'Thoughts'
"Technique/Demon/Bijuu" Talk
"Demon/Bijuu" Talk from inside
'Technique in head/Demon/Bijuu' Thoughts
Harem so far (help it expand by suggesting)
Amaru, Fuu, Hinata, Ino, Kurotsutchi, Mei, Shion, Temari, Tenten, Yakumo/Ido
Chapter 5: Test
After briefly meeting Kakashi Hatake… Naruto didn't know what to think of him. He comes in late then calls his genin idiots.
Now, the three of them were on the roof of the school, sitting in front of their jounin captain while he sat on the railing.
"Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves? One at a time," Kakashi spoke.
"Introduce ourselves? Well… what are we supposed to say?" Sakura asked.
"You don't know how to introduce yourselves…?" Kakashi muttered to himself before sighing. "Alright well, you're supposed to say the things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies… Things like that."
"Why don't you tell us first? Before we introduce ourselves, I think you should go. You are our jounn leader after all," Naruto responded with a smirk.
Kakashi looked at the blonde before shrugging. "Alright. I'm Kakashi Hatake. The things I like and things I hate… I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future… never really thought about it. As for hobbies… I have lots of hobbies."
"Like being late," Naruto muttered to himself as he deadpanned at the jonin.
"Well that was useless. All he really told us was his name…" Sakura said with a glare.
"Now it's your turn. You on the left, you go first," Kakashi said as he looked at Sakura.
"Oh me? I'm Sakura Haruno. What I like-eh, I mean, the person I like is… uh, my hobby is, uh… eheh… my dream for the future is…" She said as she kept glancing at Sasuke at each break, then let off a girly squeal. Naruto raised an eye at her awful introduction, it was just like Kakashi's.
'This girl is such a fangirl…' Naruto noted with a sigh.
"And…? What do you hate?" Kakashi asked.
"Naruto!" She instantly responded, earning a small smirk from Sasuke.
Naruto just shrugged. 'Expected…'
'Girls her age are more into boys than into ninja training…' Kakashi noted as he put his head on his hand.
"Alright, next one."
"My name… is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone…" Sasuke introduced, bringing the mood down a little. Everyone looked at him in a different way.
Kakashi just stared at him, Sakura looked at him with a blush, and Naruto just raised an eye at him.
"Alright… last one."
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, ya know! I like instant ramen and ramen at Ichiraku's, but I also like making my own foods. I also like my two friends and previous sensei who helped me become as strong as I am now! I hate jackasses who like to start fights with me simply because they're too arrogant to know it's gonna be the same result every time, and I also hate jackasses who talk dirty things about my friends. My hobby would mostly be studying a lot of things and training with my friends. And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage like the Yondaime, so that the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody, somebody important!" The blonde introduced with a determined smirk.
"Good. You're each unique and have your own ideas. We'll start our first mission tomorrow," Kakashi informed the group.
"What kind of mission are we going to have?" Naruto asked, but already knew the answer thanks to Cat but asked just for the sake of asking.
"It'll be a task that the four of us will do together."
"What task is that?"
"A survival exercise."
"A survival exercise? I thought that we were having a real mission, not more practice! We already did that stuff at the Academy, that's how we got here," Sakura spoke with a small scowl.
"This is not like your previous training," Kakashi said and crossed his arms.
"So then, what kind of training is it?" Naruto inqueried. Kakashi then began giggling maniacally.
"... That was a normal question so why are you laughing?" Sakura asked with a glare.
"Well, if I tell you the answer… you're not going to like it," Kakashi answered as a warning before starting to giggle again.
"Would you just say it already," Naruto said as he too crossed his arms. He didn't want Kakashi to keep them here simply because he wanted to scare the genin into asking questions.
"Out of the twenty-seven graduates who just came here, only nine will actually be accepted as genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the Academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it pass-fail test, and the chance that you'll fail is at least a sixty-six percent chance," Kakashi told them. Sasuke furrowed his brow while Sakura looked uneasy. Naruto on the other hand looked impassive. Thank goodness Cat told him everything about the jounin's test or else he would be freaked out as well.
"See, didn't I tell you you wouldn't like it?" Kakashi asked. 'I told ya so' was written all over the visible part of his face.
"B-But… we worked hard to get here… why would they send us back if we graduated already…?" Sakura asked.
"Your graduation was really to see selected candidates who might be able to become genin… or not," Kakashi responded.
"W-What?!"
"That's just how it is. I'm the one who decides if you pass… or fail…" Kakashi continued. "Be at the designated training spot at 5AM, and bring your ninja gear too."
Everyone had their own thoughts about this. Sakura thought that if she were to fail… she'd be separated from Sasuke. This was a trial of love for her.
Naruto just thought that if he were to fail, he could graduate early when the chance came around, but he also didn't want to fail. He needed to become stronger to be the Hokage and also find Jiraiya… whoever that was.
Sasuke also didn't think much of it, except that his two teammates would definitely slow him down, but his hands did tremble as he clenched them tightly together.
"That's all, you're dismissed," Kakashi said as he turned around. "Oh, and tomorrow you better skip breakfast… or else, you'll puke."
Kakashi teleported away, leaving the three genin on the roof. Naruto sighed as he stood up. He knew that he could easily get a good night's rest and have a delicious breakfast. Kakashi would come to the training ground late, so he had nothing to worry about… but his two teammates on the other hand…
"Hey, just a heed of advice: you can eat your breakfast and get some sleep… he's gonna be late," Naruto informed his teammates.
"How do you know that?! You've never met Kakashi-sensei before! You're just trying to make us puke, aren't you?!" Sakura accused him with a pointed finger. Naruto just glared at her, but then dropped it and shrugged.
