Hello everyone! Welcome to my newest project in fanfiction, Naruto the Demonic Swordsman! I figure what better way to introduce myself than do it Naruto style, as this is a Naruto fic. My real name isn't important, but my pen name is Shinobi no Ryu. My likes include pizza and chocolate, not together. I dislike many types of vegetables, especially asparagus! My dream for the future is to become a famous author. And my hobbies are playing video games and writing.

Now that's out of the way . . .

I have an important announcement. Please read this if you read nothing else of the Author Notes. This fic contains a few OC's, none of which are central to the story, nor are they the focus. This is focused completely on Naruto and my spinning of his tale. He will be paired with Hinata, but it will be a little slow in the beginning for their relationship. Don't worry though, I won't be ignoring them.

I can't really say too much about the story without giving anything away, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask me in a review or send me an e-mail.

Finally, I do not own Naruto in any shape or form. The only thing I own are my created characters. Any likeness or similarities between OC's or plot lines are purely coincidental and not an intentional plagiarism.

A light breeze danced through the trees outside of Konoha Academy, causing the leafed branches to gently brush against the glass windows. Bright cheery sunlight poured in from the three large vertical windows, illuminating the students within. One such student was none other than Naruto Uzumaki, the best (or worst, depending on whom you asked) prankster and troublemaker.

At the moment, he was currently resting his head on his hand. He was rubbing and kneading the tender knot that was forming under his blonde hair where his long time crush, Sakura Haruno, had delivered a hammer-like blow with her fist.

Sakura-chan sure can hit hard. . . ow! Why did she have to go and hit me? It was that stupid punk – who's name I can't remember –who knocked me into Sasuke-teme! Naruto thought, starting with a pathetic whimper and ending it with a low growl.

He wondered how he went from being on the top of the world to this. He grinned, despite the ebbing pain he felt, thinking about the night before. After failing his genin test, Mizuki had given him a chance to try the test again, but with different curriculum. All he had to do was to steal the forbidden scroll from the Hokage's tower and deliver it to Mizuki.

If Iruka-sensei hadn't found me when he had, I might of given that traitor the scroll and . . . Naruto cut his thoughts early, not wanting to even envision what could have been. But, Iruka had found him and even protected him from a fatal blow. He then later stood up for him and said he was proud of him – him! Naruto Uzumaki, the drop-dead last and grand loser of the academy!

Using a strength he hadn't known he had, Naruto was able to easily defeat Mizuki by surprising him with the forbidden ninjutsu technique Kage Bunshin. To top off defeating a Chunin single-handedly, Iruka-sensei gave him his own personal hitai-ate! It might have been covered in scratches and dings, the blue cloth faded with age, but it was the most beautiful thing in the world to Naruto. It was a sign that his precious person truly cared about him.

Naruto looked down at the source of his discomfort from earlier, Sasuke Uchiha, or better know to the blonde ninja as asshole-who's-hair-looks-like-a-chicken's-ass. But, because the latter takes too long to say, he just settles for bastard.

I'd like to see him take down a chunin! He's lucky I can't tell anyone about last night or I'd be getting all his fan-girls! Naruto laughed mischievously as he thought about the pathetic and heartbroken expression on Sasuke's face as he was abandoned by all his previous followers.

He'd be all like, "Noo! Naruto give them back, even though I'm gay!" then I'd just laugh at him and take off into the sunset with Sakura-chan! This time, Naruto's laughter was louder and slightly muffled by the swollen cheek that was also courtesy of the earlier event. This drew quite a few looks, but all the students quickly ignored him, used to his idiotic breakouts of laughter.

As his thoughts started turning more PG, he gained a very small blush on his face as he imagined having his first kiss with Sakura. Because that. . . man kiss . . . would NOT be his first one! He refused to acknowledge it. Or the taste of tomatoes in his mouth. He grimaced and put his hands over his head as he started violently rubbing his head, trying to somehow erase the memory in his mind.

Across the room, a young girl with silky black, almost purple hair, watched Naruto with her clear lavender eyes. She giggled so quietly when he started laughing, that even if someone had heard it over him, they would of assumed it to be nothing. She was Hinata Hyuuga, princess of the Hyuuga clan and the only female in Konoha who could honestly say she liked the blonde ninja. She felt her face start to heat up as she thought about her crush and began her nervous motion of poking her index fingers together. She didn't quite know when she started this mundane showing of embarrassment, but she was quite sure it was because of Naruto.

