Chapter 34

Is there anything I forgot to cover? If so, please tell me. I'm fairly sure that with Chapter 33, all the stuff that happened has been dealt with.

...Oh, right, the lightning thing that happened right before 273...I'll deal with that next chapter.

"-y Kami herself if you come home with one more toad or frog or otherwise, you won't eat ramen until you're a Genin!"

Akari blinked at her apartment door. She silently slipped the door lock open, pushing at the door carefully and peering inside. Akana was standing in the kitchen with her hands on her hips staring down Naruto, who had a squirming amphibian in his hands. "But 'kana-baachan, he's hurt." Naruto pointed at the frog's leg, which looked pretty normal to...oh. Naruto must have thought its leg was broken since it was bent backwards...even though that was how frog legs were meant to be. He'd obviously mixed up frogs and toads. She decided to interrupt before Akana could get more frustrated with Naruto, knocking on the door as she pushed it open..."Kaa-san!" And found her legs tangled up by Naruto's arms.

She quickly grabbed the frog from his hand before it could escape or slip somewhere unpleasant, her other arm tousling his hair. "Hey there cub, what's going on today then?" She felt Kurama hop up onto her shoulders, rolling her eyes at him. Even though there were plenty of shelves, some of which were now nicely-cushioned just for him, he always seemed to like her shoulders as his perch.

She didn't know why exactly, since her shoulders probably weren't too comfortable, but if it made him happy, she was all for it, since he was furry and soft, totally worth the extra weight. "I found a toad, but he got hurt!" He raised his hands for emphasis after pulling them back around her, surprised when the frog was gone. "Gama-chan?!" Akari smirked when Naruto started looking around in a frenzy.

"Naruto~." She held her hand up when he looked at her, the frog sitting placidly on the palm of her hand. "He's fine, this is a frog, not a toad. Their legs are meant to be like that." Naruto ooh'd at her, running over and holding his hands up. Akari sighed and tipped her hand, the frog dropping into his waiting hands. "Go and take him back where you found him please, I'm sure his wife is worried about him."

Naruto nodded, quickly running out the door whilst yelling goodbye to her and Akana. "Sorry about him Akana, I really have no idea why he loves amphibians so damn much." It certainly hadn't come from her, and it wasn't like Jiraiya or his father was influencing him into liking them more. Maybe it was just a Namikaze thing since his father certainly liked the toads he could summon.

The old woman waved her off with a smile. "Don't worry about it Akari-chan, I just didn't want him letting the critter loose in here. Either it would make a mess, or he'd be heartbroken when Monty ate it." Akari smirked. Monty was certainly big enough to swallow that frog whole, which wouldn't be good if Naruto had gotten even remotely attached to it. She stretched her arms up above herself, intertwining her fingers and making Akan gasp. "Akari-chan...your hand..."

Smiling, she waggled her left hand. "Yep, I finished the seal. I had to make a minor adjustment since a lot of Chakra was escaping as visible light, but it still looks awesome. Just tells you how scatterbrained Naruto is, huh? Probably the only thing he's picked up from me, and of course, it's my worst trait." She said with a chuckle. Akana just frowned at her. "What, it's true? My forgetfulness if my worst trait."

"I suppose...you still remember his birthday, right?"

"Why do they all suck so much? I didn't suck nearly this bad."

Hiruzen frowned at her. "Akari-san, at least give them a chance. And don't forget your situation was exceptional." She shook her head, looking at the folders with a frown. She'd been called in for the first batch of early-graduates, the ones who didn't want to stay in the Academy for longer than necessary, which meant looking over all their folders and figuring out which she could potentially mold into a cohesive team.

But to do that, she needed something good to start with, and out of all the new Genin-to-be, maybe one of them didn't entirely suck, but that was because she had a Kunoichi mother who taught her a few tricks. "Hokage-sama, if I may be so rude, they all just don't look like they'll ever work together. I mean, take these three." She pulled three profiles out, pointing at each in turn. "His hero complex will probably end up making him take hits for people when he doesn't need to, which will set off the other guys insecurities since he'll think he isn't strong enough, and she will be torn between trying to keep them both stable, which means if she ever gets hurt or killed they'll collapse entirely and never accept another team."

Before the Hokage could say anything, she pulled out more and more, pointing out reasons why they wouldn't work in teams. Then she reached one. "Takahashi Tachiko. Mother was a...seriously?" She looked up at Hiruzen. "Her mother worked in the red light district to support Tachiko's entry to the Academy, dying during Kurama's attack on Konoha." The fox around her neck bristled slightly, but said nothing, since it was the truth, even if he was forced into it. "She kept going, eventually graduating this year. Huh, she seems interesting. Maybe sticking her with those other two would actually work, she sounds like she'd be tough enough for holding them together."

