Tale of The Crimson Kitsune And The Silver Ookami

Chapter Two: The Ultimate Test Between Sensei And Student, The Forming Of Team Kakashi

Kazumi's Point of View, Third Training Grounds:

Naruto, Sakura and I were standing outside the gates of the training grounds. We went over a few last minute details of our strategies, making sure we knew what we needed before we went up against Kakashi. But even with our plans, we weren't sure what the test would be. I had a theory but I rather wait to find out if I was right or not before saying something. Also, even though we didn't know all the details of the test, at least we were ready, to some extent. And besides, I've been training with Kakashi during the time Naruto was away and Sakura was training with Lady Tsunade, I had a better idea of what to expect from him. Then again, Kakashi didn't teach me everything he knew. But, I didn't teach him everything I knew either. Plus with Sakura and Naruto with me, he didn't know what to expect from us.

While we waited, Sakura and I were leaning against the fence. I had my hands folded behind my head, looking up towards the cloudless blue sky high above. Sakura was just leaning there while she looked at her feet. And as for Naruto, he was pacing back and forth in front of us. One thing for sure, Kakashi definitely didn't change his habit for being late.

"Ugh, what is taking Kakashi sensei so long? Is he going to keep us waiting all night?" Naruto groans as he takes a seat on the ground. "I hate waiting!"

"He's always been like this and it looks like he didn't change a bit.' Sakura told us. "Can't say I'm surprised though. I actually expect this from him. Just wait until he gets here. I bet he'll try to make up some kind of lame excuse for being so late."

"And it's all because of that damn book. Why did I even give it to him?" Naruto added. "I regret ever giving him the damn thing."

"Hmm, I don't think he's late just because of that damn book. It could be another reason." I told them as I closed my eyes.

"You can't be serious!?" Sakura yells in a shocked tone. "We all know that he's late because of that damn book. What other reason could he possibly have?"

"You didn't let me finish, Sakura." I told her while I looked at her with half opened lids. "I was going to add that I wouldn't throw the book out of the equation completely. But there really could be another reason."

"Hmpf. Well I think he should take our training sessions more seriously. Our missions count as well." Sakura says sternly. "That stupid book of his can wait."

"He should be here soon. So don't worry about it, all right you two." I told them. "We don't need to get ourselves worked up. We need to remain calm. We don't want to fail this test."

"I suppose you're right." Sakura agreed.

"Heh, don't worry. There's no way we're going to fail, right guys?" Naruto asked us.

"Heh, right." Sakura answered.

"You know we won't." I said.


Forty-five minutes later…

"AHHH! Are you freaking kidding me!?" Naruto exclaimed loudly. "Come on…! Please don't tell me this is really the test!?"

"Now I'm starting to think it might be." Sakura added.

I looked at Naruto and Sakura and sighed quietly, "Look you two; we all knew this was bound to happen. Kakashi was never one to be punctual to being with. But if it makes you feel better, how about this. If he's not here in the next five minutes, I'll go look for him and drag him here myself."

"I guess you're use to the fact of him being late. I mean, you trained with him for almost three years." Sakura tells me. I just shrug my shoulders. "But I will admit. Seeing you drag Kakashi sensei here. Now that's something I have to see for myself." Sakura commented as she chuckled quietly.

"Yeah, I do too." Naruto agreed, chuckling as well. "That will definitely be funny."

"Yeah, I bet it will be a sight to see, huh?" I asked as I chuckled along with them. "And you know, I just might go and do it."

We just continued to chuckle quietly with each other, imagining how it would look if I did drag Kakashi to the grounds. A few seconds later, a plume of white smoke suddenly appears on top of the gate above us. Once cleared, we spotted Kakashi standing on it as he saluted to us. We all quickly got up to our feet and just stared at him.

"Uh, sorry I'm late, I had to help this old lady….." he started.

"Come on! Give us a break would ya!" We all yelled. Kakashi just sweat dropped.

"Oh man. Since he's here now, we would be able to see it." Sakura said sadly. "That sucks."

"Yeah… You're right about that." Naruto agrees. "Hmpf, that's just great. Looks like he's off the hook this time, Kazumi-chan."