"Don't listen to me then, but don't say I didn't tell you," Naruto said as he jumped off the roof and ran home.
Tomorrow came and Naruto arrived at the training grounds at 7:15AM. He found his two teammates there, looking dead, tired, and hungry.
"Hey, you're late!" Sakura shouted at the whiskered blonde.
"What do you mean? I'm here on time," Naruto said as he sat down away from them.
"Kakashi-sensei said to get here at 5AM, and you came here two hours and fifteen minutes later!"
"And yet where is Kakashi-sensei? He's not here, right? So then, I'm actually here early," Naruto retorted as he took out a book and began reading it.
—
An hour passed and Kakashi finally arrived. "Morning everyone, ready for your first day?"
"You're late!" Sakura shouted at their sensei.
"Well, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way," Kakashi excused, making Sakura lowly growl. "Well, let's get started."
All three of them watched as Kakashi took out a black clock and set it down on a wooden post with two posts next to it. He pressed down on the top of it, activating it. "Here we go, it's set for noon."
The cycloptic jonin then took out two bells and raised them. "Your assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me. That's all there is to it."
He jiggled the bells. "If you can't get them by noon, you go without lunch. You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you."
'So that's why…'
'He told us not to eat breakfast to make it harder…' Sakura finished Sasuke's thought. They both looked at Naruto from the corner of their eyes with a glare. Naruto was smirking at this. Thankfully, he made a fulfilling breakfast, and he was right about this. It was their fault they didn't listen to him.
"But, Kakashi-sensei, there's three of us and two bells. If one of us doesn't get a bell, that person gets tied to the post and is sent back to the Academy, right?" Naruto guessed, keeping his smirk.
"Yes, you are correct, Naruto. Although, all three of you can flunk out and be sent back to the Academy together," Kakashi confirmed. "You can use any weapons including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells."
"Those weapons are too dangerous, Sensei!" Sakura exclaimed.
"I am a jounin, Sakura. They'll only be dangerous to you unless you've been doing your shuriken training," Kakashi countered. "When I say start, you can begin."
Sakura and Sasuke both got into a position to jump away. Naruto stood there with his hands in his pockets. Kakashi stared at him, wondering why he was so relaxed.
"Start!" Sakura and Sasuke jumped into the bushes, Naruto stayed where he was. Kakashi noted that Sakura and Sasuke knew how to hide… but Naruto on the other hand...
"You're not going to hide like your other teammates?" Kakashi asked as he took out a blue book.
"If I did do that, you'd have time to prepare for us when we attack, and I can't let you do that, now can I?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi looked up from his book at Naruto. "I see… well, what are you gonna do then? I'm already planning on how I can delay you guys from getting the bells."
"I know, but I've been planning a way to make you take me seriously," Naruto said as he made the reverse clone seal. 'Empty Shadow Clone Technique!'
A puff of smoke appeared next to Naruto and a blank-eyed clone appeared.
Kakashi narrowed his eye as the clone stood there, lifeless… until it's eyes appeared, but they were a dark red with black slits. The hair was frizzier and the whiskers were more prominent. It's skin was darker as well.
"You ready, Kurama?" Naruto asked as he glanced at the changed clone.
"Of course. Don't fall behind, Kit!" Kurama responded as he dashed forward.
'Kurama… Kit…? What…?' Kakashi asked himself but didn't get the chance to ask more questions as Kurama was now in his face. He went for a punch, but Kakashi ducked under it. Kurama then barrel rolled over Kakashi before the jounin could get a chance to hit him. He slid away a bit before rushing Kakashi's back.
Kakashi tried to leg sweep Kurama, but he hopped over the leg and did a roundhouse kick, only for it to connect with Kakashi's arm. Kurama looked at Naruto and the blonde nodded.
They both went on to make the Boar → Tiger → Rat → Dragon hand seals. "Fire Release: Scorching Limbs!"
Both Naruto and Kurama's arms turned into black ash with fiery cracks in them and their sandals were covered in flames. Kurama spun around Kakashi's arm and jumped towards Naruto. Kakashi shook his arm as it slightly burned.
As Kurama was running to Naruto, he jumped towards him and the whiskered blonde moved out of the way until Kurama's feet were in his peripherals.
Naruto grabbed Kurama's ankles and quickly spun around before throwing him at Kakashi. Kurama held his hand out, and Kakashi could only block but then the transformed Kyuubi pushed off of Kakashi's arm and changed his direction to go up.
Kurama did a multitude of front flips before coming down and slamming his foot on Kakashi's arm that blocked Kurama's previous attack. The Bijuu stayed there, pushing down against Kakashi's arm while the jounin pushed back.
Naruto then rushed Kakashi while Kurama was holding off one of his arms. The cycloptic jounin had no choice but to put his book away and take Naruto seriously, much to his surprise.
Kurama jumped away as Naruto threw a punch at Kakashi. He blocked it, and the two of them engaged in close quarters combat. Kakashi went on the defensive as Naruto didn't give him a chance to do anything else.
Naruto then body slammed Kakashi and made him stumble back a bit. The blonde then did a flare move that Kakashi avoided, but as Naruto was coming around the back, Kurama jumped on his legs and Naruto flung him in the air.
Kurama then went to make the Tiger hand seal. "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!" Kurama's right hand lit on fire and he made a throwing motion towards Kakashi. The giant flame then shot forward and formed a dragon head. As the dragon head touched Kakashi, he substituted himself with a log and it set ablaze as it hit the ground.
Kurama landed and Naruto got up. They both looked at each other and nodded, jumping in different directions. Kakashi was in a tree, trying to catch his breath.