Every day, she wished she could somehow summon the courage to walk over to him and sit with him. If to do nothing else but sit with him and say hello. She cursed herself for being so weak. All she could do was follow him from the shadows and watch. She saw how everyone in the village would look at him with cold, even hateful, eyes and how he would ignore it like one would ignore the rock they walked by everyday. He would smile and walk with his head held high.

She knew that smile, it was one that he put up for others – not for himself. Every now and then, when he was sure nobody was looking, Hinata would witness as his beaming face would shift into one of unspeakable and unbearable sadness. A face that only said he wanted a friend.

When she witnessed him like that, her heart ached and her eyes would summon unwanted tears, waiting to be shed for her innocent and pure love.

Why? She asked herself, Why does everyone hate you so?

The young princess had no more time to mull over her crush as she felt a faint chakra signature emanate from the center of class milliseconds before a large cloud of smoke and leaves erupted from nothing soon revealing their scarred and bandaged teacher, Iruka Umino.

Iruka had a gentle smile on his face as he looked over his many students whom he had taught over the past three years. His smile faltered for just a moment as his mind involuntarily started replacing faces among the crowd of children. He recognized the incorporeal faces well.

He had been an instructor at the Academy for six years, in which time he had taught two class groups, this one being the second. He watched with pride as his previous students ascended the shinobi ranks, some already jonin. But, the faces that flickered ontop others were ones whom he would never see achieve that prestigious rank. The day he had become an instructor, the Hokage had pulled him aside and warned him of a problem being an academy instructor faces.

Death.

Not his own, but of his students. He knew it was foolish to even think that he would of never of encountered it, but so far three students had died from his last class. All of them had been on the same team, all of them killed in the Chunin exams by ruthless ninja from other countries.

On average, most Genin stay that rank for two to three years before succeeding in the Chunin exams, others either give up or die in the line of duty. Their Jonin sensei's only know them for that period of time, and when they're considered soldiers of Konoha. But for academy teachers, they see them when they're still children, six times a week and for eight hours each day. The death of the once bright and young students always hit home.

Iruka shook his head, smiling again at his students, trying to will the unpleasant thoughts away. That kind of thinking should be done over a large bottle of liquor, not during graduation.

"Good to see you all decided to show up on time today – Shikamaru," Iruka spoke, gaining laughter from his class, "I'll be reading your names off a list and you'll meet your new squad leaders after I've announced your team." He gave them a moment to cheer as they all started excitingly talked amongst themselves.

"Settle down, or else you won't be able to hear me when I . . ." he started, but the talking continued. His eye twitched as a blood vessel visibly popped on his forehead. Clenching his fist, he took a deep breath and unleashed his special teacher jutsu, appropriately named Shut the Hell Up! "QUIET!"

His voice blasted through the room and set off primal fear in all the students, even the legendary Sasuke who had been quiet felt a jolt run down his spine. They all sat straight in their seats and gave full undivided attention to their sensei.

Just like a certain purple haired homicidal bi-polar special jonin, Iruka went from pissed to happy as his smile returned in a matter of seconds. "Thank you! Now I'll start calling out the team names, after which your instructors will lead you outside to meet with you. Team One . . ."

Iruka's voice trailed off as three young shinobi in the room all kept special attention to his announcements, hanging off each one. All thought similar in idea, but certain things were changed.

Oh please let me be on the same team as Sasuke-kun! Thought one in particular, although the idea was rather popular among the female population, and one guy.

C'mon Iruka-sensei! I didn't leave that note attached to a box of dumplings outside your door for nothing! Put me on the team with Sakura-chan! Thought another.

Naruto-kun . . . came the last, timid thought.

"Team Seven: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno – *burp* Oh, excuse me!" Iruka laughed, blushing as he scratched the back of his head. Those dumplings were tasty, if not bought in vain.

As Sakura danced in joy, and many others wailed in despair, Naruto was against the edge of his desk leaning forward, palms lying flat against the table, having abandoned his chair for it wasn't close enough to Iruka's words as he would of liked.

". . . and Kiba Inazuka. Your instructor will be - "

"Whaaat? Iruka-sensei, no way!" Naruto yelled out, jumping onto his desk, his hands held on his head in dismay as his face reflected the feeling of betrayal.

"Naruto sit back down! I'm sorry you don't like it but I don't make these teams!" Iruka yelled back, feeling truly sorry for the knucklehead. He knew his feelings for Sakura, but there really was nothing he could do.

