Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Fenrir and the Fox ❯ The Bell Test ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7:

The Bell Test

 

Jinra, despite the fact that he knew Kakashi was going to be late again, had decided to show up at the bridge early. He had no particular reason for doing so other than to enjoy the peace that the early morning brought him. He was perched in the branch of one of the trees overlooking the river and found himself mesmerized by the flow of the water underneath him.

 

As he continued to watch the river he allowed his mind to wander the corridor of his memories until he eventually began to pull up memories of his past. They were memories that he both wanted to forget and hold close to him forever. They were images of a place surrounded by an unforgiving desert, buildings made out of compressed sandstone, and a young sandy haired girl, smiling and laughing with him. He never forgot that smile, even though he had long forgotten the name that had gone along with it.

 

Jinra shook his head, trying to rid himself of the memories or at least push them into the back of his mind. `Focus Jinra, focus! You're so close to your dream. You can't afford to lose sight of it now!'

 

But then he began to wonder if that were really true. He had come to Fire Country after hearing that a man with the last name Ozuma had been spotted here, but Fire Country was a large place, and he really had no idea if he could find him from this village. Not that it really mattered anyway. Now that he was a ninja, he would have to remain loyal to this place for the rest of his days. He just hoped that he hadn't made a mistake…

 

Jinra's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice coming from below him. “Jinra? What are you doing here so early?”

 

Jinra looked down at the girl at the base of the tree. “I could ask you the same question Sakura.”

 

Sakura had a serious expression on his face, one that he had rarely seen before. He could tell that whatever she was here for was important. “Actually, I came here looking for you. I was hoping to talk to you before we met up with Kakashi-sensei.”

 

Jinra jumped down from the tree branch, landing in front of her. “What do you want to talk about?”

 

“You're friends with Naruto, right?”

 

“I suppose so. What of it?”

 

Sakura blushed slightly, confusing Jinra. “Does he…does he ever mention me?”

 

Jinra raised an eyebrow at this. Sure, Naruto and he were friends, but they never really talked about that sort of thing.

 

“He doesn't confide in me about those sorts of things Sakura. Believe it or not, when he's not in the public eye, he's pretty secretive. I know he used to have a crush on you a few years back, kind of like when you had a crush on Sasuke, but I'm not sure about now.”

 

Sakura's shoulders visibly slumped, telling Jinra that that was not what she had wanted to hear. “Oh…”

 

Jinra knew this was not going well, and he didn't want a depressed teammate on his hands. “Cheer up Sakura. Like I said, he doesn't confide in me about these things. He could be crazy about you and just doesn't tell anyone. I mean, up until now you've never really told anyone how you feel about him, right?”

 

This seemed to cheer her up a little bit, if the small smile on her face was any indication. Jinra breathed a small sigh of relief.

 

Disaster averted, he thought happily. However, that sense of happiness was destroyed when Sakura asked her next question. “What about you, Jinra? Have you ever felt that way about someone?”

 

Jinra's mind froze for a moment as he once again tried to forcefully push back the cascade of memories that were flooding his mind. “Well…I…”

 

Jinra was saved the pain of having to answer that question by the timely arrival of Naruto, whose mere presence had the delightful affect of distracting Sakura away from Jinra and the question that he so strongly wished to avoid.

 

“Hey Jinra! Sakura-chan!”

 

“Hey Naruto,” Sakura said sweetly. “So you decided to show up early too?”

 

Naruto brought his hand back and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Not really. Some wise guy set my alarm clock forward one hour so that it went off earlier than I expected, and once I was up I couldn't go back to sleep. Why are you guys here?”

 

Sakura turned away to hide the blush on her face while Jinra answered. “We were just enjoying the morning. When you're a ninja you need to get all the peace you can get.” The grateful look on Sakura's face was not lost on Jinra as he continued his conversation. “So, how long do you think Kakashi-sensei is going to make us wait this time?”

 

“My bet's on two hours,” Naruto said with a chuckle.

 

“Mine's on three,” Sakura said with a slight laugh.

 

“I'm guessing tomorrow, myself.” At this the three of them burst out into uncontrollable laughter, making for quite a scene when Sasuke arrived a few minutes later and saw them all sprawled on the ground, clutching at their sides.

 

“What's with you guys?”

 

“Nothing,” Sakura gasped, “We were just wondering how late our new sensei is going to be.”

