Team Seven

"He's late!"

A blonde boy exclaimed whilst he peaked out of the classroom door in search of their would-be Jounin leader. The blonde was such a hyper and energetic person. So full of energy and life. And despite his glaring shortcomings, he was able to sneak up on and tie Sasuke up on one occasion, and give him a bit of a "surprise" lip lock on another. That event was something the young Uchiha hoped would never be spoken of, and he was embarrassed for even recollecting the memory of it. Still, the blonde tying him up had to have been a fluke. Sasuke had let his guard down, but he had learned his lesson. He would never let his guard down again, even around his own "comrades." No way was that loser, that poor excuse of a shinobi, was ever going to get the satisfaction of pinning him down ever again.

"Naruto!" A long pink haired girl exclaimed the blonde's name. "Why don't you just sit still?!"

Sasuke mentally agreed with her. Watching Naruto pace around the room, jump on the desks, and anxiously await their teacher with the patience of an untrained pup, only proved to have made Sasuke and the girl uncomfortable. Sasuke wouldn't usually agree with her sentiments, in fact, he usually wouldn't agree with any of her actions. She wasn't gawking and fawning over him, she was making snide, snarky remarks, such as when she bashed Naruto for his behavior then attributed it to the fact that he had no parents. Sasuke had no parents, and he was just fine. But Naruto was the lucky one. Since he never had parents, he never had anything to lose. It hurt more to have had a bond severed, then to have never had the bond at all. The feeling that the emotional string that had once connected one with another could be forcibly removed without surgical precision, only caused one to suffer more. What that girl had said to him bothered him. It rubbed him the wrong way. She was annoying, and he was glad that he had told her that. Maybe then she would take the hint and keep her distance from him.

"But Sakura, why is the leader for our group the only one that's late?" Naruto whined at her. "All the other groups went somewhere with their teacher! And even Iruka-sensei went home!"

"That's not what's important-"

Naruto had blatantly ignored what Sakura had tried to say to him and placed a board eraser at the top corner of the door just out of one's line of sight. It was a juvenile prank, and a pretty stupid one. Their teacher should realize that something would be amiss when he would see that the door was mysteriously propped open, and once he saw that the eraser was there and that he would have been the victim of such an absurd prank, they would all be chastised as a group despite the fact that Sasuke had not participated in the slightest. It seemed that in the end working within a group would only serve to stifle him. That man had said it himself. Only he could defeat him, no one else.

"This is what he gets for being late!" Naruto exclaimed with a mischievous grin.

"Well it's not our fault if you get in trouble!" Sakura fired back at him.

Sasuke couldn't help but chastise Naruto for his stupidity. "A jounin won't fall for such a juvenile prank."

"Yea Naruto! You're so stupid-"

Someone was about to enter the classroom.

A silver haired, masked man slid the door open.

The eraser fell atop of his head.

And Naruto burst into laughter.

"He fell for it! He fell for it!" The energetic blonde pointed at their would be teacher and continued to laugh uncontrollably.

How did that stupid prank work on him? It surely wouldn't have worked on that man. Weren't Jounin around his caliber of skill and intellect? Or did they not make them like they used to anymore?

"I'm sorry sensei! I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen!" Sakura apologized sweetly.

For real? Is this really a Jounin?

Sasuke didn't know anything about this man, but he had felt that he had seen enough already. This man wasn't capable of being on time, and he wasn't perceptive enough to see through an elementary prank. He must have been a joke of a Jounin who was forced to teach Genin due to the fact that he wasn't fit enough to go on real missions or to handle real assignments.

The masked man absentmindedly picked up the eraser and began to think long and hard about what he was about to say, then finally said, "I hate you. I hate every single last one of you."

An overbearing weight of shame bore down on the young trio.

He's lumping me up with them? Sasuke lamented.

Their teacher then lead them to the Academy rooftop, where he then instructed for them to introduce themselves. The way he phrased it however, made it seem as if he wasn't the least bit interested.

"I already hate you guys, but maybe you could make up for it by telling me a bit about yourselves."

"What kinds of things should we say?" Sakura inquired.

The "Jounin" nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Tell me what you like, what you don't like, your hobbies, your dreams, stuff like that I guess."

"Hey sensei, why don't you just introduce yourself first?" Naruto asked of him. He probably just wanted to use whatever template that their teacher did.

"Me?" The silver-haired man asked in mild shock. He probably thought of himself as a very uninteresting person. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no intention of telling you my likes and dislikes, I don't really have a dream, and...I have a few hobbies."

