DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO MANGA

Naruto entered the class wearing a shuriken holder wrapped around his right leg and the pouch on his back and taking a seat beside Sakura and Sauske "oh hey Naruto" Sakura said "good morning" he said "good morning" he replied with a smile.

The Uchiha spared him a look his biggest rival at the academy he did not know what to think of him but the blond seem to be at peace and happy all the time who'd get depressed easily but when it came to taijutsu and ninjutsu even he could not match him as an equal they have been fighting it out for 4 years but he had never defeated Naruto a single time every time he'd get better the blond would have gotten better as well it was a big rivalry between them because he knew that the blond was competing with him and getting stronger each day not just for him but because the two had big goals to achieve while the blond looked to become Hokage his goal was to kill a certain someone it was a perfect match to compare his strength.

"From today onwards you all are no mere students of ninjutsu but full fledged shinobi but among the rank of the shinobi you are the lowest and beginners your greatest challenges all lie ahead. The next step is assignment of official duties to you all on behalf of the village we will begin by dividing you into 3 man cells. Each of which will be mentored by a jounin a more senior ninja who will guide and coach you as you as you become familiar with various assignments" Iruka said taking out a list "I have made selections that each cell's abilities will be equal" Iruka said

"WHAAAT!" they exclaimed "Next cell number 7 Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto-" "OH YEAH!" Sakura pumped her fist "and Uchiha Sauske" he said "hmm its looks like I have to bear looking at your broody face many times a day" Naruto said with a grin "it beats that sad mug of yours" Sauske replied depressing him "is it that sad?" he asked "its beyond sad" he said with a grin "is that so" he asked back with a grin as he began to laugh 'Sauske-kun is smiling' Sakura thought with wide eyes 'those two can make a good team' Iruka thought with a smile "ok everyone I will be introducing the jounin in the afternoon until then you all are dismissed" Iruka said.

Naruto's eyes were twitching "this guy is too late" he said "he'll be here soon" Sakura said as the gates opened and they looked at the jounin enter "hmm how should I put it my first impression of you guys is that you are boring" he said making them sweat drop, they were sitting on the terrace as Kakashi sat on the railing "now I would like you all to tell us a little about yourselves" Kakashi said

"like what?" Sakura asked "you know the usual the thing you like the things you hate your dreams your ambitions and all that" Kakashi said "Sensai can you begin after all you are a complete stranger to us a mystery" Sakura said "oh me? My name is Kakashi Hatake I am the kind of person who does not like to talk about his likes and dislikes, my dreams for the future its none of your business and I have a lot of hobbies" he said

"all we know is his name" Sakura said with a sweat drop "I know right" Naruto muttered "now its your turn staring with you on the right" he said "My name is Uzumaki Naruto my likes are training and ramen and my dream it is to surpass all other Hokage as a shinobi and inherit their title to lead the village into an even brighter future" he said with a grin surprising Kakashi 'well isn't he a surprising one but Hokage-sama told me as much' he thought "my hobbies well I like meditating and watering my plants" he said.

"Next" Kakashi said "My name is Uchiha Sauske and there are a lot of things I hate but that does not matter considering there is almost nothing I do like. It seems pointless taking about dreams its just a word but I do have an ambition to restore my clan and kill a certain someone" he said 'he's so cool' Sakura thought "does that dislike list include girls as well Sas-uke" Naruto said with a grin

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled in embaressment while he shot him a glare "want me to beat you up bastard!" he yelled as he got depressed "no one is fun they don't even get jokes" he said making Kakashi sweat drop 'as I heard he gets depressed easily' he thought

"and finally the young lady" Kakashi said "My name is Sakura Haruno….." she finished 'it sounds as though young girls are more interested in love than ninjutsu' Kakashi thought "enough I believe we all understand each other formal training begins tomorrow" he said "so what is our first mission?" Naruto asked with a grin

"our first project only involves members of this cell because it will be a survival mission" Kakashi said "but why would that be a mission out school days were full of them" Sakura said "but you'll have to survive against me it won't be your typical practice" Kakashi said

"what kind of practice?" Naruto asked as he chuckled "why are you laughing Kakashi-sensai?" Sakura asked "oh its nothing if I told you, you'd all chicken out" he said "why?" Naruto asked "of 27 members of your graduating class only 9 will be accepted as genin the other 18 must go back for more training the test we are about to before has a 66% percent of failure" he said.

