Growing Pains
folder
Naruto AU/AR › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
17
Views:
1,167
Reviews:
19
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto AU/AR › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
17
Views:
1,167
Reviews:
19
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
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Naruto was close to screaming by the time the written exams were over. With the Forest of Death next, he would’ve assumed Sasuke would’ve made an appearance if only to help out his genin. Instead, the Uchiha remained ever elusive and Naruto was going to tear his hair out in frustration. It was already bad enough that the Silk genin had scored in the top ten on the written exam, better than the Konoha genin combined.
He searched for Sasuke among the clumps of genin that waited outside the fence and saw nothing. He spotted Momogi chatting easily with the blonde kunoichi from Silk, the boys not too far away from their female teammates. No jounin, save for Anko and several ANBU, was in sight. He was about to leave for the tower in the center of the forest when he saw it, a simple flash of black. Sasuke appeared before Momogi and offered an apologetic smile as he drew Umi away, collecting the other two and drawing them aside.
He was speaking, making gentle gestures, and each of the genin nodded in return. Naruto felt his lip curl. Tsunade was being played for a fool. Orochimaru couldn’t have been in her office that night when she’d had the meeting. He must be the boy. It was the only possible reason that Sasuke was never around. It would be simple to henge into the old snake-bastard and even easier to proclaim peace since no one would suspect an innocent boy. Still, Tsunade had pulled her jounin off the boy, taking Orochimaru at face value.
Naruto could remedy that though. There was always a chance the kid could get killed in the Forest. He’d just need a little help, that’s all. Naruto vanished, looking happier for the first time since this whole thing started.
With their sensei’s instructions clear in their minds, Team Nine of Kinugakure was ready for their first set of trials in the Forest of Death. It seemed as though they had an unfair advantage over the other teams because they had been doing survival training since before they actually became genin. Still, Sasuke-sensei had drilled into their heads the need for caution. Things would try to kill them in the forest – people and animals. He’d instructed them not to kill, only to defend. Still, if their lives depended on it, then they were allowed to use lethal force.
With Umi in the lead and one scroll in their possession, Team Nine traversed the Forest looking for an opportunity to take their second scroll and get to the Tower. They talked and joked, being children instead of true shinobi. They didn’t need to pay attention, not with Kyo’s eyesight. This was how they discovered they were being followed.
Perhaps it was their training, given by the many adults of Kinu besides their sensei. Perhaps it was an innate sense. Perhaps it was just pure, unadulterated luck. Either way, they split up and began to lay their trap. Thin chakra threads created a spider web between two large trees, Kyo acting as bait standing on a far branch just in the center of the web. Or at least it looked that way, for it was all an optical illusion. Sei stood nearby, chameleoned to the tree bark, ready to pull his friend out of harm’s way.
They weren’t sure what they were expecting. Another team, maybe, or an animal. But to see ANBU – ANBU! – jump right at Kyo, well, it was a little unnerving. So imagine the surprise of three pre-teen genin when those famed ANBU, the Black Ops, the best of the best, blundered right into the chakra thread web. For the longest time the three stood together, open mouthed in awe, looking quizzically at each other and then back to the trapped nin.
“Wow,” Umi breathed. “You’re a bunch of idiots.”
Sei elbowed her. “C’mon. Let’s get out of here.”
“Yeah, gloat later when they can’t kill us.” Kyo said, finally looking up at those ANBU and almost glaring. Sighing, Umi nodded and led her team away, right into an ambush by a team from the Land of Snow. It was almost sad how quickly Kinugakure’s Team Nine recovered and retaliated, Umi calmly fixing her ponytail before she plucked the scroll from the Snow kunoichi’s obi and smiled, holding the scroll up to her teammates in victory.
They ran, laughing, toward the tower in the center of the forest, not realizing the storm that would come in their wake.
Tsunade and Orochimaru stood together, watching the live feed in amazement. Temari had promptly collapsed in a chair and had been staring at some point above the monitor for some time now. Coughing, Tsunade turned to Orochimaru.
“You’re sure they’re genin?”
“I admit they’ve had extensive training, but I’m positive they’re genin.”
“They beat the Sand Siblings’ time by at least an hour.”
Orochimaru choked on his air. “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation.”
“Yeah,” Temari finally said. “They’re miracles.”
“Somehow, I don’t think so. They’re determined and they never take no for an answer,” The Yunkage murmured. “They probably found some unsuspecting team, murdered them, and ran all the way here.”
Tsunade snorted. “That’s more plausible.”
Orochimaru shook his head. “The real show hasn’t started yet. We still have the preliminaries to get through.”
