24 2/2

"Thank you," he said, as he slowly sat down in front of the cage, though far enough away that Kyuubi couldn't get him. This had been a ritual he had been doing since Yugito had started helping him deal with a jinchuuriki. He would enter his mindscape and meet with Kyuubi, trying to talk to him, to try and form a friendship with him, or at least some form of partnership. Most nights though, he simply find himself staring at Kyuubi's cage for about twenty minutes, as the giant fox tended to just ignore him.

Tonight though would prove to be different, as the fox watched him. "I must say, your plan for assassinating that traitor was quite crafty. I almost felt a miniscule amount of respect."

Naruto blinked at that in surprise. "Oh?" He asked. "I didn't think you'd honestly care about stuff like that," he said.

"I don't, but I can feel some admiration. Barely any," the fox sneered at Naruto. "I am a giant fox. Foxes are the embodiment of cunning. Take it for what it is, ape."

The blonde Uzumaki just sighed, leaning back. "Very well then," he said, watching the fox.

The two of them stared at each other for several minutes, before Naruto spoke up. "So…question? Do you have a name, or is Kyuubi your name?" He asked.

The fox raised an eyebrow. "What do you care ape? What brought this up?" It asked.

"Well…I guess…I never asked before. And it seems rude not to know. I mean…I would hate to be called something that's just my title all the time, and no one bothering to ask if I had a real name or not. So…I'm asking," Naruto said.

Kyuubi snorted and lowered its head. "Just call me Kyuubi brat. That's good enough for now. Now leave, you're bothering me."

"Fine then…thanks for talking to me…and thanks for your compliment earlier," Naruto said, getting up. He glanced at the cage, and around the warehouse, before looking back at the cage.

The fox stared at him with one eye. "What are you still doing here brat?" It snarled out, before Naruto shrugged.

"Just…wondering about something," he said, before he closed his eyes and disappeared. The fox just hugged and closed its eyes to sleep.

Naruto opened his eyes in the real world, as his face became thoughtful. "I'll need to ask Yugito nee-chan about that tomorrow," he murmured, smiling as he saw Tomo had hopped up next to him and cuddled close. He smiled, petting the fox as he began to drift into a real sleep.

The next day, Naruto was grinning as he sat in the registration room of the Hokage Tower, finishing getting his ninja ID registered. Sarutobi was looking at the ID, nodding softly. "Everything seems to be in order," he told Naruto, tossing the ID back to Naruto, who grabbed it.

"Thank you Hokage-sama," he said, as he stowed it away. He tensed however when he saw the door to the room slide open a crack. He slowly glanced at Sarutobi, who simply nodded quietly while smoking his pipe, acting like nothing was going on.

And then the door slammed open, as a young boy in a yellow shirt, gray shorts, a long blue scarf, and a helmet that covered his spiky brown hair stood in the doorway. "Today's the day I beat you, oji-san!" The boy shouted, gripping a shuriken as he rushed at the Hokage. Before anyone could react though, the boy tripped on his long scarf, smacking face first into the ground.

Naruto just sweatdropped at the sight, as the boy got up to his knees and rubbed the back of his head in pain. Sarutobi just sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. The young boy looked up at Naruto, before growling. "He, you! You tripped me, didn't you?!" He shouted.

Naruto blinked at the kid. "I don't know what you're talking about kid. I was sitting here the whole time. You tripped on your own scarf," he said.

The kid snorted. "Yeah, right! Nothing can escape a master ninja like me!"

"Yeah, okay kid," Naruto said, getting up. "If that's all, Hokage-sama?" He asked.

Sarutobi nodded, and Naruto turned to leave, only to almost run into a shinobi wearing the standard jounin outfit, but with small round sunglasses and bandana style headband. The man stopped when he saw Naruto, and a glare of recognition crossed his face, while Naruto's own face hardened as he saw the glare. He knew what it was, as he had been seeing them his whole life. He just nodded curtly. "Jounin-san," he said, about to move past said jounin.

