Bab 14: Chapter 14: A Meeting Over Ramen
Chapter Fourteen – A Meeting over Ramen
"Sometimes I wish I was a cloud... Just floating along, going wherever the breeze takes me." - Nara Shikamaru
It took them a little over a week to return to Konoha's base, which was overrun to the brim when the exhausted teams arrived. They would not have stopped by the base at all if it wasn't for the others continued insistence that Naruto needed proper medical care as quickly as possible. Naruto didn't like it much, but found it easier to comply with their wishes than to keep arguing. That was until they actually got there though.
It had been busy the first time around, but nothing like now. Naruto could swear it was twice as many people inside the cave, but unlike during before they were all hurrying around.
It was a miracle that the line to the hospital station wasn't longer than it was. Next to the help desk two ninjas were waiting when they arrived, and luckily the line was moving along quickly.
While they waited Naruto wondered if the people in the base were preparing for something that was about to happen. Orochimaru had been bombarded with questions the moment they walked in, and despite the many requests he insisted on going with his students instead of following up on the many demands.
Naruto was given a physical exam by the same Hyūga woman as last time, who didn't dare reproach Orochimaru for wasting her time, but still scowled whenever her back was turned to him.
"As expected... you're fit as a fiddle. No wounds. No tearing. No bleeding. No breaks. You're fine... Again. The scars on your stomach, knee, thigh, upper arm and throat are already mostly healed. The head wound is fine too." She explained with forced calmness. She looked more tired than she'd been three weeks ago, a clear indication of the high pressure this place was being put under.
"Thank you." Naruto apologized, and the woman only smiled hurriedly before marching away.
After telling the others the medic's verdict there was a round of protest. Mostly from Shisui and Anko. "I still think her Byakugan must be faulty… There's no way you're completely healed already. Damn..." Muttered Shisui and shook his head from side to side.
Their journey to return home had much better weather. Naruto found herself back to normal by the time they entered the gates of Konoha, much to Shisui's charging. It didn't seem like he'd let the matter drop no matter how much Naruto twisted away from his thousands of questions.
He had never seen anything like it, and it didn't go amiss that Orochimaru was always conveniently around each time Shisui started another question round. But Naruto thought she did relatively well. To be honest the questioning and result of this mission could have had much more severe consequences for her. The reason they let her off so easy was mainly their most prominent distraction; the absence of Ebisu amongst their rank.
Once they returned to Konoha his funeral would be right around the corner. Orochimaru had sent a raven ahead of them to inform the Hokage about his passing. In turn he would inform his parents. But they were the ones still carrying Ebisu's body, and the funeral couldn't be held before they returned to Konoha.
Naruto couldn't get it out of her head either. In the confusion of the intense battle and aching pain Naruto hadn't caught exactly how it had happened, and neither had any of the others. Just like no one had noticed Naruto creating a rasengan in the middle of the chaos, no one had seen Ebisu's last stand.
But Ebisu had died from a deep chest wound caused by the Kumo ninja's katana. They didn't know more than that. The woman had been killed by Naruto's chain soon after, and they all were left with an empty feeling of guilt and anger at what had occurred.
Especially Naruto. She had never been exactly close to Ebisu - not here in the past nor in her original time line - but his death had been an awful wakeup call for her.
She had never believed in fate, didn't believe that the future was set in stone, and held firmly to the belief that anyone could do anything if they truly worked for it. But yet she had somehow deluded herself into believing that those who'd survived the Third War originally would automatically do so again.
Naruto hadn't accounted for the messiness of war, how much luck played out, nor timing. For some reason she had naively thought that changing the past would result in more people surviving. Without once realizing it could be the opposite.
Naruto had been proven correct in one thing though. There was no such thing as fate.
If there was then Ebisu wouldn't have died. She had already experienced how it would be if he'd lived, but thanks to her own time travel that was no longer the case. Everything was up in the air, and Naruto needed to start figuring out how to proceed.
First of all she needed to find a way to leave Konoha more often. Which meant she needed to be promoted. More freedom was required to travel around and track down numerous people who at the moment remained lost like a needle in a haystack. Naruto had already asked if they would get back to Konoha in time for the Chūnin exam, and Orochimaru had responded positively. But only barely.
Shisui had thrown a fit when he heard Naruto still wanted to enter, attempting to convince her otherwise so she'd have time to heal up.
