Kumo Ninja Graduation

That very day, the unusual group known as Kumogakure's Taifu Academy was holding their own graduation ceremony for students. A short, wiry red-haired man lightly jumped onto a rock so he could see the array of masked students sitting cross-legged on the grass before him. He chuckled quietly at the sight; Kakashi would have been proud. "Class, this year, to graduate you must defeat one of my Water Clones, working alone or in pairs." A murmur rose and was shushed. "Any volunteers?" A boy with dark brown hair and a bandanna rose from the crowd and came to the front. He elected to engage the water clone in a taijutsu fight all on his own, and he lasted for several minutes before being forced to yield. "Next!" called the clone. It was not unusual for someone to fail the graduation test several times in the Taifu Academy; those who could defeat the water clone or create enough destruction or whatever the test may be that year were often closer to top Genin level than recent graduates. Another interesting point was that every boy and girl were orphans, taken off of the streets of various villages in the Land of Thunder, and a suspicious amount of redheads among them. This year, judging from budgeting and quotas, approximately six would become genin this year, out of the forty students. The water clone stood in a drenched, smoking, battered sparring field, calling "Next!" A boy and a girl, sitting together in the back, nudged each other until they slowly rose.

"Ah Hiro, Suzume. Ready?" And he was met by a barrage of fireballs, and when the smoke cleared, the clone was nowhere to be seen. Suzume closed her eyes, put her hands together, and concentrated; a split second later she shouted "BELOW!" as they both dived to the side. As the water clone burst from the ground, it was forced to block a wave of fire, creating steam that again obscured its view. Again knowing the clone's location, Suzume muttered "Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder." spitting several electric bolts at the water on the ground. It was conducted by the water until it reached the water clone, which sputtered and sizzled before melting back into water. "Congratulations." murmured the instructor, who was somehow right next to them holding out Kumo headbands. "Good teamwork and strategy, you two. Welcome to the shinobi world." As they ran back ,cheering and celebrating with their friends, another water clone rose out of the puddles and another pair came to try their luck.

The next day, Hiro and Suzume rose from their bunk beds to see a notice taped on their room door- "REPORT TO GROUND NINE FOR TEAM ASSIGNMENTS." Hurrying to get dressed, they bounced ideas off of each other for a good third. They arrived at the grounds to see three other students just leaving, being led away by the old Bōjutsu teacher, apparently their new sensei. The headmaster was still there, along with another red-haired ninja in armor. "Hiro! Suzume!" cried the headmaster. "Over here!" He waved them over enthusiastically. "I swear, all the redheads are clones..." muttered Suzume under her breath. They all nearly broke the standard chakra-reserve meter, all acted the same, and all ate ramen obsessively. It was creepy. "So guys, seeing as how only five graduated, Shiro here will be joining your team! Have a nice day!" and Anjin poofed away.

The newly-named Shiro Uzumaki surveyed them all for a tense second, before smiling widely with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head. "Hi! I'm Shiro Uzumaki and I'm your new teammate! Let's spar for a bit to test your skills. Both of you against me." Sharing a glance, "But Shiro-san, you'll be hurt!" Laughter was his reply. "Don't worry about it." So they squared off, and Hiro and Suzume charged. Both were decent in taijutsu, neither was exceptional in the field. Shiro, much to their embarrassment, fended off their attacks with just his arms, not moving from where he stood. "Come on guys! You can do it!" They jumped back twenty feet and Hiro began to form handseals. He was forced to stop suddenly when he found a glinting blade inches from his throat, and a still-smiling Shiro commented "No ninjutsu yet." Taijutsu continued, and Suzume was left open when she overextended her punch. Shiro slapped her rear end, making her fall over holding her bottom with both hands. "PERVERT!" she yelled as Hiro's attacks intensified. Then Suzume suddenly felt weak, and looked down to see a black design on her pants. ''a seal? but...'' She mentally recalled Shiro's hand coming down and hitting her, and leaving a seal behind. still a pervert. she determined, before passing out.