Naruto 1. Chapter 1

Hopefully this story will do better then my last. Its gonna be about Naruto's daughter and her genin team. While all the genin will be oc's the jounin instructor is gonna be Neji. This chapter is mainly to introduce the characters. The actual story wont get into full swing until around chap 3.

Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto

* * *

The Rokudaime's Legacy

The night air was cold and dark, the moon and any other source of light that could have reached the hill top, where a solitary figure stood, were covered by clouds. The dark night only made it easier for the Five-year-old to see his old home. Below him in the village of Iwagakure a single fire burned bright, a fire that consumed only one house. The cold night air carried various sounds to him, mostly the cries of many villagers. Some cries bespoke of a great victory; others were laced with despair. He would have cried, in fact he had cried, but now his sadness was begining to fading away. In its place were anger, hatred, and a burning need for revenge that would last for the rest of his life.

"I will return." The boy looked down at Iwagakure for only a moment longer before he turned away and began his long journey to a new life.

* * *

Two years later

Hinata stretched and yawned, walking through the shopping district of a city close to the border of fire country and grass country. She had been sent on a political mission to Kusagakure so that the two shinobi villages could renew the treaty that existed between them. Things had gone much better then expected and she was on her way back a full two days ahead of schedule. It was time for a well-deserved break. Earlier she had checked herself into a reasonably priced hotel and had spent the last hour looking around the shopping district.

Hinata sighed contentedly; she couldn't remember the last time she had taken a day off. Between training with the gentle fist and going on missions this was her first break in a long time. All around her the various shops were closing down for the night. Instead of going back to her hotel Hinata continued to walk slowly down the street. She liked to watch the people more then anything else.

Across the street from where Hinata was walking a baker was starting to pack up for the night. Through the front window she could see the mans back as he packed whatever he had been unable to sell. Having his back to the front of the store it seemed that he didn't notice as a small boy stealthily slipped from the shop with a bulge in his shirt. Hinata looked around and was surprised to see that she was the only one who had noticed as the boy ran down an alley that wasn't to far away.

Sighing, Hinata realized that her nice relaxing evening was about to go down the drain and ran after the boy. It didn't take her long to find him, only a few streets away he was leaning against a dumpster eating a loaf of bread as if it had been the only meal he had in weeks, which it probably was. Hearing her approach the boy sprang to his feet and shoved the last crumbs of bread into his mouth so she couldn'y take it from him. His eyes radiated intelligence and were darting around searching for any means of escape, the alley behind him ended in a wall and the only way out was past Hinata.

She took the opportunity to study him before she acted. The boy's hair was extremely messy and his clothes were ragged, he didn't even have shoes and was walking around barefoot.

"I just want to talk." She held up her hands in what she thought was a submissive gesture.

Even though she had tried her best to speak soothingly the boy still flinched and reached into his shirt to pull out a kunai. The weapon was rusty and obviously hadn't been sharpened in months, the way the boy held it suggested he knew only the basics of its use but still it could prove dangerous.

Slowly Hinata reached into the pack she had with her and pulled out a strip of dried meat, ninja trail food, and offered it to him.

His reaction would have been funny in any other circumstance. He kept looking back and forth between the meat and Hinata, he looked at the meat as if it was the most precious substance he had ever seen and at Hinata as if afraid she would strike at him any second now.

Slowly, the boy edged forward until he was within range to snatch the food from her hands. Jumping back to a safe distance he dropped the weapon in his hand and began to gnaw on the meat.

"What's your name?"

The boy narrowed his eyes but finished chewing and swallowed before he answered. "Alex."

* * *

Hinata stood in front of the Hokage's desk having just finished giving her report of everything that had happened. She looked at the blonde man sitting in front of her and hoped that he would agree to take in Alex. She didn't know what it was about the boy but she couldn't stand the thought of him being on the streets again.

"So you brought him back with you?" Hinata nodded.

"And you say he has the potential to become a shinobi?" Another nod.

"I cant do much, but what I can do for him I will. He has a place waiting for him at the orphanage and if he wants he can enter the academy next year. It is unlikely he will be adopted, most adopting parents prefer younger children, but he will have a roof over his head and a meal in his belly."

Hinata couldn't help but burst out, "Thank you, Lord Hokage. That will be better then having to live on the streets."

"Damn it Hinata! How many do I have to tell you? Just call me Naruto!"

Hinata's face turned from smile to frown in an instant. She hung her head and uttered a barely audible 'sorry'.

* * *

Four years later

Rin was a kunoichi plain and simple. She was the child of ninja, and had been trained as one ever since she was old enough to enter the academy. She was the top student of her year, and was most likely going to be named this year's rookie of the year. But, even fighting to the fullest extent of her abilities she couldn't even touch the man in front of her. This entire fight he had been openly toying with her and she was only getting more angry.

Crouching, Rin leapt forward aiming a punch for the man's face. Before she even came close her target disappeared in a blur of motion that she couldn't even see. Turning her head to the side she saw him appear behind her but it was to late to do anything. The shinobi crouched down behind her and kicked out, sweeping her legs out from underneath her. Rin braced herself for impact with the ground but it never came, instead she felt a hand wrap around her ankle as she was lifted into the air.

Hanging upside down and facing away from her opponent the only thing left she could do was flail around, and flail she did.

"Very funny dad. Now put me down!"

Laughing his ass off Rin's father gently lowered her to the ground. Rin failed to see any humor in the situation but apparently some one else had no problem seeing it. Leaning against the tree at the edge of their training area was Kakashi, he too was laughing. With out missing a beat Rin reached down beside her and picked up a rock, throwing it as hard as she could it struck the silver haired Jounin in the side of the head.

Kakashi had been a constant presence in Rin's life. Apart from being her dad's right hand man he was also Rin's godfather. Rin's mother had once told her that it was Kakashi who had suggested her name.

Finally coming back to his senses Kakashi remembered why he was here.

"Hey, Naruto! You're needed back at the office."

Hearing what Kakashi had said Rin was the first one to react. Shooting up from the ground where she had been sitting she began to shout. "No! You promised to train me today! I'm supposed to graduate in a year and you still haven't helped me with any jutsu!"

Naruto recognized that look, it was the same look his wife gave him whenever he did something wrong. He had seen it a lot. Knowing his daughter the way he did he knew that he was going to have to buy her a gift on the way home if he wanted to talk to her in the next week.

"I know, I'm sorry. But I have a pretty important job. Tell you what, Kakashi will stay and train you for today. He will even teach you a new jutsu!" Before Rin, or Kakashi, could object Naruto disappeared in a swirl of leafs.

Rin, seeing her father disappear, decided to turn to other prey. An evil smile spreading over her face she turned to look at her godfather.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was cursing his former student. _'Great what am I supposed to teach her? If I don't make it good she's going to kill me!'_

* * *

Inuzuka Mika tore into his steak as if it was the last meal he would ever have. To the 11-year-old steak was the best food on earth. Across from Mika sat his father who was eating in a much more docile fashion. The two were eating alone, they were both used to it. Mika's mother was not only a Kunoichi of Konoha she was also the best tracker in the village. Because of this she was often away on missions.

His parents, was a subject that often confused him. He was glad they were together but he never knew why. His parents were almost complete opposites. His dad was a construction worker who found work by building the new sections of the village. He was also quite, reserved, and the most polite man you ever met.

His, mother on the hand, was a typical Inuzuka. She was ill-mannered, ill-tempered, loud, and very opinionated. For some reason the two seemed to be the perfect couple. Though Mika would always wonder why, he would never ask.

Mika's ears twitched as he heard the front door squeak. A sniff of the air told him that it was just his mom, but some one was with her. Another sniff told him exactly who it was.

"Uncle Kiba!"

He sprang up from his chair and raced towards the door. He had every intention of throwing himself onto his uncle but something was blocking his way. Kiba was holding a rather large box.

"Hey Mika! What's up?" His uncle gave him a large and feral looking smile.

Mika was about to give his answer when he noticed something strange. Looking back and forth between his Mom and his Uncle he realized they were giving him a strange look, it was the look that said he had done something to make them proud. Mika had only ever seen the look a couple of times in his life.

"What's up?"

For an answer Kiba bent down and placed the box in front of Mika. Inside was a small black and white puppy.

"Mika, your graduating from the academy in about a year so your mother has decided its finally time for you to learn our clan jutsu. This little guy is going to be your partner."

Mika's eyes went wide as he reached into the box and brought the small puppy to his chest.

"What's his name?"

"That is for you to decide." His mother finally spoke.

Mika looked at his new companion and took a minute to think.

"Kira." He said decisively while the newly named Kira yapped in agreement.

* * *

Naruto leaned back into his chair yawning. When he had decided to become Hokage he had never imagined that there would be so much paper work. Sure Granny Tsunade always complained about it, but she complained about everything. He sighed heavily before returning to all the things that demanded his attention. The north gate needed repairs, he needed to find some volunteers to become Jounin instructors for the upcoming batch of Genin, and the hospital was getting crowded. But most importantly the shipment of ramen noodles was late. Unless something was done soon there would be a shortage of ramen, this would mean riots in the streets. There would be many mobs of angry people demanding their ramen. Naruto shook his head wondering how he was going to avert the coming crisis, when he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in."