"Hey wait! You can't just trip me and expect to get away with it!" The young kid shouted, as the jounin quickly grabbed Naruto by his shoulder.

"You dared to trip the honorable grandson of Hokage-sama?!" The jounin shouted, only to be forced to let go when Naruto elbowed him in the side and quickly tripped the jounin, sending him to the floor. He looked back at the Hokage and bowed before leaving.

The jounin quickly shot up, only to be stopped by Sarutobi's voice. "Don't you think you should worry about your charge, Ebisu-san?" He asked.

The now named jounin quickly bowed to the aged Sandaime. "Of course Hokage-sama! Come Honorable Grandson, we have much to-!" Ebisu said, only to find the space where the young boy had been was vacant. "W-where is Konohamaru?!" He yelled worriedly.

Sarutobi sighed, puffing on his pipe. "He went chasing after Naruto," he said evenly, as Ebisu quickly paled and rushed after them.

Naruto smiled as he stepped out of the Hokage's Tower, and Tomo came rushing from a spot where he was hiding, his cape and hood on. He hopped up into Naruto's arms, and Naruto smiled, petting him as he walked through the streets, not caring if people glared at him. He was a shinobi now, and they couldn't do a thing to him. He did tense a bit though when he felt a presence start to follow him, so he turned down an alley, before whirling, Tomo landing gracefully at his feet and growling as Naruto's hand shot up and gripped his ninjato, ready to draw at a moment's notice.

However, he relaxed his grip when he saw that his apparent stalker was hiding behind a sheet designed to look like the wooden fence they were walking past. However, said sheet was being held the wrong way, as the lines running between boards was horizontal on the sheet instead of vertical. He sighed, relaxing his grip. "You're holding the sheet the wrong way," he said.

"Just what I'd expect from my rival!" Shouted the young boy from before, dropping the sheet. "I'm Konohamaru, grandson of the Sandaime Hokage!"

Naruto just blinked at him. "Well I'm Naruto Uzumaki. What can I do for you?" He asked in a polite tone.

Konohamaru quickly dropped to his knees. "Please please please teach me boss! Help me become an awesome and powerful shinobi like you, so I can become Hokage!" He said.

Naruto blinked again at the young boy. "Don't you have teachers?" He asked.

"Well yeah, but you kinda beat up my teacher," Konohamaru said. "And that's why I want you to teach me! Cuz you're obviously much stronger than him!"

"No actually, I'm not," Naruto said, causing Konohamaru to blink in surprise. "I'm a genin, who barely got out of the Academy. That man was a chuunin or jounin. Obviously he is much stronger than me."

"But…you still hurt him! How could you do that if he's stronger?" Konohamaru asked.

"Because strength isn't everything," Naruto told him, gesturing to a nearby bench. As the pair sat down, he continued. "You could be the strongest person in the world, and still be defeated by someone who catches you off guard, or has something you don't have. Winning isn't just about being strong. It's also about being smart, brave, fast, skilled, cunning, and luck."

"But that sounds like a lot of work! And Ebisu-sensei says he can make me strong really quickly," Konohamaru said.

Naruto shook his head. "There's no quick way to being strong kid. It takes a lot of hard work, and determination. Why do you want to be strong anyways?" He asked, as Konohamaru looked down, kicking his feet.

"Cuz…I want people to see me for me," he said quietly. Naruto raised an eyebrow, as the young boy continued. "Nobody calls me by my name. They all just call me the 'Honorable Grandson of the Sandaime Hokage'. That's why I want to be strong and beat him, so then everyone will see me, and not him."

The blonde Assassin slowly shook his head, smiling. 'Ironic, that he has so much in common with me,' he thought, before speaking. "So you want people to recognize you for yourself…you can do that without defeating your oji-san," he said, as Konohamaru looked up at him.

"How? How can I do it?" He asked eagerly. Naruto just smiled, putting a hand on his head.

