Naruto's Team 1

Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Kakumei – Arc 3: The New Era Ninjas

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Chapter 64 – Naruto's Team 1

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On top of the Hokage's mansion, The 7th Hokage stands in front of his three new students sitting on the ground. His son Boruto Hyuga makes a grumpy face, unhappy about his sensei's identity.

"Was there really no one else?" he asks his father. "What about uncle Konohamaru? Still busy with Mirai's team?"

"Yeah, he's still busy." answers Naruto. "Listen, Boruto, honestly, finding someone for your team was very complicated, so in the end, I followed Lord 5th's advice and decided to handle it by myself. I'm really the best possible option."

"What are you complaining about, Boruto?" asks Izuna. "This is the Lord 7th Hokage himself! Are we even worthy of him?"

"This is a real question, Lord 7th." adds Inoue, after Izuna's comment. "Is it really okay for you to lead a genin squad? I mean, won't it feel unfair for others?"

Izuna puts his excessive enthusiasm to silence and looks at Inoue, who seems really doubtful about the situation and really wants answers. Naruto gazes at the three young ninjas, and smiles.

"Don't worry about that, Inoue." he says. "I may be the Hokage, but for doing the job of a teacher, I'm in no way more qualified than any other of the Jonin professors. In fact, I'll probably be far less indulgent as a sensei. So if it is unfair for anyone, it's for you."

Inoue gulps down, way more worried than reassured by this answer. The three kids stay silent. The Yamanaka girl quietly stares at nothing, imagining what her life will be like for the next few years. Izuna looks at her, also lost in his thoughts, but thinking about who he's seeing. Boruto keeps staring provocatively at his dad, still unhappy.

"Uncle Konohamaru is busy. Udon walked in the classroom earlier, but I didn't see Moegi." says the yellow haired boy. "Why not her?"

"At first, Moegi Kazamatsuri was supposed to be in charge of Team 14, with Rebekka, Namonaki and Kid Lee." explains the Hokage. "But Shizune is soon to retire. Moegi applied to take on the role of Hokage advisor. And Anko Mitarashi volunteered to lead Team 14. I'm telling you. No one but me wanted this job."

Boruto keeps a grumpy face and looks away, eventually realizing that being mad won't change anything. He sighs and moves on. Naruto takes one more look at the team, all inattentive and silent. He sees Boruto looking away to avoid eye contact, Izuna who's still daydreaming with his eyes on Inoue, and Inoue who seems to be holding herself back from looking at Izuna. To break the ice, the team sensei proposes a little introduction.

"So… How about we introduce ourselves to each other?" he suggests. "I'll begin, just to give you an idea of what kind of speech I expect… Hmhm" he clears his throat. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like noodles, family and peace. I don't really hate anything, except maybe arrogant people. Still, if I had to say something more… I'd say I hate hatred itself… When I was your age, my dream was to become Hokage and surpass all those who were before. Now, my only plan for the future is to make the world a better place and maintain the peace we've achieved. My hobbies are… I don't really have much time for this, but I always have clones hanging around with friends and villagers, so I guess this is kinda my hobby… That's it. What about you?"

Boruto was barely listening. Inoue carefully took notes of this example in her mind. And Izuna passionately listened to this introduction. However, none of them speak up. The three young ninjas wait for another one to introduce himself first. Naruto, feeling nothing will be achieved this way, designates someone, just like his sensei, Kakashi, did over 20 years ago.

"What about going from right to left?" he suggests. "Inoue, you're first."

The young girl looks at the Hokage straight in the eyes, a bit surprised, as if she was woken up by her name being called. She sits straight and speaks.

"Um… My name is Inoue Yamanaka. I like… kids, I guess? I mean taking care of them, playing with them, these kinds of things… I hate cliches. My dream, or plan for the future, is simply to become useful to the village, despite not being the next head of my clan. In my free time, I look after my little brother and his friends or follow my mom to her work. Voila."

Naruto nods, to express his satisfaction with this speech. He recalls it in his mind quickly and analyzes it. It's true that Inoue isn't part of a Ino-Shika-Cho trio, so the lead role will probably go to Inojin, her brother. Her ambitions are simply to be useful, and not necessarily to follow her parent's path… After all, as she said, she hates cliches, so Naruto gets her feelings.

