By the time summer rolled in, Konoha turned into a literal steam bath. I never knew that it would be this hot in here... And with no air conditioning... Ugh. I should have been born with some kind of ice skills like Haku or something... Watching how the air shimmered above the rooftops, an endless sea of cicadas screamed from every tree, and even the stones underfoot felt burning with heat... I couldn't help but dread the way Gaara was growing up in that desert. Brrr. Oh well, heat here and there, it didn't matter... It was time for a nice meal, so... Here I was, where I always ended up, no matter how good my mom's cooking was... hunched over a counter at Ichiraku Ramen, wiping my forehead, chopsticks in hand, slurping actual salvation from a bowl of miso and pork. I think I get why Naruto loved this place... it just had a flavor that was... like a drug.
"Another?" Teuchi-san asked, already knowing the answer.
"One more," I said, half-muffled by noodles being stuffed into my mouth. "For chakra recovery purposes, of course."
"Of course!" He laughed. "But boy, you've used that excuse since April, you need to change it up sometimes."
"It's medically sound." I pouted, "And I pay... no?"
"I knew it." The curtain rustled, next to me, letting in a breeze and a flash of yellow hair coming into my peripheral vision. "Of course you're here." Minato stepped up to me, pushing the drape aside with two fingers.
"At least you can always find me!" I grinned. "Want a bowl?"
"No, thanks," he said as he sat beside me without waiting for an invitation. "If we don't leave soon, you'll be eating while the rest of the class is halfway to the forest."
"Whoa?" I blinked my eyes, "That's today?"
"..." He gave me a typical, 'I knew you would forget' kind of look. "The night navigation exercise, yes. Shinno-sensei's been talking about it all week while you are lost in trying to awaken your Sharingan."
"Oh." I slurped faster, immediately. "Don't worry about it! We still got... Plenty of time."
"You said that during weapon drills, too, and we almost got there late. One second! It was only one second separating us from failing the test!"
"And we got there, still in time, and we aced it, are we not?" I answered, glancing at him from the corner of my eyes.
"You are impossible..." Minato sighed, but he stayed, the corner of his mouth twitching upward, taking the bowl I had just ordered, and finishing it before we left.
Honestly speaking, we'd been at this, training, eating, sparring, for months now. Since that day in the courtyard, Minato and I had become something like… partners in crime. Or, in his case, reluctant accomplices in my crimes against punctuality, because it was I, dragging him around. He was always in a hurry, while I loved exploring the city and trying out everything. It was... fun. I think we indeed became good friends, and it felt... genuine. And now I swore to myself I would make sure that my friend won't have to die. Not if I have a say in it!
Not to mention that most of the class either avoided us or stared too much. I could tell he was bothered by it, but... seeing I was handling it well and keeping him company, he didn't come to think anything bad about it. We can't help it, as kids can smell differences, and we stood out like actual kunai in a toy box. Minato was mainly avoided by the others because he was quiet, fast, and always proper. A bit princely, if someone would ask me, but it also made him look like he was aloof and full of pride. As for me? I was the opposite of him. I was loud, brash, and occasionally too forthcoming. Although I didn't get into new fights, not even with Arai, whenever someone gave me a glare, I would instantly confront them. I think... They looked at me as a bully. Even if I never started anything, I only found out about it when someone was talking about us behind our backs.
Oh well! Not that I minded. Less noise, more ramen for me.
"So," Minato said, wiping his mouth, "You've been here every day this week."
"It's hot! The salt helps with dehydration."
"You got that completely backwards," he said, raising an eyebrow. "That's not how hydration works."
"It's how my happiness works, though."
Then, as he was about to say something, Teuchi-san set a second bowl down for him anyway, just as he does for me, probably out of habit by now. Minato stared at it like it might explode, then picked up his chopsticks with another sigh, mumbling something about me, and started to eat. I won this round! Hehehe... He'd stopped arguing with me about these things weeks ago. His friendship, apparently, meant surrendering to my logic... sometimes. So, we ate in silence for a while, knowing that a full belly would be needed for the long night ahead of us.
"You've changed," I said between bites in the end.
