Itachi walked into Naruto's home to a rather unusual sight; the redhead was on his couch, reading through a scroll. That was normal enough, but it was the fact that Anko was kneeling on a footstool behind him, slowly running her hands through his spiky locks with a look of wonder on her face. Itachi watched for about a minute as Anko just kept running her hands through Naruto's hair, breaking apart the laws-of-physics-defying spikes only for them to reform as soon as her hand passed through.
"How the hell does it do that?" Itachi managed a smirk as he watched the amusing scene, Naruto finally looking up from his scroll at his teammate.
"Hey, Itachi." Itachi just nodded as Anko suddenly fell backwards off the stool in surprise, rubbing her head as she glared at the Uchiha.
"Damn, do you always have to be so freaking quiet?" Itachi just shrugged, he was a ninja; weren't they supposed to be quiet? Naruto chuckled at the scene, running his hands through his hair once to see if Anko had disturbed it much. They had been happily living together for over six months now, officially anyway, with Naruto as Anko's technical legal guardian. They thought it would be pretty strange if she started calling him dad and they didn't particularly feel like siblings so they mostly just left their relationship how it was.
"It's time for our mission. Ensui-sensei said he had something special planned for us today." Naruto just grinned as he got up, shrugging on his tracksuit jacket and sandals.
"See you guys later." Both boys just waved to Anko as they left, sighing slightly as they took to the rooftops to get to the Hokage's tower faster.
"Damn, I wish Ensui sensei would just teach us the Shunshin, it would make getting around a whole lot easier." Itachi just groaned as he picked up the pace causing Naruto to look at him strangely.
"Please don't mention that around Shisui, ever since he saw sensei perform that technique it's all he ever talks about. I swear the day he learns that jutsu is the day I will see somebody happier than when Anko cooked you ramen for your birthday." Naruto looked mock-offended but chuckled all the same; that had definitely been a very good day for Naruto.
"Please, like that could ever happen." Itachi just shrugged but mentally he had an image of Shisui practically bouncing around the village in joy. They reached the Hokage tower quickly despite lacking that basic Jonin travelling technique and hurried through the building where they met up with a slightly bored Shisui who had been waiting for them. He just smiled upon seeing them and the trio walked into the office where they greeted Ensui and the Hokage. A triple call of 'Hokage-sama' followed by polite nods to the Jonin filled the room before both seniors motioned for silence.
"So Ensui-sensei, you said you had a surprise for us." The older Nara just nodded slowly, not even bothering to move his face from its usual lazy frown.
"Yes, I have been talking with the Hokage about your past mission record and have negotiated you three going on a B-ranked mission." The three Genin just gaped in shock, except Itachi, of course, but inside he was no less surprised. All of a sudden, two loud cheers rang out through the room as Shisui and Naruto loudly high-fived one another. The Hokage and Ensui sweat-dropped at the action, possibly rethinking the decision after the slightly immature display. However he two quickly rectified it by turning and bowing to the Hokage quickly.
"Thank you Hokage-sama, Ensui-sensei." The older Shinobi just sighed, they might act slightly immature at times but looking back over their records they were undoubtedly qualified. Their missions had all gone without a hitch so far, even the more dangerous C-ranks they had been assigned. Each could easily be called a prodigy in their own right and that included Shisui who hadn't even unlocked his Sharingan yet.
"Alright you guys... Meet me at the gates in fifteen minutes. Make sure you pack for a long trip, we don't know how long this will take." After getting a round of nods from his student, Ensui vanished in his shadowy Shunshin, practically making Shisui drool over the technique. Itachi saw this and sighed before dragging his cousin away to pack for their trip. Naruto was also about to leave when he was stopped by the aging Hokage.
"Naruto, hold on a moment." Naruto paused on his way out, turning around to the Hokage curiously only to see a look of concern on the older man's features. "Be careful out there." Naruto's brow furrowed while the rest of his features remained perfectly neutral.
"Of course, Hokage-sama." With that he left, quietly leaving through the door to get his things from his house and to tell Anko about his mission. As soon as he left Sarutobi sank back in his chair, sighing deeply as he looked over at Minato's picture, the blonde's face staring right back. He shook his head again as he quickly returned to the stack of paperwork on his large desk.
