Bonds we Build
Summary: Three newly inaugurated Genin begin to forge the precious bonds of friendship amidst the clash of steel, and the screams of men.
I do not own the Naruto series
Arc One
Chapter One: Team Seven
Uzumaki Naruto was not an early riser.
In fact, quite the opposite could be said. The blond-haired teen usually made a point to wake up as late as possible, whenever possible. But today was different. The short boy's body seemed to be storing energy as he slept, and even before the alarm could wake him with its annoying screams, he jumped in the air, his vibrant blue eyes filled with an energy that was unusual even for him; which was saying something, as Uzumaki Naruto was quite the energetic little fellow.
He rushed through his mornings ritual, slurping down a pack of instant ramen noodles before bolting out of his apartment through the window.
With a single well-aimed leap, Naruto landed stealthily on a telephone poll, avoiding the various wires like a pro. For a moment he stood there, an impish grin plastering onto his face as his eyes narrowed, his unzipped orange coat fluttering in the wind. Like a man possessed he opened his arms wide, as if to embrace the village. "Ready or not!" he yelled to the people in the streets below, who eyed him wearily, as if he'd attack them. "Here I come!"
With that said, he leaped off the pole, landing in the streets with the grace of a cat and rushed down the path, avoiding people neatly and smoothly. The reactions of the people were the usual; freezing cold. Their glares could have frozen fire, but did nothing to to affect the boundless energy of the blond. He could feel them, but they almost felt like encouragement. They'd all see, he'd prove them all wrong. Uzumaki Naruto was not to be trifled with!
Just two days ago he had passed the Genin Exam on his third try, of course he'd cheated, as preforming a Clone Jutsu was nigh impossible for him. But, he wondered if it counted as cheating if the Hokage himself had helped him? Nah! And even if it did, who cared?
With every step he took, he got closer and closer to the Academy, and he grew closer and closer to his dreams. It was just as he reached the Ninja Academy gates, those nostalgic gates that looked so welcoming now, that he had done his best to avoid for the past five years, that he realized something with a start. "Crap!" he yelled, stumbling over his own feet. Without another word, he turned around and made a mad dash towards home.
He'd forgotten his forehead protector!
And even as he rushed through the crowded streets that seemed to shun him, all that was in the forefront of his mind was success. He would prove everyone that had ever doubted him wrong.
District 3, Uchiha Residence
Silence, the Uchiha Residence was in a state of peace and tranquility. Not because there was no activity; far from it actually. The Headquarters of the Hidden Leaf Military Police was always bustling with life and ninja, it was simply that it was subdued. In the Uchiha culture, mornings were considered sacred, and thus were a time for silence. It had been in the morning when the god, Izanagi, had dropped down from the heavens and given their forefather, Uchiha Shisho, the Sharingan.
Like the rest of his family Sasuke believed in that sacredness, and thus was ghostly in his performance of his morning ritual.
Donning his cloths, and eating a quick breakfast, Sasuke prepared to leave for the Academy, his new forehead protector tied snugly around his cranium, only to stop as his father entered the room. "Sasuke," Fugaku said gruffly, his words rumbling his chest, "come sit with your father for a moment."
Sasuke sat at the table across from his father. There was a a minute or two of silence, in which his father slowly sipped on his tea, while Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, put a tray of rice balls in the center of the table. Sasuke thanked her with a smile, and she replied by kissing him gently on the cheek and whispering 'congratulations' for the millionth time into his ear before disappearing in order to begin for the rest of the day. It was as soon as Sasuke reached for a rice ball that his father spoke, making his arm retract.
"Today is a very important day for you, for the clan" Fugaku said awkwardly, as if he was unsure what to say to his son. Not looking up from his tea, studying it with those black, Uchiha eyes, he continued. "Today you become a ninja, and you wear the emblem of the Hidden Leaf, representing it wherever you may go. But more importantly, you are now also a representative of the Uchiha Clan. It is your duty to uphold our honor and family name, so that one day, you may lead this clan into the future."
Sasuke bowed his head, "I won't fail you father."
"Of course you won't," Fugaku said with the utmost confidence, "after all, you are my son. I expect great things from you Sasuke."
Sasuke understood the dismissal immediately and stood, snatching up two rice balls, her hurried out the door. With precision he knew only an Uchiha could manage, he launched on of his rice balls perfectly into a spot where he knew the stray cats would come along. With a spring in his step he leaped onto the rooftops and his way towards the other side of the Hidden Leaf. His father's words resonated throughout him, filling him with a brand new energy.