The Hokage then turns his head to look at Izuna and nods to tell him to speak. The young Uchiha widely opens his eyes and breathes out, to hint that his speech is unprepared. Unsure of what to say, he scratches the back of his head and looks around. Not wanting to cause an awkward silence, he talks without thinking.

"I'm Izuna Uchiha. I love… I mean… I like um…" he pauses while looking around, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone, but accidentally crosses Inoue's gaze, who's staring right at him, listening with a forced smile. "I don't know. I don't like anything." he says. "I hate lies, and secrets. Especially when they're important… My dreams are… I don't have any. My hobbies are just talking with elders, listening to their stories."

Naruto makes a half bored face, but quickly hides it away. For someone who hates secrets, this boy sure seems to have a lot. Everybody has things they like. Everybody has dreams. And Naruto actually has pretty clear ideas of what those might be for Izuna. His talk sounds a lot like a mix of what both his parents answered when asked the same question. Naruto looks at Inoue, who seems disappointed by her teammate's introduction. Not insisting more on this, the Hokage stares at his son last.

"You already know all that about me. They do too." says Boruto.

"Come on, Boruto, what's up with ya today?" complains his father. "I get it, you're not happy. But stop being so grumpy. I'll do my best to meet your expectations, no worries. For now, your friends played the game, why wouldn't you do the same?"

Boruto has a quiet stare down with his dad, before giving up. He leans up to sit straight and quits his lazy attitude. His father is right. What's done is done. He's probably overreacting. So just like Izuna and Inoue, he makes a speech.

"So, my name's Boruto Hyuga. I like hanging around with people, any people. My friends from the village, or from anywhere else. I don't like arguing. Most of the time, a punch in the face does the job better. Except when it's a family argument. I hate these the most. A family is meant to be lovely… My ambitions are to surpass a friend of mine from another nation. And for the future, I want to go out and see more of the other lands. My dream is to serve as a ninja for as long as I live, always leaving in action and to never get stuck behind a desk… In my free time, I hang around with friends, and often train with aunt Hanabi at the clan's house."

"Here he is, the boy full of ambitions I know." thinks Naruto, satisfied by his son's participation. But there he learns about him too. He didn't know that Boruto was so focused on beating Takeshi Minamoto. There, Boruto sounds a lot like him, but stating the opposite dream, Yet not completely. At first, he himself had no intention of ending up behind a desk.

Anyway, they've now all done their little introduction speech. It's time for the sensei to explain what's next.

"Thank you all for this." says the Hokage. "Um… So you probably know what's next, do you?"

"Some surprise test that will send 66% of the new genins back to the academy, is it?" says Inoue, with a depressed voice.

"What?" yells Izuna.

"Well, looks like you're going back to school, Izuna." jokingly says Boruto.

"Don't worry, this condition isn't a thing anymore." reassures Naruto. "There is a test. But failing it won't send you back to the academy. We've changed this, considering that what a ninja may lack to pass this test, he'll acquire it with practice, during his first D-rank missions."

"Pfiu!… I like that better." says Izuna.

"Yeah. 8 years at the academy is enough already." adds Boruto.

"So what now then?" asks Inoue.

Naruto walks closer to them, raises his arm out from under his cloak and shows them a pair of bells.

"As I said, there is a test." he tells them. "Back in the days, the 6th Hokage gave my team what we call the bell test. The goal was for the 3-ninja squad to get their hands on the bells that the jonin keeps on his belt. The point was for the jonin to evaluate the genins' behavior during combat."

"Bell test?" says Boruto. "So that's what all those private jokes between you and Madam Sakura are about."

"That's it. Back in the day, we didn't get the bells from Lord 6th." says Naruto, who tries to speak politely of his elders. "Sasuke managed to slightly touch them, but that's all… Now, you surely know that I'm far more troublesome than my predecessor. So obviously you understand that you won't get anything done. And that's okay, I don't intend to force this test onto you. We can find an alternative."

"Pff, don't kid me." exclaims Boruto who stands up frenetically. "Not to brag, but I'm the best student to ever have been at Konoha's academy. You said this to me yourself. If Uncle Sasuke got to graze on these bells, I can at least do the same."

