Chapter 13: Evaluation

The day after the second stage of the chunins exam, Hiruzen summoned the Jonin senseis of the Konoha teams that made it to the tower. He was both happy with some performances and very unhappy with others. As per usual when a genin from a rookie class was involved now, Iruka was present, sitting by the Hokage’s side, files in hand. Since the man was a bit zealous he had spent the whole time after the preliminaries reviewing the other Konoha genins that made it to that particular point of the exam.

“Hinae, Satoshi, let me congratulate you for the performance of your students. Hinae both young Yuuna and Gou’s performance has been nothing but exemplary. Unless their performance during their match is abysmal, which I doubt, their promotion is in the bag for them. You trained them well.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama.”

“Satoshi, it seems your team has progressed a bit this year. Misumi had been quite clever and also lucky with his opponent. Make sure he’ll be ready to make a good display in a month.”

“I will, Hokage-sama.”

“How is Yoroi? Is his condition severe?”

“One punctured lung and also his stomach. The med-nin were quick to act so he will recover nicely.”

“That’s good to hear. It really was a bad match-up for him, a shame.”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Do you need  a private training ground for the duration of the month for your students?”

“If possible, yes. One for each of my students.”

“Misumi has his own secret place to train, so it won’t be necessary.”

“Very, well. Hinae, you can use both training ground Seven and Ten until the end of the exam.”

That particular piece of news made both Kurenai and Asuma frown, those were the training grounds that had been allocated to them when their team was officially formed. In Hiruzen’s mind though, since none of their students would fight in the last round they could train elsewhere for a month. A genin that was almost sure to advance in rank during the exam and bring revenues was more important than a rookie genin team far from the spotlight. It was also a bit of a punishment for the two Jonin for having a dick measuring contest by using their students in the exams.

Hinae and Satoshi were dismissed and Hiruzen turned to Gai.

“I’d like to congratulate you, Gai, for your students' performance. I truly do, unfortunately…”

“Tenten had a bad match up, Lee didn’t have the opportunity to shine and Neji…” the green beast of Konoha said in an exasperated and a bit ashamed tone. To the side, Kurenai had murder in her eyes.

“Yes. Neji. While he didn’t break any rules, trying to murder another Konoha ninja, his own cousin at that… No one will want him on their team. The amount of distrust he earned with his actions may very well stop his career altogether.”

“He’s still young, Hokage-sama. He will learn, hopefully for the better and before he ends up stuck as a genin forever.”

“You do know that I can’t promote him, right?”

“I do, he may be strong but he doesn’t have quite the mind to be a chunin yet.” agreed the Jonin. “I admit I’m a bit stumped on how to approach such a change. I believed I had curbed his hatred for his family but clearly I was wrong.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Gai-san.” Iruka interrupted.

“How so?”

“Neji is strong, yes, and from a prestigious clan, unfortunately he grew arrogant because of it. A good ass kicking from someone he considers inferior will give you the opportunity to work better on this particular point. Riku will do the job perfectly.”

“Mah~ You’re talking as if Riku already won against Sasuke.”

Both Hiruzen and Iruka turned to Kakashi as if he had sprouted a second head but neither of them gave a rebuke. In their mind it was a waste of time. Gai however, spoke up. It was less in defense of his student but more in hope and curiosity.

“Is that genin really that good? I saw his match against young Naruto but… I mean, I hope he is, because it would be better for Neji but I’m not knowledgeable about him and Neji is a prodigy...”

“No, Neji is a very talented individual but he is no prodigy. At least beyond his taijutsu style. Riku on the other hand -”

“Reminds me of Minato.” Hiruzen cut in on the conversation between Gai and Iruka by dropping a verbal explosive tag the size of the Hokage Mountain.

“L-Lord fourth?!”

Shock came across the face of every Jonin present. Even Iruka was surprised but a bit less. He knew that Riku was a real prodigy but to compare him to the one that is considered the strongest Hokage in history… That, the chunin did not see it coming.

