Team Seven was at Training Ground Seven waiting for Kakashi to show up. Actually, they had been waiting since sunrise, and their sensei had yet to show up. All of them were irritated for their own reasons. Naruto and Sakura weren't exactly the most patient people, and Sasuke didn't like staying out in the daylight too much. Sure, he was in the shade now, but the light was still a bit too bright for his preference.
"Where the heck is he?" Naruto groaned with a bit of a growl to his voice. He was so hungry, he had filled his pockets with a few power-bars he stashed in his room this morning before he left, but Kushina had checked his pockets and then flicked him on the head before sending him on his way.
"If he's not here in two minutes, I'm screaming for him." Sakura stated, taking in a deep breath to emphasize her point
'Please Kakashi for the love of Kami-sama show up NOW!' Naruto and Sasuke both thought.
In about seven seconds Kakashi arrived. "Sorry I'm late gang. My meeting with Hokage-sama took longer than expected."
"Liar." Sakura said.
Kakashi handed her an envelop. "Here, she asked me to give this to you if you had a problem with my timing."
Sakura opened it and her two teammates came over to read it while she read it out loud. While she read it Kakashi placed a timer on top a training post. "Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, if Kakashi continues to be late on a regular basis for team meetings please remind him he doesn't have to be changed into a demon to become a cyclops. Signed, Mito Kajotenpi."
Kakashi was worried but barely showed it. "Never mind that. It's time to see if you three have the practical skills to be genin. I'm not going to lie, the success rate is low even for humans. I myself have already failed three teams because they weren't ready for this line of work despite their good grades. And I'm not going to just let you pass because of your families. I'm not testing your parents, I'm testing the three of you. You ready for this?"
"Ready as we'll ever be." Sakura said, pumping her left arm to emphasize her enthusiasm.
"Okay then, here's what you must do to convince me you're good enough for this." Kakashi started, then put his hand in his pocket and pulled out three things like looked like black rectangles. "These are mere ordinary plastic strips. However, your entire chance of passing depends on these."
Kakashi already knew that the standard bell test would not have worked against these three, so he had to come up with something more appropriate but just as effective for them. Hopefully this test would work.
"Each of you take one of these." He held out the black slips and each genin took one. "Now, here's how the test will work. Once I set the timer, you have one hour to keep these slips. I will spend that hour trying to take them back from each of you. If I succeed and there's still time left on the clock, you may try to take the slip back from me. But those of you who do not have one of these black slips in your hand when the timer reaches zero will fail and be sent back to the academy for additional training. Understand?"
"Not really. How do we become a team if there's no guarantee we all can pass?" Naruto asked.
"You'll have to find that out after the test. Also I should tell you that I had a rather large breakfast so I have plenty of energy."
All three of them stared at Kakashi with a mix and horror, surprise, and anger. "WHAT?" They said in perfect unison.
Kakashi looked at them with slight confusion. "I was hungry. What, did you three not eat?"
"No, you told us we couldn't." Sasuke snarled.
Kakashi laughed. "And you actually listened to that? You should have known breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It gives you energy and helps you think better."
"But but but-" Naruto said
Kakashi simply shook his head. "Your chances of passing this exam have just gone down a few more notches. Now, I will be nice and give the three of you a five minute head start to get away from me. You may begin..." He then hit the timer. "Now!"
As expected, the three genin-hopefuls ran off, but in separate directions. "I just hope they see the test's true purpose is. I'd hate to fail Sensei's son, Obito's relative, and the Voice Heard Around the World."
What Kakashi didn't know was that the separation was a decoy to make him think he had to spread out to find them all. The three quickly reunited in the canopy of the forest around them.
"Anyone know what to do here?" Naruto asked.
"I'm not sure. We can't outrun and avoid a jounin forever." Sakura said. "I mean, I might be able to, but I'm certain he's prepared for my tricks."
"Sakura, if we lose any of our plastic things, we're going to rely on you to sneak up to him and take them back. You're our best chance." Sasuke told her.