"Hm?" Minato looked up at me, noodles drooping from between his lips, for a moment looking like his son would in the future, slurping them up in a hurry. "Since when?"
"Since the start of the year." I grinned, "You used to talk like a scroll, really. Now you actually… joke sometimes. There is a bit of life behind your words."
"Ugh..." He shrugged, "You're a bad influence."
"Best one you'll ever have." I elbowed him, "You need to be a smooth talker if you want to be a Hokage! I'm just preparing you for the future." Well, for one, he didn't deny it, just went back to his bowl, "Seriously," I added, "you were like this polite rain cloud before. A bit cloudy, not stormy nor wild with wind... Now you're at least a partly sunny forecast."
"I think that's the ramen talking." He murmured, his ears turning red, "What did you read to make such weird comparisons?"
"I wanted to read Icha Icha Paradise, but I couldn't find it... Probably hasn't been published yet..." Or not even written yet... But I kept that to myself, and probably, I wouldn't be allowed to get it anyway.
"I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound good," He shook his head, a faint smile staying longer this time. "Let's go, or Mika-sensei will use her Byakugan to drag us from here herself."
"Or simply fail us on the spot!" I sighed, paying Minato's share, which he always wanted to refuse but knew better than to argue about it. "Somehow, that woman hates my guts."
"Yeah, I noticed," He nodded thoughtfully, "He always... goes off on you."
"Not everybody can handle my charm!" I giggled as we began walking, hurried enough to get there in time but not outright running. "So, what's this exercise again?" I asked.
"Really?" Minato sighed, patient as ever. "Night-navigation. We're to stay awake through the night and move as a team through the woods without light. We aren't allowed to use any light either, as it could be discovered by enemy shinobi and scouts."
"Ah, stealth and insomnia training." I nodded, "Got it."
"Awareness training."
"Same thing."
"..." He gave me the look again, "You're hopeless."
"And you're stuck with me."
"I've noticed."
Just then, we turned down the main road toward the Academy, passing vendors closing their stalls and a few older shinobi returning from patrol. Looking up, the sky was turning gold, the heat easing into a softer kind of warmth, which I welcomed greatly, as at least at night, it would be bearable.
At the Academy's gate, students were already gathering when we arrived, about two dozen of us in short-sleeved uniforms, small packs slung over our shoulders. Some were yawning a little, while others looked ready to fight bears, if we met any of them. As for the teachers, they stood at the front like generals, with Mika Hyūga at their head, looking as calm as moonlight, her pale eyes scanning everything. Brr... I don't like the way that woman looks at me. It's irritating every instinct I have.
"Good evening," she said, her voice carrying easily over the crowd, just a moment after we arrived and got into line. "Tonight you'll learn to see with more than eyes. A shinobi's duty doesn't end when the sun sets, no. It just begins then! You will travel in pairs, and we will observe how well you can maintain formation and stay silent. If you grow tired, endure it. If you grow afraid, then give up and quit the Academy."
Geez... What a... I almost called her something foul. I should not, who knows, maybe her Byakugan can read it out from the way my chakra flows. Then, just as I was thinking about it, Mika-sensei's gaze swept over us, stopping briefly on me and Minato.
"Group One: Renjiro Uchiha, Minato Namikaze, Sayuri Yamanaka, Naoto Aburame. You'll head east."
I caught Minato's eye and grinned, while he sighed but didn't complain. As for the other kids... I did not have much to say about them. Huh... thinking about it... I barely paid attention to how the others were coming together.
...
....
.....
As we were set on our mission, the rules were simple. Every team was given a scroll with a rough, barely readable, hand-drawn map and the instructions to follow the route, avoid traps and spotters, reach our finish, and remain there until sunrise. It sounded simple, really.
"Mhm," I breathed in deep, as we were left alone, "Ah. Nature. I hope there won't be many mosquitoes or something."
"Shh," Minato hissed, eyes already on the map as he held it up to catch the fading light and studied it like it was a jigsaw puzzle he had to put together. "Mhm... We start east, then turn north by the creek. If we loop too far south, we'll hit the patrol routes..."
"Huh," Sayuri leaned over his shoulder. "You can actually read that?"
