"But, you came at me with the full intention to kill. How can I say this? I'm actually starting to like you guys." Kakashi said with a pause. "Get ready." We all got in a stance, mine being the stance for the Gentle Fist. Legs apart, knees bent. One hand forward, striking hand back. "And...start!" The other 3 vanished and I was left with Kakashi.
"Is there a reason you're doing the same test Minato did to you, Rin, and Obito?" I asked, hoping to strike a nerve by mentioning his fallen teammates. Low blow, but when it's all or nothing, you use what you have. That was a very important lesson I learned from Sarutobi-sensei.
*Flashback*
"You must strike with the intent to kill. In an all or nothing situation, use whatever you can. But, be prepared. Someone like me could do emotional damage, considering it is very effect against even most ninja. I could start with Hinami and end with your father." Sarutobi-sensei said.
"Do you know who my father is?"
"Yes, but now is not the time to think of it my child. You will learn when you are ready."
*End Flashback*
"Byakugan!" With that I could not only see all of his chakra points, but the chakra points of the others as well.
"So, you already know Byakugan. Tell me, how good is your Gentle Fist?" and with that he came at me. I feigned a strike and then poofed to where Naruto was.
"Naruto, the only way to win this is to work together to get the bells."
"No way! I have to prove how strong I am. I want the village to see I'm someone, not just a brat." I sweat dropped. They haven't figured out the assignment yet. How is he Minato's son?
I knew he would be thick headed, so I poofed to Sakura. I hate fan girls, but maybe the "genius" could have figured out the mission. "Sakura, the only way we will win this is if we work together."
"No way! You'll only try to take Sasuke from me! I'll work with Sasuke." With that she ran off to find Sasuke. Next I heard her scream. He used Genjutsu. I poofed to Sasuke and found him with only his head sticking above ground.
"The only way to win this is to work together."
"No way. There's no way any of you losers could keep up with me."
"Ha, and you call yourself an Uchiha. Learn a little humility and maybe you will be a prodigy like your brother was." With that, Sasuke broke from the ground and jumped off. So, he does know it was Itachi. I wonder if he knows why Itachi did it.
I then went back to find Kakashi-sensei. He turned to face me with Icha Icha Makeout Paradise in his hand. I sweat dropped. I knew he was a pervert but really? Does it have to be one of Juriya's books? "I suggest you put it down. Since I cannot convince them to work together, I will just get the bells for them." with that, I charged and started a round of Taijutsu, making him put the book away and concentrate. Just as I touched the first bell, the timer went off. We all met back at the posts, seeing Naruto already tied to one.
"Uh oh. Stomachs growling huh? That's too bad. Oh by the way, about this exercise, I've decided I won't send any of you back to the academy." Damn idiots, we really failed.
"What? I passed? All I did was faint and fall over. Do you get points for that?"
"Then..then..that means all four of us...all four of us.."
"Yes, all four of you are being dropped from the program. Permanently."
"Drop us from the program? That means we can never become ninja! You said if we couldn't take the bells, we'd be sent back to the academy! You can't just change your mind and kick us out! Why would you do that?" We didn't work together.
" Because you don't think like ninja. You think like little kids. Like brats." and of course, Sasuke charges him.
"Sasuke, you think it's all about you." I threw in, knowing where Kakashi was going.
"Let go of Sasuke! You can't squish him like a bug!"
"You don't know what it means to be a ninja. You think it's a game huh? Why do you think they put us on squads? Did you consider that question for one moment?" I asked.
"I don't know what you mean."
"She means you never realized what this exercise was all about. Not even close."
"What it's about?"
"Yes, that's what determines whether we pass or fail."
"But that's...I mean I wanted to ask you about that from the beginning." Then why did you refuse me?
"Use your head. Three people, or in this case four, on a squad. Why do you think we would do that? "
"Argh! How are we supposed to know why you picked four people? We don't make the rules!" Naruto you idiot.
"It's so basic. Teamwork! Why do you think I approached each of you and told you the only way to win was to work together?"
"Wait, just working together is that what you mean?
"That's what she means. It's too late now, but if all four of you had come at me, you might have been able to take them. The only ones that even got close were Sasuke and Asura. Well, anyway. It's over."
"You set it up with four people, and only three bells. If we worked together and got the bells, only three of us could keep them, and that would lead to group conflict and the group would break up."
"Exactly, I purposefully pitted you against each other. I wanted to see if you could overcome that, and put the squad ahead of yourselves. A Genin should have a natural feel for teamwork. But for you, it never even crossed your mind. Sakura, you obsessed about Sasuke, who was gone, while Naruto was right in front of you and you wouldn't lift a finger to help him. Naruto, you do everything on your own. Everything. And you, Sasuke, thought the others were so far beneath you they were worthless. Arrogance. Ninja missions are carried out in squads. Of course, you need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every shinobi understands this. When individuals put themselves above the squad, this can lead to failure, and death. For example, Sakura, kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies! That's what happens on a mission." He is thinking about him and Obito.
"Oh boy, that was really scary."
"The enemy takes a hostage and you've got an impossible choice. Someone ends up dead. On every mission, you life is on the line." I threw out, knowing full well what he was talking about.
"Did you look at this stone, the names engraved on it? They are all ninja who are honored as heroes in our village."
"That's it! That's it! That's it! Now I know! I've decided I'm gonna have my name engraved on that stone. I'm not going to live and die for nothing like a dog. I'm going to be a hero! A hero!"
"They are...a special kind of hero."
"What kind of heroes are they? Come on, tell us."
"They are all KIA." I said and looked away.
"Ooh. That sounds real cool." Naruto you idiot.
"It means killed in action. They all died."
"This is a memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are engraved here. Alright. I'm going to give you one more chance. But, I'm going to make it much harder on you. You'll have three hours to get a bell. Eat lunch now to build up strength. But, Naruto doesn't get any. It's your punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat by yourself. And, if anyone tries to feed him, that person will immediately fail. I make the rules, you follow them. Got it?" Then he poofed away.
I opened my bento box and thought of what Kakashi always told me growing up. "Here Naruto. If we're going to get the bells from Kakashi-sensei, we all will need to be at full strength."
"But, Asura...I don't want you to fail." Then Sasuke offered his up.
"Here."
"What? No Sasuke, you can't do that. You heard what the sensei said."
"Kakashi's gone. We need to get those bells as a team. If Naruto's hungry, he'll be weak and ineffective. That hurts the team and jeopardizes the mission." At that, Sakura offered hers too.
"You'll have to feed him, he has no hands to use." I threw out.
"Hurry up, he could come back at any minute."
"This is one time only! That's it! I'll never do this again! Is that clear?"
"Clear as a bell, Sakura." With that she went to feed him, and Kakashi appeared. So, he was watching.
"You! You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for the punishment." He made the hand signs for Chidori. Isn't that a little over dramatic? I sweat dropped while everyone else freaked out. "Any last words?"
"But...you...said..."
"Yes?"
"You said that there were four of us. That's why Sakura and I..." I started.
"We're all on this squad and we're all in this together." threw in Sasuke.
"Yeah, that's right! We gave our lunch to him because the four of us are one!" added Sakura.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Believe it! That's right!" finished Naruto.
"The four of you are one? That's your excuse?" after all of us were silent he continued. "Hn, you pass."
"Huh?"
"You. Pass."
"What do you mean? How'd we pass?
"You're the first squad that ever succeeded. The others did exactly as I said and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum. That's true. But, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."
At that, Naruto started crying. "He's uh, you know, he's kinda cool."
"The exercise is over. Everyone passes. Squad 7 starts it's first mission tomorrow!"
