He enveloped Kakashi tying him up as the clones came at him with a vengeance. The clones soon attacked and they lost sight of Kakashi as the clones covered him. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura jumped out from their place.
"Alright that had to have gotten him!" Naruto shouted with a fist in the air he dispelled the clones and he was expecting his beat up father in the wires, what he got was an empty area. "What the...what happened?"
"Easy enough to answer," Kakashi's voice called out from behind them as they saw him on a branch reading his book. "That was never the real me."
The kids couldn't help but feel down, that was their best plan and Kakashi had used his own shadow clone the entire time. Although what they didn't know was that Kakashi had kept a shadow clone in reserve after the last break and just switched places with it. He had a feeling they had been up to something so he wanted an ace up his sleeve. Besides it was always a good thing to make others think you were smarter and more skilled than they thought, since that placed doubt in their minds and doubt could kill you just like any other weapon.
That was until a voice called out that sounded just like Naruto's only far off and getting closer, "I got it!"
Everyone looked to see another Naruto running over, he handed the real one something and the clone disappeared. Now the real Naruto looked at Kakashi and he had seen that look in his eyes before and now he knew that Naruto had something very unpleasant in mind and he was already trying to think what he was up to.
"Alright dad here's the thing you give us those bells or else," Naruto told him.
"Or else what, there isn't anything you three could do to me I would have thought by now you would have gotten that son," Kakashi said from his place in the tree trying to see what Naruto was hiding behind his back.
"Oh really? Sasuke you think you can burn this with some fire?" Naruto pulled out a green book and Kakashi's eye went wide in surprise and fright. It was his first edition Icha Icha novels the one he got signed by Jiraiya himself.
"Where did you get that?! I locked up all those books-"
"In the box that wood trunk in your room," Naruto finished Kakashi's statement.
Kakashi glared at the boy he knew that teaching him lock picking skills had been a mistake now he had to get new locks for that box or just a new one in general. He glared at him as he held the book up and Sasuke was starting up his hand seals. Kakashi knew he was running out of time and out of all his books Naruto just had to get his most prized one. Sasuke had just finished with the last hand seal before he spoke up.
"You wouldn't dare!" Kakashi said horrified at the thought of losing that book forever. It was irreplaceable since the first prints were limited and he had stood in line for hours to get that book sighed. Plus it was only because that he knew him personally that he managed to get that signature as well as a peek at the new novel at the time as well that day.
"Try us," Naruto smirked at him holding up the book.
"Fine here," Kakashi sighed and tossed him the bells, when he had them he tossed the book back at him which Kakashi held on tightly. He looked at the three of them as it was time for the final challenge, "Alright you got the bells so which one gets to stay and who goes back Naruto?"
"We figured that part out dad," Naruto smirked as he handed Sakura and Sasuke a bell each, "This was team exercise wasn't it?"
Kakashi smiled and nodded, "Well I'm glad all those lessons seemed to sink in, you all came together there at the end and worked as a real team and that's important your teammates are what will ensure success on a mission. You are a team for a reason, you all have your strengths and weaknesses and because of that together you are all stronger together than ever as a single person."
"So congratualions you three are the first to pass the test although somewhat unorthodox," he glared at Naruto, "And you son are in a lot of trouble no ramen for a week for stealing my book."
"What!? Come on that's totally unfair!" Naruto yelled out at going a full week without his beloved ramen.
Kakashi crossed his arms, "tough you know you have to ask me to read the books."
"You let Naruto read those filthy things!" Sakura screamed at her sensei wondering how a parent could do that.
Kakashi shrugged, "Well even though he's too young for adult acts and you better not I'm still too young for grandkids Naruto," shooting his son a death glare that if he even tried to go that far with a girl it would be the last time in his life. "Every boy should know how to kiss a girl and how to be romantic. You'd be surprised what kind of things the books have."
That was true, the books held a lot of things including certain romance parts and at least when Naruto came of age he would know what to do with a girl at least in theory. Sakura was already blushing at remembering some of the parts of that day when Naruto was reading the book outloud to Sasuke, the boy himself was also trying to hid a bit of a blush.
Kakashi gave a small perverted giggle at this it would be so fun to mess with them like this. "Anyways let's eat I bet we're all hungry by now." Three sets of growling stomachs agreed with him it had been one long morning for them all.
Next up Chapter 25: Honorable Grandson
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