The village was ablaze when she arrived.
Smoke pillared from the tongues of flame lapping at the surrounding cliff edges, even catching the leaves of some of the bamboo chutes hanging off the sides. The night sky glowed blinding white. Orange embers scorched the suffocating air.
Yahaba, a dwelling hidden away within the crevice of The Great Bamboo Ravine of Take no Kuni. She could make out the silhouettes of thousands of homes roasting in the pit below them, and if she squinted her eyes, she almost believed she could make out the small figures of their residents.
Blood for blood.
"Kurotsuchi."
Despite her grandfather standing beside her, she barely heard his voice over the blood pounding in her ears.
"Hm?" she absentmindedly muttered. Even in the scalding air, Kurotsuchi pulled her cloak tighter against her body.
She could sense the old man's short frame next to her, overlooking the very same scene she was—though she wasn't sure she was seeing what he saw. She knew what he saw was victory. Glory.
Revenge for the past—especially since that yellow-haired demon they had once called a Hokage was dead.
'From the dust, Iwa will rise,' Grandpa Onoki had always said, and ever since, the quote had stuck with her. It was Konoha. It was Konoha that was to blame for all their suffering. They were monsters, and it was Iwagakure's responsibility to destroy them.
"What are you doing?" Grandpa Onoki said. "You should be back at camp."
The girl paused, wincing when she heard a scream echo from the chaos below. "I wanted to see it for myself. I wanted to see Iwa win."
And see them win, she did.
Located on the border between Tsuchi no Kuni and Take no Kuni, Yahaba had been a contested village for decades. Both Iwagakure and Kusagakure had fought over it many times in the past, to the point where a particular skirmish had even boiled into the Third Shinobi World War.
But Yahaba was merely a stepping stone for the greatness Grandpa had in store. They were going to show the world the true might of Iwagakure.
This was the day they had been dreaming about for years. She should have been cheering at the top of her lungs.
So why couldn't she swallow that damn lump in her throat?
"I'm sorry I'm late, Lord Third!" Iruka shouted, stumbling as he burst through the door. Large bag in tow, the Chunin rushed forward towards the Hokage, and bowed, almost to the point, Hiruzen believed he would have snapped in half.
The old man simply acknowledged him with a chuckle. "It seems as if Naruto may be influencing you."
"Well..." Iruka smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "That boy is a great deal of trouble. I'm sure you know that more than anyone else."
For a moment, the two exchanged a few stories about the blond boy's misadventures, before the younger shinobi reached into his bag and produced a scroll.
"These are the results, Lord Third. Twenty-seven graduates in total."
"Twenty-seven? That's quite a lot. I'm glad I had the foresight to make you an instructor."
But in his head, Hiruzen cursed to himself. Twenty-seven fresh Genin wasn't nearly enough, especially with the rising threat of the Fire Daimyo's new army, or even the growing confidence of Iwa's hostilities. Twenty-seven was only enough for nine genin teams—and that was if all passed their Jonin instructor's tests, as Konoha tradition would require.
Truth be told, tradition was beginning to wear Hiruzen down. Certainly, as a young man, Hiruzen had felt a certain type of pride towards the way Konoha did things—he still did, of course—though after witnessing the Fire Daimyo's swelling control over Hi no Kuni, as much as it pained him to admit, Konohagakure was weak.
After the Demon's Massacre—the name the people had begun calling the massacre five years prior—news had spread across the Elemental Nations quickly. At first, the stories had come along with confusion and discomfort, but soon all had turned into terror: terror for Konohagakure itself. And thus, many of their previous clients—feudal lords, wealthy merchants and the such—had sought the service of shinobi elsewhere, eventually finding it in the capital of Hi no Kuni.
Not even that, but with each passing year, fewer and fewer students were being enrolled into the academy, and those who did were terrified at what they would become. Already serving shinobi had defected by the dozens, taking along with them precious state secrets to the much more prosperous and higher-paying Fire Daimyo's court.
And all of that wasn't to mention the broiling politics the old man still hadn't been able to diffuse.
Twenty-seven fresh Genin was certainly not enough.
With a heavy sigh, the old man took the scroll from Iruka and unraveled it.
"Hmm... interesting," Hiruzen remarked, nearly having to squint to see the ink scrawled across the page.
"Is there something wrong?"
The Hokage shook his head.
"Not necessarily. It's just a little surprising to see Naruto the second best in his class."
The boy certainly was a genius, that much was true. While, for the first half of his life, Naruto had been somewhat of an unhinged ball of emotion, after he had joined the academy—and after a particular night—he had certainly pulled himself together. For the few times Hiruzen had spoken to the boy since, he was almost taken aback as to how much Naruto had seemed to mature in such a short time, to the point that it was nearly undeniable he was his father's son.
The very thought sent a warmth surge throughout Hiruzen. If Naruto really was anything like his father, then perhaps Konoha could stand a much better chance in the upcoming future.
Still, seeing Naruto not first was surprising... until he realized the forerunner was also a relative of one of the best geniuses the shinobi world had ever seen.
"Uchiha Sasuke had surpassed Naruto, hm? The boy must have great potential."
"Yes, Lord Third. Both of them, really," Iruka affirmed. "Technique-wise, Naruto and Sasuke are almost equal, far above the average academy-level ninjutsu or taijutsu. I'd even say above most Genin, if I'm being honest."
Hiruzen nodded with a grunt. He wouldn't have expected any less from those two.
"It's just that Naruto lacks any skill for genjutsu, and his chakra control is all over the place," Iruka said. He opened his mouth to say more, but stopped.
"What is it?"
For a moment, the Chunin's face burned red. A soft laugh escaped his lips. He scratched the back of his neck.
"Forgive me for asking this, Lord Third, but are Naruto's issues stem from... you know... the kyuubi?"
At his words, a heavy silence filled the room, to the point the Chunin felt as if he was going to combust from the inside out.
"Perhaps," Hiruzen eventually admitted, raising a curious eyebrow at the other man.
"N-not that I mean anything by it, of course," Iruka stammered, attempting to dismiss his comment with the wave of his hand. "I'm just wondering whether or not Naruto should know about the demon, considering it may be holding him back, you know?"
With a sigh, the Hokage shut his eyes and began to stroke his beard. What Iruka was saying truly made sense in the grand scheme of things. For his entire childhood, Naruto had been shielded by the fact that he was the prison for the nine-tailed fox—the greatest power ever seen by the Shinobi world. So much so, that twelve years ago, it had nearly destroyed Konohagakure in its wake. The only reason they'd been able to stop it had been because of Minato, who had given his own life to save theirs.
But how would he ever go about informing the boy?
Oh, sorry, I forgot to tell you Naruto, but the reason why all of Konoha despises is because you have a bloodthirsty demon inside of you.
No, Hiruzen knew the boy enough to know that conversation would not go over well.
Sometimes, the old man wished that he had simply told Naruto the truth long before he'd even left the orphanage. That way, at least the boy would understand there was a reason for all of the hatred. But instead, twelve years later, Naruto still had no clue as to why he was treated the way it was.
It was all the Hokage's fault. He was tangled in a web of lies and deceit, and slowly but surely, he was suffocating from the mistakes of his past.
Hiruzen knew the boy had the right to know, especially since he was nearly a full-blown shinobi now. In fact, logically, it would have made sense if Naruto had some knowledge of the power dormant within him. As Hokage, it was Hiruzen's duty to inform him.
Yet, it was almost as if there was a chain fastening the secret to himself—
—and it was simply because if he told Naruto, he knew that their relationship would never be the same. To the boy, Hiruzen would simply be another face in the village that deceived him. Lied to him.
Hated him.