Thanks to their Sensei's laziness it actually took about half an hour before they were leaving the village, but none of them complained. Already used to it after six months with the Nara, they let their fantasies on how a B-ranked mission might play out. The three Genin were conspicuously backpack-free. Ensui began to lecture them on being prepared, but Naruto had quickly interjected that he had made them all a few storage scrolls which were subtly hidden across their bodies. The redhead smirked at his teacher's pleased look before returning to keeping watch over the road that stretched out in front of them.
"...and Yoshino won't stop going on about her little son Shikamaru, really bothersome I tell you. Next thing you know and..." The man trailed off as he spoke with Shisui, his eyes furrowing as he glanced around at the trees surrounding the small Shinobi group.
"What is it, sensei?" Shisui had caught onto the man's pause but the Jonin recovered, his face returning to its normal apathetic tone.
"Nothing. I just thought-" he was cut off as a kunai suddenly shot out from the tree-line, only to be intercepted as Naruto dived with an incredible burst of speed. Without even looking he caught the flying knife mid-air, throwing it back on exactly the path it had come from. The encounter lasted less than a few seconds before they heard a thump from the forest. The group quickly jogged over to investigate and found a man lying still in a growing pool of his own blood.
Ensui tentatively prodded the man with his foot, flipping him over until they could plainly see the kunai sticking out of his chest, right where his heart was. Ensui looked the man over, immediately noting the Iwa headband the man wore as well as the rest of his Chuunin attire. That made Ensui grimace as he looked around, not many Chuunin were stupid enough to take on a full squad with a Jonin in. He suspected there might be more of them so he quickly ordered his team back onto the road.
"Good work Naruto."
The redhead merely nodded grimly, he didn't exactly enjoy the fact he had killed somebody, morbid thoughts bubbling to the surface.
"I think now might be a good time to explain the mission, sensei." The older Nara just shook his head as he carried on walking at a lazy, unconcerned pace.
"Not until we're somewhere I'm sure we won't be spied upon." The Genin all just nodded as each unnoticeably picked up their pace in the direction of the next village. None of them saw as the Chuunin they left dead out in the forest slowly melted into a puddle of mud. Soon after a much taller, larger man dropped down from the forest, noting the state of his previously henged mud clone with a smirk before taking off after the scent he picked up.
"Alright sensei! I think we should know the mission details now."
Ensui quickly did a scan of the small hotel room to make sure they weren't being listened in on before nodding.
"Right, right. We were sent out to protect an important client, a wealthy businessman by the name of Gato. He's beginning to set up business in this area of Fire country and has been getting harassed by other businessmen in the country." Naruto just frowned at this, sitting down on the bed as it squeaked loudly from old springs.
"That's sounds more like a C-rank to me." Ensui just nodded as he too took a seat; the lazy man was glad to be off his feet again.
"Normally you'd be right but recently the threats have been getting more serious with even Shinobi being mentioned. Gato paid for a B-rank so that's what it is." Itachi just nodded with a small smirk from where he had sat in an old, but still comfortable chair in the corner.
"I see, so this is really a C-ranked mission but you wish to add to our records with an easy B-rank." Ensui also smirked however briefly.
"Easy to figure out then? How bothersome." Shisui and Naruto just smiled, happy that at least the mission wouldn't be as hard as they had thought it might, even if they were excited about being on a B-rank. Recently Naruto had been feeling hollow in spars with the two Uchiha; sure Itachi could keep him on his toes and even win a few times but it lacked the danger that made fighting enjoyable for him.
"Hey sensei, do you mind if we go out and train for a bit?" Ensui just nodded as he sank back into the chair, pulling out a scroll to read through.
"Sure, sure. Just be back before dinner." The redhead nodded as he sent a quick glance at Itachi who nodded in reply. Quickly, the three Genin left the room. However, when Shisui rounded the corner of the hallway and he couldn't see Itachi or Naruto anywhere in sight, he instantly threw up his hands, his body tensing. Instantly on guard, he made his way through the rest of the hotel carefully, wondering where his teammates had run too. Soon, he was outside. Then, around the back of the hotel which just bordered a large forest.
He was about to call out to his friends but was forced to dodge a kunai that appeared out of nowhere. He ducked into a roll, missing the deadly knife by a few centimetres before standing up and looking around furtively. He turned to the sound of clapping only to watch as a man dropped out of the tree-line, still clapping. He was a little taller than the Uchiha wearing a typical Chuunin jumpsuit with scraggly brown hair and an Iwa headband.
