Chapter 15: Year One. Testing Trials! Time to Take Action!

0o00o0

Sai kept a grin on his face as his tigers attacked their prey. For shinobi, at least the black haired one was easy to anger. The Choujuu Giga technique was his specialty. The snakes? A distraction for his tigers. Unlike the snakes, his tigers wouldn't be defeated so easily.

"Oi Yuko, change to P2 and track three for now. Let's play a bit." He didn't wait for her answer as he unsheathed his tanto.

"Fall Out Boy. Nice choice for a great build up," Yuko laughed a hyena's laugh in response. The girl sailed through the air with a flip. Sai was right beside her, launching at brunet. The first thing he decided they needed to do? Separate them.

These two were two peas in a pod from the observations he made. The calm, down to earth one and the hot-blooded mess. A dangerous combo in the field, especially if they worked together often. But all partnerships had a weakness and Sai planned on exploiting it.

The brunet acted fast, meeting his tanto with his own blades. Sai hid a grimace at that. Of course this guy had skills with weapons. Just his luck, he supposed. Maybe Danzou-sama was right in saying he should have learned to use a tanto sooner. There was no possible way he could defeat this guy using only his tanto, but they couldn't reveal too much. Luckily, all he and his tigers had to do was pounce.

0o00o0

Yuko danced, swinging her scythe in time to each piano rift and the drop of each beat. The inked tiger beside her, moving in time to her own steps. It clawed and scratched and roared at the chuunin in front of them. Even missing a strike, the tiger would come to her aid, clawing at the man before he could hit her. Her smile only grew seeing a vein pop out of his forehead.

"So you're the dobe of your duo aren't you?" Yuko asked, digging the dull heel of her scythe blade into the ground. Keeping a firm hold on the snath, she propelled herself in a vault as he threw a punch. He hit air as she catapulted off his back. The ink tiger took the opportunity to swipe at him.

0o00o0

Kotetsu grimaced, falling back to the bushes. Perhaps he was letting his emotions get the better of him to let a genin wannabe get the drop on him. He had to calm himself. "What's it to you brat?"

"Well…" Yuko drawled, hooking her scythe to her back. "A dobe and teme duo are great. But they aren't the best nee."

She took to tossing kunai at him. In response he brought out a pair of kunai blades to block the projectiles. What did she mean by that? "What's better than a duo then?"

0o00o0

Izumo had to admit, these kids were impressive. They covered their ground well and to bring ink paintings to life was a feat he personally had never seen before. Would this warrant a pass? That would be for Ibiki to decide.

The kid he was fighting did have a mean right hook. Though his skills with a tanto could be improved on. There was still something missing to this puzzle. This entire time only two of them had attacked. Even then, aside from the ink animals, they only showed promise of taijutsu and kenjutsu. Were they holding back?

"Something doesn't sit right with me about you kids," He grumbled under his breath, jumping out of the way of another punch.

"Oh, and what would that be shinobi-san?" Sai's voice remained monotone, but his gaze held laughter.

"Where's your third teammate?" He had a feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.

Sai blink. And blinked. And blinked. Izumo would have taken the chance to punch the kid again. The tiger did not appreciate the gesture, biting down on his arm before could connect with his target.

Without warning, Sai laughed. "And here I thought you were the smart one Shinobi-san." A gleam appeared in his eyes as he stared Izumo down. "What made you believe she wasn't here in the first place?"

0o00o0

Karin was having the time of her life. She had to thank Jiraiya, even if she was still pissed at him. Kage Bunshin made performing barrier fuinjutsu much easier than working alone. Especially without Naruto by her side. Though she supposed she had to get used to it at some point. It proved to be even harder while hiding chakra.

Stealth was not her strong suit. She wasn't the one sneaking into ANBU headquarters in bright orange and blue without getting caught. No, that was Yuko and Naruto. Inu had to learn the hard way to not miss Naruto's birthday without prior warning.