He looked up to see an ANBU enter his office. From the white robes and hawk-like mask he knew exactly who it was.

"What is it Neji?"

The Hyuuga in question reached up and removed his mask before bowing.

"Lord Hokage, I have a personal request I would like to make of you."

The blonde haired Hokage managed to look extremely exasperated. "Jeez, Neji! You're worse then your cousin. How many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Naruto. Now what is this request of yours?"

Neji fidgeted a little, he looked as if he really did not want to ask this favor. " I would like to retire from the ANBU for a brief amount of time so that I could take on a team of Genin."

Naruto almost fell out of his chair, and you could almost make out the sound of a rib cracking from the shear force of him trying not to laugh. "I never imagined you as the type to teach anything to anyone, especially a bunch of kids!"

Neji scowled but didn't say anything.

"Don't worry Neji I have the perfect team for you." A sadistic smile began to spread over the Hokage's face.

* * *

Im still not sure who im gonna have as Rin's mom, its not really important to the story but it might come in handy later. If you have any suggestions feel free to say something.

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2: Team 8

Chapter 2: Team 8

A lone figure stood in front of Konoha's memorial stone. Silently he searched through the list for the name he knew would not be there.

_Uchiha Sasuke._

Naruto had done everything in his power to get his old friends name on the list but the elders would not allow it. They said that Sasuke had died away from Konoha as a missing-nin. In the areas of law the Hokage had full authority, but in areas of ceremony such as this the elders had the final word. Naruto knew that Sasuke had turned against Orochimaru, but had been defeated and had his body stolen by him. The elders had said that Naruto, not Sasuke, was the hero because it was him who had defeated Orochimaru in one of the many clashes with Oto. Naruto had once dreamed of those words, but now he hated them. How could he be considered a hero for killing his best friend? Kakashi, and many others, had told him that it was Orochimaru. That he had not killed Sasuke, just his body that was nothing more than a container for the soul of a snake. That still didn't change the fact that it was Sasuke's blood that had spilled all over his hands.

Next, Naruto turned his gaze towards two names that he would never be able to forget. His old teacher and his first love.

_Jiraiya-sensei, Sakura._

Today was the anniversary of their deaths. For Naruto it was a day of sadness, but for many it was a day of happiness. This day marked the end of Akatsuki. On this day many years ago five shinobi had fought for their lives, of them Naruto was the only survivor. Jiraiya, Sakura, and Naruto were enough to defeat Itachi and Akatsuki's leader. But the victory had come with a terrible cost. Naruto still wasn't sure if he thought it had been worth it.

When he had come back to Konoha the only family he had had left were Iruka, Kakashi, and Tsunade. Since then he had gained a wife, and a daughter but he would never forget those who had meant the most to him in his younger years.

* * *

Ino sat at the kitchen table sipping at her coffee. It was 6:00 Am and she was alone. Of course she was alone, she was always alone at this time in the morning. Neither her husband nor her daughter would ever believe her when she said there was a 6:00 Am. Ussually they would both still be snoring blissfully in dreamland. But today Rin was the only one still sleeping.

Today was special, a day that was important to her husband. On this day, every year, Naruto would disappear early in the morning. Ino never knew where he went, though she could guess, and never asked. She knew what day today was and let him remember in peace.

But she didn't mind being alone, it gave her a chance to think, and reflect. For some reason she always came back to that one day years ago that had changed her life. That was back when Tsunade had still been Hokage.

She remembered sitting in front of the Hokage and being told that she was going to get an s-ranked mission. That single mission had plunged her life into hell, or so she had thought at the time. In retrospect, it had led to everything good in her life today. It had made her see Naruto in a completely different way, and had eventually led to Rin.

Speaking of which, Rin would be graduating today. Naruto had reassured her, and told her that their daughter would be safe, but Ino still couldn't help but worry. Rin was just… too much like her father for Ino to be comfortable. At least her instructor was level headed and would be able to watch her and protect her.

* * *

Iruka looked down at the papers on his desk and couldn't help but let a large grin spread across his face. Only a few more hours, a few more hours and he would be rid of the Uzumaki's forever.

He had thought Naruto was bad, but at least he had been stupid. Rin, on the other hand was not only smart, she also had her father to giver her ideas. Just a few more hours and he would be rid of the devil forever.

At least he would get his revenge. It wasn't hard to guess that Rin would hate the team she was assigned; she already tried her best to ignore her future teammates.

Iruka stood up from his desk and cleared his throat, capturing the attention of the room full of students.

"All right, listen up! Congratulations on passing, I am proud to call you all my students. The first order of business is to announce the rookie of the year. As you have all probably guessed, Rin has earned that title this year. Congratulations! Now that you are all officially ninja of Konoha you will be split into three man teams and be assigned a jounin instructor. Listen up for you teams. After getting your teams you will have an hour for lunch and then be back here to meet you new instructor. Team one…"

Every year that Iruka watched his students leave he always thought of when it all started. First when the third Hokage had offered him the teaching job, then when the fifth had offered to make it permanent. Iruka had never regretted his decision. He loved these kids, and he loved to watch them grow up and become strong shinobi of Konoha. He wasnt just teaching, he was raising the new generation, Konoha's single most important asset.

Reading down the list Iruka realized it was finally time to announce team 8 and an evil grin began to spread across his face.

"Team 8. Alex, Inuzuka Mika, And Uzumaki Rin."

* * *

Rin was pissed. What had she done to deserve this? She was a top student; she was even the rookie of the year. And in return for all her hard work she was stuck with a loner who didn't even have a family name and dog boy.

The three were walking down a street from the academy, on their way to get something for lunch. Rin realized that she had never really taken a good look at her new teammates so she took this chance to do just that.

Mika looked a lot like his uncle. He was average height and had the trademark wolf like characteristics of his clan, shaggy black hair and almost fang like teeth. On his face were two red marks that were so common among Inuzuka clan members. He was well muscled and it was obvious that most of his techniques were based in taijutsu. Resting on his head was a black puppy that seemed to be sleeping.

Alex was taller then both Rin and Mika, but only by about half an inch. He had light brown hair and his face was really unremarkable. There wasn't much else to say about him, he was the kind of guy that usually went unnoticed.

Rin sighed; perhaps it was time that some one said something.

"All right, were going to be working together for a while, so we should decide on a leader! I vote me!" She only gave them a few seconds to respond. "All right its decided Ill be the leader! Ok my first decision…"

"No." Alex said fiercely.

"What?" Rin glared at Alex angrily. "And do you think you would make a better leader? You barely passed the academy and I am the rookie of the year!"

A look of anger appeared in Alex's eyes, something that no one in Konoha had seen before.

"And do you really think ranks and titles have to do with anything? Does being the rookie of the year mean that people will automatically follow you? Does it mean that your enemies will just bow to you and be defeated with out a fight? No, so why should we? Ranks and titles have nothing to do with real power. The reason you should not be our leader is because we already have one. Our jounin sensei." Before any one could react Alex turned and walked away.

Rin was still shocked; it had been along time since any one had spoken to her like that.

"Whats up with your friend?" She had decided that if she wasn't able to yell at Alex she would at least get some answers from Mika.

"Just because I sat next to him makes him my friend? I guess I know a couple things about the guy. First is he doesn't like to take orders."

"Well that's obvious. Whatever, lets just go and get some lunch. Lets go get some Ichiraku!" Rin started to look excited at the prospect of ramen. Mika, on the other hand, looked less then thrilled.

"You know I really don't like ramen…" Rin sent him a death glare "But I could learn to like it."

* * *

Rin entered the shop and immediately sat in the closest available seat. With out even looking around she greeted the person behind the counter and ordered. "Morning Ayame! I will get one medium miso ramen!"

Although she didn't eat as much as her father she had inherited his love of this amazing culinary creation.

"You followed me here?"

Rin turned to see the person sitting next to her was none other then Alex. Surprised she watched as he calmly ate a bowl of ramen.

"No, we just came to get something to eat." Mika said as he entered and took the available seat on the other side of Alex.

"I will have a small pork, and a bowl of milk for Kira please."

Rin still wasn't sure of what she should say. Obviously she had misjudged the guy. Her first impression of him had been _jackass_. But if he liked ramen he couldn't be all that bad. Nobody who likes ramen could be completely evil.

"Look, Alex, we kinda got off on the wrong foot. We are probably going to be working together for a long time so let's start over."

The only sound that could be heard from Alex was a grunt, so she took that as an affirmative.

"All right! Then we should all get to know each other. Ok lets see, where to start? I know, what type of Jutsu do you guys use?"

Mika was the first to answer. "I use my clan style, its mainly taijutsu based."

