War, Peace, and Love (Naruto Fan Fiction)

Team Assignments

I groaned softly and looked back at Selene. "I have a feeling he is going to slip away from us at some point."

Selene nodded to me. "Just let him do what he wants, Ella. He'll end up doing it at some point anyway."

I sighed and let Naruto's jacket go. He stared at me for a moment then smirked softly. "I'll meet you guys later."

I watched him walk away and looked at Selene. "Well.. I guess we can go get lunch by ourselves then.. Let's go to that BBQ place."

Selene nodded and we started walking towards the restaurant. On our way, we ran into Kiba, Hinata, and Shino. Kiba greeted us with a smile and Hinata greeted us shyly.

"He.hello.  You're Selene right? You're on our team." She said looking at Selene.

"Yes, I'm on your team. It's nice to meet you all," Ayala replied with a smile.

As we entered the BBQ restaurant, we sat down at an empty grill and placed our orders with the waitress. While waiting for our food to arrive, we got to know each other a little better. Kiba was talkative and outgoing, Hinata was reserved but kind, and Shino was quiet and observant.

"I think it's great that we'll get to hang out more now," Kiba said, looking at me. "We should all get together sometime and train together or something."

I smiled. "That sounds like a great idea. We should definitely do that."

After we finished eating, we headed back to the academy to meet our new sensei. Selene's sensei arrived first, and then one by one, every other team's sensei showed up except for ours. Naruto poked his head out of the door, looking around anxiously, while Sakura stood in front of one of the desks, leaning her hands on it. Sasuke sat quietly with his chin resting on his hands.

"Sit down, Naruto," Sakura said, exasperated.

"Why is our sensei so late?!" Naruto replied, turning around and crossing his arms. "All the other teams have gone with their sensei's, and Iruka-sensei left us.."

"What are you doing, Naruto?!" Sakura exclaimed, seeing Naruto put the chalkboard eraser in the door.

"That's what you get for being late," Naruto said, jumping off the table he was standing on.

Sasuke scoffed, "Like a jounin would fall for such a stupid booby trap."

I looked over at the door, seeing someone stick their hand in and start opening the door. He finally stuck his head in and allowed the eraser to fall on his head.

"Hahaha, you fell for it, you fell for it!" Naruto laughed.

"I'm so sorry, sensei. I tried to stop Naruto, but..." Sakura apologized.

I chuckled softly. "You didn't try to stop him, Sakura," I said, and she glared at me.

"Hmm, how should I say this? My first impression is... I don't like you guys," our sensei told us.

As our sensei spoke, I observed him closely. He had spiky white hair, a black mask that covered his face, and his forehead protector was over his left eye. His eye was dark and sharp, and his posture exuded a commanding presence.

Wait a minute.. he looks very familiar to me..

I approached our new sensei, feeling the surprise in the air as I asked, "Sensei, were you an ANBU about eight years ago?" 

He appeared taken aback by my question but answered nonetheless. "I was... yes. Anyways, meet me on the roof." He vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving me to ponder his response.

I made my way to the stairs and climbed to the roof of the building. Upon arriving, I saw Kakashi perched on the railing and sat down on the steps nearby. Eventually, my team joined me and sat down too.

"Let's begin by introducing yourselves," Kakashi began.

"What do you want to know?" Sakura asked.

"How about your likes, dislikes, your dreams for the future, and things like that?"

"Hey! How about you introduce yourself to us first?" Naruto demanded.

"Yeah... you look kinda suspicious," Sakura added, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"Oh... me? Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes, dreams for the future... hmm, and I have a lot of hobbies."

"So... all he told us is his name?" Sakura asked with disbelief.

"Now it's your turn. Let's start with the person on the right."

"Yosh! My name is Naruto Uzumaki," he exclaimed with enthusiasm. "I absolutely love cup ramen, and it's even better when Iruka sensei pays for it. What I don't like is waiting three long minutes for it to cook. My dream is to become the Hokage and earn the respect of everyone in the village. Oh, and I also enjoy pulling pranks."

When it was my turn, I introduced myself. "My name is Ella Sakamoto. I enjoy training, learning new jutsu, and spending time with my friends," I said, giving Naruto a friendly nudge. "What I dislike the most is when people bully and pick on others because of their family problems or anything else. And my dream is to uncover the truth behind my clan's murder." I paused, feeling the surprise emanating from my team. "I enjoy singing and training in my spare time," I added.

Sasuke spoke next, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't really like anything, and there are many things I dislike. I wouldn't call it a dream, but I have an ambition; to resurrect my clan and kill a certain man."

"Ok.. and lastly.. Pinky."

After Sasuke introduced himself, I stopped listening and stared off into space for a moment.

"So far for the introductions. Tomorrow we will start our duties as shinobi."

"Yeah!! What kinds of duties?!!"

"First we are going to do something with just the five of us."

"What is it? What is it?"

"Survival training."

"Survival training?"

Excitement and anxiety filled the air as Kakashi revealed their upcoming survival training. Naruto and Sakura were ecstatic, while Sasuke maintained his usual stoic expression. As for me, I felt a knot forming in my stomach as I listened to the sensei's explanation.

"Why is our first duty a training? We've had enough training at the academy," Naruto protested.

"It's not just any training, Naruto. This is survival training," I interjected.

"S-Survival training?" Sakura stuttered in disbelief.

Kakashi nodded, his lone visible eye crinkling at the corners. "That's right. And this time, I'm your opponent."

The intensity in his voice and the glint in his eye sent shivers down my spine. But what he said next was even more startling.

"Of the 30 graduates, only 12 will be chosen to become a genin. The rest will be sent back to the academy. This training is a very difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66%!"

That.. is crazy.. who made the rules? How does sending students back to the academy help them advance?

"Haha! I told you you'd freak out!"

"What?! No way!! But we worked so hard.. Then what was the point of graduating?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Oh that? That was just to select those who have the change to become genin."

"Uhh.. what?!" Naruto shouted out.

"Anyway.. tomorrow you have to show your real skills on the training ground. Bring all the shinobi tools you have. Oh.. and skip breakfast, you might throw up." Kakashi stood taking out 4 pieces of paper and walked over to us.

"The details are on this paper, and don't be late tomorrow." After handing us the papers, he disappeared once again in a cloud of smoke.

Well.. I suppose it's time to stop fooling around..