The New Heirs of the Will of Fire (Sequel to Tsunade's Daughter)

九 ↬ Preparedness

Kei was to meet with her team today. Their Sensei had told them they would meet near a bridge. 

His team had already completed numerous missions by now, easy ones and more difficult ones, and the three genins thought they would have another one to complete today. 

Naruto arrived a few minutes after they all got there. 

"Hello everyone!"

"Hello Sensei," his students greeted him back in unison. 

"I have very good news for you!" he said excitedly. 

"What is it?" Daisuke asked him somehow puzzled. 

They all seemed to be intrigued by that statement. 

Naruto got three sheets of paper out of his pouch and showed them to his students. 

"What are these?" Yori wondered. 

"I've recommended the three of you to become Chūnins!" Naruto explained with a big grin plastered on his face. 

They were all surprised by this revelation. 

"Us? So soon?" Yori said as if he were worried. 

"Yes, you. I know you are ready for that."

Still, the genins didn't seem to be really confident about that.

"What you need to know is that you all have to participate in the exams. If one of you doesn't, the others won't be able to participate either. So before you decided to do anything, I want you to be aware of that," Naruto told them earnestly. 

The three of them exchanged looks. They knew for sure they wouldn't let each other down. They were a team and knew what this implied for them to do or not to do. 

"I'll leave you some more time to think about it. Just please make sure your return these by the end of the week," Naruto then added. 

They all nodded before each of them took one form. 

"Well, if you don't have any questions or anything else to ask me, let's call it a day," Naruto said. 

But the day had hardly started... Kei couldn't help but think. 

"So that means we won't have any new mission in the meanwhile", Kei simply said. 

"That's right. But that means you will have all the time you need to prepare for the Exams, if you choose to take them. I don't want to force you into anything if you don't feel ready."

Kei nodded. 

"Just don't hesitate to come and see me if you need anything from me, whether it is today or in the next few days."

They all nodded. 

"Well, I'll see you later then," Naruto said with a smile before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. 

The three of them remained standing still in their respective spots. 

"So... What do you guys think about it?" Kei asked the two boys. "Do you feel ready to take these exams?"

"Well, honestly, not really..." Yori admitted. "I heard this kind of exam is really difficult..."

"Yes, I know it is. But we will help you," Kei said to him. 

"Yes, together we will be stronger," Daisuke agreed. "And even if we don't pass, we'll still be able to retake them later. It won't be the end of the world if we fail the first time."

But Yori still looked unsure. 

"Let's organise training sessions together. We can even ask another team to help us train," Kei suggested.