'Who knew Naruto was that smart and powerful… he could've probably dealt with me on his own… thankfully-'
"Thankfully what?" A deep voice asked behind Kakashi. The jounin turned around and saw the different Shadow Clone standing on the trunk of the tree, grinning.
"I was thinking out loud…?" Kakashi asked with a wide eye.
"Yep," the clone responded as it hopped on the branch Kakashi was on.
"How'd you find me?" Kakashi wondered as he took out his book to see if it got ruined.
"I sensed you," he replied with a shrug. "I suggest you put the book away, Kakashi, we're not to be taken lightly."
Kakashi stared at the clone and nodded subtly as he put his book away. The clone's grin turned into a smirk as it rushed the jounin. It was too fast for Kakashi to do anything, so he put his arms up to block but the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Kakashi put his arms down but kept his guard up as he looked around for anything else to jump out at him. After waiting a moment, nothing happened.
"... Is Naruto playing with me…?"
Naruto approached Sakura while she was still laying down. He tapped her back and she whipped her head to look at him. He put his hand up as a greeting.
"So, you got a plan?" Naruto asked the pinkette.
"Do I have a plan…? Um… no, not really," Sakura responded, then she glared at him. "Why, so that you can take it and do it yourself?"
Naruto deadpanned at her. "No, we need to work together to get the bells, this whole test is about teamwork, ya know."
"Then why did you attack Kakashi-sensei by yourself?"
"So that I could give you guys some time to figure a plan out and to not give him time to set up a trap for us," Naruto replied. "So, Sakura, since you're smarter than me and Sasuke, you should think of a plan that might work."
"... I'll try, I guess…"
Kurama crept up on Sasuke and lowly growled in his ear. He rolled over and the disguised fox couldn't help but chuckle at the small scare. Sasuke then furrowed his brow and tried to punch Kurama, but he easily grabbed his fist.
The fox scowled as he began squeezing the Uchiha's fist. "You have a plan, Uchiha?"
"Why should I tell you? It's not like you'd be able to follow through with it anyways," Sasuke insulted as he glared at Kurama.
"You know… you piss me off greatly," Kurama told with a sigh as he released the Uchiha's fist.
"Whatever, you're just a clone." Sasuke then turned around to look for Kakashi.
"But I'm not a clone, Sasuke…" Kurama denied as a tail sprouted from his back. He then moved a bit of his tail so that Sasuke could see it. The raven-haired boy whipped around and saw that Kurama was gone.
Sasuke's eyes were wide with fear.
Naruto and Sakura were perched on a branch when Kurama came back next to Naruto.
"The Uchiha isn't cooperating… he isn't going to strike with us," Kurama informed.
Naruto sighed. "Of course he wouldn't… he's too arrogant and prideful, thinks he's better than everyone else."
"I mean… Sasuke is really cool, so he has every right to be that way!" Sakura defended. Both Naruto and Kurama deadpanned at Sakura before looking away from her.
"Alright, change of plans Sakura. Me and my clone will try and follow Sasuke's lead. If you can, try to strike Kakashi from the left side of his face," Naruto instructed.
"... Okay…"
Naruto and Kurama got into a position to move if Sasuke were to attack. Soon, they saw Kakashi in the middle of the clearing, looking around to try and find the genin.
'He already knows where we are, he's just trying to bait us,' Naruto thought with a smirk. Sasuke ran out of the bushes and charged Kakashi.
The raven-haired genin began close quarters combat with Kakashi. The Uchiha began throwing calculated punches and kicks, but Kakashi was blocking them all. If Kakashi was reading his book, Sasuke might've been able to touch a bell.
As Sasuke threw a punch, Kakashi grabbed the fist and spun around before flinging him away.
"Now!" Kurama shouted. He jumped off of the branch and flipped upside-down, holding his hands out for Naruto. The whiskered blonde jumped off of the tree and grabbed both of Kurama's hands.
Using the momentum, they both flipped a couple times before Kurama let Naruto go and he went flying towards Sasuke.
As Naruto flew by Sasuke, he grabbed the Uchiha's legs and did one flip with him before throwing him back at Kakashi.
Sasuke quickly reoriented himself and kicked Kakashi, but the jounin put his arms up to block it. The kick stung him, but he didn't have time for that as Kurama was running towards him. Kakashi shoved Sasuke away and began blocking Kurama's rapid attacks.
Naruto suddenly appeared behind Kakashi and tripped the jonin. As he was falling back, Sakura came out of the ground and grabbed a bell. One of Naruto's Shadow Clones was following her and grabbed her legs before throwing her away to safety.
Kakashi quickly leaned back and put his arms out. He pushed off of the ground and jumped away from the genin.
"Alright, Kurama, you know what time it is!" Naruto announced as he looked at the clone. Kurama nodded and smirked at Kakashi while Naruto looked back at Sasuke with a look telling him to not fuck this up.
Both Kurama and Naruto made the Tiger hand seal. "Hunting Season!"
Naruto took off faster than Kakashi thought he could and began throwing fast punches. Kakashi was blocking the punches, but was being pushed back. Kurama ran around Naruto and jumped out to do a roundhouse kick.
Kakashi somehow blocked it but jumped back after Naruto tried to grab a bell. As soon as Kurama landed, he ran around Kakashi and tried striking his back, but Kakashi turned around just in time to go on the defensive.
Kurama's attacks began to get faster than the white-haired jounin could read them and had to jump back again.
While Kakashi was in the midst of jumping back, Naruto body slammed into his back and stopped the jounin from going anywhere.
One of Naruto's Shadow Clones practically dragged Sasuke as close he could before throwing the Uchiha at Kakashi.
As Sasuke flew nearer to the jounin, he held his hand out and was about to swipe the bell, but then Kakashi disappeared and Kurama was in his place, making the two hit each other. They all fell to the ground.
