12 Rebirth of the Uchiha Chapter 12

Sakura flopped down on the grass at training ground 7, completely breathless. Tree-walking was more difficult than she'd anticipated, given how easily her teammates could do it. Speaking of, Naruto and Sasuke were sparring/swearing profusely as they attempted the water walking exercise. Iruka-sensei was watching them, sat cross-legged on the surface of the water, calling for a break as he noticed his sole female student coming so close to losing consciousness.

"Alright, that's enough. I'm very proud of how far you've come in this past month. Naruto, your control is improving rapidly, but you still waste a sgnificant portion of your chakra. I know you have chakra to spare, but even your reserves aren't infinite. Sasuke, you are very close to mastering this exercise, but you tend to lose focus after a few minutes, meaning you lose control of your chakra output. Sakura, your control is as closest to perfect out of most shinobi I've ever met, but your reserves are almost dangerously low. Keep practising tree-walking to try and bring them up.

"I must say, I'm very proud of how well the three of you are doing. We've even managing to set the records for the most missions done by a genin team, thanks to Naruto's Kage Bunshin."

Flashback

"Now, we're going to start with D-ranked missions. There should be little to no threat on these... unfortunately, they're not quite as exciting as you seem to think." Iruka informed his starry-eyed genin, who had been waiting impatiently to begin 'official missions'. "I want to make this clear, so you're not too disappointed when we get our mission. We won't be fighting nuke-nin, or rescuing princesses, or any thing like that. In fact, we won't even be leaving the village until we begin C-ranks."

"So when can we start doin' C-ranks, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto piped up. Iruka glanced down at the blond, eyebrows raised. "Normally, it takes a few months, but if we complete enough D-ranks, I'll see what I can do. Fair enough?" he offered, before flinching at what all present knew to be the Uzumaki's 'planning' face.

"So, the more D-ranks we complete, the sooner we get to the awesome missions?" "I-I suppose-" "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" With a hushed 'pop' of chakra, the training ground was submerged in a wave of grey-clad genin, knocking the genin of Team Seven to the ground. "This way, we can get tons of these missions done!" Naruto beamed.

Iruka, meanwhile, was trying not to choke on his own tongue. 'S-so many? How? How could a genin- right, Kyuubi. Of course." he thought in surprise before speaking again. "Okay, but you're only going to use enough clones to make three four-man teams. The real you is going to rotate working with each of us. We'll meet up back here after our missions to work on drills and individual skills. Ready?" The three students nodded, heading across the village to the Hokage tower.

(Flashback end)

"At this rate, we'll be ready to try for a C-rank in the next couple of weeks. Now, I believe I promised to work on ninjutsu with each of you." continued Iruka, handing a piece of paper to each of his students. "This is chakra paper. It will tell you your chakra element, what type of ninjutsu you are most proficient with. Now, just channel-" he found himself cut off as half of Sasuke's paper burst into flames. The boy swore, blowing on his burnt fingers as Iruka stared at the second half, which was crumpling on the ground.

"Interesting. It seems you have a double affinity, Sasuke. That could be indicative of a new kekkei genkai in the next couple of generations." offered Iruka as his student glared at him before speaking further. "You knew that would happen." His sensei shrugged in embarassment. "If you'd let me finish, I'd have warned you to be careful."

Sakura looked down at the paper in her hand. "I'm not sure I want to do this now, Iruka-sensei." Naruto just glanced over at his friend, who was submerging his hand in the lake. "The hell with it." he muttered, channeling his chakra and bracing himself.

"Okay, that I didn't expect. Seems you're a wind type, Naruto. As far as I know, we've only got a half dozen wind types in Konoha, so I'll have to find someone to help you with that while I give Sasuke a hand with lightning training. Sakura?" The girl just sighed, channeling her energies into the paper.

"Water, eh? I'll be able to help you use that. In the mean time, I want you three to begin studying these scrolls," Iruka concluded. "However, now that we have more than fifty D-ranks under our belts, I'm going to-" "YEAH! WE'RE GOIN' ON A C-RANK!"

Iruka just sighed. "Yes, Naruto, provided you can try to be professional about this." Sasuke shook his head. "I don't know what you mean, sensei. This is as professional as he gets."

SCENE BREAK

"Ah, Team Seven. Come to clear out the list of D-ranks again?" smiled the Sandaime as the four approached the mission desk. Iruka bowed before replying. "Not today, Hokage-sama. Actually, we are here to request a C-ranked mission, if any are available." The Sandaime arched an eyebrow in question.

"Interesting. I would have thought you would wait a while longer before requesting anything higher, Umino-san." Iruka flushed. "W-well, I did promise them a more exciting assignment if they completed enough D-ranks, and we're starting to overtake some of the teams from last year in that regard." he offered lamely, rubbing the back of his head in embarassment.

"Yes, well, I had a feeling when Asuma asked that the rest of you wouldn't be too far behind..." mused the Hokage, rifling through the papers in front of him. "Here we are. A C-rank mission to clear a bandit nest near the Kawa no Kuni border. Rendezvous with the border patrol nearby. You can meet up with Team 10 on the way back to get a report on their mission. You know how Asuma is for those, don't you?" Iruka chuckled as he accepted the mission scroll. "He's still nowhere near as bad as Hatake-san, though."