So, for one of the few times in his life, Hiruzen had come to a clear decision. It was one he would never be dissuaded from—a decision that would keep his family from ever leaving him again.
"He must never find out the truth."
He should have been tired.
As much as he hated to admit it, hanging out with the Old Man had been the most fun Naruto had had in a long time—especially considering no one dared approach or belittle him when the Hokage, himself, was at his side. And so, yesterday, after passing his graduation test in a mere five minutes, Hiruzen had taken Naruto out around the village in celebration. First, they'd stopped at his favorite place—Ichiraku Ramen—before the Old Man had taken him shopping for the rest of the night.
For your ninja tools, Hiruzen had told him. As a shinobi, you will need to keep on top of your own supplies from now on.
At first, Naruto's face had paled at the prospect of shopping. Never once in his life had he ever been able to find any good stores that would sell to him, and the ones that did nearly required him to sell a lung and maybe a few limbs to afford. But damn, were things extremely cheap when the Hokage was with him!
For a long time they went like that, until Hiruzen had realized it was past his curfew and urged Naruto to return back to his dorms. Even still, it had taken the boy a while to fall asleep, the adrenaline of the day still pumping through his veins.
All in all, he must have gotten less than an hour of sleep.
Yet, peering at the Konoha Shinobi forehead protector in his hand, Naruto had to fight the urge run around shouting or to start doing backflips in the middle of the classroom. His entire body felt as if he was swimming in frozen water, and the only thing he wanted to do was jump out of it.
"I did it, Old Man," the boy whispered under his breath. Still, it was almost as if he was in a dream, until the cold metal of the forehead protector pressed against his fingers, reminding him this was all real.
After five long years in the academy, most of it slow and mundane, he'd finally graduated. He was finally a real shinobi. While the title of Genin was nothing to brag about, it was a step forward forward nonetheless. He was a step closer to being strong—stronger than the Yondaime and stronger than the Old Man. Once he got there, then no one would ever be able to hurt him again.
Naruto was jolted from his thoughts when he heard Iruka-Sensei.
"Okay, okay, settle down! I know this is all exciting," the Chunin shouted over the drone of voices. "You're all Genin now and should be proud of it, but I'm still your sensei until the end of class today! So pay attention!"
He was met with a chorus of booing. Immediately, the man's face burned red and he seethed. The class fell silent.
"Good," Iruka said with a breath. Naruto watched as the instructor reached into his back pocket, revealing a scroll. "Now here's something very special that I expect all of you to listen."
By now, all of the students were eyeing him expectantly. "This here is a list of your Genin teams."
"Genin teams?" Kiba blurted aloud.
"What does that mean?" Choji said, raising a hand covered in chip dust.
"Well, let's look here," Iruka said, before reading off the scroll. "All the Genin will be grouped into three man squads. Each squad will be lead by a Jonin, an elite ninja."
Again, the class burst into chaos, each of the students raising their own voices to everyone and to no one in particular.
But no more words fell on Naruto's ears. Instead, he was left digesting the idea of continuing his journey with two other Genin from this class. The thought made his blood hot.
Naruto was way better than any of his classmates. For years on end, he had been training with the idea that he'd be going on solo missions. More times than he'd like to admit, he'd daydreamed about going on political assassinations, or perhaps military infiltrations. He was certainly good enough. And while the boy had never killed anyone, of course, he knew if he wanted to be strong, he was going to have to eventually.
But now being stuck with two idiots was in his foreseeable future.
He definitely didn't want to be paired with Choji or Shikamaru. While the blond didn't have any problems with either of them, the larger one wasn't exactly the brightest, and the Nara boy would have rather slept than train.
Hinata was a wildcard, in the sense that Naruto couldn't seem to figure her out. She was by far the girl with the best skill in taijutsu, but severely hindered her own confidence. That was something he didn't want to deal with.
Sakura and Shino were tolerable, however. In fact, for the past few years, Naruto was slightly impressed as to how close their overall scores were compared to his. While they didn't look like it, both of them were quite decent in everything: taijutsu, ninjutsu, and even genjutsu—which Naruto admittedly lacked any talent for.
And as much as he hated it, Sasuke was the only one who could really keep up with him. But his and Kiba's faces made Naruto want to punch them. Plain and simple.
As the blond boy studied his classmates, his gaze subconsciously fell upon the last one—Ino. That was, until he realized that she was looking at him, too.
Naruto shifted his gaze elsewhere, suddenly pretending to be engrossed in one of the paintings beside Ino. But even if had been a split moment that the two had locked eyes, it had still been enough time to know that both of them had acknowledged the other.
I hope I'm not with her, the boy thought to himself. It wasn't necessarily because of her test scores or skills—in fact, she actually was on the higher-end of that spectrum. No, it was because of that one incident a few years ago when he had just returned from his trip with Jiraiya. That was one of the last times the two blonds had spoken. To be on a team with her meant talking, and Naruto simply didn't want to deal with that situation.
Eventually, after calming the class down, Iruka-Sensei proceeded to read off the teams.
"This is Team 1," he began. For the next few minutes, the Chunin read down the list of the Genin teams. To Naruto, Iruka may as well have been speaking another language, though. He wasn't particularly interested in any team except his own.
It wasn't until Iruka-Sensei began reading off the names for Team 7 that he perked up.
"Team 7. Uzumaki Naruto..."
At his own name, the blond felt his heart nearly skip a beat. Hot warmth rushed to his face. His stomach churned and he could feel a tingling itch climb up his back.
Hyuga Hinata? Aburame Shino?
For what seemed like an eternity, Naruto hung onto his sensei's words. His hands gripped the side of his desk. He clenched his jaw.
Akimichi Choji?
The boy could feel his heart pounding against his ears.
"...Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke."
Well damn.
Today was definitely not Naruto's day.
Sure, it felt great that he was a shinobi now. He had passed his class with flying colors. He had the headband to prove it. All the hours of training were now beginning to pay off. Yet, for some reason, there was a storm churning in his stomach, and no matter what he did, he couldn't shake it. The worst part was that he couldn't decide whether it was good or not.
In the corner of his eye, the boy studied the figure of his classmate-soon-to-be-squadmate, Sasuke, sitting in the desk beside hers. As always, the Uchiha was staring—at nothingness, Naruto presumed—leaning his chin against folded hands.
Why, out of all people did he have to be paired with the damn idiot?
Sure, Sasuke wasn't an idiot as far as the dictionary was considered, but the damn Uchiha was fucking insufferable and had been for as long as the two boys had known one another. There was simply this look inside Sasuke's eyes that rubbed the blond the wrong way, as if his classmate was always looking down at him. In reality, Naruto was the best genius in Konoha. He had easily slipped from deadliest to second place within a year.
It frustrated him even more that Sasuke was the one person who was always seemingly one step ahead.
So, what the hell was Old Man Hokage's big idea setting him up with Sasuke?
The boy's gaze slowly shifted towards his other squad member seated in her desk which was littered with paper cranes—and it wasn't just a few or so. A mountain of rainbow origami sat piled high on the table, nearly rising up to the girl's chin. Biting the bottom of his lip, Naruto remarked at how, since they'd been there, Sakura had been folding them without break.
The reason, Naruto wasn't entirely sure. It wasn't as if he'd asked her. She probably wouldn't even have answered him if he did. He was certain she hated him and had hated him for a while now. Ever since...
Well, ever since Ino had told him about that one night.
Over the past few years at the academy, Naruto had rarely spoken to Sakura both within and outside of class. They really had no reason to interact, really, yet when they did, it was nothing more than apathy.
But damn, was that going to make things awkward.