Hiruzen puffed his pipe. "And they'll need a Jonin-sensei strong enough to pull them from the fire the first few dozen times as they learn to rely on each other." Akari rolled her eyes. Just because she pointed out how they could go together didn't mean she even remotely wanted them as her team. She could already tell that she'd want to push them each in the face for various reasons. Hiruzen picked up on this, frowning at her. "Akari-san, please, test this team. If they fail your test, then you won't have to take a team for another three months. Of course, that would mean they each either go back to the Academy, or they enter the Genin Corps."

Akari grimaced. It wasn't that the Genin Corps didn't do useful work, carrying messages, performing repairs, hauling cargo and guarding low-priority caravans, it was just that that getting out was notoriously difficult, since very few Jonin-sensei's would ever look, the only notable one Akari remembered was Anko, who Orochimaru pulled from the Genin Corps himself. "Fine, I'll test them. You have any good tests in mind?"

Hiruzen hummed for a moment in thought. "The bell test perhaps?" When Akari shrugged, she made him recall once again that she never had a standard education in being a Shinobi, having never gone through a Jonin-sensei test. "The idea is to have two bells. Tell the three Genin that whoever holds a bell after a time-limit becomes a Genin under your instruction. The point, however, is teamwork. They have to realize that simply taking the bells from you would be impossible, so they have to work together, teamwork. If they can work together, they pass. If however, they let selfishness divide them, then they would never work as a team, too willing to betray the others for a chance at being a Konoha-nin, something that goes against the very Will of Fire."

Akari zoned out just a little as Hiruzen spoke of the Will of Fire, how by betraying a fellow Konoha inhabitant, even in a simulated battle, was wrong, and blah blah blah. "Cool, so bells, test, send the three Genin to the corps when they all fight amongst themselves to get a bell while I sit in a tree eating Dango and laughing? Gotcha." Hiruzen facepalmed. "What, that's probably what they're going to do. Either that or the hero-complex guy will sacrifice himself so the other two can have the bells. What if they cut the bells in half though, maybe I should specify whole bells? Or if they Henge a stick into a bell? There's too many loopholes to this, but whatever. I might change something."

Hiruzen sighed. "Just...make it fair Akari-san?"

Quest received!

Take on a Genin Team!

Objective: Test a team of three Genin to see if they are worth taking.

Reward: 20,000 experience, Future Quests

"Yo!"

Akari smirked at her brothers surprised expression, having just shoved the classroom door open. "Imouto? What are you doing here?" Akari gestured at the assembled Genin with her hand, smirking as a few remarked on it. It was Hengeless, leaving the orange and white completely visible.

"Well, I'm here to take three of these brats for...a test. Oh yeah, I never told you, haven't seen you for a while I guess, Hiruzen finally promoted me to a fully-fledged Jonin." She then rubbed her chin. "Thinking about it, didn't you promise me all those years ago you'd take me for a drink when I got my headband? Because I know I've never been drinking with you." Her brother held his hands up in defence.

Akari threaded the fingers of her left hand through one of his, giving him a quick hug. "I forgive ya though. Now then...-" She looked over all the Genin. "-would Ito Hikaru, Suzuki Aito, and Takahashi Tachiko please follow me." The three who were called all got up from their seats, quickly following her as the made for the door. "And Sei?~" Her brother shivered at her tone of voice. "We're having that drink sometime, I still have loads of stories to drag out of you, getting you drunk will be a bonus!"

She left him like that, sticking her hands into her pockets and looking over the three hopeful graduates with a keen eye as they walked. "Alright then, let's get a move on, other Jonin-sensei's will be coming by, I don't want them trying to cherry-pick any of you." She mentally picked a good spot, one of the more secluded training grounds, somewhere she used to go when she needed space for something dangerous.

The best part was that it wasn't even too hard to get to, just a bit complicated since there was only one road that actually led up to it. She tuned out the mutterings of the three Genin, spending the entire walk conversing with Kurama about how long he reckoned that they'd last against her. She predicted maybe a minute at most. He claimed ten seconds. And after looking over the Genin, she amended her earlier statement. How long would they last, if she fought at a level they could beat with teamwork? He didn't have an answer that time. But, before long, they came to the training ground.