"No, there's no way we get those." Izuna says in a pessimistic but honest tone.

"Don't think like that, Izuna." Boruto replies. "You're not gonna achieve anything if you keep this mindset."

'"If all the other kids took the test, then we also have to." Inoue says before standing up with Boruto, to encourage Izuna.

"Yeah. No matter if it's you, Lord 6th or Hima. We'll take this test." adds Boruto.

Izuna looks at Inoue, then at Boruto, and shrugs his shoulders. He stands up as well.

"Guess I'm in then, Lord Hokage." he says, following his friends.

"Really? You are?" confusingly says Naruto, before grinning at them in confidence. "Well then, since you're asking for it, come and get it. But I'm warning you, I won't make it easy just because you're young."

Boruto activates his Byakugan and jumps forth to engage in combat. Izuna hesitatingly follows. Inoue stays back and waits for an opportunity to step in.

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Down in the village, on a roof not far away from the Hokage's mansion, Anko Mitarashi stands with her back leaning against a grid in front of her 3 students, Rebekka Tabiki, Namonaki and Metal Lee.

"So, I'm Anko Mitarashi." she introduces herself. "Top class Jonin of Konohagakure, expert in intel collection and assassination. Some may notice that I'm older than all the other jonin professors, but that should be okay, since one of you is also a bit overage for the job. I don't have much to say about me. I'm usually the one who gets the information, not the one giving them. So how about you introduce yourselves. Who are you, why are you ninjas, what are your likes and dislikes?"

"I am Metal Lee." says the youthful young man even before he's asked to speak. "I'm a ninja to follow my parent's path and join the Suicide Corps later in my life. I specialize in Taijutsu because I never learned anything else, and because it's my clan's specialty. I like training, sports, and traveling. I don't like insults and illusions."

"Well I won't have to help you choose your path." jokingly says Anko. "How about you?" she adds, looking at Namonaki.

"My name is Namonaki. I'm going for a ninja career because I feel like this is what this village is made for, and all my ancestors were ninjas as well. I like trips, assignments and weapons. I hate popular kids, terrorists… and dumb old girls!" he adds, looking at the last member of his team.

"What's up with you again, brat?" Rebekka exclaims in return.

"He's the kid who has a family background with the Uchiha…" thinks Anko, before she speaks up to stop her students from fighting. "And you, young woman, how about you sit down and tell me about yourself?"

"Hm!… I'm Rebekka Tabiki. I like cats and games. I hate this dumbass!" she yells, pointing at Namonaki. "… I also don't like math… Staying at the orphanage was boring as hell, so I signed myself in for the academy, and there I am becoming a ninja. It's also because Boruto's dad inspired me to take this path."

"And she's the war orphan…" thinks Anko.

"Don't likes math, but likes cats and games. Yet she calls me a dumbass?" argues Namonaki. "You're the one who sounds really damn stupid."

Without hesitation, Rebekka suddenly sweeps her legs through Namonaki's. He falls down and hits his head to the floor. Metal Lee steps forward to get between his two teammates, but far too late. He looks at Namonaki lying on the ground, and makes a disgusted face, thinking of how annoying this team's dynamic will be. Anko looks at the scene happening, not giving a care. After a few seconds, she stands up from against the grid and takes a step forward.

At this moment, she's distracted by a loud blast noise coming from the side. She looks up and sees one of the pillars on the roof of the Hokage's mansion fly away and fall down to the village. Rebekka and Metal also look up to see it happen. Coming after the pillar that's about to crash down on an apartment building, there's a huge red chakra arm that very quickly grabs the falling structure and lifts it back up to the roof with extreme ease.

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All the villagers around the mansion look up to spectate the scene. Still from the roof, they also see lightning and flames in the air. Blasts and energy keep flying around the air until it all suddenly stops. On the roof, the 7th Hokage stands easy with his arms crossed in front of a clone of his. The clone is holding the three young ninjas down with their faces against the ground. All unable to move, they breath out. Inoue and Izuna gaze at each other, defeated, and give up. They look at Boruto, waiting to see what he says about it.

