Chapter Text
“Good morning, everyone!”
“Good morning, Iruka-sensei.”
Iruka smiled brightly, gaze roving over the class. "As I'm sure you all know, today is the practical exam. You had your written test last week, and while I can't reveal too much, you all did very well. With that being said, you have to also succeed today in order to pass."
Groans rose through the class, making Iruka laugh.
"It won't be anything we haven't done in class," he assured. "A transformation followed by performing the clone jutsu.”
Naruto’s hand shot up. With a well-meaning, amused sigh, Iruka called on him.
“Can we use any clone jutsu? Like elemental or shadow clones?”
“If you know them and can perform them well, sure,” Iruka said. He scanned over the students once more. “Any other questions?” After receiving answers firmly in the negative, he nodded. “Alright. When your name is called, come to the next room to perform your exam.”
Iruka gathered his clipboard and papers, then left the room.
Immediately, conversation broke out, and Naruto turned to grin at Shikamaru and Sasuke.
“How well do you think you’re going to do?”
Sasuke huffed. “It won’t be a problem.”
“What he said,” Shikamaru said, setting his head on his arms - likely trying to nap. “Just let me know when I’m called.”
Naruto stuck his tongue out at both of them before looking at the ceiling. “I’m kind of nervous. I’ve never done well testing in front of people.”
“You’ll be fine,” Shikamaru muttered. “Just pretend it’s training.”
Humming, Naruto frowned. Shikamaru had a point, admittedly, but the anxiety about it still thrummed in his chest. The brutal truth of the matter was that, if there was another proctor, there was a chance their biases would get in the way.
Naruto did his best to put it out of his mind, pulling out a piece of paper to doodle on.
Soon enough, his own name was called - after both Shikamaru and Sasuke - and he jumped up. “Wish me luck!”
“Sure, sure.”
“Don’t mess up.”
Naruto sighed, exasperated. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Without waiting for another response, he left the classroom to go next door.
Stepping in, Naruto gave Iruka a bright grin before bowing his head in respect. “Thank you for taking the time to test me.”
“The pleasure is ours,” Iruka said. He waved Naruto further in, directing him in front of the teacher’s desk. “First up is the transformation jutsu. Doesn’t matter who or what, as long as it’s successful. Second, perform the clone jutsu.”
Naruto nodded, taking his place. He took a slow breath and formed the ram seal to help infuse chakra. “Transformation Jutsu!”
Smoke formed around him as the jutsu executed, and he now looked exactly like Iruka.
“Very good,” Iruka said, smiling. He marked something down on his clipboard. “Alright, next jutsu.”
Releasing the transformation, Naruto nodded. “ Shadow Clone Jutsu! ”
Five identical clones appeared in the room, immediately chattering.
“Alright, alright,” Iruka said, settling them. He was grinning widely despite the shock on his face. “Real, solid clones - that’s quite the-”
“They aren’t what we asked for, though,” the other proctor, Mizuki, said.
“Iruka-sensei said it would be okay,” one of the Naruto clones said, frowning. A chorus of agreement sounded from the others.
Mizuki sighed. “Be that as it may-”
“It’s not a problem for me,” Iruka said, “and while I appreciate your concern, Mizuki-sensei, Naruto is my student. I’ve seen him grow over the past several years, and he’s earned at least my acknowledgement.”
“Yes, but-”
“I see no reason to fail him for this,” Iruka said. He held one of the headbands out to Naruto. “Congratulations, Naruto. You’re a real ninja now.”
“Yes!”
The next few days were spent in excitement for some and disappointment for others.
Shikamaru, on the other hand, took the time to do as little as possible. He wouldn’t have very long to relax once their teams were announced, so after getting his photo taken, he went straight home and back to bed. He stayed there until his mom yelled at him to get up.
After that, Shikamaru simply went out to cloud gaze. He stayed there, even after Naruto and Sasuke hunted him down.
The sound of the two sparring was decent background noise, and Shikamaru found himself napping for a few hours. When he woke up, Naruto and Sasuke were playing cards nearby, and the sun was setting.
