Yo folks, yup you are not dreaming, ShinobiGama returns with another thrilling episode of Shadow of the King, his first real story here on the net. Sorry for not updating this for so long, but I have had a crazy two months, gramma old and sick, numerous vocal/acting competitions, midterms, and finally being accepted to College! Yay me! Now I noticed that most of you were pleased with my sensei choice (cept you Xamusel...well you know wat? a poo on you and your family) but I want it to be clear right now, there will be no and I repeat NO MORE AVATAR characters save for the one. I just really thought it would fit. Anyway, after watching the final episode three times straight (btw I am officially convinced that Lelouch is still alive, not that it matters to my fic, for explanation of theory put in review or PM me) my CG drive returned full blast and I am now ready to dive further into this legend in the making. But enough of my rambling. I'll cut to the chase and give you chapter 6

"blah" speech

"blah" thoughts

"blarg" demon

Enjoy!!!!

Now to do the disclaimer, here is V.V!

V.V: ...really? Is that how it is? Im the choice AFTER Orochimaru??? That hurts, its enough to make a small evil child cry. I'll do the disclaimer, but I am soooooooooo sicing Rolo on you for this.

Ahem, ShinobiGama own neither Naruto or Code Geass, if he did he would have found a way for me to join Lelouch and have a good reason for offing his whacked out mom.

SG:....ummmm thank you?

Shadow of the King

The fat man merely smiled before he dissappeared from view.

Lelouch froze as he felt two finger against the back of his head, he inclined it to get a better view of what lay behind him. There was the old man with one hand to his head and the other prepared in some seal. The old man's eyes were now open and Lelouch felt one thing alone.

Fear.

"When one encounters another of unknown origin, it is the wise shinobi that does not underestimate him, despite his appearence."

Lelouch now understood who this man was.

Kallen spoke up, "ummm Lelouch, meet our new Jounin sensei, Ryuuji Iroh."

Iroh removed his fingers from Lelouch's head and smiled again before he continued,

"Yes, young lady, that is right. However, I am more commonly known as the Dragon of Konoha. It is my pleasure to meet all of you."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Chapter 6 start)

Lelouch gulped nervously as he realized the implications of his actions.

He knew very well that there was another exam given by the Jounin before they became actual Genin...and he might have just pissed off the man standing between him and his goals. Not to mention the fact that his cool, icy bravado was just shattered by this old, Buddha-esq, man...that just plain sucked. Well, he might as well salvage whatever he can from this extremely poor first impression.

"So, you are our new sensei? In that case, I apologize for my rash, and rather rude behavior. I must make it clear that I am not quite so judgmental all the time."

Iroh's eyebrow quirked up and Lelouch eyebrows twitched as his two teamates errupted into simultaneous coughing.

"Whoah! Sorry about that, it's just that I just choked on a big pile of bull shit." chuckled Naruto, Kallen just smirked at the now irate Lamperouge.

"Don't you have anything better to do than to make me look bad?"

Kallen just started laughing again before retorting,

" I wouldn't be too worried, your doing a fine job of that on your own."

Before however Lelouch could effectively get back at his teammate, the newly identified sensei promptly stated,

"There shall be no more of this petty quarreling, I myself enjoy the excitement and innocent joy that comes from a good word spar with friends. However, there is a time and a place for those joys, and as much as I hate to say it, this is neither. Please have a seat, the tea is no doubt cold by now."

At this proclamation all three Genins turned around and saw that their sensei had, somehow, set up a complete tea ceremony "picnic" of sorts, complete with the bamboo umbrella, and was already pouring the warm beverage into four different cups. Naruto, Kallen, and Lelouch all staggered back as one, all three having the sam thoughts,

"Is-is this the power of a Jounin? I never even saw him move!"

A tad bit apprehensively, the three friends all sat down beneath the bamboo shade ( formal seated position of course, they didn't wish to offend the enigmatic sensei) and accepted their cups from the rather rotund old man.

Iroh sat in silence as he watched the three graduated cadets take a few sips of their respective beverages. He noticed with some amusement as they each reacted differently after the initial tasting.

Kallen's face lit up and she eagerly took another sip, a warm and content smile working its way to her lips.

Naruto immediately grimaced and began muttering underneath his breath how a little sugar would not have hurt.

Lelouch however looked merely perplexed. This cause Iroh a little confusion as well. Lelouch glanced up and said (as respectively as possible)

"umm Iroh-sensei, I think you forgot to ummm add the tea."

He received two confused looks and one alarmed expression for his question.

"What are you talking about Lulu? This is the sweetest tea I have ever had in my life! It's almost like drinking honey!"

"What are you talking about Kallen?!? This tastes like ji-san-sensei here just grabbed some random leaves and crumpled it in the water!"

After shaking himself clear of any dark thoughts, brought about by Lelouch's confession, Iroh spoke to his confused potential students,

"Ah, what you three have just experienced is a farily unknown method for identifying the inner minds and even life experiences of upcoming shinobi. By drinking the tea mixed with the chakra of the sensei, the student's heart and mind is revealed.

Kallen, you care deeply for your friends and family. It is also hard for anyone to bring you down. You are a bit naive, and also quick to anger, but all in all those are better qualities than most."

Kallen grinned at the roundabout praise.

Naruto, now excited because of this 'super shinobi ritual', began exclaiming,

"Me next Sensei! Me next!"