Sakura groaned and mumbled to the rest of the group, "So all we found out was his name."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded.

"Alright, now it's time for the rest of you. You first," He gestured towards Naruto, who began to fidget around excitedly.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like cup ramen, but I like the ramen at Ichiraku's place that Iruka-sensei buys me even more. I hate the three minutes you have to wait once you put hot water in the cup ramen, and my main hobby is to collect and compare ramen! And my dream is to become greater than all of the Hokages!" Upon his declaration, he began to adjust his headband ever so slightly. It was a symbol that others had to recognize him for being a ninja, but he wanted to take it a step further than that.

"I want everyone to recognize me and to acknowledge me!"

"Okay, okay, next one," His gaze shifted to Sakura.

"I'm Sakura Haruno! I like...well...the person who I like is..." She gave Sasuke an affectionate glance, but he showed no indication of listening to anything that she had said. Which in truth, he didn't.

"My hobby is..." She looked at Sasuke once more. "And my dream is to..." She stole another glance at him.

"So, what do you hate?" Kakashi inquired. She had left that last part out.

"Naruto." She growled.

The blonde boy began to sulk. Tears of hurt and rejection streamed down his cheeks as he plotted ways to try and earn the pink haired girl's affection.

"Alright, last guy."

I'll make this quick. He thought to himself. He felt like if he stayed there any longer that he was going to lose his mind. Every second of every day that he spent not improving on his skills as a ninja was a waste. He needed to achieve his goal.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like a lot of things, and I don't hate a lot of things," He began to say. If their sensei could be vague with his responses, then that meant that he could be vague as well.

"I don't have a dream, I have an absolute goal. To revive my clan, and to kill that man."

"Alright! You three have some interesting personalities! Maybe I won't end up hating you all after all. We'll start with a mission tomorrow."

"What kind of mission!?" Naruto enthusiastically asked.

"Well...it's going to be something that we four can do together."

"And what's that!?" Naruto pressed.

"Survival training."

"Survival training?" Naruto repeated, trying to make sense of what he had just been told.

But Sakura had not only processed what had been said, but she had came up with the proper follow-up question as well.

"Why is our mission to train when we have already trained at the Academy?"

"This is no ordinary training," Kakashi said.

"Then what kind of training is it?" Naruto asked. He felt lost.

Their teacher chuckled darkly, and Sakura glared daggers at him.

"What's so funny?"

"Well it's just that, you three are going to be in for quite the shock when I tell you this but..."

"Huh? What is it?" Naruto asked.

"Out of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be Genin. The other eighteen will be sent back to the Academy. To put it plainly, the test that I'm about to put you through has a sixty-six percent drop-out rate."

The looks on all of his student's faces made Kakashi chuckle even harder. "See? See? I told you that you were going to be surprised!"

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Naruto exclaimed. "I went through so much trouble just to get here! What in the world was the Academy's final exam for?!"

"It picks out those who are qualified to be Genin."

"What!?" Naruto whined.

"Anyways, I'm going to determine whether or not you pass or fail tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring all of your ninja equipment and meet at five in the morning sharp!"

Kakashi then stood up and turned to take his leave, but another thought occurred to him. "Oh yea, right, don't eat breakfast. You'll just throw it back up."


The trio convened at the training grounds on time as instructed. Naruto and Sakura groggily greeted one another, but Sasuke was much more alert than they were. They didn't have the kind of dreams that he had, so they probably weren't used to functioning without much sleep. It was exceedingly rare for the young Uchiha to get some decent shut eye. The images of that man's sword slicing through the back of his father and mother prevented him from fully falling asleep. There was only one way for the nightmares to end, but if he didn't pass the test here, then he would have to live with his nightmares even longer.

Time began to slowly pass, and before Sasuke knew it, the sun began to come up. He should have known that he was going to be late, but he figured that maybe he would be on time his for the final exam that he himself set up. The Uchiha sighed, how did this guy become a Jounin? All shinobi were taught at the Academy the importance of punctuality. The importance of discipline. The last time Sasuke was late, he came home to find his entire clan killed, and was greeted with the corpses of his father and mother. Greeted with that man standing over them with the blood of his own people caked on his katana. If only he had been on time, if only he had been there...

"Good morning everyone!" Kakashi cheerfully greeted.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura shouted at him.

"A black cat crossed my path so..."

Naruto and Sakura shot him a death glare. What kind of excuse was that?

"Anyways, let's move on shall we?" Kakashi approached a log and placed an alarm clock on it. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of small bells that were tied together with a thin red string.