"I am a ninjutsu specialist." Alex answered in a bored voice.

For the rest of lunch the three asked and answered questions about each other, learning about their new teammates. Mika and Rin were both very vocal but Alex never volunteered information, he only spoke when he had too.

* * *

Neji slowly walked towards the benches where his new students sat silently waiting for him. He had spent much time trying to find out as much as possible about his soon to be charges. Rin was not only the daughter of the Hokage but she was also a member of the Yamanaka clan. Though she was able to use the Yamanaka clan jutsu her own fighting style was modeled after her fathers. Her speed and taijutsu were impressive for her age and, like her father, she used the shadow clone jutsu heavily.

Alex was an orphan. Neji's cousin, Hinata, had recognized his talent and had brought him back to Konoha to become a shinobi. Though his taijutsu skills were abysmal, he excelled at ninjutsu and genjutsu.

Mika used the same fighting style as the rest of his clansmen but he seemed to have a natural talent for stealth.

Alone, the three had many weaknesses but as a team the three complemented each other very well.

Finally, Neji reached the benches where the three were sitting.

"My name is Hyuuga Neji. I will be your jounin instructor. Now that you know who I am its time for you to introduce yourseves. Tell us your name and perhaps a little bit about your self. Lets start with you."

Neji pointed and all attention turned to Mika. "My name is Inuzuka Mika." Mika took the little dog off of his head and held him up for the others to see. " And this is Kira, he is my partner and we will be fighting together."

Neji nodded and turned his attention to Rin. "How about you next?"

"I am Uzumaki Rin! As you all know I am the daughter of the Hokage and I am sick of being reminded of it. So, I'm warning you all now, my goal is to become a greater ninja then my father! So either help me or get out of my way!"

Neji sighed, this sounded oddly familiar. " So you want to be Hokage eh?"

Rin shook her head. "Hell no! I've seen how much paper work my dad has to do. There's no way I'm going to waste my life sitting in an office doing paper work, I would rather be out doing missions!"

Neji grinned, so it was true. Rin was smarter then her father.

"Last but not least."

Alex nodded. "My name is Alex. Theres not much else to tell."

So far, this team looked like it would go the distance and would do great things. The only problem would be getting them to work together.

"Good, that's all we will do for today. Get a good night sleep tonight and meet at training ground ten tomorrow at 8:00 am. Don't stay up late tonight; you're going to need as much rest as you can get for tomorrows test."

A look of confusion spread across Rin's face. "We already passed the academy test!"

Neji just grinned. "You passed the test to graduate from the academy. Now you must pass the test to become genin."

* * *

Thanks for reading, next chapter will be better. At least i hope it will be.


	3. Chapter 3: The test

To the people who have reviewed, thanks! I try to keep all of your reviews in mind while I write.

Before I get onto the story I want to clear something up. Rin is not a genius. Her intelligence is going to be slightly above average with many stupid moments thrown in. Yes, she is smarter then Naruto, but it doesn't take a genius to be smarter then him. Thanks for reading.

* * *

Chapter 3: The test

Rin basked in the glory of the forest around her. It was an early summer's day and, by the looks of it, it was going to be very sunny.

Lifting an apple to her mouth Rin took one last bite before tossing the core into the forest around her. It was a quarter after seven and Rin was walking on the path towards training area ten. She had gotten up especially early so she could scout out the area where she would have to take the test with her team. The fact that she had gotten up any earlier then she absolutely had to just went to show how much she wanted to pass this test.

Along with the vow to become stronger then her father, Rin had made another resolution. She had decided that she and her new teammates were going to become the best of friends. It never crossed her mind that they might not agree with this idea. She had seen and heard of many teams that were good friends and that had stayed together even when they didn't have to. She had also heard that they were a lot stronger because of it. Of course the first step, and probably the hardest, would be to break Alex. He was just too quiet, but she would probably have fun fixing that little problem.

Stepping out of the forest Rin entered the clearing known as training area ten and looked around. The clearing was large and empty with forest around three sides of it and a river flowing through it on the side opposite from her. But there was also some one else here.

Sitting down and leaning against a tree that was beside the river Alex was reading a scroll. Rin grinned evilly; it was time to answer the age-old question. What would happen when an unstoppable force met an unmovable object? Which would win? Her ability to be annoying or his ability to ignore her?

* * *

Mika laughed as he watched Kira running around exploring the forest that they were walking through. Kira seemed to have lots of energy today, and they were going to need all of it if this test was anywhere near as hard as his uncle was telling him it was going to be. After being dismissed yesterday Mika had gone straight to his uncle to learn as much as possible about Neji and what the test would likely be about.

Mika's ears twitched as he heard yelling from the training area ten. Wondering what was going on Mika continued forwards.

"No! I will not use that jutsu!"

"Come on you might be able to beat Neji-sensei with it."

Mika walked into the clearing to see his teammates arguing. He sat down and leaned against a tree, it was time to enjoy the show.

"I am not going to use the harem jutsu!"

"But I want to see if it will work on Neji-sensei! And my dad told me he used it to defeat some very powerful shinobi!"

"No! If you like it so much then you use it!"

"But if I used it, it would be degrading!"

"And if I used it you would just hit me and call me a pervert!"

"That's a small price to pay to be able to beat some of the strongest ninja in our village!"

Alex and Rin glared at each other, neither one willing to back down.

Mentally Alex berated himself. He had spent years training himself and erecting mental barriers so that he would be able to control his emotions. And in less then half an hour this annoying girl had broken them all down. Deciding enough was enough Alex went to sit by the river, effectively ending the argument and leaving Rin to fume.

But Rin didn't fume; in fact she was proud of herself. Back at the academy Alex had been the loner who never spoke. She was surprised he had broken so easily.

"Well, I see your getting along well." The three genin turned to see their new sensei enter the training area, and none of them could tell if he was being sarcastic.

"Maybe it is a good thing that you three won't be staying a team for long."

Alex remained impassive, trying to make up for his earlier out burst, while Rin and Alex were stunned. Rin, the self proclaimed leader of team 8 was the first to speak. "But I thought we were supposed be a team for years to come. And were supposed to pass or fail as a team, how are we supposed to do that if we won't be staying together?"

"Let me explain the test to you." He moved to an area where they could all see him and pulled out a single bell.

"The rule about passing as a team was revised a while back. We found that the weaker ninja were being carried by their stronger teammates. So now we split you into teams to take the test and then reorganize them later. Only one of you will be becoming a genin today." Neji held up the single bell for them to see.

"The object of the test is to get this bell. Who ever has this bell at the end of three hours passes the test."

* * *

Neji stood in the middle of training area ten waiting for his students to make a move. Despite what he said at the beginning of the test the three had decided the only way for one of them to pass was for all them to work together. Neji grinned, at first it had looked likely that the three would pass his test but as time went on it was becoming less likely. Neji could clearly see them a ways off in the forest. Though he couldn't hear them it wasn't hard to tell that it was Rin and Alex who were arguing over the plan. An hour had passed and they were still there arguing.

Finally movement. The three genin started to move out. Alex started to circle around to get behind Neji. Mika and Kira headed off to the side and Rin was coming directly at him.

'_Which one is going to strike first?' _Neji wondered to himself.

But the thing Neji was most curious about was whether they settled on Rin's plan or Alex's. Depending on which one had come up with the plan the team's tactics could vary greatly.

"Suiton: water bullet!"

Using byakugan Neji could see Alex behind him spitting several water bullets at him and easily dodged. Next he was swarmed be twenty of Rin's shadow clones. The clones were easy enough to defeat but they just kept coming. Neji couldn't help but wonder what good this was doing; they were gaining no advantage by having Rin send in all these clones. Then it hit him.

'_Where's Alex?'_ Using byakugan Neji studied the surrounding environment while defending himself from the shadow clones. He could see the real Rin and Mika at different positions in the trees but no Alex.

'_Shit, he's below!'_

Before he could do anything Alex had grabbed his ankles and was dragging him into the earth with the inner decapitation jutsu. Neji sent a burst of chakra into the ground, effectively dislodging Alex. Seeing that Alex had failed Rin continued her assault with her shadow clones. Now waist deep into the earth Neji was forced to bend and twist every which way to defend himself and to attack the clones. Alex reappeared out of the earth to launch more water bullets at him.

Still defending himself from the combined assault of Rin and Alex Neji noticed that Mika and Kira had started to move towards them.

"Gatsuuga!"

Rin and Alex backed off from their attacks so they would not get in the way of Mika and Kira. Neji turned too meet this new attack. Swirling chakra around his hands to counter the rotation of the oncoming attack Neji caught Mika and Alex in each hand. Too late he realized this was exactly what they wanted. While catching Mika and Kira and while waist deep in the earth he was completely defenseless. Both Rin and Alex were too far away to attack with taijutsu so they had to have planned to use a long-range jutsu. Naturally he expected it to come from Alex but instead he saw Rin was the one making seals.

