Arc 1 - Awakening - Part 4

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#

As they got to know each other, Jiraiya stood behind some nearby trees, observing them.

‘They seem to get along well… Jun looks like the strong type, while Minato already shows the qualities of a leader. As for Nozomi, I think she’ll complement those two pretty well….’

Having seen enough, he flickered in front of them, startling Nozomi.

“Hey, guys! Sorry for being late… I saw a really cute girl, and…”

“Wah! Sensei! Don’t scare us like that!”

Nozomi was furious. Looking at Jiraiya with tears in her eyes, she tried to recover from the shock. Looking behind her, she noticed that both of her teammates were unaffected.

‘Seriously?! Are they blocks of wood?’

Pouting, she stomped her foot on the ground before sitting back down, arms crossed.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Nozomi-chan. I promise it was a really cute girl… One you don’t see in a hundred years! I had to approach her!”

“Hmph!”

Refusing to pardon him, Nozomi looked away, obviously angered. Scratching his head, Jiraiya awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Alright… Let’s get started, shall we?”[1]

Reaching into his clothes[2], Jiraiya took out two silver bells, tied up with a red string. Holding them up for everyone to see, he explained himself.

“You may have thought that you were already Genin… Turns out you were wrong. Now, I’m going to test you one more time, and if you fail to meet my expectations… I’ll send you back to the academy!”

“What?!”

With a look of surprise, Nozomi dropped the book she was holding. She had never been told about this!

Next to her, Minato was already analyzing the possibilities. What did Jiraiya mean by expectations? Was there some sort of criteria they had to meet?

On the other hand, Jun couldn’t be less bothered. He put his hands in his pockets and yawned, waiting for Jiraiya to finish talking.

“So this is how it goes… Do you see these bells? You’ll have to take them away from me before noon. If you fail to get one, you’ll be sent right back.”

“So that would mean…”

Seeming to have understood the premise, Minato observed both of his teammates. Seeing this, Jiraiya smirked.

“You’re pretty quick, Minato. Yes, there are two bells, while you’re a team of three. I’m sure you understand what this entails.”

“...!”

Realizing this, Nozomi became prudent. She didn’t want to fail, and her greatest competition was Minato, the never-before-seen genius that achieved the highest score the academy had seen so far, after just one year.

‘I’ll have to be wary of him… As for Jun, he shouldn’t be a problem. Even though he’s an Uchiha, everyone knows how weak he is!’

If Minato wanted a bell, she couldn’t stop him… But the other one would definitely be hers!

Even though both of his teammates were getting somewhat anxious, Jun still looked unperturbed. Once again, he yawned, hoping they would quickly move on to the fighting part.

Seeing his student’s reactions, Jiraiya laughed internally. Finally, he understood what it felt like to mess with his student’s heads… It felt amazing!

“You’re allowed to use real weapons. If you don’t come at me with the intent to kill, there’s no way you’ll pass.”

Stretching a little, Jiraiya raised his hand and extended three fingers.

“Ok, on the count of three, we’ll start! Three… Two… One… Go!”

As soon as he said go, both Minato and Nozomi flickered away, hiding behind the bushes. Looking around, Jiraiya seemed satisfied. At least, they knew to hide and think before launching an attack.

Turning his head around, he noticed that Jun hadn’t moved from his spot. In fact, he was cracking his wrists, getting ready for action.

“You’re not hiding?”

“Why would I hide when there’s such a strong opponent in front of me...? I’m craving a fight!”

‘Has he gone crazy? That’s a Jōnin!’

Nozomi couldn’t understand Jun’s reasoning. Not too far away, Minato was also curious.

‘Does he have the strength to back it up…?’

---

[1] For those who didn’t know, the bell test was seen to be used all the way back when Hiruzen was testing the Sannin. I’m mentioning this just in case people think it would be wrong to assume Jiraiya used it. I mean, where would Minato have gotten the idea if not?

[2] I didn’t know how to properly describe it. Do you know when someone reaches into their Kimono? Not the pocket, but where their abs are? Yeah, that’s what Jiraiya did.

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#

Hearing Jun’s words, Jiraiya sighed. The kid was underestimating him.

