"Bolo-kun. Thank you for coming." Hiruzen said as Bolo bowed before him in his office.
"No, Lord Hokage. It is my honor."
"Regarding Sabuko Kanto," Hiruzen puffed. Bolo's body twitched slightly, "I've made my decision. But, I wanted your final say on this."
"... I see."
"Do you think Sabuko should remain a Genin?"
"Yes, Lord Hokage." Bolo said without hesitation.
"..!!" Hiruzen's eyes widened, "Have you thought about it, then?"
"I didn't need to, sir." Bolo shook his head, "I was outdone, and lost fair and square. Sabuko used every tool he had to claw his way into staying."
Bolo raised his head.
"His taijutsu is severely lacking, yes. But he more than made up for it with his perception, creativity..." Bolo then placed his palm on his rib.
"And cold-headedness. He had every opportunity to hurt me, yet he was laser-focused on completing the mission he set out to complete, and beat me."
He clutched his hand.
"I'm frustrated by him. Terribly so."
He looked out the window.
"Sabuko-kun is a mere Genin. By every conventional measure, I should have had him completely outclassed. And yet, I lost miserably." Bolo inhaled, "That very fact is proof he's worthy of being a ninja."
"You have no second thoughts?" Hiruzen leaned in.
"Sir, I'll be very blunt. I failed as an instructor." Bolo clenched his eyes shut.
"I nearly failed him because I thought he wasn't physically fit to be a ninja. And that was after he showed me his resolve and heart."
"Then he beat me using the tools he actually had."
"And when he had the chance to hurt me, he didn't."
He then looked at Hiruzen dead in the eye.
"If that doesn't qualify him, what exactly was I testing for?"
Hiruzen smiled.
"I see. Thank you, Bolo-kun. You may leave."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
--------- SOME TIME LATER ---------
"I'm... joining Team 10?" Sabuko tilted his head, confused, seated across from the Hokage.
"Temporarily so, yes. Until a more permanent solution comes up. Despite you and Bolo-sensei making up earlier today, we cannot assign you to the same team." Hirzuen replied after a short nod.
Sabuko nodded.
"And that's why Kakashi-sensei suggested placing you with Team 10, under my son, Asuma. You'll be a Genin alongside his Genin."
'A main-cast team, huh? I guess it's fine… They're not the main main cast, but I probably had the most fun with them, really. Besides, Asuma takes them to BBQ a lot, so I'll get to go fat.'
"Then I should go make my acquaintance with Asuma-sensei?"
"Yes…" Hiruzen coughed into his hand. "You may leave. They'll be waiting for you in the Ninja Academy."
"Alright. Thank you, Lord Hokage." He bowed and turned to go.
"One final thing, actually..." Hiruzen called out, stopping him.
"...?"
"Your use of the Kage Bunshin was exceptional. I've... Erhm, been briefed by Kakashi about your fight with Bolo-sensei."
'Bullshit. I bet you spied on me with your crystal ball, but whatever.'
The Hokage then sneezed, as if on cue.
"Bless you, Lord Hokage. And thanks."
"T-... That aside," Hiruzen cleared his throat.
"I wonder, just how many Shadow Clones are you able to create in one instance?"
'... No point in lying to the Hokage about that.'
"Not much," he shrugged. "Only 3 right now."
'Leveled up from just two, at least.'
"...?" Hiruzen's brow lifted.
"Three, you say?" he repeated.
"Have you always been able to do that?"
"Uhm…" Sabuko scratched his head. "No. I learned it after graduation, from Naruto. At first, I could barely summon one without collapsing. Took me over fifteen days of repeatedly draining my chakra reserves to push it to this much."
Hiruzen cleared his throat again, his gaze narrowing at Sabuko.
'...Is he mad? It's still a forbbiden jutsu after all... Crap. Better steer this somewhere else…' Sabuko thought, clearing his throat.
"Haha… Naruto's so lucky. He can pop out hundreds at once like it's nothing."
"..."
Hiruzen stared at him a moment longer before sighing and looking away.
"Indeed. You may leave now, Sabuko. Go meet your new supervisor."
"Y-yes, sir." Sabuko said quickly and stepped out.
The room fell into silence.
The Hokage sat still, deep in thought.
' "Only three shadow clones after fifteen days," he says…' Hiruzen exhaled slowly.
'Not even Kakashi can manage more than four before collapsing… My own limit is around seven before it becomes dangerous.'
'And yet this boy pushed his chakra reserves to the edge for over two weeks... With no signs of fatigue or permanent damage, and claims he can summon three Shadow Clones already?'