Admittedly, neither of his classmates were bad team members. To be honest, Naruto was glad it was the two of them rather than anyone else, as they were the few ones who had placed near him. They, for the most part, wouldn't slow him down.
Still, he didn't need a fucking team.
To top the icing on the cake, their Jonin instructor was the only one that was late. He was drenched, sweltering in the humid classroom hours after all of their other classmates had left to meet their leaders.
"I swear, I'm going to tell the Old Man about this if our sensei doesn't show up in the next—" Naruto seethed, glancing at the clock above the door. "—five minutes."
Forty minutes later, the door slid open followed by the sound of someone speaking.
"You all look depressed," said the voice, distant and aloof.
Hatake Kakashi earned zero points in his book.
Sure, the man looked cool with his Konoha uniform. He was tall. He looked as if he was in shape. The forehead protector over one eye was kind of badass and mysterious—something Naruto would have done, too, if it didn't mess with his depth perception so much.
But... maybe... his hair was a little weird?
Who was he kidding? If being a Jonin made him look as cool as Kakashi, Naruto would have jumped at the first opportunity.
"Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves. One at a time," the Jonin instructed, leaning against the railing of the academy roof.
The summer air beat hot against Naruto. His clothing stuck to his skin. Sweat beaded down his cheek.
"Introduce ourselves?" Sakura questioned. "Well, what are we supposed to say?"
"Things you like," Kakashi replied with a shrug. "Things you hate. Dreams for the future. Hobbies. Things like that."
Naruto paused at the Jonin's words, glancing at his fellow Genin seated beside him.
"Why don't you tell us stuff first?" the boy questioned. "I mean, before we talk, tell us about you so we can see how it works."
Kakashi raised his eye at the boy's request.
"Me?"
The Genin nodded.
"Well," the Jonin began, pointing a finger at himself. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. The things I like and the things I hate... I don't feel like telling you that."
Both Naruto and Sakura's mouths fell agape at his words. The blond found his nose scrunching. His eyes narrowed into slits.
Kakashi continued, and though Naruto couldn't couldn't see his face, judging by the laziness in his eye, the Jonin may as well have been talking about what he had eaten for breakfast, "My dreams for the future... never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies."
Sakura exchanged a glance with Naruto.
"That was totally useless. All he really told us was his name," the pink-haired girl said, to which the boy responded with a nod.
Regardless, Naruto couldn't fault the Jonin. While he'd noticed the mystery surrounding Kakashi when he'd first met him, the boy couldn't deny that now, he was more curious about his sensei than before. He was certainly aloof, distant, perhaps, but in a cool way—unlike Sasuke, who was just a dick to everyone.
"Okay, your turn," Kakashi said. "You on the left. You first."
"Our left or your left?"
"My left."
Sakura furrowed her eyebrows. "You could have just called me by my name."
Kakashi just shrugged, his eye tightening as if he was smiling. "I can't have any favorites now, can I?"
God damn, he's cool, Naruto thought to himself.
"I'm Haruno Sakura. I like plums. My dream is to become the strongest kunoichi Konoha has—I mean, the strongest shinobi Konoha has ever seen. I don't know if I can, but..." the pink haired girl's voice trailed off. "My hobbies are trivia games and studying."
"And what do you hate?"
For a moment, the Jonin's question was filled with silence, as the girl stared emotionlessly out towards the village.
"Cherry blossoms."
Naruto couldn't help but scoff at the irony of her answer. Turning towards Sakura, he watched as her eyes shot downwards, unmoving from the hem of her dress.
"Good. Next."
Kakashi pointed a finger towards the Uchiha boy beside him. Sasuke, chin resting on his interlocked hands, stared at the ground.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things. I don't particularly like anything," the boy began, his voice both searing hot with embers, yet at the same time, freezing with ice.
"What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan..."
Against Naruto's skin, the summer air grew frigid. A chill shivered down his spine.
"...and destroy a certain somebody."
To Naruto, time almost seemed to stop. The drone of the village buzzed against the whistling wind. Off in the distance, birds chirped. He could hear the faint rustling of the dancing trees from down below.
The boy found himself glancing at each member of his team—Kakashi, then Sakura—before finally finding his gaze steeling on the Uchiha boy.
Destroy a certain somebody? Naruto thought to himself. His muscles tensed. He's not talking about me, is he?
Sasuke's eyes were usually like black holes—nothing ever escaped from them—but now, they betrayed his usually stoic nature. Past his blank face, Naruto could make out the true fire raging beyond. It was a hot anger, bubbling and boiling, and for a moment, it looked as if Sasuke was about to explode.
But as soon as it had come, the heat dissipated.
Sasuke's expression froze cold.
"Last one," Kakashi spoke without missing a beat. If he'd been affected by Sasuke's words, his tone said otherwise.
It took a moment for Naruto to recover his thoughts.
"The name's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."
Yet, as he spoke, he couldn't shake the chills crawling over his skin. With every word, he found himself glancing back at Sasuke.
"I like... uh..."
Destroy a certain somebody.
"I hate—I hate the... the—" he stammered.
He could have beaten the Uchiha if he had to fight him. The blond was definitely the stronger of the two. But Sasuke was faster. And smarter.
"My hobby is... um..."
Would he win if the two fought, though?
"What's wrong, idiot?" Sasuke's voice jolted him awake. Suddenly, he found the Uchiha staring at him. Immediately, the warm air returned, blasting away the cold seeping throughout his body.
Fuck no. He was Uzumaki Naruto. He could kick that dumbass's dumb ass any day.
This time, his words came without a problem.
"I like ramen—especially Ichiraku Ramen. I hate people who judge others without knowing them. My hobby is training. My dream is to surpass the Yondaime and Old Man Hokage."
Kakashi acknowledged him with a nod. "You want to be Hokage one day?"
"No. I don't give a shit about being Hokage."
"Naruto!" Sakura gasped.
"I don't give a crap about being Hokage," the boy corrected himself.
Naruto could feel the weight of the Jonin's eye bearing on him. Suddenly, the boy felt naked, as if all of his thought were laid bare for the shinobi to see. When Kakashi eventually spoke, Naruto let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.
"Good. You're each unique and have your own ideas." The Jonin said as he lifted himself away from the railing onto his two feet. "We'll have our first mission tomorrow."
At this, Naruto's face lit up, his lips stretching into a grin. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming, until his fingers subconsciously raised and grazed the cold steel of his headband. Indeed, this was no dream.
"What kind of mission are we going to have?" the boy asked, attempting to steel his nerves. He could barely hear his own voice against the blood thumping in his ears.
"It's a task the four of us will be doing together," Kakashi told them. Digging his hands into his pocket, the Jonin crossed over to the Genin—then walked past them towards the door. "A survival exercise."
"What? I thought we were supposed to have a real mission, not more practice!"
"This is not like your previous training."
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "So... what kind of training is it then?"
Deep within Kakashi's chest came a rumble, shaking his entire body. Suddenly, the Jonin began to laugh, except to Naruto it was not any normal laugh. It was almost the laugh of someone when they realized something was funny, but when something was awry.
Naruto's blood turned cold.
"That's a normal question," the boy managed. "Why are you laughing?"
But instead of an answer from the Jonin, he heard Sakura's voice beside him.
"It's a test," the girl said through grit teeth. "Isn't that right, Kakashi-Sensei?"
At the door, the Jonin stopped in his tracks, his hand hovering over the handle. Immediately, his laughing stopped, filling the air with silence. With the turn of his head, Kakashi pinned his gaze on Sakura.
"So your test scores weren't lying. You certainly are perceptive, aren't you?"
"I've done my research. Especially on you."
For a moment, the Jonin's gaze shifted something almost of a glare—Naruto almost expected him to lash out at the girl—before Kakashi nodded.