Actually, Jun would never waste such an opportunity. He had been wanting to fight someone stronger than him for decades! Thanks to this new body of his, it was now possible.

Calming himself, Jun gathered his energy. Watching Jiraiya, he looked for an opening.

Seeing Jun’s expression change, Jiraiya subconsciously raised his guard.

‘What’s with that look?’

Detecting Jiraiya’s slight shift in attention, Jun flickered, disappearing from his initial spot and reappearing in front of Jiraiya.

‘Shunshin! And to a high level at that!’

Impressed by Jun’s speed, Jiraiya crossed his arms, blocking the kick coming his way.

“Fast!”

Still in hiding, both Minato and Nozomi gaped at the sight. Jun’s body had practically disappeared from his previous position… It was almost like teleportation!

Jun continued exploiting the openings in Jiraiya’s stance, aiming at sensitive areas, such as the liver or the chin. Overwhelmed by the onslaught of attacks, Jiraiya was forced to go on the defensive.

‘This kid’s taijutsu… It’s better than mine!’

Jiraiya couldn’t understand. How could a fourteen-year-old kid have such a great understanding of taijutsu? It was as if he’d been tempered through decades of war!

Suddenly, Jun noticed a huge opening and landed a perfect kick on Jiraiya’s chest, sending him back a few meters.

‘Nice going!’

Minato smiled as he watched Jun push back their sensei. A deep respect for him took root in his heart as he felt determination coursing through his veins.

On the other hand, Nozomi was biting her nails in frustration.

‘How is he so strong?!’

If both Minato and Jun were monsters, would there even be a bell left for her?

“Whew! That was impressive!”

Whistling, Jiraiya dusted himself off. Closing his eyes, he decided to get serious. Getting into a martial stance, he waited for Jun to approach.

“Come! I’ll show- what?”

Suddenly, Jiraiya felt hands gripping his feet. Looking down, he saw two pairs of hands gripping on his ankles… They were coming out of the ground, weirding him out.

Smiling, Jun started performing hand-seals.

“I’ve got you now.”

“Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu.” (Fire-style: Great fireball technique.)

Expanding his lungs, Jun breathed out a huge, perfectly spherical fireball, three times as big as the one he produced last time. It rotated as it burned the grass underneath it, closing in on Jiraiya.

“Is he even a genin?!”

Jiraiya, Minato, and Nozomi all stared at the fireball in disbelief. Especially Jiraiya, who knew how complicated nature-transformation Jutsu were.

Reacting quickly, he also formed some hand seals and placed two fingers in front of his mouth as he spat out a wall of water in front of him.

“Suiton: Suijinheki!” (Water-style: Water wall!)

Once the fireball came into contact with the water, a large amount of steam was generated, as it was successfully neutralized.

Thinking it was over, Jiraiya sighed in relief.

But before he could relax, a disturbance in the air caused him to react. Jun had flickered right behind him and was about to take one of the bells.

“No, you don’t!”

Furrowing his brows, Jiraiya’s hair grew out of proportion, generating deadly spikes and covering the bells in the process. Feeling the incoming threat, Jun retreated but was still cut a little on his cheek.

At a safe distance, Jin canceled both of his shadow-clones, releasing Jiraiya’s ankles. Tasting the blood trailing down his cheek, his will to battle increased.

‘Kage-Bunshin? But how did he have them crawl out of the ground, and avoid my detection?’

Jiraiya was confused. After all, it didn’t make sense for a Genin to hide from him.

Smiling mysteriously, Jun raised his hand and performed the single-handed ram seal. As if he had become a ghost, Jun merged into the ground, disappearing from sight. Seeing this, Jiraiya was shocked.

‘I can’t feel his presence!’

---

#

As Jiraiya was occupied looking for Jun, two shurikens came out of a nearby tree, aimed directly at him. Noticing them, Jiraiya raised his hand and easily caught them in between his fingers.

‘Tch… As expected from a Jōnin… Attacks like this one won’t have any effect.’

Since he had given away his location, Minato immediately ran away, quickly hiding away.

Calmly analyzing the situation, he weighed all possibilities. Even though Jun was strong, Minato just couldn’t see him taking down Jiraiya by himself.