She may not be the queen of stealth, but she knew damn well how to lay a trap. A three prong trap to ensure capture: barrier, seal, and ambush. Not necessarily in that order. Detainment plan three normally called for ambush first. With the barrier set in the selected area, she would be ready to activate it.

"You two get a special job," She whispered to two of her returned bunshin. Holding up two tags, the clones nodded. There were no need for spoken orders. The plans they came up with in the case they were ever teamed together forever stayed in her head. The two clones henged into squirrels and took to the bushes.

It was time for the signal.

0o00o0

"What's better than a duo? Well… a triangle has more foundation than a line oji-san," Yuko winked. She felt a chakra string tug at her pinky and flipped backwards as Kotetsu lunged to strike her. She stuck her tongue out at him as kunai were flung out at him. The chunin narrowly dodged, moving to the side.

Sai, also feeling the tug, flipped back allowing his tiger to take the brunt of Izumo's hit. A seal glew on the tiger, causing it to dissipate into ink and cover the unsuspecting chunin. He would have to thank Naruto for the advice another time. Without another word he hopped away, only looking back to see two squirrels making their way through the bushes. His smile only grew. He tugged back at the string, letting his teammates know.

0o00o0

Kotetsu hadn't known what to make of these kids. Why the sudden retreat? In terms of stamina, they seemed to still have energy. A retreat didn't seem logical unless they had actually acknowledged the chunins' strength. He doubted it with the girl's attitude. And there was still the problem of where their third teammate was.

He shook off the thoughts, focusing on helping Izumo. It was clever, using the ink to blind him, if only temporarily. Ibiki might actually enjoy this team. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, the boys good for a student. Though his skill with a tanto needs improvements." His friend sighed, trying to shake the ink out of his hair. "Ibiki has his work cut out for him. But we should go after them."

"Right…"

They were both ready to take off when their bodies froze in place. Was their third teammate a Nara? No. That couldn't be right. The next Nara child to graduate was supposed to be the head's son. Izumo managed to tilt his head enough to see snakes and sealing tags wrapped around their arms and legs. The short burst of being frozen word of fast, but they were completely locked in place.

"Capture complete." A third voice spoke up. The duo- no… trio of academy students reappeared, stepping out of the shadows. Capture? Was this the real purpose of their test? Ibiki never mentioned it.

"What's the meaning of this you brats?" Kotetsu's voice was a low growl.

"Nee, we figured you wouldn't let us go that easily Oji-san," Yuko laughed, leaning on her scythe.

"We sensed you both a while back. So we decided since beating you wasn't really an option, the fastest way to get passed you was to catch you." Sai glanced over at Karin.

"You both were so focused on Yuko and Sai at the beginning, you gave me enough time to work on part two and three. Once I finished the seals, I was able to signal them. It looked like a retreat, but really it was used as an opening." The red headed girl just smirked at them both, flipping a paper between her fingers.

"You didn't even notice my genjutsu apply. Then again, it was when I tried taking your heads off. It still needs work, because you saw teme's snakes coming, but by pulling back I was able to put the rest of my focus on hiding our two key components, courtesy of Kari-chan nee," Yuko laughed. The air wavered, before revealing two squirrels. In a poof of smoke, the two Karin clones took their place. "Believe it or not Oji-san, I knew we couldn't take you in a fair fight."

"And with that, we must bid you goodbye," Karin bowed, giving them a cheeky smile. "We don't want to be late for our test."

The trio began to walk away when Izumo called out, "hey, what about us!?"

"Mah… we'll release you after our test. If you behave well," Sai simply responded, ignoring the cursing that followed.

0o00o0

The only thing on Lee's mind, was this was oddly easy. In comparison to their exercises, this felt like something they would do when they were eight. Traveling through the village, everything seemed at peace. Lee suspected as such, as they tried to keep ninja business away from civilians when possible. That didn't mean, however, that they were safe.