Neji's eyes widened, how could he forget about that jutsu? He felt Rin's presence enter his mind and started fighting for control. Naturally Rin had more experience fighting in this way and won. To the outside world it appeared as if Neji's next actions were his own but Rin was actually controlling him. He grinned and reached down to untie the bell that hung at his belt. He then threw it to the shadow clone that Rin had left to watch over her unconscious body before performing the seal to release the mind transfer jutsu. When the real Rin woke up she received the bell from her shadow clone and held it up for Neji to see.

"Ha! I win!"

Calmly Neji slammed his palm into the ground, crumbling the earth around him, effectively freeing himself from Alex's trap. Neji stepped out of the hole before he looked at Rin.

"That's right Rin you pass." He then looked at Alex and Mika "but you two fail"

"What?" Rin shouted. "But we all worked together, we all deserve to pass!"

Neji shook his head. "Didn't you listen to what I told you at the start of the test? But because you all did work together I will make you a deal. Once you have a bell you pass, and you can now give it to some one else. This means that you pass and now you have to choose who is going to pass with you."

Rin had to take a minute to think. She had really believed that all three of them would be able to pass, but now she had to choose between Mika and Alex. It took her a while but she finally came to a decision. She tossed the bell to Alex.

There were several reasons, in Rin's mind, to pick Alex. It had been his plan, He had been more help in the test, and he could probably teach her some ninjutsu.

Neji shook his head; he really did not want to do this. He had thought these three would be able to pass.

"You all-" "Wait!"

Before Neji could announce that they had all failed Alex interrupted him.

"You said that once we had the bell we passed and then we could pass it on. You didn't say only Rin could pass it on or that it could only be passed once." Alex tossed the bell to Mika who caught it. "So we all pass."

Neji shook his head, he should have been more careful in his wording. The idea had been to make Rin argue for her teammates or say that the others should pass instead of her. Instead Alex had found a loophole so that all three could pass within the rules that Neji had set out.

Neji had to make a decision. He could pass them for acting like a team and for finding the loophole that let them all pass. Or he could fail them for not passing the last part of the test to see if they would stick up for each other. Rin, Alex, and Mika all watched him nervously.

"You all… pass. But don't get excited you all barely passed. Mika, you hardly did anything. You sat back and let your teammates do all the your work for you, only attacking at the last moment. Rin, when Alex was the one to come up with the plan you continued to argue with it even though it was good. You have to learn that others can come up with good plans too. And Alex, you didn't trust your teammates. Your plan was filled with safety nets in case one of your teammates failed to do their part. I want you all to reflect on these weaknesses; tomorrow in training we will try to get rid of them all."

* * *

Team 8 and Neji were walking down the streets of Konoha. It was later in the afternoon and they were now heading into the village where they would each go there own way for the rest of the day.

"Hey Mika!"

They all turned to see Kiba running up to them with Akamaru beside him.

"So Mika, did you pass?"

"Hey Uncle Kiba! Yeah we passed. Neji-sensei never even saw it coming."  
"Congratulations! To you and your team."

Neji rolled his eyes while Kiba took a minute to look at his nephew's new team.

"Hey Alex! You're on Mika's Team? I wish you luck!"

Rin laughed and Alex smirked at Kiba's words while Mika looked a little confused.

"Uncle Kiba, you know Alex?"

"Of course I know him. I'm engaged to his sister."

This time it was Rin's turn to look confused. "I thought Alex had no family."

Mika, on the other hand, was shocked. "That makes no sense! How can he possibly be Hinata's brother when he isn't a Hyuuga?"

To everyone's surprise it was Neji who answered. "You don't need to be related by blood to be family."

Kiba shook his head. "Whatever. Come on Mika your mom wants to celebrate. Oh and Alex, Hinata is looking for you."

After agreeing to meet at eight the next morning they all took off in different directions.

* * *

Sitting in Ichiraku's Hinata and Alex sat side-by-side eating bowls of ramen.

"You know Alex? I'm proud of you. Knowing Neji I thought he was going to make that test impossible. You will learn a lot from him."

When Hinata had brought Alex back to Konoha she had tried to adopt him but her family had refused. So instead she had begun to spend as much time as possible with him. Whenever she could she would take him out to eat and make sure that he was doing well. They had even trained together a couple of times, but because their styles were so different they had decided that that was a bad idea.

Over the 4 years that Alex had been in Konoha that two had become very close. They had even begun referring to each other as brother and sister.

Hinata looked at her surrogate little brother and grinned. "So what do you think of your teammates?"

Alex's answer was short and to the point. "Idiots."

Hinata had expected this answer. There weren't many people that Alex didn't call an idiot. "They can't be all bad, come on tell me what you think of them."

"Mika is loud, stupid and probably pretty head strong. Though he seems like he will be reliable on missions. Rin is annoying and very full of herself."

Hinata's grin grew larger. He must really like his teammates, other wise his list of character flaws would have been much larger. After hearing who his teammates were going to be she had been worried.

"They may not seem like it but your teammates are very capable. Their both pretty good at taijutsu, which is your weakest area."

Alex nodded and they both continued to eat. After they had finished their meals Hinata began to walk him towards his small apartment.

"You know, I was thinking of joining the ANBU for a little while."

Of all the things Alex ever expected to hear from Hinata this was not one of them. "Why?"

"Working alongside Konoha's best is a great way to improve myself. Kiba was in the ANBU for a couple of years and even Neji was a captain in the ANBU before he took on your team. The only problem is getting the Hyuuga elders to agree."

Alex shrugged. "Get your father to support you."

Hinata chuckled. "My father is going to be my biggest opposition."

"He doesn't need to agree with you only support you. You are his heir, if you look weak in front of the elders then so does he. He has to support you or he weakens his own position."

Hinata looked at the boy beside her and shook her head in amazement. "Maybe you should have been the one born into a clan, you probably would have done pretty good as an hair. You're a lot better at politics then I am."

To any one else it would have been impossible to see, but Hinata noticed the sad look that briefly appeared in his eyes. "I guess we will never know."

* * *

Sorry for taking so long to update but I have been really busy. I will update faster this time. Next chapter will be pretty slow to, mostly training and their first mission. But at the end of next chapter expect some very surprising revelations. Thanks for reading. 


	4. Chapter 4: Missions and training

Chapter 4:Missions and Training

Naruto was extremely grumpy as he walked towards his office. He had been in the middle of an extremely good dream (ramen) when a team of ANBU had appeared to pull him out of bed. Apparently there was something so important that it had required his attention right away, though no one seemed to be able to tell him exactly what was so important.

As Naruto entered his office the first thing he saw was a man sitting in a chair in front of his desk. The man wore civilian clothes and looked the worse for wear. His clothes were torn and cuts and bruises could be seen on his face and arms. He looked like he hadn't had sleep or food in days. It only took a minute for Naruto to realize who this man was; he was one of the spies that he had sent to Oto.

Naruto sat behind his desk and went into instant Hokage mode as he realized just how important this was. "Report!"

The spy tiredly began to speak. "Bad news sir. Its Akatsuki, there back."

Naruto quickly stood up from his seat and slammed his hands on his desk. "What do you mean their back? That's not possible! There all dead, I killed over half of them myself!"

The spy shook his head. "I don't know how its possible sir. But it seems that two of them are still alive. But it gets worse. The new Otokage is one of the members of Akatsuki."

Naruto sat back in his seat, a look of worry plain on his face. "Which two?" He said more calmly.

"One of them is Kisame, I don't know who the other one is. Sir I saw him myself, Kisame is the new Otokage. But it gets worse. From what I heard there are two members left from the orginal Akatsuki, and they are recruting more."

* * *

Naruto walked through the forest towards the one destination where he knew that he would not be disturbed. He needed time to think, the news that he had just received was not just bad it was horrific. It meant so many bad things for him, for his family, and for his village.

As Naruto stepped into the clearing that held the memorial stone he realized that he was not alone. Some one was standing in front of the stone, and appeared to be reading the names that were on it. After only a brief moment Naruto realized who it was, it was Alex, his daughter's teammate. When Naruto stepped out of the forest Alex turned to see who it was. His eyes widened as he realized he was in front of the Hokage and bowed.

"Lord Hokage. I'm sorry if I'm in your way I will leave."

"No, no don't mind me. Please continue."

Naruto strode forward and stood beside Alex. They were silent as they stood beside each other, each deep in their own reflections as they stared at the memorial stone.

Finally Naruto broke the silence. "These people are real heroes. They gave up their lives to save the people most precious to them; when I was your age I once said that I would get my name carved into this stone with out even knowing what it was."

Naruto looked down at the boy beside him and couldn't help thinking that the new generation was already beginning to replace the old.

"Why? What makes these precious people worth dieing for? Why give up on all your dreams for them?"

Naruto looked at Alex with amazement. Not only the words shocked him but also the coldness with which they were said. "For me my dream is to be able to protect my precious people. The people that are important to you are the ones that make your life worth living. They fill our days with laughter, tears, joy and pain. With out them life is not only boring its meaningless. But I guess every one must decide for themselves why the people who are important to them are important."