"I won't fail," he repeated with a clenched fist.
District 7, Haruno Residence …
Sakura was always up early, in her mind that was the first true mark of a good ninja. After all, rule number thirty-one of the Ninja Academy Handbook said: 'A ninja must be punctual to a fault …'. But today, she had been up even earlier. Today was the day, after years of hard work at the Ninja Academy, she would finally be put on a team and begin her official career as a ninja. Her sparkling emerald eyes glanced over at the portrait above her bed as she ran a brush through her long pink hair.
It was a young man, barely twenty-five. On his face was a wide grin, and his pink-hair just tickled his shoulders.
Haruno Sousou had been a young man at the time of his death. He had been just the average ninja, nowhere near extraordinary or feared. Yet, he'd given his life for the ideals of the Hidden Leaf Village. He left behind a young woman who later mothered his daughter, who would grow up staring at that picture on the wall. Sakura smiled, thinking what he thought of her now. Now she was a ninja! Now she could go on missions, get some to help her mother around the house and of course … Sasuke!
Her thoughts were quickly interrupted as her internal cloak told her it was time to leave her room. Adding some finishing touches to her hair, she sprayed a hint of perfume on before moving out into the kitchen. Her mother, Nao, was silently putting breakfast on the table. A good judge of character, Sakura immediately noticed that there was something off about her mother, and she was far from afraid to ask.
"Mom, you seem down," she commented.
After a short period, Nao seemed to be startled by finally processing the voice and nearly dropped the plates. Sakura, the ninja that she was, easily caught the plates and laid them on the table. "Is it obvious?" Nao chuckled as she sat down on the table.
"Just a little."
Nao ran her slender hands through her short brown hair, staring at the meal she placed on the table in what looked like disgust. "It … it's just …" she sighed, taking a deep breath and steeling her nerves as their nearly identical eyes met. "Look its just … maybe you should consider all of this ninja business Sakura," she said, and as soon as she saw the protest on her daughters lips, she almost shouted. "Please! I- I could definitely use more around the house, and you'd make plenty of money working at the restaurant with me."
Sakura sighed, "Look, mom, we've talked about this. This is my dream … our dream. Besides, even fresh Genin like me can make more in a year than a doctor. Why should I go work at some restaurant, when I can make enough money to buy you one someday?"
"But at what cost Sakura?" Nao whispered. "I love this village, but is it worth it?"
Sakura steeled herself. "Of course it's worth it!" she nearly blew up. "I believe in the end, that this village, and its ideals are worth more than just one life. He understood that."
Nao was stopped cold in her tracks, her eyes watering. After a few moments, the tension just seemed to collapse, and the two found themselves embracing. "Okay," Nao whispered in her daughter's ear, "okay. But you be careful okay honey? And if things get dangerous, don't try to be a hero. Okay? Okay?"
"Of course mom," Sakura said as she went out the door. She looked around at their neighborhood with slight disgust. Of course, district seven was an apartment district, and they'd lived here since her birth. Sakura frowned in distaste. She swore to herself, to her mother, to her father, that one day they would leave this place. She could picture it now, a mansion in the Fire Capital!
She would have it all, and so would her mother!
Academy Rooftop, Team Seven …
Hatake Kakashi watched his three new wards with the same lazy expression that he did with everything. Many people speculated that the reason Kakashi covered his face and left eye were because he was actually a very emotional man, and he feared that being discovered. These theorists, 'Emotionalists' as they were called, were completely wrong. Kakashi was as aloof, uncaring and cool with or without a mask on. The closest theorists were the 'Handsomeists', who correctly guessed that his good looks often interfered with missions.
His single eye roamed over the three. 'Uninteresting,' he thought neutrally. The girl, Sakura, was switching between staring and him, to staring at Sasuke, all the while twirling a lock of her hair in on finger. Sasuke was staring at him intensely, a little too intensely for Kakashi's liking with his hands clasped, and the blond was biting his finger nails and staring off randomly into space.
The silence went on for almost five minutes until Naruto piped up. "Aren't you gonna say anything?" he asked irritatedly.
"I might," Kakashi replied.
After almost another five minutes, when Kakashi himself found that he was getting bored with the silence, he decided to 'instruct' them. "Alright," he said, "why don't we start with the basics. Introduce yourselves. What are you likes, dislikes, hobbies … your dreams for the future. You kids these days do still have dreams don't you? Or would goals be a better word for it?"
