The morning of the graduation exam dawned bright, early and loud as the Den came to life in the warm gray light of pre-dawn. They squabbled over who got to shower first and what to have for breakfast, fussing over whether or not everyone had thier weapons and their materials for the extra credit portion and if their clothes were pressed and armor ready. The pack wove in and out and throughout the house, worked into a fever pitch by the combined nerves of the three pre-teens. Eventually though they filed out of the house just past seven in the morning, stomachs full and equipment ready.

Arriving at the Academy they weren't the only ones there early. Kiba, Choji and Ino were already there, deep in coversation and Naruto could feel Shikamaru, Shino and Hinata approaching at a steady clip from the north. In defference to the multi-part test and everyone that needed to take it, the graduation class started earlier than the other classes for the day and by the time the yard was filling with younger students the class was sitting in thier desks, attention turned towards Iruka and Mizuki.

"Good morning class!" Iruka's voice silenced them instantly beyond a returned greeting and he grinned at them warmly. "Today is the day that determines whether or not your hard work pays off and you join the ranks of Konoha's shinobi. I have faith in you all!" Naruto liked Iruka, a lot. "Your test today is in four parts, with an addition fifth optional section after the fact. You will have a theoretical test, a test of your accuracy, a test of your skills in taijutsu and a test of your skills in ninjutsu. You will also have the option to perform up to three additional techniques, which will allow us to better place you on teams and give us a preview of your capabilities, after the ninjutsu portion of the exam. Only those who pass the initial four portions of the test and received thier hitai-ate will be allowed to participate in the fifth portion and the fifth portion is not mandatory after receiving your hitai-ate. Does everyone understand?"

After he received room wide affirmatives he pulled up a sheath of papers, looking down at the top one. "For the theoretical test we will be assigning seats and there are rules to prevent cheating." There was a few grumbles here, mostly from civilians Naruto noted, but Iruka silenced them with a glare. "Any use of doujutsu is strictly forbidden and so with that anyone with an active doujutsu or the potential to use one will be seated up front. Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata, seats one and two please. Aburame Shino, use of your Kikaichu is also strictly prohibited. Please take seat three." There was some shuffling as those seats and the next fifteen were filled. "Use of ninken and other ninanimals is also strictly prohibited. Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto, please send your partners to the front of the room. They may rejoin you after all papers are collected. Kiba you'll be in seat twenty, Naruto you may stay in your current seat."

Kiba looked unhappy as he set Akamaru on the ground and Naruto gave Seiji a rub between the ears and both went down to sit next to Iruka, Akamaru jumping up to sprawl over Seiji's back. Tsume had warned them about the fact that they'd be separated, as in previous years students had used ninanimals to glean answers from neighbors. The last of the students were assigned seats and then Mizuki went around, passing out the test and two pencils each.

"You will have ninety minutes to answer these questions to the best of your abilities and you may only use the writing utensils provided. If you complete the test before the time is up flip your tests over, raise your hands and wait for the test to be collected. Once your paper has been picked up, you may pass the remaining time quietly. Are there any questions? No? Good, you may begin."

Instantly the room was filled with the sound of scratching pencils and shuffling paper. Naruto got stuck mostly on the history questions, as he only had this year's review to go off of but the rest was easy. Han and Malfuin had made sure he knew how to read and write and figure and the questions about logic and tactics were interesting to him. Surprising no one in the trio, Sakura finished first, just over the forty minute mark and Sasuke followed her seven minutes later. Naruto wrapped up just past the hour mark, made sure the test was signed and then flipped it over, raising his hand. Mizuki collected his test and Naruto went into his hip pouch to pull out a fuinjutsu book Leafshadow Ojii-sama wanted him to read so they could move on to next level of barrier seals.

A little while later Iruka clapped his hands together loudly in the room, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Pencils down please! Well done, all of you who have handed in a completed test. If your test is still in front of you please gather your belongings and leave the classroom, as I'm afraid you will not be continuing on with the test for this rotation." Six people were shown out of the classroom, their faces a myriad of expressions ranging from anger to depression and even one of relief.

"For those of you who remain please gather your things and make your way to the target range outside. Kiba, Naruto, you may reunite with your partners." Sakura and Sasuke waited for him at the front next to Seiji and Kiba joined them on their way out. The target range was an array of stations, each with a large log clearly labeled with three rings with points assigned, the center being five, the second largest three and the largest being worth a single point. Each station was occupied by a chunin with a clipboard. Iruka drew up in front of the large knot of students and gave them a grin.

"This is a test of your accuracy. You will be allowed to use any combination of thirty kunai, shuriken and senbon. The score range is 150 points max and minimum thirty points. Landing outside the target awards no points. You must achieve a score of at least 120 to move on to the next portion of the exam. As there are sixty eight of you we will be splitting you into stations. Listen for your name and station and then proceed there. Your proctor will tell you when you may begin."

Naruto and Seiji were assigned with ten civilians to station four and he was first up.

"What'll you be using, Uzumaki?"

'Ten kunai, five shuriken and fifteen senbon.' He signed and the proctor's pen paused before he gave him a grin.

"Good shape on those signs, though watch the hook motion when you sign 'kunai' or you'll end up signing 'attack' instead." Naruto signed his thanks for the correction, as he still had trouble with some signs thanks to his small hands. "Okay, you're good to go."

Naruto fingered his weapons for a moment, took a deep breath to line up, and threw.

"Score 135. Uzumaki Naruto, pass. Back of the group please." Naruto bowed to his proctor and went with Seiji to the back of the grouping of students, flopping down into the sun. A score of 135 was respectable as far as he was concerned and put him in good standing for the house bet that meant dinner for the week was on the line. The accuracy test was over quicker than the theory test and they watched as eleven more hopefuls were failed and escorted away from the group.

"Everyone!" Naruto popped up to give Iruka his attention, Sakura and Sasuke pressed in on either side of him. "We're going to have the taijutsu portion of the exams and then we'll have an hour and a half break for lunch, followed by the ninjutsu and bonus sections. Please, make your way to taijutsu fields behind the Academy."

The southern taijutsu fields were six large circles pressed into the tight packed earth and reserved purely for the graduating classes to practice on as the circles sizes were taijutsu competition regulation. The proctors from their accuracy test were met with six more shinobi wearing Konoha standard uniforms, a few of whom Naruto recognized.

"You will be split into six groups and assigned a circle. You'll be facing off against volunteer tokubetsu jonin, who are here on thier own time to help administer this test today. Please give them your respect." There was a loud moment of the students greeting and thanking the tokujo before Iruka called for their attention again. "To pass this portion of the exam you must last ten minutes in combat against one of the volunteers. You also succeed if you achieve a ring-out, a knockout or a technical knockout. You receive double points if you achieve a submission. Ninjutsu and genjutsu is forbidden, but ninken, ninanimals, doujutsu, weapons, non-leathal poisons grade 3 or lower and any internal-chakra based body modifications, bar active regeneration, are allowed." Beside him Sakura made a quiet noise of delight and Naruto dug clawed toes into the earth in anticipation.

"They're giving us a lot to work with, aren't they?" A civilian murmured beside them and Sakura turned towards them with a grin.

