Title: Team Tensai

Rating: T

Summary: They've gone back to the past. They've gone too far back into the past and they just don't want to wait around years and years, so they figured they might as well start early.

Warnings: none, gen, no beta

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.

Author Note: I love time travel fics. I really do. This was on the top of my head and I had to write it down, so I thought I might as well share it with you. Originally a one-shot, it has evolved into a WIP with a side-story/prequel called Mangekyō Sharingan.

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His first genin team. Or, at least the first one that he was going to be testing to see if they would actually be genin. Sarutobi-sama had insisted that he start testing genin. The teacher at the Academy had told him that the students were already at training ground seven, so he made his way there, wondering exactly what kind of children he would be testing. It was simple enough for him to think up a test for the wanna-be team, it'd be the same test that his Jounin-sensei had given his team.

Hiding up in the trees surrounding the training area, he watched for the students. All he could see where three six year olds playing in the dirt. Actually playing in the dirt, with rocks and everything. He could clearly see that the child with black hair was an Uchiha, the red and white fan on the back of his shirt a dead give-away. The girl-child had amazingly fluffy pink hair and the last child was dressed in practically rags, his blond mop of hair fly-away and dirty.

There was no one else in the area.

Hopping down from the tree, nineteen year old Kakashi Hatake walked sedately towards them.

"Yo." They barely looked up at him before going back to their game. He was a little annoyed at being so easily dismissed, but figured that the children were spawn of ninja and wouldn't really be wary of someone with a Konoha headband and Jounin vest, "What are you kids doing here?"

"Waitin'." The Uchiha mumbled, pulling a rock from the blond's hands.

"Who are you waiting for?"

"Teacher." The pink fluff-ball frowned and gave the Uchiha a rock. The blond groaned and took a rock back from the Uchiha.

"'Ra..." His bottom lip wobbled and his voice was despondent; Kakashi grinned under his mask, "Why you so mean?"

"Sorry 'To," The pinkette grinned at the blond and the Uchiha smirked. Which was decidedly cute on his six year old face.

"So," Kakashi flopped onto the ground next to the Uchiha, watching the little game, becoming fascinated as the rocks exchanged hands quickly. There were a total of twenty-one rocks that the kids were passing between themselves and to Kakashi's surprise, he started to see a pattern, a strategy to what they were doing, "What's the name of the game?"

The blond scoffed and looked at him. Kakashi hid his shock as seeing the six whisker marks on his face. This was the boy with the Nine Tails sealed in him. "Pass the Rock."

Incredulous, Kakashi bit his lip to contain his laughter, "'Pass the Rock'?"

"Is not a game." The Uchiha boy scowled fiercely when Pinkette took one of Blondie's rocks and Blondie took one of his. He paused for a moment then gave a rock to Pinkette who scowled back at him as she handed a rock to Blondie.

"How do you play?" Kakashi was intrigued. He'd never seen a game that involved rocks and passing them back and forth and even after watching for a bit he didn't understand what they were trying to accomplish or the rules they were using, but there was definitely strategy involved.

"'TO!!" Pinkette shrieked suddenly, throwing her hands into the air and flopping onto her back in a huff, "Do you always gotta win?"

"Is just good at it." Naruto, because it was most definitely Naruto Uzumaki who was the blond of the group, took all eight of Pinkette's rocks and held out his hand towards the Uchiha who was scowling as hard as possible for a six year old. The Uchiha growled in the back of his throat and handed over his four rocks.

"We'll play 'gain, right?" The Uchiha poked Naruto in the knee and Naruto nodded contentedly as he counted the rocks.

"Hey!" Naruto snapped his very blue eyes up at Kakashi, "You stealed one o' my rocks!"

Kakashi's visible eye snapped open and he stared at the blond kid, "I didn't."

"You did! 'pose ta have two-one!" Naruto horded the rocks close to his chest and stared at Kakashi with anger and hurt in his eyes, "Is only having two-zero!"

"The other kids may have not given you one of their rocks." Kakashi did indeed have the missing rock, but messing with easily manipulated children was always fun.

"'Ra an' 'Ke know the rules. They don't not gimme my rocks!"

To Kakashi's bemusement, both the Uchiha boy and Pinkette stood up, not that they were very much taller when they were standing, and glared at him, hands on hips. "Give 'To back the rock." The Uchiha hissed. It was surprising to see an Uchiha get so defensive for someone else.

"I don't have it," Kakashi raised his hands, indicating innocence. Or that his hands were weapon free, but that was more of a ninja thing. Besides, it was just a rock. The kids could grab another one, a much nicer one in his opinion, from the stream that was only ten meters away.

"Don' lie!" Pinkette literally screamed at Kakashi and he was so stunned at her shrill voice and absolute fury that he barely dodged out of the way when she leapt at him. He was distracted by the Uchiha flaring his chakra and substituted himself with a log just in time for a kunai with a live blade to slam into it.

Kakashi couldn't believe that the kid had live weapons. Who the hell gave a six year old live blades? Then again, the kid was an Uchiha.

Something hit Kakashi's knees and the teenager staggered forward a step, looking down to see Naruto holding tight to his legs, "Gimme my rock!"

Slipping out of the blond's grip, Kakashi sidestepped Pinkette, who had thrown herself at him again, only to have to her move into his dodge and sideswipe his hip, her short hair puffing up even more than it already was with what Kakashi assumed was anger.