The next day went similarly.
It took two days for the brand new genin to be summoned back to the academy. On that day, Shikamaru heard whispers about a scroll of summoning and one of their teachers - Mizuki.
He had apparently been caught trying to steal this scroll and was sent away to a prison on account of treason. Or so the adults were saying.
It wasn’t much of Shikamaru’s business, though, and he didn’t care either way. The fewer troublesome people to deal with, the better.
Now, Shikamaru was sitting in the classroom, surrounded by people who were entirely too energetic. Sasuke seemed to be in agreement.
“Why can't they leave me alone?”
Shikamaru snorted. “Well, you did the best on the exams, so it’s not too surprising. You were already pretty popular with the girls.”
Sasuke huffed, choosing not to reply. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and looked to where Naruto was chatting with Kiba and Chouji. He smiled softly at Naruto’s excited expression and found that being here wasn’t as troublesome with Naruto around.
Before long, though, Iruka entered the room, calling them into order. Everyone found their seats, Naruto slinking into his next to Shikamaru.
“From today forward, you are all ninja,” Iruka said once all the students had settled. “Today, I will be announcing your three man teams, with each team having a jounin leader. We did our best to balance the teams while keeping in mind everyone’s personal qualms.”
Glancing down at his clipboard, he began announcing the groups. Soon, he got to the last several.
“Team Seven: Yamanaka Ino, Aburame Shino, and Haruno Sakura.”
Ino’s hand shot up immediately. “Iruka-sensei, why do we have this team configuration? Or rather, why has the traditional Ino-Shika-Cho been broken up after so long?”
“Well, it wasn’t my decision alone,” Iruka said apologetically. “You might have better luck asking your jounin sensei.”
He cleared his through. “Next is Team Eight: Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Akimichi Chouji. Lastly is Team Ten: Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, and Uchiha Sasuke.”
Shikamaru blinked in surprise, humming softly.
“Alright, that’s all of the teams,” Iruka said. “Your sensei will be here shortly, so please remain in this room.”
With that, he gathered his things and exited the room.
Naruto immediately turned to Shikamaru with a grin. “Hey, Shika, can you believe that we got on the same team?”
“It’s not too surprising, if you consider everything,” Shikamaru said, shrugging.
“There’s not much balance, though,” Sasuke murmured.
Naruto’s grin turned into a frown as he whined, “C’mon, you two! Be a little more excited, ya know!”
Shikamaru huffed a laugh. “Alright, fine. I guess it’s not too troublesome to be on a team with you guys.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Sasuke said, turning his head away. Glancing over, it was easy to see a flush coming to his cheeks.
“Well, I think you’re both the best possible options, ya know,” Naruto said, smiling once more. “I won’t be beaten by either of you!”
Sasuke snorted. “You can certainly try.”
“You-!”
“Let’s not argue right now,” Shikamaru said teasingly.
“You’re just saying that because you don’t wanna get caught in the middle of it, ya know,” Naruto said, crossing his arms.
Shikamaru shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Our jounin leader will be here soon either way.”
That made Naruto settle a bit, going back to chatting idly at his now-teammates. Shikamaru nodded along every now and then while Sasuke made vague sounds of acknowledgement.
Shikamaru found himself wondering why they were paired up together. Sure, they had gone through a lot, just the three of them, but that felt more a reason as to be separated. Less trouble to keep them apart.
Shikamaru sighed heavily, massaging his temple. All this pondering was giving him a headache. What a drag.
“Are you okay, Shikamaru?”
He glanced up to see Naruto giving him a concerned look. “Ah, yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking.”
“It’s odd, isn’t it?” Sasuke said without prompting. “That they would team us together. It breaks the tradition of your family, Shikamaru, and it makes our team unbalanced like this.”
“Yeah,” Shikamaru agreed. “The three of us are all exceptional in our own ways. It’s strange that they would put us together, considering both that and the fact that we’ve been together for so long. Why not force us to get used to other people?”