"It won't be easy brat," he said. "If you want people to recognize you, then you have to work for it. You have to work hard, and never give up on your goal. If you want my advice…ask your oji-san what it takes to be like him. I'm sure he'll give you plenty of good advice. And even if no one else recognizes you for who you are, you can still recognize that you are Konohamaru Sarutobi, future shinobi of Konoha."

Konohamaru sniffled a bit, his eyes watering, before he wiped them away. "T-Thanks boss! I won't forget what you said!" He yelled with a grin, as Naruto just smiled. The moment was ruined however by Ebisu landing, glaring at Naruto.

"You! What did you do to make the Honorable Grandson cry?!" he shouted, ready to attack Naruto both to protect Konohamaru and to get revenge for earlier.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Konohamaru shouted, about to jump up, only to be stopped by Naruto gently placing a hand on his shoulder. He was looking at Ebisu, frowning as he slowly stood.

"It's okay Konohamaru," he said, slowly moving his hand off Konohamaru's shoulder. As he did though, he slipped said hand into the supply pouch on the back of his belt, as he stared at Ebisu. "First off, I didn't do anything to Konohamaru. He's perfectly fine," he said angrily. "And secondly…his name is Konohamaru Sarutobi, future Hokage of Konoha!" He shouted, before dropping the smoke bomb he had, engulfing the area in smoke.

Ebisu quickly leapt back out of the smoke, glaring as his eyes wildly searched for any sign of the black clad figure. However, the smoke soon dissipated, revealing a confused but grinning Konohamaru. He just growled, angrily stomping over to Konohamaru. "Come Honorable Grandson. Let's get back to training and away from ruffians like that boy," he said.

Konohamaru just grinned and followed him as on the roof of a nearby building, Naruto crouched and grinned as he watched them go. "Good luck kid," he said, pulling up his hood and turning to leave.

Elsewhere, Anko sighed as she sat down at a table outside a café, where Raphael was waiting. "Hey, sorry I'm late. Had to file a report regarding becoming a jounin sensei," she said.

Raphael smiled at her. "That's okay. So, excited about being a sensei to three genin?" He asked.

"Definitely, especially if I get the three I want," she said, before ordering a cup tea and a plate of dango with sweet bean soup from the waitress who came over to them. "So was there something you needed to talk about?"

"Oh no, I just thought it'd be nice if we got together and hung out," Raphael said. "We've been so busy lately we haven't exactly had a time to just talk, as friends."

Anko blinked and blushed lightly. "Oh? Well okay then," she said. "So…how are things with you?"

Raphael shrugged. "Can't complain. Been pretty busy for the most part, so haven't really done anything outside of business," he said. "You?"

"About the same. Mostly been busy with getting ready to be a jounin sensei, but I also was helping Kurenai with some of Yakumo's physical training. She thinks that maybe in a year, Yakumo will be ready to take the genin equivalence course over at the Academy," she said. The genin equivalence exam was an exam given to people who wished to become genin of Konoha, but were too old to enter the Academy. Instead, they studied and trained, before taking a more intensive and in-depth version of the graduation exam the Academy had, to ensure said applicants were ready to be genin. There were also chuunin and jounin versions, usually reserved for defectors or people who were seemed far too skilled to take the genin equivalence exam.

"That's good. I'm glad you convinced Kurenai-san to keep training her," Raphael said, as their drinks and food arrived.

The pair of them talked about various subjects as they ate, until Anko finally spoke up. "So Raphael…I know it's not my place but…do you mind if I ask you about your childhood?" She asked. "I mean you know mine. Orphan, Orochimaru's apprentice, etc."

Raphael just blinked in surprise. "I guess there's no real harm in that. Well to start off, I'm a bastard," he said with a grin as Anko snorted into her cup of tea, having been taking a sip when he said that.

"E-Excuse me?!" She asked, trying to clean her face, as Raphael just chuckled.

"Sorry, couldn't help it," he said, before continuing. "My mother was a maid for a noble, who ended up having an affair with her. When she discovered she was pregnant with me, she was immediately dismissed, and was forced to live with my grand uncle and grand aunt. We had a happy life, the four of us. My uncle was teaching me to be a blacksmith, which was what he did. Then, a few months after I turned eight, a group of thugs looking for money and weapons broke into my granduncles shop. They killed everyone except for me because my mom told me to run away."