This was likely part of the test. He vaguely recalled the new jutsu Yuko was working on. It altered the state of perception of an object or person. He wouldn't put it passed their proctor to employ a trick like that. He'd have to keep his senses up.

They were beginning to reach the less populated areas of Konoha, not far from their apartment. Whatever Gai had in store, he would be ready for it!

0o00o0

Ibiki patiently waited outside the fence of the Forest of Death, taking the chance to read. He still had about an hour before the kids arrived, likely more if Izumo and Kotetsu held them back to the last second. The training ground was not well known, nor commonly used outside of the Chunin exams. He doubted, even with these kids being adopted by the third, that they knew where the area was.

All of those thoughts however, came crashing down as he saw the trio of troublemakers walking down the path. Izumo and Kotetsu were nowhere in sight. Perhaps he underestimated them, but academy students should not have had the power to beat two chunin. He wondered what other surprises these three could possibly come up with.

Sai was the first to speak as they approached him, "Team 4 reporting for duty sensei."

"You all are early," Ibiki raises an eyebrow at them.

"What, it was just a simple follow you, wasn't it?" An innocent smile graced Karin's face. Cheeky brats.

"Correct." The question of how they kept up lingered in his head, though he didn't voice his concerns. "Did you encounter any problems?"

Yuko merely blinked, placing a finger on her cheek and glancing up, "Nee… only two Oji-san's. Nothing we couldn't handle."

With a sigh, he shook his head. Obviously they wouldn't give him answers until later. Internally shaking that off, he gave them each a stern look. "Well… you passed the first section of your test maggots, with time to spare. We will immediately move onto the second portion."

He glanced at the sun. It couldn't have been later than one forty five. Originally he was going to give them more time for this portion, but given their hidden talents… "Your next task is to gather intel… on me. You have until six this evening. The quality of your work will warrant if you pass or fail. The meeting spot will be here."

"You know, normally in cases like this we still know our target's name," Sai's voice held a dry tone.

"Morino Ibiki. You have four hours." Without another word, he shunshined away. He'd need to check up for Izumo and Kotetsu to get answers.

0o00o0

Tenten hadn't known what to expect when Lee took for the roofs of the alley they turned down. If anything, it was intuition. Lee was not a person to act without reason. He took the job as seriously as his unofficial siblings, and those were kunoichi who had earned her respect throughout the years. Neji ignored Lee's actions, but she set out to keep close to Gai-sensei, keeping a hand close to her pouches.

She was right to do so, catching shuriken heading towards them in the corner of her vision. She countered with her own, summoning a clone to take any hits from behind she couldn't see. "Neji."

He hadn't needed to be told twice. "Byakugan." Within moments, he moved, tossing kunai into the air to block incoming projectiles. "Six above us, not including Lee."

"Protect sensei. I'll give Lee a hand up top." Before she could hear his affirmation, she hopped to the roof of the building. Lee was already doing well enough, distracting one group of students. Upon further inspection, however, she could clearly spot the hitai-ate adjourn most of their foreheads. Likely genin overall, but they couldn't risk underestimating them.

She dive into battle, focused on her own shinobi opponents. Civilian born, similar to her and Lee from the looks of it. Good. They would be on an even playing field for now. Opening a scroll from her back pouch, she summoned forth a kusarigama. Without a second to spare, she swung.

0o00o0

Lee already had his bo staff out, remembering the vigorous training Jiraiya. He had more training than Sai, though it likely wouldn't compare to Yuko and her scythe. Nonetheless, he was ready. He spun his staff and launched forward, aiming at their heads. From the lack of flak jackets, the probabilities were high that these were genin they were facing. One he recalled being in the upper class who had not fully gone through the changes in the academy. That would leave his team at an advantage on that part. However, unlike his team, these students were under the command of a jounin. He needed to tread carefully.