Sauske was sweating, Sakura gulped and Naruto grinned "that's even more interesting" he said with a grin "how!" Sakura yelled pointing his finger at him "if we fail even after giving our all to it then it means we are not ready after all but as long as you give it your all you will have no regrets" he said with a grin making their eyes wide.

'He's right' Sakura thought 'I have come this far so I'll give it my all and pass this' Sauske thought 'he inspired them just now that is an unique quality' Kakashi thought "those are god words you all will need it so we will meet tomorrow morning on the practice fields so that I can evaluate each of your skills and weaknesses bring all your ninja tools and weapons and don't have breakfast before hand unless you want to throw up" Kakashi said as he walked towards them

"the details of this assignment are in the hand out memorize it and don't be late" Kakashi said handing them papers "throw up? How hard is the exercise going to be?!" Sakura exclaimed as they read the papers with wide eyes.

"Good Morning class" Kakashi said "You are late!" Sakura exclaimed "I have set the alarms to go at noon" he said as the three looked at him as he showed him 2 bells "I have here two bells your challenge is to steal these for me before the time sounds" he said "any one who fails will not get their lunch and will be tied to those stumps so I can eat lunch in front of you" he said 'grrr' their stomachs growled 'burp'

"you ate?" Kakashi asked "it's a morning ritual I do unconsciously without ramen my day won't start sorry hahahahaha" he laughed making Kakashi sweat drop as the other two glared at him "anyway all you need to do is get one bell a piece but since there are not enough to go around one of you are definitely going for the stumps and who ever that is will be the first of you to fail one of you is on your way back to school and disgrace" he said

"you may if you choose, use shuriken and come at me as if you want to kill or you'll never stand a chance" he said "but that's so dangerous" Sakura said "don't underestimate him" Naruto said as the two looked at him "if you don't accept the fact that this is an impossible fight you will never pass" he said "nandato" Sauske said

"what we have been doing till now is playing Shinobi because we are yet to have any real experience and we are facing a jounin who is many times stronger than our teachers he has more mastery over shinobi arts than all of us combined do you know what that means?" he asked making Sakura shudder while Sauske narrowed his eyes

"nice speech I see you respect me hehehe just maybe I am starting to like you now begin" he said as they blurred away "the basic of all shinobi arts is to become invisible eradicate yourself" Kakashi said 'all three are hidden well' he thought when Naruto dropped in front of him "I thought you were smart" Kakashi said looking at him as he grinned "I merely wish to see the gap between you and me" he said 'he is testing him out' Sauske thought "I see very well then ninja art one taijutsu" he said

Naruto rushed at him 'fast' Sakura thought 'he is channeling chakra in his feet to run faster intelligent' Kakashi thought as he came close as he made the cross seal "Shadow clone jutsu" he said as 4 clones came at Kakashi rushing ahead of the real Naruto as one went for the swipe to the head as Kakashi ducked under it back handing him as he dispelled stopping the kicks from the two at once

'solid clones when did he learn that' Sauske thought narrowing his eyes seeing the clones dispelled when they were shocked to see blue hands bound together coming to crush Kakashi who jumped back dodging it "so I heard it correct" Kakashi said looking at Naruto and the crator he created.

