Asuma Sarutobi looked at his team, his full team for once, and sighed. He knew his social proclivity, namely his laidback mannerisms, would come back to haunt him one day. Kurenai even told him so every chance she got, but he always ignored her advice to shape up. At last, however, the estranged son of the Hokage had finally received his just desserts in the form of his newest students.
Team 10 had, hands down, the laziest group of genin this side of the mortal plane. Asuma was sure of that. In their first meeting alone, Chouji ate four bags of junk food and Shikamaru fell asleep no less than three times. Seriously, he was not that boring, was he? As for the third member, Haruto Uzumaki, well, what could he say; the boy did not even bother to show up until now. About two weeks ago, Asuma had approached the Hokage to have Haruto demoted for gross dereliction of duty. His father refused, citing extraordinary circumstances involving classified information that could not be divulged. Needless to say, Asuma became very interested in Konoha's resident demon container.
"Earlier today, we received word that a secret diplomatic delegation from the Land of Lightning had crossed our border."
"But isn't their hidden village still a declared hostile of ours?" Chouji asked.
"Well, there have been troublesome rumors about internal disputes between the Raikage and the leadership of the Land of Lightning," Shikamaru offered. "Maybe the civilian government wants to make peace?"
"Exactly right," Asuma smiled fondly. He knew that beneath his lazy exterior, Shikamaru possessed a keen mind that was second to none. "The Lord of Lightning Country is apparently eager to normalize relations so that his country could trade with the Land of Fire and areas beyond. However, many powerful individuals and groups would not welcome a peace treaty between Fire and Lightning." Individuals more or less referred to the obsessed Konoha-hating Raikage, while groups referred to the many and varied enemies of Konoha.
"To decrease the likelihood of interception and assassination, the specific travel route of the delegation hasn't been revealed, and the Lightning Lord has imposed a strict no communications rule on the group. Our mission, then, is to help locate and make contact with this Lightning delegation."
"Why us? Shouldn't more important people be doing this? I don't want to babysit some old fossils," Haruto complained.
Asuma frowned. The brat was finally here for a mission and already he was whining like a baby. What a disgrace. The only thing keeping the cigarette smoking jounin from kicking the blond from the team was his father's firm statement that Haruto would be an asset and not a liability. Bah, he would believe it when he saw it!
"Lack of manpower. An ANBU squadron or even a full team would normally be deployed just to be on the safe side, but there's some sort of a personnel shortage right now."
Haruto did not outwardly react, but he did cringe on the inside. The jounin was most likely referring to the loss of Gamma Team. The unit's fate was still classified, but people in the ninja business probably suspected it already. An entire unit of ANBU did not just up and disappear without a trace.
"This is technically a B-rank diplomatic mission, but we won't be alone. Several chuunin and jounin, along with Kurenai's genin team, have already been sent. Our role is to sweep an area close to Team 8's area of responsibility."
Shikamaru thought about their mission for a moment before frowning. "Sensei, we aren't a tracking team like Team 8. How are we to perform this mission?"
Asuma smiled. "That's why we are getting a temporary addition for this mission."
Just then, a kunoichi burst onto the scene. Her short, tied off ponytail swayed to and fro as she rode on top of a fierce looking gray dog. Two other canines of similar breed and color trailed closely behind her.
"Hana Inuzuka, chuunin, reporting to Team 10 for assignment." The face mark on both cheeks clearly identified her as Kiba's older sister.
Haruto assessed the new arrival… discreetly, that is, as the tough girl looked like she would eviscerate him with a blunt knife if he did so openly. The reports on the chuunin were favorable, to say the least, which explained the jounin's smug smile. The idea of temporarily attaching specialized ninja for specific missions also held potential as an organizational concept. In fact, it was one that Haruto would happily advocate. All of the genin teams (except for his, of course) looked like they could use an occasional fifth member to bolster their weaknesses.
"Good, we have our tracker. Let's go then. More likely than not, we won't encounter any problems. But stick close together, just to be on the safe side. Please take the lead, Hana."
The teenage chuunin was deploying her dogs in front of the group when the jounin noticed his student making hand seals.
"Haruto, what are you do–"
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
The sudden appearance of dozens of Haruto clones stunned the onlookers into silence.
"Sensei, since we're searching for people, I figured that having a couple extra pairs of eyes would help." No one said anything until Shikamaru coughed lightly.
"This is a couple?" an awestruck Chouji asked.
I see why dad spoke so favorably about the little fellow. Asuma eyed Haruto strangely.
"They're solid! They're all solid?" Hana poked a few of the nearby clones and was amazed to discover that they were corporeal. Not only that, the clones also seemed capable of independent thought and action. When she tried to touch one of the clones, it smacked her hand away and stuck its tongue out at her. Hana first blinked in surprise and then scowled at the original Haruto, who sheepishly rubbed his back.
"It would appear so," Asuma admitted with a tinge of admiration and jealousy. He wished he could do that. Of course, having so many hard bodies available opened up certain options. "Hana, have you ever worked with shadow clones before?"
"No, though I do know them in a theoretical sense." Still curious, though no longer stunned into silence, the dog girl periodically shifted her gaze between the clones and the original.
"Very well, since you're a trained tracker, why don't you take a couple of clones with you to do forward reconnaissance? The rest of us will follow about a quarter mile behind so as not to get in the way."
"And if my dogs and I pick up something, I'll tell one of the clones. It can dissipate and pass the information to the original Haruto, who can then tell you," Hana answered, having quickly picked up on the plan.
The jounin gave a tight smile. Smart girl. "Everyone got all that?"
Nods answered Asuma.
"Then, let's go."
As the group set off, no casual onlooker could deny being impressed by the sheer size of the augmented Team 10 search party, courtesy of Haruto's clones. No doubt, this was going to be the easiest B-rank mission ever. No doubt at all.