Author Note

Hi there and welcome to another chapter.

I am thrilled that everyone enjoyed this story, based on the amount of followers/reviewers so far. Thus far, this story has already 627 reviews – 2.066 favorites – 2.342 followers. That is indeed impressive and I appreciate all of you. I now reached an average of 100 reviews per chapter, which is awesome. Once again, I appreciate everyone for the support. I just hope that I keep your interest where my choices for this plot is revealed. Well, here is next chapter, enjoy!

Chapter 6 – Rivalry

Beta: Kyuubi123

It was already late in the night when one Uzumaki Naruto opened the door to his apartment, before allowing himself to breathe properly.

Switching the lights on, one detail on his person revealed itself. He was severely bruised and every step he took, a slight moan of pain was released. All the genin wanted right now was to crash on his bed as he allowed his high regeneration powers – Kyuubi – to work its magic. The day today started out like any other day for the last four weeks after his team passed Asuma-sensei's genin test. His team would meet every day at Training Ground 10. He woke up a couple hours earlier than the meeting date, so that he could get some hidden training done; mostly chakra intensive exercises like chakra control, ninjutsu and genjutsu. He would leave the physical workout to his team training, since it would be prudent to spar against his team or even Asuma-sensei as opposed to battling his clones the entire time.

After a couple spars with the team, Asuma-sensei would take the team to the Hokage's Office for a D-ranked mission.

When Naruto learned about the nature of those, he became frightened. He allowed his vivid imagination to run its course, picturing how one Nidaime Hokage would react upon hearing about what it entailed. Of course, D-ranked missions - or chores as Naruto preferred to call them – did not exist in war times. Back then, the village earned its money with more hardened missions. Perhaps, the risk free missions, back then, was to deliver a scroll to another village. After the shock ceased, Team 10 got a respectable rate of two D-ranked missions per day. It was actually at Naruto's insistence, because Shikamaru was all in favor of not doing any missions. Naruto even convinced the Hokage into giving him a solo third D-ranked mission, after getting Asuma's approval. He argued that it would benefit his income some, considering that he no longer received any help.

In fact, one of his solo D-ranked missions was the reason he was in the state he was upon entering his apartment.

Apparently, a civilian wanted to test his fighting skills against a genin shinobi and Hiruzen saw no harm in giving it to Naruto, considering his taijutsu prowess corroborated by Asuma. Of course, Hiruzen failed to mention that the civilian was actually a retired samurai who abandoned the art of the sword in favor of focusing exclusively in taijutsu. The spar if Naruto could call it that lasted about an hour as the opponents traded equal blows with one another. The client of course had strength and experience whereas Naruto only had agility and the knowledge passed on by the Nidaime. Still, the client applauded the boy for his fighting prowess and promised that he would report so to the Hokage the next day.

For Naruto's experience, it was a boon. To his body, however…not so much.

"Man, I swear that guy has bones of steel. Well, I guess I can skip training tomorrow for a good night's sleep." That was the last sentence he spoke before he passed out on his bed.

===The next day===

Upon feeling the first rays of sunlight on his face, Naruto's eyes slowly opened up. Normally, he would be out of bed long before the sun came up. Come to think of it, this was perhaps the first day since he met with the Nidaime Hokage that he had overslept. The pain from yesterday was now a mere nuisance, the genin got out of bed and went about his morning routine as if he was on vacation. His team normally met in about two hours from now, so he could afford to take his time in getting ready. Unfortunately, his body was used to speeding this up, so it took no longer than twenty minutes for him to fulfill his usual routine. That meant that he had a lot of time to kill.

What to do, he wondered.

He was not a fan of taking leisure walks around the village, nor was he inclined to visit someone. Unfortunately, or fortunately in his mind, both his profession and his hobby were perfectly aligned. He had to keep training in the shinobi arts to improve his skills and rise in the ranks. But he did not mind it, far from it actually. Opening his closet, Naruto grabbed two small scrolls and opened them on his kitchen table, one on top of the other forming a cross. Performing a sequence of hand seals, both scrolls came alive, with kanji spreading over the table. Naruto bit his thumb to draw blood and went through hand seals before passing his bleeding thumb on the two scrolls, summoning a big blue scroll – Nidaime's legacy. Once opening the big scroll, Naruto scrolled down the taijustu, ninjutsu and genjutsu section, before going for the other arts, that Nidaimed dwelled on in his days, namely space-time ninjutsu and fuuinjutsu. There were lots of information about one technique called Edo Tensei, but Tobirama strangely wrote only how to release the technique, rather than how to perform it.

Naruto knew now that the Nidaime had a reason for everything he did. The description alone indicated that the technique allowed the user to summon the dead.

That was enough for the boy to steer clear.

Regarding space-time ninjutsu and fuuinjutsu, Tobirama had already briefed Naruto that it would take a long time before he would begin to understand the concept. The scroll explained that it would be preferable for Naruto to begin with fuuinjutsu first, which would allow him the adequate basis for space-time ninjutsu afterward. Tobirama's trademark ability, beyond his suiton capabilities, was the technique called Hiraishin, which according to the man, is a space-time ninjutsu used in conjunction with a fuuinjutsu formula. All these words caused nothing but headaches to the genin, but Tobirama never expected him to learn space-time ninjutsu at least before becoming a jounin. So far, the boy settled for learning beginner fuuinjutsu formulas. Storage seals and even explosion seals were amongst his range of knowledge for the moment and would certainly accompany him throughout the genin days. Tobirama spent some time tuning Naruto's calligraphy in one of their sessions together.