'He doesn't hail from the Uzumaki, nor any notable bloodline. No heritage to explain this explosive growth...'
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, fingers steepled under his chin.
'Whatever it is, bypassing the typical limits without signs of severe chakra-depletion syndrome… That shouldn't be possible under normal circumstances.'
'Curious.'
------------------------
"Ah. Takos," Sabuko called out as he stepped out of the Hokage's building, spotting Takos and Koko waiting with expectant eyes.
"Sup?"
"Uh," Takos looked away, blinking down at the ground. "G-Great, man. How are you?"
"Doing great?" Sabuko muttered, raising an eyebrow.
'Why's he so jittery?'
"U-... UHM!" Koko suddenly blurted out, snapping to attention with a jump, her eyes fluttering as she straightened her posture.
"I... WE... We..." she fumbled, "Uhm... Thank you, Sabuko-kun." she murmured, bowing her head.
"It's thanks to you that... we're shinobi now."
She avoided his calm gaze, flinching away with a shy blush.
'Ah... they came to thank me? Well, at least one of them came willingly.'
"Y-You're staying on our team, right? Team 9?" she asked, hopeful.
Even Takos glanced up now and then from his awkward slouch, stretching his lips sideways, not quite meeting Sabuko's gaze.
"Yeah... We kinda wanted to know what Lord Hokage said," Takos added, voice low. "I don't really care, though. Just interesting stuff, and all."
Sabuko blinked at them. Once. Twice.
"Ahhh..." he groaned.
'... I'll make something up. Story might be too crazy for them to buy it anyway.'
"I tried to convince him to let me stay on your team..." He clicked his tongue.
"But thanks to what I said to Bolo-sensei, y'know about me having weak taijutsu, it's better if I'm not in the same squad and one that has like, more strength to balance my weak ass...? Not sure. He was pretty vague."
Takos finally raised his head. Koko's shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Haha, I messed it all up, huh?" Sabuko said with a crooked smile.
A pause.
"...Y-Yeah," Takos let out. "Thanks to you being weak, we're now a 2-man cell. Why didn't you train harder, dumbass!?"
He gave him a light shove.
"Now what the hell am I supposed to tell my parents? You're lucky the Hokage didn't send you back to the Ninja Academy, dumbass."
"Sorry, sorry… Need you to convince them to let me stay. Wouldn't want to lose my roof, you know?" Sabuko said.
"Hrn, whatever, fine! But you owe me big time. I'll think of something. L..."
He looked down, his voice quieter, "... Leave it to me."
'...' A few seconds passed where none of them spoke a word.
"No, I don't owe you," Sabuko raised his eyebrow. "I passed you, you bastard."
"What's that supposed to mean?! I passed on my own merit!" Takos snapped. "And if anything, it's thanks to me you made it this far!"
"Listen here…!" Sabuko started, "You should know that—"
"S-So," Koko interrupted, "Sabuko-kun, what team did you end up on? I doubt you'd be sent to Lord Hokage just to be kicked out..."
Sabuko turned to Koko.
"Team 10. They seem pretty chill."
"Hmph, lucky bastard," Takos muttered. "Ino's kinda... uhm..." He glanced sideways at Koko, who tilted her head in suspicion. Takos leaned in toward Sabuko, whispering,
"Tell you what. Hook me up with Ino Yamanaka, and we're even."
Koko deadpanned at Takos.
"No, dumbass," Sabuko replied flatly. "I told you, I'm not a matchmaker (Especially not for kids.) If you like her, go hit on her yourself."
"Either way, what about you?" Sabuko asked, brushing him off. "How are you going to run a two-man cell?"
"Bolo-sensei said we'll do E-rank missions until another graduate joins. So a few months or so."
"I see."
"...."
"Well, thanks for stopping by. I'm heading to the Academy to meet my new team." Sabuko gave them a final wave, hands slipping into his pockets as he turned and walked off down the path.
Takos and Koko stood in silence before the Hokage's building, watching him go.
After a brief pause, they both tilted their heads in confusion.
"Hey, what's with the dramatic exit?!" Takos barked as he and Koko ran towards Sabuko. "At least let me check out Ino—I'm coming with!"
"Sabuko-kun… there's no reason we can't walk with you, right?" Koko added, more softly.
Sabuko glanced back, a small smirk tugging at his lips.
"Guess not, huh."
'Haaaah... I planned to fantasize about some mommy domme foxgirl harem while on the way there...'
'But, I guess I can save that for later.'