Grumbling darkly to himself, Naruto jumped back down and slouched in his chair and crossed his arms, pouting. I hope those dumplings give you the runs, jerk! He yelled mentally, he knew Iruka didn't deserve it, but still!

"Team Eight: Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuuga, and Jin Kisaragi. Your instructor will be Kurenai Yuuhi."

Hinata frowned and dropped her hands from their clasped position sighing, she really hoped she could be on the same team as Naruto. Looking over at him, she couldn't help but laugh a little seeing his pouting. He was really cute when he did that. The thought alone made her blush as she walked down the stairs towards a beautiful kunoichi with black curly hair, eyes the color of blood and the body a woman would kill for and men would massacre to be with.

One by one, students slowly left the room, escorted by a jonin. Save for Team Seven, who's instructor seemed to be running late. Naruto began looking around the room, trying to guess who his teammates would be. Finally, there were only two other boys in the class who hadn't been assigned.

"Lastly, Team Thirteen: Naruto Uzumaki, Kazuma Shiro, and Shin Migazuchi. Your instructor will be Kenshin Ryomu."

Naruto had been bummed earlier about not being on the same team as Sakura, but at least he could still see her around the village. Although, she was good at avoiding him . . .

Pushing that thought aside, he started to feel excited again as he watched the sliding door open, revealing his new sensei.

He wore the usual jonin attire, but he left the jacket halfway zipped up revealing a silver necklace with a lion's head roaring to all who viewed it. His hair was a very strange blonde, more white than anything else but had a blonde tint. It grew to shoulder length and he had the back end pulled into a small ponytail with two small strands framing his attractive face. He had his hands stuffed into his pockets and was smiling up at his three students with a infectious grin. He stood at almost six feet two inches, tall for a normal resident of Konoha.

Naruto jumped ontop his desk and soared over the others with a massive jump, earning a shout from Iruka. He couldn't careless at the moment, as he just wanted to impress his new sensei.

"Nice jump there kid," he started, winking at Naruto. Then, looking up at the other two genin candidates, who were walking down the stairs like normal people, he motioned them to follow as he walked out the door; Naruto hot on his heels. "Save the introductions till we get to the lunchroom. Easier to only have to say it once." He had been so excited about meeting his new teacher, Naruto had never taken the opportunity to get a proper look at his other teammates. He almost felt a little ashamed of himself – almost.

Walking behind him and to his right, was a boy he faintly recognized. Naruto didn't look it, nor did anyone think it, but he actually paid a lot of attention to Iruka's lectures. He just couldn't understand a lot of it! It was all far too complicated to him, and he wasn't able to do any studying at home because someone had stolen his scrolls from his home.

Naruto's joyful grin twitched for a millisecond, so fast you'd never notice it unless you were a devoted watcher like Hinata. He shook his head and glanced back at the boy, he remembered now who he was. Kazuma Shiro. He was really neutral about both boys as they had never interacted, he couldn't even remember saying 'hi' to him during class.

Kazuma was of normal height and had short, spiky teal hair with dark green eyes that were serious and cold. His face, while still boyish from being a teenager, already started forming his stone cut jaw and hard set brow. He wore a white short sleeved tunic, that he kept un-tucked over his black pants. The right leg had old, worn bandages going from ankle to knee, tightly binding the cloth. Over his shirt, he wore a black jacket that had the sleeves torn off and had a large red ANBU symbol embroidered on the back.

While Naruto thought he looked cool, there was one thing about him he couldn't get. He wore black ninja sandals, with black socks. He had never seen that before. He put it on his 'definitely bug this person about that' list, and gave it no more thought as he swiveled his head over to the other boy.

Shin Migazuchi, he had medium length black hair that was straight to a fault. His eyes were dark purple and he stood only a inch taller than Naruto. He was a bit heavyset, unlike Kazuma who had well defined muscles that seemed almost unnatural for a teen his age. But any fat jokes were more than decided against when Naruto looked at the large mace that he had strapped to his back. If you could even call it that, all it was is a large smooth ball of steel attached to a steel handle that was four feet in length. He wore a black t-shirt, the sleeves were strange as the left one was long, while the right was short. He also wore white shorts that went down to his shins. Along his left arm he wore a metal forearm protector which was attached to black spandex that tightly gripped his arm and hand. The back of his hand also had a separate metal plate, with points at the end where his knuckles are.

All in all, Naruto thought he had some pretty cool teammates. It was a plus that he couldn't remember either of them. To him, it was almost like starting over with a clean fresh slate. Maybe. . . he could actually make some friends. Naruto once again felt the pulling of his heartstrings as he thought of it, but wasn't able to concentrate on it as he looked up and realized he was in the lunchroom with Kenshin having already taken the liberty of sitting atop a nearby table.