For the moment, he didn't have money to purchase scrolls. That would have to wait until he performed C-ranked missions.

Also, Tobirama instructed Naruto to spend some time in the library researching about the theory behind fuuinjutsu. Therefore, Naruto expected a few trips to the shinobi library after today's training. Looking at the clock, the boy sealed Tobirama's scroll and left his apartment. Choosing to simply walk towards the location, Naruto wondered about the road ahead of him, regarding the challenges and the expectations placed upon him by the very own Nidaime Hokage. It was one thing when said man was around to guide Naruto throughout the training, but now Naruto had to make due with the knowledge imparted on the scroll. What if…the thought stopped as soon as those words initiated and the boy couldn't help but shiver at the memory of Tobirama vividly explaining to him that thinking about the 'what ifs' was a complete waste of precious time.

The man always enjoyed using those water whips of his.

===Training Ground===

Arriving on time, Naruto walked straight to his sensei, who was calmly smoking his cigarette with an aloof smile on his face.

Ever since they became Team 10, Naruto's relationship with his second sensei slightly improved. The boy enjoyed their training sessions, even if he could not use his full arsenal of skills at the moment. In their spars, Naruto would use taijutsu and kenjutsu with a couple shurikenjutsu as well. Ninjutsu was limited to the usual three, however, much to his internal chagrin. Aside from constant spars with his sensei and his teammates, the latter always won by Naruto, their team got started on learning chakra control exercises. Asuma used this opportunity and passed the ball to Naruto. Since he had learned it, Asuma urged Naruto to teach the craft to Shikamaru and Hinata, showing the first signs of laziness in Naruto's book. Unsurprisingly so, Hinata got it right on her third try. The Hyuuga Clan were prodigious in their use of chakra. The Jyuuken required precision more than anything else.

Shikamaru was not bad, but he did test Naruto's patience by requiring three days to get to the top.

However, the Nara Clan were highly renowned for their intelligence, not their work ethic. His lazy teammate understood the concept the minute Naruto explained it.

When applying theory into practice, however, Shikamaru just did not bother to apply himself one hundred percent. As such, Naruto kept complaining the entire time, much to Hinata and Asuma's amusement. A couple more taijutsu drills were run, before the team would go to the mission room for those same old boring D-ranked missions. The boy could not complain much, considering that it was his main source of income, but sometimes he just wished to vent out his frustrations on the man who created these types of assignments. As per usual, the team grabbed their two D-ranked missions for the day and quickly took care of that.

Normally, Asuma would dismiss his team for the day, but today he had a different idea.

===At the Barbeque Place===

He gathered his team for a nice barbeque dinner for some much-needed conversation.

"Well, it's been four weeks since we started and I feel inclined to discuss a very important subject with all three of you. It is my job as your sensei to guide you and train you into becoming accomplished shinobi and kunoichi. However, that does not mean that I can simply choose what I believe is right for any one of you. You three have a great deal of different skills to choose from and it's important to consider them all so that you can choose just which type of shinobi you will be in the future. For example, I chose to focus in training my ninjutsu affinities and to develop a unique fighting style using my trench knives. While it was adamant that I learn other skills as a jounin, I have always stayed true to my choices as a shinobi."

All three genin nodded as the food arrived. Asuma continued his first lecture

"That being said, I understand that both Hinata and Shikamaru have clan techniques to fall back on, but that doesn't mean you cannot learn different skills. In fact, I believe it's prudent, considering that your clans are very well known throughout the elemental countries. The Hyuuga Clan are powerful, but more so up close-range fighting. Against a long-range fighter, the jyuuken is worthless. The shadow techniques of the Nara Clan are also known." Hinata and Shikamaru nodded solemnly, both knowing bits and pieces about their fellow clan members dying because of said weaknesses.

"Troublesome…I understand that sensei." Asuma showed an apologetic smile. The conversation was indeed important.

"So, I would like to hear you first, Shikamaru. As a Nara, your intellect is your must cunning weapon. Your chakra control has improved, as has your taijutsu. I'm betting your father is instructing you in clan techniques."

"Mendokusee…my clan jutsu have many uses and also a lot of different ways to use them. The enemy may know about them, but they can't know for sure what I will do. But then, I'm talking about enemies close to my level here." Asuma nodded at that. Shikamaru continued. "Like you said sensei, my mind is my most cunning weapon. So, I was thinking about skills to complement my clan jutsu, like genjutsu perhaps." Naruto remained quiet throughout the entire ordeal, savoring his meat instead. When he heard Shikamaru's choice, he couldn't help but applaud his choice. Who would have thought that the lazy ass would apply himself with such a demanding art. It required great chakra control, however, above his intellect. Asuma made a thinking noise after hearing the Nara.

"Genjutsu huh…an interesting choice. You can use your clan techniques as primary offense complemented by illusions. Not bad…I guess I can give you the basics and then perhaps ask a few favors from a specialist."

