"So, every generation seems to have its own fad when it comes to jutsu," Shikaku noted to his friends. "And if I'm not mistaken, henges seem to be making their appearance as this generation's preferred tactic."
Inoichi nodded.
"So your boy has taken up the habit too?" Choza asked. "Asuma has his team practicing impersonations and spotting them at least three times a week, in addition to other training exercises."
"How's your girl doing, Inoichi," Shikaku asked. "Is she dealing with her...issue?"
"She's not looking into it as much as she could," Inoichi said. "And her temper and sarcasm has been pretty bad of late, but she's settling down I think."
He'd convinced Ino to at least wear the amulet, but he didn't think that she'd actually gone into it to see what she could figure out much at all beyond the time she'd accidentally triggered her paralysis stare.
Which she had not yet managed to do again.
"It's a bit disappointing," Choza said. "I had thought we'd have an Ino-Shika-Cho trio this time around."
"How is the Inuzuka doing?" Inoichi asked.
"Shikamaru has said he's fairly hot-headed," the Nara said with a smirk.
Infiltrating each other was more or less impossible. Whether it was Shino's bugs, Kiba's nose, Team 8's newly tightened telepathy and the byakugan. Every team had ways of picking out the infiltrator, even in the rare instances that it was done perfectly.
And the results for getting caught infiltrating one of the other teams tended to be amusing.
Which is what led to the current plan....s.
"We are agreed then?" Shino asked.
Elsewhere a similar question was been answered.
"Yes," Hinata said. "But are we really sure about doing this? Are there not rules about this sort of thing?"
At yet another sight.
"Ahhh, don't worry about it," Kiba said loudly. "One group of kids can track an annoying cat just as well as the next one."
"Anyway, Hinata is not going to use her byakugan in front of the Hokage," Sakura said at her location. "So we don't have to worry about that."
"And Kiba and Akamaru's nose won't be smelling anything other than what they expect," Naruto said.
"Shino's bugs and the Yamanaka telepathy are likely to be the main things we have to beat, jutsu-wise," Shikamaru told his team. "Aside from the fact that they're all getting better at just picking up on flaws in character."
"And we're all going to be in the same room," Sasuke said. "So someone's going to notice we're short a person."
"Like they're going to say 'we've been infiltrated' to everyone," Ino said with a smirk.
"What if nobody's missing?" Choji asked.
"Then we'll know who's infiltrated us, obviously," Sakura declared.
"And what about Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked quietly.
"We'll just go in early," Kiba said waving the concern aside to his own team. "By the time they showed up, everything will be done."
"This will work," several voices declared in three different locations.
This isn't working at all, Naruto said telepathically.
Actually, I think it's working too well, Hinata noted.
"Damn it," Sasuke thought to himself bitterly as he looked around the room.
"Everybody had the same idea, huh?" Shikamaru noted quietly in his own thoughts.
Ahead of them, missions were being assigned to some of the other ninja of the village and any moment, one of them would have one of three jonin instructors walk in and notice the clones filling in for them.
I think Sasuke-kun is actually imitating me! Ino declared ecstatically.
"All right," Iruka said. "Team 7 step forward. We have a C-Rank mission today for you."
The apparent Team 10 slumped forward in shocked disappointment as the apparent Team 7 stepped forward, suddenly very nervous, as they were described the nature of the mission.
"There are some bandits threatening a bridge maker and he has paid for this level of self-training, client awaits at the third briefing room," the chunin said, handing over a scroll to "Kakashi". "By the way, good job actually being on time to mission selection for once."
"Ah, thank you for that," the fake jonin said in his normal casual and friendly tone.
And Team 7 and it's leader exited the door as quickly as they could.
"Team 8?" Iruka said, watching as Kurenai gestured for Hinata to step forward with a silent smile.
It had be silent, after all, common Bunshin didn't often speak.
"You'll receive special instructions in the fifth briefing room," Iruka explained.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei," "Hinata" said, bowing and retreating quickly with the scroll before leaving the room.
"Team 10," the Academy teacher said finally. "You'll be doing outer border patrols. Details in the scroll."
The person who appeared to be Shikamaru stepped forward and frowned at Iruka bitterly.
"I'll take that," he said darkly producing strangely no reaction from Asuma.
"Ehhh, what's this?" Kakashi said as he came across Sasuke and the other two members of his team coming out of the Hokage's office. "'You're already done,' he asked."
"Well, you were late," Sasuke said as he handed the mission over toward his jonin-instructor. "So we got our mission our selves."
"Hmm, let me see this," Kakashi said. "Patrols? A C-ranked mission. How interesting that they'd give this to you without your jonin present."
The three colored brightly.
"After this mission, we'll have to discuss boundaries," he said in a playful tone.
Why did you three go ahead and try to get a mission yourself? Kurenai wondered as the three relayed what was going on to her as she walked over to meet them.
We were trying to infiltrate the other teams, Ino said.
However, that doesn't seem to an uncommon thought. Hinata noted hesitantly.
What's the mission? Kurenai asked.
We're escorting some old drunk guy and protecting him from bandits or something, Naruto said.
Well, that sounds like it's within our limits all right, their instructor said. However, I believe the three of you will be helping me out with a few things when you get back.
"Ack!" Shikamaru gasped as he idly read the scroll for the mission that they had appropriated from Team 8. "We've got to find Naruto and his team now!"
"Huh?" Kiba said. "Why do we need to do that?"
"Because us fulfilling this mission is going to be very...difficult," Shikamaru said.
"And what mission is that, Shikamaru?" Asuma's voice asked at the door.
"Asuma-sensei?" Choji asked, "who's that behind you?"
"That's the client's representative," their team leader said.
A short, red-headed girl in a white jacket and skirt with purple shoulders stepped forward and glowered at the three.
"You three better be up to this job," the girl...no, Shikamaru decided, woman growled. "Because we were asking for Hinata and Naruto specifically and now they're out of town."
"Sorry about this," Asuma said. "Training gone out of hand I suppose, Lieutenant is the rank?"
"That's right," the woman responded. "What sort of training?"
"There's been a running contest between the three new teams this year as to which had can impersonate or infiltrate the others the best, Lieutenant Vita," Asuma explained.
"So, who's this little kid representing?" Kiba asked.
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(Posted Tue, 31 May 2011 17:40)
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