"Your objective is to try and take these bells from me. Whoever doesn't however, gets tied to the log over there and will not eat lunch."

Sasuke's stomach growled. That's why he said don't eat breakfast...

"But wait, why are there only two bells?" Sakura asked.

"That's because out of the three of you, at least one will have to be tied to the log. That person will fail since he failed the mission, and will be sent back to the Academy. It might be just one of you, or it could be all three of you. You may use whatever you'd like, but know this, you won't be able to get these if you don't attack me with the intent to kill."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him. There was only one man that he had the resolve to kill. If he were to focus all of his anger, all of his rage, all of his resentment onto this "Jounin" instructor, who couldn't even be on time, who couldn't even see through the most basic of all pranks, then he would surely die.

"But that's too dangerous sensei!" Sakura exclaimed. She didn't possess the will to kill, that much was clear.

"Yea! You couldn't even dodge a chalk eraser!" Naruto exclaimed with a chuckle.

"In society, those who don't have many abilities tend to complain more. So, don't heed the guy with the lowest marks out of all the graduates."

Naruto glared at him.

"Anyways, we're going to begin when I say start-"

Naruto gripped his kunai and charged directly at Kakashi. Sasuke was wrong to think that he was the only one who had the capacity to kill, because the blonde seemed more than willing to put their teacher down for good all over one little insult. Kakashi managed to grip Naruto's wrist which held the kunai and point it at the back of his own head. It happened so fast that Sasuke's eyes could barely keep up.

"Don't get too hasty, I didn't give you the go ahead yet." He released Naruto's wrist, who winced and moved it around to get the feeling in it back.

He just might be a Jounin after all.

"Ready, start!"

They scattered.

Sasuke, one of the fundamental techniques a shinobi must learn is the ability to conceal their presence. You hide while I try and find you.

That man had taught him early. As much as he wanted to forget about him, he couldn't forget his teachings. They were essential, and he planned on someday using his own teachings against him. It wasn't hard for Sasuke to find a comfortable enough hiding spot within all the shrubbery.

A good rule of thumb is to not find a spot too high, and to not stick too close to the ground. If you're too high, you increase your chance of being spotted. If you're too low, you run the risk of slowing down your reaction time.

His words echoed in his mind. This should be a good spot.

He squatted on a tree branch that wasn't too high on the tree, but not too low either. From there he would be able to keep a close eye on Kakashi.

"Let's have a match fair and square!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke sighed. This idiot. Did he have any concept of what it meant to be a shinobi?

"You're a little weird compared to the others aren't you?" Kakashi quipped.

"The only thing 'weird' is your stupid haircut!"

What a comeback.

Naruto charged straight toward the white haired Jounin, which was a useless endeavor. Did he forget what happened the last time he tried to do that? Kakashi reached into his pouch with a bored expression, and Naruto jumped backwards. Well, at least he wasn't completely brain dead.

"Hmmm, what should the first lesson be?" Kakashi gazed up into the sky.

"I know. Basic shinobi core skill number one, taijutsu. That will be the first lesson."

Kakashi reached into his pouch and opened up a book which he began to read nonchalantly.

"Wait what? Why did you take that book out!?"

"Why? Because I left off at the good part. Even if I wasn't reading this book, the result would be the same."

Naruto's fist clenched, and Sasuke couldn't help but sigh.

Idiot, don't let him provoke you.

"I'm going to pound you!"

Naruto charged straight for him, and his punch attempt was easily dealt with by the Jounin's palm. The blonde's feet touched down onto the Earth, as soon as it did so, he sprung back into action and twisted his body around with his dominant leg leading the way in a roundhouse kick attempt. Kakashi ducked it, all the while he continued to read. He was doing well for someone with only one good eye, but perhaps for a Jounin, this was all but a walk in the park.

"Damn it!" Naruto charged in for another punch attempt, but Kakashi was far too fast. Sasuke had a difficult time keeping up with him without the aid of his Sharingan. He didn't want to have to use it, it drained him too much, he would have to portion his chakra use wisely.

"A ninja should not let an enemy get behind him multiple times, idiot."

That seal is for fire elements.

Sasuke knew it all too well. Whenever he performed the Katon Goukakyuu No Jutsu, the final seal was the tiger seal. But, did Kakashi really use his hand seals that quickly? Sasuke only managed to catch him perform one. And if he really intended to use such a high level ninjutsu on Naruto at close range, then the blonde would be a goner.

This guy, he was serious about us needing the intent to kill.

"Naruto! Run! You're going to die!" Sakura shouted to warn him.