Asuma actually believed it would be better if Shikamaru went for offensive techniques, like taijutsu or even ninjutsu. Then, he flinched at the memory of a rather heated discussion he had with said specialist about the usage of genjutsu. "Okay…good…good, Hinata…how about you?" Upon receiving the spotlight of three set of eyes, the timid girl flinched a little bit, before rubbing her fingers together. Asuma frowned instantly at the display. He remembered his conversation with Kurenai about how Hyuuga Hiashi treated his eldest daughter and that her shyness was a direct byproduct of how she was raised, especially after Hinata's mother perished. She was improving her confidence gradually in training with Naruto and Shikamaru, though. Both boys realized and made every effort in helping her ever since.

"W...well, I was thinking about training in long-range skills, perhaps archery." She looked at both Naruto and Shikamaru for reassurance and relaxed upon seeing them smile and nod at her.

"Archery huh!? A fine idea, Hinata. With your byakugan, you could be quite lethal from a distance. Most impressive. If you want…I can accompany you for the necessary supplies so that you can practice. I am sure your teammates will aid you, especially Naruto. If you are able to hit him while he's moving…then you're good to go." Naruto was smiling at the timid girl, until that part. Asuma had an amusing expression on his face as he observed the quiet boy frowning at him.

"Oi, what do you think I am…a living target? I maybe fast, but I don't like the thought of being hit by her arrows on a daily basis you know." Hinata giggled at the display.

"This would be training for you too, in agility. With her byakugan, her precision will no doubt be top notch. Once the arrow flies from her bow, you will have little time to dodge." The man barked in laughter as Naruto mumbled incoherent cursing at him. "Oh come on, Naruto, don't be like that. I am sure that Hinata here won't target your vital organs, so you are safe. If she is able to hit you than that means that you're not fast enough, that's all." The grumbling never ceased.

"And to think I was beginning to like you sensei." Asuma laughed at the comment. He was enjoying this team…more than he thought he would.

"Okay…enough teasing. How about you Naruto?" Asuma asked the question, but from the inside, he was actually waiting for the answer in anticipation. The kid was gifted…way more than a seasoned genin. His chakra control was excellent…his ninjutsu and taijutsu prowess were outstanding. Asuma had a prodigy in his hand and Naruto could simply specialize in anything, he mused. Naruto, for his turn, had a clear choice in mind, but he also had side projects of his own and none of those would be revealed until later on. The boy allowed himself a small second of amused thinking, though. Answering that he would want to specialize in space-time ninjutsu and fuuinjutsu. Yeah, highly amusing would be his sensei's face.

"I would like to find out my ninjutsu affinity and master it." Asuma nodded with a smile…with his prowess in the battlefield, Asuma had no doubt that the boy will be a force to fear.

"Elemental ninjutsu you say!? That's quite advanced stuff…though with your chakra control, it's not impossible. Most shinobi takes a lot of time to learn an element."

"Say sensei…how can I learn my element?" Asuma was surprised at the sudden question. With time, the Hokage's suspicion lessened, but it was still there. Nonetheless, Asuma saw no point in not answering, considering that both Shikamaru and Hinata were also interested. He really wanted his students to learn ninjutsu to fall back on and this was the perfect opportunity to instill said knowledge in their brains. Who knows…maybe Hinata and Shikamaru would take an interest.

"There is a special paper to determine one's affinity. Actually, I happen to have it with me. Hinata and Shikamaru…do you also want to know about yours?"

"Depends on the amount of work I have to do…" Both Asuma and Hinata had giant water drops on the back of their heads. Naruto almost molded chakra for the water whip after the comment.

"All you have to do is simply focus your chakra on this piece of paper. I prefer to explain the rest after I see the results. Hinata, you go first."

The Hyuuga nodded and closed her eyes while holding the paper in her hand. When she opened her eyes, she felt water in her hand. Asuma nodded, but said nothing urging the lazy genin up next.

Shikamaru's paper ignited and turned to ash. Naruto's paper split in two and both halves became moist.

Asuma hid his surprise at Naruto's result. His father would like to hear this.

"Okay, then, Hinata's affinity is towards water ninjutsu. Shikamaru has fire while Naruto, surprisingly so, has both wind and water affinities. Quite rare for a shinobi to have two affinities I must say." Naruto showed a surprised face, followed by a happy one, while Hinata complimented him. Asuma allowed for the genin to partake in conversation over their elements, while he pondered on what he had just discovered. His focus was on the Uzumaki enigma instantly. A jounin of his caliber had a lot of experience in knowing when someone is not telling the truth. Naruto's elation however at knowing about his elements struck him as quite odd, considering the Hokage's suspicion.

If someone was indeed tutoring the boy from the shadows, then no doubt Naruto would have already found his elemental affinity, considering his potential.

"So…Shikamaru wants to get genjutsu training…Hinata needs help with archery and Naruto with elemental ninjutsu. I will see if I can pull some strings for genjutsu training. The archery material, I believe, won't be hard to find. I guess that there are at least two or three stores in Konoha. As for you Naruto, I'm afraid I'll have to consult with the Hokage first about you learning elemental ninjutsu." The boy did frown, earning an amused smile from the sensei. "Elemental ninjutsu's mastery is as hard as it is dangerous, especially if unsupervised. I believe the Hokage will accept it, though, considering who your sensei is." Asuma could not help but inflate his chest in pride at that.

"What do you mean?" The boy felt his hopes of getting wind training draining by the second. He just did not consider that Asuma would need to run by the Hokage first.