"It's because of who we're facing off against and the time limit." Kiba huffed in agreement behind them.

"Ma says it used to be three minutes of pure taijutsu but a bunch of subpar people kept passing because the time was so low so they made it way longer and against tougher people and gave us abilities to offset it."

"Dad says it also lets them see if there's abilities the students have that aren't showcased in the other portions of the test. Ten minutes against tokujo though? Troublesome." Shikamaru was sprawled on the ground on the other side of Seiji, apparently already worn out by the day's exertion and Naruto rasped a laugh. Shikamaru was another person Naruto had liked from the get go. For all that he was so lazy it almost hurt, he was intelligent to a scary degree and quick on the uptake.

Naruto was called to circle three with Sakura and Hinata as well as three civilians. Thier tokujo was familiar, at least to Sakura and Naruto, and Naruto took in the familiar scent of Well Worn Leather and Ink mixed with the even more familiar scent of Spiced Silk Scarf on Misty Fall Morning and he threw away all sense of propriety, bouncing forward with a wave.

"Raido-senpai!" Seiji's cry was met with a muted grin. Raido was always more reserved with his smiles despite all his easy humor, but his cream colored chakra took on a golden hue of happiness.

"Wolf-brat. Here to get your tail handed to you? Or are you finally going to stop trying to steal Genma from me?" They responded with a playful growl, ducking under Raido's hand that came up to rub at his hair. Raido was always lamenting Genma's propensity for bringing home strays and there was a running joke bet amongst the tokujo on who would succeed in adopting who first.

"Back in line, Wolf-brat. I'll deal with you in a bit. Sakura, it's good to see you." They danced back in line as Sakura waved and smiled at him as Raido turned towards the group. "You all have five minutes to stretch. Your order will be Hamura, Aiko, Haruno, Hyuuga, Uzumaki and Siato. Everyone remember the rules? Good. Your five minutes starts now." Naruto and Sakura immediately dipped into the quick stretch exercises Tsume had taught them months ago and Seiji stretched each of his limbs out and then his back. Once time was called Hamura stepped into the ring and the others crouched around the outside, cheering her on.

Hamura's fight was good and she lasted the whole ten minutes, though it had obviously taken a lot out of her because she came to them panting and sweaty, accepting a bottle of water with a wheezy thanks.

Aiko's fight was, comparatively, embarrassing. Three minutes in and Raido grabbed her ankle and tossed her, a move that should have been easily correctable. Instead she went barreling out of the ring and was disqualified. She refused to meet anyone's gaze as the proctor directed her to leave.

As Sakura sprang to her feet in excitement Naruto gave her a grin and squeezed her hand.

'No mercy.' He signed and she favored him with a smile that was all teeth and he could feel her minty green chakra surging and roiling with determination. Watching Sakura fight was a treat. She was all grounded strength and sharp jabs, aiming to disable, to shatter bones and shake teeth loose. The first time a chakra enhanced strike found it's mark instead of being caught in a block she buried her foot in Raido's kidney and Naruto felt some deep part of him purr with satisfaction at the look of stunned disbelief that flashed across the tokujo's scarred face. She lasted the whole ten minutes, springing back as the proctor called time, flushed with pleasure and exertion and breathing just that little bit harder.

Raido was smiling and panting lightly, rubbing where she'd gotten the kidney shot in as Hinata stepped forward for her turn. As Sakura returned to his side Naruto gave her a high-five, eyes shining with pride and amusement.

'That's my girl, Sakura!' She blushed prettily at the praise and accepted the bottle of water Seiji nudged her shoulder with. It had taken a little while to settle on a name sign for her but Sakura liked "blossom", which she insisted was better than Sasuke's "sword" or, heaven forbid, Genma's "hen" name sign.

In the ring Hinata had forced Raido to the edge of the ring, her taijutsu quick and fierce, even without the addition of the usual chakra emission to close his tenketsu. He pivoted quickly, sliding behind her, and it was only her quick thinking that kept her in the ring after a punishing blow between her shoulder blades. They weaved between each other, fighting back towards the center of the ring and beside him everyone was cheering Hinata on. She was sweet girl, incredibly shy, but she was silk covered steel and he was pleased to see flashes of that as she fought. She would make an excellent kunoichi if she was given some encouragement and attention. Hinata, too, lasted the requisite ten minutes and received much praise as she exited the circle.

And then it was Naruto's turn and he stepped into the ring, settling onto all fours, muscles rippling under his clothes. Seiji settled near the edge of the ring, crouched low, ready to leap at a moment's notice and the proctor called the match to start. They circled, trading a few feints, feeling each other out.

Raido struck first with a nasty strike from the left and Naruto barely dodged it by springing up from his crouch, snagging his claws in Raido's sleeve and using his momentum to kick him in the chest, staggering him. He capitalized on the bigger man's unsteadiness, darting forward to deliver a clawed strike just under the protection of the vest, nose twitching with the barest hint of copper as white claws came away tipped red.

The style of taijutsu Naruto had been taught involved quick brutal strikes, utilizing claws and fangs, usually tipped with chakra, aimed to maim, disable and kill. Claws tipped in lightning chakra into nerve clusters rendered limbs useless while fire tipped fangs opened wounds and left them burned open. Gut, throat, kidneys and limbs. Hit any of them in just the right place and Naruto could shorten or end a fight with just a bit of chakra.

Naruto's pleasure was brought short as the other man drove his elbow into his back, dropping Naruto to the ground and a hand latched into his shirt, tossing him. Seiji intervened, snagging him out of the air and setting him down before the wolf darted forward, his human behind him. Seiji hit Raido like a bullet, three inch fangs sinking into the man's shoulder and his body twisted, dragging the man down under his furry bulk. Just as he was about to land and sink his own teeth into the vest of the other man, he refused to use a throat bite on a comrade, Raido twisted free and rolled away, panting, facing them.

"Got a plan?" Seijij asked and Naruto hummed, pressing the images at his partner before he reached into his hip pouch, pulling out two vials. One he opened and tipped into Seiji's mouth and the other he poured over his fingers, hissing a little.

"Five minutes!" With half time called Seiji shot forward again and Raido sprang up, only to be met with a clawed strike to the back of his calf. It wasn't enough to draw blood, but it was enough to unbalance him so that Seiji could surge up and set his teeth in the man's leg, contorting his body again for another toss. While Raido was able to right himself again he stumbled drunkenly as he landed and his arms shot out to steady himself.

Naruto rumbled his pleasure. Yarrow toxins mixed with a few other things for a fast acting poison that unbalanced and disoriented. Well, at this strength anyway. There were two more strengths available to him and the last would kill his opponents. With their opponent knocked unsteady they came moved forward again as one unit. Naruto kicked out with a clawed foot, talons dragging bloody furrows in Raido's leg and Seiji set his teeth in the man's vest, gave one last heave and tossed the man clear of the ring.

"Time! Winner by ring-out, Uzumaki Naruto and Seiji at seven minutes and 38 seconds." There was cheering from around them as everyone watching the fight, including people from the nearby rings, congratulated them as they padded over to where a medic was running green chakra over the few wounds they'd managed to afflict. Naruto retrieved the antidote from his hip pouch and placed it in Raido's hand.