But Naruto had made it clear she would do it with or without him. According to Orochimaru that was possible, especially for a team where one was already promoted. That didn't sit well with him either, and the two spent an afternoon shouting their heads off at each other.
But all disagreement and annoyance had left them when they came back to Konoha. Some unpleasantness had to be dealt with before any exam could be entered.
"I see..." Said the Hokage and looked grimly from Choza to his two students. Pity glinted in his dark eyes while he watched Ebisu's teammates.
"It was a very difficult mission. Considering the odds… Most of you are lucky to be alive. You should never have been so close to Kumogakure. As the one delegating out missions I'm responsible for sending out two such inexperienced teams to an area we had too little information about, and I can only offer my deepest apologies. Pointless though it will seem after the hardship you've faced. I still want to express how well I think of you though. I had not believed six children of Chūnin and lower rank could've dealt with a situation such as this." Hiruzen continued saying, his eyes now travelling to Anko, Shisui and Naruto. A small, sad smile on his lips when his eyes landed on the blonde.
"Team Choza is dismissed. Team Orochimaru – could you please stay? There are a few things we need to discuss." Hiruzen said. The three remaining members of team Choza bowed and silently left the Hokage's office. Naruto watched Choza's back until he was out the door. A knot in her stomach and guilt burning through her at how distraught he looked.
"First off, Shisui-kun and Naruto-chan, you should know the Chūnin exam is in two days. Are you feeling healthy enough to enter such an event?" Asked Hiruzen and looked at the two youngest people in the room. Shisui glanced at Naruto from the corner of his eye with displeasure and worry. He sighed when Naruto answered that she was entering the exam, and agreed reluctantly a moment later.
The exchange had been obvious, but the Hokage was visibly curious what it had been about. Especially seeing Anko had been nervous about what their answer would've been too.
"Then you have a problem… The first round of the Chūnin exam crashes with Ebisu's funeral." Explained Hiruen.
"What?" snapped Orochimaru. "When during the day is it? Can they do both?" He inquired with a non-nonsense tone.
"It's in the afternoon. Potentially you could manage both if you hurried through the first stage. If you pass, there is a time gap between the first and second exam." Explained Hiruzen and leaned back in his chair.
"Then we'll do that." Naruto answered with a determined look on her face. Shisui only nodded.
"It's your own choice. But you should know you need to keep your focus on the exam. It's very demanding and being distracted will not do you any good." The Hokage advised while lighting up his pipe. He was looking thinner than Naruto remembered. He had never been a big man, neither horizontally or vertically, but these days he looked... weaker compared to how she'd gotten used to seeing him. Like he'd been stretched thin.
"They'll manage." Orochimaru said confidently. His expression annoyed at the new information, and Naruto couldn't help the anger she felt towards the sannin. He was annoyed Ebisu's funeral was interfering with an exam. If Naruto had to, she would skip the exam and go to the funeral instead. But since she had a shot she'd do both. Right now all she could really think about was how careless Orochimaru was about Ebisu's death though.
"Then we'll move on the next matter at hand. Orochimaru didn't want to go into details in the letter, but apparently a few things occurred that I was to be informed about upon your return?" Asked Hiruzen with a raised eyebrow. "Should I dismiss your students as well, Orochimaru?" He asked while raising the pipe to his mouth. Orochimaru shook his head in the negative.
"No. It's about Naruto. She at least needs to be here for this." He answered briskly.
"I see. Then Shisui-kun and Anko-chan; you are dismissed. You've done a good job and should return home to get some rest." Hiruzen said with a small smile and nod. After her teammates had left, Anko with a small wave, Naruto turned back to the Hokage.
"What's this about then?" He asked curiously, his eyes shifting between Orochimaru's emotionless face to the nervous one of Naruto.
Orochimaru explained.
It was late in the afternoon that Naruto made it back to the orphanage. The familiar sound of hundreds of children talking and laughing met her when she entered the hallway. The sound making its way from the food hall where everyone was eating dinner.
Naruto decided to unpack first. Dinner would last for an hour, and she had about forty five minutes left.
It felt strange walking back up the narrow stairs. After everything that'd happened she felt as if things should have changed. So much had occurred on her last mission, and yet here everyone seemed to think nothing had changed. No one cared that Ebisu had died, and they continued their dreary routines as if not a day had passed since Naruto left a month ago.