"I'm considered one of the best wind users in all of Konoha and since you have an affinity for it, there is no one better suited to teach you."

"Wow…really…that's awesome sensei!" Hinata giggled at the amount of energy and excitement displayed by Naruto, of course, none the wiser. The boy could not get his hopes up, since the Hokage would have to approve first. However, if he managed to play his cards right, then he would be able to secure at least an adequate amount of training for his wind affinity. He already had water element training from the Nidaime. With this, at least in the ninjutsu department, he was all set.

Eventually, the team left the restaurant and split towards their respective homes or the Hokage's Office.

===The Hokage's Office===

"Hummmm…"

Asuma just stared at his father while the old man made humming noises, at the same time as he smoked his tobacco. Asuma wanted nothing more than to know his father's thoughts right away. He admitted into being quite enthused about the prospect of passing his craft to the boy. However, for that to happen, at least right now, he would need the Hokage's consent. In addition, there was the problem of how exactly the boy got so good and without apparent supervision. A slight vein pulsed from his forehead as he could see an amused smirk from his father.

"You know it irks me when you take this long to answer, right?"

"Yes…well, as per Naruto's situation, it's indeed quite rare for him to have two affinities, wind and water. Though I guess it's only natural that he had inherited it from his father and his mother. If I recall, Minato had wind and Kushina had water, though neither of them chose to venture on their affinities. Minato's style was more in fuuinjutsu and space-time ninjutsu, while Kushina preferred close-range fighting with her chakra chains. Asuma, what can you tell about his chakra paper?" Asuma frowned at the question, knowing all about what his father wanted to know. Indeed, the chakra paper allowed one to discover the elemental affinity. However, when a shinobi possesses a high affinity for an element, the paper behaves slightly different.

"His wind is the dominant affinity and quite strong one at that. His water element is not a weak affinity, though. Hinata's paper became moist, but the halves of his paper were soaked." Hiruzen caressed his chin.

"….Interesting…Naruto-kun's future gets brighter and brighter. And how he did react to the news?"

"He was excited…dare I say that he was clueless before, which struck me as odd considering the suspicion that someone is training him." Hiruzen nodded.

"Indeed, perhaps we can attribute his surprising growth to him simply applying himself harder. It pains me to consider the possibility that Naruto-kun was hiding from me, but I had to look at the situation from all possible perspectives." Hiruzen allowed himself some time to look down in shame over his actions. When the boy was not doing well in the academy, he wished that the boy would apply himself. In the end, he did apply himself but Hiruzen was caught wondering if someone did help him. In truth, all he did was believe that Naruto alone did not possess the necessary skills to grow as a shinobi. Well, the fact remained that Naruto did improve and he did it by proving everyone wrong…even Hiruzen himself.

"Ok, Asuma, I'll allow you to start his wind training, but only the theory and elemental control exercises for the moment." Asuma nodded and got up from the chair.

"Would I be wrong in assuming that you're no longer interested in investigating his situation further?" Hiruzen nodded with a resigned expression.

"Thus far, he has never demonstrated anything beyond exceptional skills in what was taught at the academy. The two chakra control exercises aside, his skills are centered in taijutsu, kenjutsu and shurikenjutsu. If someone else were in fact tutoring him, he would certainly possess a more varied arsenal of skills already. Yes, there is no reason for us to keep looking anymore, Asuma. I can tell that he will only grow as a shinobi and it's our duty to guide him."

"Good to know…because I'm enjoying my team more and more…it would be a shame to disrupt their growth, based on assumptions. See ya old man!" Asuma saluted him with a wave, before leaving in a shunshin.

Hiruzen, now alone, stood over Naruto's shinobi records, pondering.

If the boy showed as much prowess in the ninjutsu department as he had with taijutsu, then by all accounts, Naruto would be a prodigy. In the same path as Minato's son was Kakashi's student Uchiha Sasuke. Hiruzen was optimistic already for this new generation as all the clan heirs graduated. However, while all of the clan members showed promise in their family's respective abilities, Naruto and Sasuke were the only ones so far that displayed promise in overall skills. Naruto more so, considering that he had no one to assist him and still shown such promise. Right now, Sasuke had the slightest advantage, because his family taught the lad fire ninjutsu. However, that will change once Naruto gets the hang of his element. Hiruzen had no doubt in his mind about the boy's immense talent. As such, he knew that the boy would catch on very quickly…even something as advanced as wind manipulation.

===The next day===

The next day came and the team began their morning routine like usual. After two hours of practice and spars, Asuma gathered his three genins.

"Okay team, we'll now go to the Hokage for a mission. Now before we do that, I would like to follow up on our conversation last night. Starting with you Shikamaru. Since you are interest in learning genjutsu, I asked a favor from another jounin who's specialized in the field. For now, she believed it prudent to first learn the theory behind the art of illusions, so here you go." Asuma tossed a scroll for the pineapple-haired genin. "In that scroll, she detailed not only the basics, but also some chakra control exercises. Genjutsu requires great chakra control to perform, after all." Of course, Shikamaru would release a sigh in dismay thinking about the amount of work he would have to do.

"Man, is it too late to change my mind about this? I get the feeling it's going to be quite troublesome." Naruto snorted at that comment. It took him a lot of time and effort for him to be able to use genjutsu. Naruto also had the Nidaime to thank for, giving input so to speak. Asuma, for his turn, just smirked at Shikamaru's comment, before moving on.