The Hokage's son stares at the bells that his father is throwing around carelessly in front of him, as to tempt him. With his Byakugan, he looks around and behind him to find a way to break free from the clone's hold, but doesn't see any opening.

"It may have been short, but I saw everything I had to see." Naruto tells them. "We can stop there, you won't get 5 meters close to these bells anyway."

"Damn it… The others must have it super easy compared to us…" says the young man, easing, and giving up, like his two partners.

From the door to the roof, Shikamaru Nara and Shizune Hatake run out, coming to see what was shaking the building like that. They find the Hokage standing at ease, with a clone bullying the three genins, and two others clones putting the pillar that flew off back in place.

Naruto looks at them, and makes an embarrassed face. The assistant and the advisor calm down, reassured that this was only a training session. Inoue can sense the chakra of Shikamaru behind her. Boruto can see them with his Byakugan, But Izuna is just struggling to look around and find out what got everyone's attention.

"Good afternoon, uncle Shikamaru." politely says Inoue, with a tired voice, to subtly tell Izuna what's going on.

"This isn't really the right place for this kind of stuff, Naruto." says the advisor to the Hokage.

"Right, we're done anyway." answers Lord 7th. "How about dinner? You guys sure look hungry." he adds, looking at the tired kids.

The three young ninjas look up to their sensei who lets all his clones disappear. Izuna smiles, already knowing where his master will bring them.

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Later, at Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto sits at the bar with his students and is peacefully enjoying a meal while deliberating on what he saw during this bell test.

"Don't feel bad about it… You were great. Really great!" he tells them. "Boruto, I don't get to see you fight often, so I actually had no idea you were this good at Hyuga stuff. You really remind me of your uncle Neji…"

"Yeah, Grandpa says that a lot." notes Boruto, a bit emotional about it.

"And who taught you Raiton?" asks the Hokage. "I knew it was your natural affinity, but had no idea you could already use it so well. Is it even on purpose that you channel lightning through your palms?"

"Not really…" explains the genin. "Aunt Hanabi noticed that I did this involuntarily… So we recently started Ninjutsu training."

"Sounds good… Well, to finally see the best student of the academy in action sure wasn't disappointing." comments Naruto, while eating, before going on to speak about the two others. "Izuna, usually, I'd warn you to be careful with those eyes, as they can be really exhausting, but your control over their prowess is astonishing for someone who got so little training about it."

"I know…" answers the young Uchiha, embarrassed. "I just figured out at some point that, somehow, chakra control and flowing could really improve how durably I use my Sharingan. I just need to make sure I get the same calm focus and calm I'd need for medical Ninjutsu."

"Medical Ninjutsu?" asks Naruto. "So you're training to be a medic-nin?… Makes sense. Your mom's the greatest medic in the world after all."

"Yes… It's thanks to grandma 5th." answers Izuna. "Most of the time I spend with her, she turns it into medical lessons. She tells me that she'll try to teach me everything she taught my mom, before leaving the rest to her."

"Everything she taught Sakura? I saw that!" exclaims Naruto. "You definitely have chakra enhanced strength. How would you have punched that 10 meters pillar away otherwise?"

Izuna quietly grins, and focuses back on finishing his meal, thinking of his sensei's praises. Naruto now looks at Inoue, the last but not least student he tested today.

"And you, Inoue…" he says to her. "I'm impressed, really. I knew you'd obviously be able to use the Yamanaka's secret jutsus, but that you could already use elemental Ninjutsu… I didn't see this coming. Plus it's not as if Katon was the easiest element."

"I learned it from my dad…" says Inoue, keeping her excitement quiet.

"I guessed that. Really sounds like him." murmurs Naruto before finishing his bowl. "So, and most importantly, congratulations to y'all for your teamwork! This was actually the point of the test: To see how long it'd take for you to realize why you're put in squads of three."

"Yeah, Thanks but no thanks…" says Boruto. "Mom actually gave it away to me."

"She did?" asks Naruto, not so surprised.

"Same for me…" says Izuna, feeling unworthy. "My mom even told me the story of the bell test. It was nothing of a surprise to me…"

"… Well I didn't know anything…" quietly says Inoue, feeling like she had to say something too.

"Still… Knowing the answer is one thing. Actually understanding it and putting it into action like you did is something else."