Naruto frowned. “You two are thinking about it too hard, ya know.”
“Unlikely,” Shikamaru countered.
“More like you’re not thinking about it enough,” Sasuke said. “There has to be some reason we were put together.”
“Not really,” Naruto said, waving them both off. “Iruka-sensei said they looked into personal agreement, too, right? Both of you are much smarter than me, and Shikamaru is the best planner our age. On the other hand, I have much more stamina than you two do, ya know.”
Shikamaru’s brow furrowed. “What are you trying to say?”
Naruto grinned. “I was doing a lot better by the time we graduated, but I was still near the bottom. Shikamaru was purposefully in the middle, and Sasuke was top of class. Put both of you with me, and my enthusiasm makes up for your introverted-ness. Both of you being so smart covers my… different way of learning.”
“I… guess I hadn’t thought about it that way,” Shikamaru said slowly.
“Plus, we’ve been together for so long, and we basically went through hell together, ya know! It just makes sense that they’d keep us together after that.”
Sasuke hummed, glancing away. “And people think you’re not smart.”
“Hey, I am smart! I just learn differently, like I said. Jackass.” The mirthful look in Naruto’s eyes belied his harsh words.
“I didn’t- nevermind,” Sasuke said, sighing. “You have a point.”
“Damn right,” Naruto said. “We can always ask our sensei when we meet them, too.”
Speak of the devil.
The classroom door slid open, silencing the low murmur of speech among the students. In walked a ninja - no doubt one of their leaders - with spiky black hair and a cigarette on his lips.
The man stepped up to the podium. Pulling the cigarette from his mouth and picking up the list of students, he said, “Team Ten? Nara Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke.”
Naruto jumped out of his seat with a grin and bolted for the door. Shikamaru sighed at the display of excitement and followed at a slower pace, Sasuke following behind. Their teacher followed behind carefully, closing the door as they exited the room.
“Alright, come with me.”
Asuma hadn’t been prepared for the team he was assigned. In all honesty, he hadn’t wanted a full team - just one student would have been fine - but he had no choice. Even Kakashi was playing nice this year, so Asuma throwing up a fuss would have been too much.
Plus, it had been a while since he taught any genin, and there was something in him that missed it.
So he led his three genin to a food place - Ichiraku’s, Naruto’s favorite. At least looking into his students somewhat had helped.
Naruto’s face lit up when he saw where they were going. “Wow, you’re amazing, ya know! Thank you, sensei!”
“Sure,” Asuma said, pulling out a new cigarette.
“Those things will kill you,” Sasuke said, squinting at him.
Asuma suddenly felt like he was under intense scrutiny. Sweat pooled on the back of his neck, and he swallowed carefully. Internally, he was shitting himself.
Externally, he shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve been a lot closer to death than a cig, kid.”
Sasuke let out a scoff before hurrying to catch up with Naruto and Shikamaru, who had already seated themselves.
“Three bowls of miso with extra fishcake and pork, Teuchi-jii!” Naruto exclaimed, grinning.
“Don’t order for me, idiot,” Sasuke said unhappily.
“I didn’t! They’re all for me, ya know!”
“Shut up, both of you,” Shikamaru grouched. “Troublesome. I’ll take a tonkotsu - as is.”
After a moment of glaring, Sasuke muttered, “I’ll take just noodles and broth - separate.”
“And for you?” Teuchi asked, turning to Asuma.
“Ah, I’m just here to cover the bill,” Asuma said, waving him off.
“Coming right up, then.”
Asuma cleared his throat, gathering the attention of the three genin. “I suppose you’re wondering who I am. My name is Sarutobi Asuma. I’ve heard a lot about you three.”
“Like what?” Shikamaru asked, suspicious.
“Like the fact that you three are the ones who witnessed the Uchiha Massacre from a few years back.”
Heavy silence fell over the group. Asuma risked a glance and found three fierce glares aimed in his direction. He smirked, letting out a chuckle. Quite the reaction.