He slammed the kontei against one of their cheeks, slamming one of the genin into their teammate. The third was fast to react, throwing a fist at the boy. Had he held slower reflexes, that would have left a hefty bruise on a cheek and been enough to throw him off balance. Training with Hinata, Naruto, Shino, Sai, and Yuko had made him anything but. He flipped backwards, bringing his legs to their chin. The force was enough to send the student into the air. Luckily Jiraiya had swapped his normal weights with gravity seals, or he would have felt guilty. Their weights were anything but light, and the force of that hitting a person would leave heavy bruising for days.

The first regained their senses and charged at him once again. Digging a kontei into the ground, he launched himself off the ground into another kick. The hit landed square in the chest as Lee managed to knock the student down. He placed a foot on his chest, keeping his staff at the boy's throat. "Please do stay down. I do not wish to hurt you further."

The older boy struggled, trying to throw Lee off. By now, Lee fully expected the second student to be recovered. His thoughts proved corrected when a kunai flew by, scratching his cheek. He jumped forward, getting off the older boy he was on and turned, reaching for his weapons pouch. Instead of a kunai, he pulled out a small pellet and threw it at the floor. Immediately, their side of the roofs filled with smoke.

0o00o0

Tenten sailed as she swung her kusarigama. The weapon's mistress in training would not let any distance stop her in her dance. She swung from the kusari, smashing the fundo into one of the genin's faces. The force was enough to knock them off the roof and down to Neji. There was no time to worry about that however. The other two were fast to retaliate, throwing kunai. Without hesitation Tenten jumped into to air, wrapping the kusari around her arm to do a hand sign. She summoned out three clones, letting one take the brunt of the kunai assault. The other two launched her from her spot, tossing her towards the two genin she was fighting. Pulling back her chained fist, she pulled off a punch as she entered their space, managing to knock one of the two down. Keeping the momentum, she rolled with the punch and landed behind them.

The final genin retaliated, moving forward with a kunai. They managed to dig it into her side, only to be met with smoke. If there was one thing Tenten learned from their classes, it was to play your hands well. Launching an attack into enemy's territory always came with repercussions. She had been injured on more than one occasion for slip ups. If your back was turned, anything could happen, from an attack to a trap. She wasn't going to fall for something like this anymore. Immediately she swapped with one of her clones and loosened the chains on her arm.

With their back turned to her, she flew forward. As they turned towards her, she swung the kusari once again. This time, instead of allowing it to hit their face, she wrapped it around their arm and pulled. They fell forward, still off balance from her trap. Using the surprise to her advantage, she surged their forward and slammed the kashira of the kama against their head. They stumbled, immediately clutching the surely bruised area. Without hesitation she slammed her foot against their stomach to sent them right into their teammate.

0o00o0

As soon as the smoke spread, Lee immediately reached for his puch again. From it he pulled a pack of makibishi spikes and marbles, and tossed them at the floor. He laid low, listening for the sounds of feet. He didn't make a move aside from placing his bo staff away. In this environment he needed his speed to make sure they stayed down.

Their voices were clear as they helped their third teammate recover. If his intuition was right, they would think he use the smoke as a means of escape. However, that wasn't his means in the least. From their voices, they were only a few feet away from him. Taking out a kunai, he launched it at the sounds, hiding behind his makibishi spikes. Limiting his footsteps, he launched another.

They didn't speak, though he could hear their footsteps from his position. Right into his trap. They didn't hear the placement of the traps in their attempts to help their friend. Noble as any leaf shinobi, however, they left themselves wide open. As the first student slipped on the marbles, he moved.

"Konoha Shoufuu (Leaf Rising Wind)!"

0o00o0

Neji was no slouch in his job. Another set of students had been placed launching projectiles at he and their proctor, narily letting him off the hook. This however, was no issue for him. As he activated his byakugan, he also reached for a kunai. Within seconds he expertly blocked all of the incoming attacks. From the exams over the years, he was well aware of Tenten's skill, knowing that the weapon prodigy would be able to take her opponents and in the least, stall. Lee, he would at least acknowledge the boy could defend himself. Was he worth his time? Not in the least, but they had to work together.