"Don't worry you guys. I promise there's going to be more opportunities of seeing that." I laughed, causing them to laugh with me. "Who knows? It might happen sometime this week if not tomorrow."

"Hmm…? What are you three laughing about?" Kakashi asks as he jumps to the ground.

"It's nothing, Kakashi sensei." We said together in a sing-along tone as we walked pass him, entering through the gates. Kakashi just had a somewhat curious look on his face. Once he got himself together, he started following us. Before long, we were soon standing before three wooden poles.

"Wow. Now, this sure brings back memories." Naruto said.

"Yeah, that's right." Kakashi said, looking away from his book. "This was where your first training exercise took place."

"It was Squad Seven." Sakura said.

"We had our ups and downs and plenty of arguments, but nonetheless, we were still a team." I added. "Damn Uchiha." I thought.

"Yes. Back then, we had Sasuke with us, didn't we?" Kakashi said.

When Kakashi looked at us, Sakura, Naruto and I were all on the ground. We all had glum looks on our faces after hearing our former teammate's name.

"I guess Sasuke is tabooed to these guys." Kakashi thought to himself. We were brought out of our depressed states once we heard bells, causing us to look up. He holds them up in the air. "All right, show me how far you all have come. The rules are the same as they were three years ago." Kakashi told us. "Come with me with everything you got. You have until sunrise tomorrow to retrieve these bells.

"We come at you with the instinct to kill." Naruto said.

"Because if we don't…" I started.

"…We won't get the bells." Sakura finished.

"That's right." Kakashi agreed.

"You're not going to read your book while you're fighting us right?" Naruto asked as he tightened the strings of his headband.

"I don't think so because he will be too busy." Sakura added.

"He's going to have to pay attention since we're fighting him together." I stated as I placed my hair into a ponytail. "And he knows that we won't be holding anything back."

"You three are absolutely right." Kakashi said as he revealed his Sharingan. "And besides, I'm saving that little enjoyment for later."

"So… He's using his Sharingan." I thought to myself. "Hmm, I see. He's definitely not playing around. This time, he really means business."

"Because this time around, it's a whole different ball game… Now let's begin!" Kakashi finished.

We stood there, staring down each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. Sakura, Naruto and I knew we had to be careful. This wasn't the normal training session we were use to. This one was serious and the tension could easily be felt. I knew just how tough Kakashi could get, and I just hoped that my teammates were ready.

"Let's go!" Naruto yelled.

Naruto reached in his holster and tossed a few shuriken straight towards Kakashi. Kakashi quickly lowers himself close to the ground and dodged Naruto's attack easily. He reacts by throwing a few right back at Naruto. In order to avoid the incoming attack, Naruto jumps high into the air, dodging them. However, Kakashi quickly tosses a few more. While in mid-air, Naruto summons a shadow clone and pulls himself out of the away, just in time. As soon as the original Naruto lands back on the ground, he transforms his shadow clone into a large shuriken. But before he could throw the large weapon, Kakashi had lunged out and caught him for behind. He held his hand and the back of his head, keeping him from moving.

"That would be enough of that." Kakashi tells him. But Kakashi soon found Naruto's shadow clone standing behind him, holding a kunai at his back. Kakashi was impressed at how much Naruto's timing had improved. "You've matured, haven't you, Naruto?" Kakashi asks him. "However, you still have a ways to go. Alright, start!" Within seconds, Kakashi vanishes.

"Aw, come on!" Naruto stated. "I can't believe he tricked me again."

"Ugh! You big dummy!" Sakura yelled.

"Sakura, seriously. What did I tell you before we started this test?" I asked her. "Now calm down and focus."

"Yeah, whatever." She replied and started looking around her surroundings. A few seconds later, she balled her hand up into a fist and punched the ground, causing it to explode. When the dust and smoke cleared, it revealed a very shocked Kakashi hiding within the crevices. "Kakashi sensei"

"Huh?" he answered.

"Found ya, didn't I?" she asked.

Taking notice of Kakashi's temporary state of shock, I quickly drew my sword from the sheath on my back and rushed forward. I leaped into the air with my sword held readily above my head. While I hovered over Sakura, the blade of my katana began to glow. I had started channeling my white chakra through the blade, creating the famous White Light Chakra Sabre. However, instead of using the family tantō, my katana was the next best thing. I stared down at Kakashi with sharp scrutinizing eyes as I aimed my attack towards him.