“That’s not all I’ve heard,” he continued. “You guys are on a different level than everyone else, too. Being taught by the infamous Uchiha Itachi, honing specific skills no one else knows about. I’m curious to find out what they are.”
“Shut up!” Naruto exclaimed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Usually, I don’t side with Naruto in these things,” Sasuke started, “but those who bring that up are asking for one of two things.”
“Answers they’d regret, or to see what exactly happened,” Shikamaru finished.
The three were in sync already. Still, Asuma needed to test them further.
Not now, though.
Raising a placating hand, Asuma said, “Relax, boys. I won’t press more - I know when it’s unwanted.”
“How did you even find out about that? It’s supposed to be top secret,” Shikamaru said, scowling.
“There are ways of finding out,” Asuma said vaguely.
In all reality, he had asked Kakashi about it, if it was somewhere he could approach from. Kakashi had warned him away from it, having seen the catatonic aftermath from afar. Obviously, that was just asking Asuma to meddle.
“What’s that supposed to mean, ya know?” Naruto muttered.
“Never mind that, forget I brought it up,” Asuma said easily. “I’m more interested in who you actually are, not just what I’ve heard. So, what about it? Who are you, Shikamaru, Naruto, Sasuke?”
“Naruto’s an idiot,” Sasuke said. It was said in a deceptive deadpan but the tension immediately shattered.
“Oh yeah? Then who beat your ass in taijutsu training yesterday?”
“What training? You were busy being gross with Shikamaru.”
“Don’t drag me into this.”
Asuma laughed. “You three are very lively.”
Sasuke flushed, ducking his head down while Shikamaru sighed, turning his head upward in misery. Naruto, meanwhile, grinned widely.
“You betcha!”
“That doesn’t answer my question, though,” Asuma said. “I meant more… likes, dislikes, hobbies, any dreams you have.”
“Not this again,” Sasuke groaned quietly.
Naruto slapped his back. “Chin up, Sasuke! You’ll get through it eventually. As for me, I like Shikamaru and Sasuke! But also ramen and cooking. I don’t really like how much effort it takes to cook, though. For hobbies, also cooking? And I like to prank people, sometimes. I want to become Hokage someday! Then, all the people who hated me will have to like me, ya know.”
Quite the introduction, Asuma thought as he nodded to Shikamaru.
“What a drag,” Shikamaru sighed. “My likes are boring, my dislikes are even less interesting. The most I have in the way of hobbies is cloud gazing. As for dreams… I guess to stay by Naruto and Sasuke and support them? I haven’t really thought about it.”
Sasuke shook his head. “I don’t mind Shikamaru or Naruto, but I dislike most things. I train most often, and my dream is more of an ambition. I want… revenge.”
Tension settled in the air again.
Naruto and Shikamaru glanced over at Sasuke at his final sentence. After a moment, Naruto smiled sadly. He pat Sasuke's arm.
"You'll get him someday."
Shikamaru nodded his agreement.
They were quite the trio, in the end.
“Alright, I think I have my first impression ready,” Asuma said. “Lazy. Overeager. Uncaring.”
“What the hell?!” Naruto exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. “You’re an asshole, ya know!”
Shikamaru sighed heavily. “I had a feeling it would be this way.”
Sasuke didn’t choose to deign him with an answer. He simply looked aside with grit teeth.
“I’m just saying how I see it,” Asuma said, raising his hands in surrender once more. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing - those are just what I think you need to work on. Shikamaru, put more effort into things. Naruto, don’t be so quick to jump to a reaction. Sasuke, be a bit more empathetic.”
Naruto clenched his fists. “Why you-!”
“Easy, Naruto,” Shikamaru said gently, raising a hand. He leveled Asuma with a glare of his own, though. “Why tell us these things?”
“It’s easiest to improve when you know what to work on first,” Asuma said. He set down money on the table, more than enough to cover the boys’ food. “Keep the change. I’ll see you later, Training Ground Two in three hours.”
With that, he got up and left.
He had a lot to think about and consider, after all.