"Impressive Konoha scum, I don't usually miss my targets." Shisui just scowled at the man as he quickly reached for his own pouch, only to realise he had left it in the room when his fingers closed around thin air. The Iwa Shinobi just grinned at this as he suddenly rushed forwards at an incredible speed. Shisui could only blink in surprise as he was there one minute and in front of him the next. Reacting only on instincts born from fighting Naruto for so long, he diverted a swift punch away from himself and tried to return it with one of his own.
However is attack only met air as the man swivelled around his body, cracking him in the back with a devastating kick that sent him reeling forward. Shisui tried to turn around to face his attacker again only to receive a quick but powerful blow to the back of his neck. The last thing he felt before passing out was his leg being picked up and his body being dragged across the ground in the direction of the forest.
"Interesting, I was sure your friends would be the first to wake, they put up a much better fight after all." Shisui blinked his eyes open painfully, trying to see anything in the dark that surrounded them in the forest. The words reached him, just, as he turned his head in the direction of the voice to come face to face with the man who had attacked him. His eyes widened and he trying to punch the man but his hands were tied behind him, as well as his feet.
"What are you talking about?" The man just laughed evilly as his eyes flickered to the left and right of his captive. Following his gaze Shisui saw that Naruto and Itachi were tied up next to him in similar positions, both unconscious. "What do you want with us?" The man just laughed again as he pulled a kunai out of his pouch, idly picking his nails with it. Shisui blinked in surprise before his eyes hardened angrily.
"What else? I'm from Iwa, you're from Konoha. I want you to pay for everything you did to us in the third Shinobi war." Shisui's eyes opened wider again as he struggled in his bindings.
"What are you talking about, Iwa started the war!" The man just snarled angrily as he swiftly kicked Shisui in the stomach, eliciting a small grunt of pain from the Genin.
"Filthy Konoha propaganda, it was your Hokage who declared he war in the first place, our Tsuchikage was merely defending out territories." He smirked evilly before he crouched down in front of the boy, their eyes coming together. "And now you will die for it." He quickly raised the kunai, the weak sun glinting off the well polished metal before he began to bring it down, almost lazily.
"Coward." The kunai halted in mid-air as the Chuunin stared at Shisui in annoyance.
"What did you call me?" Shisui just chuckled, not really seeing much else to do now that he could practically feel his own death coming.
"I called you a coward, killing your enemy when he's defenceless; tied up and unable to fight back." The man just smiled as he twirled the kunai once into a reverse grip.
"We're Shinobi, kid. Lying, stealing and cheating is what we do, just a fact of the gruesome world we live in." He quickly brought down the kunai again in one motion, no hesitance this time and Shisui clenched his eyes shut awaiting the pain that would come. When he didn't feel it he cracked a single eye open, only to feel the breeze on his now un-bound and slightly sore wrists. He quickly jumped to his feet, staring at the man who was happily twirling his kunai around.
"Fine kid, I was gonna make your death quick, but if you want to go down swinging I'm all for it." He grinned evilly again as he settled back into a strangely familiar stance with his kunai forward in a reverse grip. Shisui knew he should probably focus on finding away to get away with his teammates or at least wake them up but he felt a burning anger towards this Shinobi who had insulted his home and hurt his friends.
He raced forwards only to be tripped up as the Iwa-nin sidestepped his attack; the Uchiha wasn't fazed though, turning his stumble into an attack as he brought his arms around, trying to strike the man Once again he was dodged, this time the other Shinobi managed to twirl and neatly slice Shisui down his back, making it look like a dance. The Uchiha refused to cry out as he once again attacked, this time ducking low in order to get under the man's guard.
Once again it was in vain, he was simply backhanded in the face with a fair bit of force. Right now he just felt like the man was playing with him. he waved around Shisui's attacks with grace and speed, sometimes just making it back in time but dodging all the same. Eventually the man seemed to get bored and viciously kicked the Uchiha in the gut, launching him through the forest of a short collision with a large tree.
He groaned before looking up as the Iwa ninja walked closer, once again spinning his kunai in that irritating and cocky manner. Shisui only looked up in anger, unable to properly move his body to dodge or even get up. He could only watch as the Shinobi smirked once before raising his kunai up into the air. As he brought it down Shisui realised a simple fact, he was going to die. The exciting fear of agony pulsed through his veins, making his numb body come alive. He didn't want to leave his family or his friends; there was still so much he wanted to do with his life like learn the Shunshin and beat Naruto in a spar.