Naruto knew that being an orphan was not always easy. When Alex had come to this village he had said he didn't remember where he came from or why he was alone. Looking at Alex now Naruto realized that he probably remembered it all, but for some reason was keeping it to himself.

Alex turned towards Naruto and bowed. "I have to meet my team soon, I should get going."

Naruto turned and watched as Alex disappeared into the forest.

"Hey Naruto! Who was that kid?"

Naruto didn't need to turn around to know who was talking. He would recognize Kakashi's voice anywhere. "That was Alex, he's one of Rin's teammates."

Naruto turned back to stare at the memorial stone, deep in thought. For Kakashi, it was easy to see that his former student was troubled. But who wouldn't be troubled after learning that Akatsuki was back and had a whole village at their disposal.

"Naruto, you're needed back at the office. The genin teams are going to start showing up for their first missions soon." Naruto nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kakashi turned to look at the memorial stone that had captivated the Hokage. As he did his thoughts turned to the boy that had left only a few minutes before. There was something about Alex that seemed familiar to him. Something from along time ago, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He would have to find out what it was.

* * *

Naruto sat at his desk diligently filling out more of that endless paper work. Now any one might ask why he was working so hard, but the answer is really simple. Only an hour before his wife had come to bring him some breakfast since he had not had the chance to eat before he had left that morning. What she had walked in on was Naruto right in the middle of a nap. When Ino saw this she instantly became… scary. And when Ino becomes scary she… well lets just say there is a reason that the most powerful man in Konoha is afraid of the blonde woman who happens to be half his size. That little 'visit' had been more then enough to motivate him. 

Hearing a knock at the door to his office Naruto looked up, glad for the break from his paper work, and called for them to enter. What he saw next made it extremely hard to hide the laughter that was threatening to spill out.

Neji was the fist to enter. Wearing the traditional white robes of the Hyuuga clan and looking the same as he always did.

The next to enter was Rin. To say that she looked Irate would be an understatement. She looked extremely pissed. Why she was pissed was immediately obvious, every patch of skin that was visible was covered in hundreds of red scratches.

After Rin Mika came walking in. He looked more scared then anything else. Like Rin every patch of visible skin was covered in scratches. A lump could be seen in his shirt that was trembling; obviously Kira was trying to hide from something.

The last person to enter was Alex. He looked completely fine, unharmed and unmarked. With a passive look on his face he scratched the big tabby cat that was resting in his arms. The cat was rubbing its head against Alex's chest and purring softly.

The silence didn't last long as Rin decided to politely inform the Hokage as to her displeasure at their previous employment. "HEY! Old man! What the hell kind of a mission was that!?" Okay, so maybe she wasn't so polite.

At this point Naruto could no longer hold his laughter in and let it out. He remembered from his days as a genin he had had to chase and capture a cat that was extremely evil and very devious. The cat that now rested in Alex's arms was a descendant of the one he had had to capture.

As the Hokage continued to laugh some one else entered the room. A very err… large woman squealed and grabbed the cat from Alex's arms. She instantly began hugging it very tightly and saying how 'mommy' would never let her 'precious baby' out of her sight again. With the cat in her arms she quickly left the room, not even noticing the several ninja that had been present.

Still chuckling the Hokage addressed the genin in front of him. "So your first mission was a success, congratulations. Now how about a second mission?" Naruto began to shuffle through the D-ranked mission scrolls. "We have a few here that would be good-"

He was interrupted by a loud noise in the hall. There was a crash followed by a squeal, "No baby no! Don't run away from mommy!"

Naruto began to open his mouth when he was interrupted again. "If you tell us we have to catch that cat again I'm going to tell mom I saw you reading a little orange book!"

Naruto's eyes widened in fear. He knew that she wasn't bluffing, his daughter was ruthless. "Uh… why don't you guys have the rest of the day off from missions? But this doesn't mean you get to slack, I expect you all to work hard in your training."

* * *

Team 8 was currently in the training ground where Neji had tested them the other day. The three genin were each sitting in various positions in the clearing and looking at Neji who was about explain their training exercises. 

"Yesterday during the test I was able to examine your strengths and weaknesses. While we train together we will work on both of these." He turned to look at Rin. "Your taijutsu and ninjutsu are both above average, but they don't work well together. It's true you know several useful jutsu but the only one that really goes with your fighting style is the shadow clone jutsu. You will have to work to learn and develop jutsu that work well with your style." Rin was not happy at hearing this and looked like she really wanted to argue, but she kept quiet.

Next he turned to look at Mika. "You are good at taijutsu and your families fighting style but you also seem to have talent for stealth. If you trained in stealth you could become a very skilled spy or hunter-nin. As for your fighting style, I would say that you need to learn to counter and fight against long range type jutsu." A large grin plastered itself on Mika's face, he was glad to have gotten off so lightly.

Neji turned to look at his last student who remained as passive as ever. "Alex, your strengths and weaknesses are a lot more obvious then the others. You are very skilled with ninjutsu and long range combat, this means that you are lacking in taijutsu."

Now done with his individual analysis of there abilities Neji began to explain the training exercises that they would be doing. "This is how our training is going to go. Two of you will spar against each other with various rules. The other will work with me to improve upon a certain area of your skills. Mika, you will work with me first while Alex and Rin spar. The match will be taijutsu only, transformation and clones of any type are the only jutsu aloud." Rin cheered knowing that the rules gave her a clear advantage.

Mika and Neji went over to the other side of the clearing while Rin and Alex took up positions facing each other. Rin was grinning like a maniac while Alex was scowling. Alex got into a ready position, obviously content to let Rin make the first move.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Rin made a seal and several clones appeared beside her. They all charged forward. The first clone sent a punch towards Alex's face, he managed to block it and the kick to the side from another clone but that was all he was able to do. Another clone appeared behind him, planting its foot into his back and sending him into the air. In a rapid succession several more clones appeared below him to kick him further into the air. The real Rin appeared above him. "Uzumaki Rendan!" She shouted before axe-kicking him into the ground. Landing lightly on the ground she put her foot at Alex's throat. "Neji-sensei, I won!"

Neji was interrupted from the explanation of the exercise he wanted Mika to do and turned to look at the result of the spar. "Let him up Rin. Ok, you guys are going to have a rematch. This time no rules." Neji was about to turn back to his explanation when he thought of something. "No potentially lethal jutsu!"

Once again Rin and Alex took positions facing each other. The grin on Rin's face had grown. Obviously wanting to finish this fight the way she had the last, Rin created several clones and began to charge. But Alex was ahead of her; he was already finishing a set of hand seals.

"Mud bullet!" Shooting several bullets made of mud from his mouth Alex hit each clone dead center. When all the clones were gone Alex shot another bullet at Rin and then started another set of seals. Rin was knocked off her feet from the force of the bullet, but shot up almost as soon as she hit the ground. She had only taken a few steps before she had begun to slow; the mud that was sticking to her was thickening. Before she could think of anything to do, she was completely immobilized. She was completely encased in a shell of hard earth. With a large grin on his face and a mocking voice Alex called out. "Neji-sensei, I won!"

Neji threw his hands in the air and turned to face Alex. "That's it, Alex you come over here and work with me. Rin and Mika, you will have a taijutsu spar."

* * *

Kakashi stood on a branch looking down at the training grounds of team 8. Every visible piece of his face had shock written all over it. He now knew who Alex was. Along time ago he had faced him on the battlefield of the Konoha-Iwa war. Well, maybe not him but an older version of him. Many things went through Kakashi's head at lightning speeds. The possibility that he was a spy was discarded immediately. Iwa would never send a child on this kind of mission, they were too proud. Then what was the child of a very powerful clan from Iwa be doing here?

* * *

Alex walked through the forest on his way back to the village. In his mind he was going over the training he had done with his team, discarding it as a waste of time he quickly turned his thoughts towards the new jutsu that he was trying to master. He would have to spend several hours training tonight to make up for the wasted day. 

"Alex wait up!" He turned to see his teammate racing after him. "What do you want Rin?"

She quickly caught up to him, and he realized this was one of those rare times when she wasn't grinning like an idiot. "Lets train together!"

Of all the things he had expected this was not one of them, and he was learning fast to expect almost anything from his new teammate. "Why?"

"You heard Neji-sensei, I need to work on ninjutsu and you need to work on taijutsu. I'll help you with taijutsu if you help me with ninjutsu."

Alex was hesitant. Trying to teach this girl any type of ninjutsu would be very tedious and hard work. But on the other hand, some one once told him that you didn't truly know something until you had taught it to an idiot. And he did need some help with developing an effective counter for close range combat.

"Fine." Alex found that he immediately regretted his answer as she jumped into the air and cheered.