"Nice job, dobe, now Kakashi's gone," Sasuke inculpated the whiskered blonde as he rubbed his head.
"Why are you blaming me? Maybe if you worked with us, we could've been done already. We already have one bell and it's with Sakura," Naruto informed as he pointed a thumb behind himself.
"Sakura has a bell?!" Sasuke grilled with gritted teeth.
"Yes, she does, and you wanna know why? It's because we worked as a team to get it," Naruto responded with a glare.
Sasuke gave a glare of his own and turned around. The Uchiha walked off and disappeared.
"Do I really want to give him the other bell…?" Naruto asked with an irritated sigh.
"If the Uchiha brat doesn't want to work with us, he's not going to get it," Kurama pointed out as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Why do I even want to try and help him?"
"So that he can stop being an ass?"
Naruto sighed again and turned to Sakura. He got up and walked over to her. "You don't have to do anything else, Sakura. Just don't let Sasuke convince you to give him the bell."
"But… what if I want to?" Sakura asked as she gripped the bell.
"Then fail and don't be with Sasuke," Naruto replied harshly. Sakura's eyes widened as a gasp left her lips. "Listen, I'm trying to help him get the other bell but he won't cooperate. If you give him your bell, he won't try to get the other one for you, and I'm not giving you that one either."
Sakura looked up at his narrowed eyes, then looked back down. "Fine…"
"Alright, just stay in a safe spot, I'm going for the last bell and giving it to Sasuke…" Naruto informed as he jumped away, Kurama stood there for a minute, watching Naruto leave before turning back to Sakura.
"Are you sure you're liking the right person?" Kurama asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked as she looked at Kurama with a slight glare.
"I mean… is Sasuke really the guy you should be going after? That brat can't see past his own nose and only cares about himself. I don't think he gives a shit about you or any of his other fangirls one bit," Kurama elaborated and crossed his arms.
"Sasuke's so cool, and dark, and hot! Those are like… all the things you could hope for in a boy. Also, he has the looks as well, with those cold black eyes… ah~"
"That's the thing… his eyes are cold. They don't care about anything. They're not warm and close… they're distant. Plus, what about his personality? He has a shitty one from what I can see," Kurama told, then sighed. "If you keep on chasing after him, you'll only hurt yourself and your heart."
Kurama then jumped away and chased after Naruto, leaving Sakura with her thoughts.
Naruto located Kakashi near a tree, watching out for any of the genin. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the jounin. They were on a time crunch and couldn't afford to waste anymore time.
Kurama landed next to Naruto and also spotted Kakashi.
"We need to wrap this up, Kit, you don't have much time left," Kurama reminded as he glanced at his Jinchuuriki.
"I know, Kurama… I should've just taken the two bells by myself and given them to Sasuke and Sakura… but that's not the point of this test…" Naruto said, sighing in annoyance.
"You're right, so let's not dwell on it and go after him… but let's first use Shadow Clones to see what he'll do."
Naruto nodded and they both made the clone sign. "Shadow Clone Technique!"
A clone of Kurama and Naruto appeared next to the two and jumped off of the branch to attack Kakashi.
The clone's ran over to Kakashi and stopped at the tree he was hiding behind. Kakashi walked out from behind the tree.
"I didn't expect you to be so strong, Naruto. You even made me go on the defensive, that's impressive," Kakashi praised as he slowly clapped his hands.
"I told you I'd make you take me seriously… but now, I have to get that bell," Naruto declared as he glared at his sensei.
"Come at me, then," Kakashi challenged as he got into an offensive stance.
As Sakura was staring at the bell, she noticed someone was coming near her. Fearing it was Kakashi, she hid in some bushes and waited to see who it was.
Sasuke came into view and she gasped as an open smile graced her face. She ran out of the bushes and up to the Uchiha.
"Sasuke! Have you seen Kakashi near here?" Sakura asked as she looked around.
"No, but Sakura, give me the bell," Sasuke said and held his hand out.
Sakura was about to, but then Naruto's words came into mind.
"If you give him your bell, he won't try to get the other one for you, and I'm not giving you that one either."
She looked at his hand and sadly frowned, but shook her head. 'No! He just doesn't want Sasuke to pass, and what does he know about how Sasuke will act?!' She thought as she smiled and gave Sasuke her bell.
Sasuke closed his hand and nodded. "I'll try and get the other bell for you so that the dobe doesn't get it for himself." Sakura nodded and the raven-haired boy jumped off. She knew he'd keep his word and bring her back a bell. Naruto was lying after all!
"Cha! That loser's definitely going to get it after this is over!" Inner Sakura declared.
The original Naruto and Kurama were still perched on the branch before Kurama perked up.
"Kit, I found another chakra source," Kurama notified the blonde.
"Where?"
"To our left somewhere, it's running away from us," Kurama responded.
"Let's check it out, who knows, it might be Kakashi and this is a Shadow Clone." Kurama nodded and they both jumped to go find the chakra source, leaving the clones with Kakashi.
Naruto and Kurama's clone looked at each other before sighing. They already knew what happened.
'A change of plans then?" Kurama's clone asked in thought.
'Sadly… yes.'
Kurama nodded and rushed at Kakashi. He began wildly throwing punches and kicks to make sure Kakashi couldn't do anything. Naruto made the clone seal and created fifty Shadow Clones that surrounded Kurama and Kakashi. Kurama also made the clone seal with a smirk and fifty of him appeared as well.
Kakashi looked at the one hundred mixed clones in surprise. 'Well… shit…'
"Charge!" A Naruto clone commanded and all of the clones yelled out a battle cry. They all charged at Kakashi before he could do anything.
The jounin was able to take out a couple, but with the smoke popping up after one disappeared made it more difficult.