At this point, his eyes had watered slightly, as Anko gently touched his arm, a look of sympathy on her face. "Raphael…I'm so sorry," she said softly.

Raphael just gave her a tiny smile of appreciation and nodded in thanks. "Thank you. Anyways, after that I ended up on the streets of the nearby city. I spent the next four, almost five years living off of scraps and pick pocketing. Until I ran into my Mentor Ezio Auditore. Funnily enough, I tried to pick his pocket, and ended up flat on my back. But he took pity on me, and recruited me into the Assassins. And after that, most of my time was spent training," he said. "So that essentially was my childhood."

Anko nodded at that. "Well thank you for sharing," she said with a smile.

"And thank you for listening," Raphael said with a smile, as he signaled for the check. Once it was paid for, the pair started walking off.

"So how come I haven't seen you with a girl? Handsome guy like you should be attracting all kinds of women," Anko said, as Raphael blushed but grinned.

"Well thank you, but I've been busy. So sadly, I haven't had a chance to go courting," he said, as Anko raised an eyebrow.

"Courting? Awfully formal, aren't you?" She asked, Raphael smiled a bit awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yes well, it comes from the way people spoke during my time," he said. "But still…I haven't had a chance to do so. Besides, I have very particular taste," he said.

Anko grinned at that. "Particular tastes huh? Let me know, and maybe I can find the girl for you," she said, lightly poking his side.

Raphael just smiled, rubbing his side. "Uh-uh-uh. My secrets. I'll take them to my grave," he said jokingly, as Anko kept pouting.

"Teeeellll mmmeee," she whined, only for Raphael to grin and shake his head, rushing off as she chased him. "I WILL GET YOUR SECRETS!" She shouted.

Raphael just laughed as she chased him, the two enjoying this moment of goofiness in their busy lives.

Friday, the Academy

Naruto and Hinata grinned at Shikamaru, Chouji, and Shino as they sat down near them. "So, today's the day," Naruto said to his friends. "We're getting our teams and sensei today."

Chouji blinked, pausing form eating his chips. "Hey Naruto, what's with the outfit change?" He asked, since Naruto was wearing his Assassin haori, though the hood was currently down.

Naruto just grinned. "Like it? It was a gift to me from my mentor, for graduating from the Academy. Except for the scarf. That was a gift from Hinata," he said, as Hinata blushed at that, but smiled.

"A-and you're very welcome, Naruto-kun," she said.

A couple seats down, Ino sighed with a small grin. "Awww, isn't that sweet? Hinata got Naruto a scarf," she said, as Sakura smiled as well.

"That is very sweet," the pinkette said. "Ohhh, do you think they're a couple maybe?"

"I don't think so. I think they're just really good friends," Ino said, watching them. "Otherwise, they might be holding hands or kissing or something."

Nearby, Sasuke just rolled his eyes a bit. What did it matter if they were a couple or not? What mattered was who he was going to be placed on a team with. Sasuke knew every student present was capable, but he truly wanted teammates who would be strong and skilled, and wouldn't hold him back. He had been waiting for this day for too long.

Sasuke had been pushing himself ever since his brother killed their father and other members of the clan, pushing himself to be the best. He had hoped to graduate early like his brother did, as a sign of his strength. But the new rules of the Academy prevented that from happening. So instead, Sasuke settled for learning everything, and applying himself with dedication and fervor. And it had paid off, in his eyes. Sasuke was the best in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and weaponry, with only Hinata and Naruto beating him in stealth and assassination. While it did irk him a bit not to be the best in that field, he wasn't too troubled, since he cared more about strength. Strength enough to protect his clan, to bring it up to new heights, and to one day confront his brother and bring him to justice for what he did.