"This will be interesting. She's right. It's a test. Meet me here at five o'clock sharp, tomorrow," he chuckled under his breath. "I recommend you don't eat anything beforehand."
And with that, the Jonin disappeared through the door, leaving the three Genin behind.
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. What the hell were they talking about? Exercises? Tests? By far, one of the best perks of being a fully-fledged shinobi was that he no longer had to do any of those things anymore. Weren't they all supposed to be done with that stuff now?
"It's one last test to decide whether or not we can become Genin," Sakura spoke up, as if reading his mind.
"What do you mean one last test? How do you know all of this?" Sasuke growled, breaking his silence. For a moment, Naruto had almost forgotten the boy had been there.
The three Genin rose to their feet, and though the Jonin was gone, Naruto could still feel a heavy presence lingering in the air.
With a breath, Sakura slung her bag over her shoulder. "Being a shinobi means more than just fighting, you know that, right? You also need to be able to gather information."
Naruto crossed his arms. "What?"
"I said, you also need to be able to gather information."
"I heard what you said," Naruto replied. "But what the hell are you talking about?"
"Kami, you're still an idiot, even after becoming a genius."
"Hey, my score's above yours!"
The girl rolled her eyes, ignoring Naruto's comment. "There's a reason why sixty-six percent of graduates return to the academy. They fail the true graduation test."
"True graduation test?"
To be honest, Naruto hadn't noticed any students returning to the academy. In fact, he'd always just assumed that once one passed the graduation exam, they were set as a shinobi for life. It had never occurred to him that Genin could be sent back.
"In order to weed out the good from the bad, the process to becoming a Genin is split into two stages. We've already completed the first step—the official exams. Now, we need to pass stage two—the Genin exams."
Naruto shook his head in disbelief. "You're lying."
"Don't believe me. I don't care."
"You still didn't say how you know this stuff," Sasuke said, eyeing the girl through calculating slits.
She shrugged. "I did tell you—shinobi need to be able to gather information. I've been doing that for the past few years."
"Look," the girl turned towards Naruto. "I've done my research. Not to mention, I've been particularly interested in Kakashi. Apparently, since he first became a Jonin Instructor five years ago, none of his Genin teams have been able to pass his test."
At her words, Naruto felt a chill wash over him. His throat seized. His stomach flipped.
"None?"
"I've spoken to some of those Genin before, when they came back to the academy. All of them have told me that Kakashi conducts something called a 'bell test,' where they need to grab bells from him in an allotted time. The trick is that Kakashi tells them not to eat then shows up late, so then they all become weak on hunger. So, my suggestion—"
Sakura paused, shifting her gaze between her two squadmates—both of their fists clenched and jaws locked.
"—eat something tomorrow so you aren't starving, or Kakashi's going to fail us all."
Unbeknownst to the three Genin, behind the door to the roof was the aforementioned shinobi, Hatake Kakashi. Ear pressed against the metal, he'd heard everything the girl had said. It was something he hadn't expected from a simple Genin. It was certainly a surprise, that was for sure.
"I should surprise them, too, then," Kakashi said under his breath.
Though no one could see, beneath the Jonin's mask, his mouth was stretched into a grin that would have rivaled the devil's.
Normally, Naruto would have relished the taste of ramen. Tonight, he could barely stomach it.
"I can't believe this is the last time we're all going to be together like this," Ino said, absent-mindedly stirring the spoon in her pudding.
"You act like we're going to die," Shikamaru said, to which he received a heavy glare.
"You know what I mean. You all have kind of grown on me these past few years. Even you, Kiba."
And though no one said anything, nearly everyone felt the exact same. After the Academy had opened their dormitories five years prior, and many of the students had moved in together, it was only natural that their class would have grown close.
Except that Naruto couldn't really say he'd gotten close to anyone over the years. While he did share a room with the boys, because of the blond's nearly obsessive drive to training, he was more acquainted to his classmates than friends.
In fact, it had gotten to the point that Iruka-Sensei, at the beginning of this year, had made them have these "classroom dinners" in order for him to be able to bond with his peers more.
Needless to say, it wasn't working.
"What'd you say about me?" Kiba said.
"Forget that. What are you doing?"
Though Naruto hadn't cared enough to even spare a glance at the boy, for the past fifteen minutes, he, himself, had been wondering what the loud splintering noises had been coming from the Inuzuka boy's direction.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm pranking Iruka. One final graduation present from his favorite class!"
At the door, Kiba stood atop a footstool, holding a bucket of paint in his hand and in his other, a hammer.
"You know, it'd be easier to paint with a brush than a hammer," Ino said. "I'm glad you're not on my team, sheesh."
"I'm not painting," Kiba replied, snarling at her comment. Reaching down, he held up a piece of paper for everyone to see. "Sakura gave me one of these. Apparently, it's an activation seal or something."
"What a drag."
"Hey, speaking of Sakura, where is she?" Choji spoke through a mouthful of crunching potato chips.
"She's up on the roof doing something, I dunno, really."
Naruto was awakened by a rough foot in his ribs.
His vision swirled in blurs as the sleep slowly ebbed from his eyes. It took a moment to adjust, before he could finally make put the shape of Sasuke standing over him, who was barely a shadow in the darkness. He could make out the soft droning of the snores of the other boys in the room.
The blond's throat shook with a groan. As if trying to wring the exhaustion from them, he shut his heavy eyelids tight. His bones croaked and his muscles ached.
"Damn," he managed through a rasp, an anger suddenly bubbling in his gut—for no one other than himself. Like a good student, he'd tried his best to make sure he would have gotten plenty of rest last night in preparation for his upcoming evaluation. He had taken a nice warm shower, had a nice meal, and went to sleep a good four hours before his usual bedtime. Except that the moment he'd laid his head on his pillow, it was as if he was lying in freezing ice water. One by one his classmates entered the dorms and as they laid beside Naruto, their breathing soon turned to snoring, while the blond was left seething under his breath in anger.
Eventually, he did manage to fall away from consciousness, but by then, it must have been hours past midnight—or so he thought, until Naruto shifted his eyes to the face of Shino's alarm clock, telling him it was only two and a half hours past midnight.
"What the hell?" Naruto growled at the Uchiha towering over him. "We still have two hours, dumbass."
He felt Sasuke prod him once again in the ribs. "Get up."
"Fuck off."
Two hours of more sleep would certainly go a long way. Besides, Sakura had told them that Kakashi always showed up late, and considering exactly how late the Jonin had been to their meeting yesterday, Naruto wasn't exactly doubting it.
So instead, the boy spread himself across his cot and shut his eyes...
First came the thunder before the lightning.
"Wake up, you idiot!" the thunder boomed.
Then, he felt a sharp pain slam into his gut. His eyes shot open, revealing a pink-haired girl standing beside Sasuke. The air fled from his lungs. He sat up, scrambling for a breath.
And like that, the exhaustion evaporated from his body, like water drank by the sun.
"Wh..." the boy wheezed, turning his eyes towards the girl, who was a mess of ebbing white stars to him. He opened his mouth to curse her, but stopped, when he saw the man standing at their doorway.
"Lazy, huh? It's not looking too good for you," Kakashi said coolly, peering at the boy with a steely eye.
No longer than a minute later, Naruto was begrudgingly trudging behind his peers as they ascended the stairs and onto the roof. The night breeze danced through the air, tousling the boy's hair and kissing his bare skin. Soft moonlight painted the ground beneath them a soft white, and further outwards, the village hummed quietly like a fleeting whisper.
"Kakashi-Sensei," Sakura chimed, and though she tried to hide her exhaustion, Naruto watched as she swallowed a yawn. "Weren't we supposed to start at five?"