As the clones kept dispatching whenever they got close to Kakashi, a Naruto clone was able to swipe the bell from the jounin without him noticing and ran away, hopefully the clones could keep him distracted without him realizing.
The original Naruto and Kurama caught up to the source and saw it was Kakashi, out in the open with a glistening lake behind him. The two stopped as they got to the opening and stared down the jounin that was reading his book.
"I was hoping to at least read a couple pages before you guys caught up, but it seems like I wasn't able to," Kakashi said as he put his book away and got ready.
Kurama smirked at Naruto and he smirked back. The blonde jumped back into the trees while Kurama rushed Kakashi.
Kakashi was able to prepare this time around and with quick succession, made a bunch of different hand seals.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!" The water behind Kakashi shot up in the air, making Kurama stop in his tracks. He looked up to see most of the water from the lake rising high in the sky.
Naruto's eyes widened as he watched this happen and so did Kurama's.
The water then came down towards Kurama, but he smirked. "Well played, Kakashi."
Naruto noticed something coming and he looked to see his clone running towards him. As the clone ran by Naruto, it made another clone and continued to run towards Kurama.
Once the clone made it to Kurama, it gave him the bell before making the Tiger hand seal. The clone was then replaced with Kakashi and Kurama swiped the bell from his side, replacing it with the fake one. Kakashi couldn't react in time as Kurama kicked him out of the way of his technique and made the same seal the clone did.
Kurama was substituted with the clone by Naruto. The disguised fox handed Naruto the real bell as the technique finally crashed down on the clone.
The clone was destroyed and Naruto gained its final moments before destruction, shivering at the ghostly feeling of being crushed by water.
After the technique was done, it left a giant crater in the ground.
Naruto and Kurama walked out from the trees and stood in front of Kakashi. The cycloptic jounin looked at them.
"I think it's about noon and you didn't get the bell, Naruto," Kakashi said as he wiped himself off. Naruto then held up the bell with a foxy grin and made Kakashi's eye widen. "W-Wait, but…"
Kakashi looked at his side and saw a bell still on his hip. He sighed in relief. "Alright Naruto, enough pranks, you didn't get the bell in time, no lunch for you."
Naruto and Kurama both smirked. After the three of them dispelled their clones, so did the bell on Kakashi's hip. He looked at the bell in Naruto's hand and saw that it didn't disappear.
He quickly looked at his hip and saw that the bell was gone. "Huh… so it seems like you did get it in time… well, congrats anyway. You're really strong Naruto and… Kurama…"
Naruto gave him a thumbs up. "We've been training hard, ya know!"
"Kit's right, but if we were sparring or fighting instead of grabbing bells, we wouldn't have held back as much," Kurama added and crossed his arms.
"Let's go back, we have to see who didn't get a bell," Kakashi said and turned to leave. Naruto and Kurama shared a look, knowing who exactly didn't get a bell and why.
Kakashi walked with Naruto and Kurama in tow. After they made it to the three posts with the black clock, Kakashi looked at it and noticed it was a little bit past noon. The three of them waited there and sure enough, Sasuke walked up to them with pride written all over his face and Sakura followed, looking at the ground. Naruto, Kurama, and Kakashi saw this.
"Hey," Naruto said loud enough for Sakura to hear. She picked her head up and glared at the boy who was already glaring at her. She lost her's as she saw how serious and pissed he was.
Naruto dug up the bell in his pocket and tossed it to Sakura. She caught it and looked at it in confusion.
He walked up to her, hands in his pockets. Once he was standing in front of her, she looked at how menacing his cold, hard, blue eyes were.
"What did I tell you? I told you he wouldn't try and get the other bell for you," Naruto whispered, anger clearly visible in his tone. He turned around and walked towards Kakashi. "I forfeit my bell to Sakura, Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi sighed, but nodded. "Alright, you'll have to be tied to the post then while your teammates eat lunch." Naruto nodded and walked over to the middle post. Kakashi then tied him up and grabbed two small bento boxes. Kakashi handed out the bento boxes to both Sasuke and Sakura. The pinkette looked at Naruto from the corner of her eye and he didn't look bothered in the slightest, but when he caught her looking, his face would frown.
Sasuke watched the clone move the black clock before jumping on the post. He was fearful of that clone… he didn't know what it was, how powerful it actually is, or how Naruto had it but he was going to find out.
"Eat lunch now to regain your strength. We'll continue our next test after you've eaten but Naruto doesn't get any lunch. If any of you try to feed him, that person immediately fails," Kakashi warned as he teleported away.
Sasuke took a box and sat away from Naruto. Sakura also grabbed one and sat against the post left of Naruto. They both opened their boxes and began eating.
A few minutes passed by, and Naruto was getting slightly hungry.
"Damnit… I'm getting hungry…" Naruto whispered with a quiet sigh.
"You should've just taken that pink brat's bell, that way she'd learn to not blindly trust the Uchiha," Kurama whispered.
"It's our first test. She wouldn't have learned much from this," Naruto stated as he looked up to see Kurama's face. The disguised fox shrugged and sat down.
Sakura ate her food slowly. She kept on thinking back to what Naruto said.
"What did I tell you? I told you he wouldn't try and get the other bell for you." Sakura hated to admit it…. but he might've been right about that.
She shook her head at that thought. No, her Sasuke would never do that. He must've gotten caught in a trap or maybe he ran into Naruto, trying to impede him from getting the bell for her, yeah… that sounded right.
But, Sakura didn't feel like eating anymore for some reason. She stared at the contents in her bento box and looked at Naruto. She sighed as she crawled towards him. The whiskered blonde and the clone both stared at Sakura, making her uncomfortable.