"Fire: Phoenix Immortal!" From where the Uchiha was standing came several small balls of fire that Kakashi couldn't dodge completely though he managed to get his arms up to cover his face. He was completely flabbergasted that a six year old, even an Uchiha six year old, managed to correctly do a C rank ninja technique. What was even better, or maybe worse, Kakashi couldn't decide, was that he'd done the technique with the shortest release phrase Kakashi had ever heard.

A sudden pain in his foot flooded over the burn pains on his arms made Kakashi look down to see that Pinkette had driven the kunai the Uchiha had originally thrown into his foot. And she hadn't just cut skin; she'd driven the blade to the hilt, right through his foot and into his sandal.

Pinkette growled at him and yanked the kunai back out of his foot and Kakashi hopped away only to trip backwards over Naruto, who'd been waiting behind him. The Uchiha leapt from his position, catching Kakashi around the neck on his way down, refusing to let go even with Kakashi pulling at his arms. Tiny hands scrabbled at Kakashi's pockets and then, within seconds, all three of the kids backed off.

Kakashi leaned up, resting on his elbow, stunned at the fierceness of the three over such a little thing as a rock of all things and glanced down to his foot to see that it was bleeding sluggishly. He turned his gaze back to the children when they started talking.

"Here 'To," Pinkette handed Naruto the rock that had at one point been in Kakashi's pocket and Naruto beamed at her. The Uchiha took the kunai that was offered back to him and cleaned it off with his shirt.

"You get them?" The Uchiha quirked an eyebrow at Naruto and the boy grinned, the whisker marks on his face crinkling.

"Absolutely." Naruto pulled something out of his pockets and handed one to each of the other children. They turned as one to Kakashi and presented a united front.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha." The Uchiha boy sketched a short bow and showed that he held a small silver bell in his hand.

"I am Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto saluted a textbook perfect salute to Kakashi.

"I am Sakura Haruno." Pinkette curtsied like a well trained court lady, also showing off a small silver bell in her hand.

Naruto stepped forward, standing the middle, Sasuke to his right, Sakura to his left, "We are your genin team. We graduated young and Sarutobi-sama decided that we should all be on the same team. For irony's sake, I believe that he gave our team to you."

With a snort, Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Team Tensai my lily-white ass."

"Oh shut it Sasuke," Sakura walked around Naruto and knelt at Kakashi's feet. "I have training as a medic Hatake-san; please allow me to heal your injuries." Without another word her hands glowed with a familiar green light and the pain from his burns on his arms dulled before going away completely. She hovered over his foot for a few seconds longer then leaned back, letting her hands fall gracefully into her lap, "There we go; as good as new."

"Wait," Kakashi sat up all the way, staring at the kids, "You're the team that I'm supposed to be testing?" They were all of six for gods sake.

They had managed to take him down though not for long and through surprise, but they'd still managed it. He knew that if the fight had gone on any longer he would have recovered fairly easy and taken control. It was how very childish the children had been acting before attacking him that had let them gain the element of surprise. Surprise was always an effective ninja tool.

"Yes, Sir," Naruto pulled Sakura behind him protectively at Kakashi's tone, probably worried about the jounin's temper at being tricked by young children; he was obviously ready to take anything on himself, including punishment, that Kakashi was prepared to throw at all of them for any reason he might have. The boy was used to punishment and it showed in his actions.

"And that thing, with the rocks," Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle, "That was to put me off guard so I wouldn't see you as anything but children. Young, untrained children just out in the sun, having fun." Kakashi shook his head, "Aa, even during the fight I thought it was only the rock that you wanted."

"Correct, Sir." Sasuke nudged Naruto in the back. "Okay, not all of it. Pass the Rock is actually a game that we've been playing for a while and the rocks that we use are important."

"How did you know what kind of test I'd be giving you?" Considering that Kakashi had never tested genin wanna-be before, he was curious as to how they knew what he'd use as his test.

"One of my cousins was on your team Hatake-san," The Uchiha boy spoke up, "When I found out that I would be tested by you I asked Obito's parents if they knew what kind of test you may give us. I was told your team was given a bell test that had been passed from the First Hokage all the way down to the Fourth. I was reasonably sure that you would give the same test." Sasuke nodded to Sakura, "Sakura was able to confirm that you had bells on you when you first sidestepped her lunge and signalled us. We then commenced with the rest of the plan."

Getting to his feet, Kakashi nodded, impressed with the children. Deeply impressed. He looked directly at Naruto, "So, you're good at gathering information, deception," He looked to Sakura, "medical techniques," He looked at Sasuke last, "ninjutsu and you obviously passed all the Academy tests. How did you decide who got the bells?"

"Genin are put in teams of three. Your test was set up to create dissention between the ranks and depended on teamwork," Naruto smiled, just a bit sadly, "I determined that if that was not the case, if any of us should be sent back to the Academy it should be me. I am, after all, me."

There wasn't anything Kakashi could say about that in front of the other two children, so he resolved to talk to Naruto about it later, when they were alone.

"Alright, alright," Kakashi grinned at the children and his visible eye curved up. The title that Sarutobi had given the team earlier was just too good to pass up, "You pass. Congratulations, Team Tensai."

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tensai:

genius, prodigy, natural gift
natural calamity, disaster
reprinting