She nodded. "Can do. But how to we stop him from taking them in the first place?"
"Mom once said you can't hit a moving target. Let's try that." Naruto suggested.
"Care to be more specific?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto nodded and quietly whispered his idea.
Sakura smiled. "That could work."
"But not for long." Sasuke told him.
"It doesn't have to. It just has to work long enough." Naruto replied.
Kakashi's five minute delay ended and he started looking around the area. 'I'm limiting myself to just taijutsu here unless they get violent. That should be enough to lure them into a false sense of security.'
All of a sudden, Naruto appeared from behind a tree, arms crossed. "Hey Kakashi-sensei! I dare you to fight me yourself!"
'What is he thinking?' The jounin asked. "Naruto, shouldn't you be working on a plan of attack?"
"I have a plan. Attack!" He said before rushing towards the silver-haired adult.
'I taught him better than this. He must be up to something.' Kakashi thought before throwing a kunai that forced Naruto to stop in his tracks. "Looks like you need a lesson. Ninja Skill Number One, Taijutsu. Hand to hand combat." He reached into his supply pouch as if to pull out a weapon, but instead he pulled out Icha Icha Paradise.
"What the...? You brought that here?" Naruto asked, pointing at the book.
"What's wrong? Can't fight someone with a book in their hands?" Kakashi taunted.
"But why do you have it in the first place?"
"Why? Because I like the storyline and want to see what happens. It's not my fault you three are giving me time to do so." He answered, keeping his eye on the page the entire time.
Angered, Naruto pulled back his sleeves. "I'm gonna beat you to a pulp!" He again charged forward. He jumped and tried to land a punch, but Kakashi blocked and held his fist with his free hand, still reading the book the entire time. The whiskered blonde tried to continue the attack with a kick, but Kakashi ducked and let go of Naruto, resulting in him falling on his back.
Naruto got back up and tried again. This time Kakashi jumped up and above Naruto faster than the kitsune could track. He landed right behind his student. "Ninja should avoid getting caught from behind." Kakashi noted, then formed what looked like a tiger sign. "Thousand Years of Death."
Naruto surprised him by turning around at that moment, and it was too late for them both to stop what they were doing. As a result, Kakashi's attack hit Naruto in his frontside, not backside.
Nevertheless, Naruto went flying and screaming in pain, only he grabbed his crotch instead of his ass, then dispelled into smoke.
'A clone? I'm not too surprised. But the real one is going to be mad now.' Kakashi thought.
Suddenly Naruto, the real one, curled on himself wincing in phantom pain. Sakura was immediately at his side. "What's wrong Naruto?"
The kitsune frowned. "Okay, now it's personal."
"What did he do?"
"He... almost gave my clone a vasectomy."
Sakura gasped then frowned too. "My turn."
"No, stick to the plan."
The gray-tinted pinkette shook her head. "My turn." She repeated with more force.
Kakashi was still in the open standing seemingly defenseless and reading his adult literature. As soon as he turned his page he had to catch two shuriken coming at him simultaneously from opposing directions.
"Carelessness will be your worst enemy." He casually mentioned loud enough to be heard by his unseen audience.
From the river exploded a cluster of Naruto clones Kakashi wasn't even aware of until they appeared. He showed no fear or intimidation though; he just stood there waiting for them to come at him.
Then he felt someone grab him from behind. "What the-?" He saw Sakura had managed to get a grip on him that would have knocked him down had she not been so much lighter than him.
"Want to know what my voice can do at point-blank range?" She threatened.
One of the Naruto's jumped up to punch the distracted jounin right in the face, but suddenly Kakashi disappeared and was replaced with another Naruto who took the hit.
"What the...?" Some clones asked.
Sakura let go of Naruto. "He substituted to get away." She then frowned. "Using your student to take a hit for you. I'm definitely giving him a mouthful."
The clones all dispelled, revealing that the Naruto who took the hit was the real one. "He either knew which was me or got lucky with that one. Wait, where's Sasuke?"
Sasuke was hiding in the shade of the foliage when he felt a presence behind him.