Kenshin cleared his throat, gaining the attention of his students and sat back in a relaxed manner. "Well all, it's good to meet you. I thought we'd go through the normal crap of introducing ourselves the way everyone else does. Boring, but effective. All you do is give your name, likes and dislikes, along with your dreams for the future." He started, looking at each of his soldiers faces, making sure they understood. "I'll go first to give ya an idea. The name's Kenshin Ryomu, my likes include beautiful women and manga. I hate fish and milk, I wish they would both burn and die. My hobbies include collecting women in my basement." As Kenshin trailed off, his face turned into an evil grin that stretched from ear to ear.

All three students' faces broke into horrified stares, all of them about ready to bolt.

Kenshin's face stayed that way the entire time until he saw his student's go into a paralyzed fear. That caused him to bust out laughing. "Look at you all! Ha! Fooled you all with that! That's the oldest trick in the book."

Naruto glared at the older man, but had to admit it was a little funny, if not weird as all hell.

"But really, my hobbies include painting and my dream is to get Kurenai to go out with me, but trying to date the Ice Queen herself is rather challenging. But the chase is half the fun, am I right guys? . . . guys?" Kenshin asked, his voice trailing off at the end, seeing the dumbfounded looks they were giving him. "Uh. . . never mind then." He finished shaking his head, adolescent boys these days!

Kazuma, who seemed the most unfazed by their strange sensei, stepped forward and speaking in a voice reflecting his looks. "My name is Kazuma Shiro, I like training and fruit, I dislike civilians who are disrespectful to shinobi and my dreams are to one day surpass my parents and become head of ANBU. My hobby is taking care of my banzai tree."

Kenshin smiled and nodded as Kazuma stepped back into the group. I thought the name sounded familiar, I remember his parents back when I was genin. They were always crazy strong, everyone knew they'd make the higher ranks in no time.

Naruto stepped up next, a toothy grin plastered on his face. "The name's Naruto Uzumaki! I love ramen, especially miso ramen, and I hate Sasuke Uchiha!" he shouted out, making the other two boys snicker remembering the fierce man kiss. Naruto shot a glare back at them, before continuing. "My dream is to one day become Hokage and show everyone in this village that they're wrong about me and then they'll finally respect me! Believe it!"

His face falling into a small frown, Kenshin knew what he meant by making the villagers wrong about him. He knew he was the Kyuubi's jailer and the village pariah. He wondered if even him becoming Hokage would change all the hate directed at him? He could only really hope so, no one deserved what this boy goes through every day.

Shin stepped up next, his mace tapping the floor with a loud clang as he re-adjusted it on his shoulder strap. "Name's Shin Migazuchi, I like horror movies and pineapple juice. I dislike people who make fun of others for how they look, and my dream for the future is to one day marry a pretty girl and have a family. My hobby is writing and making models."

Man talk about an ambitious guy. Kenshin thought chuckling to himself. To each his own though, he supposed. Then, he hopped off the table and dusted off his rear. "Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, it's time you learn about the next test you have to take."

"Wait a minute! Another damn test – what the hell?" Naruto exclaimed, not believing his ears.

Kazuma looked over at Naruto with a raised eyebrow, "You mean you didn't know about the second test?" he asked, his voice bordering on condescending but somehow remaining neutral.

"Y'know, not all of us have ANBU parents who divulge stuff they shouldn't, Kazuma-dono." Shin replied, not knowing about the second test either but, guessed how Kazuma knew. Kazuma just looked away embarrassed and mumbled to himself.

Kenshin blinked twice and started twirling his pinky in his ear, trying to clear out the wax that formed to protect his hearing from the blonde's outburst. "Yes, Naruto. . . there is a second test because we have to make sure that this team works together well."

Naruto instantly calmed down and his mouth dropped into a 'o'. Then, he smirked and threw his arms around his unwilling teammates shoulders and drew them in near. "No problem Kenshin-sensei! We'll be the best team Konoha's ever seen, right guys?" he yelled again, causing his teammates to wince.

"Sure Naruto-dono, just stop yelling like that or we'll all go deaf!" Shin pleaded rubbing his ear.

Naruto looked a bit bashful and apologized sincerely before Kenshin interrupted them. "Alright, meet me at training ground thirteen tomorrow at nine A.M. You'll learn more about the test then, so try to not lose sleep over it. It's only your shinobi career riding on it!" With the final taunting word, he preformed the shushin jutsu, leaving smoke and leaves in his wake.