She unpacked messily, emptying her backpack on her bed and looked over her possessions. Naruto picked out Akiko's jacket. The one she'd borrowed for the mission. Thanks to Shisui letting her borrow his jacket instead, it wasn't destroyed by bloodstains and holes where Naruto had been stabbed. She felt thankful for that, Shisui was better off financially than Akiko was, and he hadn't even seemed to remember that his jacket was in tatters after Naruto had woken up.
Naruto folded the jacket carefully before laying it on Akiko's bed. What made her spirit improve a notch was the unkempt state of Akiko's bed. It looked like someone had been lying on it recently, which meant she was still in the orphanage.
Going through her drawer Naruto found her orphanage attire. Undressing her ruined pieces of clothing – again inherited from Shisui's pile of outgrown clothes – she changed to the red T-shirt and dark pants.
With fifteen minutes to spare Naruto walked into the meal hall. The moment she did she spotted Madam May sitting in the corner together with a few of the other orphanage workers. When she saw Naruto she smiled warmly and waved. Naruto waved sheepishly back.
Taking something to eat from the food station – boring, plain rice as always - Naruto went to find her usual seat empty. It was the one Anko had occupied alone before Naruto had started joining her. No one was sitting there, and from the clean state of the table no one had in her absence either.
While she ate Naruto spotted Akiko sitting with her friends. She was laughing and joking as always, nothing indicating she was unhappy. Her brown hair had grown long and pin straight since Naruto first met her, and she was twirling it around her finger while she talked to a boy. Their group was getting up, already finished with their meal and was about to dump their empty dishes by the counter.
Naruto smiled into her rice bowl and continued eating in silence. There was something comforting about knowing there was somewhere normal to return to, even in times such as these. In her own time Naruto had felt nothing but contempt for this place, never feeling an inkling to ever set foot here again once she moved out. Yet this time around she could find some good points. Madam May was a true everyday hero. Though her resources were extremely limited, she tirelessly worked to give the children the best home she could manage. Naruto could think of worse places to grow up than the orphanage. The bad part about living here was mostly the stigma everyone on the outside put on you. They automatically assumed you were uneducated, a criminal and a waste of space. It was unfair to the extreme, but yet Madam May and her small staff selflessly tried to make a difference.
"Naruto?" Asked a high voice. Naruto looked up slowly up. She hadn't been interrupted while she ate since Anko had lived in the orphanage. Everyone treated Naruto similar to the way they had Anko, though they all knew Naruto was not as vindictive as the older girl. They also knew Naruto was a ninja, which saved her from bullies trying to put her down a peg for being a loner.
Akiko was standing in front of her. Her friends had already left the food hall, and Akiko was looking nervously around. Probably to make sure no one saw her talking to Naruto.
"Hi Akiko. I'm glad you came to talk to me. I'm so sorry, but… I didn't see Hana. We weren't around a lot of inhabited places, but I haven't given up just yet. I promise you that I'll keep looking out for her." Naruto told her sincerely, not being able to overlook how Akiko deflated at her news.
The girl looked down at the floor for a moment. Probably to come to terms with her disappointment. She'd hoped for very different news.
Again Naruto felt guilty. It was as if she could do nothing right. She had travelled back in time, and yet she only made things worse.
"That's okay. I appreciate that you tried, Naruto." Akiko said quietly, her hands fiddling in front of her while she shifted from foot to foot.
"I promise you. I'll look for her whenever I'm outside Konoha. I'll be taking the Chūnin exam soon, which means I'll get higher ranking missions and will probably leave the village much more than I am now." Naruto promised her. Etching the promise into her heart while Akiko's face lightened up slightly.
"Thank you…" She answered simply, and then she started rummaging through the large trouser pockets of her orphanage attire. Finding something she handed it over to Naruto. It was a wrinkled piece of paper, and Naruto accepted it with some confusion.
"I'm sorry about how I behaved last time, and I truly appreciate that you're willing to look for Hana even though you weren't friends. I found this on the street a few days ago… I heard you say once to Anko-san that you liked ramen… and well… that's a coupon that gives you two bowls worth at this new stand in the village." Akiko said a little embarrassed, but smiling crookedly anyway.
Naruto however was having an out of body experience. Because the piece of paper in front of her had a large headline scribbled into it saying; Ichiraku ramen stand. 2 free bowls of miso, pork or vegetable ramen.