Gai spectated from the side, keeping an eye on all three of his potential students to the best of his abilities. He could hear the sounds of the struggle from the roof, almost worried. They had employed multiple genin teams to help with this exam. His team was meant to special in close quarters combat, but he wanted them to be prepared for anything. From their records, Lee and Neji were both taijutsu fighters. Lee could not learn ninjutsu, but in his eyes Gai could see a genius of hard work. Despite his limitations he made an impression on the man and Gai was ready to teach him all he knew. Perhaps he could help him with certain types of bukijutsu. Neji was known as the Hyuuga prodigy and no doubt had the flames of youth burning within him. Perhaps if they could expand from his taijutsu they could make him a better fit ninja. And Tenten was brimming with potential herself. She was a bright kunoichi, specializing in bukijutsu. She could easily balance out as the mid-range and long-range fighter when they needed her to be. She could cover both of her teammates when necessary.

They already had the makings of a good team, though they could use improvements. From the look of it, Lee had been the first to sense the trap. He immediately launched into action. Tenten was the second, taking notice of her teammate's actions and immediately took a defensive position. Neji had ignored it until Tenten took action. That would be a problem in the future if he didn't take his team seriously. Nothing he could do about it now. They were impressive, and Gai was sure he had the new academy system to thank for that. It really showed putting the last batch of genin against this year's potential graduates.

From above he spotted some already being knocked off the roof. He hadn't bothered to get out of the way, watching how Neji would react. While they didn't seem to be conscious this was training for another type of sneak attack when one was alone.

With the byakugan, Neji could see the student falling as soon as they left Tenten's area. The onslaught was continuing and if he let up Gai would surely be hit. That was when it hit him. He summoned five clones, letting them take the brunt of the assault. They wouldn't last long, as they weren't completely tangible clones. However, they would last enough for his ploy. With his speed he jumped up, getting behind the the falling genin. Controlling the chakra in his hand, he outstretched his palm and with a force, sent the student flying into the path of the shuriken and kunai. It would hurt, but certainly wouldn't kill the student.

Using that as a distraction, Neji gripped Gai's arm and led him further down the alley. From the ground could hear Lee's shout and a pile of smoke. That was unexpected, but a smart move on his part. Blurring the view of the 'enemy' and using that to his advantage. Such youth! Tenten was finishing up her own opponents, before jumping down. In her hands now was a bow as she fired shots in the direction of the students behind them. Within moments, Lee joined taking his place in front to deal with anyone who may appear. Now this was the kind of work he wanted to see from this group. Hmm, they'd be good for escort missions too. So many possibilities for them.

0o00o0

There were not many things that could surprise Morino Ibiki. He could probably count them all one hand truthfully. But of all the surprises, he did not expect to find Kotetsu and Izumo wrapped up in sealing tags and surrounded by a barrier. Unusual kids indeed. How could any of them be that advanced in fuinjutsu? Not many fuinjutsu or barrier specialists were around to take in a student so young, despite the so-called changes to the academy.

He was prepared to remove the seals when he heard footsteps approaching. Staying hidden, he watched as his three potential students approached the barrier. Uzumaki immediately pulled off one of the seals, forcing the barrier down. With that, Yuko and Sai approached the two bound chuunin.

"Nee, Oji-san," Yuko sang, circling around Kotetsu as though he were her prey. "You were hired by our proctor yes?"

"What do you brats want now?" Kotetsu growled back, obviously annoyed. Whatever they had done to him and Izumo must have been a lot.

"Wow, and here we were ready to offer a trade," Sai brought a hand to his face with a fake gasp. "But if you'd like to stay like this all day I suppose we could leave you be."

