Chapter 6

"Alright," Kakashi said, standing across from his new squad. "We put this off for a week after what happened, but today we'll be doing your exam."

"Um, Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura asked, nervously raising her hand. "What exactly is the purpose of this exam? We graduated, didn't we?" Naruto nodded, and Sasuke remained motionless.

"You did, sure. But there's a significant gap between learning indoors and actually taking on the responsibilities of a Shinobi. Even those with the best scores sometimes fall short in actual combat."

"A-actual combat? We're just facing you, aren't we?" Naruto's face showed he clearly realized his mistake, but it was too late.

"I can see I'm not being clear enough," His voice was loud and firm. "I alone decide if you pass or fail this exam. And if you fail, you will be stripped of your headband and status as a Shinobi entirely and forever."

That got a reaction. Kakashi waited passively, watching as they all panicked. Sasuke was better at hiding it, but they were all worried.

Surprisingly, it was Sakura who collected herself first.

"What are we supposed to do?"

He pulled the two bells off his pouch and held them up. The sunlight reflected off them, and drew everyone's eyes.

"Get these bells," He said simply.

They stared at him.

"Of course, I'll be trying to stop you the whole time. If you don't come at me seriously, you won't even come close."

"But-but that's-that's not fair!" Naruto's outburst was predictable. There were only two bells, and by all appearances, only two of them could pass. He drew breath to respond, but Naruto continued. "You know how we all fight!"

He blinked. Naruto was right, of course, but he'd expected the blonde to complain about the exam, not think tactically.

"You've sparred with me and Sasuke before, and you know what Rin and Obito have helped us with! And I'm sure you've heard all about how we did at the Academy! But we don't know any of your techniques!"

The boy had grown up. He was still complaining, of course, but complaining about a real issue.

"You just said I've sparred with you, Naruto. Sakura might be at a disadvantage there, but you and Sasuke-"

"And that's another thing! You're a Jounin! You've never had to fight us seriously!"

"Naruto's right!" The blonde registered something like shock at Sakura's exclamation, and fell silent. "We can't possibly be expected to win this if you fight seriously!"

Sasuke crossed his arms, clearly thinking.

"You're not meant to defeat me outright. You're meant to retrieve these bells. You'll be pitted against more experienced and more dangerous foes all the time as a ninja. Besides, you aren't the only ones doing this exam."

"Huh? Who else?" Naruto asked.

There was an unwritten rule that they weren't supposed to tell their new squad about the bell exam. It was always meant to be presented as though there was something wrong with this particular squad. But he'd never gotten the chance to make that case, and the kids had thought out the situation fairly quickly.

"Everyone else Naruto. Literally all of the other graduates, and everyone who came before you. Rin, Obito, and I had to do it."

"Oh," Naruto said, his expression starting to clear.

"Of course, most fail it."

"What!?"

"We barely passed, and we were considered the most advanced students out of our class. And Obito was there, too."

The joke did nothing to lighten the mood.

"But-but that can't possibly be right!" Sakura said, red-faced. "If most people fail it, then there wouldn't be any Shinobi!"

"Well, see, that's the catch. Very few people pass the exam, but there's different ways to fail it. If you made your best attempt and just couldn't grab the bells, you'll be taking remedial classes and practice until I think you're ready. Something that is entirely up to me. But if you truly do poorly, then, well…" He shrugged. "That's the end of a very short career." He was lying through his teeth, of course. And he was rather proud of himself too, as the kids clearly believed him.

He wasn't worried, in truth. Sasuke had a loner personality, sure, but they weren't stupid. It might take them awhile to actually work together, but after what they'd been through, he was confident that they'd pass before the end of the day.

He was glad they were taking this seriously, however. He was worried, since they'd had time to prepare, that the effectiveness of the exam would be lowered. They needed to take this seriously.

"You were right about one thing," He said. "I'm a Jounin. And I've never had to take you seriously." His words were having the desired effect, at least on the boys. Sasuke looked rather offended. "But this exam is the absolute bar for entry. You aren't Shinobi-not really-without passing this. So take this seriously. Throw your weapons and your punches as though I were a real enemy out to kill you. Anything less and you'll just be swept away. Understand?"

They all exchanged a look, and nodded. Sakura untied her headband and put it around her head, mirroring the boys.

"Good." He felt the faintest sense of pride in Sakura. For all his early impressions, she was clearly taking this seriously. Though it probably had more to do with Rin than him.

The wind picked up, blowing across the training field.

"Ready?"

They tensed.

"Start."

He closed his eye for a second, and opened it. They were nowhere to be seen.

Well, they concealed themselves wel-

He turned and caught Naruto's wrist, throwing him over his shoulder without hesitation. The shadow clone disappeared in a puff of smoke, and 3 more dashed toward him from all directions.

At least he went for a surprise attack.

He kicked one away, and another seized his arm. Before he could turn to throw it, Naruto-not a clone after all-seized his other arm. He flung the clone with enough force that the collision with Naruto should've gotten rid of it, but instead, the puff of smoke merely revealed a grinning Sakura, who planted her feet on Naruto's shoulder, the blonde wincing slightly, but holding firm. Sakura launched off him, pulling Kakashi's arm with her and drawing him off-balance. He heard the bells jingle, and turned to see Sasuke-who had been disguised as the third clone-lunging for the bells, kunai ready to cut the string.