"So why are you the one hiding? Too cowardly?" Kakashi asked.
Sasuke turned around. "Just being wise. I'd be an idiot to run around in daylight so carelessly."
Kakashi smirked. "Smart, but your plan was a bit obvious. Naruto and Sakura create a distraction in one area while you hide in the other direction, thus keeping my attention away from you. Meaning you must be holding all of the black strips."
Sasuke responded by throwing three kunai and shuriken, and it looked like they hit Kakashi before he could dodge at this short distance. The body hit the ground but Sasuke still frowned. "Okay, where's the real you?"
The fallen Kakashi faded away, and behind Sasuke he could be seen leaning against a tree still reading his book. "Ninja Skill Number Two, Genjutsu. Illusions and diversions. How did you know that was one?"
"You made it bleed, but there was no scent of blood."
"Drat, can't trick a vampire when it comes to blood. But now I know where you are." Kakashi said before he dispelled into smoke.
'Crap, he used a shadow clone. I better get to the others and strategize something else.' Sasuke thought.
As soon as he got out of the canopy, he heard something he dreaded.
"Water Style Water Bullet Jutsu."
Several but no more than ten orbs of water shot out at Sasuke from below, leaving him unable to dodge. Being a vampire, the water attack did a lot more damage to him then normal and he fell on his face, his body feeling like he was hit with novocaine instead.
"Ninja Skill Number Three, Ninjutsu. Chakra manipulation in order to create a physical effect. Use the right way and even a weak one can become lethal. Like right now." Kakashi casually said as he strolled up the the downed Uchiha. He knelt down and checked his pockets. "So I was right, you were given all three while your teammates kept me from you. Too bad they're mine again."
Sasuke growled but he could still barely move. "They will take them back."
Kakashi did not react. Instead he moved the boy back into the shade. "Just rest there while I go test the other two further."
He then jumped away. Once he was gone Sasuke smiled. "He fell for it."
Kakashi was walking thru the forest looking for his other students while expecting another amateur trick. All of a sudden Sakura appeared out of thin air like the spiritual entity she was.
"Well, you gonna do what Naruto did in the beginning?" He asked.
"Sort of." She answered with a shrug.
Kakashi held out all three black strips. "You do realize your chances of success are all but gone now. You should focus on getting these back."
Sakura smiled. "I would, if those were the real ones."
"What?" Kakashi asked.
"Boom." Sakura added.
Suddenly two of the three black strips in Kakashi's hand exploded in black dye, stinging his hand greatly though. 'I can't believe it. Sasuke was a decoy.' He scolded himself.
"Nice trick Sakura, but not nice enough." He told her.
"Say that after you beat me." She said, turning see-through so none of his attacks could affect her.
"I don't need to attack you to hurt you." Kakashi said before disappearing.
"Huh?" Sakura asked, then saw a whirlwind of leaves around her. "Is he trying to trap me or something?"
"Sakura?" Naruto's voice could be heard. She turned and saw him barely able to stand because his body was riddled with kunais and shurikens with his left leg clearly broken. "H-help... me..." He said before collapsing.
Sakura froze, then shed a tear, then screamed in horror.
Virtually all of Konoha heard that scream. A couple of windows shattered, dogs and hellhounds howled, birds fled in a panic, and even one coma patient woke up.
Kakashi waited until the tree branch he was perched on stopped trembling before he uncovered his ears. "Maybe I went a bit too far."
"A bit too far?" Naruto asked from the next tree, surprising the jounin. "Just be glad she's the only banshee we have here in Konoha."
"It's pointless to fight me Naruto. I know all your skills and I've already got Sasuke's black strip." He held out the one black piece of plastic that didn't explode. "You can only delay me, not stop me."
"Good enough for me. There's less than half an hour left to win this thing anyway."
"You think you can delay me that long?" Kakashi asked.
Rather than speak, Naruto grabbed four shuriken and threw them at the jounin.