	5. Chapter 5: Day off

Chapter 5

Day off

Naruto leaned back in his chair and looked down at his now empty desk. For the blonde Hokage it had been a long and tiring day of work. He had gotten a lot done, but still more had been left undone. A dark cloud was coming ever closer towards Konoha and Naruto just didn't know if he could stop it. There were just too many problems that required his attention. Kumogakure was becoming more militarily active, mostly within its own borders. It could mean nothing or it could mean that Kumo was preparing for war. But with who was the real problem.

And if that wasn't enough Iwagakure was becoming more and more aggressive with its neighbors. There were even rumors flying around that Iwa had formed an alliance with Otogakure. Which led back to the biggest problem of all, Akatsuki. They were back and they had the entire village of Oto at their backs. Konoha had played a major role in the downfall of the original Akatsuki organization, which meant they would likely want revenge. Who knew what other resources they had to call upon. Maybe, right now they were doing everything in their power to sabotage Konoha. Maybe, they had even gone as far as to orchestrate the ramen shortage that had been plaguing Konoha since that morning. No, not even Akatsuki could be that evil. Could they?

Naruto was brought out of his musings by a knock on the door. He gave an exhausted sigh, the work never ended for a Hokage. "Come in."

The door opened to reveal his old teacher. "What is it Kakashi? I was just about to go home so please make it quick."

Kakashi closed the door behind him and crossed the room to sit in the chair in front of Naruto's desk. He took a long look at Naruto, as if deciding how best to start, before he began. "Its about Alex."

"Alex? My daughters team mate?" Naruto frowned as Kakashi nodded. "Well, what about him?"

"I think I know where he's from. I mean before he came to Konoha." The frown on Naruto's face disappeared and he became a lot more interested in what his former teacher had to say. "When I first saw him I thought he looked familiar but I dismissed it as a coincidence. But then the other day I saw him fight, and it struck me that I had fought him before. Or at least some one who resembles him in both looks and technique. I fought him during the Konoha-Iwa war."

Naruto leaned forward and the frown returned to his face. "Are you saying that Alex is a spy from Iwa?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No, I have been thinking about this a lot. Allow me to explain." Naruto nodded signaling him to continue. "The other day I saw Alex use a Mud jutsu. As you know Mud is an elemental fusion between earth and water. Normally it takes a long time just to master two elements, so an elemental fusion should be well beyond the level of any genin especially one who only barely passed the academy. This means one of two things. One, he has been hiding his full power. Even if that were true I still find it hard to believe some one his age could have come that far in ninjutsu with no one noticing. Or, it is his bloodline limit to be able to use mud jutsu. The Naba clan of Iwa is well known as a clan of mud users. As I said, during the war I fought a member of the Naba clan. The resemblance between that man and Alex is very clear."

They both sat here in silence, thinking over what Kakashi just said. Naruto let out another tired sigh. "And why is it that you don't think he is a spy?"

Kakashi took a minute to think over the question, but when he spoke he did so with absolute conviction. "Although it is clear in my mind, we cannot be absolutely certain that he is from Iwa. Even if he is, Iwa is too proud to send a child as a spy. And if they did they would not send a member of one of their most prominent clans, even a branch member would be an insult to the clan."

"So then why is he here?"

"That is the part I can't figure out."

* * *

_A terrible scream tore through the air. A small boy stumbled out of bed looking around wildly. All around him he could hear screams of fear and shouts of anger, but all he could see was the room around him, his room where it was supposed to be safe. The sound of running feat brought his attention to the door. Awkwardly he fell into the only fighting stance he knew. He was still only five years old and if it came to a fight he had no chance of winning, but his father had taught him never to run and never to show fear. The door burst open to reveal the boy's mother. The boy had never seen his prim and proper mother look so terrible. She still wore her nightdress, pieces of her hair were sticking out in every direction and tears ran freely down her face. With a sob she ran to the boy and clutched him to her chest. She picked him up and began to run. With his face pushed into her shoulder he couldn't see but he knew the house well enough to know where they were going. They were heading towards the servants entrance at the back of the house. His mother burst through another door before she put him down. Looking around he saw that he was in the back ally behind the house. His mother grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and turned him to face her._

_"Listen to me! You have to run! You have to leave Iwa! Leave earth country and never come back! Be safe, and always remember that your father and I love you."_

_The boy didn't argue. He never argued. He always did what he was told so that he could be the perfect son, the perfect heir. He ran as fast as he could, and he didn't look back until he was on a hill just outside of the village known as Iwagakure._

* * *

Alex suddenly woke from sleep and sat up in his bed as fast as he could gasping for air. The sheets around him were soaked in sweat. He sat there for a long time breathing heavily. It was funny that your own mind always knew best how to torture you. Finally, Alex was able to push his memories to the back of his mind. He took a long look around the room that he was in, so much different from the one in his dream. It was small and barely fit his bed and dresser. The rest of his apartment was the same, small and cramped. But that didn't matter, a shinobi adapted to his environment not the other way around. 

He got out of bed and knelt on the floor. Reaching under his bed he pried up a loose floorboard and pulled a scroll from underneath it. He sat there for a long time just looking at the scroll. The scroll contained his mission, the reason that he had been sent to Konoha. He understood what he had to do but he still didn't understand why. But that didn't matter. He would do what he was sent here to do. He would do it with out question, and he would keep doing what they asked as long as they continued to promise him what he wanted most in this world, revenge.

After putting the scroll back Alex got to his feet and turned to look out the window. As he turned something caught his eye. Sitting on top of his dresser was his forehead protector. The leaf symbol shone from the moonlight that was coming through the window.

_"For me, my dream is to be able to protect my precious people. The people that are important to you are the ones that make your life worth living. They fill our days with laughter, tears, joy and pain. With out them life is not only boring its meaningless. But I guess every one must decide for themselves why the people who are important to them are important."_

With an angry shout Alex grabbed his forehead protector from the dresser and threw it at the wall behind him.

* * *

Rin gave a lazy yawn as she looked out her window at Konoha. It was still early, with the sun just barely showing above the rooftops. Today was team 8's day off. Naturally she had the whole day planned out. There were just a few things she still needed to work out. First was to find the rest of her team and then bully them into doing what she wanted. That was going to be the easy part. 

With another yawn she turned and walked out her room and down the stairs. She wouldn't want to be late for the show after all. Walking into the living room she plopped herself into a chair in the corner, the perfect view for her favorite show. The living room had three doors along various walls. The door she had walked through led to the guestrooms and to the stairs. The door to Rin's right led to the main bathroom, the one to her left led to the kitchen and the back door. From the kitchen she could hear her Mom and Dad bustling around preparing breakfast. Suddenly there was a shriek and Ino flew through the living room and into the bathroom slamming the door behind her.

"Ino what's wrong…AHHHHHH!" An orange blur flew across the room towards the bathroom. Naruto, the brilliant man that he is, forgot to open the door and instead went right through it. This next part was Rin's favorite.

"Naruto! Did you kill it yet?"

"What do you mean did I kill it yet, you go kill it!"

"But you're the man of the house!"

"So, you women are always saying you want us to treat you equally! Well here's your chance!"

"Is the big bad Hokage afraid of a little bug?"

"What do you mean little!? That thing is friggin huge! And what about you, miss 'I'm the ruthless head of interrogation'?"

Rin could no longer hear the rest of her parent's argument as the laughter took her. This was Rin's favorite form of entertainment. She liked to organize this little prank every once in a while just to prove that even the greatest shinobi had a weakness. But mostly she just loved to make fools out of her parents.

As she finally got her laughter under control she heard a small 'poof' come from the bathroom. With a grin spreading across her face she turned to see a toad a little larger then a dog hop from the bathroom. "Hey Gamakichi!"

The toad turned to look at her with the sternest look it could muster. "Do you have to keep letting spiders into the kitchen? I mean this is getting annoying, damn funny, but annoying."

Rin let out another laugh. "Sorry, but they just make it so damn easy." Rin got up from her chair and began to walk towards the front door. "I gotta go find my team. Ill see you later Gamakichi."

* * *

Konoha's shopping district was a very large and diverse place. You could find anything from Shinobi equipment to books or even lunch. But team 8 wasn't there to shop, eat, or even to do a mission. They were there to spy. 

Sitting on a nearby roof were the three members of team 8, four if you counted Kira. Team 8 was looking over the edge of the roof keeping a close watch on their target.

"Why are we doing this again?" Mika was still grumpy about being dragged away from his breakfast by Rin.

"We hardly know anything about Neji-Sensei and we want to learn more about him." Rin sent a death-glare at her teammates as if to say 'you better feel this way or else'.

Alex simply ignored the glare. "We know he's strict. And we he wouldn't object to kicking our asses."

Mika nodded, agreeing with Alex. "Good enough for me." Both males got up and began to walk away but Rin quickly grabbed them by the collars of their shirts and dragged them back down to their original positions.

"Stop complaining! He just went into that store. There is a window at the side we can listen at."

"What a surprise, Neji-sensei who just happens to be a shinobi went into a weapons store."

