Chapter 6.
(Follows chapter 8 & 9)

"Give it up... not one of you will EVER be a ninja." Kakashi said to the stunned trio of genin.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN GIVE UP?!" Naruko shouted as she angrily squirmed trying to get free from her ropes. "OK, SO NONE OF US GOT YOU STUPID BELLS, BUT WEHY YHE HELL SHOULD WE QUIT OVER THAT?"
Kakashi calmly stood there and simply replied, "Because not one of you has what it takes."
This made Sasuke flinch, did he honestly say that? It was unacceptable, not for him, and in an instant his two female team-mates were stunned to see him charge at their sensei.
"SASUKE!!!" Sakura cried out in shock.
But it was too late, and Sasuke found himself pinned to the ground, his arm held behind his back as Kakashi sat on him.
"What you are is a trio of spoiled brats." Kakashi said.
"Don't step on Sasuke!!" Cried Sakura.
Sasuke looked angry, hating he was dominated so easily, and that his dream, his goal was slipping because of the white haired jounin.
"You three don't understand, are you trying to make fun of the shinobi with your behaviour?" he said, "Did any of you just once stop to consider WHY you were divided in to teams?"
Sakura and Naruko blinked, looking confused.
"Obviously not... and that's why you failed, and missed the point of this exercise." Kakashi continued."
"Wait... what?!" Naruko said, confused, "This had a point?!"
"But... you didn't explain what that was." Sakura pointed out.
Kakashi sighed. "I don't believe this."
"Come on!" Naruko cried. "Tell us already."
"...Team work." Kakashi glared. Making all three of them gasp in shock, was it really something that simple?
"If the three of you had come at me... together... you might have been able to take the bells." Kakashi said.
But this made Sakura think. "WAIT!" she suddenly called out, "If we were expected to function as a team, then why do you only have two bells. Even if we HAD worked together, one of us still would not have gotten one. You're preaching teamwork, but you played us against each other."
"Of course." Kakashi said, "This task was designed to cause dissension. It was set up to reveal which of you would set aside your own interests to help the team, to propose you work together." Kakashi sighed, "Instead... you Sakura... you ignore Naruko, who was right in front of you, and focused on Sasuke, even though you didn't know where he was." he turned to Naruko, "You... you tried to do single-handedly what should have been the work of a team." finally he looked down at Sasuke who was still pinned beneath him, "As for you... Sasuke... You had already decided the girls just got in your way, and you were better off playing it solo." Kakashi looked up face the two girls again, "YOU are a TEAM... learn to act as one! Individual skills are necessary, but teamwork is more important. Acting alone is bad for a team as a whole, and exposes them all to unnecessary danger." he said as he reached back to his rear pouch. "You may as well kill them yourself... Here's an example..."

The two girls gasped as they saw Kakashi pull out a kunai and hold it menacingly against Sasuke's neck, a serious look in his one eye as he looked to Sakura.
"Sakura... kill Naruko, or I will kill Sasuke." he demanded as Sasuke struggled with Kakashi.

Sakura was unsure what to do, while Naruko look panicked, was Kakashi serious about that?
But before she could even think too hard in to it, Kakashi released Sasuke and stood up, letting Sasuke sit up.
"The day may come when one of you will be taken hostage, and you're forced to make such a choice." he said, "As ninja, your lives will always be on the line." As he talked he was walking towards the stone that had names carved in to it. "Do see the names carved here on this marker? Theses are all heroes of our village... Ninja."

Naruko blinked at this, and grinned, before confidently calling out, "THAT'S IT! I just made up my mind! That's where I want my name to go! I'm gonna be a hero, just like them!" she proudly stated, which annoyed Sakura, because Naruko was just being a loud-mouth bragging pain again. Even Sasuke shook his head and scoffed at the idea, as he re-joined his two female team-mates.
"Naruko... the people aren't just any heroes." Kakashi said, sounding more solemn.
"REALLY?!" Naruko said, sounding excited. "What kind are they?"
Kakashi sighed, as he looked down at the stone marker. "The dead kind... they died in the line of duty." he said.
Which made Naruko sweat for a moment, before realising how stupid she must have sounded, all three of them fell quiet, not sure what to say, but Kakashi did, as he continued to look at the names, one in particular 'Obito'.
"This... is a memorial stone... and it contains the names of my best friends." he said.
This revelation made the three genin look at him, again feeling worse over their actions, perhaps they were beginning to realise their actions were not the actions of real shinobi.

Kakashi turned his head to them finally, "Listen up." he said. "I'm giving you all one last chance. One that will be far more difficult than our last little game with the bells."
He continued to talk as he turned and walked towards the three genin's. "If you're prepared to go on, then you may eat one of the bento boxes. But... Naruko isn't, and if one of you shares your own... you all fail."
"WHAT!! WHY?!" Naruko yelled out, annoyed.
"For trying to steal lunches earlier." Kakashi replied. "So... remember, id she gets fed... you all fail,and my word is law... understand?" he sounded threatening as said his words, and suddenly disappeared.
Once he was gone, Naruko just put on a brave face and laughed as she cried out, "This'll be a breeze, I'm... I'm on a diet anyway. HAHAHAHA" but then her confidence was blown, when a loud growl came from her stomach.