‘There’s only one way then…’

No matter what, he just couldn’t see a clear path to victory unless they worked together… But what about Nozomi?

“...!”

As if he had finally understood something very important, Minato held his chin, falling in deep thought.

‘So that’s the meaning of this exam… They want to test our ability to recognize our opponent’s strength, and work in conjunction to survive!’

Reaching this conclusion, Minato immediately got to planning. Taking into account Jun’s abilities and Nozomi’s heritage, he quickly came up with a plan.

‘Alright… Now I just have to reach them before he does...!’

Thinking quickly, he remembered the path Nozomi took in her escape. Although it happened in a split-second, he had a basic idea of where to go.

After a while of searching, he finally found her, lying underneath some bushes. Seeing Minato creep behind her, Nozomi turned around and held up her palms.

“Relax…! I’m not here to fight…”

In a hushed voice, Minato raised his hands in peace. Seeing his actions, Nozomi calmed down.

“What do you want? I shouldn’t have to remind you that we’re enemies right now.”

“That’s what he wants you to think.”

“What...?”

Smiling, Minato explained the premise of the exam to her. Hearing his words, she felt like it made a lot of sense.

“If your theory is right… We have to work together in order to win!”

“Sounds about right.”

“Wha-!”

Both Nozomi and Minato jumped in fright as Jun’s head emerged from the ground. Looking at them with a smile, he got out and sat in front of them.

“So, what’s the plan?”

“You…”

Nozomi didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. How long had Jun been there, listening in?

---

“There he is.”

Finally, Jiraiya sensed Jun’s presence. Looking in his direction, he couldn’t help but smile, noticing that he was accompanied by both of his teammates.

“Did they decide to work together? If that’s so, they have potential!”

Feeling positive, Jiraiya acted like he was still looking for them, but was actually giving them time to plan ahead. If he went over now, it just wouldn’t be any fun.

Hiding the bells back inside his clothes, Jiraiya patiently waited.

---

After a while, Jiraiya felt them move. Minato and Nozomi were circling around him, whilst Jun’s signal had completely disappeared. Furrowing his brows, he still couldn’t understand how he possessed such an ability.

“Is it a bloodline-limit? No… He’s an Uchiha, so it wouldn’t make any sense.”

Suddenly, both Minato and Nozomi jumped out of the nearby shrubbery, attacking him from two sides at once. Smiling, Jiraiya kept them company as he kept an eye out for Jun.

‘Thank god they’re not complete freaks like Jun…’

Jiraiya rejoiced as he toyed with both Minato and Nozomi.

Just as he was getting comfortable, something happened that was completely out of his expectations. In the middle of their fight, Minato and Nozomi disappeared into the ground, leaving without a trace.

“What!?”

---

#

Not letting himself get shocked by the sudden disappearance of all three of his students, Jiraiya jumped high up in the air, in order to not get locked from the ground a second time.

Surveying the area from a high position, he still couldn’t see any of them.

Just as he was starting to lose momentum, another fireball was shot right in his direction.

‘Crap! Why did I jump…’

Faced with a second-round, Jiraiya used the water wall once again, completely nullifying it.

Disappointed by his student’s lack of understanding, he sighed.

“If I blocked it once already… Did you really think that just because I’m up in the air, I wouldn’t use my Jutsu?”

As soon as the fireball disappeared, his field of vision was covered with steam.

Just as he was about to start falling back down, a bunch of Shuriken came flying out of the steam cloud, catching him by surprise.

‘It was just a distraction!’

Reacting quickly, Jiraiya covered his entire body with hair-spikes, blocking all attacks.

“Now!”

Back on the ground, Minato gave the signal. Next to him, Nozomi activated her Byakugan and looked for the bells, seeing through everything… Including the steam and hair.

‘There!’

As soon as Jiraiya’s hair-coat receded, she shouted.

“Kawarimi no Jutsu!” (Body Replacement Technique!)

Before Jiraiya could catch wind of what was happening, the bells he carried with him disappeared, being replaced with a smiling Nozomi, who rested in his arms.

“What?!”