 

Sasuke shrugged. “If yesterday was any indication, we might be here for quite a while.”

 

“Or maybe not,” said a voice from behind Sasuke. He whirled around only to find their new instructor standing there, his eye crinkled up in what was definitely a smile. “It's good to see you all here so early.”

 

“We could say the same,” Jinra said with a slight chuckle.

 

“Yes, well…” Kakashi trailed off for a moment before changing the subject. “Anyway, today we're going to be conducting a little test to see if you four are really ready to be genin.”

 

“Didn't we already do that?”

 

“Not really, Naruto. The first test was just to see which students had the potential to be genin. This is the test that will decide whether or not you get sent back to the academy.” He paused a moment to watch their faces fill with horror. He wasn't disappointed.

 

“Back to the academy!? You've got to be kidding me!” Sakura shrieked.

 

Everyone ignored Sakura's little outburst and the numerous mumblings that followed as they waited for their teacher to continue.

 

“What do we need to do Sensei?” Jinra asked

 

“The test will be quite simple. In my hand I hold three bells.” Kakashi took out his hand that had been in his pocket and jingled the bells in front of them before attaching them onto a loop on his waist. “Your objective will be to take at least one of these bells from me. If you get a bell, you pass. It's as simple as that.”

 

“Wait a minute,” Sakura said. “How come there are only three bells? Shouldn't there be four?”

 

“Nope,” Kakashi said simply. “There are only three bells because at best only three of you will pass. Of the graduating genin class, only approximately one third actually remain genin. The rest are sent back to the academy. This test is to root out those that are too weak to survive. Now,” he said, pulling out an alarm clock, “you guys have until noon today to get a bell, otherwise you don't get lunch.”

 

“So that's why you told us to skip breakfast…” Jinra said. “It's part of the test!”

 

“You got it! Speaking of which, the test starts riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight NOW!”

 

In a flash the four genin were gone, leaving Kakashi alone in the clearing near the bridge. Kakashi just stood there for a moment before making his way to the training grounds. He knew that was where they would all head to because it the only place nearby that had enough trees and foliage for them to hide in.

 

Break

 

Jinra watched from some dense bushes as Kakashi calmly walked in their direction from the bridge as he considered what their teacher had told them, and what he had already learned from living in the same house as the Hokage.

 

`All right, think Jinra! There has to be more to this test than what he's saying. Let's go over what you know. One, there is no way a single genin can take on an elite jounin like Kakashi, no matter how talented they may be. Two, ninja teams always come in sets of three or more. There has never been a team of two genin in the history of Konoha besides through accidental death. Three, Iruka-sensei was always telling us that a ninja must look past outward appearances. The only question is what Kakashi meant by two thirds of the genin failing?'

 

Jinra considered this a moment. There were nine teams of three genin in this year's graduating class. If two thirds of those genin were to fail, then that would mean that only nine or ten students would be left, enough for three teams.

 

`That's it! This must be a team exercise to find out how we can work together on missions! Why else would they put us on teams in the first place? The whole thing with the bells must be designed to split out forces. I need to find the others quickly so we can form some sort of plan.'

 

Just as Jinra began to think about how he would accomplish the task of finding his teammates, one of them stepped into the clearing to face their teacher.

 

It was none other than Naruto. Jinra knew that Naruto's specialty had never really been stealth, but he hadn't expected him to just come out and try and face their teacher head to head.

 

Naruto then made his now standard declaration of his dream to become Hokage before making a few hand seals, which Jinra worked hard to memorize, before shouting “KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!” (Shadow Clone Technique)

 

Instantly about a dozen solid Naruto clones poofed into existence and launched themselves at Kakashi. Kakashi didn't even flinch as each took out each clone with a single strike. The result was that each clone dissipated into a cloud of smoke, effectively coving the field and obscuring the sight of both combatants.

 

Taking the opportunity to pull his team back together (whether they wanted to or not) Jinra leapt from his hiding place, grabbed Naruto by the collar, and dragged him back into the bushes.

 

Break

 

When the smoke from the clones cleared, Kakashi looked around and found that Naruto had disappeared. He was a little bit surprised at this development. From what he had read about Naruto through his file, it suggested that he more likely to fight to the end than make a tactical retreat. He thought he felt another presence nearby while he and Naruto fought, so it was possible that whoever it was had pulled Naruto out of harms way. The only question was who?