A few minutes passed, and Sasuke and Sakura were eating their lunch as Naruko lay there, her stomach growling, and she looked weak.
Sasuke noticed this, and he began thinking, perhaps it was just Kakashi's words, or maybe something else, but seeing her like that, made him suddenly reach out his lunch. "Here..." he said, making both girls look at him shocked.
"B-but Sasuke... Master Kakashi said..." Sakura said, a little panicked before she was interrupted.
"I'm not worried, he's probably miles away by now. And besides... we'll all need our strength if we're going to work together to get those bells." Sasuke said. "And you're no good to me if you're just going to be a liability to me."
Sakura was shocked, when did Sasuke show such concern with someone, was there something else?
She thought back to the classroom, and the kiss that Naruko and Sasuke had shared, could it have been because of that?
Sakura shook her head, no... it couldn't be that, it was just so they could pass, they had to pass.
Sakura then turned and handed her bento out to Naruko.
She was unsure what both were doing, but smiled happily at the gesture.
But just as things seemed to go well, there was a large explosion before them as a furious looking Kakashi appeared, making all three panic and looked afraid at the sight.
"YOU...." he screamed as he got right up them but when they realised he stopped, they noticed he looked happy, "...pass." he said.
This confused them.
"W-we... do?!" Sakura asked.
"You three have just taken a big step... up until now, all any of you have done is listen unquestioningly to everything I say... like mindless, little drones." Kakashi said, "A true shinobi seeks for the hidden meanings within hidden meanings, and in a ninjas world... those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are lower than garbage... but... those who do not care for and support their team-mates... are even lower than that!"

Naruko looked at him and smiled, she even gave a little blush. That all sounded so cool to her, a true way of the ninja, one even she could understand.
And with a thumbs up, Kakashi made one last announcement. "This exercise is concluded... you all pass."
Naruko and the others became excited, even Sasuke cracked a happy smile.
"OK team seven, that's all for today, your ninja duties will commence tomorrow." Kakashi added as they all began to leave for home.
Naruko meanwhile was kicking and screaming, "HEY! GUYS?! I'M STILL TIED UP HERE!! G-GUYS?!!!"

And so the ninja life of team seven finally began, and day by day they trained, and worked together, steadily improving themselves and their team as each mission they, even as simple as they were, gave them the much needed experience that would see them grow and improve as shinobi.
But the simplicity of the missions themselves soon began to get to Naruko, and everyday she was getting agitated with the simple tasks they were forced to do.
She wanted action, not chores, even if they treated them with tactical efficiency, it was still a chore.

One day, after completing a cat retrieval mission they were awaiting for their next mission.
"OK... now team seven." The third Hokage said, looking at a note, "Your next assignment is... babysitting for the village elders... a delivery to the next village... digging up sweet potatoes......."
"THAT'S IT! NO WAY!!! NO MORE!" Cried out the feisty blonde, sounding very annoyed, "Give us something different, something more exciting... something important."
Sasuke agreed with her, while Sakura and Kakashi just wanted her to be quiet, why couldn't she just be grateful for the missions.
"Don't be a fool." Iruka cried out. "You're only a beginner... everyone starts out doing grunt work. It's where you get experience so you can work up to to bigger things."
"And we've already done TONS of stuff. Can't we get some action?" Naruko argued.
"Naruko... knock it off." Kakashi said, tapping the head of his young female student.
The third sighed. "Naruko... Everyday our village receive many requests, for everything from babysitting to assassination, we take that tremendous amount and sort them, grade them and distribute the to those with appropriate level of ability." he explained, "If the ninja in question completes those duties successfully, then the grateful person they helped, pays a fee. As you have only just achieved the lowest rank, you three are best suited to the lowest category, level D, tasks."
When the Third looked to Naruko, to see if she was understood, he sweat dropped to see that the young girl was not paying attention, and instead was sorting out her lunch.
"Are you even listening?" he cried out.
"I'm... I'm sorry for her." Kakashi said.
"I don't want to hear it! All the old man ever does is apologise and give me a lecture." She pouted, "But it's not fair, I'm more than just the troublemaking screw-up the old man thinks I am."
Kakashi sighed, knowing he would probably get a lecture himself later for not being able to control his unruly student, but Iruka and the Third both smiled at Naruko's ever-tenacious nature.
"Very well." The third said, a moment later, which made the whole of team seven blink in surprise.
"I will permit you to attempt a grade C, a task reserved for more experienced genin and chuunin shinobi." The third smiled at this as he thought about how Naruko only played up as a means of self-expression. "You will protect a certain individual."
Naruko at this point had now gotten herself excited about the prospect of some real action, "Who is it? Some lord? The daimyo?" She asked, grinning with joy.
"Compose yourself... I'll perform the introduction right away." The third said. "Please... come in."

A moment later the door slid open and with a bottle in hand an old man entered, looking less than impressed.
"What's going on here?" he said, "A bunch of wet nosed brats... and two of them are girls, and that blonde one has the face of an idiot on her. It's a joke right? They're not really ninja are they?"
Naruko's eye twitched, and Kakashi grabbed her collar as she tried to run at him screaming, "I'm gonna kill him."
Kakashi sighed, "Don't try to kill the man we're supposed t be protecting."
The old man grinned, "I am Tazuna, a bridge builder of ultimate renown, and 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 costs you your lives!"