“So we got everything ready?” asked Nabiki, as Ranma finished setting out breakfast.
Today was their Team Assignment Day, a day when the famous Teams Seven, Eight, and Ten were formed from the Rookie Nine. When Ranma came clean about having been watching over Naruto—i.e. finally admitting he had gone and read the entire Forbidden Scroll of Kinjutsu—Nabiki had drafted him into teaching herself and Mihoshi how to fight as a team, including some C-Rank jutsu. She after all had no idea who would be assigned as their Jounin Sensei—feeling justified in assuming that in order to create the least amount of disturbance from inserting them into the timeline that they would be a team automatically.
“All packed and by the door,” Ranma-chan said as she portioned out their meals. Money that had been set aside for weapons and equipment now went towards more food, thanks in part to the equipment left behind at the Uchiha Estates. A quick once-over and the casual Jounin observer would be hard pressed to determine those particular items had come from the Uchiha grounds.
“Mihoshi, you know the plan?” Nabiki asked, sitting at the table and diving into her own meal.
The tanned blond blinked for a moment, before nodding. “Right, I am to listen to whatever you tell me and do it exactly as you tell me to!”
Ranma blinked as she used the hot water faucet to return to her birth form. “Is that smart?” he asked, taking his own place at the table and wolfing down food as fast as possible.
Nabiki shrugged as she drank some milk. “Her memory isn’t that great at the moment. I figure by getting her out of the line of fire and using her portals to help break up any offensive the Jounin might use, we’ll have a chance of passing the bell test.”
“What makes you think they’ll use it?” Ranma asked.
“No clue,” Nabiki shrugged. “Neither anime or manga went into any detail about how the other two teams passed the teamwork test. For all I know, that is the only test they ever use. Alternatively, it could change from year to year, so those that fail don’t plan for it.
“Either way, I had only it to plan for, so I did. I’m betting with what you know, you can give any Jounin a good run in Taijutsu, maybe even slip in some Genjutsu and Ninjutsu. We being nearby will just break up your rhythm. With Mihoshi’s portals, we can help by breaking up theirs and even perhaps getting some strikes in from our end.”
“But what’s to keep them from going after you?” he asked.
“We’ll just move every so often via her portals as well,” replied Nabiki. “It’s not perfect, but with the goal to prove teamwork, even having the possibility of someone having to sacrifice themselves for the team, it’s the best we have.”
“Can I use my stuff from Galaxy Police?” asked Mihoshi, pulling out her Cube and twisting it several ways to try to cause something to be released.
The Nerima residents quickly darted forward, trapping her hands between theirs and the surface of the Cube.
“Let’s not do that again, okay?” asked Nabiki, a smile straining on her face. Mihoshi’s last attempt had resulted in a laser being produced that shot through the roof and severed the electrical cable for half the apartment. They were lucky that the ANBU believed their story that Mihoshi had been practicing her portals and opened one with no idea how a laser had come out or where from.
At least it had stopped the tanned former djinn from asking Nabiki to help with her shaving needs.
“Hey, Ranma!” cried Naruto as he ran up to the boy, the trio having been on their way to the Academy for their Team Assignments.
“Yeah?” asked the pigtailed boy.
“I finished the first task on that scroll you gave me!” he cried excitedly. “I’ll have that final test finished in no time, and then you’ll have to make me your kouhai! Believe it!” With that, the orange-clad Jinchuuriki ran into the building.
“What exactly was that first task, Saotome?” asked Nabiki, curious at what Naruto had just mastered.
“If I remember, it was an exercise they taught us in class that I just redressed for him,” Ranma replied, scratching his chin as he thought back. “The teacher was real bad about explaining it. He was probably trying to tank Naruto’s chances of passing, but got a few of us as well.”
