A Real Team

Panic

You wouldn't know just by looking at him, but internally, Kakashi was panicking. What was he thinking passing team 7? They were way behind what he expected from them and really, they didn't actually pass the bell test. But it was too late now, he had already passed them, and it was eating him up inside.

In his mind, all Kakashi could see was images of Obito being crushed by a rock and his own hand going through Rin's body. This team reminded Kakashi so much of his own it was scary. He didn't want them to have the same fate as his own genin team.

"Kakashi?" Kakashi looked up from his book, his mind returning to the present. He was alone in the room with the hokage, the other jounins having left already.

"Hokage-sama, I find myself conflicted." The hokage gave him a small nod to continue. "I passed them, despite the fact that they are on a much lower level than I am comfortable with."

"I saw." The hokage motioned to his crystal ball that was placed on his desk. Kakashi thought that he looked deep in thought, so he didn't interrupt him, even after five minutes of silence. "You are correct in thinking that way."

"It seems that we were correct in our suspicions that the academy curriculum have fallen dangerously low." Kakashi didn't need to turn around to know exactly who it was that entered the office. Danzo Shimura was the dark to Hiruzen's light. He presided over a large part of ANBU, including the most secret division, ROOT. Despite their many differences in opinion they were truly friends that had worked together for decades, protecting Konoha.

"Have you found out why?" Hiruzen asked. Kakashi was beginning to wonder if he should be there, but if they didn't say anything, neither would he.

"Not yet, but give my interrogators a day or so and we'll have the answer." The hokage gave a small nod before focusing his gaze back to Kakashi.

"After the Kyuubi attack, we were in dire need of more shinobi, or risk getting attacked." Kakashi nodded, he could already see where this was going. "I had the standards of the academy lowered, but they shouldn't be nowhere near this bad."

"What should I do then?" He needed to know before planning any further training. It wasn't the hokage that answered, but rather Danzo.

"Do as all jounin-senseis do, train them. You must have sensed it already, a storm is brewing and I fear that the newest generation will be at its epicenter." Kakashi had felt something of the kind, but his comrades all laughed at it and called him overly paranoid. All his friends but Guy and his old comrades in ANBU, they had felt exactly the same thing and Guy was properly preparing his own genin for the future.

"Kakashi, you have my express permission to train your students as hard as you want, I won't object." Kakashi bowed and left, a plan already forming in his mind.

XXXXX

The next day, Kakashi arrived at the training ground perfectly on time, only to see his students not acting like shinobi.

Naruto was loudly asking Sakura on a date while simultaneously insulting Sasuke. Sakura would reject Naruto and punch him when he insulted Sasuke. Something changed in Sakura's eyes just before she went to hit Naruto, 'something to investigate further', Kakashi thought to himself. Sasuke meanwhile kept his distance to his two teammates, sending a few glares and grunts their way every now and then.

"Good morning my lovely genin." As one, all three heads swirled towards him.

"Kakashi-sensei! What will we do today? Are we going to rescue a princess? Liberate a country? Learn some cool jutsu?" All of this was spoken very loudly and quickly. Kakashi mentally sighed, this behaviour was something that he seriously needed to quell. He changed his body language away from his lazy form, channeling hints of his ANBU captaincy.