This time, it was the girl that contradicted him; they were a mouthy team already. Good thing they'd likely fail; what he had devised for this batch was much more sinister than the Bell Test, which had become stale after so many years of circulation. Besides, he'd heard that some of the previous Genin he'd failed had spread the secret to passing the test, and he couldn't have anyone passing now could he?
"Why don't you introduce yourself first sensei. I mean, after all, we all went to the Academy, and we know each other."
"My name is Hatake Kakashi. The things that I like and dislike are none of your business. As for my goals for the future … huh, guess I've never really thought about it. But, I do have lots of hobbies!" the three saw the small smile form under his mask as his eye closed. All of a sudden, they found themselves wondering just what these 'hobbies' were. He shot that down and pointed at Sakura
"My name is Haruno Sakura," she said almost like a drone. "I like to read, to paint and I really like Sa-" she stopped mid sentence, her face becoming a deep cherry color. She glanced to see if the Uchiha beside her had noticed, but he was still eye Kakashi, who quite honestly felt weirded out. "I dislike people who would betray their village, and I dislike people who refuse to learn." Naruto snorted. "My hobbies are reading, and my dream for the future is become a Jounin!"
Kakashi nodded; not too bad, before pointing at Sasuke.
Without ever looking away Sasuke spoke, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I dislike plenty of things, and I like plenty of things. My only hobby is training. My ambition," Kakashi smiled at that, he used a big word! " … is to surpass a certain man, and to take my rightful place as the head of my clan."
"Morbid," Kakashi stated simply, before turning to Naruto.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" he bellowed, almost busting Sasuke's eardrums. "I like a lot of things, including ramen, training and pretty girls. I dislike lots of things, like people who look down on me for no reason … and ugly girls. My dream for the future is to …" he stopped, much to Kakashi's dismay, and gave the Jounin a blank face, and for a moment Kakashi feared that he'd had stroke.
Suddenly he took a deep breath and spoke, "My dream is to become the greatest ninja to ever live! And when I do, everyone in the whole world will have to acknowledge who I am, and remember my name! On the way, I might even become Hokage."
'Well,' Kakashi thought, 'you don't hold back one bit.'
"Not bad," he said behind his mask, "you all have your own distinct personalities, and that's good. Good, now, I usually give my Genin a night of rest and preparation before our first mission, but I like you three so much, that we can just jump right into it." Kakashi reached into his flak jacket, retrieving a small scroll which he held up in the air, watching with the utmost amusement as their eyes followed it as if it was some holy scripture that would bring to them answers to all life's questions.
Had he ever been so young and eager to prove himself? Of course not.
Naruto nearly leaped onto his feat, bouncing with uncontrollable energy. "What's in it?" he demanded. "Is it a debriefing on saving a princess? Or assassinating a warlord? Or-"
"What's inside is for me to know, and for you three to never find out," Kakashi said as he tied the scroll around his waist with a string, letting it hang loosely. "Your objective is simple; get the scroll. Here is the scenario: an enemy ninja has broken into the Hokage Tower and stolen the Forbidden Scroll of Seals, and you've caught sight of him. He's headed towards the northern gate, and if he gets there, he'll hand the scroll to his allies, and we'll never get it back. Stop him before he gets to that gate, and retrieve the scroll. Also, the enemy has booby trapped the village floor randomly."
"So wait," Sakura questioned, "you want us to get that from you? And we have to stay on the roof tops?"
"Yeah, that's the gist of it."
"Are there any limitations on what we can do to retrieve the scroll?" asked Sasuke.
Kakashi smiled under his mask, "Of course not. I suggest that you come at me with intent to kill, if not, there's no way you'll ever even touch this scroll. Oh, and if none of you get the scroll before I reach the northern gate, all three of you will be spending another year at the Ninja Academy."
To Kakashi's surprise, there was suddenly an orange and blond blur hurling at him at intense speeds. With a simple sidestep, Kakashi avoided Naruto by a mile, letting the boy sail off the rooftop. Luckily, for Naruto anyway, there was a rail there, and the youth managed to clutch it desperately to stop himself from free falling to something painful.
"Maybe you should wait till I get you started?"
Suddenly, without any warning, Kakashi leaped off the balcony and landed on a rooftop a house or two down. "Lesson number one," he said to himself, "the enemy isn't going to tell you when or where he's going." With that said, he casually reached into his pocket, pulling out a small orange book and flipping to a creased page and proceeded to giggle like a school girl, all the while, his fine tuned ears focused on the action happening between his Genin.