“Yes. Minato, Itachi, Orochimaru, you, Kakashi. Riku is on par with all of you. Fortunately for the village, he’s more like Minato.” ‘And thank Kami for that!’

“Are… are you sure, Hokage-sama?” the leader of team 7 asked in disbelief.

“During the six months he spent outside the academy and in the genin corps, he spent most of his time doing C-rank with chunins or coming up with ideas that benefited the village more than any genin ever did. As we speak, Anbu teams average success rate increased by 12.3% and survival rate by 17.1% and it keeps increasing. All thanks to him.”

“A-Anbu?”

“Yes, Kakashi. Anbu. Team Ro and Alpha were so pleased by the seals and ninja tools Riku came up with that they requested that I pull him out of the genin corps to put him in the Anbu’s R&D division.”

Asuma and Kurenai were a bit lost at what was being discussed. They knew nothing of Anbu (beyond what the public knew) and didn’t understand the gasp of surprise that Gai let out, nor Kakashi’s lack of his usual disinterested cool attitude which was replaced by utter shock. They didn’t know either that Team Ro was the most successful Anbu team in Konoha’s history and had been led for nearly a decade by Kakashi himself. Iruka stayed quiet but understood by Gai’s and the silver haired pervert's reaction that what he heard was a big deal. A very big deal.

“Anbu has a R&D division now?” inquired Gai, still surprised. He had never joined the ranks of the black op despite trying(More to help Kakashi sinking into depression than anything else) but he did design a training regimen for them. For that to happen he had to be privy to some and enough secrets about this special shinobi section of the village.

“They do not.” replied Hiruzen in a no nonsense manner.

“Y-you mean.”

“Yes. They petitioned to have one. They want Riku to work for them first and foremost but it’s neither here nor there. Neji will have the ass kicking he needs and that’s all that matters. And yes, Kakashi, Sasuke may be very talented but the odds of him winning against Riku are very low. At least currently. Now let’s continue with this meeting.”

Understanding what he meant, the jonin senseis of the rookie teams stood a bit straighter.

“I am… deeply disappointed with your teams’ performance.” Hiruzen announced and to keep in control of the conversation, raised his hand to stop any retort the three shinobi had to make. “When you nominated them to enter the chunin exams I believed in the assessment and the trust you presented about your students' skills. It seems to me now, that you put them forward for simple bragging rights among your peers.”

To the side, Iruka nodded slightly in agreement. He had voiced his thoughts about the matter, that none of them were ready and had been rebuffed. Only Gai had given him support.

“I was hoping to see strong genins that could reach the final stage and would show the might of Konoha to our clients. Instead all I saw was average genins, sometimes even lower than that. Only one of the nine made it to the next round and it was only because his opponent didn’t even try.” Having said that, Hiruzen looked at his son. Akimichi Choji’s display in the preliminaries had been an embarrassment if nothing else. Thankfully only Suna and a representative from Kusa had been present. “Had Sasuke been paired with any of the other match winners, he would have lost. Yes, the cursed seal severely limited him but that’s not an excuse and you know it Kakashi.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything Hokage-sama.” the called out Jonin defended.

Hiruzen took a moment to look at the man. He knew that Kakashi knew perfectly well that in the shinobi world there were no excuses for defeat and loss, yet ever since he was pulled out from Anbu for his own good he had become complacent. His fight against Momochi Zabuza in the Land of Waves had proven that.

“Good, maybe you didn’t completely soften after all. Now, Iruka has made a report for each of the teams and I’m curious to hear what they say. It will also reflect your own capabilities as a sensei.”

With that said, Hiruzen gave a nod to the chunin that the field was his.

“Let me start by saying… No offense, Hokage-sama but I think you’re a bit too harsh on them because of your unreasonably high expectations.”

Everyone in the room was shocked once again by what they just heard. They thought that they would be heavily criticized by the chunin, like he had done at the time of the genin team selection (something that Gai had heard about and had agreed wholeheartedly). They didn’t expect Iruka to have a go first at the Hokage or even have a go at the Hokage at all. Even Hiruzen, who had put his pipe in his mouth and lit it, had his mouth open in shock.