"Naruto, you wished to learn wind manipulation…so like Shikamaru, you'll start with the theory first and then we shall move to the practical exercises. It will take plenty of time for you to start learning techniques, but you have plenty of time for that." From the inside, Naruto groaned, but from the outside, he smiled and took the scroll. He opened up the scroll and started reading it right away, blocking his attention to the outside world. "Now with Hinata…before we go to the Hokage, we shall stop at a weapon's store to purchase a set of bow and some arrows for you to practice. So, let's move on shall we…" The team then left the training ground with Naruto half walked half focused on the scroll. Even if was just theory, it was quite vividly described. As the team walked, Asuma saw another jounin coming in front of him, actually doing the same thing as Naruto was doing…reading.

"Morning Kakashi…" As per the usual, the scarecrow jounin simply waved him off, not taking his eyes away from his precious novel, until he felt a blond head bumping into his stomach.

The jounin looked down from his book to see two blue eyes looking at him with a forgiving look on his face. Hatake Kakashi admitted that he interacted very little with his sensei's son. Well, very little was an understatement as the most they interacted was when Kakashi had to shadow the kid back in his Anbu days. Despite it all, he had heard stories of sensei's son from Asuma and from the Hokage at times. He could see from the kid's posture alone that the rumors were quite true. Asuma came up to him two days ago, stating how skilled Naruto was and that he wanted to measure his skills against one Uchiha Sasuke, the rookie of the year. At the time, Kakashi simply shrugged it off saying that he would think about it.

"Oh sorry about that jounin-san, I got carried away reading." Kakashi smiled with a nod at Naruto, before turning to Asuma.

"Well, Asuma, about what you requested, I believe we can arrange something. Now excuse me, but I am late to meet with my team." Shikamaru was the one who noticed the man's eye shifting to Naruto.

The bearded jounin nodded with a smile on his face. Kakashi would never change his tardiness. Still, Kakashi had a keen eye for potential and he definitely saw it in Naruto. Little to everyone's knowledge, Naruto also got to seize Kakashi briefly and now was looking at the man's leaving back. The Nidaime Hokage had imparted some sensing capabilities in his student. While not a born sensor, Tobirama taught him a couple of things by using your own chakra, so that Naruto can learn more about his enemy before the fight began. He did so with Asuma when they first met and now he did it with this guy Kakashi. While Asuma had more chakra capacity then Kakashi, Kakashi's chakra felt denser. His chakra coils are perhaps more developed than Asuma's.

"Asuma-sensei…what was it that this Kakashi said" Shikamaru asked, earning an amused laughter from his sensei.

"Oh that's nothing…just a silly bet between jounin. Now, let's keep moving." In no time, the team got inside a weapon's shop and waited for Hinata to purchase the needed material for her craft. Shikamaru spotted a chair placed by the counter and immediately took a relaxing seat while Asuma helped Hinata with her choices. The person who worked at the store was with them the entire time, allowing the remaining member of the team to roam around the store's many items. Usually, he would not bother to come inside without a decent looking henge. He noticed that when he personally came to purchase something, the vendor would overcharge him. However, when he simply came in as a brunette individual, no whisker marks and a chunnin vest, he even got discounts and promotions. Of course, he could simply go to the Hokage or his sensei to complain, but then he simply didn't want to bother himself with such nuisance.

In addition, it was good practice as most of these vendors had at least genin shinobi training. With everything taken care of, the team marched towards the Hokage Tower for their mission.

===Mission Assignment Office===

The Hokage chose this specific day to join the chunnin board responsible for the mission assignments. It was not required of him, but he did so in order to address his shinobi personally from time to time. This morning, a few of the genin teams had already came by and left with their assignments. The rookie squads, however, have yet to appear. He knew that Kakashi's team would be the last, but Asuma's and Kurenai's didn't usually take this long to show. He smiled, however, as soon as he heard footsteps approaching. It looked like Asuma's team came out in first today. The genin came in front with Asuma in tow as they lined up in front of the Hokage.

"Team 10 reporting for duty." Asuma proudly announced, earning a nod from the Hokage.

"Well, I was wondering when you'd appear Asuma-kun…your team usually comes much sooner. Ok, now Team 10, we have a long list of D-ranked missions here for you to choose." This was Naruto's queue to ignore the Hokage. Yes, he wanted nothing more than to complain right now to the old man about these so-called missions. Wastes of time, he considered them with the exception of the one he completed solo. An important part of the Nidaime's training was that, although Naruto trained extensively in mastering his skills in combat, he had minimal opportunities to really test himself. Sure, training with his team was nice and all, but he barely worked against his teammates and Asuma would never really push him. He needed opponents...he needed experience above all things. He stopped his wonderings when he heard the two D-ranked missions his sensei selected for the team.

"Oh and by the way…" Asuma said just as they were about to leave. "I believe that my team is ready for C-ranked missions." This took his team by surprise, even Naruto. Umino Iruka looked perturbed.

"Are they now...hmmm. Well, perhaps tomorrow, we can choose one." Asuma nodded, before leaving the Hokage alone with his two chunnin in attendance.

"Hokage-sama, is it really wise to send them on C-ranked missions so soon? They graduated last month." The Hokage smiled as he turned to his trusted chunnin.