 

Kakashi had little time to ponder this as Sasuke had taken his moment of confusion to launch a full out assault on him. `Oh well,' he thought. `I suppose I'll have to take care of this first.'

 

After an intricate taijutsu and ninjutsu match, which included an unexpected fire jutsu from Sasuke, Kakashi ended the fight with a chunin-level earth jutsu called the `Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu' (Earth Style: Groundhog Decapitation Technique) which landed Sasuke with all but his head submerged in the ground.

 

Deciding to take the offensive in this little test, Kakashi went to find where Sakura had gone. He had to admit he was a little curious as to how she would hold up against a simple genjutsu…

 

Break

 

It had taken Jinra a few moments to convince Naruto that teamwork was the only way to pass this test, but afterwards he found that Naruto could be very cooperative.

 

They next person they found was Sasuke, who was trying desperately to dig himself out of the pit that Kakashi had left him in, grumbling and cursing almost inaudibly.

 

“Need any help Sasuke?” Naruto said with a smirk. Jinra could see that he was getting more that a little enjoyment from seeing the Uchiha so helpless.

 

“No. I can get out of this on my own,” he snarled.

 

“We didn't mean that pit you're in, Sasuke. We meant the bell test. Naruto and I have been talking and we both think that we need to work together on this.”

 

“Why? One of us will fail no matter what we do.”

 

Jinra crouched down so that his face was closer to Sasuke's. “Think about it Sasuke. If we were meant to work on our own, why would they put on teams of three in the first place? Kakashi is just messing with us.”

 

Sasuke's eyes widened for a moment before settling back into a frown. “Fine, we work together. Now get me out of this thing!”

 

Jinra and Naruto looked at each other and smirked before grasping Sasuke by the shoulders under the dirt and hauling him out with one good pull. As soon as he was out Sasuke dusted off his clothes and muttered `thanks' before they got back to business. “So now what?”

 

“Now we find Sakura-chan,” Naruto said without hesitation. Jinra nodded in conformation.

 

Thankfully they didn't have to search very long because the soon found Sakura sprawled out on the ground, unconscious. Naruto bent down and examined her for wounds.

 

“There isn't a scratch on her. It's like she just fainted.”

 

“What could make her do that?” Sasuke asked curiously.

 

Jinra considered this a moment. “A genjutsu maybe? Those things can be tailored to anything the castor can imagine. The real question is what image he could have used to make her so distressed that she would pass out?”

 

Just then Sakura's eyes fluttered open and saw Naruto still hovering above her. Her eyes widened in shock as she let out a cry of joy before sitting up and embracing Naruto for all she was worth. Tears were practically streaming down her face as she held him, all the while repeating over and over again, “You're alive! You're alive!”

 

Jinra looked at the pair, Sakura crying and Naruto blushing, and just turned to Sasuke and said, “Well, I guess that answers my question.”

 

“No kidding,” he replied.

 

It took them a while to finally calm Sakura down and just a little longer to come up with a decent plan on how to get those bells.

 

Break

 

Kakashi was thoroughly enjoying himself at the moment. It had been about an hour since he had seen any trace of his students, which was probably a good thing. It meant they were planning something, though what it could be he wasn't sure.

 

He had decided to spend the time reading his favorite orange book, emitting a perverted giggle now and then as he got to a really good part.

 

Unbeknownst to Kakashi, his students were only about a dozen feet away, whispering quietly in the bushes.

 

“Are you sure this will work?” came Sasuke's hushed voice.

 

Jinra snarled in aggravation. “Yes, I'm sure. I've practiced this about a hundred times already! You three just worry about doing your parts. Naruto, are you ready?”

 

“Yeah, you said two right?”

 

“Yes, that's all we'll need. Now remember, you need to be in contact with me when I do this or there won't be any point. And remember, I can't hold it for more than about five minutes, so make the most of the time you get.”

 

“Got it,” the three chorused.

 

“All right. Here we go.” Jinra began to move his hands into a complex set of seals that the others had never seen before he stopped and whispered “Kariudo Keigetsu no Jutsu.” (Hunter's Moon Technique)

 

Break

 

Kakashi paused when he felt a wave of chakra pass over him and looked up from his book just in time to see his surroundings change drastically. In a manner of seconds the landscape went from a woody clearing at noontime to a dense forest in the dead of night. The air seemed to have cooled down significantly and as he looked up he saw a full moon hanging over his head.