't that was' Sakura thought 'chakra it sould not be visible like that what is that jutsu' Sauske thought sweating "a genin who has more control over chakra than most jounin you have mastery over Yang release to an extent that you can manipulate the shape of chakra and fully control it as well I must aaccept that is something even I can't do" he said

'N Naruto you were holding back that much' Sakura thought while Sauske just looked with wide eyes while Naruto grinned looking at Kakashi "its true you are a shinobi way superior than me but even if my short life there are a few things I have learned" he said while Kakashi looked at him

"recognize yourself before you ask the others to do so and accept who are because the people who do that are the strong ones" he said making his eye wide "also learn to forgive you yourself or else you can't hope to move on and lastly you must accept your own darkness because it's a part of you and if you keep it suppressed for long eventually the container will fill and it will break out to take over you once a person can do that he can be at peace I might not have as much mastery over ninjutsu as you but I have mastery over myself" he finished

Sakura and Sauske were stunned when they heard it even Kakashi was shocked 'Sandaime-sama is he really a genin' he thought 'of all the shinobi I have met till now I have not faced one like him he maybe be a fresh genin now but he has accomplished more than I have till now' Kakashi thought.

He saw the Chakra hands coming at him at full speed and he continued to jump back and dodge the hands when it stopped 'is that the limit' he thought but he saw many clones already above him 'he hid them in the water that means he was leading me here' he thought

"Ninpo all side Shuriken!" they fired in union as many shurikens came at Kakashi from all sides 'using shadow clones like he were using the shuriken shadow clone this is an A rnak atleast excellent' he thought putting his hands on the ground "Doton: 4 side earth wall" he said

4 stone walls rose around him protecting him against the shuriken but his eyes were wide seeing the hands appear from behind him capturing him 'so that's what he was planning' he thought seeing him come from above with 6 kunai between his fingers "dodge this sensai!" he yelled throwing it at him while Kakashi's eye was wide

The kunai hit all vital points "he did it" Sakura said "he got him" Sauske said 'puff' 'shadow clone' Naruto thought dropping down huffing "you are very impressive" he saw Kakashi standing on the water 'he hid himself in the lake' he thought "from what I can see is that you are a cut above the rest chunin level but you wanted to know the difference right I won't go easy anymore" he said making fast seals

'the speed of his hand signs' Sakura thought while Sauske just looked on "Suiton: Water vortex jutsu" he said as the jutsu came at Naruto who made a half seal and the hands became big palms coming in front of him for protection as Kakashi's jutsu hit making him grit his teeth 'no chakra left' he thought as the hands disappeared and he was hit by the water "Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed seeing him being sent to the tree crashing 'he was right this is an impossible battle' Sauske thought.

'saa what are you going to do next' Kakashi thought 'puff' 'that was a clone as well' Sakura thought with wide eyes 'he was using his clone to size him up-' 'just like I was doing the same but he put a lot of chakra into that clone he ought to be low on chakra' Kakashi thought.

'Psst' Sakura almost jumped "N Naruto" she said with wide eyes "we'll talk later follow me" he said as she gave a shaky nod, "what do you want?" Sauske hissed "come with me you already know this is out of an individual's hands" he said making him grit his teeth a bit as he had to swallow his pride "fine" he said.

The two came where Naruto's clones have led them "whoa you got something here Naruto" Sakura said seeing all the traps he had created "you here holding back this much" Sauske said with a glare "oi oi I know you have something up your sleeves as well s we'll settle it later but you saw it didn't you" he asked as the two sat "you are right there is no way we can take him down" Sakura said

"nah we can if we work together we just might have a chance" he said "you know all too well that if the 3 of us work together one has to go back and none of us will be willing to go back to the academy" Sauske said "mah don't worry about it I'll go back to the academy" he said with a grin making their eyes wide "b but why would you" Sakura shuttered "its not like a year can hold me down I'll probably get stronger as well but I want to go back knowing that I defeated a jounin so ready to do it" he asked

'we have been so selfish thinking about ourselves yet he is ready to fail for us without a second thought' Sakura thought with wide eyes while Sauske had a emotionless look on his face "alright lets do it" he said "first eat this" he said throwing them bags "food pills" Sauske said "Shinobiwho don't get proper food in the field eat this to satisfy their hunger and replenish their chakra that was what Iruka-sensai taught us right?" he asked

"this is a survival mission so you carried it along" Sakura said with a smile eating it "hmm this was a very interesting conversation" Kakashi said sitting on the branch above them making their eyes wide 'he got through the traps undetected' Naruto thought 'we didn't even detect him' Sauske thought 'he got us' Sakura thought when Naruto threw smoke bombs as they disappeared when the smoke cleared