"Take that with water and give it five minutes. It'll clear up easy." He gave the medic an easy grin as the tokujo grumbled about being bested by "a tiny brat and his overgrown rat" before they rejoined the line. Hinata and Hamura congratulated him and Sakura scooped him into a tight hug. There was a small break as Raido had to wait for the antidote to kick in before he rejoined the ring, looking good as new except for a few rips and tears in his uniform.

Siato managed a good fight and made it the ten minutes, looking like the midway between Hamura and Sakura's matches. Everyone done they were dismissed to lunch and Naruto herded Hinata with them when it looked like she was going to slink off to eat on her own. They were joined by Sasuke, Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru. Shino declined to join them and Ino sat with the other girls, barely picking over her bento.

Lunch consisted of bragging over their matches and hinting at abilities that they were going to use in the bonus section. Sakura and Kiba tried to wheedle out of Naruto the ability he'd been working on in secret for it, but he was smug and tight lipped. He'd been working on it in secret for a reason, though Hana knew what it was as it was a technique that couldn't be practiced alone until it was completed and she was not only willing and able to keep a secret but usually available in the evenings if there was no mission for her to do.

Eventually they made their way back to the classroom they started in and Naruto took a look at how much emptier it was now. Of the seventy four that had come this morning, only forty were left and only thirty in total would pass, for ten teams of three. The taijutsu portion had eliminated seventeen more people, as well as the eleven from the accuracy portion and the six from theory. They were left to sit at seats of thier choosing and Sasuke and Sakura joined him in the back, poring over the grocery list and lamenting Sasuke's win of the dinner bet with an accuracy score of 142, beating Naruto by seven points and Sakura eleven.

"Attention everyone!" It was a different proctor this time, one they recognized as Matsuri-sensei, and he tapped his clipboard with his pen, nodding with a grin. "First, let me congratulate you all for making it this far. You're almost there and within the next few hours, many of you will walk out of here as shinobi of Konoha." No mention of the almost dozen who wouldn't make the cut this time. "Now, in a room across the hall is a panel of five examiners. You'll be called, one by one, into the room to perform the Academy Three. In order to pass you must perform, with a degree of mastery, the kawarimi, the henge, and the bunshin. You may perform a variation of the bunshin if you believe you have the mastery for it. Are there any questions? Would anyone like to withdraw now?" One person withdrew and Naruto recognized him as someone who'd been struggling with the transformation jutsu all year.

They were called randomly, with only about five minutes between names. Naruto was the first of the trio, and he strode into the room with his head high, Seiji pacing regally behind him. The examiners were Iruka and Mizuki, a man Naruto recognized as the headmaster of the Academy and two other chunin he couldn't name off the top of his head.

"Good afternoon, Uzumaki-kun." Said the headmaster.

"Good afternoon headmaster, examiners." Seiji intoned from where he had settled onto his belly at Naruto's heels as Naruto bowed.

"Please begin with the kawarimi. Substitute with chair on the far side of the room and back again." Naruto snapped through the shortened seal sequence and was gone in a puff, the chair clattering in his place before he did it again, settling back in front of the examiners. "Well done, Uzumaki-kun. Now the henge, if you will. Anyone we might recognize from in the village."

Naruto didn't need more than the Ram sign for this one and in a puff of smoke Tsume was standing in his place, hands on her hips and cocky grin on her face. Human based henge were useless to Naruto, as he was still mute, but he was passable at inanimate object henge as well and in this case they were just looking for his proficiency in the ability.

"Very nice." Naruto released the technique. "Last, the bunshin please, or a variation of it. Three should do." Naruto nodded, brought his hands up in the cross seal and reveled in the look of shock on the faces of the examiners as three puffs of smoke appeared next to him, revealing three perfect clones of himself. Kage bunshin had been one of the first techniques that he'd been taught, just after his seventh birthday when he'd started training in earnest. They'd quickly determined that he was pure Uzumaki with his massive chakra reserves which were only enlarged by Kurama's presence, and regular bunshin would be be forever out of his reach. The fact that it was technically a kinjutsu gave Han about three seconds of pause before he went on with it regardless.

"I-I'll say Uzumaki-kun, well done! Three perfect Kage Bunshin is no mean feat, especially given your age. Congratulations, you pass!" The headmaster held out the hitai-ate to him and Naruto took it with a bow, grin splitting his face.

"Do you intend to participate in the bonus section?" A nod. "Alright, head for Training Ground B. Let the proctor know what, if anything, you need for your techniques Congratulations again!" Naruto bowed once more and left the room, pausing long enough to tie the hitai-atetightly around his neck, the metal plate resting against his scar, before he left the Academy building and headed for Training Ground B, where there were several of the passing students and a few tokujo, Raido included, hanging around to wait for the bonus section.

"Well, looks like you made it after all Wolf-brat! Genma will be so pleased you didn't fail out." Naruto stuck out his tongue, dragging one eyelid down with a clawed fingertip, laughing as Raido's big hand came down to ruffle his hair playfully. "Seriously kid, good job. You got something cooked up for the bonus portion I take it?" Naruto's grin was toothy.

"We do. Need to see if the proctor can get us a volunteer though. It translates better with a living target." Raido puffed a breath.

"A volunteer huh? Guess I could be bothered. You already put me on my ass once today and it's going to be all over the jonin lounge by the morning. What's one more time, eh? Just send me home in one piece for Genma, huh kid?" Naruto scoffed and patted his hand.

"We'll try. Don't want to upset Genma-nii, y'know?" Ignoring Raido's quiet protests Naruto skittered over to the proctor and informed him of Raido acting as his volunteer before he settled in to wait. Kiba passed and he came out howling his triumph and Hinata, Sakura and Ino were close after, quietly pleased. Sakura threw herself over his legs, ignoring his theatrical grunt and instead snatching away one of the melonpan he'd been nibbling, tossing two to Kiba when the other boy made quiet noises of interest.

Sasuke was the last out, face impassive as usual but Naruto could see his blue chakra pulsing with golden happiness. He settled next to them on the ground and wrapped his hand around Naruto's wrist, thumb rubbing over his pulse point. It was the one gesture Sasuke would allow himself in public and Naruto gave him a soft grin, thunking his head on his shoulder because while he refused to initiate contact in public if Naruto or Sakura did it he was content to bask it in while maintaining an air of put upon sufferance. There was a little time before the examiners filed out.

The bonus portion was simple. Exhibit up to three additional techniques to help them be placed on complementary teams. It would take them right up until six, when the graduation ceremony would take place out in the courtyard. Only the clan heirs, Naruto, Sakura and four civilians had stayed to showcase their abilities. Whether that meant the other graduates were playing it close tot eh vest or, more likely, they didn't have extra abilities to showcase, wasn't commented on.