"Yes," He nodded, remaining as serious as a general, "Barely. But the scale's off... We'll have to rely on landmarks."
"I can help with that." Naoto, for the first time I heard his voice, simply said, "I can deploy insects to check ahead."
Ah, yes... the bug clan. Brr. I knew that they chose their bugs early, but... ugh.
"Do that," Minato replied, already thinking two steps ahead, not even flinching. "Keep them low and wide. If they sense chakra or ink tags, pull back immediately. We don't want them to trigger anything."
"Understood." Naoto's tone remained flat, but I could tell he liked having a clear instruction. I watched as he touched a finger to his sleeve, and a soft buzz filled the air before vanishing into the trees. I don't like bugs... I really don't...
"So..." Sayuri glanced between us, hands on her hips. "So, who's actually leading us? Did we vote about it?"
"No," I said with a smile and pointed at Minato, who just shrugged.
"I am," Minato said, stating the fact without any arrogance, and to my surprise, they only nodded. This isn't going to be that hard, huh? Nice! "Renji, you're with me up front. Sayuri, you take the middle spot. Naoto, you're our rear and eyes, make sure our tracks are covered."
"Sure, but," Sayuri blinked her eyes, "You're not even going to argue that, Renji?"
"Nope." I adjusted my sandals, grinning. "He's better at this! I may be a good seedling, but my part is being the T in Teamwork. Minato knows what's up, and it's easier to follow one voice than always argue against it."
"Huh..." Her mouth twitched. "You're… surprisingly okay with that. I thought the two of your caliber would be rivals or something..."
"Please. I don't need to lead; I just need to win." I grinned, "Being a good rival doesn't mean I am here to trip my friend up! We get stronger together, not against each other."
"Enough chatter," Minato gave me a sidelong glance, the corner of his mouth curving upward. "We'd better get goin if we want to be the first team at our mark."
With that as our motivator, we moved between the trees, keeping to the high ground where it was possible. Minato had explained that traps were more likely to be set in low terrain, where the leaves and mud hid the wires better, and he wasn't wrong. Within ten minutes, we spotted our first one: a barely visible rope line stretching between two trunks.
"Tripwire," I whispered, kneeling, but unable to find where it was going or what it was connected to.
"Mhm," Naoto's voice floated from behind us. "My insects sensed three more. Same type. Connected."
"Spread pattern?" Minato asked.
"Triangular," Naoto replied, "Activation center… here." He pointed to the ground right in front of my knee.
I tilted my head. "So if I had been a centimeter dumber..."
"Boom," Sayuri whispered, eyes wide. "Nasty."
"Luckily, you are not that dumb. Yet." Minato crouched beside me, tracing the pattern in the dirt with a finger. "They're measuring depth perception... The chūnin assigned to this test are watching to see whether we move with awareness or on pure instinct. We'll go above..."
He pointed up, towards the branches, and not a moment later, we were scaling the trees. This time around, chakra control training paid off as the soles of my feet clung to the surface like magnets, allowing me to be the first to get up, but we had to wait for Sayuri and Naoto, who had a bit more trouble with it. While doing that, I watched the wires, now visible to me, noticing how the moonlight caught on the almost invisible lines of the web. I had to admit, it was clever...
"Let's go," Minato whispered as we hopped from branch to branch, and once we passed over the trap, Minato motioned for me to drop down first. I landed lightly, turning to look, check the land before giving the okay sign, just noticing in time that Sayuri had slipped. Luckily, I was there to catch her with a grin, preventing her from making too much noise with a crash landing. "Whoa there, princess."
"I'm fine," she huffed, brushing off her knees, getting out of my hand, "You caught me anyway."
"See? Heroic reflexes." I chuckled, "That's why Minato keeps me around."
"Quiet," Minato whispered, landing beside me without a sound, tapping the back of my head. "Sound travels farther than you think."
Right... Serious mode, I nodded, zipping my mouth with a hand movement. Following his lead, the deeper we went, the harder it was to see. The forest canopy swallowed even the moon, and every sound felt amplified, just as Minato warned me... a twig snapping, the rustle of leaves, the soft hum of Naoto's kikaichū keeping perimeter watch... It was indeed like screaming and giving away our position. Then... We reached a fork in the path: one side was sloping down into a ravine, the other up into thicker brush. Looking at it, the map was useless; both routes were marked as trees and nothing else.