That was why it was important for him to know who he was teamed up with, and who his sensei would be. To help determine how much he could learn from them, and how much they could unknowingly aide him in his goals. He masked his eagerness when the door opened and Iruka entered, though he was confused when Mizuki didn't follow. A confusion shared by the majority of the class, but not by Naruto or Hinata.

"Iruka-sensei, where's Mizuki-sensei?" Ino asked, as Iruka grimaced a bit, looking down.

"Unfortunately…Mizuki was recently discovered to be a traitor," he said, causing the class to gasp. "He was feeding information to an enemy of Konoha, and was planning to steal an important artifact to deliver to those enemies. He was captured and executed. I know this is big news," he said, stopping the class from erupting into excited gossip, "but we need to move on to more pressing matters. Today, you all will receive your team assignments. I have here the names of your teammates and your jounin sensei."

Iruka held up a list on a clipboard. "Team Five will consist of Manabu Akamon, Fuki, and Gennai, under the command of jounin Genma Shiranui." The three genin glanced at each other, and nodded to each other.

"Team Seven will consist of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Kiba Inuzuka, under the command of jounin Kakashi Hatake," Iruka said. Kiba glared a bit at Sasuke, not liking being on a team with one of the two people he saw as rivals for his position as alpha. Sakura meanwhile was blushing a bit as she glanced at Sasuke, thinking maybe she could find out more about Sasuke, and see if he really was the jerk Ino thought he was, or if he maybe had a softer side.

Sasuke meanwhile just huffed a bit. He respected Kiba's strength, but he viewed the boy as a brash headed, arrogant fool. Sakura meanwhile came from no clan and had no discernible abilities beyond her intelligence. He quietly wished he had gotten stronger teammates, or at least ones he could more easily deal with. However, he had heard of Kakashi Hatake. One of the most well respected jounin of Konoha, and one of the likely candidates to replace the Sandaime Hokage and become the Godaime Hokage. It was rumored that he had learned over a thousand ninjutsu. Sasuke however, thanks to his clan, knew that one of their members, as he lay dying, gifted Kakashi with one of his Sharingan eyes, which was how the jounin learned his jutsu easily. Sasuke was eager to learn from the man, sure that this famed jounin would teach him everything he needed to accomplish his goal.

"Team Eight will consist of Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Mitarashi, and Ino Yamanaka, under the command of jounin Anko Mitarashi." Naruto and Hinata grinned, happy that not, only were they on the same team, but that Anko was their jounin. They knew she wouldn't be able to play favorites, but they did know they still had a lot they could learn from her, both as assassins and shinobi. Ino though looked a bit stunned. She had expected to be on the same team as Shikamaru ad Chouji, like their fathers had. To hear she was on a completely different team was startling. She glanced at Chouji and Shikamaru, who both looked stunned, in their own ways. Chouji was no longer eating his chips, staring at Iruka, while Shikamaru just groaned, leaning back and staring at the ceiling, muttering "troublesome" under his breath.

"Lastly, Team Ten will consist of Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akamichi, and Shino Aburame, under the command of jounin Asuma Sarutobi," Iruka finished, as the three remaining boys looked at each other. Shino just quietly nodded to Shikamaru and Chouji, as the latter nervously waved at him, while Shikamaru kept staring up at the ceiling.

Iruka smiled at them all as he set aside the clipboard. "Before I dismiss you all for lunch, I'd like to say a few words first. It has been my honor to teach and guide you all through our time together at the Academy. You all are the future of our village, and I have to say that you give me hope for the future. The road ahead of you will be difficult, but if you show the same determination and skill I saw here in the Academy, you'll all do fine. Just trust in each other, and trust in yourselves. And lastly…congratulations to all of you," he said.

The students all grinned, before Ino spoke up. "We couldn't have done it without you sensei. Thank you!" she said, as others began to do the same, clapping and thank him, as Iruka just chuckled and smiled awkwardly.

"Alright, alright, settle down now," he said. "Your sensei will arrive here soon, so sit back and get to know your teammates until they arrive. And again…good luck, to all of you," he said, before disappearing out of the room.

