True Potential By DryBonesKing

Part 20//Prep Begins

Disclaimer: I own...well...I have to really think. Do we really own anything at all? What does it mean to own something? Do we really own anything or are we being owned by the things we possess?...I'm just going to say I don't own Naruto before I continue trying (and failing) to be philosophical XD

Author's Note: I have a love-hate relationship with college. I love it because it is awesome and a great experience! I hate it because it's difficult as hell and is eating up so much of my time :( I'm really sorry it took me this long to get this up!

I won't make you all wait any longer. Here's chapter twenty! Enjoy :)

Following the preliminary exam, Anko decided to take her students out to dinner to celebrate: her treat. The four members of Team Three headed off to Ichiraku's.

"Congrats you three on making it into the third exam." Teuchi said proudly as he placed their orders on the table. "Consider this a reward for all your hard work."

"Thank you very much!" Hinata and Shikamaru thanked him as they took their bowls.

"Yeah, thanks old man!" Naruto gave his thanks and immediately started to eat his ramen. "Oh yeah...thanks for taking us out to eat Anko-sensei!"

Naruto managed to spit out some of his food when he thanked his sensei, causing Shikamaru to sigh.

"Naruto, don't talk with your mouth full." The Nara informed him.

"He has worse habits. Don't get on to him for that." Anko chuckled. "But don't thank me. You all earned it. You all are the only full team to make it to the third exam. That says a lot about you guys."

Hinata's eyes glowed with pride. "Thank you Anko-sensei!"

"Did you make it past the preliminaries when you took the exam?" Naruto asked in between bites.

"My year we didn't have a preliminary exam." Anko answered with a shrug. "I just went into the third exam and kicked ass as usual. Naturally, I got promoted right after."

"On your first try?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yup. So, you three have a lot to live up to." The snake summoner grinned at them.

"We'll do our best!" Naruto declared as he finished his first bowl of ramen. He then pushed it to the side. "I'm pretty pumped up for the exam. I can't wait to kick Risho's ass!"

"Yeah, you have fun with that." Shikamaru said with a sigh. "I'd like to put off this exam as long as possible. Shino's going to be a giant pain in the ass to fight."

"..." Hinata didn't say anything as she started to think about who she was going to fight. A frown crept on to her face as she imagined her fight with Neji.

Anko cleared her throat before speaking. "Well, since you all are so eager about the third exam, I might as well let you all know what our plans are for training."

The three genin turned their attention to their sensei and stared at her intently.

"Yeah, how is this going to work out? Are we just going to train for the exams the same we always train?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah...not really. Actually, I'm not going to be really training you guys." Anko said with a sigh. Her genins' eyes all widened. "You see, all three of you made it to the exam. And that's great and all, but there's a chance that you may fight each other at some point in the exam. I don't want to risk favoritism in any way, so I'm not going to be directly training you guys during the month." She answered. "Besides, it would be unfair to divide your training time amongst the three of you. You all need to focus on your own training, not each other's."