"Um… N-Naruto… you can have some of my lunch…" Sakura offered as she held out the box for him. Both of their stares softened at the gesture. Sasuke, on the other hand, just glared at them.
'Hmph, if they fail, it's not my problem,' Sasuke thought as he returned to eating.
"Either you're gonna have to feed it to me Sakura, or you might have to, Kurama," Naruto pointed out with a smirk. Kurama instantly made the reverse clone seal and disappeared in a puff of smoke, making Naruto chuckle. He then turned to Sakura. "Well, looks like you're gonna have to feed me."
"Y-Yeah… no problem," Sakura said as she picked up some white rice and held it out to him. Naruto smiled and took a bite.
After he was done, Sakura continued feeding him until the rice was gone.
Suddenly, a violent gust of wind and a large puff of smoke appeared in front of the three genin, causing them to shield their eyes. Kakashi's face pushed through the smoke.
"YOU!" He shouted as he looked at Sakura and Naruto. Sakura's eyes were wide with fear, she'd completely forgotten about his rule.
Sasuke smirked, knowing what was coming next while Naruto turned his head away to not get any dust in his eyes.
"You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for the punishment," Kakashi said as he did some hand seals and dark clouds rolled into view. Lightning could be seen in the clouds as Kakashi stared down at his genin.
The ground began shaking too. "Any last words?"
Sakura hid behind her hands, waiting for the punishment while Sasuke kept his smirk. Naruto just stared at Kakashi.
"We're all a team, Kakashi-sensei, we're all in this together, ya know! That's why Sakura fed me. If I weren't up to par, I would've slowed the team down!" Naruto replied as he smirked.
Kakashi let go of his hands as he walked closer. "So, just because you're a team… that's your excuse?!"
"Y-Yeah…! We need everyone to be in good condition if we wanna be ninja!" Sakura added as she put her arms down.
Kakashi closed his eye and it looked like a smile. "You passed."
Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise and so did Sakura's. Naruto breathed out his nose as he relaxed against the post.
"Huh…?" Sakura asked as she slightly tilted her head. Sasuke's surprised face turned into a scowl.
"You… pass…" Kakashi restated.
"How'd we pass…?" Sakura asked.
"You're the first squad that's ever succeeded. The others did exactly as I said, and fell into every trap. Couldn't think for themselves," Kakashi replied as he stood up straight. "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."
Naruto smirked as Sakura stood up with a smile. Sasuke lost his scowl and turned away.
"The exercise… is over. Everyone passes! Team 7's first mission starts tomorrow!" Kakashi announced with a thumbs up.
"Yes!" Sakura said with a grin.
"Let's go home." Kakashi turned away and began walking out of the training ground with Sakura and Sasuke in tow, leaving Naruto still tied to the post.
"Tsk. Of course they'd leave me here," Naruto whispered. He sighed as he began making the Boar → Tiger → Rat → Dragon hand seals.
'Fire Release: Scorching Limbs!' His arms turned into black ash and they slowly began to burn away at the rope. After the rope was burnt and dropped to the ground, he dispelled the technique and put his hands in his pockets.
'Let's go see how Hinata's doing. Hopefully her training was better than mine,' Naruto thought as he walked out of the training ground.
Once Naruto made it back into the village, he began searching around for Hinata but couldn't find her anywhere.
After fifteen minutes of searching and not finding her, he gave up.
'She's probably still training with her team… oh well, I'll definitely find her later,' Naruto thought with a smile as he put his hands behind his head.. He then turned around and stopped as he almost bumped into something. He looked ahead but didn't see anyone and cocked an eyebrow at that. He then looked down and his eyes widened in surprise.
In front of him was none other than Hanabi Hyuuga, Hinata's younger sister.
The glaring Hyuuga sibling had long, brown hair and some of the strands were over her eyes. She was wearing a small, dark purple kimono and black sandals.
"Oh! Hey, Hanabi, didn't see you there! Sorry, I should be more aware of my surroundings!" Naruto apologized with a foxy grin as he clasped his hands together.
Hanabi just glared at him before sighing. "It's whatever. Just don't do it again."
"I promise, believe it!" Naruto said with a thumbs up and a smile.
"What are you doing here? You're not looking for my sister, are you?" Hanabi quizzed as her brows furrowed.
"I was looking for her, but she's probably still training with her team, so I'll just look for her later," Naruto replied with a shrug.
Hanabi scoffed as she turned her head away. "You're wasting your time with her. Father said she's too weak to be a Hyuuga heiress and she won't amount to anything."
Naruto glared at her. "Your father's wrong then. Hinata isn't weak at all and she's definitely the strongest kunoichi in my class right now. She might even be stronger than most chuunin in my opinion."
"Psh, yeah right. Your class must be full of weak kunoichi if she's the strongest out of them all. And, she lacks the confidence to be a Hyuuga successor, that right there is a sign that she's weak," Hanabi argued as she crossed her arms. She looked at Naruto from the corner of her eye and flinched slightly at how quickly his eyes became cold.
"Maybe if you actually congratulated her and weren't so hard on her, she'd have the confidence to be a Hyuuga successor," Naruto countered. "Honestly, I don't think you're as good as Hinata is."
Hanabi grit her teeth and glared at him, but it wasn't as threatening as she'd liked it to be. "I am stronger than her!"
Now it was Naruto's turn to cross his arms. "Oh really? Then how about we test that with a sparring match? I've faced Hinata plenty of times so I can gauge who's really the strongest."
"Fine! Let's do that then!"
Naruto grabbed her shoulder as he made half of the Tiger hand seal with his free hand.
"Wait, what are you doing?!" Hanabi asked as she looked up at the blonde.
"It'd take too long if we ran there," He answered with a smirk.