Naruto stared up at Akiko with stars in her eyes, and the girl couldn't help but laugh at the expression she was making. "T-Thank… you… Thank you so much, Akiko… I… I have nothing to give you." Naruto said with trepidation. Her eyes still latching back onto the coupon as if it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
"Do you want to go with me? It says we can get two bowls of ramen." Naruto said with a breathy voice. Akiko smiled warmly but shook her head.
"No, thank you. I can see you really like ramen, and it's a gift. They're yours to use whenever you want to." Akiko answered while playing with her hair again. It was long and shiny. A lot like her mother's hair, Naruto thought, except it was almost black instead of red. A sound came from the entrance, and they both looked up when one of Akiko's girlfriends come back into the food hall.
"Akiko, what are you doing?" She asked skeptically. The girl eyed Naruto as if she was a disease, but at the moment she didn't care. Naruto could now eat ramen. All thanks to Akiko.
"Nothing. I'm coming right now." Akiko answered hurriedly.
Naruto decided to save her the trouble of explaining, and kept her eyes on the coupon while Akiko left to meet up with her friends.
As they disappeared Naruto caught the other girl start inquiring Akiko without hesitating. "Why were you talking to her? Why?"
Naruto didn't let it get to her. Instead she hurriedly ate up the little rice left in her bowl with a smile on her face. All the while she fantasied about her upcoming meal at Ichiraku.
"One bowl of miso ramen, please!" Naruto ordered with a wide smile. She was standing in front of Ichiraku and couldn't contain her own excitement. It was late, so Naruto hadn't needed to stand in line, and at the moment she was bubbling with anticipation. Despite everything that had happened lately, the promise of the best ramen in the world could still cheer her up.
"Coming right up!" Said Teuchi and mirrored her expression. His young wrinkle-free face lighting up at Naruto's infectious happiness.
Naruto sat down on the stool and breathed in the delicious smell. Her hands were twisting in front of her, and after a minute of waiting she had them clasped together so she would have some control over them. It was all she could do to not start bouncing up and down.
Naruto still had problems seeing Teuchi with rich brown hair instead of white though, and used the time to take notice of other changes. The stand was a tad smaller than the one she remembered, and the signs on the side had a different design. But in general Teuchi still made ramen with the same expertise Naruto remembered.
"Here you go. Enjoy." He said soon after, sliding the bowl over to her with his normal fatherly smile. Naruto almost started crying. The sight, the smell, the location. It was so familiar it caused a lump to grow in her throat. Even the solitude of not having company was familiar. It was just like when she'd come here as a young girl and Teuchi would be one of the few people to be kind to her.
"Itadakimasu!" Naruto said with fake bravado, but with genuine feeling behind the word.
Then she was lost to the world. Eating as if it was her first meal in years. Each precious noodle was like drops of heaven on her tongue, and Naruto actually felt a few tears slid down her face at the taste.
"So good." She muttered to herself between bites, and barely stopped to breathe in between mouthfuls.
As she lowered her bowl down to the counter again she was close to feeling euphoric. "Kami… I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat ramen like that." Said Teuchi with a grin on his face. Naruto smiled sheepishly back.
"It's been years since I ate ramen last… And it is so good! This is the best ramen I've ever had, dattebayo!" Naruto replied happily, wondering if it would be too rude if she stared licking up the remaining liquid inside the bowl.
"Years without ramen? Now we can't have that." Answered Teuchi with a fond smile.
Naruto handed him the coupon gingerly, trying to restrain herself from using up the second bowl of ramen right away. She had no idea when the next time would be. Her savings had grown considerably, but after the last mission she would have to invest in some clothes. Shisui's demolished hand-me-downs were hardly usable anymore. It was good she'd stopped wearing her orphanage attire on missions, or she'd have to walk around half naked.
"Ah, you have a coupon! Do you want to get the second bowl right away?" Asked Teuchi eagerly, straightening up while Naruto went through the pros and cons of eating a second bowl right away, or wait and have something to look forward to later.
"No.. yes… No! I mean yes! No…. Yes!" Naruto said at last, sticking out the coupon to Teuchi and drooling when another waft of ramen hit her nose.
"Gahaha. Look at you. You know, since you appreciate my ramen so much I'll give you a better deal. This coupon only covers three types of ramen, but for your second bowl you can choose whichever one you want from the menu. The coupon will cover the one you choose." He offered her graciously. Naruto was momentarily stunned.