“Got you! Hehe!”

Landing on the ground while princess-carrying Nozomi, Jiraiya looked around in confusion. In front of him, Minato and Jun were standing proudly, both holding one of the bells.

Jumping off from his arms, Nozomi ran up to her teammates and placed a finger on both bells, grinning from ear to ear.

“We won!”

Jiraiya stood there, flabbergasted. Those three had completely outsmarted him.

Suddenly, he started laughing, weirding his students out.

“Hahahaha! Well done! Well done indeed…”

Smiling, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, along with the bells they were holding.

“You were close... But not quite there yet!”

“What!?”

Nozomi stared in Shock as the real Jiraiya came out of the nearby trees, holding two bells.

“A clone… We should’ve seen it coming.”

Realizing that he had also been played, Jun respected Jiraiya’s shrewd plan. After all, there was a limit to what he could do with his current level of strength.

Also, he knew Jiraiya had gone easy on them from the beginning. This just excited Jun more, when thinking that he could fight this man more in the future.

“A clone, huh? Well, there wasn’t anything we could do about that. Well played, Jiraiya-sensei.”

Minato admitted defeat as he sighed.

Next to them, Nozomi couldn’t believe her ears. Stomping her foot on the ground, she refused to accept defeat.

“That’s unfair! Are you guys just gonna take it lying down? He’s a Jōnin, yet he had to resort to such underhanded tactics!”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

Hearing Jun deny her statement, Nozomi looked at him for an explanation.

“We should be happy with how far we pushed Sensei. Technically, we won the fight… Even though we lost the war, it’s a step in the right direction.”

“Jun’s right. I’m happy with our performance! Especially you, Nozomi. The plan would’ve been impossible without you!”

“You…”

Hearing Minato’s praise, Nozomi blushed and stumped her foot, deciding to not pay these brutes any more attention. [1]

Watching them, Jiraiya smiled. He felt lucky to have been assigned as the teacher of these three little freaks.

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[1] Just to make it clear, Nozomi blushed because she got praised, and her opinion was completely rejected at the same time. It’s not like she fell for Minato, more like she was flustered from the conflicting responses of both of the guys.

---

#

“Does this mean we fail?”

Hearing Minato’s question, Jiraiya closed his eyes.

“Heh, usually, that would be the case, but…”

Through the corner of his, he saw his student’s hopeful faces and decided to stop the teasing.

“You all pass!”

“Minato, you were right! We passed!”

Nozomi excitedly patted him on the back, praising him for his intelligence.

“Yeah… It seems like I was, thankfully.”

Realizing that his students weren’t all that surprised, Jiraiya found it weird. Could they have…?

‘So they knew all along…’

Sighing, Jiraiya didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. This time, he had received three gems.

“Alright, you three. Now that you passed, it means that you’re my official subordinates. As your sensei… Here’s my first order.”

“Tell me how the hell you did it. Explain your plan from the beginning to the end, and don’t leave out any details!”

Jiraiya was extremely curious. He wanted to know how a bunch of recently-appointed Genin had managed to outsmart him.

“Well, it was Minato’s idea, so he should explain.”

Looking in Minato’s direction, Jun smiled. He had to admit that this kid’s intelligence was out of the ordinary.

“Well… Even though I formulated the plan, I would’ve been helpless by myself…”

“Don’t be so humble! Tell him, Minato!”

With Nozomi’s prompting, even though Minato didn’t like flaunting, he explained his plan in detail.

“First, Jun created two clones that looked exactly like us, before completely sealing our tenketsu, erasing our presence.”

“What!?”

Jiraiya looked at Jun like he was a monster. Not only could the kid perform Kage-Bunshin at such a young age, but he could also seal away tenketsu! Was he dreaming?

‘So that’s why Minato and Nozomi were able to merge into the ground… It all makes sense now…’

“Creating a steam cloud with Jun’s fireball, I sent a few surprise Shuriken so that you would be occupied, as Jun unsealed Nozomi’s tenketsu. After that, she activated her Byakugan, finding the bells and substituting with them.”

Jiraiya didn’t have words. All of them were freaks, in every sense of the word.