All three looked a bit unnerved by his last few words, until Naruto decided to speak up to attempt to boost morale. "Don't worry about it guys! I wasn't kidding earlier when I said we'll be the most awesomest team the entire village has ever seen!"

Shin laughed, wondering how that sentence worked grammatically and gave Naruto a thumbs up while Kazuma just grunted, but a ghost of smile was on his face. Then, hoping against hope, Naruto swallowed his fear and decided to throw caution to the wind. "Hey, would you guys like to get something to eat?" He braced himself as he waited for the inevitable answer that he prayed wouldn't show just this once.

"Sure Naruto-dono, I'd love to. I'm sure Kazuma-dono is hungry as well." Shin replied looking over at the last team member who only shifted his gaze between the other two. After sighing, he nodded and uncrossed his arms.

"Sure, I could go for something."

Naruto smiled and jumped up, immediately starting in about how awesome Ichiraku's Ramen is, but inside he was crying.

And for the first time, it was tears of pure joy.

That next morning, Naruto couldn't help but have a bounce to his step. After he and his team had gone out to lunch they hung out all afternoon at Kazuma's place. He even got to meet his parents, who didn't give him a single cold stare! In fact, his mother Mai, was really cool. She was always smiling and even let him wear her ANBU mask for a bit. He was now convinced that he had to join ANBU too, just so he could get that awesome tattoo that they all wore. Kazuma's dad, Fuma, explained to him that the tattoo was a reminder to suppress emotion, at least on missions. Fuma doubted that Naruto would ever lose his passion, but tried to explain to him that those kind of feelings could get his team in trouble. At the time, Naruto didn't really get what he meant.

He arrived at the training grounds at nine A.M sharp, seeing his friends waiting there for him. Friends. . . what an awesome word. . . Naruto mused, smiling and waving at them. They both waved back and Naruto jogged towards them to close the distance quickly.

"Morning Naruto, looks like we beat Kenshin-sensei here." Shin said, looking around to see if maybe he'd pop up right then.

"Ha, I bet he got lost or something." Naruto snickered in reply, dropping his backpack full of ninja tools on the ground. Looking around, he didn't see anything too unusual about these training grounds. It sat in a large clearing, surrounded by tall trees. In the distance, he could see three wooden training posts, all weathered by age and continuous abuse. A large lake sat in the middle of the grounds, with two rivers, one feeding into it and the other flowing from it. Shrugging, he sat down and figured Kenshin would show up soon.

Ten minutes later, they all started wondering where the hell their sensei was, when they heard a nearby tree rustle and Kenshin landed in front of them looking worse for wear, almost like he'd been beaten up. His clothes were disheveled and he was sprouting a large red mark on his cheek. "Yo! Sorry I'm late," he said with a wave.

Shin looked at the blood running down his nose and looked worried, "What the hell happened Kenshin-sensei? Did you come under attack?"

"Nah," Kenshin replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, "I just tried to ask Kurenai out. Damn that woman is crazy!" I bet she fucks like a tiger! He added mentally, with a perverted grin.

All three sweat dropped and Shin slapped his face. "Well, then I take it she said 'no'?" he asked, wondering if he really wanted to know the answer.

"Yep! It's the thirty . . . one, two. . . thirty-fourth time she's turned me down. This time she beat me up to try and get her point across."

Naruto just shook his head wondering how someone could be so dense! "Are you gonna try again? I mean look what she did to you!" he asked.

"Yep!" was his simple reply, which earned a collective groan from his students. Kenshin Ryomu was a persistent man, it ran in his blood! "Besides, Ryomu men are all passionate lovers and unwaivering suitors! It's how all my ancestors landed their wives! How could I face them in the afterlife if I quit now? One day Kurenai the Ice Queen will be mine! AHAHAHA!" He shouted, poising in a heroic stance. His laughter echoed throughout the training ground, causing his students to almost go blue.

Why did I get this moron for a sensei? Ugh. . . Kazuma thought, dropping his head. His parents warned him that Kenshin was a famous womanizer, but he had no idea that it was to this extent.

"Anyways, it's time for the test." He spoke after his laughter died down, causing his students to all give him their attention. "The test is simple, the first person to land a solid blow to my face will become a genin, while the other two are . . . sent back to the academy!" He yelled the last part dramatically, trying to strike as much fear as he could into their hearts.