Idiot, she just compromised her position.

"Konoha Secret Taijutsu: Sennen Goroshi!"

Kakashi's fingers pressed into Naruto's posterior, and it sent the unfortunate blonde shinobi sailing into the water.

Sasuke sighed again.

They're both idiots.

Once Kakashi took his book out and began to pick up where he left off, Sasuke began to reach for his weapon's pouch.

Should I attack now? Or should I wait? He thought. If he was to attack too soon, then it would be all for nothing. But this was a Jounin he was talking about, they were supposed to have been the most elite of the elite. Did they ever truly let their guard down? This guy though, he was different. He was too easy going, too free flowing. Perhaps he was on the verge of being demoted, and to prove himself worthy of the rank, he had to take on the responsibility of training Genin. But still, disgraced Jounin or not, he was still a Jounin. He was still leagues ahead of them all.

But I won't know until I try right?

From the water came two shuriken directly for Kakashi. He nonchalantly caught them by placing his fingers into the hole in the center and continued to read as if nothing happened. Sasuke moved his hand away from his pouch and groaned internally.

So much for that plan.

Naruto began to slowly climb from out of the water and onto the grassy meadow. He hacked and coughed, and Kakashi regarded him with a condescending tone.

"What's wrong? At this rate, you won't be able to get lunch by noon."

"I already know that!" Naruto shot back.

"You said that you wanted to surpass all of the previous Hokages? You seem to be showing me otherwise."

Naruto's stomach growled. "Damn it all! I can still fight! Even if I'm hungry!"

Sasuke's stomach growled as well.

If only I could eat something...

Kakashi began to walk away from Naruto, who shouted at him, "I was just caught off guard awhile ago, that's all!"

Kakashi gave no indication that he was paying Naruto any attention.

"I will become a ninja!"

From out of the water came six more Naruto's suddenly. The blonde boy declared boldly that his technique would spell the end for the Jounin.

Bushins? A low level technique like that won't work. Sasuke thought.

However, once they all touched down on the ground, and he saw the grass move beneath their sandals, he knew that they weren't just regular bushins. Normal bushins couldn't affect the environment in any way. There was no mistake about it, those clones were real.

But real clones or not, Naruto is still way out of his depth-

Sasuke heard something in the distance. Was it foot steps? It definitely was. Someone was out there, but who was it? He turned to get a better look, and he couldn't help but smirk at what he had seen.

I see.

As Naruto and his clones charged toward Kakashi, the person whom caught Sasuke's attention snuck up behind the Jounin and wrapped his body around him to immobilize him. Sasuke was impressed, so much so that he found himself...admiring Naruto? He felt his face heat up at the thought. He was red, but it wasn't due to any kind of affection. But it was because Naruto always seemed to have infinite stamina, to have infinite energy. They were all hungry, and tired, but Naruto was not only able to create a few real bushin clones, but to have one sneak all the way around the river and use the others as a distraction, it was nothing less than impressive.

A feint operation eh?

"A ninja shouldn't let the enemy get behind him. Right, Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto was poised to punch Kakashi right in his face, however, he only managed to hit his own clone instead. Sasuke's glare intensified. He almost didn't catch it. Naruto however, began to accuse one of his clones of being Kakashi in a henge, or a transformation. Sasuke glared at the blonde dumbly.

Idiot, he didn't use the transformation jutsu, he used the replacement jutsu. I should have known that he wouldn't get caught so easily. In this case, he allowed himself to get caught on purpose, perhaps to prove a point. He swapped places with one of the Naruto clones before Naruto's attack connected, which made Naruto hit himself. He used Naruto's own jutsu against him.

But there was another thing that troubled him. During that entire exchange with Naruto, Kakashi was still able to keep his guard up. He showed no signs of weakness, and he could feel the Jounin's alertness even from his vantage point. Still, Sasuke had to wait. He had to be patient.

He heard Naruto exclaim when he fell into Kakashi's trap, and the young Uchiha sighed again.

Of course it's a trap.

Kakashi reached for the bell and proceeded to lecture Naruto. "Think about using your techniques carefully, if you don't, then they can be used against you. Also, don't fall for obvious traps, idiot. Ninjas need to think beyond what a normal person would think."

"I already know that!" Naruto angrily shouted whilst he dangled from the tree.

"I'm telling you this because you don't." Kakashi chided.

Sasuke leaned in to get a closer look. Were his eyes deceiving him? Kakashi's hand were on his hips, he had turned his entire body toward Naruto and showed his back to the Uchiha. There were so many unguarded spots. So many holes, so many openings. His hand began to tremble as adrenaline pumped through him.