As he watched in horror he could have sworn the kunai slowed down as it arced through the air; like the air had turned to runny treacle. However he was still unable to move, unable to react in time to stop it's downwards descent. He scrunched his eyes shut and simply waited for the finishing blow, hoping it would be painless and quick. However when that didn't happen for another few moments he became confused.
"Did it work?" Shisui's eyes opened a crack and instead of seeing the Iwa-nin like he thought he would he instead saw a mop of red hair next to a more controlled mass of jet black hair.
"I don't know, he has his eyes closed." Shisui opened his eyes fully, looking up at Naruto and Itachi as they looked down at him with curiosity. After a moment of staring two smiles crept over their faces while Shisui just looked around for any sign of the Iwa ninja.
"Naruto? Itachi? What happened? Where's the Iwa ninja?" The two boys just shared a look a mutual amusement passed between them causing Shisui to get concerned. Itachi just shrugged as he leant against a tree and Naruto adopted the pose that everybody who knew him recognised from when he was embarrassed.
"Uhh, there never was an Iwa ninja." Shisui just looked up in confusion, finally getting to his feet despite his slightly aching muscles.
"What do you mean, I was fighting him and he had you two knocked out!" Naruto just chuckled nervously as Itachi smirked; obviously finding it funny Shisui believed he and Naruto would be knocked out by a single Chuunin.
"Uhh yeah, that was a Genjutsu; the person you were fighting was me." Shisui just paused for a moment as his gaze flickered between his two teammates, his eyes showing his obvious anger.
"What the hell?!" Naruto just chuckled nervously as he began to undo his headband as Shisui blinked in surprise, the conversation getting increasingly weird. Naruto handed him the band and Shisui looked at him oddly, however when his gaze travelled lower he looked down in amazement at the polished metal. Staring right back at him from his own reflection were a pair of two-tomoe Sharingan, glowing slightly in the darkening light.
"Woh, I have Sharingan!" Naruto just smiled; even Itachi managed to crack a small smile as he saw his cousin continue to look at his new eyes in amazement. Quickly though his head shot up and he lashed out at Naruto, the quick boy only just jumping back in time. Shisui watched again in amazement, marvelling at how much slower Naruto seemed to travel. It was still much too fast for him to effectively counter but it was still much better. His eyes gleamed slightly at the prospect of finally being able to fight with his teammates on equal terms.
"Congratulations." Shisui turned to Itachi, noting the small smile the normally more stoic Uchiha wore as he gently clasped his kin on the shoulder. Naruto did the same on his other shoulder, however a little more hesitantly after the boy's last outburst.
"You guys did this just so I could unlock my Sharingan?" His teammates nodded and Shisui smiled before wincing as he felt his side burn suddenly, one of his ribs probably broken.
"Yeah, we figured it was about time you caught up." They all laughed and bean to make their way back through the forest in the direction of the hotel. Shisui limped a little but they made it in good time, quickly emerging from the tree line into the dwindling sunlight that still managed to barely reach over the horizon.
"So that was a Genjutsu, it felt so real." Itachi just nodded, he was also feeling slightly winded from maintaining the powerful Genjutsu over Naruto for so long.
"I can tell you more about it when I start training you in your Sharingan." Shisui looked around, slightly surprised at his friend for a moment before Itachi clarified. "At least until you can have your own family train you." The other Uchiha nodded, wincing again as he held his side painfully.
"Did you have to go so hard Naruto?" The redhead merely chuckled as he slung an arm under his teammates shoulder, supporting him as they made their way through the hotel.
"Itachi told me I had to make it as real as possible so you really believed it was a life-threatening situation." Shisui just nodded with a sigh but not before he sent a glare Itachi's way. With his Sharingan activated it actually managed to look quite intimidating, not that it affected Itachi much. The rest of the way back to the room Shisui played about with his new Doujutsu, practising turning it on and off while smiling every time the world would slow around him slightly. Finally they made it back to the room where Ensui was lazily looking through a scroll; their entrance made him look up and notice Shisui's eyes.
"Oh, so it worked then, how bothersome." Shisui's eyes twitched violently as he sent an accusatory finger his sensei's way.
"You knew too?!" Ensui just sighed as he nodded, returning to his scroll languidly.