"ah they escaped" Kakashi said but there was a smile under his mask 'there is no doubt you are just like him' he thought. Some time passed as Kakashi stood in the field 'they have probably planned a strategy now since there is not much time left so this is when they will attack' he thought when projectiles came at him but before it hit him Kakashi turned into a log 'kawarimi no Jutsu' Sauske thought

"so did you finally decide to attack Sauske?" Kakashi asked as he blurred 'he's fast' he thought stopping his leg with one arm but his eyes were wide when chakra arms came out of his back capturing him 'so this is Naruto' he thought seeing him jump back "Imada Sauske!" he yelled "I know!" he replied jumping out as he made seals 'those seals' Kakashi thought "Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu!"

Sauske exhaled over Kakashi as he burned up while Naruto dropped beside him "we got him" he said dropping the henge when their eyes were wide seeing their leg was grabbed "I'm afraid not" Kakashi said trying to pull them in while Naruto used his chakra arm to push Sauske away as he went inside the ground till the neck "you are done" Kakashi said when Naruto grinned

"it's the beginning" he replied as Sakura jumped out dropping mny smoke bombs at once 'they intend to dull my sight' he thought coming out of the smoke but his eye were wide to see the devil wind mill shuriken coming his way 'I see that was their plan to catch me by surprise' he thought catching the shuriken only to see another instantly coming out 'shadow shuriken' he thought moving out of it way.

But as Kakashi did 'puff' his eye were wide to see Naruto with a grin as he went bells touching them only to see Kakashi grab his hand "Imada Sauske!" he exclaimed as Kakashi looked up to see the Uchiha throwing 4 water balloons at him making him wet 'masaka' he thought looking at Naruto whose fingers started to crinkle as he grabbed his hand electrocuting him

"Imada Sakura!" Naruto yelled "Cha!" she yelled throwing the kunai as it made a swipe cut on the belt taking out the bells as Naruto caught them 'pufff' all their eyes were wide 'tsk' Naruto threw the leafs "even after all that" Sakura said "he was always a step ahead" Sauske said gritting his teeth when they heard claps.

Kakashi came out of the woods as the three looked at him "you surprised me all of you but I stopped underestimating you all had I done that I would have lost" he said "this test was made for us to fail its not something we could have passed" Naruto said when the bell rang "and you all did fail but since you all did a good job I will give you a chance you 3 decide the one who will fail" Kakashi said "I'll go back to the academy I promised them already let them pass" Naruto said

'snort' "I won't be able to live with myself knowing I became a ninja because of you so I'll go" Sauske said "no you two did the most in the test I am the weakest so I will go back" Sakura said 'these three' Kakashi thought with a smile "well it looks like you will have to decide who goes who doesn't" Naruto said with a grin making Kakashi close his eye "very well then I will decide" he said

The three looked at him with seriousness on their faces when Kakashi winked with an eye smile "you all pass" he said making their eyes wide "w what do you mean we passed?' Sakura asked "don't you understand already you were all put in a 3 man cell for a reason the entire point of the exercise is team work" Kakashi said making their eyes wide

"so you pitted us against ourselves to see if we can still work as a team or not" Sauske said "correct the test was set up to see which of you would put aside your personal interests and propose to the others to work together for the good of all Naruto did not battle me to see our gap he already knew there was a gap he wanted to you two to see the difference and made the sacrifice of his own dreams for the team to work together he was already a true shinobi" he said.