"Ninja Art: White Light Chakra Wave!" I exclaimed as I swung my sword forward.

As I brought my blade down, a wave of white chakra escaped and headed right towards Kakashi. Seeing this, Kakashi quickly jumps out of the crevice, just in time to escape my incoming attack. The wave of chakra struck the rocks below, slicing through them like they were nothing. I landed in front of Sakura, holding my sword before me. Kakashi had jumped away and was now standing a few feet away from us. I kept my eyes on him, readying myself for his next move. I didn't know what he was going to do next, so I had to be ready to act at a moment's notice.

"Hmm. Attacking me while I was temporarily stunned. Nicely done." He tells me. "Okay. But now it's my turn." Kakashi adds and quickly takes off, heading towards the woods.

"Come on. Let's go!" I told my teammates as I turned around, sheathing my sword.

"Right!" Sakura and Naruto stated together and started to follow my lead.

"I see. So Sakura has increased her strength with the use of her chakra. And with her excellent chakra control, she knows how to release it at the right time." I thought to myself as we continued to follow Kakashi. "And Naruto. His timing has improved. Plus, his control over his shadow clones has gotten better as well. Heh, not bad. Not bad at all."

As soon as we saw Kakashi had stopped, we quickly separated and hid behind different trees. We also made sure we had a clear view of where Kakashi was hiding. Once we saw an opening, Naruto quickly threw a kunai, but Kakashi was able to dodge it. Naruto went head to head with Kakashi and their kunai knives clash against each other. Kakashi quickly threw three kunai knives towards Naruto but he too was able to avoid them. Naruto soon lands in between me and Sakura.

"Time for today's lesson…" Kakashi said. "This is Shinobi Battle Skills Rule Number One: Taijutsu." Kakashi came forward and began fighting Naruto. Naruto quickly jumps into the air to avoid being hit and lands on a branch above.

"Ha! Got ya!" Sakura yelled as she ran with her fist ready. One swing after another, Kakashi dodged Sakura's attempt to land a hit. "Just need one shot."

"It won't do any good if you don't hit me." Kakashi told her.

Kakashi continue to back away as he dodged Sakura's fists. He backed up against a tree and quickly moved out the way, causing Sakura to strike the tree, snapping the trunk in two. While Sakura avoided the falling tree, I jumped down and aimed a spinning side kick towards Kakashi. I was successfully able to strike his side. I hastily used the momentum to push myself away from him before he could aim some kind of counterattack right back at me.

"Hmm, you were able to get me that time." Kakashi told me. "It appears that you haven't showed me everything you knew during our training."

"Of course I haven't. It wouldn't be fair to give away all my moves during our practice sessions." I replied with a smirk. "But unfortunately for you, I'm not done. I'm just getting started!" I say as I ran forward.

"Hmm, then let's see what you got then." He taunted.

"Naruto. Get ready." I told Naruto though our link.

"Right!" he replied.

Once I was close enough, I tried my best to get another hit in, but he was making sure that would never happen again. I soon found myself on the defensive as I dodged his attacks. Sakura and Naruto watched from afar as the battle continued. While I distracted Kakashi, Naruto summoned a few shadow clones and went after the bells. But sadly, Kakashi was able to knock them all back. He quickly caught the three clones and used the dancing leaf shadow to cancel them out.

"Hmm, so my guess was right. We're going to need a bigger distraction." I said as I stood beside Naruto and Sakura.

"Don't worry, I've got it." Naruto said. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Over a hundred clones appeared and had Kakashi surrounded. Kakashi was quickly taking them down, one by one. But as he did so, Sakura decided to use the distraction and struck the ground with a powerful punch. The ground shook and collapsed, causing several of Naruto's clones to cancel out. And even with that, she missed Kakashi.


Nightfall…

As the clock continues to count down,it was finally dark. The only light source came from the bright full moon that shined high above. Perfect. This was my favorite time to use my tracking skills. I preferred tracking in the dark anyway. Naruto, Sakura and I calmly walked through the forest as we searched for Kakashi. Even though we had time, we didn't need to waste any of it. We needed to finish this test and pass.

