Chapter 13- Genin Team

Ren Uchiha POV

He found Itachi waiting at the academy gate for him. Their eyes met for a moment before her eyes went up toward his forehead, where he'd tied his forehead protector.

"So, you chose to become a shinobi after all?"

"Yes," he replied, his certainty about the decision still wavering. Nevertheless, it was a choice he had committed to, and he was determined to give his utmost to ensure that he won't come to regret it.

"I see." Itachi said as both them entered the gates and started walking toward their class. "Where were you last night anyway. Mother was worried. And…" Itachi's fists clenched and her eyes narrowed. "Satsuki-chan cried due to your absence."

He chuckled at her words. "Still sore that Satsuki-chan prefers me over you."

If Itachi had unlocked her Sharingan then he had no doubt that he would be staring into two red eyes in that moment. "Of course not." She said while gritting her teeth.

He smirked but said no more on this.

The two of them walked in silence but soon found the atmosphere of the academy a bit different than usual.

"Is it just me seeing things or is everyone staring at me." He asked.

"They are." Itachi said, her calm returned by now. "And for a good reason.You shattered all previous graduation records yesterday, after all. The last time a similar feat occurred, that student went on to become the 4th Hokage."

"Hm… I suppose that would explain it." he admitted with a sheepish smile. In retrospect, it seemed rather foolish of him to overlook the fact that his actions would inevitably draw even more attention from others.

At that instant, a girl standing nearby mustered her courage and approached him with a determined expression.

"Ren-kun, congratulations on becoming a shinobi. Please accept this gift from me!" she exclaimed before gracefully bowing at a ninety-degree angle, presenting a... bento box for him.

He stared at the girl in bewilderment before turning to glance at Itachi, giving her a 'are you seeing what I'm seeing' look.

Itachi didn't even deign to look at him as she was fully focused on giving the girl the 'Uchiha patented glare #3'.

Not wanting the girl to remain in an awkward position for too long, and not wanting to embarrass her by rejecting her so publicly, he took the bento box from her hands and spoke up. "Um… thank you, for your thoughtful gift. I'll… cherish it?"

Beside him, he heard Itachi facepalm, and then, as if a floodgate had been unleashed, all the girls in the nearby vicinity hurriedly approached him, each holding a bento box, a flower, a letter, or a wrapped gift in their hands.

He gulped.

"Um… Itachi."

"We're getting out of here." Itachi replied before she took his hand and quickly started running toward their class.

"Hide yourself in Genjutsu. And stay that way for the rest of the day." Itachi ordered sternly as they reached their class.

He nodded and spread out his chakra toward his surrounding, capturing anyone who entered a certain distance from him within a genjutsu that made them ignore his very existence.

Upon entering the room, Itachi was quickly bombarded by a few other girls inquiring about his whereabouts while he walked past them and went to his seat at the back of the class.

He watched as Itachi ignored the girls and forced her way through them before coming over to sit beside him, her face still holding that stern expression that 'dared' the other girls to come and try bothering her.

The other girls wisely backed off and continued staring at the door.

…waiting for him.

Was this really happening? This was so fucking stupid that he had a hard time believing it.

"Um… Itachi?"

"What?" She snapped at him.

"Are those girls… fangirls?"

"So you finally noticed. It seems like you're not completely stupid after all." Itachi said scornfully and he gave her a confused look.

"But I'm only 6 years old." He said.

Itachi gave a pointed look to the girls who were still waiting around the door, as if a pack of hounds waiting for their delicious prey to appear. "I don't think it matters to them."

He felt a shudder go through him at those words.

Yeah, he wasn't touching this headache with a ten feet pole.

"What's up with you?" He asked as he gazed at Itachi's scowl. "Why do you look so glum?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed as she slowly turned her head to look at him. And then she looked at the bento box that he still held in his right hand.

Ahh… was… was Itachi jealous?

He quickly shook the absurd thought from his head. Itachi was only 6 years old as well. He doubted that she had any idea what 'attraction to a boy' even meant.

She was probably afraid of losing the only friend she'd made to some annoying fangirl.

"hmm… do you know who our 3rd teammate will be?" He asked, changing the topic.

Itachi stayed silent for a moment before she spoke up. "Probably that Nara boy, or the civilian boy Hashirama."

"Wait… repeat that."

"Repeat what?"

"We have a civilian guy named Hashirama in our class?" He asked, surprised that he hadn't known. But then again, he rarely ever payed attention to the class and he paid even less attention to his classmates.

"You're only finding this out now?" She drawled, giving him a highly unimpressed look.