"Okay kits, take a seat." She waved her hand at the floor, flopping down cross-legged. After a moment of surprise, the three genin followed suit. "Now, most of the Jonin-senseis give their teams a day before this, but screw that, I want this all over and dome with. I'll be frank with you all, I don't really want a team, I could be doing a thousand other, far more enjoyable things with my time. But since I got made a Jonin, I have to look at a bunch of Genin every three months, take three who I could possibly work with me as a team, then go from there."

She ran her Shadow Hand through her hair, then considered it. "Take this for example. I lost my hand in an...incident, so I replaced it. It took me a few weeks, but I did it. That's the kind of stuff I get up to on a daily basis. But if I take you three on as students, I guess maybe 33% of my time will go into you lot. So, I'm just doing this right now. In all honesty, because I do respect you all enough for that...I don't expect you to win this. I expect that by the end of this little get-together, you three will ALL leave here disappointed at having failed my test."

Though they each looked mildly disheartened by her words, she could see they were still resolved to give her challenge its best go. "Now, I'll save all the introductory stuff, since if you fail this it would have just been a waste of time, and get right to the test. Now then..." Akari dropped a single bell from her inventory, having picked one up from a general goods store on the way to the Academy. "-your task, should you choose to accept it, is to claim this bell from me. Whoever holds this bell by...let's say two hours from now, wins, and they get to study under me. I don't have the time or patience for an entire team, so think of this as an apprenticeship test, not a Genin test. And before you ask, yes, I have the Hokage's explicit permission for this."

She didn't of course, but they didn't know that. "Now, it has to be this exact bell, as it is right now. No cutting it in half, no hanging a stick into a bell, no trickery of that kind because believe me...-" Akari activated her Sharingan, spooking the three. "-I'll know. The test begins when Kurama here yips." She rustled Kurama's head for emphasis, drawing their attention to him. He'd been lying still and practically sleeping the entire way, so they probably thought he was just a part of her clothing.

Akari tied the bell onto the strap of her right forearm protector, clicking her fingers together. "One more thing...if you don't come at me with your full strength, you will lose this fight. I may only be a few years older than you all, but I can guarantee I am plenty strong enough to be a Jonin. Remember that." If they underestimated her strength simply thanks to her age, she was going to kick their asses so hard they wouldn't be able to look at a chair without wincing for weeks.

After a few silent moments of Kurama looking at each Genin in turn, he yipped loudly, starting the battle. Immediately all three Genin disappeared. Or rather, disappeared as quickly as they could, since Akari still easily tracked their paths into the treeline, even if to them they disappeared in the blink of an eye./ "Well that was smart." She complimented, speaking audibly to Kurama. "A face-on encounter with a Jonin? At least I'm glad I don't know anyone that stupid." Somewhere in the distance, Naruto sneezed.

Akari located a tree and casually walked up to it, sitting with her back against the bark and her eyes closed. She could hear bushes rustling, a twig even snapped at one point, followed by a quiet, but still audible, curse. It was hard to tone herself down to a level where she wasn't beatable on their own, but was potentially beatable through teamwork. So she didn't bother. If they came at her one at a time, she'd kick them down harder than they'd ever experienced before.

But, if they came at her as a team, with a plan of any kind, she would be far less brutal. She didn't have any intention of giving them this win, but she did promise Hiruzen that she'd at least give them a fair chance. If she really wanted, she could kill all three Genin with a nonchalant wave of her hand. Not through chakra or Taijutsu, but through poison.

The three Genin were level 9, with the exception of Tachiko, who was level 10. Akari was immune to three poisons right now thanks to repeatedly ingesting them, which if she released the two weaker ones, or the stronger one, the three Genin would die in seconds. The stronger poison was actually the danger rating ten one she used a while ago, which would kill them easily. Her weakest poison would put them on critically-low health, but she didn't want to use that.

That was why she made sure that all the quick-access items she had in her inventory weren't poisoned in any way, shape or form, they were all clean tools, ones she dragged from the pile of loot the Entity dropped off, which pretty much guaranteed that they were clean. She then watched as Tachiko began leaning forwards from the branch she was on, readying herself to leap at Akari.

Deciding to see what the girl had planned, Akari merely waited until she lunged, fist outstretched for the bell on her arm, only to find herself sailing through empty air as Akari stepped forwards and turned. "Come on, that was your plan, just try to get the drop on me? I'm a Jonin sweetie, you'd have better luck trying to convince an Iwa-nin to not kill you." The girl growled at her, setting her legs into a Taijutsu stance, one Akari matched. She didn't hold back either, perfectly matching Tachiko's stance, right down to her slightly overextended leg.