Sauske and Sakura's eyes were wide "but the two of you have come along as well and are ready to sacrifice yourselves for the other and learned to act as one showing me team work that most chunin can't come up with while individual strength is necessary for a ninja what is most important is teamwork" he said turning to the stone

"look at this marker all the names carved into the stone, heroes of our village ninja they are not just any kind of heroes they are the kind that died in the line of duty" he said making Sakura's eyes wide again while Naruto and Sauske had serious looks on their face "this is a memorial, it includes the names of my best friends one of them taught me the most important lesson of being a ninja" he said turning back and looking at them

"In the ninja world, those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are lower than garbage however those who do not care for and support their comrades are even lower than that" he said making Sakura smile while Naruto grinned and Sauske smirked as he gave them a thumbs up "this exercise is concluded you all pass that's all for today, team 7 your duties will commence from tomorrow" he said

"alright we did it duck ass Sakura" Naruto said pumping his fist up "my hairstyle is better than your bushy top" Sauske said depressing him "I is it that bad?" he asked making Sakura nervously chuckle while Sakura scoffed and Kakashi sweat dropped 'I need to find a curse to that for him as well' he thought "lets go" he said

Team 7 walked away with smiles on their face 'there is a very big gap I need to overcome it' Sauske thought 'now I can finally be with Sauske-kun' Sakura thought 'my path to Hokage begins from here' Naruto thought 'they make a good team and for a genin to use both change in shape and nature of chakra is unheard of he just might surpass the other 4' Kakashi thought.

A few days passed since team 7 began their official ninja duties right now in the forest Naruto and Sauske hid themselves 'How far away is your target?' Kakashi asked '5 minutes and closing so how much longer are you going to wait' Sakura asked 'I'm in position' Naruto said 'so am I' Sauske said 'alright go!' he ordered as Naruto used his chakra arm to capture the cat 'meowww!'

"remember out quarry has a ribbon on its right ear that says tiger make sure there is no mistake" Kakashi said 'target confirmed' Sauske replied "good then mission finding the missing pet accomplished" Kakashi said.

Lady Shijimi hugged tora tight as the cat screamed "Poor Tora good little kitty I was worried about you, I could have died!" she exclaimed 'how does the poor cat put up with that nightmare' Naruto thought with a sweat drop 'with that to look forward at home can you blame the cat for running away?' Sakura thought.

"Now the next assignment for team 7 will be to baby sit for the council of elders, to run errand to neighbouring village and to dig out sweet potatoes" Sarutobi read "no more Old man" Naruto said making him look his way "these D rank are made for genin to do so they could learn team work I summarize but we already have adequate team work what we need to experience and increase in skill" Naruto said

'he has a point' Sauske thought 'don't decide for yourself' Sakura thought 'I feel this is going to be trouble' Kakashi thought "Don't get ahead of yourself Naruto! That is not something for you to decide!" Iruka scolded "very well then" Hiruzen said with a smile "huh?" Naruto said in confusion "if you put it that way I will permit you to attempt a c rank mission usually reserved for chunin level shinobi to protect a certain individual" he said "ohh who is it?" Naruto asked with a grin while Kakashi looked with bugged eye

"I will make the introductions right away please invite him in" Hiruzen said "whats going on in here? They look like a bunch of wet nosed brats specially that one he got a face of an imbecile" the old man with a bag back on his back and a sake bottle in his hand said depressing Naruto "I..is my face that bad?" he asked making the rest sweat drop as well

"Don't get depressed so easily" Sauske said when he got out of it laughing "well my face beats that sad look of yours I guess" he said "Naruto you can't insult the client like that" Kakashi said depressing him again "and I thought you were cool" he said making Kakashi's head drop while Hiruzen chuckled a bit.

"Anyway I am Tazuna a bridge builder of ultimate renown until I am safely back in my own country, where I'll be completing my next bridge, you'll all be expected to protect me even if it cost you your lives" he said. Team 7 were at the gates as Naruto grinned "what is with the grin Naruto?" Kakashi asked "its my first time out of the village I feel a bit excited" he said

"am I really expected to place my life in hands of that kid he looks like a fool" Tazuna said pointing at Naruto depressing him "do I really look like that?" he asked "that calls for no concern I am a Jounin and I'll be along to" Kakashi said "mah don't judge people based on their appearances to me you look like an old drunk geezer who can't even pick up a hammer but I have not underestimated your talents as a bridge builder" Naruto said with a grin making his eyes wide and just like that team 7 made it out of the hidden leaf heading for the Land of waves not noticing the two pair of eyes on them.