Rin was starting to get used to Alex's sarcasm and had developed a foolproof response. "Shut up! Come on lets go!"

The three genin sprang into action, jumping from roof to roof until they were on the roof of the weapons store. Lightly they climbed down to the side of the building where the window was. Rin peeked her head up and looked through the window.

"Well, what's he doing?"

"He's talking to the girl behind the counter."

"Wow, he's talking to the shop keeper what a surprise." This earned Alex a fist to the head, which effectively shut him up.

"Be Quiet, I think he's about to leave…"

"What are you kids doing?"

The three genin instantly froze in place, as if doing so would magically change the fact that they had been seen. As one the three turned around to see a woman wearing the uniform of an ANBU but with out her mask. The woman looked to be in her late 30's and had her hair tied up in two buns at the back of her head.

"We were just um… admiring this fine store." Rin lied

"We were uh… practicing our uh… stealth." Mika stumbled out his excuse awkwardly.

"We were spying on our teacher." Alex said without changing expression.

"Alex! Shut up!" Both of his teammates sent their fists into the back of his head.

The woman burst out laughing. "So you are the poor saps who got Neji as a teacher huh?"

Rin was the only one who was willing to ask the question on all their minds. "You know Neji-Sensei?"

The woman grinned down at them. "Yup, we were on the same genin squad. And then later he was my team's captain in the ANBU. I'm Tenten by the way." Tenten looked at the genin and then through the window behind them. "I guess you're trying to learn a little about your new teacher huh? I don't have any time right now but find me later and Ill tell you guys some stories." With a wave Tenten turned and was gone, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. In her wake she left three genin standing in awkward silence.

Rin was the first one to remember what they had been doing. Quickly turning around she looked through the window. "He's gone! Quick, Kira find his scent."

The nin-dog jumped from his perch on Mika's head and instantly went to work. It didn't take him long to find the scent and he went bounding down the street following its trail. The three genin ran after the dog, having no trouble keeping up. Kira lead them through the streets of Konoha and out the northern gate into the forest that surrounded their village. As they entered the forest they slowed and proceeded more cautiously, not wanting their prey to discover them. Kira lead them to the edge of a small clearing where the three knelt in a bush. Peering through the leaves they saw their teacher. Neji was moving through a set of kata with graceful ease. As he moved he picked up speed, moving through the forms as easily as most people walk.

Mika let out a small yawn. "Well, this was a very productive trip. Lets just call it a day already."

Rin let out an exasperated sigh, "You're giving up already? What kind of shinobi are you?"

"What are you three doing here?"

A quick glance into the clearing told the three genin that Neji was no longer there. Turning around they found out where he had gone. Quickly Rin covered Alex's mouth with her hand. "We are collecting herbs for Mika's mom."

Neji's face remained impassive except for one raised eyebrow. " Herbs? What use would she find for poison ivy?" As confused looks spread across the faces of his pupils the corner of Neji's mouth began to twitch upward. "You know, the Konoha hospital has a cream that gets rid of rashes."

The three genin began to look closely at their surroundings and realized they were kneeling in a bush of poison ivy.

"I have to go give my mom these herbs." Mika shot up and began to run towards Konoha.

"I should go help him" Rin ran after her teammate.

Alex got up from his position and dusted himself off. He then calmly turned and began to walk towards the village.

* * *

The three genin of team 8 were walking down Konoha's main street, away from the Konoha hospital. All three of them looked particularly grumpy at the day's events. 

A grin slowly spread across Rin's face. "Hey, we finally have a funny story of our own! You know how the older shinobi always have funny stories about their genin days, well we just made our first one!"

Mika let out a low groan. "I'm going home. See you guys tomorrow." Mika and Kira turned off down a side street heading towards his home and leaving Rin and Alex alone.

The two continued to walk in silence. Surprisingly it was Alex who spoke first. "If you were serious about that training now would be a good time to start."

Rin nodded. "Yeah, at least then we can say today wasn't a total waste." The two turned and headed towards the training ground that team 8 had claimed as they theirs.

* * *

"The problem with your jutsu is not in the jutsu themselves." Alex and Rin stood facing each other across a clearing. They had decided that the ninjutsu lesson would come first. "The reason you had such high grades is because you concentrated on learning as many useful jutsu as you could. What you did not learn were there applications. Or in other words how to use them in combat. As Neji-Sensei said the only jutsu you know that really goes with your fighting style is the shadow clone." 

Rin nodded to signal that so far she understood. "So what? You're going to show me the proper way of using my jutsu in combat?"

Alex shook his head. "No, you should adapt the jutsu to your fighting style not the other way around. Do you know about the physical recomposition of chakra and the five elements?"

Rin nodded. "Kakashi explained it to me before we graduated."

"Good that will save some time. Each person has an affinity towards one of the elements allowing them to use jutsu of that type. First we will find out which element you have an affinity towards. But this may just be a waste of time. The elements that would probably be best suited to your style would be either wind or water. So unless you get one of those it will just be a waste of time."

Rin scowled. "Why? Because those are the girly elements?"

"I use the water element."

Rin's eyes widened. "Um… Oops. I mean, why wouldn't you use water, it's a very good element." She let out a nervous laugh while rubbing the back of her head.

Alex just shook his head. "Here take one of these cards and channel your chakra into it."

Rin took one of the cards from Alex. It didn't even cross her mind to ask where he had gotten the card. She concentrated and channeled a small amount of chakra into the card. The card split apart in her hand and fell to the ground.

Alex stared at the card on the ground. He had expected that and had done research on training method to learn physical recomposition of chakra. "Now the training begins."

* * *

Naruto walked through the back door and into the kitchen of his house. Sitting at the table was Ino, calmly reading a book and relaxing after a day of work. 

"Where's Rin?" Naruto walked over to the fridge and began to rummage around in it.

"She's out training." Said Ino as she turned another page in her book.

Naruto's head popped up from behind the refrigerator door. "But today's their day off. I just saw Neji in town. Who is she training with?"

Ino shrugged. "With one of her teammates."

Naruto's eyes narrowed in anger. "She's training alone with one of her teammates? One of her MALE teammates? ILL KILL HIM! ILL MAKE SURE HE NEVER SEES THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN! WHERE IS THE LITTLE BASTARD!? HE BETTER NOT HAVE TOUCHED MY BABY!"


	6. Chapter 6: The merchant

I am a lazy ass, and so it takes me a long time to update. My writing sessions pretty much happen whenever the mood strikes me, which isnt often. Sorry, but it is who i am.

* * *

Rokudaime's Legacy

Chapter 6: The Merchant

Naruto almost giggled with excitement as he waited for his instant ramen to be done. He had been waiting a long time to enjoy this fine delicacy. Between the shortage and Ino's insistence that ramen was not healthy this amazing culinary creation had been very hard to get a hold of. That's why he was eating it at his office before leaving for home, if Ino found him eating ramen he would be in very big trouble.

He actually did giggle as the timer went off letting him know his food was done. Slowly picking up his chopsticks Naruto prepared to savour his meal to the fullest.

_Knock Knock _

"Just a minute!" Naruto began shovelling the ramen into his mouth at speeds that would have amazed an Akimichi. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve Naruto threw the evidence out the window and began to compose himself to look like a Hokage should.

"Come in."

As Neji stepped inside he took a minute to survey the room. His eyes went from the empty ramen cup on the ground up to the closed window and then finally to the blonde Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, I hope I am not intruding but there are a few things I wish to discuss with you."

"Of course!" A wide grin split Naruto's face. "Discuss away!"

Neji nodded. "First I would like to remark on a strange occurrence that happened about a month ago. For a while it almost seemed like Alex and Mika were afraid of Rin. They absolutely refused to go anywhere near her. Of course it didn't take Rin long to beat this out of them but still those couple of days were fairly odd. You wouldn't know anything about this would you?"

_Only a couple of days? Damn, looks like I will have to have another little 'chat' with the boys. _"No I don't know anything about it. That is odd though." Naruto replied smoothly while already planning the boys next torture session.

Neji was not fooled but he kept his face impassive anyways. "So then I guess my words would be wasted if I were to tell you that on many occasions Rin has beat up both Mika and Alex and so is not in need of protection from them."

"Yes those words are wasted."

Neji continued to stare knowingly at his Hokage for a minute before continuing. "There has also been another strange occurrence that started a couple of weeks ago. Whenever my students see me drinking tea they all burst out laughing. I suppose you wouldn't know anything about this either."

It took every ounce of self control he had to keep Naruto from laughing. "No, I wouldn't know anything about that either."