The Jonin answered her with a shrug as the four crossed to the center of the roof. "Lesson one: shinobi should always expect the unexpected."
Suddenly, Naruto felt a cold shudder shiver through his body.
At first, he'd been angry, finding it a bit rude that Kakashi had went back on his very own schedule at five in the morning. After all, how was he supposed to be able to rely on a sensei that never kept to his word? How was it his fault that he wanted to sleep in according to the timeline of the Jonin?
Except now, the boy's stomach churned as he realized his mistake. Was this it? Had the evaluation already begun and he was already failing it by not waking?
"Always late my ass," the boy muttered to himself. Subconsciously, his eyes arose to the pink hair floating in front of him. He recalled the words she had said yesterday, which were certainly wrong.
But there was no one to fault but himself. After all, he should have known she had been lying, so perhaps she could make herself look better than him. It just made him realize there was nothing he could ever trust her or Sasuke about. He was on his own.
Fuck.
Drawing a breath, the boy steeled his nerves. That was his last mistake. No matter what, he was going to pass whatever test was going to come his way.
"Let's get started," Kakashi said, peering at each of the Genin. Slowly, as if trying to drag out the tension, he slid a hand into one of his pockets, before producing a single bell. He held it up in front of the others to see.
"Bell test," Naruto murmured aloud without even thinking.
"Oh, so you know this test?"
Yet, the boy's brain was too busy churning to muster up a reply. Sakura had told them about that test yesterday. So had she actually been lying?
"The task is simple. If you have the bell before this alram goes off, you pass," The Jonin said, pulling down his sleeve revealing a watch.
"How long is the alarm" Sakura asked.
"I don't feel like telling you that."
Naruto grit his teeth. Was this guy serious? What the hell kind of test was this?
"There's only one bell. There are three of us," Sasuke broke his own silence, arms crossed in front of him.
"Indeed. Like, I said, whoever has the bell at the end passes."
While the Jonin didn't bother to explain what happened to those who didn't have the bell, he didn't have to—the message was clear.
Only one of them could pass.
Instinctively, the blond found himself eyeing up his classmates-now-competitors.
Sakura, he wasn't too worried about. Sure, she may have had the best written test scores in the entire graduating class, but none of that had ever transferred over to her actual combat prowess. If push came to shove, if by some miracle she managed to ever grab the bell, he was certain he could then take it from her.
His other classmate was the one that turned his gut into a knot. As much as he hated it, Sasuke was above him in the class rankings. If just a little bit, he was better than Naruto at mostly everything—taijutsu, ninjutsu, and especially genjutsu, which the blond had zero aptitude for. For the longest time, it had made his blood boil that no matter how much he trained, the blond could never surpass the Uchiha.
But no matter what, Naruto was going to win today. He knew he was strong enough.
"You can use your shuriken. You won't be able to get this unless you have the will to kill me. We'll start after I say 'ready, start.'"
Kakashi was met with a deafening silence, only accompanied by the soft rustling of the wind.
"Ready..."
Naruto was vaguely aware of his classmates beside him, as if he watching them through a thick layer of water while each of them prepared to attack. He walked his hand down his leg until he felt the soft metal of a kunai against his fingertips
The boy's muscles tensed. His breath stilled.
"Start!"
Without pause, Naruto drew the kunai and charged forward, closing the distance in a single breath. He leapt towards Kakashi, thrusting his blade towards the Jonin.
He had to win.
Kakashi stepped aside Naruto's attack, the kunai harmlessly sailing past. The boy spun on the balls of his feet, throwing a flurry of attacks. The boy slashed and the Jonin ducked. When he stabbed, Kakashi parried. The boy was simply too slow and sloppy to be able to pose any real threat.
Through a clenched jaw, Naruto pulled the kunai back and threw his other fist towards Kakashi. The shinobi moved to parry.
"You attack so openly," the Jonin said. "All of your moves are easy to read."
It was almost a shame, though the man wasn't entirely sure why. Perhaps Kakashi had been expecting more out of the boy, but instead he had gotten a child who was swinging a kunai like a toy.
Or so he thought, until a grin spread across Naruto's face. Suddenly, the boy pulled his punch back, and using his momentum, spun into the air, slamming a kick into Kakashi.
While the Jonin managed to throw up a guard in time, the impact tremored through his arm, to the point Kakashi could even say he'd actually felt it.
Had this kid tricked him into believing he was a worse fighter than he actually was?
His question was answered, when the boy launched an onslaught of attacks upon the Jonin, far above the level he had fighting at thus far. Naruto threw a slice, only to feint and rocket a blinding jab his way.
While Kakashi was still easily able to walk around the boy, he found himself taken aback at the boy's advanced taijutsu—especially for a Genin fresh out of the Academy. There was no way his instructors had taught him anything like this. Was this Lord Jiraiya's teachings?
"Battle Tactics 101, believe it!" Naruto shouted, a wild grin glued to his face. "Appear strong when you are weak, and appear weak when you are strong!"
The kid certainly was an interesting one.
As Naruto charged, the air before him flickered, Kakashi suddenly disappearing into nothingness. Before he could react, the boy felt a tug on the back of his jacket. He was torn upwards. The world spun around him. His stomach lurched. Then gravity slammed him against the concrete ground. His kunai clattered out of his hand.
"Not too bad. I had to try a little there," the Jonin's voice swam from somewhere above him. "But you won't be able to beat me like that."
Naruto scrambled to his feet, glaring daggers at Kakashi, who stood before him, hands in his pockets.
"Shut up! You don't know what I can do yet!" the boy shouted, locking his hands into a sign he had grown much too familiar with.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he shouted.
But instead of filling the entire roof with screaming clones, the roof remained silent with the buzz of wind. He tried again and again, but to no avail.
"Naruto," he heard someone say, but when he looked up, instead of Kakashi, he saw Iruka-Sensei. "You have to stay for summer school."
The boy's breath caught in his throat.
"What the fuck?"
Of course that idiot would get himself caught in a simple genjutsu.
Naruto, though he hated to say, was holding against Kakashi pretty well. That battle tactics shit or whatever nonsense he'd spewed was somewhat decent. Or it had been, until the idiot had fallen under Kakashi's genjutsu, which unfortunately for Naruto, was his largest weakness.
Now, the blond boy lay curled in a ball at Kakashi's feet, while the Jonin eyed the remaining Genin.
"So, who's next?"
Sasuke could sense Sakura beside him, and though he couldn't see her, he had to imagine she was probably already thinking about quitting. There wasn't any chance for her to pass, anyways. For as long as he'd known her and even the other girls in his class, she'd been an annoyance to his education.
Sure, she'd said her dream was to become the strongest shinobi Konoha had ever seen. But how much of that was real and how much of that was simply a front to impress him?
No, she didn't truly want to be strong, unlike Sasuke did.
Which was why the Uchiha stepped forwards instead of her.
"Sasuke, wait—" he heard his pink-haired teammate speak behind him, though, as always, he ignored her.
"Stay back," he said to her. "You'll just get in the way."
Reaching into his battle pouch, he silently counted the tools at his disposal. A dozen shuriken. Eight kunai. Three smoke bombs and a couple more paper bombs.
Sasuke silently cursed himself for leaving the rest of his equipment back at the compound. It certainly wasn't enough to defeat a Jonin, he reckoned, but he'd have to make do.
He took a deep breath.
The first shuriken whistled as it sliced the air between Sasuke and Kakashi. In a single motion, the Jonin side stepped, allowing the projectile to soar past his head. Though, Sasuke had expected this. Instead, the boy flicked his wrist and suddenly felt the tight tug of a wire on his fingers.
