Neji's POV (Team Nine's Training Ground - Hidden Leaf Village)
Naruto and Ino looked guiltily at each other as Neji rolled his eyes.
"Since it seems my team is confident in their choice, we'll consider that locked in." Kurenai's voice sounded out. "However, that leaves Team Seven…"
"Okay, so we'll question the three of you one by one, you guys can stay quiet during such times to keep the fakes in the mix from interfering. And because we know Choji is a fake, we'll ignore him in general." Yuno decided. "Blondie here can go first."
"Blondie?!" Ino asked with a twitching brow. "That's sort of a personal nickname between us."
"Ah, because you're both blonde. Well, anyway, Blondie, we'll focus on you. Before we had an unfortunate encounter with my cousin Sasuke. Both parties were in a rush, so the two of you had a collision. What happened next?" Yuno asked innocently.
Naruto hardly had to think back to remember the encounter. Sasuke Uchiha had been the name that haunted him during the Academy. The man was the peak among his peers, being ranked number one throughout his career. It was part of the reason Naruto now wished to be Hokage; having someone be constantly above him made him realize being a standard shinobi wasn't enough. Naruto wanted to be someone extraordinary, a goal for his peers to aspire to, as the Hokage had served as an example for him now. "Well, I tried to apologize for it first, I was in my own head, so it's partially my fault. But the guy made some smart ass comment, acted like I was utterly beneath him. I nearly fought the guy, but he suddenly acted better around me. Your cousin wasn't amazing, but I did appreciate your peacemaking."
"That does serve to correct me… stay quiet for now, Team Seven, we'll ask a few questions for each of you. The next one should be easy! Do you find me attractive?"
"This is stupid." Neji chimed in with a roll of his eyes.
"Shut it," Naruto said with a roll of his eyes. They narrowed, however, when Neji stayed silent.
"Maybe a less… random question." Ino chimed in, both her brows now twitching.
"It's not random." Shino countered. "There's a specific reason she asked both those questions."
"It sounds like she's just being a gossiper to me." Choji chimed in.
"Not that there's anything wrong with that." Ino pointed out with narrowed eyes of her own. Pretty sure you are the fake Choji…"
"Um, okay?" Naruto replied, confused. "I suppose you are pretty… Well, pretty? Your hair is nice, and I like your eyes."
"Real smooth talker, you are, Blondie." Yuno joked. "You got one, Shino?"
"Indeed. Naruto Uzumaki, what was your final rank in the Academy?" Shino asked simply.
"Of course this comes up…" Naruto grumbled to himself. While it wasn't essential to him, it was a sore spot. "Yeah, I was ranked damn near last, the number was like thirty-fourth? Happy?"
"Incredibly, I found that to be informative. Shall we move on to Neji or Ino next?"
"Ino, I got one or two for her right now," Yuno replied casually. "You run a flower shop, can you tell me the meaning of the… Hasu, Shobu, and the Sweet Pea flowers?"
"Excellent question." Shino complimented his teammate.
"Well, the Hasu is used a lot for weddings and shrines. It usually is a symbol of knowledge or purity. The Shobu is used by monks and those of the spiritual world for protection… They usually represent inner strength and luck. And the Sweet Pea… um…" Ino trailed off.
"It's something that sort of fell out of favor. But from what I remember… it was something of a farewell flower?" Naruto pointed out.
"Wasn't supposed to answer, idiot," Neji remarked. Naruto shot him a glare, but fell silent all the same. Neji offered a hand for Yuno to continue.
"I honestly think that's enough," Ino said, offering a curious glance toward Neji.
"Agreed, Neji is the fake," Naruto said with a nod.
"Ah, good, we're all in agreement then," Yuno said with a nod.
"For one, we confirmed it wasn't Ino a couple of times. Her reaction to Yuno's flirting feels authentic, and her knowledge of flowers is on point. Finally, Naruto and her arrived together." Shino pointed out.
"Yeah, plus Neji actually backed down from me earlier. It was even weirder when he got me to shut up and didn't even react." Naruto pointed out.
Two poofs of smoke erupted over Neji and Choji. Revealing Kakashi and Kurenai standing in their respective places. "Well done," Kurenai said. "In the shinobi world, deception will often be used against you. In times like that, the only thing you can rely on is each other. So it's important to be familiar with one another and able to communicate."
"Team Nine was almost immediately able to suss out the fake. Shame, I thought I did a decent job portraying Choji, too." Kakashi said solemnly. "Impressive work, you all; however, my own team only discovered the fake after a decent amount of work, even with the aid of Team Nine. If this were a real-life situation, Team Nine would've found and apprehended the spy long before they were able to wreak havoc, but my own team would've likely come up short. However, this next exercise should aid with that…"
X-X
Neji's POV
Being ambushed by Kakashi had been a somewhat novel experience. At this point, Neji was nearly used to the man's strange behavior. It was still infuriating to be kidnapped by the man, even more so to have the man impersonate him. It had been amusing to watch his team struggle. It was even more thrilling to see Naruto's face when Choji and Neji returned and he realized he had witnessed the whole thing.