Naruto grinned as he turned to Hinata. "We're on the same team! And with Anko-sensei! This is so awesome," he said excitedly, as Hinata nodded happily. Ino slowly got up and moved to join them, followed by Sakura.

"You two know our sensei?" She asked, as the pair looked up at her.

"That's right. Anko-sensei was teaching me when I wasn't in the academy, and she took custody of Hinata after her asshole clan banished her," he said, as Hinata grimaced, and Ino and Sakura's eyes went wide.

"D-Don't talk like that," Ino said, not used to such coarse language. Naruto just grinned sheepishly as Hinata lightly smacked the back of his head.

"Sorry," he said. "But yeah, we know our sensei. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she arrived right about now," he said.

Just as he finished speaking, a smoke bomb went off at the front of the class, obscuring the students view of what was going on there. The students yelped in surprise, backing away from the front of the class. All except Naruto and Hinata, who rolled their eyes, expecting this.

The smoke suddenly was cleared away, as Anko stood at the front of the class in her Assassin outfit, except her hood was down. In her teeth was clenched a dango skewer, and she grinned as she looked over the students. Behind her was a banner that read "The epically awesome Anko Mitarashi has arrived!"

Anko grinned as she pulled the skewer from her teeth and flicked it into the ceiling. "Alright gaki's! I'm Anko Mitarashi, sensei of Team Eight! Where are my adorable little genin?"

Hinata and Naruto grumbled softly while grinning as they stood up, while Ino just stared. This was their sensei? She wasn't sure what to think of her as she looked her over. Sighing, she got up, smiling at Sakura. "See you later Sakura. Have fun with your team," she said.

As Sakura nodded, Ino joined Hinata and Naruto in front of Anko, who just grinned at them. "Alright my adorable little genin. Time for us to get to know each other better! But let's find somewhere more comfortable first. Follow me!" She said, turning and shooting out one of the classroom windows. The three genin blinked before doing the same, leaving behind the other bewildered students.

The three genin of Team Eight soon joined Anko outside a small dango stand, where she was getting a couple of skewers. "Alright," she said. "Now that I'm comfortable, we can begin," she said, sitting down on a nearby bench, while the three genin face planted.

"Is this woman really a jounin?" Ino asked, only to yelp as a curved blade was at her throat, while Anko stood nonchalantly behind her, holding one of her curved short blades in one hand as she ate one of her dango skewers held in her other hand. None of them had seen her move.

"You doubt me?" Anko said, studying her other stick of dango. When Ino shook her head, she grinned. "Good. Now back to business! I want us to introduce ourselves to each other, so we can get to know each other better as teammates. I'll start, so follow my lead. I'm Anko Mitarashi, jounin of Konoha. I like dango, and my friends Kurenai, Raphael, Yugito, Naruto, and my little imouto Hinata. My dislikes are jerks who judge and persecute people for no reason, as well as my treacherous former sensei. My hobbies include studying poisons, and something I don't want to share yet," she said with a soft blush. "Anyways, my goal is to train you three to be kickass shinobi!"

Ino blanched at Anko's swearing, while Naruto and Hinata just nodded. Anko pointed to Ino. "Why don't you go blondie?"

Ino glared a bit at her. "My name is Ino Yamanaka, not blondie," she said, as Anko just smirked. "My likes are flowers, cherry tomatoes, pudding, and shopping, as well as my friend Sakura. I dislike sashimi, that jerk Sasuke, and people who swear," she said, looking at Anko as she said this, while Anko just smirked. "My hobbies are arranging flowers, shopping, and gossiping. My goal is to become a great shinobi like both my mom and dad were and are."

Anko raised an eyebrow at that. "You like gossiping and shopping huh? Well you might need to cut back on both. Though the gossiping might help in what we'll be doing," she said. Before Ino could say anything, Anko moved on. "Your turn hime," she said to Hinata, making Hinata pout.

"My name is Hinata Mitarashi. I like cinnamon rolls, zenzai, my nee-chan Anko, and my best friend Naruto. My dislikes are shellfish and the majority of my former clan. My hobbies include flower pressing and archery. And my goal is to become a truly strong kunoichi, and prove my former clan was wrong about me," she said, smiling at the grins on Anko and Naruto's faces.