Two of the civilians had genjutsu and a third had a surprisingly powerful Doton technique he'd picked up along the way. Shino showcased two clan techniques, Kiba used the Jūjin Bunshinand the Tsūga and Hinata used the Hakke Sanjūni Shō. Sakura was next and she used the two suiton techniques she'd gleaned from one of Naruto's scrolls, Suiton: Teppōdama and Suiton: Mizurappa, and exhibited a healing technique Willowtail had showed her that was good for basic cuts and bruises. Sasuke went after and dazzled them all with Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsuand the Kage Shuriken no Jutsu before stepping away from the group to channel Raiton: Jibashiinto the unfortunate training dummies. The last civilian had medical jutsu, Shikamaru showed one of his shadow jutsu and Choji grew his body three times his usual size after Ino swapped minds with Iruka-sensei.

And then it was Naruto's turn and he made a joke over the bond about saving the best for last as he came into the center of the clearing, getting Raido to join him before motioning him to the far end of the clearing. He bit his thumb and flashed through the seals for the summoning and the smoke cleared to reveal the pack, bright eyed and eager to be there. This was the first time the others, aside from Sakura, Sasuke and Kiba, had seen anyone other than Seiji and they eyed the pack with interest. Naruto introduced them and then, once he was sure he was ready, he began another seal string.

This one was longer, almost thirty seals in total, and he could feel his chakra roil and spread out across his skin as he did it. By virtue of being mute, any technique Naruto learned took longer to be usable, as he could not use saying the name as an additional focus for the technique like many ninja could. Granted, most ninja above genin in rank had the ability to use the techniques silently by saying them only in their mind. He threw the last seal and was gone in a puff of smoke.

"This is what you've been working on!? No wonder Hana wouldn't stop smiling whenever we asked!" Sakura's voice set his tail to wagging as he turned towards the group. In the place where a small boy had stood a moment before was a large wolf, about three and half feet at the shoulder and five foot from nose to tail, a dark cream color with one white ear and four white socks.

The Ōkami Bunshin was the very first techniques he'd learned, as was tradition for summoners of the wolves, but had been unable to use it properly until recently as before, whenever he used it, he'd materialized with three tails, an indicator of his mastery over three tails of Kurama's chakra. While that was fine for the White Woods, where no one cared about his status as Jinchuriki, it wasn't tenable for the outside world, where anything with multiple tails was to be feared. After a little doing and some help from his demonic tenant he'd managed to gather just enough chakra to make the transformation using only his own chakra, allowing him to materialize a single tail.

At Iruka's request he turned this way and that, allowed another instructor to poke and prod him and even allowed a few nicks in strategic places. The Ōkami Bunshin was a solid transformation to be used in combat and would only release if he let the technique go, he ran out of chakra or if he was knocked unconscious. At last they all stepped back so Naruto could show off his last technique and Crag, Seiji, Bolt and Koriel joined him in a line, all of them staring down Raido.

There was a ripple of chakra as the five wolves sank into the ground, leaving the packed earth of the training field undisturbed and everyone else holding thier breaths. There was a beat, and then a second and just as Raido was about to pose a question the ground under him erupted. Bolt and Koriel latched onto his legs, bodies still half buried in the dirt while Crag and Seiji dug into his arms, immobilizing him. Naruto had latched his teeth into Raido's vest just by his neck instead of in his neck in what would have been a kill shot. Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu paired into one continuous technique with Doton: Ressenga. Used appropriately it could be used to capture, maim or kill outright. If the wolves had bitten down with full force, they would have shattered the limbs they were attached to, rendering him completely useless and were this a real mission Naruto would have gone for the throat.

They quickly unlatched from their unwitting volunteer and Willowtail stepped primly forward, paws already glowing with healing chakra as she touched on to his shoulder, healing all the bite wounds closed. The group behind them was applauding and Naruto circled around Raido, getting a scratch behind the ear to show there were no hard feelings and he darted off to his friends.

Sakura pet him and made much of him and he preened, ears pricked high and tail wagging and Sasuke smirked at him, tweaking an ear before he rubbed the hurt away in the next instant, running one hand between his shoulders. Kiba was going on and on about how it was so cool but also that the Jūjin Bunshin was just as cool and did Tsume know about the ability yet? Eventually Iruka called a halt and Naruto let the ability go, popping back into his human form in a small cloud of smoke.

He led them out to the main courtyard and Naruto looked at all the people gathered, catching sight of several Inuzuka and Genma standing near the front. He and Kiba waved to them all, pointing out their hitai-ate. Sakura's parents weren't there and Naruto felt indigo sadness creeping into mint green, resignation crawling up his spine like something living. He grabbed her hand and leaned into her side and she seemed to take strength from his presence as they filed into the center of the setup, in front of a stage. The Hokage gave a speech, praising thier hard work but warning them of the trials to come before sending them off to their families.

Naruto made sure to keep a firm grip on his friends as they made thier way towards the Inuzuka gathering, refusing to let them be alone on the night they'd graduated to be full ninja.

"Well done, pups. All four of you have done wonderfully." Tsume grin was full of pride and teeth and Naruto basked in it, glad that Sakura and Sasuke were included as the Inuzuka all made much of them and Genma spared them with one of his rare smiles, the ones that were small and warm and transformed his eyes with their sincerity. There was going to be a party the next day at the compound to celebrate their advancement and Sakura and Sasuke tried to duck out, obviously thinking it was meant for Kiba and Naruto, son and ward of the Inuzuka respectively.

"I mean it's for all of you, pups. All four of you advanced, all four of you get celebrated. That's how it works. So be at the compound at five sharp tomorrow night, and be ready to enjoy yourselves." Sakura beamed and if there were tears in the corners of her eyes no one mentioned it and while Sasuke's face remained unchanged he fairly radiated happiness to anyone who bothered to pay attention. Hugs were exchanged before the trio split off for the Den where the excitement of the day caught up with them. They ate an easy dinner of miso and rice and broiled saury before they all fell into a pile in Naruto's room, reveling in the obscene softness and abundance of bedding Naruto had constructed his nest out of.

At long last, they were shinobi.

Naruto woke just past midnight, something unhappy crawling under his skin, fairly buzzing with agitation. His sleep had been troubled for several hours now, and not even the presence of his pack in his nest had been able to soothe him. In his gut, Kurama grumbled in his cage, tails lashing and hackles raised, equally disturbed and he pried himself out of Sakura and Sasuke's embrace, padding silently out of the sunroom, motioning for the pack to stay. After the bustle of graduation the day before they deserved the sleep, even if his own was disturbed. He'd go for a run on the outer perimeter of the village. That would settle him.

He forwent his ninja equipment and his armor, instead opting to stay in his masked singlet and shorts. A bit dressed down, but the heat was beginning to get oppressive, even at night and some shinobi ran in even less than that. He stepped out of the house and stretched just enough to loosen his muscles. He jogged to the gate, waved at the night guards and traipsed into the forest, before settling into the Ōkami Bunshin, dropping into a steady lope. It was good practice, holding the technique for extended periods of time. While he was running like this or laying about he could hold the transformation for about an hour but in actual combat he was only capable of a third of that.

He ran, directionless, for a while, letting his paws and nose take him where they would and slowly, slowly, the frantic buzz under his skin faded and Kurama settled in his seal, quiet again and he was about to turn his paws for home when the scent hit him.