Without warning, the shuriken sharply turned, suddenly veering back towards Kakashi's head. Instinctively, the Jonin moved to duck, but Sasuke sent another shuriken hurtling towards his legs.
I've got him now, the Uchiha's thoughts screamed aloud. If he steps sideways, the wire will catch him, and if he ducks, my other shuriken will get him.
But the Jonin chose neither option, instead diving into the air with a spin between the two projectiles. For a moment, Sasuke was taken aback. He'd only seen one other person so agile before. But the surprise was brief, for it was expected of an elite shinobi.
The Uchiha rushed forward, throwing himself towards his opponent. With the twist of his body, Sasuke shot out a kick, slamming his heel into the man's guard. He felt the tight vice of Kakashi's hand clasp around his ankle. Sasuke arched his back, the muscles in his core tightening, then in one explosive movement, he snapped forward a hurtling fist.
He's fast. Really fast, Kakashi thought.
With his other free hand, the man caught the attack, but now the two were both locked in a struggle. Kakashi moved to throw the boy away from him, before Sasuke twisted in the man's grasp, and slammed his other leg into the Jonin's blocking arm.
In the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw movement, the quick movement of the boy's hand darting towards the bell around his waist. As if in slow motion, he watched as one of the boy's fingers touched the bell. Then two. There was a soft jingle.
Kakashi shoved the boy away and dashed backwards across the roof.
So, this is Itachi's brother, he thought. I can't go easy on him.
For a moment, the two stared at one another, none of them making a move. The air grew hot and heavy. The wind howled.
"I'll admit. I can see why you are the geniuses of your class," Kakashi said, gesturing to a hand to the unconscious Naruto on the ground.
But Sasuke only scoffed, his hands flying through a set of handsigns.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A great explosion erupted from the boy's mouth, searing the edges of his vision blinding white. The air cracked from the scorching heat. The roof combusted into a pillar of flame, as Sasuke sent the jutsu hurtling towards the Jonin.
And while the world around him burned in a blazing inferno, the boy's chakra was ice in his veins. It was as if he'd fallen in a frozen river. His skin tingled. His senses were alive.
But through the blinding fire grew many shadows, until suddenly a dozen shuriken burst through the flames straight towards Sasuke. Immediately, his jutsu collapsed into a shower of embers. The Uchiha stumbled out of the way, several of the ninja tools nearly grazing him on the cheek.
He caught the slight glint of ninja wire glistening in the pale moonlight, almost like a spiderthread.
"Shit!" he yelled. The Uchiha started to move, to dodge, but this time, he was too slow, as the shuriken sharply veered, wrapping the boy up in wire. The lines cut into his bare skin, drawing dark drops of blood.
He collapsed to the ground beside Naruto, thrashing against his constraints. Each time he struggled, however, the tighter the wire sliced into his skin, staining the concrete beneath him a darker red. Eventually, he stopped moving, dropping his face to the ground in exhaustion.
"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed, her heart nearly skipping a beat. On reflex, she started towards the boy, before the figure of Kakashi standing over the defeated Genin froze her.
"Stay back!" she shouted, her voice like fragile glace. With fumbling fingers, she drew a weapon from her pouch. Even still, past her attempted bravado, it took two clenched hands to keep her kunai from shaking.
For a moment, a hot anger burned in her. What kind of test was this, expecting a team of Genin to beat a Jonin—let alone single-handedly? It was as if he wanted to fail them.
But soon, that anger turned inwards, knowing that she wasn't going to pass. There was no way, if both Naruto and Sasuke had failed, that she could have beaten Kakashi. This was the end of her story. It was a dead end. All because she was too weak.
Sakura could feel her mind slipping from grasp, fractured and split. Every time she tried to think of a plan, she found herself back to where she began—lost and afraid—and she had no control. It was as if her thoughts were some beast she had on a rope, but by now she was holding onto that leash by the edges of her fingertips and could lose control any moment.
Then she really did start to lose control.
The world blurred through her tears. Her chest tightened. Her breath seized in her throat.
For a moment, she was almost in that alleyway those many years ago. She couldn't do anything but scream. She couldn't do anything but cry.
Back then, Kakashi was the one who had saved her.
This time, he was the monster.
"Sakura."
What was it that she could really do?
"Sakura."
The girl turned her eyes upwards to see Kakashi standing where he had been—over the two boys. In the darkness, however, she could barely recognize the Jonin.
"Why are you crying?" Kakashi asked her nonchalantly, as if he was asking about her day.
"I'm not."
Was she? She couldn't really tell.
With the back of her hand, she wiped at her eyes. Sure enough, she felt the cold sting of wetness against her skin.
"Fuck," she blurted in a nervous laughter. "Sorry, I didn't mean to swear. It's something I picked up from my friend. She sort of swears all the time."
"Your friend sounds pleasant."
The silence swept between the two like a beating drum, Sakura vividly aware of each second that passed. It didn't help that her pounding blood was deafening in her ears. Her muscles were tense, screaming at her to run. The edges of her vision were dark, as if she was looking at Kakashi through a tunnel. Her lungs burned.
Come on, Sakura! It's not over, yet! You got this, cha!
Fighting alone was out of the question, but that meant she needed to somehow free both Naruto and Sasuke. Simply that goal seemed a thousand miles away, but even still, if she had somehow managed to free them, the harder part would be convincing them to fight with her. Those two weren't necessarily team players.
But Kakashi would never just let her free them. She had to trick him. She had to make it seem as if she was just as arrogant as those two that he wouldn't expect her to save them.
Not to mention, she still had her traps.
"I'm going to take that bell," Sakura said through shallow breaths, and while she'd said it towards Kakashi, it was really meant for herself to hear.
"And how will you do that?"
"I'm going to kick your butt."
With a cry, Sakura threw something to the ground, and suddenly she was engulfed by a thick cloud of smoke.
Immediately, she was on the move, silently floating through the fog. To her left, she could hear Kakashi say something, though she couldn't make out what, nor did she exactly care at the moment.
The smoke hissed around her, clinging like heavy ash to her clothes. As she breathed, she felt the dense taste of sulfur crawl down her throat, and she had to bite her bottom lip to keep from coughing.
Then she caught the silhouette of the Jonin standing amidst the fog, though she realized, if she could see him, he could also see her.
In a fluid motion, Sakura formed one of the signs Iruka-Sensei had taught them.
"Bunshin no Jutsu!" the girl shouted at the top of her lungs, making sure to be as loud as possible. There was a surge of chakra from her her body into her hands, before she found herself face-to-face with five other mirror versions of herself.
"Cha!" the clones yelled, before one by one, they moved in to surround Kakashi.
"You know normal clones aren't physical, right?" Kakashi's voice echoed throughout the smoke.
She knew that, of course. It was one of the easiest questions on their exams. These clones were simple illusions, as physical as vapor in the wind. While that meant they couldn't fight on their own, they were sure as hell a good distraction.
Reaching into her bag, Sakura unfastened one of the activation seals she'd prepared yesterday. Under different circumstances, she would have not dared carry them around on her after what had happened to Iruka-Sensei last night, but truly desperate times called for desperate measures.
Placing her finger on the seal, she pushed her chakra into the paper. At this, the black ink began to glow blue as her chakra began to infuse with the seal, until finally, she heard the splintering crack of one of her traps nearby.
In the center, surrounded by smoke and silhouettes of clones, Kakashi found himself glancing around, trying to discern which was the real Sakura. That was, until the barrage of projectiles came flying in from every which way.
Immediately, he knew they were very much real weapons unlike the fake clones. And soon, he found himself dodging the rain of kunai.
Was it the clones? Were they throwing the weapons at him?