There was an awkward silence that permeated the room and even the ANBU guards shifted uneasily.
Naruto was close to screaming by the time the written exams were over. With the Forest of Death next, he would’ve assumed Sasuke would’ve made an appearance if only to help out his genin. Instead, the Uchiha remained ever elusive and Naruto was going to tear his hair out in frustration. It was already bad enough that the Silk genin had scored in the top ten on the written exam, better than the Konoha genin combined.
He searched for Sasuke among the clumps of genin that waited outside the fence and saw nothing. He spotted Momogi chatting easily with the blonde kunoichi from Silk, the boys not too far away from their female teammates. No jounin, save for Anko and several ANBU, was in sight. He was about to leave for the tower in the center of the forest when he saw it, a simple flash of black. Sasuke appeared before Momogi and offered an apologetic smile as he drew Umi away, collecting the other two and drawing them aside.
He was speaking, making gentle gestures, and each of the genin nodded in return. Naruto felt his lip curl. Tsunade was being played for a fool. Orochimaru couldn’t have been in her office that night when she’d had the meeting. He must be the boy. It was the only possible reason that Sasuke was never around. It would be simple to henge into the old snake-bastard and even easier to proclaim peace since no one would suspect an innocent boy. Still, Tsunade had pulled her jounin off the boy, taking Orochimaru at face value.
Naruto could remedy that though. There was always a chance the kid could get killed in the Forest. He’d just need a little help, that’s all. Naruto vanished, looking happier for the first time since this whole thing started.
With their sensei’s instructions clear in their minds, Team Nine of Kinugakure was ready for their first set of trials in the Forest of Death. It seemed as though they had an unfair advantage over the other teams because they had been doing survival training since before they actually became genin. Still, Sasuke-sensei had drilled into their heads the need for caution. Things would try to kill them in the forest – people and animals. He’d instructed them not to kill, only to defend. Still, if their lives depended on it, then they were allowed to use lethal force.
With Umi in the lead and one scroll in their possession, Team Nine traversed the Forest looking for an opportunity to take their second scroll and get to the Tower. They talked and joked, being children instead of true shinobi. They didn’t need to pay attention, not with Kyo’s eyesight. This was how they discovered they were being followed.
Perhaps it was their training, given by the many adults of Kinu besides their sensei. Perhaps it was an innate sense. Perhaps it was just pure, unadulterated luck. Either way, they split up and began to lay their trap. Thin chakra threads created a spider web between two large trees, Kyo acting as bait standing on a far branch just in the center of the web. Or at least it looked that way, for it was all an optical illusion. Sei stood nearby, chameleoned to the tree bark, ready to pull his friend out of harm’s way.
They weren’t sure what they were expecting. Another team, maybe, or an animal. But to see ANBU – ANBU! – jump right at Kyo, well, it was a little unnerving. So imagine the surprise of three pre-teen genin when those famed ANBU, the Black Ops, the best of the best, blundered right into the chakra thread web. For the longest time the three stood together, open mouthed in awe, looking quizzically at each other and then back to the trapped nin.
“Wow,” Umi breathed. “You’re a bunch of idiots.”
Sei elbowed her. “C’mon. Let’s get out of here.”
“Yeah, gloat later when they can’t kill us.” Kyo said, finally looking up at those ANBU and almost glaring. Sighing, Umi nodded and led her team away, right into an ambush by a team from the Land of Snow. It was almost sad how quickly Kinugakure’s Team Nine recovered and retaliated, Umi calmly fixing her ponytail before she plucked the scroll from the Snow kunoichi’s obi and smiled, holding the scroll up to her teammates in victory.
They ran, laughing, toward the tower in the center of the forest, not realizing the storm that would come in their wake.
Tsunade and Orochimaru stood together, watching the live feed in amazement. Temari had promptly collapsed in a chair and had been staring at some point above the monitor for some time now. Coughing, Tsunade turned to Orochimaru.
“You’re sure they’re genin?”
“I admit they’ve had extensive training, but I’m positive they’re genin.”
“They beat the Sand Siblings’ time by at least an hour.”
Orochimaru choked on his air. “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation.”
“Yeah,” Temari finally said. “They’re miracles.”
“Somehow, I don’t think so. They’re determined and they never take no for an answer,” The Yunkage murmured. “They probably found some unsuspecting team, murdered them, and ran all the way here.”
Tsunade snorted. “That’s more plausible.”
Orochimaru shook his head. “The real show hasn’t started yet. We still have the preliminaries to get through.”
There was an awkward silence that permeated the room and even the ANBU guards shifted uneasily.