The ninjas of Team 7 were unaware of what was happening and how the life of their friend was being discussed as they talked about training methods that they might practice. Haku had already promised to continue their training in using pressure points during their training if he was allowed to stay. "Hey guys," Kakashi greeted as he saw that the two male members of his team were casually talking with the boy.
"So what did they decide Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto questioned the Jonnin excitedly.
Kakashi looked over at Haku as he spoke. "The Village Council is split upon their feelings on whether or not they should grant Haku citizenship and shinobi status. Zabuza's reputation and the attitude that Water has toward Bloodlines has made them somewhat dangerous in that regard. We really don't want to risk starting a war with them either should they take offense at our recruiting from their lands. It has therefore been decided to give Haku a chance to prove himself in a trial by combat. It shall be a physical test that shall discover if Haku has the skills and power that would make him worth the effort of recruiting and protecting. It has therefore been decided that Haku will prove his worth by fighting a proving battle against Sasuke in an exhibition match that will allow everyone to see just what Haku is capable of. Until then Team 7 is to act as your escorts and guards."
Naruto grinned at that. "Alright Haku, you can beat up Sasuke Teme and not get in trouble for it." He cheered the other boy as he patted him on the back.
Haku smiled at the excitable younger boy. "We shall see." He said with a smile. "If you were able to defeat me, then maybe the Uchiha boy can as well. I remember Zabuza-Sensei talking about the Uchiha clan and their strengths. They are the original users of the infamous sharrigan eye that has helped bring you such acclaim. It was one of the few dojutsu's that Zabuza-sensei respected and feared."
"Yes, the Uchiha Clan has a very powerful bloodline." Kakashi said in agreement. "Whatever you do, do not underestimate Sasuke, he is easily as powerful as Peter perhaps more so." Kakashi warned the other boy. "Part of Peter's advantage is that he does not need to use Chakra to increase his physical abilities unless he's fighting someone so much more advanced than him like you are. Come, it's time to examine the training grounds I've already sent a shadow clone to retrieve Sakura so that we can go over it together." The boys nodded and followed after the man. A grumpy looking Sakura greeted them, and the group waited while Haku examined the training grounds and the nearby bridge that made up their training grounds. Team 7 pointed out various things about the grounds as they watched over the boy. Haku wandered the grounds for a couple of hours as he familiarized himself with the area.
After Haku had seemed comfortable having gone through a couple of practice kata's they left the training ground and entered the supply store and Haku was able to buy several sebon needle packs for the coming fight. The ninja also refilled and examined the other weapons that were around the room. Peter always seemed to find some joy at looking at the various weapons and he did get flashes as he looked at various things. Today he had stopped as he saw a pair of sai's and the image of a kunochi dressed all in red with dark hair came to mind. The boy shook his head at that only to see a collapsible staff and the image of a ninja in a red bodysuit with horns came to mind. Unfortunately the pair were both without headbands so he couldn't figure out what village they might be from. He turned to examine a matching pair of Tekagi-shuko. They were ninja weapons that a ninja strapped onto their hands and it gave them a set of four clawed blades that shot out a foot or two. As he examined them he thought of a man in gold and yellow uniform with some sort of retractable version of the weapon in his gloves. The man reminded him of the Inuzuka clan members who were always sniffing around at times with their canine companions. Peter sighed as he turned away. He was on duty he couldn't let his want to find out what the images meant distract him from what he was doing. The group allowed Haku to get his weapons, and got a few other things that they needed before leaving the supply store.
Once that was done, Sakura led the group to the sushi bar where a depressed Peter and Naruto were forced to pay for the meals much to the amusement of the other members of Team 7 and Haku.
As they sat and ate, Kakashi decided now was the time to make some choices. "You have all done very well over the last mission, however I think some of you need to increase your training to become better ninja. I have tried to pound the basic ninja skills into each of you, starting with skills like knot tying and moving on to the basic academy level jutsu's. You have all shown great skill, however despite that you are still not ready for most of the more advanced jutsu's for various reasons. Sakura lacks the chakra to pull such attacks off, and Peter and Naruto lack the chakra control to be able to pull such attacks off unless they are somewhat overpowered. However, I am afraid that if I were to teach you any of those you would lose control of the attacks and be a danger to those you were working with unless you were able ensure something like one hit or something. With that in mind, I have decided to work on your training some more in another way. I want each of you to think about what you think you might like to learn and we will talk about it tomorrow after Haku's test." The three Gennin nodded their heads in acceptance of this as they then finished their meals and then escorted Haku back to the apartment.
Sakura was surprised as she had never been to any of the Aburame buildings, and saw the place where Peter and Naruto lived. There were a few Aburame's wandering around the building. They greeted Peter with nods of recognition, and Naruto was either ignored, glared, at or given curt nods. She had to admit all of the dark glasses and long overcoats or cloaks that they all wore was kind of creepy when she saw each of them wandering around the place. That didn't even include all the bugs that were skittering around the walls or flying about. The group was allowed in, and the group went up to the apartments and Sakura was shocked to find that the entire floor was cleared except for the rooms used by the ninja with her. One of the doors was painted bright orange while another was red with a spider emblem on it. She could figure out which room was who's easily enough, but chose not to bother trying to look in there. The group walked into Haku's apartment instead. It was a small area but livable. There was a futon in the bedroom area with a small fridge in the kitchen, it also had a bathroom and living area. A nice little bachelor pad if she had ever seen one she mused. She figured the rooms were set up similarly for the other two. She did wonder why the rest of the floor appeared to be abandoned. Haku took the futon, while Sakura took the couch while the other members found places around the room to sleep.
The next day the group left first going and getting breakfast and then heading to the training grounds where Ninja Council members were already gathering to watch the fight. The group headed to the wooden posts that Kakashi had threatened to tie them to and waited. A few moments later Sasuke, and two other boys in dark uniforms appeared. Each boy was dressed in dark clothing, Sasuke had replaced all of the blue in his clothing with gray in the last few days. Slightly behind him were two boys in cloaks that hid them from view.
"Sasuke you've already met." Peter said as he nodded to the boy. "The others are mysteries though since they weren't a part of our year."
"I see." Haku returned, as he nodded toward Sasuke.
Sasuke merely smirked at the other boy. "I hope you're ready to lose." He said calmly as if stating a fact.
"Please, like Haku is going to lose to you." Naruto shot back at the dark haired boy. "Haku's going to kick your ass all over the place. Believe It." He declared earning a snort of amusment from Sasuke and a chuckle from the others.
They were interrupted as the familiar form of a scarred former teacher appeared on the bridge and beckoned the two boys to them. Each boy took a stand at the opposite end of the bridge and waited. "I am Umino Iruka, and I shall be overseeing this test." The young man said seriously, as he turned to look the two boys over. "This test shall be to see if Yuki Haku is worth the effort to continue training and give the protection of the Leaf Village. We shall therefore allow him to fight against Uchiha Saskue to prove his worth before the eyes of the Ninja Council." He then turned to look over at Haku. "The rules are simple, you may use any ninjutsu, taijutsu or genjutsu in your arsenal as long as you do not kill your opponent." He waited a moment giving the boy a chance to consider what he had just said. "Yuki Haku, apprentice of Zabuza Momochi Demon of the Hidden Mist do you wish to withdraw at this time?"
