Second Chance

Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Improvements, Missions and Returning
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In the aftermath of the first mission the genin found their training doubled and more exercises added in. Apparently, Kakashi had taken the suggestion for a sensor on every team and decided to make sure that they all had some sensory ability. How did he do that when sensors were rare? Well when you start getting sneak attacked at night after a hard day's worth of training then you tend to pick up on the little things like that. After everyone had gotten the hang of basic sensory techniques they were put to the test so that they were always on. For Hinata and Neji this meant using their chakra to create a net that they would be able to track moving objects in. This also meant that they had to learn how to make their chakra thin and invisible to other sensors. Of course this meant trying to get it past Naruto, easier said then done.

Despite that they were back to doing missions in no time and by the time they reached the midway point in their training they had done well over 50 C-rank missions. Kakashi would also get multiple missions in the same area and have the teams do them all at once in order to get them used to working in a war time setting where breaks were rare. Despite this there were few if any problems. That was also when they got the surprise of their lives.

"Congrats everyone! Naruto and Sasuke just told me that you have surpassed your skill levels from the fifth war. Good work." Kakashi congratulated the genin who were twitching. "However, you are still not ready for the Juubi or Madara."

"Are you kidding me?!" Ino yelled. How the hell could they not be ready for the fourth war yet if they had surpassed their levels from the fifth war?

"Nope." Sasuke said and the two nodded at each other.

"If you want to know how you aren't ready then we will show you exactly where we were when we fought against Madara and the Juubi. Bear in mind that neither of us were a match for them." Naruto said and the two let the control they had on their chakra fall. Almost instantly they were coated in chakra and the ground seemed to almost shy away from the force that they were exuding. Naruto was almost instantly engulfed by gold, flame like chakra and black markings quickly made their way across his body. Grunting a little at the force of the chakra the two looked at their comrades who were staring in shock. Then just as quickly as it arrived the presence dropped leaving almost no trace that it had been there.

"That is where we were and we could barely fight Madara. Gai with all eight gates open only slowed him down for the fifteen seconds it took for him to regenerate the damage that it took. That is what you are up against. Bare in mind that Sasuke and I couldn't beat Madara nor could we stop him." Naruto said wincing a little as he moved his arm.

"Are you alright dobe?"

"My body still isn't ready to bear the force of Kyuubi's chakra. What I can use I can't use for long. My reaction times aren't back to normal and Senjutsu is out of the question right now. This isn't good I may still need it to fight Orochimaru..." He groaned.

"HOLY SHIT! Madara is stronger than you two? I almost passed out when your chakra flared!" Ino exclaimed feeling fear creep into her.

"Yes, but remember we still have time before we face Madara. We also know who resurrects him and as far as we know he is the only person other than Orochimaru that knew where to find his remains." Sasuke pointed out making the genin nod in fear. After a second Naruto sat down tiredly and looked at the jonin.

"I need advice. Sasuke and I have come to a roadblock that we need to pass before we can go any farther." The jonin gave a startled expression and sat down signifying a break.

"In the second phase of the chunin exams, Orochimaru attacks team seven and gives Sasuke the cursed seal of heaven. I've already told some of you this however, this is the problem that we are having. The seal is a major contributing factor in Sasuke's defection from the hidden leaf. Not only did it allow Orochimaru to access his mind, it forced his darker emotions and ambitions to the forefront of his mind and made him even more obsessed than he already was. Preventing that would ensure that there are no hiccups down the road. Even though I know that Sasuke is more mentally sound this time around it still has it's risks." Naruto explained. Asuma tilted his head and blinked in curiosity.