"What kind of deal?" Izumo raised an eyebrow, watching the dark haired orphan as he circled.

"Tell us about Ibiki-sensei," Yuko purred, playing with a kunai now. "You must know something about him after all."

"And if we don't?"

This time Uzumaki laughed, "Well, considering I'm the only one who could break you free… other than say otouto and sensei, or of course jiji."

That confused both chuunin. Who?

At their expense, Yuko and Sai joined in the laughter. Yuko grinned, "Imagine being found by Hokage-jiji. I can imagine his reaction turning in on this nee."

"Y-you're… you're Hokage-sama's grandchildren?" Kotetsu gulped. They both recalled the rumors of the elder man watching after several orphans. It was no doubt that he looked after the kyuubi container, but these girls as well? And the bratty boy?

"Adopted yes," Karin smiled, "He's the one taking care of us when our guardian is away. See our guardian is a busy man, but very skilled. He trained us to be the best. So, we can leave you, embarrassed might I add, to be found by Jiji. Or, you can tell us what you know and we let you go free. No one has to know about this little adventure."

"So do we have a deal shinobi-san?" Sai's smile was the final straw. Ibiki hid his impression. There was more to them than meets the eye. But who could their guardian be? He'd put the clues together eventually, or ask Hokage-sama after these tests. He was chosen as their teach for a reason, but what?

"Fine," It was Izumo who agreed first. He didn't blame them. These were students, not yet genin. What they were asking for wasn't much, and if anything they'd only give the basics such as occupation. Basic information that could be found in the records. They played their hands well with a captured 'enemy' so to speak, still acknowledging them as ninja of Konoha and not true enemies. Rather examiners with purpose. He'd have to watch them more.

0o00o0

"T&I department ehh?" Karin hummed, "We have an interesting proctor."

"I'll see what Nee-chan knows about her. Considering her… occupation, she should know something about it nee," Yuko murmured.

"I think I'll pay a visit to Sakura-chan's little friend then," Sai replied off-handly. Two valid sources for information. Given what they knew, Karin nodded. She could go to Jiji about it as well, and follow their sources at the library. Actually, there was plenty she could do and plenty she could gather with her new jutsu. She waved her hand up, signalling for Sai and Yuko to leave. They knew their missions and would follow whatever leads they gained. They would meet back 30 minutes before their given time.

"Hey, what about us!?" Kotetsu shouted as they left. Karin shook her head.

"I'm right here shinobi-san. So calm down." She couldn't resist the eye-roll is she wanted to. "I just had to make sure they were at a good distance in case you tried stopping us again. We have a test, and we plan to pass it, lest we risk not hearing the end of it from our guardian. We spent the last 2 weeks training extra non-stop for this."

"Our portion of your test is done. We have no need to hold you back," Izumo answered.

That seemed to be the answer she was looking for. Without another word, she placed chakra into another seal, placing it over the ones on them. Immediately they retracted, allowing both chunin to land regain motion.

"There you go. No hard feelings," She laughed, placing her hands behind her head.

"You're tough runts. Just what has your sensei's been teaching you?" Kotetsu asked, rubbing his arms with a grunt. They were still brats in his book.

"We're the first of a new generation in teachings of the academy. In order to better success rates in the field as well as survival rates, new exercises were incorporated into the system. We've done everything from survival to capture training with the help of retired shinobi and other teachers." She walked a few steps away from them, glancing toward the direction their hidden proctor stood. "Me and Yuko have been training ourselves since we were six with the help of our family. I want to be the best for my future goals."

"What prompted the change?" Izumo blinked. He recalled the academy system had softened over the years of peace.

"...well you'll have to ask Jiji about that," she mused. "Besides, I need to go report too. Goodbye shinobi-san… Ibiki-sensei."

The last thing she saw, before bursting into smoke were the paling, startled faces of their testers. Oh well… that's not her problem. She was only a clone.