All three, however, just gave him strange looks. "Wait a minute," Naruto started stepping forward, "yesterday you said this test was going to test our teamwork. This test doesn't make sense. If you sent two of us back, there'd be no point, we'd just have to keep redoing the test with other new genin." he asked, his words showing more wisdom than he normally had.

Kenshin's jaw dropped as he stared at him. Wait. . . how did he. . . did he say I told him yesterday? Coughing, he tried to play it off cool, "Well, while I congratulate you for figuring it out – I said no such thing."

"Yes you did." Shin chipped in.

Kenshin glared at him and shook his head, turning his back to them. "No way." There was no way in hell he'd do something that stupid. The Hokage would kill him.

"Yes, you did." Kazuma spoke up, his usual stoic voice painted with a light humorous tone. He was actually enjoying watching his teacher sweat.

And sweat he did, as Kenshin started fervently racking his brain for the memories of yesterday. Then, he grimaced as it surfaced. "Yes, Naruto. . . there is a second test because we have to make sure that this team works together well."

"Fuck." Was all he muttered as spun around, shooting a serious look at the three. "Listen up, don't you dare tell anyone about this. Especially the Hokage! Or I swear to God I'll make your lives miserable!"

Naruto stifled a laugh but smiled a evil foxish grin at his sensei, he was so going to store this information in his blackmail drawer. "Sure, sure Kenshin-sensei! Does this mean that we don't have to take the test?" he asked, knowing they had him by the short and curlies.

"Oh no, you still have to take it. Just cause you know the purpose of the test doesn't mean you're in the clear. You have to still prove you can work like a team. It's simple, our team was designed to be shock-nin's –"

"Shock-nin's?" Naruto asked, wondering what the hell he was talking about.

Before Kenshin could yell at him for interrupting, Kazuma spoke up. "Shock-nin's are basically heavy combat fighters. Our job would be in a large fight to be the first in and to break up enemy formations. It's really only effective during times of war, but we're still expected to be better fighters than most."

Naruto's face lit up at the implications of what he said. "Awesome! So does that mean they picked us 'cause we're the best at combat? This is freakin' sweet!" he yelled, pumping his fist in the air.

"Actually Naruto, you were picked because of the fact you can preform the Kage Bunshin jutsu. It's invaluable for breaking up enemy formations." Kenshin spat, his voice laced with sarcasm and some venom. He had a pet peeve for people interrupting him.

Naruto just growled at the older man and decided to ignore him.

"As I was saying . . . before someone interrupted me . . . your test will be to simply land a solid punch on my face and you only have three hours to do it."

Shin raised his eyebrow in confusion, remembering all the complicated tests most Jonin made their teams go through. "That's it? Just punch you?"

"Yep, but you better come at me with the intent to kill – or you'll never hit me." Kenshin laughed, eyes gleaming with confidence.

"Hah!" Naruto laughed rolling up his sleeves, "that'll be easy enough, ready guys?" he asked, pulling out a kunai. The other two nodded, Shin grasping his gigantic mace, and Kazuma settled into a fighting stance.

Overconfidence will be their . . . he started, before a small prickle on the back of his neck warned him about impending doom. Spinning around, he saw five Naruto's soaring through the air towards him, all wielding kunai. When did he? Kenshin started, spinning to the left dodging the nearest clone's lunge and countered with a roundhouse.

As the clone disappeared with a puff of smoke, Naruto smirked, glad Kazuma had come up with that plan while they had been waiting for their truant teacher.

"Naruto," Kazuma spoke up, gaining the blonde's curious attention, "you can preform the Kage Bunshin correct?"

"Yeah, yeah, why what's up? Wanna check it out? It's totally aw –"

"No, I want you to summon a few and have them hide in the bushes." Kazuma said, interrupting the blonde mid-sentence.

"Okay, but why?" Naruto asked confused.

Smirking, he replied, "Easy, to lay a trap."

Naruto remembered that was one of his stoic teammates specialties, traps along with ninjutsu. Kazuma also mentioned his taijutsu was rather weak, so Shin and he would simply have to make up in that area while Kazuma would hang in the back.

Kenshin cursed as he dodged not only another clone attack but a sweep of the real one's leg causing him to be in a mid-air roll. He easily caught himself again on his legs and used his momentum to deliver a fatal right hook to clone to his left, that was trying to take advantage of his once unbalanced state. Then, he gasped as he heard the sound of a large object rapidly flying through the air, straight towards him. Looking up, he saw the black steel mace rapidly closing in on his head. Shit, not good!