"While it's true that they lack experience, it is also true that these three are quite gifted genin. Shikamaru is quite the genius and strategist of the team and Hyuuga Hinata has a solid grasp on her byakugan. Last but certainly not least, Naruto-kun is perhaps the most gifted genin of his generation. According to my son's reports, Naruto ranked very high in pretty much all there is for a fresh genin to know. I am sure that he will reach great heights in his career. That's precisely why I have allowed them to participate in C-ranked missions. Naruto-kun is skilled, but like you said, he lacks experience. You can only improve yourself by facing adversities and coming out on top." Iruka almost felt ashamed after the lecture, but his worry remained.

"I know that they are gifted, but I can't help but feel it's too soon for them."

The Hokage only smirked at the man. He had chosen wisely in placing Iruka at the academy.

"That goes to show how much you care for your students Iruka. However, it is now time for them to venture outside the confines of our great walls and meet the world outside. Do not worry, though, I don't plan to send them alone. Team 10 was polite enough about D-ranked missions. Nevertheless, it was quite clear in Naruto's visage that he greatly dislikes the subject. The other teams, however, will be more vocal about it, demanding a C-rank." Iruka sighed at being defeated. He knew that Inuzuka Kiba would explode any day now and Uchiha Sasuke as well, demanding tougher assignments. Sometimes, he just wished to place some sense into the jounin's heads for risking his students' lives needlessly.

"You plan to send two teams then?" The Hokage nodded, greatly pleased by this young man's intellect.

"Yes, though I will defer to Kakashi's judgment beforehand." He had a feeling that Kurenai, being a rookie jounin, will be more cautious about taking a C-ranked mission and Kakashi had already talked to him about choosing a more practical approach to his teachings then simply drilling theoretical subjects to his genin. While Hiruzen did not believe in its efficiency, it was still a valid method of teaching and has produced fine results. If memory served him correctly, the Yondaime Hokage opted for this very approach on his own team.

===The next day===

The next day, as expected, both teams stood by the Hokage at the Mission Office.

"Well, since both Asuma and Kakashi considered their teams ready for a C-ranked mission, I have decided to accept their suggestion." Each team had their own reactions to the news. Inuzuka Kiba looked at Sasuke and both shared a smile in determination. Sakura looked like she was scared, but tried desperately to hide it. Naruto could see that she took a small step closer to Sasuke, to which he turned his eyes in secret irritation. Shikamaru simply muttered his famous word while Hinata was clearly in doubt of herself, though she smiled when Naruto placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Her confidence issues sure diminished, but it would take time to vanish completely.

After allowing some time, Hiruzen continued.

"However, instead of issuing a mission to each of the teams, I have decided to send both Teams on a single C-ranked mission…" The Hokage was about to continue when Kiba voiced his protest.

"Hey…we don't need these pansies…they will just be slowing us down…" The Inuzuka heir was wise enough in suddenly shutting his trap when the Hokage looked sternly at him followed by a small increase in chakra. Kakashi sighed at his student's outburst and apologized to the Hokage on behalf of the Inuzuka. Of course, not before bonking the fiery kid in the head for his behavior in front of the Hokage. Naruto, for his turn, kept quiet and in awe at the quick but direct method utilized by the Sandaime to instill order. In a way, it reminded him of the Nidaime Hokage when Naruto acted similarly to Kiba just now. Still, Kiba was lucky. Tobirama had no qualms about getting physical and by physical, he meant water whips. There was one time the man even used a water bullet on him, an incident that Naruto still painfully remembered to this day. It was the day he learned never to piss a Kage off.

"Now, as I was saying, I will send both Teams on this C-ranked mission. It consists of protecting a civilian from thieves and bandits as he travels back to his homeland, in Wave Country. Tazuna, please come in."

From the door, came in an old man holding an alcohol canteen. Tazuna was a grey-haired bespectacled man with a large beard and dark eyes. He wore a sleeveless v-neck shirt with an obi, pants and a pair of sandals. He also carried a towel around his neck and wore a pointed hat on his head. Kiba had to block his nose at the heavy smell of alcohol that came from this man. Tazuna looked at the two teams with heavy scrutiny and frowned at what he saw.

"What is the meaning of this Hokage? I hired shinobi to protect me, not small children barely off their diapers. That blond shrimp over there…you can't possibly convince me he's a shinobi."

Naruto heard snickers obviously coming from Kiba. While his height wasn't saying much, the old man, their client, was pushing. Now, Naruto could think of many things to do in order to prove that he is a shinobi. Of course, many of the possibilities included skills that he just could not reveal yet. That said; he had settled for something more subtle. With a slight flick of his wrist, earning narrowed eyes from those who managed to follow his movements, a kunai traveled fast to the canteen that the client was holding. In less than a second, the kunai went straight through the canteen, splashing all the alcohol at the old man's instantly sobered expression. Kiba had the decency to fall on his butt on the floor as the kunai passed mere inches from his nose. Sasuke looked at the blond in alarm, not remembering him being that good before. Shikamaru, for his turn, simply sighed in dismay while Hinata covered her mouth in surprise. Apparently, Naruto didn't like being bullied based on appearance alone.

"It matters little whether you believe I'm a shinobi or not…in the end, all it takes is that kunai going straight at your neck."