Kakashi easily jumped away. "Such obvious attacks are pointless." Naruto just smiled and pointed to one of the shuriken, which had severed a previously unseen rope. 'A trap?' Right then a cluster of hidden knives sprang out of a bush right at Kakashi. He narrowly dodged them but two did leave cuts on his right sleeve and right pant leg.
Once Kakashi landed a clone of Naruto appeared behind him ready to kick his blind spot. The jounin just barely managed to block with his left forearm. With his right hand he grabbed Naruto's shin but Naruto followed with a punch that Kakashi also grabbed with his left hand. Twisting himself carefully, Naruto tried to use his free leg to kick Kakashi, who moved his left arm to block.
"You can't beat me like this Naruto."
"No, but now your hands are full."
Kakashi heard approaching footsteps. 'Crap, there's another one.' All he could do was pivot on his right foot and swing his left foot to keep the first Naruto from attacking. The one in his grasp dispelled, leaving just the one who got kicked.
"I admit, you're a tricky one. But are you good enough to give Sasuke his chance to pass back?" Kakashi taunted, waving the stolen black strip again.
"You bet I am!" Naruto tried a set of hand signs. "Fire Style Foxfire Inferno Jutsu." He exhaled a ball of fire that closely resembled an Uchiha Fireball Jutsu, but was colored light blue instead of bright red-yellow.
When the fire cleared Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. "So where did he dodge that one to?" Naruto asked.
"Below you." Kakashi's voice was heard. Naruto looked down and saw the jounin's hand emerge and grab his calf. "Earth Style Headhunter Jutsu."
Next thing Naruto knew, his entire body save for his neck and up were underground, while Kakashi crouched in front of him waving the black strip he got from Naruto in the process.
"Two down, one to go." He reminded his student before disappearing.
Mito Kajotenpi sat at her desk in the Hokage tower, dressed in the outfit of her station, she looked every inch the Kage of the Konoha she was. Even if technically she was mostly a mask for the true Hokage.
Normally she would be going over the enormous amount of paperwork that came with her title. Mission requests from various smaller villages, which she sorted based on their need, urgency, and how much money was offered.
She had letters from the Fire Daimyo, which contained his ideas for improving life in the Land of Fire. His requests were that Konoha seek better relations with the Land of Wind, and his desire to come down and inspect the newest generation of genin. Mito had nothing against the Fire Daimyo personally. He was a kind man and very fair to Konoha, especially on its yearly budget. But the man had a fickle and indecisive nature and was easily swayed in his decisions through biases as well as external influences.
Then there were reports that she had to look over from completed missions, going over every single little detail on what happened. Evaluations for promotion, permits, requests for treaties, and the plans for hosting the Chūnin Exams in Konoha this year. So much to do.
But at the moment in a moment of nostalgia, what she was looking at were old letters from the other Kages, congratulating her being on being named Hokage years ago.
There were five Kages, each one of them considered to be among the most powerful ninjas in the entire world. Answerable to none but perhaps the Daimyos. They were charged with the protection and governing of their respected villages, but how each one did that job was… unique.
The Kazekage, the Wind Shadow, were feared and respected across the world. They are responsible for making Sunagakure a powerful and great village despite its small size and inhospitable location. Most of the ninja they trained could work anywhere, thanks to the benefits of training in the desert. However, many thought that their station was cursed, because all three of the previous Kazekages had met their untimely deaths at the hands of assassins. No one ever said it to the Yondaime Kazekage, but many suspected he'd die the same way someday.
The Mizukage, the Water Shadow, ruled Kirigakure and by extension many of the islands surrounding Land of Water, probably more than the Water Daimyo did. Their word holds sway over all political and military issues that present themselves regarding Kiri and its inhabitants. However, the true power lay with the military, and while the Mizukage was fair, their rule could be considered a dictatorship. There, the councils never acted like they had an authority to challenge that of their Kage.