"Yeah." He said as he rubbed his head in slight embarrassment. In his defence though, he did know about the top few students in his class. "So… why those two?" He asked in a bid to distract Itachi from his blunder.

"Those two are the losers of our class. And from what I've heard, the Rookie of the year and the Kunoichi of the year are usually paired up with the dead last in the class. To make the team more balanced or some such reasoning."

"Hm… are you sure you'll get the Kunoichi of the year title though. That Hyuuga girl did beat you up a few times when we first joined this class." He teased.

"She didn't beat me up. We sparred in the training grounds and I lost. Initially. But then I won, didn't I?"

"Yeah. But who knows? Maybe it's not enough. Maybe I'll get paired up with the Hyuuga girl regardless."

"You don't seem very disappointed about that?" Itachi pointed out with narrowed eyes.

"Well… that Hyuuga girl did have a nice rack. And her ass is nothing to scoff at either." He said as before he stared at Itachi and scrunched up his nose. "And then look at you. You still look like a boy."

"She's literally twice my age!" Itachi protested.

"So… are you saying that you'll have a nice figure when you grow up as well Itachi-chwaan?" He asked as his eyes roamed over her body in a lecherous manner.

Itachi's eyes narrowed at his words before sickly sweet smile formed on her lips. "I'll telling mother what you just said."

All joy and humour fled his face in an instant as he narrowed his eyes at her. "You'll tattle on me?"

"Yes."

"…I was just joking."

"I know. I don't care."

"Come now Itachi. My pal. My buddy. You can't be that cruel."

"You have no idea about the extant of my cruelty."

"…yeah. On second thought…"

"What did you say?"

"Um… nothing."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"So… how about I treat you to a dango after we leave the academy."

"Hn."

"Three dango."

"Hmph."

"Five?"

"…Fifty."

"…you'll die if you eat that much dango."

"I'll get a tab and eat it over the next month."

"You're a cruel wench."

"And proud of it."

"…very well then. It's a deal."

"Deal."

—————

"And Team 4 is Ren Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha and Rin Nohara. Their Jounin Sensei is Jiraiya of the Sannin."

"…huh. That was unexpected."

"You know who this Rin Nohara girl is?" Itachi asked and he let out a 'hmph' before he ignored her.

No mercy shall be given to snitches.

—————

Jiraiya POV

"This is abuse of your elders! I tell you. Abuse!" He declared.

His disciple raised a weary eyebrow from his paperwork and shot him an irritated look.

"Could you please keep it down, Sensei? I'm trying to work here," Minato said before returning to his paperwork. "Besides, I know you're going to accept the assignment in the end. So what's with all the drama?"

"Drama? Minato, you're only acquainted with two Uchiha, Fugaku and Mikoto, and they're both of the agreeable kind. So it seems that you're under a false impression of what a normal Uchiha is like. They're a bunch of arrogant, prideful, fools. And you saddled me with two of them. Do you have any idea how hard it is to work with them?"

"One of those Uchiha is the daughter of Fugaku and Mikoto. And the other one is a once in a century genius whose prospects seem to be greater than my own." Minato informed him.

He pouted. "Still. You could've asked me at least."

"I'll make sure to do so the next time, Sensei" His student drawled.

"Next time!?" He gasped, looking horrified.

"It was a jest." His student replied with a sardonic smile that he didn't like at all.

He sighed and stared at the three files in his hand. "And the third student. She's even worse than those two."

"And what's wrong with her?" Minato asked him with narrowed eyes and he quickly backtracked.

"Nothing! It's just that. She's… too high maintenance."

"That's one way of looking at that. But you've already worked with her before. And you're a seal master who can help her if something goes wrong. You're the best person in Konoha to look after her."

"What's wrong with your wife taking her as a disciple. She's a seal master as well, in case you forgot."

"That is true. But with that masked man still out there, I don't want to send Kushina out of the village on missions. So Rin can't study under Kushina either. And the only way she'll ever gain any experience as a Shinobi is by going out of the village."

He sighed. He hated it when Minato made sense. Especially when that led to him needing to work hard.

He could already see all of his research prospects flying away with two female students in his team.

"Plus." Minato said, getting his attention with how serious Minato sounded this time. "I believe that the boy might be the child of prophesy that the Great Toad Sage told you about."

His eyes narrowed at Minato's words and he became serious instantly. Minato had a good idea about how seriously he took the prophesy so he was sure that Minato won't joke about something like this.

"And your reason for believing that?" He asked.

Minato paused for a moment before made a hand sign.

All the anbu hidden in the room immediately vacated it. And a moment later, a Fuinjutsu barrier covered the walls to give them privacy. "This is the boy's information." Minato said as he took out a scroll from the S-class file cabinet and gave it to him.