"Last time I heard the bells, they were coming from this direction." Naruto said. "I'm sure of it."

"But he might have led them here on purpose. To draw us in." Sakura stated. "So we need to be careful."

"That's right." Naruto agreed. "We can't forget who we're dealing with."

"You both don't know how right you are." I told them as I took in the scents around that area. "I have his scent, so he has to be around here somewhere."

"Huh? You have his scent?" Naruto asks.

"Yeah, that's right." I replied with a nod. "For the past two and a half years, I've been working hard at sharpening my tracking skills. And I've become a really good tracker too."

"Great… that's exactly what we need, another Kiba hanging around." Sakura says with sarcasm lingering off every word.

I just narrow my eyes at her comment. I wanted to say something smart back, but decided not to. And besides, now wasn't the time. I needed to keep my attention on the test and nothing else. While we continued to move forward, something in the shadows instantly gains our attention. The closer we got, the clearer the image became. Before long the image manifested completely. It was an injured Sasuke standing before us. He had kunai knives in his back and arms.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said.

"Looks hurt." Sakura added.

"Why must she always state the obvious?" Kiyiya asks me. "No matter what the situation, she either has to state what's happening or give us a damn history lesson."

"Kiyiya, be nice. Just ignore her, all right." I thought back as I chuckled in my head. "She really can't help herself."

"Naruto… Sakura… Kazumi… You got to help me." Sasuke strained. "I got away from Orochimaru. I was able to escape. Please, help me. Please you guys, help me."

"Too bad he's not real. I'd give about anything to talk to Sasuke for awhile." She says as she brings her hand forward. "Release!" With that, the image of Sasuke started shaking and before long, it disappeared. Naruto, Sakura and I just stood there looking at the empty area. I started cracking my knuckles as I stood there looking ahead. I knew Kakashi was somewhere close by. His scent proved my point. "I don't want to play with your illusions." Sakura said.

"His scent has gotten stronger." I alerted them as I looked around the area. "Alright, Kakashi. Where are you hiding?" I thought.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto stated, causing one shadow clone to appear. With that, he started charging the Rasengan in his right hand. I kept my eyes out, looking for Kakashi until I spotted him hiding behind a tree.

"Heh, there you are, Kakashi." I thought as I started summoning chakra into my clenched right hand. I soon added my lightning element, earning a few sparks. "Naruto…" I started.

"Naruto, Kazumi. Kakashi sensei is standing behind that tree there." Sakura told us.

"Aw, damn it! Sakura just gave away our chance for a sneak attack." I groaned to myself.

"Yeah. Don't worry. Kazumi and I got this handled." Naruto told her whilst he ran forward with his attack aimed at the tree. "Rasengan!" Kakashi jumped out of the way, which gave me an opening.

"Ah, to hell with it. Let's go!" I growled to myself as I ran forward. "Lightning Style: Lightning Surge Strike!" I cried out as I aimed for Kakashi.

I swung my arm forward, aiming to hit Kakashi. However, he was able to jump out the way at the last minute, dodging my attack. Instead I struck a nearby tree. My fist went right through the trunk, causing it to fall and collapse to the ground. Quickly Naruto and Sakura ran forward and stood beside me as we all stared towards Kakashi.

"Well, Kakashi sensei." Sakura says.

"Yeah?" Kakashi asks.

"Is there's something you wanted to say?" Sakura asks. "I'm not sure I heard you clearly before."

"Shinobi Battle Techniques Part Two: Genjutsu." Kakashi says.

"You're going to have to come up with something better than that." Sakura tells him. "If you think we're going to fall for that trick again, you're crazy."

"Yeah, we wouldn't be that stupid." Naruto added.

"Really? I wouldn't be so sure about that." Kakashi told him. Suddenly we all looked down and noticed the three silver bells just lying on the ground. I just kept a plain look on my face as I looked towards Kakashi. He was using every old trick he used when we first got assigned to the team.

"Check it out. The bells slipped off his belt." Naruto said as he started to approach the obvious trap.