Shin hesitated for a millisecond as his mace connected with a large crack against his sensei's skull, slamming him to the ground, and he wondered with dread if he killed him. "Oh shit – sensei!" he yelled, but after lifting his mace, he was confused to see a smashed log where Kenshin's smashed skull should be.

"Crap a substitution!" Kazuma yelled, and his finely tuned ears twitched as he heard a rustling of bushes and a familiar sound of metal cutting through the air. "Move!" he yelled again, dropping to ground along with his teammates. Three kunai passed over their bodies harmlessly, but found the intended marks in the remaining clones behind them.

"Not bad kiddo's!" Kenshin spoke, his voice ringing out from seeming nothingness, confusing the three to-be genin as to his location. "But it'll take more than that to take me out. You shouldn't underestimate a jonin, I didn't get this title by gardening, y'know?" he ended it with a echoing laugh that caused the three to keep their heads on a swivel as they all backed up into a triangular formation, to protect each other's backs.

They all slowly examined the line of trees that surrounded them, keep a sharp eye out for any unusual movements when their sensei's voice broke through the veil of silence.

"Doton: Liquid Earth Jutsu!"

Before they could react, the ground underneath their feet suddenly turned to a consistency less thick than mud, but just as sticky. All three were sunk down to their shoulders in the mud and starting struggling as hard as they could against it.

Kenshin appeared from his hiding spot in a bush and laughed as he watched them all struggle in vain against the mud. "It's no use, that's a capture technique that virtually inescapable. All I gotta do now is let you stew in that for the next three hours then 'bam', you all fail."

"Bastard-sensei! No fair!" Naruto yelled out, trying his best to pull his arms above the mud, but it was steadily getting more concrete like. He had to calm himself down as soon as he started to feel it begin to form back into solid earth, there was no way his sensei would let them die. . . right?

Kenshin walked away humming, deciding to take a walk into the forest. I'm sure they'll figure a way out soon enough. But if they don't. . . oh well, at least I won't have to worry about being an instructor for a while.

Naruto let loose a final insult to his sensei's retreating figure and redoubled his efforts to break free of the doton from hell. He smiled as he felt his arms slowly move through the ever hardening mud. Gotta get there before. . .! Before he could finish his thought however, the ground seized up and became solid. "Damn!" he yelled out frustrated.

"Don't worry Naruto," Kazuma whispered.

"Huh?" Naruto replied in confusion, wondering what he had up his sleeve.

"Before I got trapped, I put my hands in the seal for a substitution."

"Why the hell didn't you use that earlier then?" Naruto yelled, pissed that he had struggled so much when Kazuma could of just escaped and helped him out.

"Because if he had, Kenshin-sensei would of probably ran Kazuma-dono off." Shin explained calmly.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense."

Kazuma sighed and shook his head, then looked around to make sure the coast was clear before substituting himself with a nearby rock. Once out, he got to work digging out Naruto's hands so he could summon some Kage Bunshin's to help him get Shin out next.

Nearby in a tree hidden by two larger ones, Kenshin watched with a small smile gracing his face. "I think they might just be able to pull it off after all." he spoke softly, getting nostalgic about his own sensei. "Guess I can leave them alone now and not worry about it." With that, he silently jumped off into the forest, preparing for the next encounter.

"Guys, listen up," Naruto started, after they dusted themselves off, "I got a plan."

An hour later, Kenshin sighed as he strolled back into the clearing with his hands held clasped behind his head. He wished he had brought a manga with him, but he didn't think it would be this boring. Dropping his arms, he looked around for his students but didn't see them anywhere. "The hell? Are they waiting for me or . . ." Then, hearing a noise, he quickly jumped back into the bushes nearby. Listening closely, he heard three distinct female voices. Mature female voices.

"Rei . . . you know we're not supposed to be here! This is for civilians only!" One said, sounding scared.

"Can it Noriko, you both know that this training ground is never used. Besides, who could get angry at a beautiful woman like me?" The other, whom Kenshin assumed was Rei, spoke next.

He decided that he was in no danger of being found out and peeked through the bush and a perverted giggle left his lips as he beheld three beautiful women walking through the clearing and towards the lake.

The first who had spoken, Noriko, had shoulder length black hair and dark purple eyes. She wore a t-shirt over normal sized breasts. From what he could tell, she only had a pair of short denim shorts on, but they were mostly covered by the large t-shirt.