Now's my chance!

His eyes grew wide. He didn't need his Sharingan. He could see, he could clearly see.

He finally dropped his guard!

Sasuke brandished a shuriken in each hand and threw it directly at the silver haired Jounin, he then reached into his pouch and threw a couple of kunai to give his shuriken some company. He wasn't going to squander the opportunity that was given to him. Kakashi said so himself. It would be impossible to pass without going at him with the intent to kill.

A replacement!?

The Uchiha hadn't seen that coming, but he knew that he should have anticipated it. Kakashi had never let his guard down to begin with, he had only allowed himself to look as if he did so that Sasuke would attack him, and from there the Jounin would be able to pinpoint his location. But Sasuke wasn't going to allow himself to get caught that easily.

While trying to find another hiding spot, he heard Sakura scream and cursed beneath his breath. Naruto was caught in the world's simplest trap and Sakura had been rendered unconscious due to Kakashi's genjutsu. Sasuke would had been able to easily see through it, and he wouldn't need to waste his Sharingan either. Whatever that man had done to him, the images that he made him see, it was something far more terrible than a simple genjutsu. It was a perpetual nightmare.

"I want you to know that I'm different than the rest of them." Sasuke said.

He had felt Kakashi's presence behind him.

"Why don't you say that after taking one of the bells, Sasuke-kun." The Jounin taunted.

Sasuke reached into his weapon's pouch and threw more shuriken, which Kakashi easily dodged.

"You'd have to do better than that!" Kakashi said.

Little did he know, he was doing exactly what the young Uchiha wanted him to do. Sasuke had set up a trap moments before Kakashi had arrived, and his initial attack was nothing more than a decoy. He threw a kunai to sever a rope, which in turn launched even more weapons at the Jounin, who was forced to increase his speed to get out of dodge.

Now! Sharingan!

In order to keep up with him, Sasuke had to activate his Sharingan, in doing so, he knew exactly where Kakashi was going to go. It was as if time itself had slowed down, and the Jounin became an open book to him. Sasuke moved as quickly as he could, and he beat Kakashi to the spot in which his Sharingan eye had predicted he would be. He deactivated his Sharingan in order to conserve chakra, and after he flanked him, he went for a kick whilst he was still in the air.

Kakashi blocked it, then he gripped Sasuke's ankle, which Sasuke had expected. The Jounin wanted to toss him, but Sasuke wouldn't let him get the chance. Since Kakashi was holding him in place, Sasuke was able to continue his mid-air assault with a hard punch. He feinted as if he was going toward the silver haired man's face, but in truth he wanted to occupy his other hand. Then for the icing on the cake, he contorted his body and attempted to aim a kick towards Kakashi's arm to further expose the bells. And since Sasuke was upside down now and had a clear enough vantage point, coupled with the fact that he had both of Kakashi's arms occupied, meant that the bells were ripe for the picking.

The Uchiha smirked and reached for one of the bells, but Kakashi was able to disengage by jumping as far away as possible. Sasuke grimaced. He was so close. He had felt the bell, he practically had it in the palm of his hand.

"Well, I'll admit that you're different from the other two."

Sasuke scoffed.

Let me show you how different.

He went through the handseals of a technique he was able to perform since he was a child. This jutsu was second nature to him, and from this range, even a Jounin would find it incredibly difficult to completely dodge it, especially if he wasn't expecting it.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A Jounin wouldn't expect a Genin to be able to perform such an advanced jutsu, however, most Jounin weren't aware of the fact that you were not considered to be a true Uchiha until you were able to properly perform the technique.

A stream of fire spewed forth from Sasuke's mouth, and he concentrated it at Kakashi's location. He didn't expect to kill him, despite his intent to, but he wanted to force him to react, to move, to run, to show some kind of opening, then he would quickly follow up. However, once the fire began to dissipate, and the smoke began to clear, Sasuke was astonished to find that Kakashi was gone. He had vanished without a trace.

Where is he?!

Sasuke looked for him frantically.

Is he behind me? He checked his rear but saw nothing.

Is he above? He looked toward the morning sky but still saw nothing.

Then where!?

"Beneath you."

What!?

A hand gripped his ankle. Sasuke looked down to see that it was in fact Kakashi's hand. His mind thought back to when he performed his Katon jutsu, or fire technique, and there was a vital detail in which he had overlooked. There was a hole in the ground from where Kakashi once stood, a hole in which Sasuke had assumed was there due to the power of his technique, but he was sorely mistaken.