"No, Naruto don't!" Sakura and I exclaimed together. But it was too late. Naruto stepped forward and set of the trap. A rope wrapped around his leg and snapped him up. He was now hanging upside down with the bells still on the ground below.

"You see, you still fall for the same old tricks." Kakashi said as he smiles with his eyes. Suddenly Naruto disappeared, signaling that it was none other than a clone. This even shocked Kakashi.

"There's no way that I would fall for a dumb old trap like that!" Naruto exclaimed as he rushed forward to punch Kakashi. Naruto succeeded in striking Kakashi but found that it was the real Kakashi.

"Substitution Jutsu." Sakura said.

"Darn it." Naruto growled.

"Why don't you ever listen to me you idiot?" Sakura snapped.

While Sakura was yelling at Naruto, I looked up and spotted Kakashi hiding in the trees. I quickly drew a couple of shuriken and tossed them right at them. Seeing this, Kakashi quickly moves out the way and avoids them. With his hiding spot revealed, Kakashi had no other choice but to move before we could start bombarding him with our attacks.

"We have to move now before we lose him again." I thought to myself and looked over at me two teammates. "Sakura. If you're done lecturing Naruto, we need to move out right now." I told her. "I just caught Kakashi and caused him to run. Now all we need to do is go after him before he can get away… again."

"Fine." Sakura said. "We can continue this later."

"All right then. Now let's get moving." I told them.

"Right." Naruto replied. We all quickly started moving fast through the forest. "Thanks, Kazumi-chan." Naruto thought.

"Heh, no problem." I replied.


By using my sense of smell, I was able to track down Kakashi. And from the additional scents I was picking up around the surrounding area, I found that he was hiding out near the lake. As soon as we found him, we started fighting once more. Kunai knives flew everywhere, everyone dodging and throwing more into the direction the last were coming from. Not only that but we were fighting hand to hand combat as well. Sakura tried to hit him with a charged punch but he was able to avoid that attack just like he did before.

"Darn it." Sakura said as she lifted herself off the cracked ground.

"All right then. Shinobi Battle Skill Rule Number Three, Ninjutsu!" Kakashi said. With that, Kakashi jumped back. He quickly started performing hand signs at an unbelievable speed. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Kakashi stated.

"Scatter!" I yelled. Naruto, Sakura and I all jumped away, just barely avoiding the large fireball.

"Okay, now where is he?" Naruto asks himself. His question was answered when he found himself being grabbed by his ankle. He was soon pulled down, trapped in an earth bound prison. But it wasn't the real Naruto. It was nothing but a shadow clone. As we stood there together, we spotted Kakashi but this time he was standing on top of the water.

"Oh, damn it. Well played Kakashi, but I got you." I said quietly as I started performing a few hand signs of my own.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Kakashi yelled.

"Naruto. Sakura. Mangi Formation, now!" I ordered. They quickly do so, just as I formed the last sign for my next move. "Hatake Bloodline Trait: White Force Barrier" I exclaimed and held my hands out before me.

In a matter of seconds, my chakra appeared and started to form a translucent white barrier, shielding me, Naruto and Sakura. Before long, the water from Kakashi's attack came rushing and struck the barrier hard. I concentrated hard on keeping the barrier as steadily as possible as the water continued to pound against it. The water rushed over the top and the sides since it had no way to go straight.

"Wow, that's amazing." Naruto says in admiration. "Heh, nice going, Kazumi-chan."

"Yeah. Good work." Sakura adds.

"Thanks." I told them. "But we're not out of the woods yet."

The water continued to flow for a minute but soon I could easily tell that the flow was becoming slower and weaker. And as soon as the pounding stopped, I cancelled my chakra flow, collapsing the barrier. I knew this battle was going to be interesting but I never knew Kakashi would use all of these attacks.

"Man, Kakashi sensei isn't holding back." Naruto said. "He really is good."

"Exactly. And we shouldn't hold back either. We need to figure out a way to end this battle and fast." I told them. "Okay, let's try this." I said, performing a new series of hand signs. "Earth Style: Earth Dragon Jutsu!"