"Cheater!" Naruto yelled, before immediately rushing off in the direction. There's no way he was going to let this one-eyed freak cheat him out of his career.
Sasuke moved to do the same, only to be stopped by Sakura. "Sasuke, maybe if we worked together, we'd have a better chance of getting the scroll," she offered. "After all, did say we'd fail as a team."
Sasuke scoffed at the idea. "You'll only slow me down. I'll get the scroll, and we'll pass." He leaped off the Academy balcony, quickly following the orange blur and its target. Sakura sighed, it seemed that every attempt to get to work with him was shut down. With a glum face, she quickly followed after him. Sakura steadied her nerves; there were more important matters at hand. She wouldn't go home and tell her mother that she was a failure.
Kakashi, by now, had put some distance between himself and the team, and a smile formed under his mask. One of them had already made the effort to pass. It was a shame that Sakura would fail because her teammates were egotistical and arrogant, but such was life. She would have done well if her tutelage had been under Kurenai. Maybe next year.
Without warning, Kakashi suddenly ducked, just in time to avoid Naruto hurtling through the air at him. The blond landed with a roll on the rooftop, sliding away a small number of roof tiles. Kakashi flipped through another page in his book. "Hey!" Naruto shouted angrily, "put that dirty book away and fight me like a man!"
"You aren't much of a man," Kakashi noted.
That seemed to tick the blond off enough. Kunai in hand, Naruto rushed forward, his decent speed eating away at the distance between them in seconds. Kakashi smoothly ducked under the blond's wild swing, not even a single lock of his hair touched by the blade, before his free hand came up and caught the kick aimed at his face. With a slight push Kakashi sent the blond rolling away.
Naruto cursed as he barely stopped himself from falling off the roof. Obviously Taijutsu wasn't going to work on this guy; at least not one on one Taijutsu. His hands came together in a single seal, and he felt his chakra begin to rush through his veins. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he yelled. The air around him whined as it was displaced by the unnatural appearance of about a dozen perfectly identical clones of Naruto. "Go, go, go, go!" the original yelled, and they rushed into battle.
Kakashi eyed them with interest. A Shadow Clone technique? From a Genin? And a large number on top of that. The chakra capacity it took to make even five was astounding, which was why it was a B-rank jutsu. But, as impressive as it was that the blond could actually do the technique, his usage of it was pathetic. The clones where bumping into each other on the small rooftop, and one or two of them had fallen off to the edge to an early end already.
The battle was quick, but the shear overwhelming numbers eventually forced Kakashi to tuck his book safely away lest it be harmed. He ducked and weaved through the mass of sloppy clones with ease, hitting vital areas to knock them out with single hits, instead of having to waste multiple hits on ineffective blows. Much to his surprise, when he finished clearing them all … Naruto was nowhere to be found!
"Did he run?"
Unlikely, he was too headstrong to know he was outmatched.
Kakashi moved just in time to avoid Naruto's body bursting out from under the wooden roof. The owner of this place wasn't going to be happy, not one bit. Still in the air, Naruto released a handful of shuriken and kunai right for his sensei's chest. His aim was off, and only about three where actually anywhere near on point. Kakashi snatched them out of the air before launching them back at the now grounded Genin. His aim was pin-point, one scratching Naruto's cheek, the next cutting off a lock of his hair, and the last going right between his legs, missing his jewels by centimeters.
'At least he can form a decent strategy,' Kakashi thought.
Maybe there was hope for him yet. But, he decided he would finish dealing Naruto after he dealt with the other pest trying to sneak up on him. With trained easy Kakashi raised his left forearm, blocking a shin that would have otherwise connected with his chin. Fluidly he switched his arm position, catching the shin firmly in his hand before throwing Sasuke at Naruto. The young Uchiha gracefully positioned himself in the air and landed on his own two feet.
Kakashi leaped backwards, landing on the solid concrete roof of smoke kind of store. Sasuke followed like a rapid Hunter Ninja. His blows were precise and on point, a far contrast to Naruto's unpredictable style, and though in a sense it made him a more difficult opponent, it also made him much easier to read. He offered much more of a challenge, but even still, Kakashi found himself disappointed. He'd been hoping for some exercise.
Without even realizing it he said, "For an Uchiha, you're no Itachi."