Blood and terror overlaying the scents of Cool and Deep Places of the Earth and Milky Tea on Old Redwood Table, a deep and heavy malevolent chakra hanging over it all. This close to the gate he wondered how none of the guards had sensed it but, then again, he was an excellent sensor. He stopped his jog and instead dropped into a light walk until he'd crept up to a clearing where the scent was the strongest. He just barely stopped himself from springing forward at the sight that met him.

Iruka was sprawled on the ground, bleeding from several wounds, his gaze hazy as he watch Mizuki tower over him with a kunai in hand which was already dripping blood. Between them lay a large scroll but they were both ignoring it at the moment. Neither was talking but Mizuki was laughing as he dug his kunai into Iruka's shoulder, pressing it in slowly.

Mizuki was torturing Iruka.

It made no sense! Mizuki's chakra had never been anything but warm and inviting and he'd always been so friendly with Iruka and everyone else. But not that it mattered in that moment. Naruto had to act on what he was seeing, had to act to save the life on one sensei from another. He couldn't release his technique, not without the smoke giving away his location, but that was okay.

This form was made for attacking, after all.

He crouched low and gathered his muscles for one leap, holding himself impossibly still, waiting until Mizuki had withdrawn from Iruka enough to make it safe.

He leapt.

His body soared across the gap and hit Mizuki, both tumbling to the ground with a thud and Naruto made sure to snap his teeth in whatever flesh he could feasibly grip, taking three fingers with him, spitting them out as he scrabbled to his feet, snapping and missing as Mizuki kicked him off, making sure to drag the kunai through his skin as went, staining cream fur crimson as a deep jagged wound was opened up.

Naruto posted himself in front of Iruka, snarling deep in his throat, teeth stained red with Mizuki's blood, tail lashing in rage.

"You! What are you doing here?! This doesn't concern you!" Naruto snarled and dashed forward again, unable and unwilling to answer him. He wasn't as used to attacking in this form as his was his human form and took several injuries because it. By the time they'd fought to a standstill he was cut all over, there was a rip in his ear that would surely scar and he was missing a tooth. Several of the wounds were deep and Naruto swore he could see a flash of white from the initial injury on his shoulder. That would take a week or more to heal, even with Kurama's healing factor.

But he'd given as good as he'd gotten and Mizuki was littered in bite marks and wounds from his claws and his left arm hung uselessly where Naruto had torn it out of his socket at the shoulder and the elbow. He was lucky Mizuki hadn't used any jutsu, as the chakra fluctuations would have summoned the guards in an instant and he was obviously trying to keep this hidden, even at the cost of the mission. Naruto was under no such compunctions however and he was flexing his chakra in preparation for something that would hopefully end the fight and allow him and Iruka to get to medical attention, because he had very little time left on the transformation, pure stubbornness and a little of Kurama's chakra the only reason it was still active.

Carefully, carefully, he channeled and held wind chakra into his claws like Bolt had showed him and dashed forward, slashing with one paw. Enhanced with the sharpness of wind and with Mizuki's reflexes dulled just enough, his arm was severed completely and Mizuki fell to the ground with a screaming howl, desperately cauterizing his own wound in a primal drive to survive with a small flame before he sagged, unconscious from pain. He wouldn't die, which was a relief only in that Naruto wouldn't have to account for why T&I didn't have someone to interrogate. Naruto staggered back, pain and blood loss catching up to him and settled heavy on his haunches, panting for breath.

He'd won, barely. Dimly, he was aware that this had been a fight to what could have been death and he'd gotten extremely lucky. He was a freshly minted genin who'd never seen combat outside of sparring and hunting and Mizuki was a chunin in his mid-twenties with far more field experience than him. If he'd been any less concerned with stealth and had fired off even a single jutsu Mizuki could have turned the tide in his favor almost instantly and killed Iruka, Naruto or both.

He let the already wavering transformation drop, leaving him sitting there in the shredded remains of his singlet and shorts. The wounds were just as bad as he'd feared and even as Kurama carefully threaded his chakra through the wounds, halting the bleeding and preventing infection, priming him for healing, he could already see dozens if not hundreds of stitches in his very near future. Tsume and the pack were going to kill him, without a doubt and Sakura was going to wear his skin for managing to get into trouble while out for a run. Pushing that thought aside he flexed his chakra once, twice, and cast it wide in a simple flare, making sure it pinged off the four man Anbu cell to thier east, only withdrawing when he felt them turn off their patrol pattern to head towards them.

He lay down and darkness swamped him.

He awoke to movement, the scent of Forest After Rain in Late Spring thick in his nose and his eyes opened to see a mess of black curls.

"You with us, kiddo?" Anbu Wolf's voice was pitched low, soothing and he felt ocean blue chakra sooth over the his own frazzled chakra signature, swathing it and cocooning it. Wolf wasn't quite as calming as Tsume or Han but in this instance it was enough and he grounded himself off the other's chakra, using it as a buffer and blocking out pain-fear-betrayal and shock-anger-annoyance from everyone around him, too weak to hold his own shields.

It took a little doing, but he managed to sign 'Awake, aware' three times into Wolf's shoulder and the man sighed, back going lax under Naruto.

"Good, good. You had us worried, kiddo. I'd heard about new genin adventures but traitor hunting kinda takes the cake." Naruto sighed and buried his face in the curls in front of him, reveling in thier obscene softness. His wounds pulled and stung in a manner that suggested they'd tried, and failed, field medical jutsu, but at least he wasn't bleeding all over Wolf's back.

'I-R-U-K-A safe?' He managed to sign and Wolf nodded, knocking his head against Naruto's with a quiet noise of apology.

"He's fine, he's right behind us. You came just in time to save him. Mizuki lived as well, sadly, but we recovered the scroll. The Hokage is going to meet you at the hospital for a debrief shortly, after they put you back together again." Naruto grumbled his assent and then settled heavy across the Anbu's back. He was fairly certain he didn't remember Wolf's signature among the Anbu he'd summoned or why the man kept appearing around him or why he was so much more emotive and expressive than any of the other Anbu but it was too much to even contemplate right now. Instead he let himself drift as they returned to the village, focusing only on ocean blue chakra and his next few breaths.

Iruka sat in his hospital bed, hands crossed in his lap, staring pensively at the bed next to him, where one of his students slept. He'd almost gotten Naruto killed. Naruto, who was eleven years old and who'd only received his hitai-ate just over twelve hours ago and fought bravely against Iruka's friend-turned-traitor. The boy was a mess of bandages, swamped in a green hospital outfit a size too big for his tiny frame, curled into a tight ball under several hospital blankets. He'd ended up needing something like one hundred and fifteen stitches all told and medical ninjutsu had only been able to heal the bruising and the cut in his ear, leaving him a small triangle scar in the top. The tooth, apparently, would grow back in time and thankfully wasn't one of his important incisors.

(Iruka would like it known that he has seen some things in his time in the field and as Anbu and in intelligence but almost nothing would stand up to the jaw full of long, sharp fangs in the mouth a little boy who was so small Anbu Wolf, who was not a large man, had practically dwarfed him when he picked him up.)