The girl looked at Akari's stance, then her own, gritting her teeth. "You stole my Taijutsu style?!" Akari rolled her eyes as the girl let out an irate yell and charged her. She backhanded her first strike, stepping to the side to avoid the second, her eyes watching the girls every movement. Even in her anger, she was controlled, each blow aimed precisely, to maim and severely injure, even to kill a few times. That at least made her grin.

She was being taken seriously.

Akari kneed Tachiko in the side, sending the girl stumbling for a single step, enough that she could plant her boot into the small of her back then forcefully shove her away, sprawling across the clearing, coming to a stop with dirt in her mouth and grass in her hair. Kurama yawned. "Behind you." He muttered in her mind, since he didn't want the Genin to know he could talk.

"I know boo, don't worry." She still scratched him between the ears for telling her, even if he only did it because he didn't want to be dislodged. Akari turned away from the dazed girl, her eyes scanning the forest and quickly locating the two boys. They were actually working together, that was surprising. Of course, it seemed like Aito had taken charge, his heroic side shining as he pushed Hikaru's self-esteem down without even meaning to, too wrapped up in defeating Akari and proving himself the saviour of their team.

Of course, that kind of thinking wasn't logical, but it didn't matter, since they two boys seemed to at least have some kind of plan, Hikaru staying stationary as Aito dropped from the tree and began flanking her through the forest. Akari let him, her eyes lazily drifting over to where Tachiko was slowly getting up, a light amount of blood dripping down from her lip.

She had no intentions of going soft on her, and it seemed the girl had realized it when she wiped her mouth and saw the blood on her knuckle as she swiped at her lip in agitation. She spat to the side then resettled in her Taijutsu stance. "Really, you're going to try again?" The girl said nothing, so Akari sighed and swiped a vial out of her inventory. "Let's play a game then. This is a poison. There's a 66% chance that if you are afflicted with it, you'll die. Do you still feel confident attacking me head-on?" The girl eyed the vial warily, then looked at the bell on her arm and reaffirmed herself.

"If it means a 33% chance of becoming a Genin? Yes." She then charged again...head-on. Akari put the poison back into her inventory with a sigh, not even bothering to mimic her Taijutsu style any more. She leaned to avoid her first thrown punch, then backstepped away from her leg-swipe. When the girl recovered from the swipe, Akari darted forwards, her fist slamming straight into her solar plexus, knocking her over as she wheezed. Akari then planted her boot firmly on the spot she punched, drawing a gasp of pain from the Genin.

"You're a stupid girl, you know that?" The girl thrashed around under her foot, she tried punching, tried rolling, tried everything to get out from under her foot, but all of it stopped when she leaned a little more strength into her boot. "You should have learned after your first attack that backing off was in your best interest." The girl then laughed, surprising Akari. "You think aimlessly attacking a far superior opponent is something funny?"

The girl shook her head, her eyes filled with mirth. "No, I think your hubris is hilarious." Akari's eyes widened, lacing around and cursing herself at having gotten distracted by her anger at the girl's stupid way of attacking. She couldn't actually see Aito or Hikaru anywhere in the forest. She flickered her Sharingan for the briefest moment, just to know what was going on, even as she realized that Tachiko was actually a part of this plan. She kept her foot firmly on the girl even as she scanned the treeline, right up until the moment she sunk into the ground.

Acting fast, Akari leapt upwards, blasting a small Fuuton Jutsu to direct her path away from the patch of ground she was going to land on, having predicted that they would probably try to corral her. Sure, they were working together, but if their plan wasn't good enough to catch her, it was a moot point.

But, as she landed, she felt the earth beneath her foot shifting, a hand emerging to grab her foot. She kicked upwards harshly, pulling Aito from the ground swiftly, then holding her leg still when it reached the apex of the swing, flicking the boy upwards at speed. "Victory!" He chirped loudly, startling Akari. Looking at her arm, sure enough, her bell was now in the hands of Hikaru, who had used the same hole Aito came from to sneak up on Akari and grab the bell.

She genuinely didn't notice him, since she was too annoyed at Aito wasting Tachiko's distraction to just grab her leg. Humming thoughtfully, Akari held her hand out for the bell, only for Hikaru to hand it to Aito, who then...crushed it in his hands. "Eh?" She face-faulted. That...was not an outcome she expected from all this.

"We talked with each other on the way here, and we like each other's company. We talked in the forest, while you were sitting around doing nothing, and we realized that we don't need to accept you as our Jonin-sensei. We'd rather just go back to the Academy or the Genin-Corps and find a new Sensei...together." Aito clenched his hand for emphasis.