"Hm..." Minato knelt again, running his hand over the dirt, looking for clues, trails left behind, anything. "The downhill path's too obvious. If I were setting traps, I'd bait my prey with the easy ground."
"Up it is," I said, already stepping that way.
"Wait." His hand shot out, stopping me. "Step where I step. Everyone," he added, looking at the others. "Only where I step."
I frowned, but we all obeyed, watching him test each patch of earth with precision, like a cat on a prow. Then, on his seventh step, his foot brushed something invisible and we all heard it... A metallic click. I froze immediately, just like him. I watched as he slowly, very slowly, shifted his weight back, and... nothing happened. Phew... Good thing I didn't order him a third bowl and made him weigh so much he triggered the trap. Watching him as he pointed down, I saw it: a buried pressure tag, so subtle even he had missed it at first.
"You're kidding me…" I whispered.
"Too close," He smiled faintly. "Now you know why I lead... You wouldn't be able to control your weight, not with that much ramen in your belly."
"Fine, fine," I chuckled, "Remind me to never walk ahead of you again when we go on a mission."
...
....
...
After another hour of trekking, we stopped for a short break near a small creek, where the water shimmered faintly as I dipped my hands in, letting the chill chase away the sweat and wash my face.
"Phew!" Sayuri flopped onto a rock next to me, fanning herself with a leaf. "You two move like you've done this before... I barely have any stamina left in my legs to keep up with you two! We are not even genins yet! Geez... What were they thinking?"
"That's Minato for ya!" I looked at her, smiling, "He reads the forest like a book," I added, sitting down beside her. "I just follow his punctuation and mimic it."
"..." She blinked at first, then she began laughing. "That's the weirdest compliment I've ever heard."
"..." Out of nowhere, Naoto crouched nearby us, his insects circling lazily around the top of his head, before returning to him. "Movement east," he murmured suddenly. "Small animal-like, but doesn't match the weight of their feet. Possibly a patrol."
"...!" Minato straightened immediately. "Formation. Stay quiet!"
We slipped into the undergrowth at once, flattening ourselves against the ground and leaves, then watched as, a moment later, faint footsteps passed nearby. From where I was, I could make out two figures in chūnin vests, their whispers blending with the rustle of leaves under their feet.
"Group Four tripped the rope trap," one said. "Blew a smoke signal all over the south path."
"Kids these days," the other chuckled, disappearing into the trees. "Impatient bunch."
"..." Once they were gone, we remained hidden, right until Minato gave the nod so we could stand and speak again. I exhaled, rubbing dirt from my stomach. "That could've been us."
"Would've been," he corrected me softly. "If we hadn't gone uphill."
"Hey," Sayuri leaned forward, whispering, "How do you think of all this stuff so fast?"
"What do you mean?" Minato shrugged. "I just… pay attention."
"And I just listen to him," I added. "Works out fine, and you will get used to it."
"Yes." Naoto adjusted his glasses, nodding at us. "Delegation efficiency. Optimal."
"I'd call it weird," Sayuri said while rolling her eyes, "You two sound like you're writing mission reports while you are speaking." She pointed at Naoto and Minato. "It's... bizarre."
"It's good practice," Minato answered simply.
After making sure the sentries were indeed gone, we moved again, heading deeper still, and I found myself thinking how naturally it all flowed. Minato never once barked orders at us; he just naturally guided the team. If Sayuri tripped, he steadied her without a word, and if Naoto needed to scout, he gave him the signal and trusted him to handle it. And every time he looked back at me, it wasn't to check if I followed him still, but it was to make sure I wasn't sensing anything off the mark, something that he missed. Honestly, that's what real leadership looked like, I realized. Not only commanding and ordering others to do what he thought was right... but built on complete trust.
Still, by midnight, fatigue was setting in, even in me as the forest felt thicker, quieter, the air heavy enough to chew. I wiped sweat from my neck, squinting at the faint path ahead... No... The air was weird and... Something... didn't feel right, and instead of mulling over it, I spoke up the moment the thought formed in my head. The trees were too far apart, and we were missing some typical bushes we had at similar-looking spaces!