He unfurled the scroll and started studying it, his eyes growing wider and wider with each of the boy's accomplishments he read about.

After reading the scroll three times, he closed the scroll and gave his student and serious look. "Is this a joke, Minato?"

"It is not Sensei. I know it's hard to believe but-"

"You want me to believe that a 6-year-old boy figured out the secret flying method of the Tsuchikage. Is almost at the level of a Fuinjutsu Master. And powerful enough to take down a Jounin in a second. I'm old Minato. But I'm not senile."

"I'm not lying to you, Sensei." Minato told him again but when the disbelieving look in his face didn't change, Minato sighed and took the scroll back from him. "How about this. You meet this boy yourself. And decide whether you want to teach him or not."

"Oh." He said, crossing his arms.

"Yes. And if you don't want to teach him after meeting with him once, then I'll accept your refusal and ask someone else to become their Sensei. How does that sound?"

"Like a trap." He said with a grin. "But I accept."

—————

"Jiraiya-sama. Is it really alright with me being in this team?" Rin Nohara asked as he leaned his back against a tree and wrote ideas for the next scene of his book.

He side glanced at his new student and gave her a reassuring smile. "Your seal is far more stable these days. And even if something goes wrong, I'm here, aren't I. Don't worry, everything will be just fine. Plus, you already know that Uchiha boy, don't you?"

"Ren-kun? Yes. He is Kushina-san's student. So we met fairly often during the initial days when Kushina-san helped contain my bijuu with her Adamentine Sealing chains."

"Hmm… what can you tell me about the boy. I've heard a lot of praise about his abilities. But what's he like in person?"

Rin hummed for a moment as he gathered her thought before she spoke up. "He's a kind and easy going person, if overly confident in his abilities. He also likes to tease people and has a bit of a mischievous streak. But he's never malicious with his intentions."

He hummed as he got a clearer picture of the boy.

"Does he holds any grudge against the other villages for his parents death in the war?" He asked and Rin slowly shook her head.

"I don't know think so. But I don't know him well enough to say. Though I don't believe that Ren is led by his hatred, if that's what you're worried about." Rin said and then her expression saddened. "I believe that he and Obito would've gotten along nicely."

He gave a slow nod at those words and the both of them settled into silence, his thoughts far away as he remembered his own past students.

The civilian girl and the Sarutobi boy who should've been with Minato but died in the war because of his inability.

'If only I'd been stronger and faster back then.' He thought morosely. 'If only the war had never started at all.'

Then his thoughts went back to the three Ame orphans he'd taught. And the last news he heard about them.

That the group those three had created was surrounded and annihilated by Hanzo.

Out of the six students he'd taught in his life, only one lived.

He did not tell Minato this, but one of the main reason why he didn't want to take any more students was that he was afraid that these ones might die as well.

But if Minato really thinks that the boy is the child of prophesy. The one who will bring a lasting peace and property to the Elemental nations. Then…

—————

Itachi Uchiha POV

She sat beside Ren, feeling mildly impatient as the last of the students left the class along with his team and Sensei.

"Sensei, when is our Sensei going to come?" She asked their Chunin Instructor.

"Ah… well, it's Jiraiya-sama. I'm sure he'll come anytime now. He must've been late due to one of his responsibilities. He's one of the great Sannin after all. I would suggest you wait here for the next hour or so. He should arrive by then."

She frowned at the somewhat lacklustre answer from the Chunin Instructor as he picked up his stuff and left the room, leaving the two of them alone.

She side glanced at Ren who was practicing another one of his Earth Release exercise and asked "Ren, do you know who this Rin Nohara girl is? I don't think she's in our class."

"She's not." Ren said, not even looking up from the stone in his hand that he expanded and deflated in rapid bursts. "She's one of the students of the 4th Hokage."

"If she's the student of the 4th Hokage, then why is she in our team?" She asked and then paused to think about it. "Did both of her teammates… you know."

"One of them died. The other one is emotionally fucked up. But I don't think that's the reason why she's being put in our team."

"Oh? Why do you think she's being put in our team, then?"

"Probably because of Jiraiya-sama. And maybe because of my eyes as well. Though I'm not sure about that."

"Sharingan? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Sorry, can't tell you. S-class secret and all." Ren said putting a stop to all her curiosity. "But you should ask Rin about it when you two are alone. I believe that she'll tell you. And as her teammate, you do have the right to know."

"I suppose I will."

Ren nodded before he paused and pocketed the stone in his Inventory space. Then he got up from his seat. "Our guide his here."