"Of course, I was the one who suggested it." Shisui's eye twitched again and he would have launched himself at his sensei if his side didn't suddenly flare out in pain. Ensui just looked up again with a sigh, the rings around his eyes making him look even more tired than his attitude would have you believe.
The jonin drawled, "So bothersome... Did you have to hurt him so badly? Now I'll have to get on my old, aching knees and heal him."
Naruto just shrugged sheepishly before carefully setting his teammate down on a chair and flopping down on his own bed. Ensui quickly got up, his hand already lighting up in green chakra as he began to heal the worst of Shisui's injury. He wasn't an expert in medical Ninjutsu but as a Jonin he was forced to know enough to heal fairly minor injuries like this.
Shisui watched the man go about his work, fascinated by the technique that was slowly resetting his ribs into their proper place. Unconsciously he activated his Sharingan and was amazed as he saw the chakra from the technique flow into his body. Intrinsically he began to understand how the whole process worked, how the medical Chakra vibrated at just the right frequency to encourage his own body's healing. He smiled brightly as the pain was leeched from his body, 'So this is what I've been missing out on? Well not anymore!'
The group picked up the pace he next day, not wanting any other attacks like the one involving the Iwa Chuunin. As they hopped through the trees, Itachi was explaining to Shisui about his Sharingan and the abilities he now had. While Shisui had, of course, pretty much had this conversation with his parents before, it took on a whole new meaning. Now, he actually had the bloodline. He continued to play with it, activating it on and off with a goofy grin while Itachi would just sigh at seeing the prestigious Doujutsu reduced to a novelty.
Naruto listened in on their conversation, fascinated as he heard Itachi explain the intricacies of the Sharingan. He learned that the Uchiha have much better abilities concerning Genjutsu due to their ability to see the chakra they use. Able to visually understand genjutsu made them intimate with the ability to manipulate their enemies' senses. He also found out about the slight predictive abilities the eyes held, although that mostly came into effect with the evolution to the three tomoe state. However, Itachi hadn't activated that yet. He could only provide the explanation his own father had given him, verbatim. Nevertheless, Naruto was fascinated.
He knew from his father that even a fully matured Sharingan was far from perfect. Minato was said to be one of the few people actually fast enough to render the predictive ability useless. While a well trained Sharingan user could follow him with their eyes, their actual reflexes could do nothing to dodge or block him. It was one reason he had been well-respected by the clan. Naruto thought to himself slighty smugly as he hopped from branch to branch. One day he would be that fast. When Itachi finally matured to three tomoe, they would finally have the fight both had been waiting for.
He was brought out of his daydream as his eyes widened, catching a slight flicker in the periphery of his vision. On reflex alone, he suddenly stopped on the branch he landed on, using his hands to suddenly swing around and press his back up against it. Moments after, ten or so kunai impacted with the branch with dull thuds; some sailing over where his body would have been. Similar things happened with Itachi and Shisui but with their respective Sharingan they were able to see it in time and hurl themselves out the way. Ensui merely melted away into his shadow, the kunai harmlessly passing overhead.
Naruto sighed as he sprang back up onto his branch, already expecting it when a very large and muscular man dropped down some way out in front of the group. He wore black Shinobi pants and sandals as well as an Iwa headband and flak jacket but nothing else. His bulging, ripped upper body was clenching in intimidating display. He had many scars that dotted his chest and arms, a close-shaven shear of brown hair, and black void-like eyes that stared at the three Genin with dispassionate bloodlust.
"When I agreed to an assassination mission against that Gato guy I thought it would be boring..." his slightly scarred mouth twisted into a cruel smile "...then I see two Uchiha and I think my luck is turning around..." Finally he looked at Naruto, his grin turning into a snarl "...then I see the Yellow Flash's brat and that made me certain Kami was smiling on me." He chuckled darkly as he pulled out two kunai, letting the Konoha Genin watch in amazement as he dug them into the earth. When he pulled them out the two blades were coated with rock, forming two very long and sharp swords.
Naruto glanced around, checking for their sensei but he seemed to have conspicuously disappeared. He turned his attention back to their new opponent, noting the fact his flak jacket was that of a Jonin. As powerful as the three were together they didn't stand much of a chance against the man if he went full out. They simply had to hope he underestimated them; however the bloodthirsty gleam in his eye said very differently.
"Masi Kotechi, the stone bull of Iwa." It was Shisui talking and Naruto wasn't surprised considering his friend had practically memorised the bingo book as well as any notable ninja from other nations.