Minato had thought so far ahead, combining all the strengths of his teammates in a perfect manner. He also was the one to deduce the hidden meaning behind the exam, demonstrating incredible intellect and foresight, unfitting for a boy his age.

On the other hand, Jun was simply a monster for his age. Not only was he capable of using nature-transformation, but he could also hide away from a Jōnin, perform Kage-Bunshin, and close tenketsu. Jiraiya didn’t have the words to describe what he was feeling.

As for Nozomi, her accuracy with the Byakugan and Kawarimi were commendable. Even though she didn’t have much to show, if she messed up her part, the whole plan would’ve been useless. Her ability to stay level-headed in such a situation was impressive.

“You guys…”

“Alright! It’s decided! Let’s meet right here, tomorrow morning. We’ll go on our first mission!”

Saying these last words, Jiraiya once again disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the three Genin by themselves.

“Good job, everyone!”

“Yeah, good job!”

“Hmph. I guess you could say that.”

All three of them smiled, marking the beginning of a new era.

---

Amaguriama, Konoha hot-spring district. [1]

Inside the popular sweet shop, Jiraiya and Sarutobi were having some tea inside a private room. Both of them were enjoying each other’s company, talking about life and other things.

“So, Jiraiya… Tell me about your students. Are they any good?”

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[1] Amaguriama (Literally meaning: Sweet Chestnut Sweetness) is a popular sweet shop in Konohagakure located on Konoha Tea Avenue, specializing in chestnut candies, such as chestnut jellies and jams, and roasted-chestnuts. The shop serves many other sweets like Dango, mame-daifuku, manjū, and sweet bean paste. They also have a second shop, this one being located in the hot spring district. Here’s a shortened link to the wiki page if you wish to know more:

bit.ly/2UWi2Wv

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#

Sipping on his tea, Sarutobi smiled. He knew that Jiraiya had been wanting a team of his own, so he allowed him to become a sensei. Judging by his good mood, he could already guess the answer.

“Old man… I think I hit the jackpot! Those three are so good I can’t believe they’re straight out of the academy!”

“Really? What did they do to impress you this much?”

Now, Hiruzen was interested. If Jiraiya spoke this much praise about something other than a woman, it had to be good.

Clearing his throat, Jiraiya explained how he technically lost in the bell test. He didn’t miss out any detail, from how overpowered Jun was to Minato’s impressive intellect.

Sarutobi couldn’t help but rejoice. If the Genin were already this strong, Konoha was in for prosperous times.

Smiling, Jiraiya couldn’t agree more.

“The best thing is those two’s personalities. Like any Uchiha, jun is arrogant, but not in an overbearing way. He knows how to admit defeat, and even sees the bigger picture. Even though he’s just fourteen, his reasoning is on par with mine!”

“Then there’s Minato. His love for the village runs deep, and I’ve never seen someone as smart as him, apart from Orochimaru. In fact, I think he’s smarter than him when he was at that age!”

“Heavens… If that’s true, then we have a few diamonds in the rough this generation!”

---

The next morning, team Jiraiya gathered up at the third training ground. Greeting each other, they patiently waited for their sensei to arrive.

“What do you think our first mission will be guys? I sure hope its an easy one.”

Nozomi took a rare break from her book as she asked this question. Since it was their first mission, she expected it to be simple.

Smiling, Minato chuckled.

“I hope its at least challenging.”

“Seconded.”

Jun agreed with Minato, as he nonchalantly lied down to nap.

“You two…”

Nozomi couldn’t help but look at them with frustration. Why were they always ganging up on her?

“Hmph!”

Ignoring them, she found a secluded corner and continued reading, in hopes of calming down.

After a while, Jiraiya finally arrived. He carried a thick scent of perfume that permeated across the area. Feeling it, Nozomi recognized the smell of a woman... Looking at her sensei with disgusted eyes, she lost all hope in men.

“Ah, sorry for being late guys. I was busy with some… Important matters.”

“Yeah, important matters he says…”

Closing her book, Nozomi joined the group and Jiraiya cleared his throat.

“As I said, today we will go on our first mission! Aren’t you guys excited?”

