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~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +50 this weekend!
~ I've edited some of the previous chapters to remove anything you might consider "cringe" or "unnecessary." I'll continue reviewing them from time to time!
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Classroom, Konohagakure Shinobi Academy
Naruto was whistling a jaunty tune to himself as he made his way back to the classroom. Behind him, his new teammates were breathing heavily from trying to keep up with the energetic little stamina freak.
While her training with Naruto had greatly improved her stamina over the past few months, Sakura was still only barely above the base needed to counted as Genin level. And Ino's own training and competitive nature had allowed her to keep up with her frenemy, if only barely.
"Seriously Naruto...how much energy do you have?" the Yamanaka Heiress hissed out as Naruto paused to let them catch up at the room's door. She wasn't used to quick-marching in order to keep up with someone who was the same age as her.
"More than you and Sakura-chan put together, Ino." the blond boy shot back with a toothy grin. "Iruka-sensei doesn't call me a stamina nut for nothing."
"Sensei's right about that." the pinkette offered with a huff. "Naruto can outlast me in a spar without even breathing hard. I still don't know how the heck he manages that!?" she finished, tossing a glare at her new teammate. It was kind of frustrating; no matter how hard she trained, Sakura would always be close to collapsing before Naruto even started to look winded.
"It's 'cause I'm just that awesome, Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a definite smirk.
Ignoring the almost synchronised scoffs from the two kunoichi, the Last Uzumaki sat in his old seat for what he guessed would be the last time and settled in to wait for his sensei to arrive. Ino and Sakura reluctantly slid into place on either side of him and did the same.
"So do either of you know Sarutobi-sensei?" Ino asked after a couple of minutes.
"Yeah, he lives at my building." Naruto nodded. "He's a kick-ass teacher! He's taught me more about wind jutsu than I've learned in the Academy. With him teaching us, we'll be strong before you know it-dattebayo!"
"Wait, I've heard that name before...isn't he a former member of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve? The personal bodyguards of the Fire Daimyo himself?" Sakura asked with wide eyes.
"Yup. He doesn't really talk about it much, though." the blond boy nodded in agreement, having heard that from the man once or twice. "Still, he should be able to teach us a lot about being a bodyguard from personal experience, right?"
Both of the girls nodded thoughtfully. Bodyguard duty wasn't an uncommon job for shinobi, and someone who had acted as a bodyguard to the ruler of Hi no Kuni for over a decade would very likely know more than a few tricks of the trade that would make them very much useful in that department.
In the next few minutes, various teams trotted out of the classroom as Jonin-sensei ar rived to cart them away. The lady who picked up Team 8 was an interesting one in Naruto's opinion. She wore an outfit that looked as if she had raided a temple and draped herself in paper sutras, and her raven-black hair contrasted nicely with her crimson-red eyes and pale skin.
Yūhi Kurenai LV?
[Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha]
Now that was someone Naruto never wanted to fight. Genjutsu were a tremendous weakness of his, even with the protections that the [Gamer's Mind] granted him. All the [Gamer's Mind] did was prevent him from being terrified or paralysed with fear from Genjutsu; it did nothing to stop him being trapped in illusory genjutsu. He could still be locked in an inescapable labyrinth of an illusion and thus easily removed from a fight
'Could having the Kyūbi sealed inside me have anything to do with my weakness to genjutsu?' he wondered absently. He remembered one lesson mentioning that there were legends from the Warring Clans Era about the Nine Tailed Fox being controlled via illusions.
"Yo, Team 10." Asuma's deep voice sounded from the doorway. Naruto looked up quickly to see the man smirking at him. "Follow me."
The three genin scrambled out of the room, leaving Sasuke, Kiba, Akamaru and Shino alone as the only genin in the room.
"...so, anyone have a pack of cards?" Kiba asked after a moment.
With the new Team 10
Yakiniku Q, Konohagakure
"Wow...this place is pretty cool!" Naruto said looking around the room they were in. It had a large grill, which was already cooking some salted beef tongue on it.
"Never been here before, Naruto?" Asuma asked. The man was busy cooking the food, but glanced up to eye his students every now and again.
"Nuh-uh. Never tried to cook barbecue before and I didn't want to waste what little money I had on food I would probably burn." the boy admitted. He was certain that with his Level 25 [Cooking] skill, he could handle it now though.
Asuma chuckled slightly at that. "Fair point, the grills can be tricky for a beginner. I'll show you a few tricks at some point. Once you get the hang of it though, you'll be a regular here, I guarantee it."
Ino eyed the meat hungrily. Although she'd enjoyed a veggie ramen at Ichiraku's (which she'd admit was surprisingly good), she still had enough room for more thanks to her discontinuation of her dieting. And the meat here did smell delicious...
Sakura swallowed hungrily as she eyed the meat herself. While salted bull tongue wasn't her favourite meat, it was still Yakiniku Q's best known dish and she rarely ate out, mostly due to the fact that her mother wasn't the type to eat out when it was less expensive to cook from home unless she simply didn't have the time or it was a special occasion.
"So then, while we wait for the meat to finish..." Asuma said with a smile. "It's time to talk about the Genin Exam you're about to take."
"Um...didn't we just take the Genin Exam, Asuma-sensei?" Sakura asked in confusion.
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