ɴᴀʀᴜᴛᴏ ᴜᴢᴜᴍᴀᴋɪ ɴᴀᴍɪᴋᴀᴢᴇ ꜱʜɪᴘᴘᴜᴅᴇɴ (on Hold)

Chapter 44

Three weeks later, in the Hokage's office, twenty platoons stood at attention in front of Tsunade, the Hokage. The team leaders, including Asuma, Raido, Shinobu, Riichi, and Tokara, listened intently as Tsunade outlined their mission.

Tsunade had assembled this task force with a specific goal - to scour the Land of Fire in search of Akatsuki members. The orders were clear - capture them alive for information if possible, but eliminate them if necessary.

"We have information about the Akatsuki being spotted near the borders of the fire country. I need you all to check the possibilities of where they may be. Do you understand?" Tsunade asked, her voice echoing through the room.

"Hai!" The response was unanimous, a chorus of voices echoing their understanding and commitment. One by one, the groups disappeared, leaving Tsunade alone in her office.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, a sigh escaping her lips. A sense of foreboding hung over her like a dark cloud. She couldn't shake off the feeling that something terrible would happen. The faces she had seen today, she feared, would be one less when they returned. She didn't want to find out who.

All she wanted was for this threat to be over, and soon.

At the hot springs, the Konohamaru Corps were in a confrontation with Ebisu. They were determined to prove they were ready to be chunin, having undergone rigorous training under their 'Nissan.'

Ebisu, however, was skeptical. "Mhmm, so you want to prove to me you all became chunin material in this short time. Don't make me laugh. You expect me to believe that you three trained yourself to be chunin material in that short time?" he questioned, his disbelief evident in his tone.

"We had help, but we've been training hard. You'll see!" Moegi retorted, her voice filled with determination. This outburst surprised her teammates and sensei, as she was usually quiet. Her assertiveness made Ebisu wonder about the changes the genin had undergone.

Ebisu concluded that someone must have been training them privately. Intrigued, he decided to test them himself. "If you three want to prove how much you've learned, meet me at training ground 4 in 5 minutes." With that, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving the genin to make their way to the designated training ground.

Upon arrival, they found Ebisu waiting for them, ready to assess their progress.

"Now, who's been training you three? That was faster than usual," Ebisu remarked, clearly impressed by their progress.

Konohamaru responded with a mischievous grin, "Sorry, sensei, we can't tell you that just yet. We wouldn't want to ruin the surprise now, would we?" His response seemed to unnerve Ebisu slightly. It was clear that whoever had been training the trio had taught Konohamaru to use his head in a way he hadn't before.

Ebisu laid out the test, "The test is quite simple. All you have to do is get one good hit on me." The group immediately got into their stances at his words, mirroring Ebisu's relaxed stance.

What surprised Ebisu was the calm demeanor of the trio. They were composed, focused, and ready. "Begin!" Ebisu called out, only to be taken aback as Konohamaru and Moegi launched their attack. The training was about to be put to the test.

Ebisu found himself genuinely surprised by the progress the Konohamaru Corps had made. Konohamaru's kick aimed at his head was swift, followed by a punch to the gut from Moegi. He managed to dodge and deflect their attacks, but it was clear that their training had paid off.

Moegi, thrown to the side by Ebisu, recovered with a graceful backflip, landing on her feet. Konohamaru, too, showed remarkable improvement, blocking Ebisu's punch with ease and launching his counterattack. Ebisu couldn't help but acknowledge the significant improvement in Konohamaru's speed, reaction time, and taijutsu skills.

Meanwhile, Udon was quietly preparing kunai wrapped with explosive tags in the background. Moegi re-engaged with Ebisu, her attacks becoming more aggressive and targeted, aiming for Ebisu's vital areas. Although Ebisu managed to block and dodge her attacks, he was impressed by her precision and tenacity.

Suddenly, Udon yelled, "Now!" The training session was about to take an explosive turn.

At Udon's signal, the two genin leaped back as Udon hurled several kunai at Ebisu, who either dodged or deflected them with his kunai. Ebisu noted using a constriction seal, further piquing his curiosity about their mysterious trainer.

Konohamaru and Moegi then performed hand signs for Kunai Kage Bunshin, forcing Ebisu to use Kawarimi with a nearby log to escape. Konohamaru's frustration was evident as he yelled, "Damnit! Why are there always logs involved."

Ebisu commended their clever use of ninjutsu and traps but challenged them to do better if they wanted to land a hit on him. He was genuinely impressed by their progress and believed they could pass the chunin exams.

Konohamaru shouted, "We can't hit him; we need to take 'em off." His statement was met with nods of agreement from his teammates. Ebisu was momentarily confused by Konohamaru's statement, but his question was soon answered when weights came clattering down from the genin, crashing into the dirt where they once stood. It was clear that the training session was far from over.

As Moegi and Udon took cover in some bushes, Konohamaru launched into action, moving much faster than before. This diversion bought Moegi enough time to set up her genjutsu. However, Ebisu quickly saw through the illusion and dispelled it with a hand seal.

Ebisu began to comment on their use of genjutsu but was cut off when Konohamaru launched a round kick at his head. Ebisu easily dodged the attack, mentally scoffing at the attempt. But in his moment of distraction, he didn't notice where he had landed and was punched square in the nose by Udon.

Moegi cheered for Udon, excited they had achieved what they needed to qualify for the chunin exams. Although irritated and slightly wounded in his pride, Ebisu acknowledged their success. He was curious about who had trained them and asked them directly.

Just as the genin were about to answer, another voice rang out from the trees, "We did." The identity of their mysterious trainers was about to be revealed.

The genin turned to see Naruto and Kakashi perched in a tree, with Kakashi grudgingly handing over some money to Naruto. Naruto smiled as he declared, "I told you Udon would be the one to hit 'em, Kakashi." Kakashi merely grumbled in response, dismissing Udon's success as mere luck.

In a playful mood, Naruto stuck out his tongue at Kakashi before descending from the tree to high-five his temporary students. Ebisu stood there, dumbstruck, watching the former sensei and student bicker. The realization that his students had been trained by the apprentice of Jiraiya-sama and the Copy-ninja Hatake Kakashi, a student of the Yondaime Hokage, left him speechless.

Ebisu managed to voice his surprise, questioning Naruto about involving Kakashi in the training. Naruto, however, dismissed his formal title and explained that he preferred to earn respect rather than have it given to him. He also mentioned that he wouldn't have minded helping Ebisu's students as he had some time off and would have been bored otherwise. His words were accompanied by a warm smile, reflecting his genuine enjoyment of teaching.

Naruto's right eye twitched in annoyance at Ebisu's insistence on using formal titles. Despite Naruto's request to be addressed, Ebisu felt it was only right to acknowledge Naruto's lineage and tutelage under Jiraiya-sama.

Ever the nonchalant, Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and returned to his book, seemingly unfazed by the events. Naruto, on the other hand, decided to take his leave. With a casual wave, he disappeared in a swirl of wind, leaving the star-struck genin and the two jounin behind.

The trio of genin were left in awe, stars in their eyes as they looked at the spot where Naruto had once stood. "Niichan is so cool," they exclaimed in unison, their admiration for Naruto evident.

Watching the scene unfold, Ebisu huffed and smiled, nodding in agreement with his genin. It was clear that Naruto's influence had left a lasting impression on them.

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I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.