"Doton: Shiniuuzanshu no Jutsu!"

I was careless!

Sasuke's body was forcibly dragged beneath the ground until his head was the only thing that was visible.

"How is it? Can't move right?" Kakashi asked in a condescending tone.

"That was the third basic shinobi core skill, ninjutsu." Sasuke scoffed at him. If he hadn't been so careless, then he would have saw through his elementary ninjutsu.

"Hey, don't be like that, your are exceptionally talented. However, they say that stakes that stand out the most get driven back into the ground." Kakashi quipped as he walked away while reading his book.

Sasuke cursed himself.

Me and him are this different in strength? Then how will I ever kill-

He saw Sakura appear from one of the bushes. She turned to look at him, and she had a very troubled and bothered expression on her face. Why did she look as if she had just seen a ghost?

"Oh, it's you Sakura."

"Oh no! Now it's a severed head!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs, before she then suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

Sasuke sighed once more. What the hell was up with her?

After spending quite some time struggling, Sasuke was finally able to free himself from the ground. Once he did so, he decided to check up on Sakura, who began to come to.

"Sasuke-kun! You're okay!" She scream excitedly as she latched on to him.

Sasuke, however, tried to pull her off of him.

"Hey! Stop! You're too close!"

After he was able to finally pry her off of him, he stood up and began to walk away.

"Wait, Sasuke-kun, where are you going?"

"We don't have long left until noon. I'm going to try and get the bells."

Sakura gasped. "Sasuke-kun, you're still going to keep trying?"

"I was able to touch them, next time I'll take them."

"Oh wow, you really are amazing Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke began to walk away, but Sakura got his attention once more.

"But you know Sasuke-kun, why don't we just, give up for now? He's way out of our league, why don't we just dedicate ourselves to getting stronger or something, and to try harder next time?"

Sasuke shot her a bone chilling death glare. It was true, the more she talked, the more she annoyed him. She didn't understand the first thing about him. When that man took everything from him, when that man took everyone from him, he also took whatever paths that Sasuke had open for him as well, and only left him with one. Sasuke was the one destined to kill him, that was something that man had said himself.

"I have to kill him."

An ominous wind blew, carrying with it leaves from a far off tree. That gust of wind, it reminded him of that night. The night that man betrayed his clan, betrayed his people, and worst yet, he betrayed him, the very person whom admired him the most.

"Kill who?" Sakura blinked, confused. "Sensei?"

"My..."

No. He's not my brother anymore. He never was to begin with.

"I will avenge my clan, but I fear that if I stumble here, even if there will be more opportunities in the future to become a Genin, I fear that if I fail here, that if I fail now, I would be forced to change my path. And I have no intention on doing that."

They both heard the sound of an alarm clock buzzing in the distance.

Damn it, I spent too much time talking.

Sasuke and Sakura went to the original meeting place where the singular log was, and unsurprisingly, they saw that Naruto was tied to it. They didn't question it, they just sat down and waited for further instruction.

"I bet your stomachs are really growling eh?" Kakashi quipped.

All three of them groaned.

"Oh by the way, about the results of the training, none of you need to go back to the Academy."

Naruto and Sakura began to celebrate cheerfully. Sasuke wanted to as well, but he knew that passing was just the first step for a much longer road. But still, it felt good to be finally recognized as a Konoha shinobi.

"That's right, you three..."

"Should quit being ninjas."

An unbearable weight anchored down on the trio. Sasuke himself felt his blood boil. Was he really told to hang it up? To quit? If he did that, then all of those lives lost that night, who was going to avenge them? Who was going to set their spirits to rest?

"Quit being ninjas!? Sure we couldn't get a bell, but that doesn't mean that we should quit!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It's because you three are just kids that don't deserve to be ninjas."

That was the last straw.

An always late, nonchalant, barely passable "Jounin" wasn't going to decide his fate for him. He wasn't going to change his path, to dictate his destiny. Sasuke charged directly at him at full speed, and with full force. He left arm was extended out, and he fingers were pressed together whilst extended. If he focused just enough chakra there, then he would be able to cut his throat. And that would be the end of it.

But in a flash, Sasuke was on the ground, and Kakashi's boot was pressed against the back of his skull.

"See? You're just kids. Do you think that being a ninja is easy? Why do you think that you were broken into groups in the first place?"

They could not answer.

"Geez, are you three so brain dead that you can't understand why you were put into a group?"

They still couldn't provide him with an answer.

"The answer is teamwork!"

Shock was plastered on the trio's visage.