The debriefing with the Hokage, Nara Shikaku, Anbu Commander Wolf and Morino Ibiki had taken several hours and dawn had been creeping up on the hospital by the time both ninja were done telling their stories and everyone had asked all the questions they had. Iruka had received a stern lecture about informing people of such important suspicions and about getting back up in the future but they'd softened the blow by thanking him for his quick actions which had halted Mizuki long enough for another shinobi to arrive.

Naruto, who knew he'd barely escaped with his life and only by sheer luck, had also received a dressing down for taking on an opponent so much stronger than himself though he too received praise for his quick and decisive actions which not only allowed for the return of the scroll but also the capture of a traitor who may have valuable information and the rescue of a fellow shinobi.

Both were receiving commendations and an a successfully completed A rank on thier files, as well as A rank pay. Iruka, for the second time in his storied, and classified, career felt absolutely no pride in his accomplishment. He'd been friends with Mizuki for years, since before even the Kyuubi attack, and yet the man had slipped this by him and it wasn't until he'd cornered him in that clearing that he'd realized how badly he cocked it up, allowing the other to get the jump on him. Had he gone soft, working in the Academy? Or was he just blinded by the bond he shared with the other man?

Not that it would matter now. They would pump Mizuki for information and likely execute him. Death would be a kindness though, considering the damage Naruto had done. One arm gone, the other missing three fingers. He'd never be able to do anything on his own again with only two working fingers, let alone be any use as a shinobi. The village would be on lock down for the next three days, as was protocol, and they would go over Mizuki's life with a fine tooth comb, looking for accomplices.

A knock on the door shook him from his reverie and he turned towards the clock. Five in the morning and nurses generally let themselves in after announcing themselves, which meant they had a visitor. Considering the time it was most likely someone for Naruto, as Genma wouldn't bother with something so mundane as knocking, no matter how hard Raido tried to make him.

"Come in." He called, surprised at the rough quality of his voice. Then again, pain and exhaustion and crying tended to do that to a person.

Sure enough, it was Tsume who let herself in on quiet feet. She was dressed in mission loadout with her ninken at her side, a blue bundle under her arm. She paused to look at him before making a motion with her hand and Kuromaru leapt up onto his bed, laying his not inconsiderable bulk over Iruka carefully.

"Nothing solves problems like puppy piles." Tsume's voice was amused and Iruka blushed lightly, though he buried his hands in Kuromaru's thick fur, reveling in the softness and heat. Tsume went over to Naruto's bed, running soft hands over his head and the boy blinked awake, crooning as he recognized the other woman.

"Idiot pup, getting into trouble the minute I turn my back. What am I going to do with you?" Her voice was light, teasing, but Iruka could see the worry in her. It was in the tightness in the skin around her eyes and the way her hands smoothed over his skin, taking stock of all the bandages wrapped around him. Naruto nuzzled into the touches, not bothering to answer back beyond a few quiet sighs and nods. He felt like he was intruding and he buried his face in the nearest object that was available, which just so happened to be Tsume's partner.

Iruka caught bits and pieces of the conversation without meaning too, though he assimilated the information that was now available to him. The village, was, indeed on lock down and many of the Inuzuka were being called away for the duration so the apparent graduation party was being postponed. Sakura and Sasuke were both apparently now at the Inuzuka compound with the rest of Naruto's summons and the only reason they hadn't followed Tsume to the hospital was the visiting hours, which Tsume was not subject to as Naruto's guardian. Eventually her voice drifted off and there was the rustle of cloth.

Iruka looked up and watched her unravel the bundle, setting a change of clothes on the small table beside his bed and then draping a large blue blanket over him. There was a final goodbye and then Kuromaru was hopping lightly off Iruka's bed. She bid him goodnight and left the room, flicking the lights off after her and Iruka sunk into his bed.

Sleep was a long time in coming.

The day of team of assignments came and the Den was much calmer than graduation had been. Their equipment was set on the ground in the living room, ready to be grabbed and Sakura changed Naruto's bandages while Sasuke took his turn manning the stove to make breakfast.

"I still can't get over your healing factor! It's fascinating. These wounds look weeks old already and that tooth is almost in. If only I could-"

Naruto cut her off with a grunt, rolling his eyes. 'No, you are not allowed to experiment on me Sakura, we've been over this.' Sakura huffed playfully as she pushed his hands down, checking the last bandage as she rose and stretched as Naruto pulled his tops back on, tugging at the straps of his ringmail so it connected to the lower half of his armor.

"I know, I know. Doesn't mean I'm not going to take notes every time you get injured."

"You continue to be terrifying, Sakura." Sasuke's dry voice came from the kitchen and Seiji barked his agreement. "Breakfast is finished, by the way. And yes, there's coffee." The padded into the kitchen and grabbed portions and drinks and sat at the table, making quiet conversation. The lower floor of the house was wide and open, the kitchen and dining area connected to the living room with no walls in between and the whole lower floor was bathed in natural light from the large windows and it warmed the room nicely.

Breakfast wrapped up and they grabbed their equipment, sprinting out the door. While team assignments didn't start for another half hour, they wanted to arrive in plenty of time to be seated. The Academy was empty when they arrived, normal classes having let out for the month long break between rotations, and they made their way through the echoing halls, almost reverently quiet. Never again would they come here as students. They were genin now and the only way was up.

Hatake Kakashi had received a lot of tough missions in his day. Assassinations, hunting traitors, rescue missions, reconnaissance deep in enemy territory. You name it, chances are he'd done it at some point in his career. But this was shaping up to be his most challenging and daunting task yet.

Passing and training a genin team.

Oh the Hokage had been trying to get him to do such a thing for several years now but it had never stuck before. He would pull himself away from Anbu long enough to test and then subsequently fail whatever brats they'd given to him before melting back into the shadows until they tried again, like clockwork every six months.

This time was different though. This time not only was the council playing politics in that he'd been given the last Uchiha but he also had a personal stake in it. He'd been given Uzumaki Naruto, son of his beloved teacher and another person who he'd almost failed.

After his little...episode the day of Naruto's arrival, he'd gone to the Hokage after wriggling away from the Anbu med bay and managed to convince the Hokage to give Naruto to him after the boy had graduated. He'd been pleased with himself until he'd seen the glint in the old man's eyes and realized he'd just agreed to take on a team. The string of words that had left him at that realization were not fit to ever be repeated in company.

He'd tried to get himself assigned to Naruto's guard but had been denied, and instead did what he did best. Bent the rules just enough to get what he wanted. Or tried to anyway. His plan had been to engineer a meeting with him and try to get to know him, so he would have an excuse to spend time with him. Since he couldn't just walk up and say "Hi my name is Hatake Kakashi and your father and mother were my teachers and practically raised me" he tried to run into Naruto in the market or at the training grounds.

Only Naruto trained and lived with the Inuzuka within days of his arrival in the village and then lived and trained on his own land. He couldn't watch from the property line because that was creepy, even for him. So it was with ill humor that he'd waited until the genin exams and then joined the rest of the other perspective jonin sensei to watch the physical components of the exam. By then he knew he'd also be taking on the Uchiha, so he'd made sure to pay attention to him as well.

