"Ino, I understand how you feel but you can't keep spoiling her."

Ino had still tears in her eyes and said "I know that I shouldn't but I can't watch her like that…"

Sasuke went next to Ino on the sofa and pushed her into his embrace. The girl hugged him tightly and cried silently for a few minutes.

Sasuke broke the silence and said "Ino you are the opposite of Sakura. She has a huge ego but you on the other hand keep prioritizing other people needs over yourself. You are very sensitive and kind. Only a person such as you could stay best friends with Sakura considering her behavior."

Ino was thoughtful and said "Sasuke, she is not that bad…"

Sasuke looked at her and smiled. "Ino, you don't need to worry. There is no chance that Sakura will stay away from me and you. She will come the next week and she will apologize. I know that I was harsh with her but somebody has to point out her mistakes. Either way you will see her tomorrow in your team's training."

"I am sure that she will apologize but I am afraid that deep inside she will be even angrier with me." Ino said.

"Don't worry about that. I will make sure about her sincerity. Please don't try to approach her this week. She needs to learn her lesson."

Ino was hesitant but under Sasuke's intense gaze she agreed. 

"Ino, I had other plans for you today but this situation ruined the mood."

"What plans?" She asked with curiosity.

Sasuke suddenly moved her out of his embrace and placed her down on the sofa. He put his hands over hers and he pushed them down. Hovering above her, he lowered himself slowly, his mouth inching closer to hers.

Ino was completely shocked. She had tried many times but Sasuke never gave her a real kiss. But now his face was so close that she could feel his breath. Her cheeks immediately turned rosy and she was excited.

However, Sasuke didn't kiss her. He looked directly in her eyes and said "Ino, do you think that I have not noticed?"

'What did he notice? What is he saying?' Ino thought 

"For years you keep coming to training like it's a kind of a fashion show. You keep wearing your short skirts and stretching right in front of me."

Ino opened her mouth like a lost fish. 'I thought that he does not care about my clothes. I tried so much and he never gave me a reaction. But he noticed! He noticed everything!'

"Ino, I have struggled to keep these images outside of my mind. After all your daddy was reading my mind every week. It would not be proper for him to see his daughter like this. Wouldn't it?"

Ino's eyes opened widely 'DAD, I WILL KILL YOU… YOU SAID THAT THE SESSIONS ONLY INCLUDED DISCUSSIONS!'

"Ino now that I am genin the sessions are officially over. Do you know what it means?"

Ino looked at him with excitement.

Sasuke pushed his mouth on hers and gave her a passionate kiss. It was Ino's first real kiss and she could not control herself. She was waiting so long for this. She put her legs around Sasuke and pushed him further on her. It was the most enjoyable moment of her life.

However, Sasuke's thoughts were different. 'Ino is extremely important for my plans. I have ignored her until now but I need to ensure her complete loyalty. Her clan's jutsu are extremely important and I can't risk losing access to her. Also… she is a useful plaything.'

---

The same day in the afternoon all the jonins came in Hokage's office to report about their new teams.

It was Kakashi's turn. "The kids are excellent. I passed them immediately."

The whole room was flabbergasted. Hatake Kakashi who has failed all his previous teams, not only passed a team without a test but he even praised them.

It was Asuma who asked him "You really passed the kids without a test?"

Kakashi smirked "Of course I tested them but not with the traditional way. I also watched an excellent fight between Naruto and Sasuke. They are already chunin material."

Kakashi didn't share the details of his personal spar with Sasuke. He didn't want to make Hokage even more paranoid.

When Asuma heard Sasuke's name he immediately made the connection and started talking about his team "My team was also extremely strong. Both the girls know medical ninjutsu and have superb chakra control. Even their bodies are very well trained. 

Ino Yamanaka has already mastered several of her clan's jutsu. 

Sakura the civilian girl, has a very high talent for taijutsu. 

Shikamaru is a genius and he is more energetic compared the rest of the Naras. His physical condition is not bad and he also has very good chakra control. 

Their teamwork was flawless and they passed perfectly. When I asked them about their training and their teamwork, they all said that they are part of Sasuke's training group and that they train together for years." 

All the jonins were impressed with the young generation.

Hiruzen was thoughtful and asked "Who won the match between Naruto and Sasuke?"

"Sasuke won barely by using genjutsu. They were both extremely exhausted at the end." Kakashi said with a pleased expression.

Hiruzen nodded but he didn't pay attention to the rest of the discussions. Finally, he dismissed them but surprisingly Kakashi stayed behind.

"Kakashi?" Hiruzen questioned.

Kakashi looked at him and casually said "I had a discussion with Sasuke. Now that he is officially a genin he wants back all the scrolls that the ANBU confiscated from his clan. He wanted to talk with you but I told him that I will handle it." 

"It is not happening Kakashi. I do not trust him yet." Hiruzen said.

"Hokage-sama with all due respect you know that you are paranoid right now, don't' you? These scrolls belong to his clan." Kakashi said without backing down.

"Kakashi, it is not just me. Jiraiya and Shikaku both agree that something is wrong with the young Uchiha." 

"Hokage-sama you demanded for me to get a treatment and face my past and it was the correct decision. But aren't you and Jiraiya doing exactly the same? You both look at Sasuke and see Orochimaru, aren't you? And Shikaku? If someone shows high intelligence, he always tends to consider them a mastermind like himself."

Kakashi's speech made Hiruzen feel guilty and it hit a nerve.

Kakashi continued "Sasuke's behavior was exceptional and it was thanks to him that you finally managed to take care of Danzo after so many years. Not only you didn't reward him properly but you made his progress extremely hard just because of a feeling. Have you considered the possibility that he is loyal to the village? No, you didn't because he is an Uchiha...

If you continue acting like this against him, it will be you who will turn him into a traitor. The more you act like this the more Sasuke will justify his clan's past actions against the village."

Hiruzen didn't talk for several minutes. 

'It seemed that I made the wrong call... Kakashi is right. If I think of my actions from a different perspective, I act similar to Danzo…' Hiruzen didn't like the train of his thoughts.

"Kakashi I will return all the scrolls below jonin rank. When Sasuke reach the chunin rank I will also return the jonin level scrolls. Also, Kakashi thank you for pointing out my mistake."

Kakashi nodded with the smile "Don't worry Hokage-sama. Sasuke is my student and I will make sure that your fears won't come true."

---

Later in the evening an ANBU came at Uchiha compound and returned the scrolls to Sasuke.

Sasuke had a small smile of satisfaction.

'I have copied several jutsu from Kakashi and Naruto that I didn't have the time to study further. Right now, I can proceed further with the Body flicker, electromagnetic murder and Phoenix Sage Fire. My elemental training with water, wind and earth is still not up to the standard making the use of other jutsu inefficient. 

I must especially focus on body flicker. Shisui is the proof that this technique has an extremely high ceiling.

I need to find every bit of information about elemental training to increase my training speed. I also need to ask Kakashi for help. He managed to persuade Hiruzen to return most of the scrolls and that means that I have his full support. Keeping up with his humor is a small price to pay in return.

I also need to master as many fire and lightning jutsu as possible. The more options the better. Now that I have access to many jutsu I should also try to find the connection between the hand signs, intend and chakra movement. 

Moreover, I need to master all the available jutsu which use pure chakra without an element. They might contain a clue which will help me understand the difference between yin and yang chakra more clearly.' 

Sasuke immediately used all his 12 clones and began organizing the scrolls.