"Alright then! Last we got you whiskers," she said, as Naruto just grinned.

"You got it sensei! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen, my best friend Hinata, my sensei Anko, and my friends Raphael, Yugito, and Tomo! I dislike how long it takes to heat up water for ramen, and jerks who judge people on rumors and prejudice, rather than facts. I also dislike that jerk Kiba. My hobbies include eating ramen and training. And my goal is to become a great shinobi to honor my parents, and protect my precious people," he said.

Ino blinked at that, tilting her head. "Your parents? Who were they?" She asked.

Naruto sighed softly, calming down a bit. "They were a pair of powerful shinobi. But I can't say any more than that. Not yet anyways," he said.

Ino pouted, now really wanting to know, but Anko cut her off. "Well now that we've introduced ourselves, time for bad news, sadly. You're not all actually genin quite yet."

"What do you mean Anko-sensei?" Hinata asked in surprise.

Anko just grinned. "Well the Academy Graduation Exam is really mostly just there to see if you all have what it takes to ascend to the rank of genin. To actually become genin though, you have to pass a second exam. One given to each team by their jounin sensei. Pass that and you truly are genin of Konoha."

Naruto groaned. "Awwww crap," he said quietly.

"So what's this test you have for us?" Ino asked a bit impatiently. Anko just smirked at them.

"You'll find out…tomorrow morning. Meet me outside the Academy at eight o'clock sharp. I'll give you all the details then. For now, enjoy yourselves. Team Eight, dismissed!" she shouted, dropping another smoke bomb and disappearing before the smoke cleared.

Naruto just grumbled softly, arms crossed. "That just figures. We think things are finally at an end, and they throw one more obstacle in our path."

"Well, nothing we can do about it now," Hinata said. "It might be a good idea though if we start brainstorming some ideas of what she might be planning tomorrow. Do you have the time, Ino-san?" She asked, as Ino nodded.

"I do, but I'd like to go and check on my friend Sakura. She's stuck with the jerk and that baka Kiba, so I don't think she'll have a lot of fun," she said.

"Of course Ino. We'll come with you. I'm sure she could use some real company," Naruto said with a smile.

The trio of them headed off back to the Academy, to meet with Sakura and ready themselves for tomorrow. Their future awaited, and they would meet it head on.

Well, this seems like a good place to end this chapter.

So, the teams are now formed. And no I'm not changing them, so don't ask.

I'm sorry this chapter was a bit slower in getting out. Been busy with my Christmas Gifts, New Years stuff, and helping some friends and family with personal problems.

Big thanks again to my awesome betas! Thank you Kyuubi123 and Bill Alain!

So, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and that you leave a review. Until next time then!

1. This is a thought I've had about canon team 10. While the team is very well balanced overall, the fact that it existed once already simply sends up danger flags in my mind. If any enemies were able to study the previous incarnation of this team, and learn how to disrupt it, then team 10 would be in serious trouble. That being said, again the team is still a better setup then canon teams 7 and 8.

2. So basically, think of Naruto wearing a version of his father's haori that matches the description I gave here. I tell you, it was hard trying to think of a color scheme that fit not only Naruto, but also fit being an Assassin. I toyed with going for a dark burnt orange, but it would be too attention grabbing. Thought about a brown with a dark or navy blue trim, but just didn't seem to work. So I finally settled on black and orange. I had thought about doing black and red, but that would basically be copying Shay's color from Rogue as well as the outfit colors you can get in Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed 3, and Assassin's Creed 4. So imagine Naruto's outfit is dull black, almost charcoal, with dull orange.

And yes I know black is cliché, but it's the best I could think of that I hadn't chosen for someone else. And besides it's not all black, it's black and orange. Anyways, onwards!

3. Yes, this is referencing the last Naruto movie. The scarf is at least. Haven't seen the movie yet though. Really need to catch up on the anime and movies.