He was surprised, to say the least. He'd expected the boy to be skilled, yes, but also a ball of angst, for him to spurn his classmates and turn his nose up at teamwork. Instead, while he was still aloof, it wasn't with everyone and he was downright fuzzy with Naruto and another girl, a civilian he didn't know the name of. He carried about him an air that was not quite fully content, but at ease and assured of himself.

Naruto was also shaping up to be interesting in his own ways. Discovering that his teacher's son was mute from physical trauma had been a blow, but Naruto didn't seem overly affected by it. He had his partner wolf summons for translation(and wasn't the presence of the wolves fascinating in and of itself) and he found the boy's use of Sign promising as well. He seemed to have a good grasp of basic ninja skills and his taijutsu would be paired well with anyone who was a slower but more powerful striker, like the pink haired civilian that he and the Uchiha were close to. His Ōkami Bunshin posed some implications for tracking and combat he would have to ponder on later and the move he'd used against Raido was a move he himself utilized with his dogs, but Naruto's wolves were bigger, stronger and therefor the move was far more deadly in his hands.

The night Mizuki turned traitor Kakashi was dragged from his bed but, instead of being sent ot the wall or joining an out of village patrol like he anticipated, the Sandaime had placed him on guard duty over his student and the Academy teacher at the hospital. The sight of Naruto's wounds had angered him and some deep primal part of him wished to go rend Mizuki limb from limb.

(When he discovered, later, that Naruto had done that for himself and torn Mizuki's arm off he'd felt nothing but vicious pride.)

When the day of team assignments had dawned, Kakashi had spent the morning at the Memorial Stone, as he did every day, but he was uncharacteristically talkative, filling the air to cover the nerves he felt. He spoke to Minato and Kushina, telling them what little he knew about their son, and he spoke to Rin and Obito, lamenting about taking on students and his probable shortcomings as a teacher. The meeting was at nine that morning, and he would show up at 10:30. Late enough to be in character but not so late as to garner scorn from his cute new students.

At 9:30 he hopped into a tree outside the classroom and set to watching, making sure to tamp down his chakra. It wasn't enough and Kakashi watched as Naruto's head came up, his sharp amber-gold and blue gaze landing on Kakashi, which drew the attention of the young Uchiha and thier third, the pink haired civilian he couldn't quite remember the name of.

Right, sensor. And a powerful one at that, to see through jonin level chakra suppression.

Giving it up as a bad job he leaned in through the window, taking in the scene they presented. The girl was dressed in dark shinobi pants and dark maroon shirt, her hair drawn back in a severe tail while she held a green scroll in her hands. The Uchiha was dressed in white shorts and a dark blue shirt with a high collar, a small Uchiha fan printed into his shoulder. He was sharpening kunai, a senbon clenched between his teeth as he worked. Naruto was dressed in the summer version of the Konoha uniform in dark gray, the collar of the shirt hanging low enough that Kakashi could make out the top of a set of ringmail and a masked singlet much like his own, the bandages from his wounds still stark white against his tanned skin. There was a brush clutched in his hands, hovering over what looked like, to Kakashi's untrained eye, a partially completed barrier seal and his partner hanging off of his shoulder, looking half asleep.

"My first impression of you guys...I think you could be tolerable. Meet me on the roof." No need to get their hopes up too much and with a burst of chakra he used a shunshin to get to the roof, settling onto one of benches. They came, not through the door like he thought they would but rather up the side of the building, looking at ease with what should have been an advanced chakra control exercise for him to teach them. They settled onto the ground in front of them, Naruto leaning against the wolf, Seiji if his memory served, and Sakura leaned against him, Sasuke sitting contentedly on his other side.

With four pairs of eyes leveled on him he gave them an eye smile and clapped his hands together.

"So! Let's start with introductions. Tell me your name, your likes, dislikes and your dream for the future." They continued to gaze at him placidly before Sakura spoke up, elbow propped on her knee and chin in her hand.

"Why don't you go first, sensei. Show us how it's done." There was something lurking in the depths of her eyes, something that spoke of tightly restrained danger and Kakashi hummed.

"Alright. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like a lot of different things and dislike a lot of other things. My dreams? Never really thought about them." There was a distinct air of annoyance and they traded unimpressed glances. "Now you guys! How about you first, pinky?" That eyebrow twitch promised pain and suffering.

"Haruno Sakura. The boys know me already." When nothing else was forthcoming he felt sweat bead on his temple and he huffed, turning to Naruto and pointing at him.

'Uzumaki Naruto and Seiji. My pack knows all there is to know.' The boy's hands were sure and the signs came easy, though there was some slurring because of his small fingers. Something like despair came over him as both boy and wolf were silent and he pointed at the last student, though he didn't hold out much hope for this one above the others.

"Hn." Of course. He deserved this. This was every time he ignored Gai, every time he'd spaced Genma or Asuma and every time he called Tenzo his "cute little kohai" come back to bite him in human form. His own sarcasm turned against him in the shape of his new genin.

"Alright, alright. My name is Hatake Kakashi and I like dogs and broiled saury. I hate sweets. My dream is to make good on a promise to someone I failed before." It galled him a bit to give away this much personal information, but it was likely he wouldn't make it far with these three unless there was a little give and take. Of course, all three smiled, the air clearing a bit.

"Haruno Sakura! I enjoy studying medicine and taijutsu and I hate useless fangirls and those who won't stand up for themselves. My dream is to become the best frontline medic around and keep these two alive." Well at least she had enthusiasm.

'I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like my partner, ramen, soft things and every member of my pack. I hate traitors and those who hurt others just because they can. My dream is to establish a huge pack and grow strong enough to protect them. And to become a career jonin sensei.' A career jonin sensei, huh? Well there were definitely worse paths he could have chosen. Minato and Kushina would have loved it as well.

"I'm Seiji. I like my partner, venison jerky and taking naps on the basking rocks. I hate cats and traitors. My goal is to build a pack with my partner and live until I'm gray in the muzzle and have dozens of pups and grandpups." Ah, that was right. The five and a half foot tall wolf was also part of the team. He'd have to keep that in mind for training.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but huffed after Naruto and Sakura nudged him. "Uchiha Sasuke. I like tomatoes and cats. I hate traitors and my older brother. My goal is to get my revenge against him by living the best life I can despite what happened." He crossed his arms. "Make no mistake. I'll kill him, if I get the chance, but I've been reminded that there's more important things."

Well wasn't that something. Someone had achieved in a year what the Yamanaka therapists had been trying to achieve for the better part of half a decade. Oh sure he still wanted revenge and he still hated his brother but the fact that he was willing to prioritize his life over that was...well he was doing fairly good, all thing considered.

"Very good. Now that that's out of the way, I've got some bad news. You're not quite genin yet." Oh he had thier attention now and he reveled in their shocked expressions. "The Academy exams just tell us who has the capability of being genin. It's up to the jonin to administer tests to see who actually has what it takes to serve as shinobi. So tomorrow we're going to be doing a little survival training. This test has a failure rate of 66% and those who fail must return to the Academy, to try again during the next six month cycle. Tomorrow, meet me at Training ground 3, at 7am."