"You say it tasted bitter, young Naruto?"

"Yup! Nowhere near as good as it looked, it will take three bowls of Ichiraku ramen to even get the taste out of my mouth!"

At this Iroh's eyes became soft and a sad smile made its way onto his face.

"You've had a hard life haven't you Naruto."

It wasn't a question it was a statement. Naruto's own eyes widened and soon became downcast. Lelouch glance side long at his blonde friend and soon his purple orbs grew sad as well. Of course he had known what his friend had gone through. What he himself had experienced was nothing to scoff at, but Naruto...Naruto might have suffered even more than he had.

Iroh just reached over and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and gave him an understanding look.

"Don't let the bitterness of your life consume you. You have one of the strongest hearts and wills I have ever seen. And I have seen a lot my young student."

Lelouch was slightly curious himself now. Although his face did not show it he was eagerly anticipating his own assessment.

Iroh turned towards the Lamperouge and inwardly grimaced. 'So this one tasted nothing did he?'

-----------------------------------flash back------------------------------------------------------------

"Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, come here. There is someone that I want you all to meet. This here was one of my comrades from my class of shinobi and one of the few who can still challenge me, Ryuuji Iroh."

A trio of twelve year olds ran up to a younger looking Iroh standing next to an also younger looking Sandaime Hokage.

"Hello there young ones, to get to know each other better...why don't we all settle down for a cup of tea?"

And that was precisely what they did. He received three different reactions just like what had happened to his team when his sensei had done the same for them.

Tsunade, the young blond girl, had also claimed the it was sweet, but tasted more like sake than tea...this had worried Sarutobi.

Jiraiya, the white haired boy, claimed that his was spicy and sweet. Iroh decided not to tell the Hokage what that particular taste entailed.

The other boy however, Orochimaru, claimed that his tea tasted like nothing. This was both a tragedy to Iroh, who was sad that the tea was wasted, and to Hiruzen, who had wished for his prodigy to experince this lesser known tradition of the hidden leaf village.

Neither of the older men had even considered what this meant at the time...but later they would begin to understand the danger of one who cannot be read.

(twenty years later)

Orochimaru was running through the village gates chuckling darkly all the while. Yes, it was true that his experiments had finally been discovered, but hey...he was getting off easy. He had only needed to kill the squad of Anbu accompanying that pathetic Sarutobi.

"All that remains is to reach the border, and then I'm at last ready to begi-"

He was cut off as he was forced to leap back to avoid a stream of fire. As he did so a figure landed ten meters in front of the newly identified nuke-nin. The Snake Sannin immediately recognized the silhouette of the last man (next to Jiraiya of course) that he had wanted to run into.

"..."

"..."

"...Where are you going, Orochimaru?"

" Ku ku ku, back from your mission so soon, Ryuuji-sama?"

Iroh grimaced, it was true, he had just returned from a big mission, and his chakra was not as high as normal as the result of it.

"I'm sorry Orochimaru, but you have betrayed the trust of the Leaf and your sensei...I cannot allow you to go any further than this."

Orochimaru smirked as he slowly drew a kunai from his side pouch.

"And what, pray tell, can a fat old fool do to stop one of the greatest shinobi this backwater village ever made?"

Iroh drew his own blade which was pure white katana with a red hilt and gold tassel. He held it in a defensive position in front of him, the rain matting down his hair and drops running down the pearl white of the blade.

"...You will find, young one, that these old bones hold more power than expected."

The two stared each other down as if waiting for some unbidden symbol. With a flash of lightning the two dashed towards each other. Each with their weapons raised they met in mid air. Another flash of lightning and the two were facing away from each other. Iroh stood for a moment before he fell to his knees holding his chest. Blood trickled its way down his torso. Orochimaru clicked his tongue against his teeth as he snarked,

"Really? Is that all there is? I expected more from the man my teacher thought so highly of. Good bye, so called 'Dragon of the Leaf'."

As Orochimaru ran off into the night, Irohs eyes began to dim. The last thing he saw before blacking out was an enraged Jiraiya chasing after the traitorous snake.

-----------------------------------------------(end flash back)----------------------------------------

"...I cannot read you Lelouch, because I...have never encountered your 'flavor' before. I'm sure however that it means something very interesting."

Lelouch was disappointed but he accepted it easily enough.

Iroh smiled at his students and said,

"Now, my dear Genin, I am sorry to say this, but there is one final test you must take before i fully accept you as my students. I know you will do well. Meet me at the Hokage Monument tomorrow at Nine AM. Dismissed."

The three friends nodded their heads as one and left the tea ceremony.

As the old man watched the graduates run away his fond smile warped into a slight grimace as he watched the raven haired youth in particular.

"Lelouch Lamperouge eh? We must keep a diligent eye on this one Sarutobi. After all, those who do not learn from the past...are doomed to repeat it."

With his hand firmly grasping the hilt of the blade on his side, Ryuuji Iroh disapeared in flash of flames.

The Dragon of Konoha and the Professor had much to discuss indeed.

done! Yeah I took a while but I like where this is. Im feeling the groove again after a long while, I apologize for that. Please dont hit me. Anyway, please please please please please please review. Seriously people we all underestimate the power of a review even if it is only like a line long!

Thanks guys! ShinobiGama, Out!