Chapter 16
HIRUZEN SARUTOBI
Hiruzen stared at his son, and the three genin that stood in front of him with pride as his youngest son informed him about the passing of his team.
"Team ten is ready for their first mission," he informed him, and his heart swelled with pride as he gazed at the three promising young genin, though when it came to experience, one of them was far more experienced than any genin.
"Congratulations on passing the test, team ten," he began lightly, so as to ease the young fledglings, who still became nervous in his presence, as they all nodded in unison.
"Thank you, lord Hokage," and he did not miss the rather inquisitive gaze of the Nara heir, looking him up and down just as his father had once done.
"Ino," Asuma began as he called out the blonde Yamanaka girl, who perked up as she was called out.
"Do you have anything you want to say to Lord Hokage?" Asuma asked, and the team in front of him was not one that he had expected or even hoped to make, given that it was somewhat of an expectation that he would uphold the untold tradition of putting the three clan heirs of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Inoichi clans together.
The three clans were old allies and had long had an alliance with the Sarutobi clan during the Warring States period, and many a time a Sarutobi had served as a sort of mentor and leader for their special formation.
But after much thinking, Hiruzen had chosen to part with the unsaid tradition, for they faced unprecedented times, and with the chunin exams coming up in just six months, he needed to accommodate Hikari Hyuga within the teams.
Kakashi's observation about his inclusion in his team along with Naruto and Sasuke had been sound, and so he had decided to put him in the team with Shikaku's and Inoichi's children, for not only could Hikari's presence ensure their absolute safety, but with their heritage and other traits they were the most suitable genin who could prevent him from turning into another Itachi, or at least spot the signs of trouble.
"Is that so?" he asked, and he was aware of the girl's hesitation and distaste over the team formation and how he had not followed the tradition.
"If you wish to make a request, then you can genin Ino," he informed her softly, but the girl looked to her side at the pale-eyed boy, and then shook her head.
"No, lord Hokage. I have nothing to say," and he smiled cordially, but it was Shikaku's son who spoke up from the side.
"Can you tell us what became of team nine?" The words left his mouth, on instinct, and though he may not have voiced it out, Shikaku's son must have his own troubles with his choices, but the kid was smart enough to adapt.
"Your friend's team passed as well," and they should have aimed the question at Asuna, who looked away as Hiruzen eyed his wayward son, and now the pale boy posed his own.
"And what of Team seven?" and that was the most troubling team, assigned to an even more troubling sesnei. To this day, Kakashi had yet to pass a single genin team, and Hiruzen knew that, despite his desire to teach Minato's son, he would not pass them if they were not up to his standards.
Yet a miracle has occurred, and the three of them had managed to impress the Copy Ninja, who had passed his first team.
"They passed as well," and he saw his lips turn up slightly at his words, and that smile gave him hope until he remembered Itachi and how he had smiled for his own brother as well.
And he hoped that his future would not turn out like Itachi's.
"Now, I believe it is time for your first mission," and he passed them the scroll, and it was the Yamanaka girl who took the scroll from his hand, and three genin gave him a bow.
"Asuma, stay," he whispered as he leaned back in his chair as he turned towards his three students.
"Wait outside for me," he said, and the three left the room, leaving the father and son duo alone in the room. And though they were on somewhat agreeable terms by now, his past actions had caused a schism in their relationship that would not heal or mend, no matter what he may try.
"You gave me a rather troublesome bunch this year," Asuma began, with a weak smile, and he nodded, and he, like many others, would have expected a simple Ino-Shika-Cho formation, but Hikari's presence had changed it all.
"Still, what do you think of the boy?" and he had a rough assessment of the two clan heirs, yet it was Hizashi's boy who worried him.
"He is smart," and that was consistent in all his assessments.
"And not just in terms of his martial prowess, but in his social awareness and understanding of village politics and dynamics as well," and that was so alike Itachi as well, and he could not help but compare.
"It took him a few minutes to gauge. Ino's aversion to his presence and his actions afterwards were clearly intended to shift her impression of him," and of course, Asuma designed the test to exploit and highlight that very concern, and the boy had done well to spot and remedy it.
"Keep an eye on him. The boy is skilled, but he lacks any parental or fatherly figure in his life. See if you can win his trust, and deepen his connection to the village," and Asuma scoffed.
"I can't say that I have the example to go off of," and the taunt hit hard, and Hiruzen was not blind to the mistakes of his past.
"But I will do what I can," and that was all he could ask.
"And what of the other two?"
"They need to put in the work," and that assessment was shared by all the teachers this year.
"Especially if they are to participate in the chunin exams," and that was the plan.
"Train them well, then," and with that, he was about to walk away, when he suddenly stopped and took out his cigarette.
"May I ask a question of my own?" and he nodded.