"Wait," I murmured.
"...?!" Minato stopped immediately. "What is it?"
"This is... It's off... It's too open," I said. "Look. The grass is uneven, and it is flattened in straight lines."
"Mhm," He nodded slowly, looking where I was pointing. "Good eye." He crouched and plucked a single strand of wire from the dirt. "Trip seal! They're using reflections from the moonlight on the dew to test our observation. It is not at such a level to be hidden from us, but it is hidden enough to miss it if we don't catch the signs! Especially now... when we would be getting more and more tired..."
"Wait..." Sayuri tilted her head. "You mean it's meant to be visible?"
"Barely," Minato said, tracing it. "To see who notices before walking through or into it."
"Well," I said, stepping aside, "we pass that test. And I don't even have my Sharingan yet."
"Heh," He smiled faintly. "If we had, this would have been trivial."
Carefully, we skirted around the trap, and as I stepped over the wire, I realized I was grinning... Because this, this right here, was super fun. Not the anime kind of fun, mind you, but the real kind, the thrill-seeking adrenaline, teamwork, and that feeling of grand victory. Aaah... I love being a shinobi.
Keeping up the pace, only stopping to let everyone rest here and there, we reached the far edge of the loop when Minato called for another, a bit longer break. Once again, following the creek that apparently marked our route, we sat near the water, as Sayuri tossed a pebble into it, watching the ripples spread.
"You know, I thought you'd argue more, Renji. Mostly about letting Minato take charge, but you have been far more silent than I would have bet on. I thought you two were fighting so much because you were hating on each other."
"Nah, we fight because it's the best way to improve. He finds my weaknesses easily, so I can close them before he can exploit them further... and I do the same to him. I hope..." I said, leaning back against a tree, because I couldn't tell. I did hope that was the case... or was Minato helping me grow while he already outgrew me? Sometimes I was afraid of that... "Leaders like him see everything." I shrugged, "I just focus on what's in front of me."
"..." She smiled softly at me at that, "That's… surprisingly mature."
"Yeah, don't tell anyone. I have a reputation to uphold as the class bully."
"..." Naoto adjusted his glasses again, looking between us, speaking to... nobody as he always avoided eye contact. "Trust reduces friction. Friction reduces noise. You're compatible."
"That sounds... weird." I blinked. "Did you just call me compatible with Minato? Ew."
"Yes," he said flatly. "Strategically."
Sayuri snorted, covering her mouth to keep quiet, and even Minato laughed under his breath, making me roll my eyes at him.
"I'm not swinging that way, okay?"
"Me neither." He said promptly, and finally, we were all laughing, except Naoto, who probably had no idea what the issue was.
When we finally stood to move again, Minato unfolded the map, checking the next stretch before us... But... he frowned.
"This doesn't match," he murmured.
"What?" I leaned over. "We should be near the northern ridge... No?" I asked, trying to read that weird scribbling.
"It's off," he said, shaking his head. "The stream bends east here, but on the map, it turns west. They changed the layout."
"Are we... following the wrong route?!" Sayuri's eyes widened in panic, "You mean the teachers… lied?"
"Not lied," he said.
"We are being tested." I added, "Again. You should have recognized the fact, Sayuri."
"Yes," Naoto nodded. "Cognitive adaptation assessment."
"In normal words," She asked, moaning, "we're screwed?"
"Not necessarily," Minato smirked. "Only if we rely on their map. It seems for the last stretch, we can't." I could see it; there was a spark in his eyes. "Let's make our own map," he said, kneeling to sketch in the dirt with a stick. "Renji, go, scout ahead, but only a hundred meters or so, for landmarks. Sayuri, get me the direction of the wind and keep monitoring its changes! Naoto, chakra traces. Your bugs have to pick up on the residue left by the patrols, leading us to our goal. We'll rebuild the path ourselves..."
"Heh!" I grinned, "Now this is more like it. Let's make sure we are going to be the first of the teams. I am not in the mood to let our reputation be sullied~!"