“The three of them entered their students in the exam, yes, but I don’t believe for a moment they thought that any of their students would make it to chunin with the exception of maybe Shino. I think they entered them more for the experience than anything, after all they never stated that their students would reach the last stage, just that they were ready to experience the exam.”

Hiruzen took a moment to ponder what he heard in silence and begrudgingly had to agree with a nod.

“It seems that is the case. With almost all of them being heirs of a clan I may have had high expectations, yes.”

“As such, Yuhi-san’s performance as a sensei has been nothing but exemplary for the amount of time she had with her students. They passed the first stage flawlessly and I even commend her for teaching Kiba to finally use his head, allowing him to understand the true purpose of the test. Six months ago he wouldn’t have used his head like that if at all. He would have just panicked and cheated. There was no panic there.

Her teachings in tracking and survival allowed them to make it on their own in the second stage. The only other Konoha team that could boast of such a feat and actually did better was Hyuga Hinae’s team. I commend Team 8 even more, especially when they nearly encountered that Suna team that made it to the finals and got away unharmed and undetected.”

Iruka stopped there to let what he said sink in then took another big breath and continued.

“The preliminaries however, had proven that none of them were quite ready for the rank of chunin yet, despite the obvious progress each member of the team made. Hinata showed a better Juken than in the academy, and a confidence and bravery that she didn’t have before. She still needs to work on that a lot more. It’s the only thing that is holding her back for a promotion. Her strength is acceptable and her mind is more than keen enough. 

Now Kiba. As I stated earlier, he made great progress in using his head but he still needs to grow up more in that regard. His match had proven that he had not quite yet the reflex to hold himself back to observe and analyze his opponent to come up with a strategy or a tactic to win.

Shino certainly has the mind for a chunin, unfortunately he’s lacking the strength. He relies too much on his bugs and it was costly for him during his own match. If I had to pick one of the nine rookies for a promotion it would be him.

Overall as individuals or a team, Team 8 has proven to be a well balanced team and above the average for a rookie team of six months. You can be proud of your students and yourself, Yuhi-san.”

Hiruzen nodded at the assessment and was amused to see Kurenai tried her very best to not grin in giddiness. The corners of her mouth kept twitching.

“Now, Kakashi-san. Let’s start with the first stage. Only one of them understood the purpose of the test. Sasuke took some time but masterfully realized that he needed to cheat and smartly used his Sharingan to do so.

Sakura and Naruto on the other hand… I don’t know who is the worst. That a smart no, brilliant, kunoichi as Sakura was smart enough to answer the questions by herself but completely missed the point of the test or Naruto who didn’t understand the test at all and didn’t even try to cheat, banking it all on the last question. Yes, he did pass with his guts but guts alone is not enough. Their lack of ability to gather intel not only disqualifies them for the rank of chunin but will get them killed one day. I’m surprised that with you as their sensei they have not yet mastered ‘underneath the underneath’ especially Sakura who clearly has the brain for it. Naruto… well, that was to be expected.

Moving on to the second stage. Sasuke had displayed the ability to work with others which is great. What is less great is him attacking a fellow Konoha shinobi that came to help. Yes, some factors are to be taken into consideration. His relationship with Riku and the cursed seal he had just barely survived, no one will deny that, however resorting to violence on the spot when he didn’t get his way is worrying.

Sakura displayed bravery and competence as a kunoichi she didn’t have before. While not a frontliner, she supported her teammates well, especially when both were unconscious after their run in with Orochimaru. She made a stand against Team Oto and that saved Sasuke’s and Naruto’s lives. Luck too with the intervention of Team 10 and Team Gai but luck is part of the life of ninjas.

Lastly, Naruto. He has shown an outstanding ability for teamwork that he certainly didn’t have at the academy. He’s ready to put aside his personal feelings to work together with others to the point of being the linchpin of the team. His survival skills helped the team greatly however his lack of awareness got him then his teammates in serious trouble. The only reason he did not die an hour after the start of the test is because the Ame-nin that captured him chose to let him live. And that’s the least of the problems. A dead Naruto is a Kyubi free.”