0o00o0

When Yuko appeared at Yugao's doorstep it was just past 2:20. To say the ANBU agent was surprised was an understatement. "Yuko-chan, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We came back safely Nee-chan," Yuko sang, twirling in place. "Do you like the new clothes?"

Yugao couldn't help but laugh at the young girl's antics. Typical Yuko. "They're very fitting imouto. I'm glad you came back alright, Jiraiya can be a harsh teacher when need be."

"Yeah… he is. He threw us off a cliff for cliff climbing practice… but we learned our natural affinities! He gave us a lot of homework too. Me and Naru are wind affinities so Ero-jiji said we needed to practice lots. It's one of the toughest," she sighed. Yugao led her in so they could sit on the couch for tea. She knew she would hear more of this story once they planned the graduation party for her younger kyodai. Hayate smiled seeing them enter.

"Well… if it isn't my kawaii kouhai. How was your test?" With a cough, he gave the girl a patient smile. Yuko immediately brightened. Yugao took her seat next to Hayate, giving her own smile as she leaned on her partner.

"It was great! I'm pretty sure we passed. And we got this really cool guy as a proctor for our field portion!" She waved her hands in the air, speaking with enthusiasm.

"Oh, who was your proctor?" Yugao hummed, taking a sip of her tea.

"Uhh… his name is… err… oh yeah that's right! His name is Morino Ibiki. He's head of the Torture and Interrogation Department! I mean he must be pretty busy, but Tou-san or Jiji must have asked him. I'm really excited… but a little scared. I don't know a lot about him…" She paused looking down at the table separating them.

"Well… I never thought I'd see the day Ibiki would be working with academy students. Potential Chunin yes, but below that no," Yugao blinked. How odd for her little sister to take such an interest in the proctor. "But there's nothing to be scared about, he's a very loyal shinobi of the leaf. One of our best."

Hayate followed her with a nod, "Actually, I was on Ibiki's genin team years back. He's always been serious."

"Oh? You don't talk about your old team often," Yugao blinked.

"It just hasn't come up much. Tokara retired as an active duty shinobi so it's often just me and Ibiki," Hayate chuckles, rubbing his neck. "We've been through a lot, even as chuunin exam proctors together."

"Can you tell us more about it?" Yuko glanced at them with sparkly eyes.

"Well… it started like this…" he began.

0o00o0

After their final test, Ino had bid farewell to Sakura, promising to catch up with her over the year. Since the last exercise they worked together, she noticed an odd change in her best friend. The first part, she had completely given up on the idea of romancing Sasuke. She doesn't know what, but something must have happened between the two of them when she was knocked out. But what?

She had also been spending a lot of time with Naruto's group a lot more. There was an odd determination she saw that she didn't quite notice until their last exercise. She took to improving her taijutsu and had her head in a scroll whenever they weren't talking. Even her accuracy was in improving. Her position of top kunoichi in the class was firmly secured and tied with Hinata-san. That didn't surprise her much. Sakura was always book smart. She felt her stomach churn. Now she was getting stronger too.

She wasn't jealous. No of course not. It didn't matter that Sakura was smart. It didn't matter that the losers of the class actually listened to her and acknowledged her strength. It didn't matter that some of their upperclassmen offered to help tutor Sakura. It didn't matter that Sakura was moving up in her studies while Ino stayed in place. No, it definitely didn't matter. Not at all.

Even now, Sakura was heading to the Aburame's for extra training. Chakra control or something like that. It's not like she wanted to do anything that boring anyway. Instead she would be spending her time running the flower shop, just as she did every break. She would wait until her father came by after his work session or after her mother came by to close up. She was fine doing this. She loved flowers after all, and it was only fitting.

It was another boring day as few civilian customers came and went. Minding the counter, she was free to flip through a magazine. When bell rang, signaling another customer entering, she was quick to close the magazine and greet them with a smile. "Welcome!"