Asuma simply scratched his head in embarrassment for his genin.

"Ah Naruto, we can't attack the clients you know…" He was used to seeing such speeds in their spars, unlike Kakashi and the Hokage who bore first witness to the kid's skill. Naruto settled for a smirk, but bowed towards the client.

"My apologies for attacking you Tazuna-san, I just felt the need to convince you that I'm more than ready to protect you against thieves and bandits." The client hesitantly nodded, though he felt like the kid was placing a knife inches from his neck. The Hokage, taking control of the situation, cleared his throat and addressed the two teams.

"Ok moving on, this is a C-ranked mission consisting of protecting Tazuna throughout his travel back to Wave Country. The mission will commence tomorrow, dismissed all of you." Hiruzen felt the need to talk to Naruto, but he figured that Asuma could do it for him. The way Naruto threw that kunai, however, got the Hokage thinking. He would expect such mastery coming from a high-level chunnin or even a jounin, not from someone who recently graduated. Naruto told him some time ago that he did nothing but train and study all day after the academy. Considering what he had just seen, it very well looked like his training bore excellent fruit. Hiruzen quickly activated his all-seeing ball for what was about to happen.

===With the teams===

Everyone found it strange that, after leaving the Hokage's Office, the jounin ushered both teams to follow them towards a more secluded training ground.

After arriving at the training ground, Asuma announced their intentions, as he knew that Kakashi was far too lazy.

"Ok, I'm betting you all are wondering why Kakashi and I decided to join you six together. Tomorrow all of you will embark on a C-ranked mission. Not only that, but you will also be performing missions with someone you know next to nothing about. In time, you all will participate in missions with other shinobi, so it is imperative you learn how to work well with others aside from your genin team. Now, we shall use today in order for each team to get to know the other. With that said, we shall start with individual spars and then move on to team drills." Asuma ignored Shikamaru's complaint and Kiba's narcissistic boost of confidence. "We shall start with the individual spars…Hinata will be first against Sakura…then Shikamaru against Kiba and last Naruto against Sasuke. Kakashi and I will monitor the fights, so nothing too extreme as we have an important mission tomorrow."

As Hinata and Sakura moved to the center of the clearing, the rest gave them space. Sasuke, however, kept looking at Naruto the entire time.

"Ok, Hinata and Sakura….are you ready?" Asuma started the fight.

As soon as the spar initiated, Sakura took the offense. She remembered how timid and shy Hinata was at the academy and knew that she had a shot to show to Sasuke how great she was. However, while Hinata never enjoyed going on the offensive in fights, it did not belittle her skills in taijutsu. Sakura run a frontal line and attempted to side step in order to attack Hinata from the left. With great finesse and style, Hinata simply evaded Sakura's rather slow assault and took opportunity of the opening in Sakura's unprotected right side. A heavy palm laced with chakra and Sakura flinched in pain, not knowing that Hinata had just closed her tenketsu. Sakura tried to stand and give more of a fight, but she just could not control her chakra, in order to use the academy three ninjutsu she knew. Another frail attempt at taijutu failed, with Hinata hitting the stomach this time, thus ending the spar rather quickly.

"A…are you ok Sakura?" Hinata opened her tenketsu and got her up, earning a pained smile from Sakura.

"Wow, you're really strong Hinata…" The Hyuuga blushed at the praise, while Naruto looked ready to go bloody murder on the pink haired girl. He would imagine that she would show more after one month.

"Alright, now is my turn…prepare to lose Shikamaru." Kiba and Shikamaru stood now face to face with each other. Kiba looked smug, while Shikamaru couldn't look more bored as he grabbed a kunai and held it. Naruto could not help but smile at Kiba's clueless smirk. The jounin also noticed it, but Kakashi simply chose to read his book to save him embarrassment. With an amused smile, Asuma announced the beginning of the fight. Kiba, still smiling like an idiot, prepared to attack…only to realize that he just couldn't move his body. Not even Akamaru could move, considering that the little puppy was also caught in the same technique. The Inuzuka remained baffled and snarled at the Nara.

"What did you do to me bastard?" Shikamaru only sighed in dismay. He didn't feel like explaining much.

"Why don't you look down and tell me what happened." Kiba did as instructed and indeed saw that his shadow was connected to Shikamaru's. Suddenly, Shikamaru extended the arm that he was holding the kunai, forcing Kiba to do the same, except that his hand was holding nothing of the sort. A couple of steps later, Shikamaru stopped walking. The kunai stopped inches from Kiba's chest and would keep coming. The Inuzuka snarled at losing, but conceded. Kakashi felt the need to explain to his clueless student.

"The Nara Clan specializes in manipulating their shadow. It has many uses; one of them involves binding the opponent by capturing your shadow." Kiba listened to his sensei speak while Naruto and Sasuke got into position against each other. The rest already gave the boys some room. In Sakura and Kiba's mind, Naruto would no doubt lose. He may have shown improvement in school but he had graduated in the middle of the class, while Sasuke was the top student. Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Hinata doubted that Naruto showed his best at the academy, merely showing enough to graduate. It was not to say that Naruto was stronger than Sasuke, only that one could not base Naruto's skills according to his display up until one month ago. Kakashi and Asuma stood side by side as they silently conversed with one another. The first two fights were indeed for the teams to know each other, but this last fight was actually a bet formed between them as to whom was the strongest genin of this year.