"If all three of you came at me at once, then you might have been able to get a bell."

"Wait! But then why are there only two bells?! If all three people were able to get both bells, then one person would be left out! That doesn't encourage teamwork, that creates conflict!"

"Of course! This test purposefully pits the three of you against one another. It encourages one to put the needs of the group ahead of themselves. But all three of you were pathetic. For instance, Sakura, you cared more about Sasuke than Naruto, even though Naruto was right in front of you and you didn't even know where Sasuke was in the first place. And then there's you Naruto, all you did was try and do everything on your own! Do you think that all the other Hokage had the same mentality as you did!?" Kakashi then pressed his sandal against the back of Sasuke's head.

"And finally, there's you. Instead of choosing to coordinate your attacks with Naruto, or trying to work a plan out with Sakura, you avoided them altogether because you thought that they would only weigh you down. That is not the way of the shinobi!" Kakashi exclaimed.

"Missions are done in groups. It's true that a shinobi needs to develop themselves as individuals, but what good is having those abilities if you don't know how to use them to help your team?" Kakashi explained.

"Now, let me give you a real life example," Kakashi reached into his pouch and took out a kunai which he then put to Sasuke's throat. "Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke dies!"

Naruto and Sakura gasped. They weren't prepared to encounter such a serious situation.

"These are the kind of choices that a shinobi has to make. If the options given to them are unacceptable, then they have to create a viable option not only for themselves, but for their teammates as well." Kakashi got off of Sasuke and began to walk towards a stone monument situated a few feet away from them.

"Over here is a memorial for heroes of the village. Their names will be forever etched on this stone for all to see."

"I like that! I like that! I want to be a hero just like them!" Naruto shouted.

Kakashi turned to looked at him. "But these aren't just normal heroes."

"Oh? Then what kind of heroes are they!?" He pressed. Being Hokage was top priority, but he wanted to add getting his name carved into the stone tablet on to his list as well.

"They were killed in action."

For a brief moment, Sasuke wondered if every shinobi from his clan's names were etched on to that stone as well. Was dying by that man's hands considered being killed in action? Or was it more akin to simple murder?

"Some of my friends have their names written on here as well." Kakashi said somberly.

Sasuke took notice of the fact that Kakashi was staring hard at a particular spot, to be more precise, Kakashi had been staring at one particular name. He couldn't tell for sure because of the distance between them, but whoever it was, it must have been a very important person to him.

"I'll give you all one more chance," Kakashi said finally.

The name that the Jounin had stared at must have given him a change of heart.

"We'll continue the battle for the bell after lunch, however, Naruto isn't allowed to have any. It's his punishment for trying to break the rules and eat lunch early. If anyone tries to feed him, then they will fail." Kakashi gave one final warning before disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.

Sasuke and Sakura began to eat. Their lunch wasn't anything special, just store bought bento which consisted of rice, some beef and turkey slices, and sushi as well. It wasn't Sasuke's cup of tea, but it was all he had to eat.

Naruto groaned and his stomach growled. Sasuke looked at the blonde boy's pained face and frowned inwardly. He looked so pathetic.

"It's okay if I don't eat! I'll be fine!" His stomach growled again.

"Just fine..." His voiced trailed off.

The Uchiha gazed at Naruto's pained expression, and he was reminded of the moment when he, at least somewhat successfully, snuck up behind Kakashi and pinned him down. Even though the Jounin had saw it coming, Sasuke still acknowledged that it was a good try. If they wanted to pass, then everyone needed to be at their best. It would be hard for Naruto to contribute on an empty stomach.

"Here," he offered Naruto a portion of his bento.

"Wait, Sasuke-kun, sensei just said that-"

"Don't worry, I don't sense him nearby. And besides, we'll need Naruto at his best for the second round. So it can't be helped."

Sakura gave an exasperated sigh and offered her food to Naruto, but he couldn't eat with his arms tied, which meant that Sakura would have to feed him. The two went back and forth about it, which made Sasuke feel uneasy. They were wasting too much time.

"Hurry up before he comes back," Sasuke warned.

Sakura informed Naruto that it would be a one time situation, to which Naruto gave a nod of affirmation. No later than Naruto took a bite out of Sakura's food however, did Kakashi appear in a cloud of white smoke. A harsh maelstrom of wind blanketed them completely. Sasuke did all he could to resist the strength of it. Just how powerful was a Jounin?

"You three broke the rule," Kakashi said menacingly. "Are you prepared for the punishment?" The silver haired Jounin began to form a series of handsigns for a jutsu that Sasuke didn't recognize.