A boy, he couldn't be much older than her, entered carrying a large pad. He was dressed with a black beret, in a dark gray shirt and black jacket. Ino couldn't help but stare, the boy was oddly pale, though not sickly in the least. There was something about him, as though she's seen him before… She quickly shook her head. It wasn't polite to stare at customers. Her mother would surely have her head for that.

He approached the counter, steps light and barely hearable. Perhaps he needed help? "Welcome. How may I help you?"

"Hello… Beautiful," he stopped, taking at the stool next to her. Her cheeks heated up at the compliment. It wasn't often guys acknowledged her beauty. Actually, she can't remember the last time a guy complimented her about her looks, let a lone a cute guy like the one in front of her. "Actually, I was just looking for some… inspiration."

"Inspiration?" Now she was curious.

"I'm an artist," He murmurs, opening his pad- no sketchbook, to show her. Her mouth lay wide open looking through the pages. She had never seen art like this before. "But I've been a little lost. Would you help me find my muse?"

"O-oh. Well… there are plenty of flowers around if you need some inspiration. We hold all kinds," She smiled shyly at him.

"I see… well, perhaps I could keep a conversation with you though?" He smiled right back, causing her to gulp. Well… it wouldn't hurt talking to such a cute boy. Especially once she learned their common interests. Why couldn't she have a boy (other than Sasuke) this cute in her academy class?

0o00o0

As soon as Karin got her clones memories, she smiled. Those two were useful, even if they gave basic details. After Ibiki left them to their devices they agreed she should head to the library with Sai and Yuko questioning their captives. Her clone would release them as a trade, and give her the information she'd need to start looking. T&I department… she could work with that.

Something current, he couldn't be that much older than Tou-san. She'd check Ninja files within the last 10-15 years. Though this couldn't be all she would be doing. She could go to Jiji, but he probably knew about the testing. Information gathering was about blending in with your environment to get the information you're looking for and books wouldn't be enough. With Yuko asking Neko, and Sai going to Ino (and be default her father at some point), that left the actual department to her. Of course she could also send a clone to Jiji. But she couldn't go as herself…

She shifted her glasses as she shuffled through the books. Naruto and Shino would be too obvious. Neko and Kaka-nii-san likely worked with him.

That's when it hit her. She couldn't stop the grin appearing on her face. Oh, how she had the perfect plan. Sending two clones out, she could barely hide her laughter. Oh, this was going to be fun.

0o00o0

A/N: Reminder, Kotetsu and Izumo are holding back. The reason they get caught is because they're focused on testing the kids without hurting them too badly. If the kids weren't ready, they had orders to knock them out. They thought they had the drop on the kids, but given Karin was able to sense them before hand, they were able to work accordingly.

With Lee's group, they are against genin who have not been through the changes of the academy. While they have training under jounin sensei, they still do not have the amount of training that each member of Team Gai has.

Also I figured since the clone technique is a basic technique required to past the anime, we should see more people using clones. Though different from kage bunshin, a normal bunshin does not always disappate from physical contact and as such I think they can be used to take hit. There is also potential to use for substitution techniques like what Tenten did.

Year 1 is heavily going to focus on the teams. However, after these exams (which I hope to be wrapping up next chapter) we'll get another view on Naruto and crew :3. I just wanted this chapter to focus on the older group. Because of the focus on older groups, we will be seeing more of Neji and Tenten :D

Playlist 2, Track 3- Centuries

The technique Yuko was using was the Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu, also known as the Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique, which she received from one of her scrolls. It is not yet perfected but performable.

snath- scythe handle

kontei-staff end

kusari- chain

fundo- weight

kashira-blunt edge of the sickle

kama-sickle

I have not started the next chapter yet so they will be some time before the next chapter is out. But this chapter was long over do. When I said I would finish it, It was a few weeks before finals, and I got hit with a large history project. It took a while to get back to this. Thank you for the patience!