Chapter 11: Genin Team

"Starting today, you three will be working under me as Genin. Together, we will form Team 10. Some of our missions will be tough, so you need to rely on each other and make it out alive together!" The man in his thirties with long ash-blond hair reaching into his lower back, which he wore spiky on top and ending in a long ponytail, light green eyes, and strong facial features, which included a well-defined jawline, stood before Tekku and shouted loudly. He was wearing the standard flak jacket over a black outfit, complete with hand-guards, forehead protector, and a sleeveless red haori.

Inoichi Yamanaka, the father of Ino Yamanaka and a member of the Konoha Thirteen, one of the strongest shinobi in Konoha right now and a member of the 15th generation of Team Ino-Shika-Chō, the current generation, had been assigned as the Jonin supervisor for Tekku and the two other new graduates of the academy. He stood in front of them with enthusiasm.

"Rely on one another? As if," the Genin next to Tekku muttered, too quiet for Inoichi to hear. But the Jonin specializing in mind and psychology could clearly see the dissatisfaction in the Genin's eyes.

Haruto Yamada... During the Academy, he tried to bully Tekku with a group of his friends, but Tekku didn't plan to accept any shit from them. After making a tactical retreat like a shinobi would when outnumbered, he picked on them one by one, punishing them with a multitude of uncomfortable pranks. Making it clear that he wouldn't take any of their shit, they quickly left him alone, besides Haruto, who tried again and again to trouble him. While Inoichi continued his superficial lecture, Haruto sat holding his knees and stared at Tekku.

"We got the new village superstar in the team. To hell with teamwork. He will get all the attention either way."

There was one more person, a girl with three dogs, sitting on the other side of Haruto that day. "Look, could you just shut up already?" the girl shouted angrily, interrupting Inoichi's lecture. Her name was Hana Inuzuka, and her partners were the Three Haimaru Brothers, a set of ninken triplets. She was the same age as Haruto, had long brown hair worn in a ponytail, with two locks of hair framing her face over her large black eyes. She had fang-like tattoos on both sides of her cheeks. "Ever since school, you've been crying about geniuses, first when Itachi graduated early from our class, now with Tekku. Instead of being jealous, you should focus on how to improve yourself. If you did that, you wouldn't have been dead last this year."

"Shut up!" Haruto said. "You're just a girl. Just because you are from a clan, you always had an advantage over the others."

'Oh no, it's this situation. The Dead Last got paired with the two best of the class, isn't it?' he thought with a deadpan expression. 'But that also means that Izumi, Itachi's girlfriend who was in the same class, didn't become Kunoichi of the Year. Interesting.'

"Please calm down, you two. We may become a team, so there is no reason to be at each other's throats," Inoichi tried to calm them down with an awkward look. Meanwhile, Tekku didn't miss the 'may' in the sentence. 'So there is a Genin Test. No point wasting time with the two bickering around.'

"Eh, Inoichi-sensei, what do you mean we may become a team? Didn't we already graduate?" he asked innocently.

This shut both of the other Genin up, and their attention turned to Inoichi. "You didn't miss that, hmm. Well, you are not truly Genin yet. In order to become fully-fledged Genin, you need to complete an additional test from me, your Jonin sensei. If you fail, you will have to return to the academy."

"What!?" shouted Hana and Haruto simultaneously, as Tekku remained calm. "How can that be? I worked so hard to become a Genin!" shouted Haruto, aggravated at Inoichi.

"Calm down. We are in peacetime right now. Instead of needing a lot of cannon fodder, we are looking for the best. That's why we sift through the graduates. Tomorrow at 7 AM, we will meet at Training Field 10 for your test. You can find all the necessary information on this handout." Inoichi handed out a paper to each of them containing the details about the exercise. Though there wasn't much on it besides a brief description of the training field, time, and a reminder to bring all the necessary tools you need as a shinobi.

'Is it the Bell test?' pondered Tekku as he looked for any hidden information on the handout. 'Shouldn't be. The Bell test is more of a tradition from master to student since the Third Hokage gave the Three Sannin the test. I don't think Inoichi studied under any of the Sannin, so it must be something else.'

Further analyzing everything he knew, 'With Hana, we have a tracker. I portrayed myself as an intelligent all-rounder with talent in Fuinjutsu. I have no idea what Haruto is good in, but based on the katana he is carrying, it's probably Kenjutsu, so a close combat focus. So we may be designed as an intelligence and capture team. We are not a wholly tracking team, but neither an espionage one. We have a more balanced approach to both. But this is only a conjecture based on Inoichi being our sensei. He was, in canon, the captain of the intelligence team and also responsible for analysis in the village. Also a member of Ino-Shika-Cho, a famous hunting team, known for their teamwork. So our test will probably involve these aspects. It's unlikely that it will be purely combat-focused like the Bell test.' He concluded after summarizing all the information he had.

None of that could be shared with his teammates, as he wasn't even supposed to have this kind of information as a freshly graduated Genin. Being the head of the analysis team of the TI department wasn't really public knowledge, that could be found out through village rumors. Academy students didn't have access to official information from the Hokage's office or the archives, and even the clearance of Genin should be very limited.

"And that will be all for today. Come prepared tomorrow. I won't go easy on you, so don't forget your breakfast and a good portion of sleep. Or else you will be too weak and fail," concluded Inoichi after he explained all the necessary details to them. "See you tomorrow! Don't be late," he said as he disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

'Shunshin no Jutsu. Looks useful to save some time instead of just walking through the village,' thought Tekku as he watched the spot where the blond-haired man had just stood.

"So should we talk about strategies?" asked Hana hopefully while she had her three ninken in her lap.

"As if. Isn't it clear? This will be a test to show our capabilities. It's clear sensei just wants to train the genius and wants to sort us out. But not with me. I will beat you tomorrow no matter what the challenge is," raged Haruto before turning around and running off.

"But... Konoha ninjas work in four-man teams. And he's gone," sighed Tekku, already gaining a headache. He didn't think that being a genius would awaken jealousy from his teammates, giving him a set of unexpected troubles.

"Well, what will be our plan?" asked Hana curiously. For an Inuzuka, she was pretty even-tempered. Besides her small outburst at the start, she wasn't as feral as the others he was thinking of in canon.

"There is not much we can plan right now. We don't know a lot about the actual test. But based on our team composition, it won't be a test we can complete with combat alone. We have you for tracking, me for restraining with Fuinjutsu, and Haruto is probably our main combatant. It will probably involve some tracking or investigation elements," explained Tekku without sharing too much. "We will need to see tomorrow, but we will somehow need to get that hothead to work with us, since Konoha ninjas act in teams."

"Sounds right. Well, then see you tomorrow. We will manage somehow," nodded Hana before she also left with the Three Haimaru Brothers barking goodbye at him before following her.

- Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi -

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