Looking between the three Genin, Akari saw they were all actually pretty resolute in this, so she smiled. "Well, I can't say that was an outcome I expected. Tachiko-chan, come here please." The girl looked a little hesitant, but did approach, close enough for her to grip her chin, softly mind you, and channel a bit of medical Chakra into her split-lip, healing it. "I didn't actually expect to be saying this, but you three passed my test."

The three Genin looked at each other, then back at her. "Your test?" Tachiko muttered disbelievingly.

"Yep, my test!" Akari nodded thoughtfully. "I changed the bell test a little, a singular bell means you'd be more encouraged to fight amongst yourselves. But you three turned that on its head. You spent the time before we'd even gotten here usefully, talking to each other. I admit, I was busy talking to Kurama here-" She caressed his head a little. "-so I didn't actually pay attention to what you were saying. I didn't really notice when you all grouped up in the forest, so I wasn't ready for this. Admittedly my sensor skills are practically non-existent, I rely more on Kurama and my eyes to find people."

Akari dusted her hands off on her legs, looking at the three Genin right in the eyes. "You three have surpassed my expectations, and you're literally my first Genin team to test. So, if you three are happy with it, I'll take you all on as a team. That sound good?" She put her hand out, palm down. After a few moments, Aiko put his hand on hers, a grin on his lips.

"A-Aiko, are you sure about this?" Hikaru stammered lightly, Aiko turning to him with his beaming smile.

"Sure! You heard her, she realized that we won't be split up, and we are a great team!" Akari rolled her eyes, nothing was set in concrete yet. But, inspired by his words, Tachiko planted her hand atop his, then finally Hikaru finished the pile. After a second she withdrew her hand, snorting when Aiko then pushed his hand up with a cheer.

"Awesome, that officially makes us Team Akari. Since you lot passed, I'll treat you all to any one meal, including my own home-made stuff if you so choose. Be warned, for I have been told-" Her voice turned ominous. "-it could put you off of normal food for all eternity!" She said with a cackle, her laughter matched by Aiko's boisterous and carefree laugh. "Besides, we now have to do the whole getting to know each other thing. Oh man, now I have to do paperwork, this is going to be such a drag."

Hikaru's quiet voice spoke. "Uhh, Akari-sensei?" She glanced at the boy, silently bidding him to speak. "Do you happen to h-have Nara blood?" Akari stopped for a moment, staring at him, before bursting out laughing, the boy nervously chuckling, but with a genuine smile on his lips.

"I don't think so Hikaru-kun. My mother is an Uchiha, and my father definitely isn't a Nara." She clicked her fingers with a sigh. "So, anyone got any suggestions?" The three looked between themselves, Aiko quickly drawing them into a leaned-in huddle. Akari didn't bother listening to them, instead looking at her nails, then her vest, finally giving up and staring at the three. "Any day now?"

They broke apart a few seconds later, Aiko stepping forward. "Sensei, we'd like to taste your cooking please. That way we'll know whether to trust any food you prepare for us on missions, or whether to assign somebody else to do the cooking." Akari rolled her eyes. It was a pretty reasonable thing to do, but she had a cooking proficiency of 55, those years spent cooking her own food having not gone to waste even slightly. If she bothered, she could probably make food the Daimyo would approve of. But, all that skill went into making her and Naruto delicious meals.

Since Naruto always seemed to like her cooking, that was all the credit she needed.

Quest completed!

Take on a Genin Team!

Objective: Test a team of three Genin to see if they are worth taking - Completed.

Reward earned - 20,000 experience, Future Quests

Honestly...I didn't plan for Akari to take a team, it just sort of...happened.

I genuinely originally had her turn the team down, but they surprised me by doing...well, that! So, she now has a team. Originally, my idea was that she got a team a year or two before Naruto makes Genin, but now she's got one eight years beforehand. That's gonna make things interesting.

Welp, I hope you enjoyed!

Name: Akari Uchiha

Level: 78

Age: 16

Experience: 8945/78,000

To Next Level: 69,055

Title: Sannin-slayer - Defeating one of the three legendary sannin is no easy feat, but you managed it. Future opportunities unlocked.

Secondary Title: Jonin - +25% Experience gained working with Genin

Health Points: 18,500 - (100 Base + (Vit x End)) x 5

Regeneration Rate - 3600/m - 60/s - Vit x End - Halted when afflicted with bleed status.

Chakra Points: 36,620 - (100 Base + (Int x Wis)) x 5

Regeneration Rate - 7200/m - 120/s - Int x Wis - Halted when continuous chakra drain Jutsu in use.

Strength - 70

Vitality - 60

Endurance - 60

Intelligence - 80

Agility - 161

Wisdom - 90

Luck - 60

5 Skill Points Available