Oh, Neji was not blind to what they were trying to get across. And it had stung his pride to see just how incompetent his team was compared to a functional one. But unlike the others, Neji recognized the actual problem. Naruto was blind to the way of the world, to his place within it, and the limitations it leaves on him. But Neji would eventually remind him of how things were.
As they waited for their sensei to set up the next test, he attempted to rectify the shortcomings of his team. "Kakashi has set up this little day to humble us; he intends to put us against a team with better teamwork and have them outshine us. I suppose he hopes that from there, we'll become the team he wants. That means the path forward is clear; the team needs a leader."
"Isn't Kakashi our leader?" Ino said dryly.
"A leader, yes, but today has shown us we need one amongst ourselves. Unless you want today to be embarrassing, you need to comply with my idea. Allow me the lead in the next training exercise. I will make sure we come out looking half decent." Neji explained.
"Is gaming the exercise meant to bring us together, really all that wise?" Naruto replied equally unenthused. "Then again, I don't think we are gonna get through to you, so fine."
"Really?" Ino asked him doubtfully.
Naruto merely rolled his eyes in response. "I don't like it, but Neji's right, I hate being embarrassed even more. So let him take the lead, when he fails us due to being an arrogant ass, I'll enjoy telling him I told you so."
Neji rolled his own eyes. The two of them were simple, not his equals. Neji needed to remember that. So as long as they went along, Neji would be magnanimous enough to pretend as well.
"This next exercise is simple, easy, and even," Kakashi announced to the six of them. "We're simply going to have a conversation of sorts…" As he finished, a strange seal flicked into his hand. "This seal here is one I made myself. It is a seal to force the wearer to tell only the truth. With it, each of you will answer two questions from me and Kurenai. That's it."
"It may seem random, but we believe forcing the truth of something will allow the two teams here to grow closer." Kurenai went on. "Secrets and lies may be the language of shinobi, but not the language of teamwork. Naruto, you will begin."
"Well, I'm not sure about this whole inability to tell lies," Naruto said hesitantly.
"Too bad~!" Kakashi replied as he casually slapped the tag onto Naruto. "Am I cool?"
"Yes. Damnit, I didn't wanna say that!" Naruto roared.
"Working like a charm. Kurenai, the first question I prepared?"
"Why do you want to be Hokage, Naruto?" Kurenai asked simply.
The rest of them were silent. And Neji stared intently into Naruto's eyes as he pondered the question. It had bothered Neji since the first time he had heard it. Someone like Naruto Uzumaki not only wanted to become Hokage, but also thought it was even possible. And the reasoning only served to upset Neji more. Naruto wanted to become Hokage to gain the people's support and finally prove his worth to them. Idiotic, truly, they would never let him if he didn't do that first…
"It's so people realize that I'm not what they thought I was."
An electric ripple sounded off as Naruto cried out in pain. "The hell that was true?!"
"It doesn't allow for parietal truths," Kakashi answered plainly.
"Fine! I want to prove my worth to people, but really, it's about showing them I'm right! As much as I wanna show them just how wrong they were, I want to prove it to myself more. If I can manage to become the peak of Leaf shinobi, then no one, not even myself, can doubt it anymore. That I'm worth something…"
Neji gritted his teeth as silence filled the clearing. But for once, it was not Naruto's fault. Neji had assumed it was some sort of childish want, but it was clear it was a thought-out goal. It still angered Neji, however, not the goal itself; if Naruto sought self-acceptance, all the better for him. But the foolish notion that it was even possible!
"Naruto…" Yuno and Ino replied sadly.
"It's not like that! I'm not all miserable or whatever, I know I'm worth a lot more than people think. But I don't know, I want a tangible legacy to leave behind. A story or message for people like myself… let them know it can get better, will if you just keep going."
"So you're full of hope and false hope and wish to pass that along." Neji snarked.
"Sounds more like he's an optimist to me." Choji countered as he raised a brow toward Neji. "And like you're a bit of a tool."
"Ah, Neji's cold attitude has brought out Choji's protectiveness." Yuno joked, trying to break apart the tension. "No need for this to get so heated."
"Nor to embarrass ourselves in front of our sensei's," Shino added. "It's one thing to have personal disputes, another to have them out on the clock."
"Can we just ask the next question?" Naruto said unamused. "I answered the question, and we know it's the truth, unless we need more to prove it. Oh, I know, Kakashi reads smut constantly!"