After spending several hours hanging around and doing nothing, the three made their way to the training ground. Naruto chattered on and on about the possibilities, with Shikamaru making a few comments of his own - mostly negating Naruto’s wild ideas.
“I’m just saying, ya know,” Naruto said. “We’re real ninja now! You never know what Asuma-sensei might be planning.”
“I doubt it’ll be anything as crazy as that, yet,” Sasuke said.
“Woah, he spoke!” Naruto exclaimed teasingly.
Shikamaru sighed. “Naruto…”
“I know, I know,” Naruto said. “Sorry, Sasuke. Just really excited, ya know.”
“It’s fine,” Sasuke said, shaking his head. “Whatever it is, though, we need to be ready.”
The three arrived shortly after, and Asuma was already waiting for them.
“You three are late.”
“You’re just early,” Sasuke countered. “We still have five minutes before the meet-up time.”
Asuma chuckled. “Perceptive. Well, all three of you are here, so I won’t waste any time.
“You aren’t ninja.”
Sasuke tensed. “What do you mean?”
“Or rather, you aren’t ninja yet ,” Asuma clarified. “See, the academy’s graduation exam is very superficial. It tests to see if you have the potential. This is where the real trial begins, to see if you function as a three-man team.”
He took a drag from his cigarette before continuing. “From earlier, I know you three already have a solid connection, but is it teamwork? Will it hold up on a mission?”
“Of course!” Naruto exclaimed. “Our teamwork is the best!”
“We’ll have to see about that,” Asuma said.
“Why are you giving up the answer to the test?” Shikamaru asked, crossing his arms. “No doubt the other teams are being tasked similarly, to find the answer of teamwork.”
“Because that’s not what I want to see,” Asuma said. “You three have incredible synchronization already. What I want to see is whether or not you can complete a mission with discretion.”
Sasuke blinked. “You’re… giving us a mission? Even though we’re not ninja.”
“Well, it’s not an official mission,” Asuma said. “A secret, annual assignment, maybe? Every year, myself and my colleagues cycle it, though it is a new tradition. You could even pass it onto your own genin, if you choose to take a team as jounin.”
Shikamaru squinted. “What is it exactly?”
“I’m so glad you asked,” Asuma said, grinning. “Your task is to prank the Hokage.”
Shocked silence fell over the three. Sasuke, personally, was reeling at the revelation. Really? Something so simple?
Naruto was the first to break the quiet, cheering, “ Yes! Something I can do!”
“Ah, ah, not so fast,” Asuma interrupted. “There are a few caveats. One, they can’t know it was you. It would fall on me if they found out, so do it with secrecy. Two, you have to do it together. No going off on your own.”
“You hear that, Sasuke?” Naruto said, grinning mischievously. “You have to help us with a prank, ya know.”
“Thirdly, it can’t be something small,” Asuma said. “It should, at the very least, ruin his whole day.”
Shikamaru crossed his arms. “And what do you get out of it?”
“I get to see the dumbfounded look on my dad’s face,” Asuma said, grinning. “Good luck.”
With that, Asuma’s form exploded into smoke. A clone or substitution, then.
Sasuke couldn’t help the irritation written across his face. “How the hell are we supposed to do that?”
“It’ll be easy!” Naruto exclaimed. “I’m the best at pranking, ya know!”
“Before you start spouting off, listen,” Shikamaru sighed. “Asuma-sensei said they can’t know it’s us. That means the usual stuff won’t work.”
“So what should we do?” Sasuke asked.
Naruto grinned. “I’m surprised that you’re interested in it, Sasuke.”
“I just don’t want to get sent back to the academy!” Sasuke shouted back, cheeks warming. He’d never admit that he actually enjoyed the surprised and irritated looks on people’s faces when they realized what happened.
“You don’t have to hide it, ya know,” Naruto said, smiling more genuinely. “You could’ve just said so.”
“Shut up. Just- Shikamaru, what are you planning?”
Shikamaru had his face screwed up in concentration, fingers finding each other. “Well, there are a lot of things you can do to mildly inconvenience someone, but I think this will work better if we layer it.”