He saw another beautiful girl walking along side them, who had a ditzy look on her face, but was quiet. She had long, beautiful teal hair and bright green eyes. She seemed a bit more willing to be here than her friend, or she just didn't realize the implications of being caught here. She wore a grey tank top and he could see a bikini top underneath it. She also had a pair of white cargo shorts.

The last one, Rei was quite stunning to Kenshin, but couldn't compare to his goddess Kurenai. She had blonde pigtails and shining blue eyes. Definitely the more adventurous one, she brazenly wore her orange bikini top by itself, which held impressive and full,plump breasts. The only thing she had covering her orange bikini bottom was a light see through cloth tied to her waist that billowed down to the ground. The only odd thing about her was that she had three whisker marks on each cheek.

Wait . . . whisker marks? Tch, dammit Naruto! And here I thought I was gonna be able to relax with some beautiful women. Angered, he had to hold himself back from flying out and pummeling the 'girls'. But, he decided that he'd 'fall into this clever trap' and then see the look on their faces when he told them he knew it all along. Besides, the other two girls had the same features as Kazuma and Shin. There was no way it was a coincidence.

Deciding to hang back a bit longer, he continued to watch as the three girls chatted happily among themselves and stripped down to their bikinis once by the lake. Feeling a warm blush creep up to his face, he didn't know if he should be concerned that he was getting turned on by the three women. I mean, they're freakin' hot, but they're dudes. . . As he watched, he examined the area around the three closely, looking for any sort of trap but only say wet, glistening, cleavage. Feeling warm liquid trickle out of his nose he shook his head and abruptly stood. "As a man of honor, I cannot allow this charade to go on!"

Hearing a foreign sound, the unidentified girl snapped her head over to the bushes where she heard it. Seeing a strange man emerge from them, made her screech and dunk her body under the water. Looking to where her friend screamed, Noriko looked horrified as she spoke to Rei. "See! I told you we'd get in trouble for this! Oh man, my mom's gonna kill me!" she shouted.

Rei, on the other hand just stood in the lake defiantly, her fists curled on her hips. "Don't worry, I'll talk our way out of this."

Kenshin neared, walking with a righteous purpose as he zeroed in on 'Rei'. But, before he could open his mouth to speak, she beat him to it.

"Hey there cutie!" she started, waving flirtatiously, "Wanna come join us?"

For a moment, he was stunned, his eyes drawn like a moth to flames at her ample, wet, breasts. Shaking his head he brought his gaze back up. "Naruto, I know what your playing at! Stop it already."

She looked confused but just shrugged as she ran out of the pool and sauntered up to him. Once she was close enough, she gently started circling a finger on his chest and leaned against him. "I think I know what's going on. . . you just wanna be alone with me, you hot ninja stud." She rhetorically asked, giggling at the end.

Growling in his mind, he knew Naruto wasn't brazen enough to do this personally, it had to be a shadow clone. Forming a fist, he drew it back and delivered a swift jab into the girls solar plexus.

Rei choked on her breath and fell to her knees, grabbing her stomach, while her friends screamed. He blinked once, as he watched the girl slump over and start crying while coughing violently. Then, before he could get a proper thought organized, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Sensei? Why the hell did you do that?"

Whipping around so fast he almost gave himself whiplash, Kenshin beheld with horror as he saw Naruto, Kazuma, and Shiro all coming out from behind a bush looking like they were about to sneak attack him.

Oh crap did I just . . . Looking back down, he saw Rei still there, clutching her stomach, her coughing subsiding but she still cried painfully. Dropping to his knees, he grabbed Rei and picked her up. "Shit, I am so sorry I just –' His sentence was cut short by a small female fist that slammed into his face. Looking over the fist, he saw Rei giving him a smirk and then erupt into a cloud of smoke as Naruto dropped the henge. Behind him the other two girls transformed into Naruto look a likes, and then disappeared.

"We win." Naruto said triumphantly.

Still shocked, he glanced back over at the other team and watched as Kazuma and Shin gave each other a high five, while the Naruto that was with them disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Blinking once, he looked back at Naruto, who still had his fist connected to his cheek.

"I'll be damned." He spoke, in a muffled voice as a fist impeded his speech.

Naruto lowered his fist and just gave him a foxy grin.

Heh, maybe teaching these guys won't be so bad after all . . .

And so ends Chapter one, I hope you all enjoyed it. If you did, feel free to hit the review button and tell me what you think. I love everything from shameless flattery, well placed criticism and even flames, for they make me laugh at their baseless accusations. Unless they do have a point, then I just cry and wonder why everyone's being so mean to me.

'Till the next time!