"Pfff! Sure, we worked together… But you and your clones were a thousand times better than us at this." complains Izuna. "Like, you don't even need actual teammates to outperform us."

Naruto stands up, finished with his meal. After a brief silence, he speaks to the three of them.

"You guys are really too humble…" he quietly says, before slapping his hands on Izuna and Inoue's backs. "Cheer up! What I say, I mean it. I'm honestly astonished by how talented you all are. Don't shy away. Take the praise. Feel the praise, and come back tomorrow in a good mood."

"Thank you, lord Hokage…" gently says Inoue, flattered by such words coming from such a legend.

"Oh, stop calling me like that!" friendly says Naruto. "From now on, I'm not just the Hokage of your village, but also your teacher! How about you call me Naruto-sensei instead?"

"… Sounds great to me!" says Inoue with a wide smile, cheered up by her sensei's positivity.

"Not calling you Lord 7th is gonna be harsh for me…" comments Izuna. "Is it okay if I call you Hokage-sensei?"

"However you want… Just speak to me as you'd speak to your sensei." answers Naruto, who pulls his wallet out from under his cloak.

"Imma just keep calling you Dad." says Boruto who stands up after eating, ready to leave.

Naruto leaves money on the bar and waves his hand to salute Ayame and Teuchi who are in the kitchen behind.

"Well, Sorry guys, But I still have work to do at the office." he says to Izuna and Inoue. "I paid for all of us. Finish your meals and go home, have a good night of sleep. I may not be able to meet you in person tomorrow, but a clone will be there. Let's say morning at the mansion, ok?"

"Sounds good to me!" says Inoue, gladly, but seriously.

Naruto turns around and leaves the restaurant. His son makes a quick hand gesture to say goodbye, and follows him. Izuna stays there, looking at where Naruto stood seconds ago. He still can't believe it. He should be bothered, but is just glad. His hero, his life model, is now his sensei. Getting to spend most of the day with him actually made his admiration grow even stronger. But he keeps this enthusiasm silent, to not look childish in front of his crush.

Next to him, Inoue takes a deep breath in, and suddenly shakes in excitement. Now that the Hokage left the room, she puts off the serious mask she had and lets all her enthusiasm out. Izuna looks at her, surprised. Inoue shakes her closed hands, in a satisfied and hyped manner on her thighs. She then turns to see Izuna, and frantically grabs his hands with hers in excitement.

"I can't believe it!" she exclaims with a bright smile on her face, looking at Izuna right in the eyes. "Can you believe it? The Lord 7th Hokage Naruto Uzumaki himself! The savior of the world! The new great Rikudo sage!"

Izuna stays agape, and blushes total red while she shakes his hands around. Seeing him almost fainting, totally out of focus, Inoue calms down, and just now realizes what she just did. She was firmly holding both Izuna's hands. Feeling oddly ashamed, she lets his hands go and shyly looks away while rubbing a finger against her cheek.

Izuna, still blushing, passionately looks at her guilty behavior. He reminds himself again and again of what she just did. The joy she expressed. She shared it with him, and he loved it. So, he frantically grabs her hands again and jumps off his seat. Inoue gasps in surprise, and widely opens her eyes, looking at the happy boy looking at her. Joyfully, she plays along and gets on her feet as well.

"Lord Hokage's our sensei!" exclaims Izuna.

"This is gonna be awesome!" answers Inoue singing.

They spend 10 good seconds cheering together, before Izuna suddenly lets her hands go and turns around to get to his meal again, with a suddenly serious attitude.

"It's getting late, I really should get home soon." he says very calmly, like he wasn't doing anything a moment ago.

Inoue looks at him, confused, and starts to laugh, uncontrollably. Izuna looks back at her, with his chopsticks in his mouth, and contemplates her joyful attitude. When she's done laughing, she gets back to her noodles too and eats.

"You're right." she says. "My parents don't like it when I'm out so late."

Izuna quietly blows out from his nose, and gets back to eat. The two teenagers silently finish their meals, back to their timid behavior, and leave the restaurant, both in different directions, thinking of seeing each other again tomorrow, at their next meeting with their uncharacteristic sensei.

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End of Chapter 64 – Next Chapter: Sasuke's doubts