Once he completed it, storm clouds began to gather above them, and the sound of thunder followed the flash of lightning. This guy, he was strong enough to change the weather at will? What a monster. And this was someone that Sasuke thought he could truly kill? He was mistaken, he was sorely mistaken.

"Any last words?"

"B-But..." Naruto tried to speak, but he was too afraid to say anything.

"But you said it yourself didn't you?" Sasuke began to say. "If the options given to you are unacceptable, then you must make your own right? That's why we decided to break your rule. If we were to succeed as a team and take the bells from you then Naruto had to be in the best condition possible."

Sakura saw that Sasuke wasn't going to give any ground, and that gave her the courage to agree with what he had said. "That's right sensei! We three are one! If one of us eats, then we all eat! If one of us starves, then we all starve together, just like we had to earlier this morning! We all share the same fate!"

"That's right!" Naruto shouted. "They were willing to break the rules for me! So even if I don't pass, at least pass them! They deserve it more than me!"

"Didn't you hear what Sakura said idiot?" Sasuke glared at Naruto. "Either we all pass, or we all fail. We shall face our fate together." The Uchiha smirked at the blonde, whose eyes began to water.

If the path he set before me was one that I was truly born to walk, then I won't be setback by something like this. If it's a path that I wasn't meant to walk, then, I will do as Kakashi said and quit being a ninja.

Sasuke was tired. He was so tired. He held on to his hatred for years, his parent's deaths haunted him for years, he was unable to get restful sleep for years, and he couldn't bring himself to establish any meaningful connections with others for years. He was tired, tired of everything. Tired of trying to be a shinobi.

If I fail here,if I walk away from it all, then maybe I will finally be able to sleep. Maybe I will finally be able to find peace. To walk a different path.

That's right, if Sasuke failed here, then he would give it all up. That man had tormented him long enough. He had lacerated his psyche, deconstructed his mental state, and laid out a new blueprint for the young Uchiha to follow. It was as if he was a wind-up doll, and that man kept cranking and cranking, and once he had cranked Sasuke enough, he set him down made him walk the path he laid out for him. But that path drained him, that path exhausted him, and like a one-wind up doll, once it fell, once it stopped moving, it would only keep going if the owner of the doll picked it up and cranked it once more.

If Sasuke failed here, if he fell down, then he would just lie there. He wasn't going to allow that man to crank him. Not anymore.

"Alright then," Kakashi began to say. The trio awaited their punishment with baited breath.

"You three pass."

Silence.

"I said, you three pass." He reiterated.

"Sasuke, you paid attention to what I said earlier about the difficult choices a shinobi must make, and you correctly applied it to the situation at hand. You knew that my terms were unacceptable since they would bring the whole team down, you wanted to make your own way. You are an extremely intelligent and sharp person, and I do believe that with enough hard work, you'll be able to restore your clan and perhaps make it even better than it has ever been."

He then turned to Sakura. "Sakura, you are very perceptive, and you are a very empathetic person, even if you don't always show it. Deep down, I think you care about Naruto almost as much as you care about Sasuke, that's why you were willing to go through with Sasuke's request. Not only that, but you also mentioned that the three of you were one. When you starved earlier with them, you felt their pain, and when you saw Naruto starving while you were eating, you didn't want him to suffer any longer. You possess instinctive maternal qualities, and I believe that you will make a fine medical ninja someday."

Naruto and Sakura blushed and looked away from one another in embarrassment.

"And as for you Naruto, you may have broken the rules, but once you saw your teammates stick their neck out for you, you regretted ever putting them in the position to do so. As such, you pleaded that they both pass while you got sent back to the Academy. You put the needs of your allies ahead of your own. You said that you wanted to be a Hokage so that everyone would acknowledge you, but I do not believe that's truly the case. You may say that, but deep down you want to be the Hokage because you want to make bonds with others and to protect the ones you care about. In essence, you already know what it truly means to be a Hokage. Now you just have to work on actually becoming one."

Naruto wept openly. "S-Sensei? Do you really mean all that!?"

Kakashi nodded. "I do. I am very fortunate to have each and every one of you as my students. Now, the training ends here, and everyone passes. Starting tomorrow, team seven will begin to embark on official missions!"

"Yes sir!" Sakura exclaimed.

"I did it! I'm a ninja! A ninja! A ninja!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

Sasuke smirked inwardly. It was funny how things played out. He had began to make peace with life without being a ninja. Yet, him and his team officially passed the test, and became real Konoha shinobi.

It looks like you put me on the right path after all.