Those words sent a chill to anyone present, Hiruzen included. Such an event would be a total disaster.

“I’ll prioritize his training on that.” Kakashi simply said, acknowledging implicitly that he may have fucked up a tiny bit in that regard.

“Now the preliminaries. Let’s start with Naruto since we’re talking about him. His display during his match was…” Iruka stopped and winced there, not quite finding the words to describe how bad the performance of his favorite student had been. He got help, however.

“Bad. I know.”

“Abysmal.”

“A joke.”

“Most un-youthful.”

“Kakashi, Naruto needs to learn that sometimes giving up is not a bad thing and even a better option than to keep on going on.” said Hiruzen.

“I’m trying but he’s the most stubborn individual I have ever seen. Once he has something in mind he is inflexible.”

“Hmm… Did you try a lose-lose situation with him?” inquired Iruka.

“I… didn’t think of that. What do you have in mind?”

“A simple game of Tic-Tac-Toe? The winner gets a prize, the cave in is when someone is close to win, add a new rule, like… an explosive tag, activating hurting both him and you when one of you wins.”

“Ah! The solution in that case would be to not play the game at all anymore and retreat, or rather give up on winning and the reward. Drastic but it might work.” Kakashi nodded in agreement.

“Back to his performance. The only jutsu he showed was the Kage Bunshin and his taijutsu barely got any better since the academy. Riku with the academy style completely ripped into him.”

“You’re being generous, Iruka.” interjected the Hokage. “The last time I saw such a senseless beating was when Tsunade caught Jiraiya trying to peep on her in the hot springs. Let me remind all of you that he spent four months in the hospital and nearly died as a result. In fact he confessed to me once that this experience was the closest to death he has ever been. Thank Kami, Riku has not yet discovered how to replicate Tsunade’s super strength.”

“Not yet, Hokage-sama?” inquired Gai.

“Riku’s chakra control is not perfect but close. From what he told me he’s been practicing it intensively since he unlocked his chakra at six. He’s certainly smart enough to reverse engineer Tsunade’s strength or come up with it himself given the time to do so.”

“Anyway, Naruto didn’t improve much on his fighting skills. Sakura didn’t either and was unable to show much of anything against her opponent. Neither did Sasuke with his match against Choji.

The final assessment as a team is that Team7 is not as dysfunctional as it started which is a great relief. However Naruto is the one holding everything together and he’s not yet mature enough to lead the team properly and the responsibilities for such a role. A single mistake from his part and the team will fall apart. The team is good but because of its dynamic it’s average. A lot more work is needed to bring it up to the expectations on it.

Individually they all grew up mentally and matured to a varying degree. It’s good but not enough, especially regarding Naruto. Riku’s words had been harsh but nonetheless true. Hopefully his… sound defeat will push Naruto to introspection, something he critically needs among many other things. Their skills as shinobi however barely progressed but.” Iruka put a big emphasis on the ‘but’ “Looking at the long term, I believed it was a smart decision from you to focus on teamwork, Kakashi-san. A bit more training in the shinobi arts would have been good though. Is that why you entered them in the exam? To make them realize firsthand teamwork was the most important without you as a safety net?”

“Yes. Now that they really understand that and are actively working together I can start with the second phase of my training: focusing on the ninja arts.”

“May I ask for details?” cut in Hiruzen.

Kakashi took a deep breath and began detailing what he had in mind.

“For Sakura, break her out of her stupid dieting idea and develop her physical abilities while starting her on medical ninjutsu. I thought about training her in genjutsu but it’s out because she doesn’t have the creativity for it.

Sasuke will receive a very light version of Anbu regimen. So training with a tanto and element affinity. Naruto…” he stopped there and sighed. “Start from scratch. His basics are so bad that I suspect the instructors at the academy willfully sabotaged him. Mizuki first and foremost. With his mindset it will be tedious but with the promise of ramen and jutsu I believe it will set a faster space than without. I may request some help to deal with his immaturity as it’s not my forte. Since he needs a bit of a shocking experience I was thinking of Anko. Some kind of shock therapy.”