“Like moving all the furniture two inches to the left!” Naruto exclaimed.
“I still can’t believe you got my parents with that one time,” Shikamaru said, exasperated. He shook his head. “Anyway, yes, something like that. But that would just be the cover. There would be something bigger hiding underneath it.”
The three lapsed into quiet for several moments, all thinking. After a bit, Naruto snapped his fingers.
“I got it, ya know! Listen, listen!”
When Hiruzen came into work the next morning, things were peaceful. For about ten seconds.
He sat down on his chair, and suddenly, he was covered in paint. A paper bomb filled with bright green paint had gone off.
So the tradition would continue another year, then.
When he opened his drawer to begin his paperwork, he was met with paint in his face. And no paperwork.
No doubt the room was completely filled with the paper bombs. He had no idea if he’d even be able to get out of his office - or if there were any other rooms trapped in such a way.
“How’s it going?”
“Hold on, hold on, I can’t see, ya know!”
“Give them here, idiot.”
“No, I want the binoculars! I can do- ahah! He fell for it!”
“How long until the other part?”
“I’m waiting until the right time, ya know.”
Hiruzen spent his day sitting calmly at his desk, acting like both he and his office weren't completely covered in paint. Any time he moved, even just a bit, another paint bomb exploded in his face.
People came in and out, somehow not setting off more as they did. Until the door would shut and more paint splattered everywhere.
Sighing, Hiruzen had just submitted to it.
Kakashi’s genin team showed up not long after noon, the jounin in tow to report how they did.
“All three did well,” Kakashi said, glancing mildly at the green-covered room. “It was rocky at first, but by the end, they figured out that they needed to cooperate. They still need work, but I’m happy to call them my team.”
Ino and Sakura flushed at the praise while Shino nodded.
Hiruzen nodded. “Very good. I’m glad you’ve finally found a good fit. And to think I was going to saddle you with those three.”
Kakashi hummed, handing over the registration papers. “Well, you may have made a point about strong personalities.”
“Indeed. And try not to worry about them - I think Asuma will do just fine,” Hiruzen said, nodding for Kakashi to set the papers down. “Thank you for letting me know. You’re dismissed.”
Then, as if taking his word for it, all the furniture disappeared in an explosion of smoke. Hiruzen landed harshly on his ass, yelping.
A snort sounded.
"Kakashi.”
The jounin quickly coughed. “Sorry, all the smoke, you know. It’s quite a bit.”
“Hokage-sama, are you okay?” Sakura said, quickly coming to his aid. The other girl, Ino, was quick to follow. Shino simply watched.
Taking their help, Hiruzen nodded. “Just fine, yes. It’s simply… a tradition. You four may go, there’s not much else to do other than clean up.”
“We’ll be going then,” Kakashi said, sounding a bit choked. He was laughing!
The group left, and as the door closed, the room erupted in green.
Hiruzen sighed, wiping his face. Perhaps it was simply time for a break.
Naruto cackled as the memories from his shadow clones flooded to him. “Oh my god, that was great!”
“It was amusing, yes,” Shikamaru said, lowering his binoculars. “Now, we just have to see if we’ll be caught.”
“I doubt we will,” Sasuke said. “Nobody saw us come or go last night, we made sure of it.”
“Should we go report to Asuma-sensei, then?” Naruto asked, tilting his head.
“No need.”
The three whipped around to see Asuma on the roof behind them. He was grinning widely around his cigarette.
“You three did amazingly,” he said. “That’s the most exasperated I’ve seen him in a while. Even if they find out, that was great. Shikamaru’s planning, Sasuke’s speed, and Naruto as lookout with his sensory abilities. You did much better than I expected - and better than the genin have done in several years.”
Sasuke blinked. “So you’re saying…”
“Yeah, you three pass,” Asuma said, taking a drag. “Let’s go let Dad know.”
“You just want to rub it in his face,” Shikamaru said, glaring.
Asuma coughed, pointedly not answering.