The Raikage, the Lighting Shadow, were naturally the strongest fighters in Kumogakure and weren't afraid to prove it. Feared throughout the world for their strength and ferocity, and sometimes impulsiveness. It is a well-known fact that the Raikage never travels alone, they always have a partner with them to watch their backs in a fight. They did this mostly to show to their subordinates that the Raikage did not value their assistance and he recognized their worth instead of only his only. The Raikage post was very similar to hereditary title, because so far the post had always been passed down from father to son.
The Tsuchikage, the Earth Shadow, known best for holding true authority, having their shinobi obey every command without hesitation or objection. They believed in a direct chain of command. They gave orders to the jounin, the jounin gave orders to the chūnin, and the chūnin gave orders to the genin. So strict was their policy on obedience there was talk of a possible personality cult. Luckily the Tsuchikage were also well-instructed by their predecessors to avoid taking advantage of this rank. So even though the Tsuchikage's were ironclad and unyielding, they were not without reason or understanding.
These people were Mito's colleagues, although none of them considered each other equals. On the rare occasions that a Kage met with each other they smiled and waved to appease the crowd, but underneath the surface, they hated each other.
Each letter Mito received contained words of congratulations and hopes of building a future relationship between their villages, but underneath the text of each one was the same phrase:
'If you show any sign of weakness, I will crush you.'
But even though Mito was simply a henged clone, she was still the Hokage of Konoha. After so long of working as she had, she was almost a separate personality from Kushina. She acted like how Kushina remembered Hashirama's wife did, which meant that by now she and Kushina had surprisingly argued before. But thru it all, she had a core belief that she lived by: to protect and serve her village with all her power with love in her heart. Much like Hashirama's wife would have done if she had been Hokage.
'I wonder what our next meeting will be like.' Mito asked herself. She had met the Mizukage and Kazekage at the previous time Konoha held the Chunin Exams. Their interactions had be civil for the duration of their interactions, but one wrong move could have resulted in blood-related espionage. Thankfully it didn't, and the secret of the demonized children of Konoha remained safe.
There was gentle knocking at her door, bringing her back to the present.
"Come in." She said looking up from the papers.
The door opened and in walked Danzō Shimura, who after shutting the door bowed to Mito.
"Hokage-sama." Danzō said with every level of respect in his voice.
Mito quickly shifted through the memories and knowledge Kushina had given her. From what Kushina had thought, Danzō was a good man and worked for the same goal of protecting the village. But there was also a warning to watch out because it was a well-known fact how much he desired the Hokage post. He did not like losing the job to a woman who had to use an advanced shadow clone for appearances sake, but he never tried to circumvent her authority and always made the effort to pretend Mito was a real person like everyone else who knew about her.
"Shimura-sama, please take a seat." Mito said, offering him the chair in front of her desk.
Danzo smiled. "Thank you Hokage-sama." He said as he shuffled over, leaning heavily on his cane and took a seat. "Please forgive me if I am troubling you."
"Of course not, I was actually wishing to take a break from all of my paperwork. How can I help you?"
"Well actually Hokage-sama, I have come here to offer my help to you." Danzo said, as he reached into his robe and withdrew an envelop and handed it to Mito. She took the envelop, opened and began reading the contents.
"ROOT?" She asked.
Danzo nodded. "Yes madam."
Mito quickly ran through her knowledge again before speaking. "As far as I'm aware, ROOT was officially disbanded years ago."
Danzo nodded, "Indeed it was Hokage-sama. And rightly so, because of my foolish actions as the head of the ROOT Division, I nearly caused another full scale Ninja World War."
It had been discovered that a number of ROOT agents had been place in all of the great Hidden Villages to act as spies. But a leak had not only revealed the existence of the ROOT ninja but allowed for them to be traced straight back to Konoha. It had only been through swift and immediate action by the Sandaime Hokage that a full scale war was prevented. Konoha had covered up the evidence and labeled the ROOT members captured as rogue ninja that were part of a terrorist organization that 'infiltrated' Konoha as well. The blame was swept under the rug and ROOT (at least in paper) had been destroyed. Along with a good portion of Danzo's early reputation.
"Why do you bring up this topic Danzo?"