“… And he didn’t even notice,” murmured Nabiki before whistling. She was tempted to ask what the other tasks were, as well as the final impossible task Ranma had assigned, but stopped herself. The last thing she wanted was to begin to either underestimate Naruto or question the fact that her safety was literally in the hands of such a kid as well as what the damage had been to their education.
“Let’s just get inside and get our Sensei,” she murmured as she dragged her two likely teammates into the school.
“Who do you think we’ll get?” she asked Ranma as the trio made their way to their classroom.
Ranma just shrugged. “As long as it ain’t Ebisu, I ain’t gonna mind.”
“What about the scary snake lady you mentioned?” asked Mihoshi, looking around nervously. The way the duo described her, the woman was obviously very scary, maybe even more scary than Ryoko.
“Maybe,” shrugged Nabiki, though she doubted it. It would alter the path of a secondary character, something that seemed at odds with the way they were inserted. If anything, their Sensei would be a previously unknown person.
She only hoped it wouldn’t end badly.
Lei Zi, assigned possible Jounin Instructor for Team 9, winced a bit as consciousness returned to him. No matter how well one was trained as a member of ROOT, it didn’t prepare you for what he had run into.
When he had learned of the possible trio assigned to him, he had fought back a yip of joy. The group had been solely orphans, orphans from no important families, no formerly powerful clans; just your normal Kyuubi-induced orphans. They didn’t even have the village Jinchuuriki among them. As such, there would be no dangerous attention on them or him, should they fail. In fact, given the clans of the other teams, especially those of Team Seven, Eight, and Ten, this team was the least likely to be watched or judged by any outside forces.
It meant he would be free to find any reason to fail them and leave immediately for the mission assigned to him by Root. Hell, he’d even chosen Kakashi’s Bell Test just for that. It would add an extra element to his report to make it seem he had taken the test seriously. He already had the report in mind he would turn in after going over the files of the three Genin hopefuls.
“While they proved to have teamwork—as expected from a trio who live together and for so long—I found the team to be oddly unbalanced. Kuramitsu has almost no control over her portals, making her a liability to protect as her other skills barely rate the passing grade for the Academy. Tendo has limited skills and little ability to effectively use them. Saotome, while receiving high marks, was held back by the need to constantly protect his teammates instead of focusing on the mission.
“I cannot in good conscience allow such a team to be sent into the field. It is my suggestion that they return to the Academy but also be assigned private tutors to bring up the skills of the kunoichi.”
Nope, not at all; his plan was dashed as soon as the test had begun. As soon as he told them to start, Tendo leapt at Kuramitsu and the duo vanished into a portal while Saotome charged at him.
The gender-cursed boy had actually surprised him with several high C-Rank and even a few B-Rank ninjutsu, even pulling out Kage Bunshin to supplement his already impressive Taijutsu abilities. It was an impressive display, such that had he not had his assigned mission, he would have kept the team, worked with Saotome to induct him to Danzo-sama’s cause.
Then his plan failed completely. Long-range attacks he launched at Saotome disappeared into freshly formed portals, often redirecting them back at him. At times, the portals would only open where he was, depositing several low to mid-C-Rank techniques at close ranks and several paper bomb assaults. He had tried to use Shunshin no Jutsu to get at the duo of girls to weaken them, remove them from the fight, but found they had already vacated the spot through a now closed portal, instead depositing one of Saotome’s Kage Bunshin right there to continue the battle.
They had maintained it for several minutes, forcing him to react with more power. For a moment, he was afraid he would actually have to hurt one of them in order to end the test. Such an injury of course would further delay him from his mission, but the teamwork they were using was impressive.
Too bad, he needed them to fail.
Then he found out that Ranma knew at least one A-Rank technique: Bunshin Daibakuha.
It hadn’t killed him, but it had knocked him out.
So opening his eyes, he spotted the three Genin hopefuls, smiling, and each of the females holding Ranma’s hands, a bell dangling from between them.
“So, do we pass?” asked Ranma nervously.
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(Posted Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:41)
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