 

`A genjutsu? I didn't know that these kids knew anything this advanced. It feels so real.'

 

Kakashi reached out a hand to touch the bark of one of the tree that hadn't been there before and realized that it felt solid beneath his fingertips.

 

`This is really impressive. Most genjutsu ensnare only one of the senses, but this one uses touch, sight and…'

 

He took a deep breath of the air around him, smelling cold pine.

 

`…smell apparently. I could dispel this illusion, but I admit I'm curious as to what they hope to achieve with this technique.'

 

His answer came to him in the sound of a loud howl that seemed to echo all around the surrounding area. Kakashi knew that some wolves were native to Fire Country, but he was really hoping that they were part of the illusion.

 

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of a low growl coming from the bushes right in front of him, followed immediately by the entrance of a large black wolf. The wolf let out another low growl, which was then echoed by two other growls coming from either side of him, making three wolves so far.

 

Kakashi was just about to get ready to defend himself when two large bodies rammed the back of his legs, causing him to fall forward. No sooner was he down that the two wolves to the side of him gripped both of his arms in his jaws, pulling him flat on his face while the two other wolves that had tackled him from behind made sure that he couldn't use his legs.

 

Kakashi's single eye widened as he realized that he was completely immobilized. Wolves weren't supposed to be this smart, but it didn't seem as if they were purely illusionary either. The jounin looked at the wolf in front of him and them at the two wolves holding his arms and noticed something amiss about their eyes. The two wolves holding his arms had green and blue eyes, and the one in front of him had eyes that were charcoal black. Those were the same eyes as three of his genin.

 

`Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto must have transformed as part of the genjutsu, but if the three of them are here, where's Jinra? Did he cast this illusion?'

 

Kakashi was so distracted by his thoughts that he almost didn't notice the transformed Sasuke trot over to his side and remove the bells from his waist. He then signaled his teammates with a jerk of his head before running off into the woods, Naruto and Sakura following close behind.

 

As soon as they were gone, the two holding his legs suddenly poofed out of existence.

 

`Shadow clones?'

 

His suspicions were confirmed when the landscape suddenly shifted back to normal and he saw four figures emerging from the bushes, three of them holding bells and all of them grinning triumphantly.

 

Of the four of them Jinra seemed to be smiling the widest. “So Kakashi-san, what's the verdict?”

 

Kakashi got off of the ground and gave the four of them a hard look for a few moments before his eye crinkled into a smile. “You all…pass. Congratulations.”

 

Naruto's cries of victory could be heard throughout Konoha, much to the chagrin of his teammates.

 

Jinra's ears were still ringing when Kakashi walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

 

“That was some genjutsu you used back there. Would you mind telling me where you learned it?”

 

Jinra gave Kakashi a proud smile. “I modified a jutsu I learned from a scroll Iruka gave me back at the academy. It's modeled after a dream I used to have.”

 

Kakashi frowned slightly. “And no one helped you on this?”

 

Jinra just shrugged. “Not really. Grandpa gave me some pointers, but other than that, no.”

 

Kakashi gazed at Jinra in awe. He knew better than anyone that the creation of an original technique was not an easy undertaking. He himself had only created one or two original techniques in his entire career, and Jinra was still in the academy when he had created this one.

 

Jinra was becoming a little nervous at the look his teacher was giving him. “Kakashi-sensei? Is something wrong?”

 

The jounin just shook his head. “It's nothing, Jinra. Good work.” He then patted the genin on the shoulder and looked at the rest of his team, which were still in the midst of their celebration.

 

“Report back here for you first official mission tomorrow morning. You have the rest of today off to celebrate.”

 

Naruto gave another cheer and impulsively hugged Sakura, who only blushed and did nothing to stop him. Sasuke smirked and began walking home, followed by Jinra and eventually the others as well.

 

As he watched the last of his team leave, Kakashi couldn't help but muse about his newly acquired students. `Looks like I've been given quite an interesting group as my first students. Sakura is more mental than physical, but with a little work could become a great genjutsu user. Sasuke is a prodigy, but lacks a strong sense of teamwork and social ability. Naruto was a dunce at the academy, but mastered a jounin-level technique in less than a day. And last but not least is Jinra, the boy without a past. I've known him longer than most, and I still have no idea what he's capable of.'

 

A small smile grew beneath his mask. `Why do I get the feeling that life is about to get a lot more interesting?'