No, that would have been impossible. More likely it would have been traps. And she could have activated them all remotely with activation seals all the more.
With his own blade, Kakashi deflected a flurry of kunai, the steel weapons clattering to the ground.
She's smart, the Jonin thought. But he knew it was all a distraction for her to rescue those other Genin.
For a split second, the Jonin's mouth curled into a grin.
Sakura soon found herself standing over Naruto and Sasuke, both lying in the acrid smoke. Without a moment to waste, she released the blond from his genjustu. Immediately, Naruto sat up, a fuzzy look in his eyes, as if he'd just woken from a dream.
"What the hell?" he blurted, waving his hand through the smoke. "What the hell is happening? Where's Iruka-Sensei?"
"Peacefully asleep downstairs," Sakura replied without missing a beat. She crawled over to Sasuke, and with a kunai, cut the Uchiha free.
"You were in a fucking genjutsu, you idiot," Sasuke growled as he stumbled to his feet.
"At least I wasn't wrapped in spiderwebs."
"Ninja wire, idiot.."
"What, idiot? Fishing line?"
Before the had a chance to exchange blows, Sakura slipped her kunai away and stepped between the two of them.
"Listen to me. You're both being idiots right now. I don't know how long we have left, but we need to get that bell."
"We? That's not how it works," Naruto said, placing his head on his hands. "Only one of us can have the bell."
Sakura looked to Sasuke, who only replied with a scowl.
"You guys have already tried to take on Kakashi on your own and look how that turned out."
"He got a lucky shot, that's all," Naruto growled.
"Bullshit," Sasuke chimed in. "He kicked your ass."
"You're bullshit."
"Guys!" Sakura shouted, straining to make sure she could still hear Kakashi in the background. "We need to work together!"
"I'll take my chances," Naruto said. "I'm better alone."
And as if some cruel divine being was punishing her, Sasuke scoffed in agreement—the only time the two had ever really agreed. She had to think of something fast. She knew it was impossible for them to ever take on Kakashi alone.
"Yeah, but who would it be easier to take the bell from? Kakashi or one of us?" the girl asked. "If we work together, one of us will get the bell, then it'll be easier to take it from that person. Just hear me out."
The traps stopped firing a few volleys after, and with them also went the smoke and the clones. Soon, roof cleared, and Kakashi could see three figures standing at the edge of the roof, watching his every move.
"So she did it after all," Kakashi commented to himself.
They were strong—much stronger than the previous teams he'd tested before, and much stronger than the average Genin. It was a little surprising, to say the least, and furthermore, a little concerning. The fact that they were able to push his breathing past its resting rate was something of a feat.
They were geniuses, no doubt.
Perhaps that was a bad thing.
Kakashi took his time to cross over to the team of Genin, who were, for some reason, uneager to approach him. The Uchiha glared daggers at him with no-so-red eyes but made no move to attack. The girl, Kakashi could tell, wanted to avoid direct confrontation at every cost. Despite her intelligence, she was much slower and weaker than the others, and it had shown in her display earlier. But he was most surprised by the brash kid in the orange jumpsuit standing behind the other two, the most distant from Kakashi—whereas he'd expected him to be the first one to charge.
Had he finally broken their resolve?
For the best, he surmised. Shinobi work wasn't for everyone, even if one was a genius.
"Are you done?" he called to them. He continued approaching until he was twenty paces away. Then fifteen. Then ten.
Then they were a talking distance away, no more than five feet.
For a while, they stared at one another, the wind howling between them. It was almost eerie to him how quiet they were, and for a moment, he wondered if he had actually broken them.
That was, until Sakura shouted "charge" and the three of them rushed forward in a single unit.
Kakashi hesitated—if only for a fraction of a breath—taken aback at their sudden shift in tactic.
But that split second was all the Genin needed. Before he could react, he felt Sasuke's hands latch to his wrist, before the boy spun and climbed onto his back. Kakashi moved to shake the boy from him, before Sakura barreled into view, much quicker than he had seen her move ever before. Perhaps even as fast as Naruto had been.
Had she been hiding her true strengths all this time, too?
Sasuke's arm choked around the Jonin's neck, before Sakura closed the distance in the blink of an eye. Then she was lunging at the bell hanging around the Jonin's waist.
A finger touched the bell.
Kakashi wasn't finished yet. He wound a strike with his right, while his left moved to pry Sasuke from his back.
Except then, he didn't have to.
Suddenly, Sakura was thrown backwards, as Naruto charged forward shoving her out of the way. The boy went for the bell, but he was slow. Much slower than he was before, as if he was suddenly exhausted.
But Kakashi was focused on the pink-haired girl who was thrown backwards. He watched her go up, over the railing, then down, plummeting to the earth three-stories below.
His throat seized. His breath stopped. His heart nearly skipped a beat.
In a fluid motion, Kakashi tore the Uchiha from his back, hurtling him into the advancing Naruto. The two boys collapsed to the ground in a heap.
The Jonin surged chakra to his legs. The concrete beneath his feet cracked and split. The wind crackled and boiled.
The air around Kakashi tore. He blitzed forward towards the falling girl. He reached over the railing and grasped for Sakura.
He felt a deep breath escape his lips, when his own hand clasped around the girl's wrist.
Immediately, Kakashi moved to pull her up over the railing, when he realized that Sakura was much heavier than a girl her size should have been. Not only that, but before, she had also been much faster, as well...
Suddenly, Sakura combusted into a cloud of smoke, revealing into what had been a Naruto transformed into a henge. The boy wore a devlish grin etched across his face.
"I got you now!" he shouted.
Still teetering off the edge of the roof, only hanging on by Kakashi's grasp, Naruto pulled himself up, wrapping his legs around the Jonin's neck. The boy brought his hands together for a handsign.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Before Kakashi could pull away, he was suddenly pulled further downwards, as dozens more Narutos latched to his arms. The Jonin's breath strained against the metal railing jammed against his gut. His muscles were locked and tense, trying to lift the army of clones, but all he could do was slam chakra into the bottom of his feet to keep from falling.
Why is this kid so strong?
"Sasuke, go!" a chorus of Narutos yelled, each sounding like an echo after the other. On cue, Kakashi sensed the Uchiha somewhere behind him charging.
The bell. He's going for the bell. Kakashi's mind raced. I still have my legs!
He couldn't see Sasuke, but he could hear the boy's rapid approach. With a swift movement, Kakashi thrust his leg towards where he knew the Uchiha would be—lunging for the bells.
But his kick sliced harmlessly through the air.
Then he heard Sasuke's footsteps on the opposite side of him. Kakashi moved again to counter, but it was too late. Suddenly, he felt something slam into him, the breath leaving his lungs. He fell to his knees.
A pair of arms strangled around the Jonin's neck.
"I got him!" Sasuke yelled, straining against Kakashi's larger frame. Despite their size difference, between the crushing weight of having to hold on to the dozens of Naruto clones and the Uchiha's hold, the Jonin was effectively immobilized.
It was only up to one more.
The Naruto on top, the one who had pushed "Sakura" off the roof burst into a cloud of smoke, revealing her true form. The real Sakura scrambled to her feet, ready to end the battle.
And she ran towards them, as if her life depended on it. She ran as if she was the last hope.
She pumped her arms until they felt like they were going to fall off. Her legs burned, her feet scraping against the rough concrete.
She ran faster than she had ever run in her life.
But she was still too slow.
In the distance, she could hear Naruto screaming as the boy strained to pull the Jonin further and further downwards. Sasuke groaned against Kakashi lumbering size. Both of them, notorious for their lack of trust towards other had finally relented and placed their belief in her plan. For this once, they had entrusted her with everything.