The ground before me started to move and suddenly shots upward. As it did so, the earth started to retake a new shape. Before long, it was in the form of a dragon. I sent my earth dragon forward, aiming right for Kakashi. Seeing this, Kakashi easily avoids my attack by jumping off to the side, allowing it to crash into the lake. However, I had a feeling that Kakashi was going to easily dodge my attack. So I had a small backup plan.

"Now!" I exclaimed as I held up the spar sign.

Suddenly the earth dragon exploded. I had attached and hidden a few paper bombs. When the dragon was taking shape, that's when I planted my little backup plan if Kakashi avoided the earth dragon. The explosion caused the water from the lake to be sent upward. But even though I succeeded, I knew that it wasn't enough to take down Kakashi. Seconds later, I spotted him hovering in the air as the water landed back in the lake. There, I saw that Kakashi had his next attack planned and ready.

"Water Style: Water Vortex Jutsu!" we heard Kakashi say.

"Oh no!" Naruto said.

"Damn it." I groaned.

We braced for impact as the rushing water came forward, sweeping all three of us in its current. Once the water calmed and disappeared, we got back to our feet. We lost track of Kakashi, but I had a way of finding him. After wiping the remaining water from our eyes, we jumped into the trees and began moving. We didn't have time to waste, so we needed to hurry and relocate Kakashi before sunrise. After running through the treetops for awhile, we stopped and sat underneath a tree to catch our breaths while we tried to come up with a plan as well.

"Darn it. Earth Style, Fire Style and Water Style, back-to-back." Naruto said. "He just doesn't quit, does he?"

"Nope. That's Kakashi sensei for ya." Sakura replied.

"I thought for sure I had him with that paper bomb attack." I thought to myself. "Well… seeing that he's not attacking, he must be resting. Using the Sharingan for long periods of time is definitely wearing him out." I told them.

"Well, in the meantime, we need to think. Does Kakashi sensei have any type of weakness?" Sakura asks. "I mean, he has to. Everyone has to have one, even Kakashi sensei."

"Well of course he does. I mean, he's good but he's not invincible." I told her. "I have an idea that may work, but I have to figure out just how I can make that work." I thought to myself as I folded my arms.

While we sat there, we suddenly start hearing snickering. I opened my eyes to find it was coming from Naruto. I gave him a curious look for a second but soon realized what he was snickering about. I just shook my head as I released a small chuckle of my own. Sakura gave us both a look of concern and as she looked back and forth at us.

"Huh…? Uh… Naruto? Kazumi? Are you two okay?" She asked.

"I know of a way of getting those bells. There's no way it can fail." Naruto told her. "And I have a feeling that Kazumi-chan knows too."

"Really? Then what are you waiting for. Tell me." Sakura says.

"Come on Sakura, it should be obvious." I told her. "Just think about it for a second. What is Kakashi sensei's true weakness?" Sakura slowly thought about it for a second. Naruto and I continued to snicker together. "Come on. You mean she can't figure this simple puzzle out." I thought. "And she's supposed to be the smartest one on our team."

"Kazumi, you're thinking exactly what I'm thinking right?" Naruto asked as he held his hand up for a high five. "I mean, what other weakness can do the job than that one?"

"I know right." I said with a smirk as I slapped his hand.

"Oh come on guys, just tell me." Sakura said. With that, Naruto and I whispered the clue to Sakura. As soon as we do so, reality finally struck her. "Ah, I get it. It's so simple but it's brilliant." She says.

"And it becomes clear to her once we tell her. Oh brother." I thought.

"But wait. How are we going to get him with that?" she asks.

"Pervy Sage lent it to me to read it, so I can spoil the ending for him." Naruto explained.

"Wait a second. Did you actually read that damn perverted book, Naruto?" I asked as I raised an eyebrow at him. "I can't believe you would read that smut."

"No, no. I didn't, really. I mean, he lent it to me but it was such a snooze fest that it put me to sleep before I could actually get halfway through the first few pages." He explained.

"Hmpf. Doesn't matter. You still read it." I pointed out as I folded my arms. "All I know is that I better not catch you reading it myself."

"Don't worry, Kazumi-chan. I won't." he says as he scratches the back of his head.

"Wait. Hold on for a second." Sakura says, catching our attention. "But that means you don't know the ending yourself, Naruto?" Sakura pointed out.