Sasuke, meanwhile, looked at his opponent and remembered how fast he moved back at the Hokage's Office. It'd been a month since he last saw Naruto fight and back then, it was completely different. Sasuke Uchiha's blood pumped inside his veins and he felt excitement over the upcoming battle. If he improved this much, then Sasuke may have found a worthy adversary to test his skills against. Kiba was 'ok' in the taijutsu department, but the Inuzuka just could not offer Sasuke more than a few minutes of a fair fight. Naruto, for his turn, looked at Sasuke while remembering what the Nidaime said about the Uchiha Clan. Even if Tobirama focused more on the sharingan, he did share some intel on their way of thinking and how they behave in the battlefield. Their taijutsu style focused mainly in anticipating the opponent's movements. Even without the sharingan, the Uchiha had trained their eyes and body to adapt according to the enemy. That being said, it will always appear that an Uchiha is faster than he actually is. Aside from that, though, Naruto saw this as an amazing opportunity to gain experience.

Asuma took a couple steps further and announced the beginning of the fight.

Naruto went on the offensive immediately, hurling a group of shuriken at impressive speeds. Sasuke reacted instinctively, not much expecting a long-range assault in a spar. He evaded the projectiles and charged at the Uzumaki, using chakra to increase his speed. He was within Naruto's guard in less than two seconds, before aiming a brutal punch at Naruto's face. Naruto, for his turn, quickly turned his body and redirected Sauske's punch with his arm. He followed up with a side-kick, but Sasuke managed to evade by keeping his momentum. Using the blond's own move, Sasuke quickly grabbed a couple of shuriken and threw them at Naruto. From such close proximity, the shuriken were unavoidable, piercing his arm and stomach. Naruto flinched in pain for a second, before smiling as smoke surrounded him. Sasuke, instead, pierced a log instead.

Naruto came from his behind, but he was not alone. By his side, five bunshins mirrored his every move. Sasuke quickly threw shuriken at them, dispelling the bunshins. However, since they were too close, Sasuke could not avoid a direct punch to the stomach by the real Naruto. The sound of the impact made everyone in the vicinity wince as Sasuke lost his entire breathing capability for a short period. He had to move quickly as Naruto was not done. Jumping back a few times, he managed to create a distance to breathe again. He had never taken a hit that strong before and the way Naruto moved was a lot more coordinated and precise than back at the academy. Getting a new resolve, the Uchiha charged once more and started a close-range fight with Naruto, neither showing dominance over the other. Their movements were fast…faster than genin-level easily.

The spectators – at least the genin – were surprised or in Kiba's case, speechless. He could barely follow those movements. Sakura simply stopped trying altogether.

"Indeed, Naruto is quite skilled as you said Asuma." The bearded jounin smiled while lighting up a cigarette.

"So is Sasuke, but Naruto normally moves faster. Remember that he has complete mastery of his chakra, but so far he is not using it to fight Sasuke."

Kakashi looked at Asuma from the corner of his eyes and focused on his old sensei's son and indeed Asuma was right. Back to the fight, Sasuke found that, at each passing second, that Naruto was slowly but surely increasing his pace as well as the strength behind the blows. To compensate, Sasuke focused more chakra into his limbs, but he could feel his capacity diminishing, whereas Naruto barely looked fazed. One aspect of the Uchiha's rules of combat is observation. Sasuke had to be observant in order to capture the miniscule details during a fight. That was why he was surprised upon seeing Naruto's facial expression during their fight. Usually, he appeared more carefree as if the entire world couldn't faze him. Now, though, it was the complete opposite. He looked completely and utterly focused on the battle. His eyes locked onto Sasuke's body movement.

Sasuke flinched when Naruto's kick came up too fast for him to evade, forcing Sasuke to block it with his arms. The power behind the strike was too much for his arm to handle. Naruto wasn't deterred and quickly flipped to Sasuke's exposed side, stopping his sword inches from piercing Sasuke's kidney. Even if this was just a spar, this was the first time, since that fateful day, that Sasuke had felt like he was going to die. Surely, had Naruto been an enemy, he would be. It was a clean victory from Naruto, according to Asuma. Naruto had already displayed such tenacity while fighting him, so he was not surprised. The others however could only gawk at the display. Kiba felt so out of place right now and couldn't come with a proper retort.

"Congratulations Sasuke, it seems you managed to awaken it." Both Kakashi and Sasuke were greatly surprised at what Naruto just said. The blond smiled and placed his sword in front of Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke gasped upon seeing that his eyes were now red with a single tome in each eye. One fight with this guy and Sasuke already activated his sharingan. Granted that Sasuke had yet to use any ninjutsu, but from what he had witnessed, Naruto would not be fazed by the techniques he knew. Right now, his Uchiha blood was pumping like crazy and his heart beating faster than ever. He vowed to kill his brother and Naruto will be the one to aid him in reaching Itachi's level.

Author Note

Wow…right?! I have always planned on them having this rivalry so that Naruto had enough experience. Even if limited to just academy-taught skills for the moment, he needs to constantly fight others in order to improve himself. Who better than Sasuke for the role of his rival? As you saw, my plan is to slowly show his skills to the public. He already began to learn wind manipulation from Asuma and it won't take long until he can show a technique or two. Now, it is time for the Wave Mission.

Please review.