"Of course," and his son looked him in the eye and frowned.
"You are not usually the kind to break with traditions. So, what gave you the idea of parting with it now?" and that was a good question.
Asuma knew him well, and Hiruzen picked up his own pipe and put it in his mouth.
"I was the one who made the final decision, but the suggestion came from someone else indeed," and Asuma raised a brow.
"Who?" he asked.
"Shikaku Nara..."
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KAKASHI HATAKE
Kakashi watched his little rowdy trio, and even now, with him standing there behind them, the pair of Naruto and Sasuke continued to argue with one another, as a rather weak-voiced Hinata hesitated to intervene between them.
Yet despite their characteristic personalities, even he could not deny the talent of the three young genin in front of him. They were rough around the edges, their skills yet to be polished by the smithery of war and battle.
But they had talent, that much was obvious. And how wouldn't they?
Naruto Uzumaki was young, brash, loud, having none of the characteristics which his father was known for, but he had a spontaneity to him, along with the largest chakra reserves he had ever seen.
Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's brother, lacked his brother's prodigious talent, but he tried to make up for it with effort, ingenuity, and sheer will for vengeance. He was well-rounded, having proficiency in all fields, but his progress had been hampered by the academy on purpose to dissuade him from growing too confident, and going off after his brother.
And then there was her.
Hinata Hyuga.
Honestly, Kakashi had not been impressed by the meek girl at first glance, but his opinion had flipped completely. During the bell test, of the three of them, she had made the greatest showing with her maturity and skills.
Unlike the two knuckleheads who had yet to notice his presence, the girl turned around and grew nervous as she saw him standing behind her, and was about to alert the two bickering children when he put his finger to his lips and indicated for her to quiet down, as he let the two of them fight it out.
Unlike Naruto and Sasuke, who relied much on their talents, the girl had actively trained her skills. Chakra control, hand signs, basic taijutsu, and even some hints of elemental control all spoke to rigorous methodological hard work, which showed great maturity.
"How long do you think it will take for them to notice us?" he asked, and the girl shook her head nervously. If there was one glaring weakness to her, it was her meek nature.
But she was young.
"Hmm, still, while those knuckleheads are busy with each other, why don't you tell me about who taught you about Chakra control, and seal-less jutsus and so forth?" he asked.
"It was my cousin, actually," and that was quite the surprise, for he was expecting to hear Kurenai Yuhi's name, and not the name of their troublesome prodigy.
"Hikari?" he guessed right as she nodded.
"He always said that a solid foundation would help me grow by leaps and bounds later, and so I just followed his example," and that showed maturity and also highlighted the influence that the boy had on her.
They already had an idea about it, but still, this was a confirmation.
"Is that so?" he voiced out as the blue-haired girl nodded, and he saw her eyeing him nervously. he encouraged her to question.
"If you have something to ask, you can?" he offered with a smile, and so she began.
"By any chance, can you teach me rational nature transformation?" and that was not what he was expecting.
"Raiton, but why?" and it was not the most common ask, for Raiton was generally very hard to learn and few shinobi had the patience and the mindset to put in all that effort, especially with how most Raiton jutsus were rather chakra intensive.
She reached into her pocket and took out a chakra paper, and he saw as she held it between her fingers, and the paper immediately curled up, just as it did for him.
"I see," she was right to come to him then, for he was the most proficient Raiton user in Konoha.
"I will do that, but first let me get these two knuckleheads up to your level," and though talented, both of them clearly had deficiencies in their basics, and Kakashi was going to beat the basics into them.
And so, he stood tall as he clapped his hands.
"CLAP!" and finally, the two idiots noticed his presence.
"If you two cannot get along, I can always fail you and send you back to the academy," and immediately they separated, and offered him weak and fake smiles.
"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto began cheekily, his smile was much like his mother's as he rubbed his head.
"When did you arrive?" he asked.
"Half an hour ago," he answered in a deadpan tone, and saw him pale.
"Hahaha, we were not fighting. No, we were just having fun, weren't we, Sasuke?" and the black haired Uchiha at least had the sense to nod slightly.
"Hun," and the lie was obvious.
"Still, it is time to go to the Hokage office for our first mission," and Naruto jumped up in joy, and even Sasuke's eyes had a glint in them, as they followed after him for the ceremonial first mission of their shinobi lives.
"Our first mission as ninja!" Naruto shouted excitedly.
"Hinata-chan. What do you think it will be?" he began to bombard the girl.
"Will we be rescuing a Princess? Or will we be saving a foreign nation from evil? Or will we be saving caravan from bandits?" and while all such missions will come one day, today was not that day.
"You will just have to wait," and he did not douse his dreams with water, as he led them to the Hokage office, and all that excitement fiddled away in a second as they received their first mission, which was not quite different than his own.
"Finding a cat!"
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