Those words seemed to set Sasuke off into a blind rage, and it was only after these events that Kakashi realized why. The boy rushed forward, his blows were notably faster and harder, but they lacked the nigh surgical precision they'd had just moments before. Finally, wanting to get back to his reading, Kakashi decided to end the match. He carelessly caught one of Sasuke's ravenous fists before twisting to bend the Genin's shoulder in an awkward fashion.
Then, just as Naruto leaped out from behind him to grab the scroll, he pivoted on his heel, making Sasuke do a one-eighty and making the Uchiha involuntarily slap Naruto with his free hand. Both of the boys went crashing away in a flurry of fists and curses.
Kakashi sighed, now where was the girl?
The silver-haired man noticed the slender hand sneaking up from behind him just in time. He reached out and grabbed Sakura's wrist, hearing her squeal, before he lifted her into the air and eyed her sheepish face. Deciding that there wasn't much he could, or should do, he let go of her wrist and pointed at the two boys still tangled up on the other end of the roof. "If you want any chance of becoming a Genin, I suggest you get some help."
With that said, Kakashi happily skipped off the rooftop and flipped back to chapter four; things were finally getting saucy.
Four hours later …
Naruto growled as he watched Sasuke uselessly try and get the scroll from Kakashi, failing as horribly as he had. The Jounin could have long ago reached the gate, but he seemed to take some sick pleasure in slapping them around in the day's particularly brutal sun. All of his attempts at getting the scroll had all ended in complete, and rather embarrassing failure. "Bastard," he cursed Kakashi under his breath.
He couldn't fail here.
Five minutes into Kakashi's beat down of Sasuke, he was startled as Sakura suddenly walked up to him. He frowned, she'd been trying to get Sasuke to work with her for hours. What the hell could she possibly want from him? He didn't have any particular grudge towards her, but like everyone else in the Academy, she hadn't been his best friend. But through a combination of the sun, his constant failure, his sore body and his dark memories of the Academy, he voiced himself a little more offensively than he'd expected.
"The hell do you want?"
Sakura seemed taken aback by it, and Naruto almost prepared to apologize, but she quickly steeled herself. "Look, Naruto … I don't like you, and you probably don't like me, but this getting pretty tedious. There's no way any of us, even Sasuke, is going to get that scroll from Kakashi-sensei. But if we work together, maybe we'd have a better chance."
Naruto stood, preparing to jump back into battle. "No way!" he answered her. "You'd just slow me down!"
Sakura cringed, and resisted the urge to punch him in the mouth. Where the hell had he been lately? She'd been the number one kunoichi in their year, while he'd fallen dead last behind everyone else. "Look!" she asserted. "I don't know if you haven't noticed, but Kakashi-sensei has been embarrassing you since the minute he started this test. Now I don't know about you, but I'm not going back to the Academy. Now, are you with me, or are you out."
Naruto eyed her wearily, most of him unwilling to trust her, but she didn't break his gaze, and she earned his respect. "So what's the plan?"
Almost four rooftops away, Kakashi smiled under his mask as he heard the proceedings of the other two. Now two of them had taken the path towards passing, and all that remained was this big-headed, though skilled little prick. "Don't you get it yet Sasuke," Kakashi taunted, "it's impossible for any of you to get the scroll. I set you all up to fail, why don't you just go home and start preparing for the next semester."
"Uchiha never fail!" Sasuke asserted.
"Oh, it speaks!"
With a quick movement, Kakashi knocked an airborne Sasuke out of the air, before grabbing his arm and throwing him in the direction of his teammates, part of him hoping that the numskull would actually get the message. Immediately he crossed his hands in front of his face, blocking a rather solid kick from Naruto. Where Sasuke was grown sloppy from fatigue, Naruto seemed to retain every bit of energy he'd had the beginning of this fiasco.
He thrust his hands out, pushing the blond away. The girl was nowhere to be seen, this would get interesting.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Another dozen or so clones covered the surface area of roof. "Let's see you dodge this!" they yelled in unison before launching a barrage of kunai at the Jounin. Kakashi chuckled; this plan wasn't turning out to be as elaborate as he'd hoped. Kakashi jumped into the air, avoiding the various blades before kicking off and landing on the roof behind him. As soon as he moved to keep going, he suddenly felt a vice grip across his ankles. A small smile spread across his face.
'Not bad,' he thought.
Naruto had left a batch of clones where he knew Kakashi would land, and Sakura had Transformed them to look like the roof. The clones captured everyone of his limbs, and soon, Sakura stood in front of him with a rather satisfied smirk, and Naruto beside her with that generic, impish grin splitting his lips.