A few minutes later Naruto was in ramen heaven. And was now taking her time with each bite instead of inhaling it.
"You look like you're enjoying that a little too much..." Said a voice next to her. Naruto looked up from her bowl. First now noticing that the remaining seats at the stand had been taken by four new people.
No one else but team Kushina had joined her at the stand.
"It's the food of the Gods. How can I not enjoy it?" Answered Naruto and smiled broadly at the sight of Ensui, Iruka and Kushina. She didn't care much about Hitomi, but didn't mind her presence as long as she stayed quiet and refrained from bad mouthing Naruto.
"So you found the ramen stand I talked about, Naruto! I told you it was good. Kushina-sensei comes here all the time, and guess what? Kushina-sensei is paying for us today!" Iruka exclaimed happily. Rubbing his hands together while he eyed the menu.
Naruto nodded with her mouth full ramen.
"I didn't know you were back. When did you guys return? I haven't heard anything from Shisui." Said Ensui and looked curiously at the menu as well. Picking out beef ramen while Iruka ordered a bowl of pork ramen.
"Oh… We came back today. I got a coupon from one of my roommates and came straight here afterwards. I've barely been in Konoha for a few hours. Shisui is probably asleep at home." Naruto answered, a little distraught she had to take a break from eating ramen to answer Ensui's question.
"Did it go well?" Asked Iruka curiously while they waited for ramen.
"ghu..." Naruto choked on her ramen a little. She'd just taken a bite and wasn't sure how to answer the question.
Swallowing painfully she looked up at her friends. She noted that Kushina was looking sadly at her, and found herself unable to look away for a long moment.
"No…" Naruto said silently, playing with her chopstick for a moment. And putting the wooden tools down on the counter she raised her bowl to her mouth and downed the rest in one go.
It never failed to cheer her up.
"Oh no... What happened?" Asked Iruka concerned. He was sitting between Ensui and Hitomi, and had to lean past Ensui to see Naruto properly. Kushina sat on the far side away from Naruto.
She took a deep breath and told them before she could chicken out. "Ebisu got killed." Naruto answered.
The statement was met by silence, and first now Naruto realized that with the exception of Kushina, the others probably had no idea who Ebisu was. "He is in Anko's year. Was… I mean. He was Choza-sensei's student." Naruto explained and looked at Ensui at the end. He at least knew who Choza was.
"I'm so sorry." Ensui told her earnestly.
"Are you alright, Naruto?" Asked Iruka concerned, his brow furrowed. He didn't even notice as Teuchi put his bowl of pork ramen down in front of him.
"I've been better…" Naruto answered honestly, looking down into her bowl for any trace of left over ramen, but predictably finding nothing.
"I heard your team fought hard despite being overpowered, Naruto-chan. I am sure Ebisu-kun is happy that his comrades managed to survive thanks to his efforts." Kushina said kindly.
Naruto was uncertain if that was correct. Ebisu should have been alive. That would have made him a lot happier than he was now. But yet there was some truth in what Kushina was saying, Ebisu was a brave soul. He might be easily scared, but despite that he had always faced his fears head on. Even during the battle, when everything had been chaos and they all felt like they would die, Ebisu had come through for her. He had given up his strongest weapon to give Naruto time. And she'd failed. She'd been overpowered by that Kumo ninja despite Ebisu's help.
"He should have… lived." Naruto told them plainly, her hand fisted around a chopstick and looking down into the table counter.
"A lot of people should have lived, Naruto. But war is unpredictable and brutal. Don't blame yourself. I'm sure you did everything you could. I know you would never let a comrade die." Ensui told her kindly.
Naruto smiled weakly, feeling the last of her good mood drain out of her again. "Hey, let's talk about something different shall we?" Suggested Kushina as her own bowl of ramen was put down in front of her.
She seemed torn for a moment about which she would do first. Talk or eat? Naruto understood her dilemma. But in the end Kushina's sense of compassion won out, and bravely she refrained from inhaling her food and turned towards Naruto.
"I hear you met Minato on your mission, Naruto-chan. He told me you were working on a technique similar to his own. He talked about you for ages and was quite impressed with you, Naruto-chan." She told her in a matter of fact tone, eyeing her ramen every few seconds. Maybe making sure nothing happened to it during the small delay.
