Chapter 16

Naruto arrived at the training ground he had been designated nice and early the next day. He had found it quite amusing when he found out he couldn't get drunk; they had found out when Anko had decided to take full advantage of the fact that Naruto was legally an adult. Anko surprisingly had taken to drinking quite well; Naruto also didn't mind the flavour of Sake, even if he couldn't experience the other effects. Anko on the other hand had no such luck so he left her groaning in her bed, sleeping off the effects of her first drink.

He greeted Itachi and Shisui pleasantly. They too had come early in order to meet their Jonin sensei. They were surprised then when a man suddenly melted out of the shadows of a nearby tree. He was roughly thirty years old with his dark hair tied back in a ponytail; his eyes had black markings around them making him look quite tired and he had the slight hint of a beard on his chin. Other than that he wore the standard Jonin outfit, if in slightly darker colours than usual, and bore the generally laid-back posture of most Nara clan members.

"Great, I finally take on a Genin squad and they send me a bunch of kids, how bothersome." He didn't pay attention to the tick mark that suddenly appeared over Naruto's head and the generally annoyed expression on Shisui's face. Itachi managed to stay quite calm as usual although inside he was slightly offended by the insinuation. "I'm Ensui Nara, your Jonin instructor if you pass my test." Naruto was a little surprised there was another test but he said nothing, allowing the Nara to explain.

"You're here because you managed to pass what you thought was the Genin exam, but I can send you straight back to the academy if I believe you don't have what it takes to be on a squad. It's all really quite bothersome but I'm overdue to have a team and you three are what I was left with." Again he got the same responses, Naruto getting agitated, Shisui getting annoyed and Itachi, well, he was Itachi. "Basically if you want to be Genin you have to land a hit on m-"

Before he could finish his sentence Naruto had shot forward in a blur of red forcing Ensui to suddenly duck back as the boy sailed over his head. The lazy Nara blinked in surprise before ducking to the side again to avoid a fast spinning kick. The boy's speeds were very impressive for a kid straight out of the academy, at seven no less, hell they were above average for a Chuunin. It made him wonder just how hard the kid trained.

Likewise he didn't get much more time to explain before Naruto suddenly dived out the way, revealing Shisui behind him, hands in a tiger seal. Ensui only had a moment to think before he had to dive out the way of an enormous fireball that would have burnt him to a crisp. Unfortunately that put him straight in the path of Itachi, Sharingan blazing as he quickly tried to intercept the man. Ensui easily batted the boy away and before anybody else could try anything he crouched with his hands in the rat seal.

Before any of the new Genin could do anything they were suddenly stuck in place; looking down they all saw their shadows linked to their Sensei's. As he stood up they all found they copied the action, settling into the man's natural slumping posture.

"Bothersome. At least you all have decent teamwork. However, like I was saying you need to land a hit on me..." He pulled out a stop clock from his pocket as the three seven year-olds copied the phantom action "... in one hour. If you do that then you are officially Genin of the Leaf." And with that the man promptly melted into the shadows, disappearing before the three were release from his possession technique.

They just stood there a moment, getting their bearing as they regrouped, nodding at one another as they knew what to do. They took off into the forest, moving in the direction they knew would be best to hide in. None of them were particular trackers but Naruto's ears were honed to the point where he could accurately tell the difference between animal and human footsteps. Using that he took the lead, listening out for any signs of their sensei. Shisui took the middle as he had the most powerful Jutsu in his arsenal, being able to create a larger fireball than Itachi. Itachi naturally took up the rear, using his Sharingan to make sure they didn't miss anything.

Eventually Naruto caught onto something, raising a hand to halt their small group on a branch. He looked at Itachi, who just nodded. Having also noticed the signs of somebody coming through here, his Sharingan picked up the minute details. They quickly formulated a plan as they slowly approached the clearing they were sure their sensei was hiding in. Shisui stood on a high branch looking down over the clearing as he began to mould his chakra, drawing in as deep a breath as he could muster.

Ensui simply hid behind a tree in the clearing, hoping the kids weren't good enough trackers to find him. That way he wouldn't have to take them as a team and he could just go back to lazing about and taking an ocassional bothersome mission when necessary. However, it quickly became evident that wasn't going to be the case as his eyes widened and he forced chakra into his feet. He managed to get up in time to avoid the massive fireball that obliterated the trees he had just been hiding in; leaving only scarred and charred, blackened earth behind.

He blinked dumbfoundedly in surprise before he had to suddenly dodge a fist that would have struck him straight in the face. He swivelled on his heel, staring straight into the one-tomoe Sharingan of Itachi as the young Uchiha narrowed his eyes. His attacks came fast but his counterattacks came even faster, it didn't particularly press the experienced Jounin as the boy was still just a Genin but it didn't leave him much room to think. Quickly the Uchiha was joined by his clansman, the two teaming up and covering the other's weaknesses.

This actually put the lazy Nara on edge, forcing him to think quickly to avoid the well-timed and almost choreographed moved that slowly forced him into the clearings, even if neither had actually landed a hit yet. He was so preoccupied with fighting the two of them and trying to prevent them from landing a blow that he almost forgot about the last member of the group. He could only look up in time to see Naruto falling from a high branch his fist cocked back for a blow.

Ensui suddenly grabbed Shisui, using the boy's lack of Sharingan to his advantage as he pulled on his arm, swinging the boy up and throwing him at the approaching Naruto. As if it had been planned all along and in a very impressive display of mid-air acrobatics, Shisui just reached out a hand, grabbing onto Naruto. The Uchiha twisted his body in the air, pulling Naruto down as he did so and only adding to the boy's already impressive speed.

Already caught off guard Ensui tried to twist out the way but Naruto just managed to clip the man's shoulder, earning them the hit they had been working for. He span, expecting another attack but quickly realised that the three Genin were just standing there, looking rather amused as Ensui sighed tiredly.

"Alright, alright! I'll give that you three are impressive to land a hit on me." He suddenly became very serious, more so than looked natural on a Nara's face. "You three are now Genin of the Leaf, fully-fledged Shinobi and legal adults and as such you are now expected to behave as such. You will report to the same training ground tomorrow at ten for missions, for now you have the rest of the day off." He relaxed again, returning to his slumping posture "Congratulations, even if it is incredibly bothersome."

The three newly minted Genin just smiled; they knew they were going to have fun with this.

AN: Sorry for the hiatus, was stocking up chapters. Also gib me stones