"Well what do you know, my reputation precedes me." Naruto gulped when he noticed the slightly nervous look Shisui had; that could only mean the guy was powerful.
"Watch out for his swords, he can manipulate them into any weapon." Masi just looked irritated as he glared at the Uchiha, pointing one of the stone blades his way.
"Don't ruin the surprise, it's rude, you should-" He was cut off as Naruto suddenly rushed forward in a red blur, intent on catching the man at a moment of distraction. Unfortunately for him the man as better than that and even Naruto's impressive speeds were more average for a Jonin of his calibre. He simply batted the redhead away with the flat of his sword, sending the Genin into a tree. Immediately after that he brought his two swords up, crossing them together as the stone merged into a large shield, blocking the massive fireball Shisui and Itachi had sent his way.
He chuckled as the stone morphed back onto blades, this time slightly curved like Scimitars. He used them to effortlessly parry the kick Naruto had sent him from behind, making the redhead's ankles throb in agony.
The man wielding the weighty stone blades like they were paper toyed with the genin, nullifying and perfectly anticipating their weak attacks. Naruto tried not to show his frustration as he continued to launch lightning fast strikes on the man, only to be parried by the flat of his blades ever time. Seemingly without effort, the jonin began to exhaust them.
It left Shisui and especially Itachi in slight awe of the Jonin, even he had trouble defending against Naruto when he was going all out like this. Suddenly the redhead backed off, flipping back to land on a tree where he quickly shrugged off arm and leg bands he had started wearing since the team had formed. He stretched out a moment, getting a feel for his muscles again after having them weighted down for a while. It was usually unwise for somebody to remove their weights in the middle of a fight but Naruto always made sure he kept them off at the weekends so he could better acclimatise his body to the changes.
Itachi and Shisui were left in even more amazement as Naruto seemingly disappeared from the branch. The only reason they were even still able to see him was their Sharingan; even then he was still pretty much a blur. Both of them were thinking along similar lines as they saw him once again launch himself at the Jonin 'He's been holding back this whole time?' Naruto finally allowed himself to smirk; Masi was still blocking every one of his attacks but now he was visibly trying. He backed off again, panting slightly from the speed he had been moving at.
"Well, at least this confirms you really are that bastard's son, only a Namikaze could move that fast at your age." Naruto kept his emotions in check when the man insulted and praised his father in the same breath and simply turned his gaze to Shisui and Itachi. Getting the message the two of them leapt at the man; not being nearly as fast as Naruto Masi was easily able to fend off their attacks, however when Naruto rejoined the fray he suddenly found himself hard pressed.
Getting annoyed and bored the Iwa nin suddenly clasped his hands together, the two swords merging into one, much larger broadsword growing out like a jagged crystal. With a sweeping blow he managed to catch all three Genin in a move even Itachi and Shisui's Sharingan couldn't help them against. All three suddenly found their necks enveloped in a stone collar attached to the kunai in the man's hands. When they tried to move the collar would close slightly on their necks, suffocating them slowly.
"Impressive for Genin but in the end that's what you are, Genin." He was suddenly cut off as dark black threads pierced his body in multiple places, including his heart. He could only blink once in surprise before the stone collars crumbled to dust and he fell off the branch, dead before he hit the ground. All three Genin were left panting, rubbing their necks as their sensei suddenly revealed himself from the shadow of a nearby tree.
"You three did very well, especially against an opponent of Masi's standards." Shisui just glared at their sensei, still rubbing his sore neck as he struggled to get air into his lungs again.
"Where were you Sensei?!" Ensui just sighed as he poked Masi's dead body with his foot, this time actually checking to see if this was a clone or not.
"It was bothersome... So, I thought I would let you guys handle it. Turns out you needed my help in the end after all." Naruto and Itachi both frowned at this, suddenly feeling inadequate which the lazy, but perceptive Nara making them out to be incapable.
"Don't feel bad though. Iwa's stone bull was an opponent even I would have had difficulty with if you three hadn't provided an adequate distraction. You performed admirably and considering this man was an A-ranked Jonin it was impressive you lasted as long as you did." The two still didn't look convinced while Shisui still just seemed angry their sensei hadn't done anything until the last moment. Ensui just sighed as he began to move through the trees again, motioning for his team to do the same; murmuring under his breath about how bothersome it was to be a good teacher.