"Because I wish to see if it were possible to bring ROOT back."
Mito raised an eyebrow but kept her silence as Danzo explained.
"Hokage-sama, ROOT was originally designed as an covert intelligence force, a sub-group within the ANBU that covered the work best left unknown to others, even other ninja. However in our great time of peace and prosperity there is no true need for such a force. Which is why with the fall of the Uchiha as our village's sole police force and all our other clans forced to make up the difference, I would like your permission and blessing to reorganize and refit ROOT as the new Internal Security Force for the village."
Mito leaned back in her chair, although her eyes never left Danzo. "That is a very big request Danzo. The kind that would make a person ask if there were any ulterior motives behind it."
The old man lowered his head. "And I truly deserve such questioning my lady, but I assure you my intentions are far from self-serving. I simply wish to protect my home and the people."
Mito was silent, it had been true that since the Uchiha had been removed from their posts as the sole police force of the village there had been some issues. Crime rates were far from up, but there was a definite strain on manpower. Shinobi teams were rotated on a schedule to act as 'on-duty cops' which meant some calls for missions went left unanswered. And the ANBU, whose sole duty were to act as the village defense and top mission performers, had been pulling a double shift to work as a normal village security force. The idea of creating a new symbol for the peacekeepers of Konoha was a tempting idea, but-
"How would this group vary from the old ROOT?" She asked.
"Well, for starters we would not be an exclusive group. We would be open to all Konoha shinobi who wish to join us in protecting the village and its inhabitants, although they would have to go through a physical and mental exam to make sure they are up to snuff."
"What about records?" Mito asked. "I seem to remember reading the old ROOT liked to keep all of their files locked up tighter than the ones at ANBU headquarters."
"If we were to become, with your permission, the Police Force, then that would make us a public organization. All of our records would be free to view upon request. Within reason of course since some are bound to be confidential."
"And who would head this new ROOT?" Mito asked, expecting some humbled speech on how Danzo would be the leader, but instead she was answered with-
"Whoever you deem worthy of such a position and the responsibility that comes with it."
Mito stared at Danzo for another moment and nodded her head. "I will take your request under thought. If you were to prepare a formal document on this venture and present it to the council I am sure they would be willing to listen. But I will make no promises as to their reaction."
Danzo simply offered a small smile. "I thank you Hokage-sama." He then rose up from his chair and bowed to her. "Well, I have taken up enough of your time. I shall leave you now." He then turned and slowly walked out of the room, and after closing the door behind him, Danzo allowed himself to smile again.
Everything was slowly going exactly according to his plan.
Meanwhile, Team Seven was not doing so good. In fact they were in dire straits at the moment. Sakura had avoided Kakashi, gotten Naruto out of the ground, and the two made it to Sasuke where they helped Sasuke dry off. Now the three had made it back to the place they started this entire test.
"We've only got the one slip and there's only a minute left." Sakura panicked pointing to the timer and holding out the one black strip of plastic the team had managed to keep.
"We're going to fail." Sasuke moaned.
Kakashi showed up. "Looks like you're out of time and luck." He said, waving the two strips in his hand, as if tempting them to try once more to take them from him.
Naruto shook his head. "Not yet. I have one last desperate idea." The others around him looked interested. "Sakura, hold out the thing." She did so and he grabbed it but did not take it from her. "Sasuke, grab it too. Sakura, don't let go." Sasuke and Sakura both obeyed.
Then the timer went off, ending the hour.
"Umm... Naruto, what were you thinking? Two of you are without slips." Kakashi told the kitsune.
Naruto shook his head. "Wrong. You said those of us who had one of these in our hands passed the test. Looks to me like all three of us all have one in our hands."
Sakura was surprised then smiled. "Yes, he's right Kakashi-sensei."
Sasuke then smirked. "You never said we needed one each, just one in our hands."
Kakashi looked unimpressed at first, then did his classic smile, although it was hidden underneath his mask. "Looks like I've been beaten by a technicality. I guess I'm required to say you all pass."
Two of the three genin cheered and high-fived while the third one just smiled. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?"