Naruto and Hanabi teleported to his team's training ground. He let go of her shoulder and walked a little bit away from her.
"Okay, Hanabi, let's start. I'll be on the defensive and I might counterattack, so be prepared," Naruto warned as he put his hands in his pockets.
Hanabi quirked an eyebrow. "If you're going on the defensive, why are your hands in your pockets?"
"I don't feel like having them out," Naruto answered as he shrugged with a smirk. Hanabi scowled at him.
"That's a mistake you wish you never made! Byakugan!" Hanabi rushed Naruto and began her barrage of palm strikes, but Naruto was dodging them all.
He twirled as she tried to hit his chest and kicked her back, making her stumble forward. Hanabi turned around and glared at him.
"Don't get angry, Hanabi, you'll only mess up if you do," Naruto advised as he walked away. Hanabi glared as she tried to rush him again. Once she was close enough, she tried to hit his back, but he ducked under it.
"Huh…?" Hanabi breathed as she looked under herself to find Naruto smirking back at her. He sprung forward and tackled the Hyuuga to the ground, and pinned her arms and legs.
"I win," Naruto spoke with a grin. Hanabi looked surprised before shaking her head and gritting her teeth.
"Get off me!"
"I don't feel like it," Naruto denied as his grin turned into a smirk. "Also… you're not as strong as Hinata, not even close."
Hanabi's eyes widened before she furrowed her brow. "No! I won't accept that! That's not true at all! I-"
"Please… just be quiet for a moment," Naruto interrupted with a deadpan look. "Listen, you're younger than Hinata and you're still training under your father, so I can see that there's still a lot of room for you to grow and improve. However, if you want to be as strong as Hinata, you should spar with me some more."
"... Is that how she got stronger?" Hanabi asked as her Byakugan deactivated.
"Yep. I won't disagree, your clan's fighting style is amazing, powerful, and threatening, but the way you train your kids isn't amazing. You can't be hard on everyone, cause they're different. Not all of them will like being forced to train, or handle being insulted if they mess up," Naruto answered with a sigh. "Take Hinata for example. Your clan's training isn't suited for her because she's a soft girl. She's timid, shy, self-conscious, and doesn't believe in herself because of your father's methods. If she weren't like that, then yes, it might've worked for her… but she isn't. She needs to be complimented about her progress and you can't just insult her for her wrongdoings, no, you have to tell her how to fix them."
Hanabi stared at the blonde, taking in what he said.
"You're different from her. You're not self-conscious, timid, or shy. You can indeed learn to master the Gentle Fist, but that's because you're suited for your father's methods. Hinata isn't."
"So then… why spar with me if you know that I can master the Gentle Fist?" Hanabi asked.
"You need an opponent to go all out on, right? An opponent that's around your size and an opponent that isn't a Hyuuga, who doesn't really know how to counter the Gentle Fist," Naruto replied with a grin.
Hanabi sighed as she considered the blonde's words. She closed her eyes and thought about it for a moment before opening them again.
"... Fine, I'll spar with you…" She decided with a sigh. Naruto grinned as he gave her a thumbs up.
"You won't be disappointed, believe it!"
Hanabi narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, whatever… can you get off of me now? I want to try again."
Naruto smiled and nodded as he got off of Hanabi.
She tried again, and this time was doing better than the first try, now that she had a level head. They both trained for hours and Hanabi began to enjoy having to fight an opponent that didn't know how to counter the Gentle Fist, and Naruto was a great help at giving her suggestions on how to improve.
The two were now sitting by a tree under some shade, taking a break. Hanabi stared at the tree leaves as a cool breeze passed by. She thought back to the past hours of training with Naruto and could feel that she got better.
They both heard footsteps and turned their heads to see Hinata walking towards them. Naruto smiled as he jolted up.
"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto greeted with a wave. Hinata smiled as she saw Naruto.
"Hi, Naruto!" She greeted back and rushed over to him. She looked at the tree and saw Hanabi looking at her. "H-Hanabi?! What are you doing here?!"
Hanabi sighed as she stood up and walked over to the two. "I was sparring with Naruto."
"You were sparring with him? I never thought you'd train with him… don't you hate him?" Hinata asked as she slightly tilted her head.
Hanabi slightly flinched back. "W-Well… he did teach me some things and I did get better… so I guess I can't say that I hate him…"
Hinata narrowed her eyes as she stared at her sister, deciding if she was being truthful or not.
Naruto placed a hand on Hinata's head and rubbed it. "It's alright, Hinata! She's telling the truth." Hinata looked up at Naruto before looking back at Hanabi and nodded.
"If you say so…" Hinata said as she leaned into Naruto's touch. Hanabi watched this before sighing.
"Hinata, I want to spar with you," Hanabi said as she stared at her older sister.
Hinata's eyes widened. "W-What?! Y-You want to spar with me? W-Why?"
"Because, Naruto says that you're way stronger than me and I want to make sure that's true," Hanabi replied with a serious stare. Hinata stared at Hanabi before exhaling.
"Okay, let's do it."
Naruto stood back and watched as the two Hyuugas activated their Byakugan and took off. He watched as Hinata and Hanabi deflected each other's hits. They skillfully dodged the other's strikes and deflected, but Hinata was clearly winning.
The older Hyuuga started overwhelming Hanabi and the younger one was struggling to avoid the attacks. Naruto smirked as he suggested Hinata to overwhelm her opponent at the beginning of the fight and try to not give them a chance to analyze the situation, only focusing on defense. It was a page out of Kyuubi's fighting style and it seemed to be working.
Hinata forced her palm forward and Hanabi put her arm up to block it, but the older Hyuuga grabbed Hanabi's arm and yanked it down.