Nozomi ignored him and Jun looked bored. The only one who seemed interested was Minato, as he raised his hand.

“Jiraiya-sensei, may I ask what our mission is?”

“You’ll find out soon enough! For now, just follow me.”

Smiling, Jiraiya led the way as they made their way towards the Inuzuka’s area. Being one of the village’s major clans, they occupied a massive plot of land, similar to the Uchiha’s.

Once there, they noticed the guard standing by the gate. He was wearing the traditional Chūnin clothing and had the typical face-paint of the Inuzuka.

Seeing Jiraiya, the guard walked over and greeted them with respect.

“Jiraiya-san, welcome! Are you here for kennel duty?”

“Certainly!”

“If that’s so, then please go on. Thank you kindly for your help!”

Noticing where they were, and the casual use of the words ‘kennels’ and ‘duty’, the three members of team Jiraiya got a very, very bad feeling.

---

#

“Alright! You heard the man. Let’s go!” Swaggering into the Inuzuka’s territory as if it were his own, Jiraiya signaled for his students to follow behind him, which they reluctantly did.

A while later, they reached a building with a huge sign.

“Inuzuka Kennels…”

Reading it out loud, Nozomi felt a chill run down her spine. Ever since they’d entered this place, it already smelled like dogs... But she felt like it got worse, the closer they got to this place.

‘Byakugan!’

As veins appeared near her eyes, she activated her eyes and looked right into the building. A second later, her face was drained of all color.

Noticing this change, both Jun and Minato turned to her. They also had some theories but were hoping they weren’t correct.

“Jiraiya-sensei… What is the meaning of this…”

“Hehehe… It seems like the cat’s out of the bag... Welcome to your first, humbling D-rank mission! Today, we’ll be cleaning the Inuzuka Kennels!”

“NO!”

As if all her worst fears had come true, Noxzomi quickly turned around, trying to escape. As soon as she faced the opposite direction, Jiraiya had already appeared right before her.

“Where are you going...? Could you be running from our first mission?”

“So what if I am! Get out of the way!”

“Tsk Tsk… Kids these days. What’s some dog waste to a ninja? We go on life-or-death missions, yet we’re unable to clean a dog’s kennel? Tell me… Do you think that’s right?”

Jiraiya was having the time of his life. Seeing his cute little Genin suffer like this, brought him tremendous joy, as he enjoyed his new role as a teacher.

‘Me? Cleaning dog crap…?’

Jun was unable to compute this information. The great Madara would have to clean dog kennels?

‘Hashirama… I didn’t know you had such a dark side… Who would make kids undergo such a vulgar mission as their initiation!’

Unable to accept reality, Jun short-circuited. He stood there, with a lifeless look in his eyes, mumbling to himself. If one were to listen closely, they’d hear Hashirama’s name being repeated with countless curses.

The only one that was left fully-functioning was Minato, who smiled awkwardly.

“I… I guess there are no shortcuts on the road to become Hokage…”

Grabbing Nozomi from the back of her blouse, Jiraiya dragged her into the building, whether she wanted to or not. Following behind him, Minato and a barely-functioning Jun also entered.

Once inside, a gentle old lady walked over to them. Next to her, a seasoned dog with thick fur was wagging its tail.

“Welcome! We were just waiting for you. The dogs are right this way, follow me!”

“After you, madam.”

Talking to her politely, Jiraiya took his students and followed the old lady until they reached what seemed like the interior of a bathhouse.

Inside, there were hundreds of dogs, all lined up. Watching Jiraiya’s squad walk in, they wagged their tails expectantly.

Pointing at a corner that was full of cleaning material, the old lady spoke with a smile.

“The cleaning supplies are in that corner, and the water hoses are over there. Once you’re done washing them all, make sure to dry them off using the blow-dryers!”

“What…?"

Hearing the lady’s words, a lightning bolt seemed to strike all three Genin. Looking at Jiraiya with shocked faces, they thought they heard wrongly.

Seeing their reactions, Jiraiya burst out laughing.

“Gahahaha! You guys really thought that we’d be cleaning the kennels? I got you good! Ahahaha!”

“Wait… Does that mean… We won’t be cleaning dog shit...?”