Iruka nearly voiced a protest on the spot, knowing how bat shit insane the kunoichi was but the idea had merit.

“Hmm… Not a bad idea. That will pull her mind away from Orochimaru. I’ll order her to help.”

“Thank you, Lord Third.”

It was finally Asuma’s turn and Iruka didn’t start immediately. Instead he looked at the man right in the eyes for a moment then sighed.

“Team 10 did exceptionally well in the first stage. Better than team 8 in fact. Where Team 8 passed with flying colors but individually, Team 10 did it as a team. Ino and Shikamaru’s skills in information gathering helped Choji a lot. Ino got the intel by possessing the disguised chunin, then Shikamaru to give him the answers. Shikamaru then used his shadow technique to take control of Choji’s body and fill his test. I only have one word: brilliant.” the chunin said with a bright smile. “It was expected of them however.

The second stage was… A bit lackluster in their display. Shikamaru proved he has a keen strategic mind by avoiding enemy teams and ambushes. Their teamwork and team spirit allowed them to help other Konoha teams, which is really good, however their time in the forest has been ill spent. 

As the Ino-Shika-Cho they clearly have the skill to ambush most teams during the test, yet they focused on survival first. It’s like they had no motivation to actually pass the exam. A bit surprising, considering how competitive Ino is. Had Ino not asked for a scroll from Riku and Riku’s agreement, Team10 may not have passed the test. Speaking of Ino, her knowledge in plants and poisons helped the team greatly in sustaining itself. It’s too bad she didn’t use that knowledge to deal with other teams.

Choji didn’t display anything to mention with the exception of a lack of survival skill.

The preliminaries… Well… Shikamaru was smart to forfeit the match. He had put to good use the retelling of what this Gaara could do from Team8. I’m pretty sure it saved his life.

Choji, for his part, didn’t even try. He still has his dislike of hurting others, he needs to fix this yesterday. Ino did barely better than Sakura but completely relied on her clan technique. I don’t think I need to point out how bad that is.

Overall Team10 presents the best teamwork of the rookie teams, unfortunately the skills as a shinobi of its members are low, making it a bit below the average. Individually… There is a lot to be done because they can’t do anything on their own. None of them are eligible for a promotion to chunin which is a shame. My advice would be to train them separately. Since Kakashi-san put forward the idea of asking Anko for help, I suggest giving her Ino too for a short time and Shikamaru to Gai to both motivate him and train him physically. He needs to learn that sometimes he doesn’t have time to make a plan and needs to act fast.”

“I don’t mind but after the exam, I have my own student to train.”

“As for Choji, you’re perfect for bringing him out of his mindset, Asuma-san. I believe that one-on-one training with you, without Shikamaru for Choji to lean on, would produce excellent results.”

With his report over, Iruka gave the Jonin sensei their respective team’s files. They thanked him and Hiruzen dismissed them along with Gai. Taking time to process what had been said, he finally turned to the chunin.

“I don’t think you’re paid enough for your work, Iruka.” the old man shared his thoughts. “That was an excellent analysis. Huh, we should have done this for each rookie team years ago. Quite the clever idea you had. Hmm, maybe I should promote you to Tokubetsu jonin.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama. I would decline a promotion though. I don’t think I’m fit for the responsibilities of the rank. However I won’t mind the raise that comes with it.” the chunin joked, making Hiruzen chuckle.

“Did you-”

“Make a file for Riku? No but I did study his performance.”

“And?”

“He’s far beyond any expectations I had of him. No matter how far fetched they were. Despite being two years younger than his teammates he was the one leading the team and there was no conflict, resentment or jealousy involved from them. None. It’s like it was a natural thing. They acknowledge him as their leader without any problem despite being a recent addition to the team. His decision making had been top-notch and I didn’t spot any mistake at all. The first stage, he passed it on his own. He understood the true purpose of the test but solved the questions by himself. His control of the Gale Palm blew me away, along with the note he sent to Gou with the answers.