"Guide?" She asked as she looked around the room but found no one in there.

"Not there. Here." Ren said as he opened the widow and she saw a rather plump looking toad waiting for them there.

Oh… Jiraiya-sama was also called the Toad-Sannin, wasn't he? This must be one of his summons.

"Are you here to lead us to Jiraiya-sama." She asked the toad, knowing that summons have the ability to speak as well.

The toad remained silent for a long moment as he scrutinised the two of them before he raised a hand. "Treat."

"Treat?" She asked, feeling confused.

Ren chuckled beside her. "He wants us to give him something to eat before he takes us to Jiraiya-sama."

Then he brought out a chocolate from his Inventory space and gave it to the toad. "Can you lead us to Jiraiya-sama now?"

The toad at the piece of chocolate, closing his eyes and savouring the taste. Then, the toad opened his eyes and raised his hand once again. "More?"

Ren chuckled in amusement.

—————

Eventually, the toad led them to Training Ground 61 which was at the outskirts of the village and found their teammate and Sensei waiting for them there.

"Yo. Thick-senpai!" Ren called out his greetings as soon as they reached their new team and she watched as the older girl's face reddened in an instant.

"Ren-kun! How many times have I told you to not call me that?" The older girl asked indignantly while she tried to guess the girl's age.

About fifteen or sixteen years old.

"As many times as I've called you that." Ren said with a shrug. "It's not my fault that you have a dump truck for an ass though. And hello to you too, pervy sage."

"Ren!" She barked at Ren, feeling horrified at the prospect of her friend being rude to a Sannin. It's one thing to tease a fellow teammate. Another to insult a sannin like this. Especially when the Sannin is the teacher of their current Hokage.

And as she expected, the Sannin rose up from his seat an indignant look on his face. "Brat! Who are you calling a pervert! Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Aren't you the number one pervert of Konoha?" Ren asked as he crossed his arms, giving the older man an unimpressed look.

"That…" The sannin paused before he nodded approvingly. "That's right brat. But you got one thing wrong. For I, the gallant Jiraiya, am the number one pervert of not only Konoha but all of the Elemental Nations." With those words the Sannin started laughing to himself while Ren nodded in understanding.

She meanwhile shared a look with the other girl in the team. The older girl gave her a helpless smile while she maintained a deadpanned expression and did her best to stop the look of confusion and disgust from appearing on her face.

Why did she suddenly get the feeling that learning under a Sannin was not going to be the great honour she thought it would be.

—————

"So. Before he get started. How about some introductions." Jiraiya-sensei asked as he sat in front of the three of them.

Itachi side glanced at Ren who seemed amused at Jiraiya's antics. She had absolutely no idea what he found so humorous about the Sannin's weird entrance dance.

'Maybe boys are just weird?' She thought to herself.

"Oh, I've done this before when Minato Sensei first took us in. Should I go first?" Rin asked. Jiraiya Sensei gave a nod and Rin started with her introduction.

"I am Rin Nohara. I'm 14 years old. My hobbies are talking long walks around the gardens of Konoha and watching children play in the playground. I like Kushina-San, Minato Sensei and Kakashi. I dislike war and the needless deaths it cause. My ambition… it was to become a great medic like Tsunade-san before. But now, I want to become a powerful Kunoichi and live a peaceful life."

As Rin finished her introduction, she wondered why she doesn't want to be a medic anymore. Didn't Tsunade of the Sannin show that you can be a medic-nin and a powerful kunoichi as well?

But then again, Tsunade-san was a bit of a outlier and most medics weren't actually strong. In fact, they were not even average and had to be protected by the rest of the team more often than not.

She wondered if Rin's teammate's death had anything to do with Rin's new desire to become a powerful kunoichi.

"That was a good introduction. Now you two go ahead." Jiraiya Sensei told them. She glanced at Ren to see if he would like to start first but he just gave her a lazy smile in return and gestured for her to go ahead.

Very well then.

"My name is Itachi Uchiha. I'm 6 years old. My hobbies are training, sparring with Ren and learning new ways to become a better Kunoichi. I like training, my little sister Satsuki, and my parents." She then glanced at Ren. "I suppose Ren is tolerable as well. As for my dislikes… traitors, I suppose. I haven't given this much thought. As for my ambition. I want to become a great kunoichi in service of my village and would do my best to see to it that the people of Konoha live in peace in prosperity."

"Oh." Jiraiya-Sensei said, giving her a curious look for a moment before he turned his eyes to Ren.