"Yeah, Minato is really cool. He showed me the rasengan and it's really awesome. I wish I could use the rasengan too... I'm just working on my suiton element, and it's not really anything to compare to what he was doing. It just seems some of the principles behind the attacks were similar, and Minato wanted to ask me what I thought of a few things."
"Yes I heard, dattebane! He said you used shadow clones to help out. You know Minato never thought about that before? He was so miffed when he came home! But he has made so much progress thanks to your tips, dattebane. I think he wants to talk to you again just to show you how much you helped him! And you know… Since you helped him out so much he might be willing to teach you his technique. I know he wants to repay you somehow." She said excitedly, and turned towards her bowl of ramen. The fight to stay away from it was lost, and she started eating quickly in a very familiar fashion to how Naruto ate.
Naruto on the other hand was distracted by Kushina's comment, and felt some of her energy come back to her. "You think so?" She asked hopefully, looking nervously towards Kushina who was emptying the last of her ramen. Wow. That was up to speed with one of Naruto's strongest records in ramen inhalation.
"Oh absolutely. And if not I could teach you. I know how to use the rasengan too." Kushina told her after a big swallow.
"But… Isn't it Minat's technique? Wouldn't that be..." Naruto trailed off.
"Who do you think helped him create it? You know it was one of my techniques that gave him the inspiration for the rasengan in the first place." Kushina said and waved her hand aimlessly.
"Really? Which one?" Asked Ensui curiously.
"Oh, something a little dangerous from a long time ago. You won't ever see it, dattebane. It's deadly to get caught up in it, but Minato saw it as a gold mine of inspiration and used the concept for the rasengan. It's not complete yet though." Kushina told him matter of factly.
Naruto knew Kushina was talking about the bijū bomb. That was most likely what gave Minato the inspiration for the rasengan. "It would be really awesome to learn that. It looks so awesome, dattebayo."
"But it took years for Minato to develop it, and it's an A rank technique. You probably won't be able to control it for years, so don't get too excited alright?" Kushina told Naruto with a pointed look, before ordering a new bowl from Teuchi.
"Why haven't you taught that to us yet?" Asked Hitomi miffed. Looking betrayed towards her sensei.
"Because it doesn't fit your style. Minato told me that Naruto has an absurd amount of chakra, and you need a hell of a lot of chakra to use that technique. You guys need to use your chakra more wisely during a battle, so I won't teach you anything as chakra draining as the rasengan before you're at least sixteen. Then we can see if you have the reserves enough to hold one up." Kushina told them teasingly.
Hitomi looked stumped, and scowled into her barely touched bowl of miso ramen. Not pleased about that answer. She also sent a nasty glare towards Naruto. The envy obvious in her eyes.
Naruto couldn't help but smile innocently back, causing Ensui to snicker into his almost finished bowl of ramen. "I'll be heading back to the orphanage now. I'm actually really tired and I should get to bed." Naruto told them after a little while of pleasant chit chat.
She thanked Teuchi for the ramen and Kushina for her offer. Before long she was waving goodbye to the rest of her friends. Finding her heart lighter than it had been for a month.
The next day Orochimaru called them in for a team meeting. They should have had the day off since they had just returned from a month long mission and they had the Chūnin exam the next day, but Orochimaru felt they needed to meet anyway.
The first thing he did was give a paper slip to Naruto and Shisui each. "You need to hand these in at the front door tomorrow at the Chūnin exam. If not you won't be allowed in. This proves I've entered you into the exam." He told them evenly before looking at Anko.
"You've been signed up as a proctor, Anko. We're short on staff and I was to ask you if you could be a proctor during the second round. Just as a guard. The one who should have been there was Ebisu's mum." Orochimaru said and looked evenly at Anko.
The girl nodded hurriedly, her eyes widening slightly at the information. "Of course. No problem." She told him genuinely.
"And you two need a third member on your team." He said and looked back to Naruto and Shisui. They both raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at Anko.
"I'm the third remember of their team!" Anko shot up at once, her voice taking on a tone of panic.
"Just for the exam. I don't think you're ready to face this with a two man cell up against a bunch of three man cells. And I have already made arrangements a couple of months ago. I'm going to introduce you soon, and I advise you to spend the day together and learn about each other. Having a stand-in is never ideal, but it's better than the two of you going in alone." Orochimaru continued and looked to his left.
"Oh..." Anko was embarrassed to not have drawn the conclusion on her own, and was tugging at the strands of her ponytail.