Why couldn't she trust herself?
The ground began to swarm in and out of view. With each step, she could feel herself slipping. She was falling. She was sure of it. She was falling because all she could do was fall.
She would fail. In the end, she was going to fail again.
Like she always would.
But her thoughts were shattered, as she heard a united cry from her two teammates—the first time they had ever done something together.
"Sakura!"
Suddenly her body plunged into cold ice. With the last of her strength, Sakura lunged forward, hand outstretched towards the bell dangling on Kakashi's waist.
She felt the cold metal against her fingertips. The bell jangled.
Sakura closed her hand.
Then world exploded into a flurry of chaos. Sakura felt something heavy slam into her gut, emptying her lungs of air. She hurtled backwards into the air, crashing and rolling into a heap on the rough concrete.
As she lay flat on her back, her head began to spin, as so did the twinkling stars above. Blood thrummed against her skull. Her breaths shuddered.
Vaguely, as if she was in a dream, she could feel the warmth of someone beside her, before she realized there was someone else to the other side, too.
"Did you get it?" a foggy voice swam in and out of focus. She felt the shadow of someone crouching over her. It took her a moment to realize her blond classmate was speaking to her.
She held her hand up for the boy to see, before she realized the bell was extremely light and felt an awful lot like air.
Sakura scrambled to sit up, clenching her jaw at the rush of blood flowing from her face.
The bell—where is—
As if on cue, she heard the slight jingle, followed by the scrape of sandals against the concrete floor.
"I admit, you almost had me there," Kakashi said, as he stood over the Genin, all three of them sitting on the ground. At his voice, Sakura felt all the color drain from his face, but none of that compared to the sinking of her gut when her eyes trailed to the bell still hanging from his waist.
No, she thought to herself. No, no, no, no.
Beside her, Naruto's breath caught. His jaw clenched. He balled his fists. His muscles burned, as if he'd been dunked in burning lava—but none of that could compare to the searing fire growing deep within his chest.
The blond stumbled to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain jagging through his shoulder—he must have dislocated it when Kakashi grabbed him when he was falling. A low growl rumbled in his throat.
This was fucked.
Lifting his legs felt as if heavy weights were fastened to them. His breath came in scattered bursts, burning his lungs. He had no idea how much time he had left until the alarm sounded, but it couldn't have been much longer.
Still, no matter what, he needed the bell.
Then the piercing sound of an alarm sounded through the night, freezing him where he stood. At first, he couldn't believe his ears, until he heard a soft voice crying behind him.
No. Fuck no.
"It's not over yet," the boy screamed a rattled cry, throwing his arm up, while his other hung limp at his side. "Fuck. It's not over."
He stumbled towards Kakashi, his right foot dragging slower behind. Before he could make it to the Jonin, however, Naruto stumbled, slamming down onto his knees.
If someone outside of the exchange were to view the situation, one would have believed as if the younger shinobi was kneeling before the older in submission. Perhaps he was.
"You said yourself, Kakashi! We almost had you!" Naruto said, the end of his sentence almost shaking. "That has to count for something."
"The rules were that if you have the bell you pass."
"I know, but—but—"
"Those were the rules. Those who break the rule are scum."
Naruto's vision blurred. The edges of his mouth began to quiver. "But..."
We almost beat you. Three Genin almost beat you, a Jonin. We're strong, you said it yourself!
But he knew the words would have fallen flat, because indeed, none of them had managed to grab the bell from him. None of them had been strong enough.
For five years straight, day in and day out, he had trained tirelessly. He'd worked until his knuckles bled, and then some. He'd practiced until his body was drained of chakra and energy—empty like a husk. Back then, he'd believed that he would be able to over come anything that came his way. He wanted to prove it. He wanted to prove to people he was more than what they thought he was.
But after everything, he wasn't strong enough.
So, Naruto slumped forward, his face slamming against the ground, and let the tears silently stain the concrete beneath him.
"But," he heard Kakashi say above him. "Those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."
The boy slowly raised his head to find himself looking at Kakashi.
"What?"
The Jonin turned his head downwards to meet Naruto's gaze, and for a moment, the boy could see a look in Kakashi's eye he'd never seen before.
"I don't care if you three are geniuses. I care if you are a team. In the end, you three worked together as that team."
Naruto's throat seized.
"You all pass."
Author's Note:
Hi, guys! Funfact: this is the longest chapter in the story, thus far. It's approximately 1/5 the length of the total story thus far! Isn't that really crazy? Anyways, that's why this chapter took a while to get out. There was quite a lot of combat in this particular section, and there was SO much I wanted to do with it, but in the end, I decided to keep it someone normal for this starting arc. I hope you all enjoyed. It was a little rough for me to write it, so any advice is appreciated!
The only team with its canon members will be Team 7. The other teams are as follows:
Team 8 - Hinata, Ino, Shino, Kurenai
Team 10 - Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Asuma
Nonetheless, we're finally going to have our first real arc beginning fairly soon! I have many ideas on this, not excluding the Land of Waves arc (with my own twist, of course), but I suppose you'll have to wait and see! ;)
As always, I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Have a good day!
- boringfirelion
Also, here's a cool list on the current stats of the current graduates I thought would be interesting to add. I saw this on a few other fics, and I liked it, so here you go [NOTE: These are not graduation scores. These are their actual stats]!
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—
Stat Ranking
Civilian: 0-1
Genin: 1-2
Chunin: 2-3
Jonin: 3-4
Kage: 4+
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—
Uzumaki Naruto
Ninjutsu: 2
Taijutsu: 2
Genjutsu: 0.5
Intelligence: 1.75
Strength: 2.25
Speed: 1.75
Stamina: 4
Chakra Control: 0.75
Average: 1.86
Uchiha Sasuke
Ninjutsu: 2
Taijutsu: 2
Genjutsu: 1.5
Intelligence: 2
Strength: 2
Speed: 2
Stamina: 2
Chakra Control: 2.5
Average: 2
Haruno Sakura
Ninjutsu: 1.5
Taijutsu: 1.5
Genjutsu: 2.5
Intelligence: 2.75
Strength: 0.5
Speed: 1
Stamina: 1.5
Chakra Control: 3
Average: 1.78
Aburame Shino
Ninjutsu: 1.5
Taijutsu: 1.25
Genjutsu: 1.75
Intelligence: 2
Strength: 1
Speed: 1
Stamina: 1.25
Chakra Control: 1.75
Average: 1.44
Hyuga Hinata
Ninjutsu: 1
Taijutsu: 2
Genjutsu: 1
Intelligence: 1.75
Strength: 0.75
Speed: 1.25
Stamina: 1
Chakra Control: 2
Average: 1.34
Yamanaka Ino
Ninjutsu: 1.25
Taijutsu: 1
Genjutsu: 1.5
Intelligence: 1.75
Strength: 0.5
Speed: 1.25
Stamina: 1
Chakra Control: 1.5
Average: 1.22
Inuzuka Kiba
Ninjutsu: 1.5
Taijutsu: 1.75
Genjutsu: 0.5
Intelligence: 1
Strength: 2.25
Speed: 1.5
Stamina: 1
Chakra Control: 1.5
Average: 1.38
Akimichi Choji
Ninjutsu: 1.5
Taijutsu: 2
Genjutsu: 0.5
Intelligence: 0.75
Strength: 2.5
Speed: 0.75
Stamina: 1.25
Chakra Control: 1
Average: 1.28
Nara Shikamaru
Ninjutsu: 2
Taijutsu: 1
Genjutsu: 2
Intelligence: 3
Strength: 1
Speed: 1.25
Stamina: 0.5
Chakra Control: 2
Average: 1.59