"That maybe true, but Kakashi doesn't know that. And like he said, he hadn't finished it himself yet." I explained. "So the plan can still be used to our advantage. We can just make up the ending, Kakashi wouldn't know if it's the truth or not. Well… not until he finishes the book that is."

"I guess you have a point." Sakura told me. "He did say he didn't finish."

"All right, then!" Naruto says as he stands up. "I think it's about time for us to retrieve those bells."

"Right." Sakura and I exclaimed as we return back to our feet as well.

With that, Naruto, Sakura and I started running through the forest again, looking for Kakashi. We had our strategy and now it was time to initiate it. Before long, I caught Kakashi's scent and finally spotted him. He was sitting underneath a tree, catching his breath like we were just minutes ago. Naruto, Sakura and I jumped forward, heading towards Kakashi, as we got our plan underway.

"Hmm, a frontal attack huh? Getting overconfident aren't you?" Kakashi asks.

"Ha! You wish!" I exclaimed.

"Now, Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

"Listen to this, Kakashi sensei! " Naruto yelled. "I know the final plot twist to Make-Out Tactics!"

"Uh? What?" Kakashi yells. "No! No!"

"Turns out that the hero turns out to be none other….." Naruto starts.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear." Kakashi tells him as he covers his ears.

And soon he closed his eyes, giving us the opportunity we needed to snag the bells. Jingle. Jingle. When Kakashi opened his eyes, he found me, Naruto and Sakura standing right in front of him. We just lifted the bells up while we all sent him small smirks.

"Oh." Kakashi whined.

"Ha! A ninja should see through deception." Naruto tells him.

"Isn't that right, Sensei?" Sakura asks as she sends him a peace sign.

"I deserve that." He says. We all just started laughing. With the test over and done with, we could just relax and be our normal selves. "I never dreamed going down because of this." He says as he holds up his book. The others and I just held our bells in the air. "I should have gone ahead and finished it."

"Why are you even waste your time on that anyway?" Naruto asks. "It's the most boring book ever."

"Huh?" Kakashi asks.

"Yeah. Pervy Sage lent it to me. But it was such a snooze fest that I didn't make pass page ten." Naruto explained.

"What?" Kakashi asks.

"So you know; I couldn't have spoiled it for ya." Naruto said with a big smile. Kakashi just stumbled with his words as he pointed at Naruto. He soon just drops his head in a shameful manner.

"Even though Naruto didn't know the ending, we figured that the mention of Make-Out Tactics would be enough to freeze you in your tracks." Sakura explained. "Pretty good strategy, huh?"

"You know Kakashi… It's kind of ironic that your little hobby is what led you to your own downfall." I told him. "And for us knowing that little weakness of yours gave us the advantage. And of course, it helped us retrieve the bells."

"Yeah, you're right." he agreed.

"You three have definitely demonstrated some growth." A voice said. We all turned around and saw Lady Tsunade approaching us. Behind her, we saw Shizune walking on her right. "Kakashi, is there anything you would like to say?"

"Well, they did a great job getting a hold of those bells." He says.

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Naruto asks.

"You see, this whole test was to figure out your future status. In other words, the three of you are a team once more, along with your old sensei, Kakashi. You all were formerly known as Team 7 but now you will be known as Team Kakashi." Tsunade explained.

"Team Kakashi?" Sakura asks.

"That sounds pretty cool." Naruto says. "So what exactly what we will be doing? What's the scoop?"

"It means that we will be going on all of our mission, together." Kakashi answers. "The time of student and sensei are over. We will be peers now."

"Huh?" Naruto and Sakura both exclaimed.

"Hmm, sounds good if you ask me." I said.

"That's the long and the short of it." He says. "The days of sensei and student are past. We're Leaf Shinobi on equal grounds. Got it."

"Oh yeah. One hundred and ten percent." Naruto says.

"We got it, Kakashi-sensei." Added Sakura.

"Hmm, understood." I added.

"Now then. How about we head back now." Lady Tsunade suggested.

"Right." Naruto, Sakura and I exclaimed together.


Another chapter finished and posted. Great... Hope you guys enjoy and don't forget to review. But remember, no flamers are welcomed. Thanks!

-Kazumi