-Flashback-

_Team 8, Tenten, and the Hokage all sat together in a booth at a smal Barbecue place at the edge of town. Tenten was there to tell stories about her old teammate and team 8 was there to hear them. Why was the Hokage there you ask? Well no one really knows._

_"Okay, this is the best story yet." Tenten started. "At this time we were all getting a little tired of Neji's holier than thou attitude."_

_"Gee wouldn't know what that's like." Mika received a slap upside the head from Rin for his comment._

_"So we came up with a way to bring him down a notch." At this point Tenten was fighting very hard not to burst out laughing. "So we spiked his tea. Three or four pots later he was drunk out of his mind. So we took him shopping."_

_"Shopping?" Asked a very confused Rin._

_"Yeah." replied Tenten. "We took him to a woman's dress shop. We found the frilliest dress in the entire place. Next we convinced Neji that it was the latest fashion for men, and as a member of the Hyuga clan it was his responsibility to be wearing the latest fashions. So there's Neji wondering down the street in a pink dress with the dopiest smile you ever saw."_

_The entire table burst into uncontrollable laughter as they tried to picture Neji in a dress._

_"Wait till you see this." Tenten reached into her pack and pulled out a picture. She then placed it onto the table for every one to see._

_The picture showed a teenaged Neji with a sloppy grin on his face as he waved at the camera. He was wearing a frilly pink dress._

-End Flashback-

"Nope nothing at all." Said Naruto as he fought to keep the laughter bottled up.

Neji stared suspiciously at his Hokage for a moment but evidently decided to let the matter go. "There is only one more thing I would like to say. You cannot protect her forever."

A puzzled look appeared on Narutos face. "What do you mean?

Neji's eyes seemed to pierce right through into Naruto's mind. "Your daughter. You cannot protect her forever. Eventually she will have to leave the village."

A deep frown appeared on Naruto's face. "I see what you mean Neji, but it doesn't mean I have to like it."

* * *

Alex ducked under Rin's kick before jumping backwards out of range. Rin followed and the training continued. Rin launching every possible attack while Alex blocked and dodged them all while maintaining a crystalline column of water above the river that ran beside their training field. This was Rin's solution to Alex's taijutsu problem. She said that it would increase his concentration and that after this training he would be able to block and dodge while completing his jutsu at the same time. Personally Alex thought she was doing it just to get a chance to beat the crap out of him without having to worry about him hitting back. 

Across the river three of Rin's clones sat practicing a minor wind jutsu from a scroll that Alex had obtained. After a month of training Rin had mastered the physical recomposition of chakra and had learned two low ranked wind jutsu. In addition to that Rin and Neji had been secretly working on a new style for her, what it was nobody knew.

Finally Rin broke through Alex's guard and sent him smashing into a tree with a well timed kick. The column of water came crashing back down from above the river.

"Ha only three minutes this time, well I guess you're improving a little." Rin stood with her hands on her hips and a cocky grin on her face.

"Hn, I would like to see how long _you_ would last if I was fighting back." The two stretched before settling down in the early morning sun to await the arrival of their teammates.

Most distant observers would say that team 8 was mismatched and didn't get along very well. But those who knew them best knew that this was not true. Team 8 had developed a form of comradeship and an awkward friendship. Mika often liked to say that their relationship was full of love. Rin loved to beat up everybody, Alex loved to make veiled insults, and Mika just loved to laugh at everybody else.

The silence was broken by the arrival of Mika and Kira. The Inuzuka and his dog joined his teammates and a loud conversation immediately sprang up. Mika and Rin supplied most of the conversation while Alex and Kira spoke only rarely. They all seemed to agree that the day was going to turn out to be another useless one. They would most likely end up painting a fence or two before they started their real training.

Neji watched the easy banter of his students from his perch in the tree tops. He allowed a small grin to appear on his face, knowing that no one would see it and even if they did he would deny it. Today his students would finally fully enter the world of the ninja. Today they would finally receive their first real mission.

Neji rearanged his face until it had adopted the blank expression for which he was famous before he jumped down to meet his students.

"Yo, teach!" Rin said with a grin, followed by the respectice greetings of Alex and Mika.

"Good morning." Neji greeted. "Today I have taken the liberty of already accepting a mission for our team. The Hokage has decided that we are finaly ready for a c-rank mission."

Rin and Mika leapt into the air and gave out whoops of joy while Alex remained sitting, waiting to hear the rest.

"Our mission is to escort a merchant and his wagon of cargo to a small town just inside our border. It will take five days travel to get there and two days back. But make sure to pack extra supplies in case of unforseen delays. We meet at the west gates in exactly one hour." Having finished Neji stared at his students. And his students simply stared back. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go pack!"

* * *

For Rin it had been a very long and painful hour. To her great surprise when she had gotten home it was only to find that both her parents were there waiting for her. Then they had both insisted on helping her prepare for her first long range mission, offering the benefit of their many years of experience. If that had been the extent of it it would not have been so bad. Instead they had acted like Rin was leaving for good. Ino had almost broken down and cried five times. But the worst of it had been when Naruto had taken her aside for a little chat. Her father had decided to give her some advice on how to discourage unwanted... advances from her male teammates. If that had not been the most embarrassing moment of her life she did not know what was. 

Rin let out a loud sigh as she continued towards the west gate. She could already see the rest of her team gathered beside a small wagon with the back covered in cavas, hiding whatever goods were there. Hitched to the wagon was a single ox. A short and pudgy man with short cropped black hair sat at the driver's seat of the wagon. Obviously he was the merchant they were to escort.

"Here she is now." She could hear Neji say as she approached the group. "This is the last member of our team, and your escort, Uzumaki Rin. Rin this is Takamichi, the merchant we will be escorting."

"Well." Takamichi said in a cheerful voice. "Shall we get going then?"

Neji passed a careful eye over his team to make sure they were ready before nodding and leading the way out of the gates.

The first day of travel was uneventful, boring even, and passed very slowly for the three genin. They walked in tight formation constantly moving around the wagon. As the day wore on the only ninja still paying close attention to their surroundings was Neji. Even Alex had become bored and had given up looking for enemies that did not exist.

About an hour before sunset they stopped to set up camp. The mood around the campfire was cheerful as many stories and jokes were told. Only a couple of the party's members remained silent (guess who).

Before going to bed Neji set up equal shifts so that the ninja could take turns keeping watch and took the first one for himself. The next morning they were up before dawn, packing and preparing for another day of travel. Around midday they stopped for lunch, and half an hour later they were travelling again.

Roughly an hour after their stop Neji, who was in the lead, came to a sudden halt. The rest of the party stopped behind him. A little ways in front of them stood a foreign shinobi. The teen looked to be just in the middle of developing, with recently developed curves. She had long chestnut hair that hung loosely down her back. Her bangs were kept out of her brown eyes by an Iwa forehead protector and she wore the vest of a chunin.

"Guard the merchant." Neji did not need to look to know his team had taken up defensive positions around the wagon. "I will go see what she wants."

Neji began to walk forward calmly. Suddenly he sensed movement and heard the clash of metal behind him. He turned to see Alex at his back with a kunai in hand and a shuriken falling to the ground. Activating the byakugan Neji saw his would be assassin hiding in the trees behind the wagon. He also saw the chunin charging towards him. Turning he ducked under her kick and struck her midsection with a chakra strike sending her flying. She landed on her feet and took off into the trees.

Neji waited a long while to make sure their assailants were gone before deactivating his byakugan and turning to survey his team. Mika and Rin were stunned, probably still shocked that the battle had started and ended so quickly. Alex was as calm as he usually was almost as if he had done it a million times before.

"Good job, your reactions were good for your level of training. We will travel for another hour before setting up camp."

"Wha... what were they after?" Asked an ashen faced Takamichi.

"I don't know." Was Neji's dour reply. "But it is best we move on for the moment. Everyone stay alert."

They started moving again, but their rate of progress greatly decreased as they moved forward more cautiously.

That evening Takamichi turned in early, forgoing the cheerful conversation of the night before and leaving Neji and the three genin to discuss the day's events.

"Well? Neji asked. "You have had time to think it all over. What do you think?"

Rin surprised them all with the first insight. "It looked like they were after you, Neji-sensei."

"Maybe." Came Alex's reply. "But it seems more likely that whatever their target was they knew they would not be able to get at it with Neji-sensei here."

Neji nodded. "Alex is right. We have no way of knowing what their target was. What we do know is that they are likely to be come back. They caught us...me...off guard. We will have to step up security. There will now only be two shifts of watch and we will take them in pairs. Alex and Mika, you will take the first watch. Rin and I will take the second."

* * *

Yuna huddled close to the campfire to ward off both the cold and the dark. She looked over to her partner as he sulked over the day's loss. Kimari's long scorpion tail peeked over his shoulder from where it was attached to his lower back.

"We underestimated them." Yuna observed. "That kid is stronger than he looks. Both he and the Hyuga will have to be dealt with separately before we can get to the girl." Kimari only nodded.

"So it's Rin you were after."

Both chunin jumped to their feet, weapons in hand, and turned to watch the shadows beyond the light of their fire.

"Attacking me would be a very bad idea." Alex observed as he stepped into the fire light.

With a fierce battle cry Kimari charged.

* * *

Dun dun duuuuuuh. I am very proud of mysefl for this cliffhanger.

Ill try to update quicker but i make no promises.


End file.