"So who will we be teamed with then?" Asked Shisui curiously.
"Follow me. We'll go to the training grounds. He said he'd be training with his team this morning." Orochimaru said and gestured for them to follow after them. Naruto had the feeling he was a little annoyed about whoever it was he was referring to. And it also sounded like whoever it was they were going with had a team. Which was strange, seeing as only Chūnin and jōnin had teams to lead.
They followed in silence, Anko tagging along out of curiosity more than actually having to be there. Naruto felt herself smile when she saw who they were heading for though.
Team Minato turned when they heard them approach, and Minato and Obito waved as they came closer. "I was wondering when you guys would be showing up. We were just about to start working on formations, but we'll have to do that another day now." Minato said with a shrug, looking over at his three students.
"This is your third member for the exam." Orochimaru said and pointed to the group. Naruto was still unsure which one specifically he was talking about. Weren't all of them already Chūnin?
"Hi, I'll be joining you. I hope we'll work well together." Said Rin and stepped forwards. Naruto smiled widely.
"Rin! I didn't know you were genin. This will be awesome!" Naruto cried and bounced forwards. Rin laughed while Shisui followed after Naruto.
"Hello Rin-san. I'm glad you'll be on our team. Naruto has a bad habit of getting hurt, and I'm feeling easier about this exam knowing we'll have a medic amongst us." Shisui told her while grinning widely.
"Hey!" Naruto shouted indignantly.
"You got pierced though multiple parts of your body on two occasions on out last mission Naruto. Admit it. You're reckless." He said with a roll of his eyes.
"I'm not reckless!"
"You so are." Anko butted in, nodding mutely to Rin with a small smile. She too looked relieved about who their member would be for the exam.
"You should listen to what Rin has to say guys. She's gotten us out of a lot of tight situations. It's just bad luck that has stopped her from getting a promotion yet." Obito said and came forwards, smiling fondly towards Rin with obvious infatuation.
"Now that you've been introduced I'll take my leave. I'm needed at the lab in five minutes. And Naruto - Kushina is being informed about what happened on the mission as we speak. You'll meet with her after the exams are over." Orochimaru said before popping. Revealing himself to have been a clone the entire time.
Team Minato looked confused towards Naruto after the smoke went out. "Why are you going to talk to Kushina?" Asked Minato.
"Um..." Naruto said a little unsure.
"She's an Uzumaki." Said Anko without preamble. Blushing when Minato shifted his gaze from the squirming blonde and directly at her instead. "She created some really freaky chains during our last mission, and Orochimaru-sensei thinks that proves she's an Uzumaki. He says Kushina-sensei can do something similar so he wants her to talk to Naruto." She summarized quickly.
"What?" Asked Kakashi, breaking the silence that had followed Anko's proclamation and looked strangely at Naruto. "How on earth did that happen?"
"Well you see, Kakashi. When a man and a woman likes each other-" Started Obito saying, but was whacked on the head with the hilt of Kakashi's tantō.
"Ouch… That hurt." Obito whined, massaging his head gingerly.
"That's amazing, Naruto-chan. Kushina hasn't seen another Uzumaki in years. And to think you have that special bloodline too." Minato mused in fascination.
"I don't really know what happened… Um..."
"She was unconscious and doesn't remember what happened exactly. So reckless..." Explained Shisui, again starting to scowl at the reminder.
"Well it's great even if you don't find out what happened with the chains. The Uzumaki clan is considered to be extinct, and I know Kushina will be very happy to get to know another member of her clan." Minato told her, his eyes glinting with warmth and causing Naruto smile just as brilliantly back.
After a lot of catching up, basically Obito telling everyone how wonderful Rin was with medical ninjutsu and her upcoming promotion which to him was a sure thing, they started discussing what to do about the exam.
"Should we try sparring or something? Just to get a clear picture of one another's abilities?" Suggested Shisui thoughtfully.
"I think that's a good idea." Rin was on board with the suggestion. She had already taken out all her medical equipment and shown it to the others. Explaining why everyone out in the field should have the minimum requirement of field aid equipment on them at all times, and that you were an idiot if you didn't. In a nice way though. Naruto couldn't picture Rin to be anything but a gentle and kind person at all times. A lot like Hinata had been, but less shy.
"But I already know how you fight Shisui." Naruto interjected.