"My name is Ren Uchiha. I'm also 6 years old. My hobbies are creating new Jutsu, sculpting, and learning new things. I like my bloodline, which allows me to do a lot of stuff that other people would normally find impossible. I also like Konoha, my new family and Kushina Sensei. Plus, helping people. My dislikes are people who force their own opinion on others. And my ambition is… I don't know yet. Though Rin-Senpai ambitions of living a peaceful life and Itachi's ambition of making sure that Konoha's people live in peace and prosperity are something I want to do as well."

Jiraiya stared at the Ren for another moment before he clapped his hands. "I suppose it's my turn then. I'm Jiraiya. You can call me Jiraiya Sensei or just Sensei. You don't need to know my age. My hobbies are Fuinjutsu and writing books. I like my teammates, my student and my village. I dislike war and the tragedy it brings with it. And my ambition it to bring lasting peace to the Elemental Nations."

Jiriaya allowed them a moment of silence to take in his words before he continued. "Now that we've completed the introductions. It's time to start with your Test."

"Test?" She asked, giving the man a confused look.

"Of course. A test to see what you're made of. To see whether you're qualified to be taught by me. Or did you thought that it'll be so easy to become the student of one of a Sannin?"Jiraiya asked with an amused smile.

She wanted to ask another question but Rin-senpai spoke ahead of her. "Are we going to have a Bell-test."

"Yes." Jiraiya-Sensei said as he took out one bell from his pocket and showed it to her and Ren. "Since Rin has already given this test before when she joined Minato's team, she'll not take part in this test. Instead, the test will be between the two of you."

After that Jiraiya-Sensei went on to explain how the test works and she let a frown show on her face as her mind immediately churned out the true reason behind this test.

Their Sensei wanted to pit her and Ren against one another in order to get the bell. To sow discord between them. Which meant that they needed to do the opposite and work together in order to complete this test by taking the bell.

She glanced at Ren who had a highly amused look on his face and wondered if he realised the meaning behind this test as well.

With how smart he generally was, he probably did. But she wasn't 100% sure about this.

"You have two hours to take the bell. If both of you fail to do so in that time then I'll fail both of you." Jiraiya-Sensei said as he set the alarm and put the alarm cloak on top of a rock. "Now. Start."

She immediately took out her kunai and got ready to jump into the fight alongside Ren but frowned when she noticed that Ren hadn't even moved from his place.

Did he not understand the true meaning of this test? Or did he want to fight Jiraiya-Sensei in a head on battle? Did he really think that just because he defeated a Jounin, he'll be able to defeat one of the Sannin as well?

"Well… go on. Start." Jiraiya-Sensei said upon noticing that Ren hadn't moved from his place, the amused look still on his face.

"I don't need to." Ren said before he clapped his hands and…

The veil lifted from her eyes and she found herself sitting back in front of Jiriaya who was still leaned against the tree in front of the three of them, a bewildered look in his eyes.

She looked to her right and saw Ren raising his hand to show the bell resting on his palm. She glanced back at Jiraiya-Sensei to find him looking shocked now as he checked his clothes to make sure that the bell in Ren's hand was the real deal and not merely an illusion.

"Kai." She said softly as she flared her chakra, wondering if this was an illusion as well but found that it wasn't. This was reality.

'Or is it?' She thought, glancing sideways at Ren once again. 'With his accomplishments in Genjutsu, how would I even know?'

"When did you take the bell?" Jiraiya-Sensei finally asked after making sure that bell in Ren's palm was real and not a mere illusion.

"Does it really matter?" Ren asked nonchalantly. "What matters is that we passed."

Jiraiya shook his head at that. "No. Since only you have the bell, you pass. But Itachi-chan doesn't, so it means that she'll have to go back to the academy."

She narrowed her eyes, seeing right through Jiraiya-Sensei's bluff.

Because even if she failed the test, Jiraiya-Sensei didn't have the authority to send her back to the academy. And she was sure that her father will arrange a teacher for her from within the Uchiha-clan.

Then her hand moved and she caught the bell Ren just threw at her.

"In that case, let Itachi have it." Ren said with a shrug. "Besides, I would rather have someone like Tsunade-san as my Sensei. I mean, have you seen her figure. Huehuehue~"

She narrowed her eyes at Ren's perverted laugh while Jiraiya-san's face twitched.

"Oi brat. Aren't you too young to think about such things?"

"Who are you calling a brat, you old man. And aren't you too old to be the toad lusting after swan meat."

"Swan meat?" Jiraiya-Sensei asked, giving Ren a confused look before he shook his head. "Doesn't matter. You both pass the test. Welcome to team 4."

—————

AN: 8 advanced chapters in Patreon for those interested.

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