His strategy at the beginning of the second phase showed he was thinking beyond just passing the test. He deduced the two most probable options everyone would take and chose a third one that took advantage of them and would benefit the village.”

“I admit, his idea of always being on the move and hunting down competition to help Konoha as a whole was not something I expected.”

“Yes. No freshly graduated genin, heck no genin at all would have come up with the idea to do more than just secure their missing scroll and pass the test. Leaving a shadow clone behind to keep helping while passing the test… I have no words”

“I was watching. ‘Better to face a leaf-nin, than someone from an enemy village in the final stage’. Yes, very few would think of that.”

“Then there is the way he dealt with Uzumaki Karin. He befriended her, recruited her and adapted his original plan in accordance with this unforseen development. Furthermore, while I’m sure his intentions were genuine, befriending her had also an ulterior motive. More than maintaining good relation with Kusa, I believe he-

“Tried to make her defect for Konoha. I’m aware, in fact he came to me before the preliminaries and outright said it. Not with those words of course but he was very explicit.”

“Finally, his match with Naruto was… It was hard to watch because of both sides but…” Iruka closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I believe Riku’s actions were right. Despite completely beating down Naruto, I think he did it with the objective to help him. ”

“I think so too.”

“Lastly, he showed very little of his skill set, which is a huge plus. Honestly at this point, he doesn’t even need to participate in the finals to secure his promotion in my opinion. Out of all the participants, he’s the one who showed to be the most suited for the rank of chunin.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“To think he’s mostly self-taught. Geniuses.” he lamented a bit out of jealousy. “Hokage-sama I… don’t know much about what being Hokage entails but when I look at him…”

“You see a potential successor.” Hiruzen stated.

“Yes.”

“I see it too. The more I get to know him, the more he reminds me of Minato in his youth and the more I’m upset at those three for wasting the opportunity to guide him properly. Unfortunately, what’s done is done. I do commend you for your thought of helping him with Izumo and Kotetsu. Well done.”

“Thank you. I just… I couldn’t leave things at that.”

With the conversation seemingly over, Iruka stood up, bowed and left the room, leaving Hiruzen alone with his thoughts. The tired Hokage stood up too and looked at the village outside the window, his hands behind his back and pipe in mouth.

‘The way Riku dealt with the Oto team was perfect. He may have not known the link with Orichimaru but the knowledge that Oto was hostile to Konoha was enough to make him act mercilessly. Hopefully, whatever mission they had ended in failure with their death. This is good. He’s not as much of a flight risk as I thought him to be. He’s creating bonds with others, no matter how strong or weak those bonds are. The addition of young Karin is just a bonus at this point, in fact it’s more to tie her to the village than him. Still, that leaves the problem of how Riku is going to train this month. Hinae is an excellent kunoichi but ill suited to teach him and she knows that. Besides, she’s already busy with her own students. Jiraiya? No, while Riku may remind him of Minato too, it’s time for my perverted student to meet his godson. Since Kakashi will focus on Sasuke who is still in the exam, it’s perfect for Naruto. And since Jiraiya is out, so is his knowledge in fuinjutsu for Riku. Asuma is busy with his own team and hopefully Choji so wind manipulation is also out. If Tsunade was here, I would throw her at Riku in a heartbeat alas she is not. Kurenai? With young Hinata in the hospital… No, no. She still has to take care of the rest of her students and from what Iruka told me, Riku doesn’t like genjutsu much. Damn it. Were I not Hokage, I would...’

Quite suddenly, and to the surprise of his Anbu guards, Hiruzen began to chuckle. The chuckles turned into a laugh then into a cackle. They will never admit it but that scared the shit out of them. Fortunately for them, the dreadful scene came to an end when Hiruzen’s secretary, Hisho, knocked on the door and entered to tell him that his guest was there. Nodding at her and giving her a signal to let his guest in. Hiruzen turned around to face them.

“Good morning Uzumaki Karin. I’m Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha. Nice to meet you.”