"Wait!" Kakashi piped up as soon as he saw Naruto reach for the scroll. "How do you know I'm the real Kakashi?"
"What?" Naruto asked, perplexed. "Of course you're the real Kakashi!"
"Do you think we're stupid?" Sakura asked, "Naruto, hurry up and take the scroll!"
"Don't you know," Kakashi continued, "that I've had several opportunities to switch myself with one of your teammates. Its a pretty simple matter of Transforming them to look like me, and then projecting my voice to their gagged body? Don't believe me? Well, too bad." Kakashi's body suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke, and in his stead was Naruto!
The real Naruto cursed before suddenly punching the fake in the mouth, to his surprise it popped away, like a clone. What proceeded was chaos. Naruto and his clones tore into each other in some desperate attempt to reveal Kakashi. Sakura sighed, watching the chaos with almost teary eyes. It seemed indeed that they would be returning to the academy for another year of lectures. She might have cried and given up, had hope not appeared in the form of a black-haired, and rather moody-looking Uchiha.
Sasuke was not someone that liked to comprise; no, he believed that whatever he, an Uchiha, decided was usually best over the ideas of his teammates. But, above even that, Sasuke was a man that respected results. Their plan had nearly worked, and if the idiots hadn't let Kakashi distract them while he switched with a clone, they would have gotten the scroll. So, with a knot his throat he asked, "What's the plan?"
Sakura felt the shining beacon of hope in her heart suddenly die. "I'm out," she realized.
Having finally dispelled his clones and realized that Kakashi was not among them, Naruto piped up. "I've got an idea."
The other two sighed, "Great," they proclaimed in unison.
Hidden Leaf Bank …
Kakashi stood on the perch of the Hidden Leaf bank. It had been nearly an hour since his last encounter with his students, and in the time he'd managed to grab a bite to eat and was now catching up on his reading. For a brief moment, he considered the idea of letting Naruto and Sakura pass, after all, they'd hammered down the big idea; he quickly shot the idea down. Teams of two were rare, and rather handicapped on big missions. No, unfortunately they would have to suffer for the Uchiha's mistakes.
Naruto needed another year of basics anyway.
The Jounin sighed in annoyance as Sasuke landed in front of him in a ready fighting stance. He marked the page he was on before tucking it away. "You never learn do you."
Sasuke said nothing as he gripped the two kunai in his hands tighter. He shot off, his speed swallowing the distance between them in a split second. Kakashi ducked the initial swing, and swept Sasuke's legs out from under him. The Uchiha released his kunai, his aim was just off as it slid past Kakashi's waist by a few centimeters. He caught himself on the free hand and flipped to a standing position. Without hesitation, he launched his last kunai at Kakashi's head, only to have the Jounin lean his neck and avoid it.
"You really are the dumbest of the team aren't you?"
"No," Sasuke smirked. "You are!"
Without warning Kakashi suddenly felt a body wrap around his back, locking his arms and his thighs, and he felt another kunai at this neck. 'Now this is interesting,' he thought as Naruto, who had him locked, started cackling like a maniac. As much as he hated to admit, it seemed like he finally had a team. He swore he'd make the Hokage pay for putting him on team duty.
The little brats had used a Transformation jutsu to make themselves appear as kunai, which explained Sasuke's sloppy throws.
By the end of this realization, Sasuke had already descended on the scroll, of course he wouldn't get it. With a chakra empowered move, he twisted, knocking Naruto into Sakura, who in turn crashed into Sasuke. Kakashi resisted the urge to smile as he watched the three of them get in battle stances. It seemed like he did at least something to work with. He casually reached over the scroll on his waist before ripping it off and tossing it to Sasuke.
"You pass!"
Naruto didn't seem to buy it. "We're not falling for that! That's probably just a fake!"
"No, no," Kakashi chuckled. "I'm all out of tricks. I'd been hoping to fail you, but you three managed to catch the theme of the test: teamwork! As I'm sure you three realized, its completely impossible for a single Genin to beat a Jounin. But there is a famous quote by the second Hokage: 'Three Genin can topple a Jounin, three Chunin can topple a Kage, and three Jounin can topple a village'. That's what differentiates the Hidden Leaf from everyone else. We have the most cohesive teamwork on the continent."
Sakura seemed to be absorbing his words, Sasuke snorted, and Naruto was rubbing his stomach hungrily.
'It's not much, but I can make it work.' "You three look tired, why don't I treat you to dinner?"
"Ramen!"