Kakashi shrugged. "Whether or not I had planned this very ingenious test with an outcome I might have foreseen is not the point. The point is this… to always look for what is hidden underneath instead of settling for what it obvious. But remember, I haven't officially passed you yet." Kakashi continued, regaining their attentions.
"What do you mean? We did as you said. You still going to fail us just because we didn't have separate things?"
"If you can pass on a technicality you can also fail on a technicality." Kakashi pointed out. "Let me ask you something. What was the purpose of this test?"
"To see if we could be genin?" Naruto asked.
"If it was that simple, why would I do this?" Kakashi asked, receiving no answer. "Think of it this way, why would you now need to be tested as a team when up until now you were tested as individuals? If you don't understand that, then you clearly do not understand why we had this test in the first place and shouldn't be passed."
The three thought it over, but Sakura was the first to respond. "You weren't testing our personal field skills. You were testing our ability to work as a team."
"Correct. In your career, nine out of ten missions and jobs will be performed as part of a team. Solo jobs are surprisingly rare. Sure, individual skills are important, but what's even more important is teamwork." Kakashi told them. "Refusing to cooperate with others will only put yourself and others in harm's way."
"But we didn't do that." Sasuke stated.
"Yeah. we all cooperated just fine and even got the better of you more than once." Naruto agreed.
"True, but this could have been a one-time instance for you three. True teamwork is more than just having the same goal to complete, it's about caring for the others who are doing that job with you. In this test, each of you could have easily ignored the others and prioritized only your own chances to pass. You didn't, and even went so far as to ensure the others wouldn't fail so easily. But how do I know this wasn't a fluke and you won't look out for just yourselves in a truly dangerous situation?"
Naruto took one step towards him. "Do you have any reason not to believe that?"
Kakashi was quite surprised by that, but in a way he was also quite pleased. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura could have easily made some compassionate declaration about how they'll never abandon their teammate no matter what, but because they were still inexperienced in the ways of the world their words wouldn't mean anything until they were required to prove it. Naruto's answer was one of the few responses Kakashi could not argue with.
"In that case, the only way to find out is to give this team the chance to prove itself. And since I want to see that, I will have to pass you three officially. Congratulations, genin of Team Seven." He told him.
The three showed various degrees of joy.
"Now, since you three likely skipped breakfast, how about I buy you three our first team meal?" Kakashi offered.
There was a huge gathering at the Namikaze mansion that night, to celebrate everyone and their officially becoming genin.
While the kids, along with some of their parents, celebrated on the grounds Kushina stood on the roof balcony watching them below. She could easily see her son talking with Hinata, Ino, and Yakumo, hearing them brag about how they passed their own tests and listen affectionately to how he passed his.
"That's funny, you up here watching instead of joining in. I always remember you being a bit of a party animal." Kakashi said, appearing behind Kushina and carrying to cups of sake. He walked up next to Kushina and handed her one of them.
The red-haired kitsune smiled. "And what about you Kakashi?"
"Oh I was never much for parties." The copy-cat ninja said.
"Too busy reading those smut books still?" She asked with a sly smirk.
"I will have you know that Sensei was the one who got me started reading them. He gave me all of my books until-"
"I burned them all." Kushina finished.
Both of them laughed at the fond memory and looked below at Naruto who was standing with a few others laughing and having the time of his life.
"He looks just like his father." Kushina said
"Yea, he does… although he got your personality." Kakashi chuckled.
"You know, I cannot help but see a resemblance between Team Kakashi and Team Minato."
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"Oh don't lie, you see it clear as day. The sweet and strong-willed girl. A knucklehead jokester with a need to prove himself. And a devoted workaholic with some people issues." Kushina smirked and poked Kakashi in the ribs. "It almost makes a person think that someone requested those three together."
"What a strange coincidence."
"Sure, coincidence." Kushina said sarcastically.
"Well why do you think the hokage set them up like this?" Kakashi asked.
Kushina shrugged but kept her smile. "How should I know?"