"Okay, team, pack for an extended trip, we don't know how long we'll be gone for, especially if we're pitching in with Team Ten's assignment. Make sure you bring enough rations for at least two weeks. Ready?"

"Hai, Iruka-sensei!"

SCENE BREAK

Asuma coughed harshly, grimacing as he bled profusely from his side. "Give it up, Zabuza! We both know you're out of chakra after that last attack." Momochi Zabuza, Demon of Kirigakure, stood on a tree branch, as the genin of Team Ten tried to find their footing amidst the flooded clearing, Chouji supporting Tazuna as the old man gaped at the battling jounin.

Zabuza lifted his greatsword, ready to strike, before a pair of senbon erupted from the treeline to hit his neck. A shinobi in an ANBU-style mask dropped down. "I must thank you, Sarutobi-san. I've been tracking Momochi for several months now without getting such an opportunity to take him down," the newcomer asserted coolly, bending down to sling the body over his shoulders. "My orders are to take the body and blade back to Kirigakure, to keep our secrets. I'm sure you understand, being the son of the Hokage." Asuma just nodded, not entirely trusting himself to speak. 'Kami damn it, that's a lot of blood. Just hold out a little longer..."

The two Kiri natives vanished in a swirl of mist. As his vision began to fade, a last thought flickered through Asuma's mind. 'I thought they were supposed to destroy the bod- oh, please no.' He was only peripherally aware of his students rushing to try and help him as he lapsed into unconsciousness.

SCENE BREAK

"How much longer, Iruka-sensei?" gasped Sakura as Team Seven jumped through the trees, travelling 'as the crow flies', as it were. The pinkette, despite her best efforts, was still below average in terms of stamina and chakra reserves. However, the difference between herself and the relative powerhouses that were her other teammates was making her feel like a complete weakling.

Iruka held up a hand to halt his students. "We still have about a day and a half to two days' travel before we reach our target, but we can stop here for the night. Now what's the first thing we do before settling down?" Naruto and Sasuke smirked in response. "Set up defences!"

With Naruto calling up a swarm of Kage Bunshin under Sasuke's supervision, the campsite was soon surrounded by enough traps to stop a small army. Several Naruclones snatched up armfuls of firewood, which Sasuke ignited with a low-powered fireball, before the trio settled down to study their scrolls. Iruka, meanwhile, sat down on a downed tree trunk to take first watch. Sakura sat nearby, reading in silence even as her companions decided to turn in for the night.

"Sensei? Am I weighing down the team?" she eventually asked, catching the attention of the newly-minted jounin. "It's just, Naruto and Sasuke have known each other for years, and Naruto's way better than he was in the academy. They're both really strong already, and all I have is book-knowledge. I can't keep up with them." she whispered, eyes downcast.

"Sakura, trust me. You are important to this team. If it weren't for you, they'd end up killing themselves because they're both too reckless to know when to stop. You keep them grounded and stop them from killing one another when they get too worked up. Honestly, I was worried that I was holding you three back," replied Iruka, giving a wan smile. "The only reason I tried to become a jounin was in case your sensei was biased against Naruto, or go too far with Sasuke and forget they have another two students. I'm nowhere near as qualified as most of the other candidates for your sensei were."

"But you're a great teacher, sensei! I've mastered tree walking, and the boys are nearly finished with water walking, and we only started those about a week ago!" interjected the girl, gesturing widely to illustrate her point. Iruka just chuckled darkly. "Maybe, but the main reason they assign jounin and not chuunin as genin commanders is because their skill level is high enough to allow for any complications on missions. As it stands, you three working together could beat me easily. If we came up against even an average level jounin, I'd need your help to have any decent chance of winning."

Sakura appeared deep in thought. "Sensei? I'm going to get better. So are you. We'll show that you don't need to be some kind of prodigy to be a great shinobi." Iruka smirked. "We'll prove that anyone can be a prodigy if they're willing to work at it. Speaking of, once you have the basics of the Mizuryu no Jutsu down, I can show you new ways to use it." The two less overpowered members of Team Seven shared a smile. They had a mutual reason to get stronger, and to hell with anyone in their way.

SCENE BREAK

Itachi was distinctly annoyed. Not that anyone other than 'Tobi' had noticed, mind you. His 'extended mission' excuse was quickly wearing thin; even as his allies built up their networks, he was stuck working with an absolute sadist. The fact that that described most of Akatsuki was no help to his mood.

"Hey, Itachi," the blue shark-man began. (Itachi was far too embarassed to ask about the mechanics of his partner's conception, but how could a shark and a human even do that? And why?) "Why aren't we heading towards Iwa to find that Five-tailed guy?"

'Because I am not going to contribute to the destruction of the Elemental Nations if I can help it.' "Because my eyesight has been worsening, and any failings on my part could collapse the leader's plan. Therefore, the best course of action is to seek a skilled medic before undertaking our givenn assignment."

'And because I think Tsunade-sama should at least have some warning of what's to come. Orochimaru, Tobi, Pain... this is going to be even tougher than I'd anticipated.'