Hanabi's eyes widened as she looked at Hinata, but couldn't do anything as the older Hyuuga struck Hanabi's chest with her palm. Hanabi flew back and landed on her back. She tried to get up, but fell back down. Hinata walked up to her downed sister and helped her sit up.
While Hanabi was catching her breath, she looked at Hinata. "So… it seems like Naruto was right… you are stronger than me."
"Oh, well, that's because Naruto and I sparred a lot. He also gave me some suggestions to better the Gentle Fist," Hinata said with a smile. Hanabi looked at Naruto as he grinned. She sighed as she fully stood up and walked up to the whiskered blonde.
"Naruto… let me spar with you again, please," Hanabi requested, bowing her head. Naruto was slightly taken back by this.
"Oh! Uh, you shouldn't be bowing to me, I should be the one doing that. It'd be an honor to spar with the current Hyuuga heiress, ya know," Naruto told as he lifted her chin up.
"I-I guess so…" Hanabi agreed as she stared into his eyes. She looked away after staring for too long, a small blush forming on her cheeks.
Naruto backed up and smiled. "Well, in that case, sure. You can spar with me and Hinata whenever you're able to!" Naruto allowed as he put his hands on his hips. Hanabi nodded as she glanced at him.
"You'll come to like it a lot, Hanabi. It's one of my favorite things to do with Naruto," Hinata added with a small smile.
"Right…" Hanabi responded before regaining her composure. "Anyways, I think that I should head back now. Father might be wondering where I am."
"Oh, I'll come back with you. I'm pretty tired from training with my team," Hinata said as she walked closer to Hanabi. She turned to Naruto and waved at him. "Bye Naruto!"
"Bye Hinata, bye Hanabi!" He watched the two Hyuugas leave the training ground and he stretched. Naruto then teleported to his house and sat down on the bed. He looked up and saw Yugao outside of his window.
With a smile, Naruto jumped up and opened the window for her. She greeted him as she climbed through it.
"Hi Yugao-sensei! How are you?!" Naruto greeted with a grin.
The Anbu kunoichi took off her mask and smiled at the whiskered blonde. "I'm doing great, how are you?"
"Meh… I could be better… I'm lucky I was able to actually become a genin…" Naruto replied as he looked away with a sour expression on his face. Yugao tilted her head at him.
"Why? What happened?"
"Ugh… Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno happened. Sasuke is an arrogant prick that thinks everyone's below him and Sakura can't get her head out of Sasuke's ass to see anything else in front of her!" Naruto ranted. "When we were doing Kakashi-sensei's bell test, Sasuke didn't want to cooperate with me and tried to do his own thing, but then tricked Sakura into giving him her bell! And then Sakura, being the fangirl that she is, listened to that asshat! We probably could've gotten the bells faster if we worked as a team like we were supposed to, but instead, we took way longer than we should have!"
Yugao just stared at the boy in surprise. She didn't expect him to curse his teammates like that. "Well, Naruto, girls at Sakura's age don't really know how being a shinobi works and think it's like a game. They only focus on boys and girl talk, but that changes when they're on an actual mission and know just how dangerous it is."
"Yeah, I know that… but I just wished she could've at least taken the test somewhat seriously… it could've made it a lot easier, ya know," Naruto responded as he crossed his arms.
"And as for Sasuke… well, his entire clan did get slaughtered by Itachi Uchiha…" Yugao reminded the blonde.
"Yeah, but he wants revenge. He wants to avenge his clan and restore it, by killing Itachi, I assume… He's only using us so that he can get to his goal faster," Naruto stated.
"I mean… if you were in his shoes, would you do the same thing?" Yugao asked. Naruto was about to make a counter, but he stopped himself as he realized it would've been a jab at Kurama.
"... I'm not like him at all. I don't think I would drive to kill someone for the sake of vengeance, Yugao-sensei," Naruto replied, drifting his eyes away from her.
Yugao sighed as she patted Naruto's head. "I understand. But, I've seen that you've been sparring with the Hyuugas."
"You saw that?" Naruto asked as his eyes went back to hers. She smiled and nodded.
"Mhm! You even suggested the eldest one what she should do to better the Gentle Fist, and you even got the younger one to join your spars," Yugao recalled.
"O-Oh! I didn't know you were watching us…" Naruto said with wide eyes.
Yugao giggled. "I'm an Anbu shinobi, of course you wouldn't have known. But, I am curious as to what you're going to suggest to the younger one."
"Well… the Gentle Fist is a really awesome and powerful taijutsu style. I noticed that it's really hurtful to get struck by, so you'd usually want to either attack first or be evasive enough to avoid it. Hanabi could go the offensive route like Hinata, but Hanabi seems more of a defensive user, so that's the route I'll be going with her," Naruto formulated while putting a hand to his chin in thought.
Yugao giggled at Naruto's plan. "Since when were you able to become a sensei, huh? Last time I checked, you weren't taking any shinobi in."
"I dunno. When I watch someone fight, I guess I can learn what they should do, shouldn't do, and what they need to work on," Naruto responded with a shrug followed by a chuckle.
"Well, that's a great skill to have. You could use that in an actual fight and win easily," Yugao pointed out with a finger up.
Naruto thought about it, and nodded. "You're right! I could totally use that effectively!"
Yugao rubbed his head. "You should probably eat. You haven't had anything since you trained with Kakashi, have you?"
"I had a little bit of rice, but that was it…" Naruto answered as he rubbed his stomach.
Yugao stopped rubbing his head and walked to his kitchen. "Well then, this meal is on me. Just sit back and relax, Naruto. You do start actual missions tomorrow, right?" The whiskered blonde frantically nodded with a smile. Yugao began grabbing the necessary items and started making Naruto dinner while he took a nap on his bed.