"You did, but now that I've awaken my Sharingan it might make some difference."
Naruto was about to answer, but never got the chance to because of the commotion Shisui's words caused.
"You what?!" Bellowed Obito from behind them. All three looked up to see Obito stand red faced with a shocked expression on his face. Kakashi tilted his head to the side, before nodding approvingly to Shisui.
"Shisui-kun seems to be ahead of you already, Obito. Maybe if you put some more effort into-"
"Shut up, Bakashi! When did that happen? How can you have gotten the Sharingann before me? I'm older! And you're eight years old!" Obito said in growing temper. Naruto thought the vein on his forehead would pop from the pressure it was being put through.
"It was during the last mission. I'm not sure entirely what caused it, but everyone was under a lot of pressure and I was trying to cast a genjutsu when it happen."
"Genjutsu? Without the Sharingan?" Asked Obito a little confused.
"It's good to be able to cast genjutsu without the Sharingan. Dad has been teaching me how to do it."
"But I heard its better with the Sharingan."
"Not necessarily. It's certainly easier with the Sharingan, but if you suck... you suck." Shisui explained with a small smirk.
Kakashi snickered and looked pointedly at Obito. "See. Even Shisui thinks you should train more."
"If you say one more word I'll fireball your ass!"
"You could try."
"Bakashi!"
"You're eight years old?" Asked Naruto, a little delayed in her thought process. "But you were a year ahead of me… Iruka is nine." Naruto mused aloud, looking with scrutiny at Shisui.
"How can you not know how old I am? We've known each other for years..." Shisui said exasperated.
"How was I to know when you've never told me? But seriously. Shouldn't you be nine?"
"No. I started the academy early because I passed the entrance exam. Simple as that. Mizuki is eight years old too. And Anko did the same." Shisui responded with a shrug of his shoulders.
"But Anko said she got in early because she was an orphan, and they want orphans to start being able to earn money and stuff. Something about pushing them out into work to lessen the expenses of fostering orphans?"
"Even if you're an orphan you have to pass the exam. And anyone can take them. You just need the permission of a parent or a guardian." Shisui retorted. Naruto was about to ask another question, but was again interrupted by Obito.
"Hey! Back to the Sharingan! It's so unfair! How come you get it when you're just a kid?" Obito complained and huffed at the distraction of Shisui's attention.
"I'm not sure, Obito. You know people activate their Sharingan at different ages. Dad activated his when he was thirteen, but he also said some people can activate it through traumatic events. And mine isn't even properly developed yet. It only has one tomoe." Shisui explained and sighed when his explanation didn't seem to do much for Obito's temper.
"It's still not fair! How do you find out stuff like that?"
"Yeah! How do you find out someone's age without them telling you?" Naruto butted in. Shisui looked uncertain back and forth between Obito and Naruto. Similar annoyance with him written on both their faces.
"We're talking about the Sharingan now, Naruto."
"I think we're talking about stuff Shisui doesn't tell us."
"Okay enough. You three," Said Kakashi and pointed to Rin, Naruto and Shisui. "Need to start preparing for tomorrow. I have a training schedule I want completed, and Obito can go sulk somewhere else."
"I'm not sulking!"
"You are. Stop pestering your clan member because of your own shortcomings."
"I'm not shortcoming! And I'm not pestering him!"
"Maybe you should talk to him about it another time, Obito. Kakashi-kun is right. We really need to prepare right now." Rin told him with a small smile on her lips. Obito deflated immediately, his shoulders sagging as he looked down.
"Yeah... Sure. Of course! I'm sorry Rin. You need to teach these two how to do alright on the exams. I don't want them to drag you down."
"What?"
"Hey!"
Naruto and Shisui's protest was drowned by Anko however, who had enough of being ignored.
"Enough everyone! Let's see some fighting instead!" Said Anko excitedly, and then turned to Kakashi. "Want to make a bet? I bet that Shisui and Rin will make Chūnin."
"I'm not taking that bet. I believe so too."
"Damn…."
"Hey! What about me?" Asked Naruto sounding hurt.
Anko looked skeptically at her before she nodded hesitantly. "Okay… Fine… I say Naruto make Chūnin too."
"Oh, sound a little more confident will yah? Have some faith in me, Anko!"
"I'll take that bet." Kakashi responded at once. Expertly ignoring Naruto who was fuming with annoyance.
.
.
.
To be continued...
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone