"Start!"
After hearing the sound of Kakashi's voice, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata seemingly leaped away from the Jonin, aiming for a hiding spot particularly somewhere in the trees.
When she got to her hiding spot, Hinata preformed a couple of hand signs, eventually ending with the Snake hand sign. She uttered only one word.
"Byakugan!"
Veins began to sprout around Hinata's eyes as she activated her Kekkei Genkai. Thanks to his, she was now able to see everywhere around her in a 360 degree rotation. Albeit, she could only see 50 meters.
Kakashi closed his eye as he waited for a couple of seconds.
The three of them have hidden themselves well. Kakashi was impressed as he reopened his eye. They were only Genin and yet they-
"Huh?"
"You and me! Fair and square! Let's go!" The voice of Naruto Uzumaki made Kakashi immediately take back the praise he had aimed towards three Genin, with it only going to Hinata and Sasuke now.
Naruto was standing out in broad daylight, arms crossed, eyes squinting, speaking loudly, and to top it all off a cocky smile on his face.
Kakashi's head dropped at Naruto's statement. One of the key parts of being a Shinobi is getting the jump on an enemy. Doing that could mean the difference between life and death.
That useless idiot. From where he was hiding, Sasuke could see both Kakashi and Naruto, but even if he couldn't see Naruto, his loud voice would pretty much give his position away easily.
I don't think standing out in the open is a good idea, Naruto-kun…Hinata thought to herself. Maybe he has something cool up his sleeve! That idea must have seen like a prayer though, as they were all just newly appointed Genin.
"You know, compared to the other two, you're a little...weird." Kakashi told the Uzumaki.
"The only thing that's weird around here is your gravity-defying hair style!" Naruto retorted as he rushed towards Kakashi, letting out a battle cry while doing so.
While he was doing this, the cyclops Jonin dug his hand into the pouch strapped onto his side. Naruto's eyes picked up this sudden action and quickly leaped backwards, coming to a stop. He readied himself for whatever would come out of that pouch, whether it would be a kunai or some shuriken.
"Shinobi Battle Techniques, part 1: Taijutsu. The art of physical combat. I'll teach you that first." Kakashi said as he began to pull something out of the pouch.
But I thought Taijutsu was hand-to-hand combat, so why is he grabbing a weapon? Naruto's lip parted slightly out of confusion.
Kakashi pulled out the item he was reaching for fully. It revealed itself to be…
An orange book, titled Icha Icha Paradise.
And the way Kakashi had his uncovered eye looking at Naruto didn't make the entire scene convincing to be something serious.
"Huh?!" Naruto's jaw dropped at the sight of the book. Was he going to whack him with the book? Even then, that's still not hand-to-hand combat.
"Something the matter? Come on and make your move." Kakashi spoke, getting slightly impatient at Naruto's lollygagging, something a ninja definitely shouldn't do in a real battle. This already wasn't looking good,
"But why the hell did you take out a book?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Why? To see what happens next in the story, of course." Kakashi averted his lone eye from Naruto and onto the book he pulled out, which was already opened. "Don't worry. Whether I read this or not, the result of the fight will be the same."
Naruto growled as he formed a fist with his hand. He began to rush towards Kakashi once again, his left hand reeling back for a nasty punch.
"I'm going to clobber you!" Naruto proclaimed as he jumped into the air and threw a punch towards Kakashi's head, only for the Jonin to block it with his free hand. Naruto cursed as he dropped to the ground, releasing a roundhouse kick to Kakashi's legs, planning to make the Hatake fall to the ground so he could get on top of him and take one of the bells.
Although this didn't work as Kakashi simply took a small hop onto the air, with the attention of his only eye still on the page he was reading. Naruto quickly recovered and jumped back up to his feet.
"GOD DAMN IT!" The blond leaped forward as he threw a punch towards Kakashi's face once again. However, to his surprise, Kakashi was gone. "What?"
"A ninja should not let their enemy get behind them, idiot."
Thanks to her Byakugan, Hinata had next to no trouble seeing that Kakashi had his book closed, and the posture of his hand was in the seal of the tiger.
The seal of the tiger? Sensei truly means to hurt Naruto-kun!
Jumping out of her hiding spot and immediately rushing towards the two in an attempt to save her comrade, she managed to yell out loud, "Run, Naruto-kun! He's planning to use a high-level ninjutsu on you!"
"Too late." Kakashi said, prompting Naruto to shoot his head behind him, glancing right at Kakashi, but as the latter had said, it was too late. Kakashi's viewable eye twinkled a white light as the cyclops prepared an attack. "Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu!"
"AHH!" Naruto screamed, fearing for the worst, however, Naruto's face contorted into one of embarrassment. Their sensei wasn't using a high-level ninjutsu at all. Hinata froze in her tracks as she saw what Kakashi was truly doing. He was STICKING HIS FINGERS UP NARUTO'S ASS!
"A Thousand Years of Death!" Kakashi exclaimed as Naruto blasted away, clutching his butt while screaming out of pain, eventually falling into the small lake nearby.
A tint of red filled Hinata's cheeks, as she tried to forget the fact that Kakashi had stuck his fingers up Naruto's butt.
"Both of them are idiots." Sasuke muttered to himself.
"Let's see, where was I?" The nonchalant ninja mumbled, opening his book, trying to find the page he was on as if he never molested a 12-year old boy. He seemingly was not paying any attention to Hinata. However…
"What's wrong, little flower? Aren't you going to attack?" Kakashi questioned the girl who was frozen in her tracks.
Kakashi's voice had broke Hinata out of her trance. Hinata inwardly cursed herself for revealing herself. She was too close to run away, and even if she did, Kakashi would see where she would go, she had no choice but to fight.
Hinata took the initiative and sunk into a battle stance, one which Kakashi immediately realized.
"The Gentle Fist, eh? And the Byakugan to boot. Let's see what the prestigious Hyuga clan can do." Kakashi took his eyes off of his book, and looked at Hinata, clearly paying her more attention than against Naruto. Kakashi turned his body to face Hinata, and with his free hand making the "Come on" signal.
Hinata knew that Kakashi was testing them, so he wasn't going to make the first attack. He was going to let the Genin show him what they could do, and then counter.
With this knowledge, she opened the pouch strapped to her leg and pulled out some shuriken, throwing them at Kakashi, each one of them aiming for one of his body parts.
Hinata took the initiative and rushed Kakashi, but not before enfusing her palms with some chakra to do some internal damage to Kakashi.
The Jonin merely sidestepped the oncoming shuriken, something which Hinata had expected him to do, now that he was open, Hinata aimed a strike for Kakashi's arm.
The masked man leaned back slightly and quickly grasped Hinata's hand, recovering quickly from the sudden shock of now being able to move that hand, Hinata rotated her body about 90 degrees so she was facing Kakashi, preparing to strike him in the chest.
However, before the Juken (Gentle Fist) strike could even connect, Kakashi had threw Hinata off her feet and swayed her over to Kakashi's back.
The next thing Hinata knew, her hair was whipping through the air as if wind was blowing against her constantly. And she then found herself letting out a small cry of pain as her back collided with the cruel ground.
Hinata used her free hand to launch her body up slightly, aiming to kick Kakashi in the stomach. If she were in the air at the moment, she might have an able to do a full backflip with how she lifted herself.
Kakashi blocked the kick with his arm so he didn't have to let go of Hinata's wrist. Hinata's leg fell to the ground again as she performed a sweep kick. Their target, Kakashi's legs.
The spiky-haired Jonin blocked the kick by raising his foot slightly, letting it take the hit.
Hinata took her chance to reach over and grab one of the two bells that Kakashi had in his possession. Seeing this action from the girl, Kakashi let go of her hand and leaped backwards, making it do Hinata didn't even feel the bells.
Hinata quickly used both her hands as support to launch herself back up to her feet as reached into her pouch in a hurry and frantically threw two shuriken, one of which had really bad aim, veering off to the right, not even coming close to hitting Kakashi, who caught the other shuriken using the pointer and middle finger of his free hand.
"No way!" Hinata gasped out of shock after seeing how easily Kakashi caught that shuriken.
Kakashi flicked his wrist forward, releasing the lone shuriken back to Hinata, who took a deep duck to her right to avoid getting hit.
Hinata pressed her foot against the ground, adding enough force so she could push of her foot and get some momentum, minimizing the amount of time needed to reach Kakashi.
Hinata engaged Kakashi as she traded blows with the Jonin, who used only one hand to block the oncoming assault or he would just turn his body. Finally, Kakashi decided it was time to stop toying with the girl.
During the course of this little exchange, Kakashi had been noticing that the girl had been hesitating to come at him with killing intent. And she got nervous too easily, despite this being merely a test, and not a real battle, where the stakes were much higher.
Heck, when she threw the first couple of shuriken, Kakashi had noticed that she didn't aim for any vital spots, really just for his head, shoulders, and legs.
The thing is, her kindness is hindering her performance. Outside of the line of duty, being kind to others wasn't a problem, but when in a real battle, where messing up and hesitating could mean certain death, that is something that couldn't be tolerated.
However, this wasn't something huge at the moment, she will just have to learn how to be a true Shinobi as she goes on.
Hinata threw a palm aiming for Kakashi's head, the Jonin parried the Attack with his free hand and jammed his knee right into Hinata's stomach, knocking the wind out of the girl as she tried her best not to salivate, letting out a whimper as she stepped backwards, clutching her stomach as she dropped to the ground on her knees, breathing heavily.
Had this been a real fight, Kakashi's attack would have been nothing to a high-level Jonin like himself, but Hinata was a fresh Genin, so it was no surprise that she felt quite a bit of pain from that knee.
"Not bad, but you really need to choose a better time of when to help your teammate. What you did there only hindered the team. Not only were you too late to help Naruto, but you revealed yourself and you're now in this situation." Kakashi lectured the lavender-eyed kunoichi.
Suddenly, two shuriken whizzed right out of the lake, going right for Kakashi, who lifted his free hand in skillfully slid the two shurikens into his pointer and middle fingers using the hole that the throwing stars had in the middle. It was just big enough for Kakashi to fit his finger. The shuriken kept on spinning, eventually coming to halt and sliding down Kakashi's finger, stopping at his knuckles with a slight tilt.
Once again, Hinata was impressed by Kakashi's skill with catching shuriken in motion.
Out of the lake came a soaking wet Naruto, who was taking what little time had to catch his breath. Kakashi turned his attention to him, as Hinata was too winded to do anything.
"What's the matter? You won't get any lunch if you don't get a bell by noon." Kakashi reminded Naruto, who rose his head and looked at the Jonin with a frustrated look.
"I already know that!"
"You said you're going to become Hokage and surpass the previous ones, but your actions say otherwise."
As if on cue with Kakashi's statements, the stomachs of the three Genin let out a hungry growl. The growl of their stomachs made Naruto even more frustrated, Hinata more panicked than she already was, and the growl even made Sasuke slightly flustered.
"I was just off guard a while ago!" Naruto complained to Kakashi, who paid him no heed and was walking away at a slow pace. Naruto lowered his voice. "Damn, I need to get one to those bells...there is no way I can fail at a place like this!"
"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata stuttered after her ears picked up Naruto's quiet words. If one were to pay attention, they would notice that there was a slight movement in the water of the lake that was behind Naruto.
"I swear, I'm going to become a ninja!" Naruto declared as launching right out of the lake was 7 other Narutos.
"There are...7 Naruto-kuns!" Hinata counted as she smiled. He was so amazing!
"How about this?! This is my ultimate technique! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)!" Naruto announced.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?" Sasuke repeated in an interested tone. The dead last of their class could use a Jutsu like that?
And from the looks of it, those clones are just mere images to fake out the opponent. It seems like those clones can actually interact with the environment. They're actually real! In fact, I can't even tell which one is the real one, even with my Byakugan! Hinata noted, watching all of the Naruto clones rush towards the Jonin.
"Very impressive for a Genin to be able to use a technique like that, but as you are now, that technique won't be able to beat me." Kakashi said. He felt the bells at his side jingle, followed by a pair of arms wrapping around his stomach. "What?! From behind?!"
Kakashi turned his head to see that the owner of the hands was Naruto, who was grinning widely.
"Amazing, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled as she kept her distance from the fight, not wanting to get in the way.
"You said that a ninja shouldn't let an enemy get behind him, didn't you, Kakashi-sensei?" As Naruto spoken the other Naruto clones dispersed, three clones going to one of Kakashi's legs and restraining him. However, there was one Naruto left, and that one leaped into the air, preparing a punch.
"I'm going to pay you back for that attack on my butt!" Naruto declared as he unleashed his punch. Hinata was gloating inwardly about how cool Naruto was, and even Sasuke had admitted to himself that what Naruto had just pulled wasn't a bad stunt…
That's what he thought until his eyes viewed what happened next.
Instead of Naruto's fist meeting with Kakashi, it was met with another Naruto, who had his eyes white with shock. The Naruto who was punched fel to the ground, taking the Naruto restraining him down also.
"You…" The Naruto that punched whispered, before pointing his finger accusingly at the now downed Naruto. "You must be Kakashi-sensei! You transformed in order to make me think that I punched one of my clones, didn't you!"
A large fight ensued between all of the Naruto's, until eventually, after a massive beating, the real Naruto dispelled the Jutsu.
"That was the Kamawiri no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu), dumbass." Sasuke muttered under his breath, his opinion on Naruto immediately returning to normal.
Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw a bright sparkle. He turned his head, to see one of Kakashi's bells lying on the ground. At the sight of this, Naruto let out a wide smile.
"He must've dropped his bell in all of the commotion!" Naruto laughed as he ran over to pick up the bell.
Thanks to her Byakugan, Hinata was able to see what Naruto was doing, and while she was glad a bell was on the ground, it just seemed to be too easy. That and, the sight of a hidden Kakashi nearby all but confirmed her worries.
"Naruto-kun! It's a trap!" Hinata exclaimed, she could tell by Naruto's body movements that he was about to stop, but it was too late, Naruto's foot was immediately caught in a rope and he soon found himself hanging upside down from a tree.
"Use your techniques after thinking things carefully." The voice of Kakashi was heard as he reached down to pick up the bell. "That's why it was used to your disadvantage. That, and…" Creepy eye smile from Kakashi, "If a trap is obvious, don't fall for it, stupid."
A tic mark grew on Naruto's head as he struggled to free himself from the trap.
"A ninja must see through deception." Kakashi lectured, only to be met with Naruto complaining about he already knew. "I'm telling you this because you don't know. You think you get it, but you don't."
As Kakashi continued his lecture, Hinata pondered on whether she should hel Naruto or not. Eventually, she decided it wasn't a good idea. As the results from before clearly proved that Hinata would get her assed kicked by Kakashi. The only chance she had was if Sasuke worked togeth-
Wait, that must be it! Hinata gasped out of realization.
Out of nowhere, a multitude of shuriken and kunai knives flew out of the area where Sasuke was hiding, and they were setting their sights on Kakashi.
He had let his guard down lecturing Naruto, now was the best chance to strike!
To Naruto and Hinata's surprise, the shuriken actually hit the Jonin, and the display on his impaled body was gruesome to say the least.
"Sasuke really overdid it…" Naruto murmured with wide eyes.
Although Sasuke's sneak attack was executed very well, it still wasn't enough.
The body of Kakashi poofed and out of a white cloud of smoke was a log, which had Sasuke's knives and shuriken heavily engraved upon it.
Damn it! Sasuke inwardly cursed as he ran away from his hiding spot. He definitely knows my location just from that attack!
Hinata began to run from her location, trying to get to Naruto as fast as she possibly could. Before running, she had double checked to make sure she couldn't see a Kakashi anywhere with her Byakugan.
Meanwhile, Naruto had cut himself down, declaring that he wouldn't fall for Kakashi's traps again, only for the trap to ensnare in its clutches as he took too long to move. Naruto noticed Hinata running towards him and let out a wide smile.
"Hinata! Are you here to free me?!"
"Y-Yes…" Hinata spoke meekly, as she took out a single shuriken, throwing it at the rope, causing Naruto to drop to the ground with a yell. After making sure Naruto wouldn't get caught in the trap again, she asked, "A-Are you okay?"
Naruto looked at her face and gave a foxlike grin. "Yeah, thanks." He stood up and punched his right palm. "I need to get a bell! I can't let Sasuke outdo me!"
"Umm...N-Naruto-kun?"
"Hmm?"
"I-I was just w-wondering...maybe this test isn't about getting the b-bells." Hinata proposed.
"What? What are you talking about? Kakashi-sensei specifically told us to snatch the bells from him! Were you even listening, Hinata?" Naruto asked the shy and timid girl.
Hinata's face turned red at Naruto's accusation. He could be right, there was a possibility that she was wrong. But she just had this gut feeling…
"Y-Yes, I was…" Hinata began to play with her fingers as she looked down at the ground so Naruto couldn't see her blush. "B-But maybe h-he said that to deceive us. A-After all, he said to you that a ninja must be able to see through deception."
Naruto thought about her words for a bit. In hindsight, it made sense. Now that he thought about, he had never heard of a two-man cell before. Even he knew that despite not even knowing many three-man cells.
And judging from who Kakashi is, it made perfect sense for the test to be something that they weren't expecting. But then again…
"How do I know you're not trying to deceive me!?" Naruto spoke in a low, and slightly harsh voice.
Hinata froze, with the way she worded that, it was very possible for it to be mistaken for deception. But could she convince Naruto that it wasn't a way to deceive him.
"N-Naruto-kun...I'm not trying to deceive you. That…is also one of the things I don't like…deceiving people." Hinata said with a frown on her face, sad at the fact that Naruto would accuse her of deception.
Naruto looked at the gloomy expression on Hinata's face. Frankly, whenever Naruto would see her face, it's one of the two most common facial expressions he sees, that and one of embarrassment.
And now that he thought about it, Hinata didn't seem like the type of person to do that kind of thing, to deceive people.
"Alright, what do you suggest we do?"
Meanwhile
"I'm not like those two, the Hyuga and the dobe." Sasuke Uchiha retorted.
"Say that after you get a bell from me, Sasuke-kun." Kakashi replied as he walked out from the side of the tree, reading his Icha Icha book.
The two shared a stare down between each other, waiting for the other to make the move. Eventually, the wait would be too much for one of them to handle, and one of them would break apart and attack first.
That person just so happened to be Sasuke.
The last Uchiha released some shuriken in Kakashi's direction, who easily hopped to the side to avoid them as the sound of the shuriken whizzing by rang through his left ear and out his right.
Sasuke then took out a kunai knife and threw it towards a rope, slicing it into two, unleashing the surprise Sasuke had in store for Kakashi.
"A trap!" Kakashi realized once he saw Sasuke's target, once again diving to the side to avoid multiple kunai knives which were launched at him thanks to the rope being cut. Kakashi skidded to a halt, where Sasuke was right behind him, reading a kick. "What?!"
A loud sound could be heard through the first as Kakashi blocked Sasuke's flying side kick. With superb reaction time, Kakashi grasper Sasuke's foot, but he threw a hand in front of his face in order to stop a cross from Sasuke, who then followed up with a kick to the top of Kakashi's head, who also blocked it with his arm. Sasuke smirked
Now was his chance.
Sasuke threw out his remaining hand, aiming to grab at least one of the bells. Unfortunately for Sasuke, Kakashi had let go and jerked his body backwards, making it so Sasuke's middle finger barely grazed the bell.
What a guy. I didn't even get time to read Icha Icha Paradise. Kakashi thought to himself impressed, as no Genin had been able to fight him without him holding back to the point where he restrained himself with no sight and one arm because of reading Icha Icha Paradise.
"Well, I'll admit, you are certainly different from the other two." Kakashi complimented, for what it was worth. Apparently nothing to Sasuke, who formed multiple hand signs ending with the horse sign, and then tiger as he brought his hands to his face, taking a deep breath as he did so.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)!"
"What?! A Genin shouldn't be able to do a technique like that, it requires too much chakra!" Kakashi exclaimed out of surprise.
Sasuke exhaled and out of his mouth came a ball of fire which scorched the area Kakashi was standing in, and Kakashi with it. Or so Sasuke thought, as when the fire dissipated, Kakashi was no longer there. Even if he got hit, the fire should leave a scorched Kakashi behind, so where was he?
"Behind? Above? Where is he?" Sasuke looked from left to right, in front of him, behind him, and finally above, but the one place he didn't look was…
"Beneath you!" Out of the ground, Kakashi's hand bursted out and grabbed Sasuke by the ankle, causing the Uchiha to gasp out of shock.
"Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu)!"
The next thing Sasuke knew, his mouth was wide open, a scream flying out for the world to hear as the lone survivor of the Uchiha clan was dragged down into the ground.
Later
"Damn it! Where could that lazy sensei be?!" Naruto shouted loudly, causing Hinata to flinch slightly as they ran throughout the forest, looking for Kakashi.
"Wait a minute, Naruto-kun, I can see Sasuke-kun in the ground." Hinata spoke suddenly, and with no stutter at that.
"What? How do you know? I don't see him anywhere!" Naruto began to think that Hinata was crazy.
"I can see him thanks to my Byakugan." Hinata revealed to Naruto.
"Byaku-what?"
"It doesn't matter at the moment." Hinata shoved the topic aside as she picked up the pace to get to Sasuke. If they wanted to complete this test, they had to do it as a team.
Eventually, they managed to make to Sasuke, with Naruto immediately laughing his ass off after seeing Sasuke's situation.
"Something funny, dobe?" Sasuke asked, irritated that the dead last was laughing at him when he was poked in the butt and blown away, and then wasted a good opportunity to get a bell just to get a punch in on the Jonin.
"Yeah, you." Naruto grinned, happy that for once the great Sasuke Uchiha wasn't winning at something.
"Well, can you help me out here?" Sasuke grew more annoyed as time went on. They were wasting time here! If things kept going on like this, he would never be able to get a bell, and then he would be held back, all because of these two losers!
"Hmm...let me think about that, no!" Naruto shook his head vigorously, choosing to savor this moment for the rest of his life.
"You…" Sasuke growled out of anger, but he calmed down when he noticed Hinata walking towards him.
"Naruto-kun, please come and help me get Sasuke-kun." Hinata pleaded with the boy to put his grudge against Sasuke to the side just for once.
After getting Sasuke out, the Uchiha immediately began to run off, without even thanking Naruto and Hinata.
"Wait, Sasuke-kun!" Hinata called to the boy.
"What do you want, Hyuga?!" Sasuke snapped. Hinata noticeably flinched at Sasuke's response and creeped back into her shell.
"Oi, bastard! She was trying to suggest a plan to help out all of us! She was going to suggest working as a team so we can get the bells together!" Naruto informed Sasuke, who merely scoffed at the idea.
"Us? Work as a team? Please, you two would only hold me back! Naruto, you're only good aspect is that Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and even then you suck at using it! Hinata's too soft for her own good! She shouldn't be a ninja!" Hinata's eyes began to water at Sasuke's last declaration, after hearing that from many other people in the past.
"Alright, that's it!" Naruto stepped forward and grabbed Sasuke's collar. "What's your problem, Mr. Rookie of the Year?!"
"My problem is you two! You're defending a weakling who can't defend herself and would only let her emotions get in the way! As I've said before, she's too soft! Such kindness will not last in the Shinobi world! What have you guys done to even attempt to get a bell?!" Sasuke questioned as he grabbed Naruto's collar.
"Guys...please, stop fighting…" Hinata pleaded, but her pleads were not answered.
"What were we doing?! What were you doing!? You could have thrown those shuriken earlier, but NO, you just sat there like a pussy!"
"I was waiting for an opening, unlike you! And for your information, I actually managed to touch one of the bells, alone! Hinata tried to help you but all she got in return was our sensei shoving his knee into her stomach!" Sasuke continued to argue as both him and Naruto were gritting their teeth so hard that they looked like they could pop out of their mouths at any moment.
And meanwhile, Hinata was blaming this entire thing on herself. They were only fighting because of her. If it weren't for how weak she was, Sasuke wouldn't have insulted her, and then Naruto wouldn't have retaliated, which wouldn't have led to this argument.
No matter how hard she tried, she always ended up being a burden! If only she were stronger! If only-
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!
The three Genin froze, with Naruto and Sasuke loosening their grips on each other's collars.
It was noon.
And the test was over…
They had failed…
Sasuke retracted his hand and turned away, cursing under his breath as he walked away.
Naruto widened his eyes as an image spouted in his mind. He saw Kakashi sitting on top of a black stone, before smacking Naruto in the face, there was nothing after that.
The problem is.
He had sent a Kage Bunshin towards the stone.
Later
Sasuke and Hinata found themselves sitting down on the ground, with Naruto next to them tied to a stump, with their stomachs growling irritably. Kakashi was right in front of them.
"Uh oh, stomachs growling, eh? Oh yeah, about the results of the training, I'd decided that none of you guys will return to the Ninja Academy." Kakashi told the Genin.
Naruto had a confused look, until a smile creeped on his face as he shouted, "ALRIGHT! Then that means…"
A smile inched up on Hinata's face. That means…
Naruto flailed his legs around his celebration. "That the three of us…"
Sasuke smirked to himself, but he kept his head down so the others couldn't see.
"Yes, the three of you…" Kakashi's voice then turned into a menacing tone, "Are permanently being dropped out of the program!"
The Genin froze, with Naruto gaping, Hinata frowning, and Sasuke scowling.
"Dropped from the program?! We couldn't get a bell, but why are we being dropped from the program?!" Naruto shut his eyes at he shouted, awaiting for an answer badly. But it wasn't one that he wanted to hear…
"It's because you three are merely just kids who don't even deserve to become a ninja." Kakashi told the three harshly.
"Tch!" Grunted Sasuke as he rose from his spot and began to angrily rush towards Kakashi, surprising both Naruto and Hinata. Unfortunately for Sasuke, the rush wasn't good, and he found himself pinned to the ground with Kakashi sitting on top of him, gripping his left arm tightly and holding down his head with his right foot.
"Do you guys think being a ninja is easy? Well, I can answer that, you think it's just some game!" Kakashi rose his voice a couple of notches to further emphasize the point. "Why do you think we're training in squads? The answer of this test lies in the fact there is 3 groups!"
"Umm...sensei, w-would the a-answer to the test be...t-teamwork?" Hinata asked, wanting to know if her theory was correct.
"Oh look here, the shy and timid one is the only one with a brain! You see, Hinata is the only one here who knew the answer to the test! If all three of you came at me at once, maybe you could have gotten a bell from me."
"But w-why is there only two bells?" Hinata inquired.
"And there is the extent of your brain. The test tries to put you three against each other due to the fact that there is only two bells. That was the true purpose, to see if you would put teamwork above yourself. Hinata!"
The girl rose her head at the call of her name, she looked a Kakashi straight in the eye.
"You were the only one who found out the true purpose of the test. Good job." Kakashi congratulated. "It's such a shame that you were placed on a team with these two. Naruto!"
The blonde closed his eyes, waiting to listen for his problems.
"All you did for most of the test was work on your own! And when Hinata approached you about the idea of teamwork, you probably thought that she was trying to deceive you, am I right?" Naruto gasped, how could he have known about that conversation! He was busy fighting Sasuke, wasn't he? "Trust is a crucial part of teamwork. If there is no trust between the members of a group, there is no teamwork! And you!"
Kakashi put even more pressure on Sasuke's heads causing the boy to wince as he glared at the Jonin the best he could.
"You had thought that the other two were so far beneath you and you rejected them, and worked on your own completely! Naruto had at least agreed to the aspect of teamwork!" Sasuke growled at the prospect of being compared to Naruto, the dead last.
"Missions are almost always done in groups. It's true that ninjas need well-developed individual skills. However, it's teamwork that is much more important. Having something that disrupts teamwork will result in danger or even a fatality in the team! For example…"
Kakashi quickly pulled out a kunai and aimed it at Sasuke's neck.
"Naruto! Kill Hinata, or Sasuke will die!" Kakashi's voice sounded so convincing that Hinata gasped out of fear while Naruto looked at Sasuke and then at Hinata, back and forth. He hated Sasuke, but he just couldn't let someone die knowing that he could have helped someone.
But he didn't want to kill Hinata! The last thing he wants is the cold blood of a comrade on his hands.
"That is exactly what could happen in a real situation."
Naruto let out a sigh of relief after hearing that Kakashi wasn't serious.
"In a mission, you must be ready to put your life on the line." Kakashi got off Sasuke and walked over to a black stone nearby, which had multiple names engraved upon it. "See these names? All these names are those praised as heroes in this village."
"I like that! I like that! I've decided that I'm going to have my own name carved into that! A hero! A hero! I'm not going to die a useless death!" Naruto laughed as Sasuke rose to his feet and walked back to the logs.
"These people aren't normal heroes." Kakashi started, pausing for a bit, making Naruto impatient. "The people engraved on this stone have been K.I.A."
Hinata gasped out of horror.
"K.I.A?" Naruto questioned.
"Naruto-kun...t-that stands for killed in action." Hinata informed the boy, who stopped dead in his tracks. The grin on his face lingered, before disappearing completely, looking off to the side.
"The names of my friends are carved in here as well." Kakashi revealed.
Naruto frowned. God damn it, now he felt guilty for even mentioning that he wanted to be on the stone! Mentioning that might have brought back some painful memories for Kakashi.
Kakashi turned back towards the Genin. "You know what, I'll give you one more chance. However, the battle for the bell will be much harsher after lunch. Eat lunch only if you are up to the challenge. However, Naruto isn't allowed to eat."
"WHAAAAAT?!" Naruto shrieked as his stomach growled.
"This is punishment for that stunt you tried to pull. You sent a Kage Bunshin to try and eat lunch early. This is punishment for breaking the rule."
Naruto cringed. The jig was up, he had a bad feeling when that weird thing happened with that image of Kakashi. It was the memory of his Bunshin before it went poof. He was going to have to experiment with that later, if he got through this test without starving that is.
"If one of you two feed him, the person will immediately fail! I make the rules. I am the rule. And you, follow the rules. Got it?"
And with that, Kakashi had left.