He rose to his feet lazily and gave them an eye smile. "Oh and, uh, don't eat breakfast. You'll just end up throwing it up and that would be a bad start to the morning, wouldn't it?"

Sasuke watched as Naruto dozed in the early morning light, sprawled out like a starfish in a sunbeam. They'd been here since 6:30 that morning, stretching and getting ready for whatever test Kakashi-sensei was going to administer. Of course, when the man hadn't shown up by half past seven and Naruto sensed his chakra halfway across the village in the jonin district they'd been annoyed.

Then they'd been inspired.

Some careful seal carving, tag laying and Sasuke's application ninja wire had set most of the field to explode, blind or deafen and Sakura had spent the last little while tipping all of their weapons with mid-level paralytics, humming to herself with a frankly frightening smile on her face. It would only take about a half dozen glancing blows to render even an Anbu useless. Naruto had inked nullification seals carefully on the backs of thier necks, which would protect them from the worst of the various exploding tags scattered around. Honestly Sasuke was still a little amazed with Naruto's skills in seals and how easy the other boy made them seem.

With that done they'd shared some rations out between them and set to spending the time until thier teacher arrived in personal pursuits. Sakura continued to read her medical scrolls, intent on completing the tasks the medics at the hospital had given her and Sasuke had settled in to continue his attempts at meditation. Willowtail had sat with him and explained how meditation would help him both physically and mentally, and how would it help with channeling chakra and he was willing to try anything once.

Naruto and Seiji had found the biggest sunbeams on the training grounds, slumped down and fell asleep almost instantly, breathing quietly, in sync with each other, a calming background mixed with birdsong and the light summer breeze.

It was almost ten in the morning by the time Kakashi appeared in the clearing of the training ground, obviously trying to make an entrance but being completely ignored by his students.

"Alright my cute little students! No time to waste, let's get up and get started." Let it never be said that Hatake Kakashi couldn't dig his own grave deeper and deeper with his own hands. He watched the genin grumble and get up, coming to stand in front of him with bleary unimpressed gazes.

"Good!" He pulled from his waist pouch two bells on red strings. "The goal of this test is to take from me these two bells. You have until one o'clock this afternoon to do it. The purpose is two-fold. Those who have the bells when the alarm rings get lunch and get to move on as full genin of Konoha. The one who doesn't have the bell gets tied to the post, goes hungry and goes back to the Academy. You'll need to come at me with the intent to kill if you want any hope of passing this test." He noticed the lack of stomach grumbling at the mention of lunch and he narrowed his eyes, choosing to ignore the glee in their faces as he set the limit for the test.

"Did my cute little students eat this morning?" He infused his voice with just an edge of danger but instead of quailing before his wrath Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment while Sakura and Sasuke both scoffed.

"Skipping meals with his metabolism? No offense, sensei but I like all of my parts attached and not being used as chew toys." Kakashi watched as Sasuke crossed his arms and stared at the other boy while Sakura nodded emphatically.

'I would never!' Naruto's offense was clear, his signs quick and sharp with it.

"Naruto the last time you went too long without food you bit Raido-senpai during our spar. Genma-senpai was making barbeque jokes for like, a week after that."

'I forgot about that.'

"Sure you did."

Right, note to self: Make sure Naruto was always fed to prevent accidental attempted consumption of allies.

"I see. Well, with that out of the way I suppose now is as good a time as any. Ready?" They tensed and Kakashi nodded slightly at their eagerness.

"Good. Begin."

"Sakura I think you killed him."

"I did not!" A pause. "At least, I don't think I did. I used the right concentrations of yarrow and hemlock and I made sure to negate the worst of it with five parts mosswater during distillation. He should have, at worst, thrown up and fallen over."

'I think it was the combination of the flashbang and that last punch to his temple. His chakra feels ok.'

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke stared at the limp form of thier sensei where he lay slumped on the ground, arms tied behind his back with a tight spool of ninja wire. They'd taken the man by surprise using a combination of steam from Sasuke and Sakura's jutsu and Naruto's summons, herding the man into the traps they'd set before. Once blinded and staggering with his hands clasped desperately over his ears as if trying to hold his skull together, Sasuke and Naruto had managed to land enough senbon in him that the poison took effect and Sakura was able to deliver a chakra-enhanced punch to his head, rendering the man unconscious.

Securing him was the work of moments and taking the bells even less time. Of course they realized what was meant to happen. After all, there was no two man cells in the shinobi ranks. The bells were meant to pit them against each other. And that might have worked, had the three of them not been living together for the last several months and been driven by the need to succeed as one unit.

"Who has the smelling salts?" Naruto tossed Sakura the little vial that she shook and twisted, holding it under the older man's masked nose. There was a beat, then another and then Kakashi was grunting, heaving himself into a upright position and wavering in place.

"Don't move so fast!" Sakura's voice was disapproving as she came forward, small firm hands gripping their sensei's chin and getting a look in his one exposed eye, turning his head this way and that. "Pupil looks clear, thankfully, so concussion is unlikely. No blood from the ears either so the flashbang tags haven't ruptured anything. Looks like that power level is ok for training exercises, Naruto. You're awful pale for what we used on the weapons. Are you oversensitive to poppy by any chance?"

"A little." Came the gritted answer, followed by a groan and Sakura sighed.

"Of course you'd be sensitive to one of the most basic components for grade two poisons and then just not mention it. You must be an absolute joy at the hospital." Her voice was colored with exasperation and the boys shared a smile, glad it was turned on someone other than them for once. "Sasuke, untie his arms. Naruto can you unseal one of the spare water bottles and then bring me that and a few pieces of bread?" The others set to doing their jobs, fairly ignoring Kakashi as they went about what Sakura had asked of them while Sakura herself reached into her thigh holster, pulling out a syringe with an amber liquid.

"Unfortunately for you, there's no antidote to this poison because we don't really need one usually. Of course, we would have used something different if we'd known poppy was out of the question. I'm sure you know what this is." She held up the syringe with a vicious little smile and Kakashi almost whimpered. A flushing agent meant he was in for a long and unhappy night.

"You're all little monsters." He panted as he brought his now freed arms forward to rub at the skin of his wrists. "You all pass, if only because you might actually kill me if I didn't."

Sakura's little smile was all false innocence as she pressed the water and bread into his hands.

"Eat it. We can't flush you on an empty stomach." They left him to his own devices, obviously realizing that the mask wasn't meant to be seen under as they went about their own lunches a few feet away. Once his stomach was full of the bland food Sakura came over, rolled up his sleeve and cleaned a patch of skin with an alcohol wipe before she jabbed him with the syringe.

The effects were almost instant and he jolted to his feet as he felt his stomach begin to rebel.

"Team 7 starts duties tomorrow morning at eight. Meet here." If his words were clipped as he clutched his stomach and practically teleported away well, no one was going to mention it beyond a few giggles.

"Hey Sakura?"

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"I'm almost certain that every poison we use has an antidote."

"I'm fairly certain you're misinformed, Sasuke-kun."

A beat.

"Yes Sakura."