Hinata and Sasuke grabbed their bentos and opened it up. Naruto drooled at the sight of the food. Sasuke began to eat slowly, while Hinata just sat there as she heard Naruto's stomach.
Sasuke heard Hinata utter something, it sounded like 'Byakuga' or 'Bakugan'.
He then realized what she was doing when he saw the veins sprout around her eyes, she was scouting for Kakashi, making sure that he wasn't there so she could…
"Here, Naruto-kun." Hinata lifted her bento up to the blonde.
"No." The raven-haired Uchiha said as he held up his own bento to Naruto. This caught both of them off guard to the point where Hinata actually deactivated her Byakugan.
"I'm the strongest out of all of us. Hunger won't affect me as bad as you, Naruto. We need to do this as a team. He will only be a hindrance if he is hungry." Sasuke explained his reasoning.
"Naruto-kun, please have mine. I eat less than both you and Sasuke-kun. I'm not very hungry anyway." Hinata lied slightly. She was a little hungry, but the entire day has made her lose her appetite for the most part. "So please, don't worry about me."
Plus, there's no cinnamon rolls in these bentos...
"Thank you, Hinata. I appreciate it...but…" Naruto moved his hand to get the point across that in his current position, Naruto couldn't do anything.
Hinata blushed heavily due to the fact that she would have to feed Naruto. Inside her mind, angels were flying off to heaven, chanting, "I get to feed Naruto-kun. I get to feed Naruto-kun."
"V-Very well…" Hinata submitted as she, with her now trembling hand, grabbed a rice ball with her chopsticks, and moved it up to Naruto's face, her heart beating to the point where she could feel it. The tingle of red Hinata had would not disappear. Thankfully, Naruto had his eyes closed as he opened his mouth, so he didn't see the blush. Sasuke, on the other hand, was watching the entire scene go down.
Naruto munched down on the rice ball as he chewed loudly, Hinata quickly faced the other way and let out a sigh of relief. Good, she succeeded...for now.
Suddenly, the wind's currents lashed out at the three Genin, although it was barely even feelable just a second ago. Out of a white cloud, came Kakashi's pissed off face.
"YOU THREE!"
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed out of terror, as he couldn't move anywhere. Hinata and Sasuke covered their faces to protect themselves against the harsh currents of the wind lashing out at them.
Kakashi's eye twitched at the speed of light. It was that fast.
"You three broke the rule. Are you prepared for the punishment?" Kakashi formed multiple hand signs as stormy clouds began to form in the area. The thundering booms of a thunderstorm releasing their anger at the three Genin. "Any last words?"
"But...but...but...you said…" Naruto trembled, his lips trembling.
"Yes?"
"You said that we're three of us, and that's why Hinata and…" Naruto trailed off as he looked at the Uchiha for backup.
"We're a three man cell, we're all in it together!" Sasuke surprisingly stated.
"He's right! We're not going to leave one another behind! Because the three of us are one!" Hinata followed with determination burning in her pupiless eyes.
"Right! Right! Right! Right, ya know!" Naruto bellowed.
"For breaking the rules...that is your excuse?!" Kakashi leaned close to the Genin with a menacing glare.
Suddenly, a smile appeared on the Jonin's face.
"You pass." Kakashi stated.
The three Genin merely stared at him as if he was a weirdo. This guy was just saying something about punishing them and now he's passing them?!
"What?" Naruto mumbled.
"YOU. PASS." Kakashi emphasized the two words by spacing them out. "Congrats, you three are the first to succeed! People I had previously, were blockheads who just listened to what I said. A ninja must see through deception."
"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true. But, those who abandon even one of their comrades...are worse than scum." Kakashi quoted the words of his late friend Obito Uchiha, the one who changed his outlook on the rules of Shinobi forever.
Tears began to flow into Naruto's eyes as he admitted that, "He's...He's kind of cool."
Kakashi gave a thumbs up to the new official team.
"The training ends here! All of you pass! Team 7 will start doing missions starting tomorrow!"
That seems to be it. Next chapter, we start the Land of Waves arc.
I know that I am basically dragging off of canon, which can sometimes be a good thing or a bad thing. But this is the bell test, there is literally at least a couple hundreds of versions of the bell test on this fandom!
And really, the only significance the bell test has was to teach Team 7 the lesson of teamwork, how strong a Jonin sensei is, and how far the power gap between them and the average Genin is.
Well, there's not much to say here. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.
Later!