Chakra blurred his movements, and he kicked Sasuke back, and dragging the other two around, seizing their arms when they attempted to release their grips, and throwing them after their teammate. Their landing kicked up a cloud of dust, but they regained their feet quickly, ready to continue.

Did they just pass the exam?

They charged forward, Naruto creating more Shadow Clones in an attempt to lock his movements. Wise to the trick now, Kakashi dodged and hit each clone with full force. Occasionally, he'd hit one of them for real, and would be forced to respond to a counterattack. Ninja tools were flying through the small crowd, and Kakashi was forced to parry them.

It was an application of the technique only Naruto could really have pulled off. With such vast chakra reserves, he could continue to create clones, wearing Kakashi down with sheer numbers. What was more impressive was that Sasuke could mix in with the clones easily, and that Sakura was confident enough to throw the kunai at him without fear of hitting her teammates. And it was rather annoying.

He put on a burst of speed and dashed out out of the mass of clones, turning and skidding to a halt with the small lake behind him.

"I hope you all can dodge!" He called, putting his hands together.

"He's not going to-"

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"

"He's going to!"

The water slammed down in the middle of the crowd, sending both of the boys flying, the clones all disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Well, guess not." Kakashi rolled his shoulders. It hadn't been necessary, but he was pleased with their current skill levels. It always helped to have something to overcome. Sakura had disappeared into the woods, far enough away from the blast to avoid getting hit. Both of the boys were out cold.

Well this could be a problem.

They'd worked together well enough, but if Sakura abandoned them the moment they were out of commission, she clearly wasn't too team oriented. It didn't seem in character for her, either.

People react in unpredictable ways under pressure. He reminded himself. Regardless, if stress turned Sakura into a lone-wolf commando, that had to be nipped in the bud.

He took his time strolling toward the woods, no real urgency in his movement, until he reached the treeline, where, to an untrained eye, he simply vanished. Sakura and the others hadn't learned walking on water or trees. So long as he kept his movements quiet, Sakura shouldn't be able to see him.

It only took him a minute to realize she'd doubled back.

Good for you. He smiled under his mask. They were shaping out to be much better than he'd initially expected. He'd give them enough time to recover. If they tried one more coordinated attack, he'd pass them on the spot.

Naruto let out a gasp and sat bolt upright, almost banging his head into Sakura.

"Watch it!" She hissed, jerking back out of the way.

"Huh? Sorry, what?" He looked around. Sasuke was moody turning a kunai over in his hand.

Sakura looked tired, but shook herself and smiled.

"Sensei knocked you two out cold. I barely got out of the way in time."

The image of the Water Dragon reared up in his head.

"I can't believe he did that…"

"He obviously aimed it so it wouldn't do any real damage," Sasuke said, not looking at them. "He was making a point. He didn't need to do it."

"Geez…" Naruto said, rubbing a sore shoulder. "He's ridiculous. How are we supposed to beat him?"

"We're going to need a good plan," Sakura said, looking concerned.

A Kunai smacked into a tree on the other side of the small clearing.

"A plan?" Sasuke's tone was derisive. "Like anything we plan will work." He stood up and slowly began walking away. "There's no point."

"Hey, where are you going?" Naruto said, jumping to his feet.

"We tried to take him down together. You saw how that worked out. I can't afford to get held up here. Next time, stay out of my way."

"Wha-"

"Are you serious!?"

Sasuke stopped, looking back, surprise clear on his face. Naruto looked at Sakura in shock.

She was standing up, looking down, her shoulders shaking. She took a deep, steadying breath, and looked up at Sasuke, determined.

"Look, I get it. You had the highest marks out of the whole class. You know you're stronger than either of us."

Naruto managed to keep his mouth shut, albeit barely.

"But how can you look at what just happened and think the solution is to...to go try it alone? That's not brave, or cool, or smart, it's just...stupid!" The last words seemed torn from her, but she didn't look down this time.

Naruto was in awe. Sakura usually led the pack of girls who chased after and drooled over Sasuke. She'd been ecstatic to be on his team. Yet here she was, standing up to him. A small part of him wanted to jump in, to side with Sakura, or to insist that they didn't need him, but he'd spent a lot of time with Rin. He wasn't that stupid.

Sasuke seemed to have a similar reaction, caught off-guard by Sakura's outburst.

"I…"

"Look," Sakura said, attempting to make peace. "You know what Naruto and I can do. So does Sensei. If you've got some kind of trick up your sleeve, than we can try to get you an opening."

Sasuke crossed his arms, frowning.

"Just tell us what to do," Sakura said weakly. "I'm not…" She hesitated. "We aren't useless. We can fight too."

Hiruzen laid back in his chair, smiling. He normally didn't have time to watch each exam, but he'd cleared the afternoon. He'd thought this one would be special, and he'd been right.

Sakura had grown a remarkable amount in the past few days, with the kind of speed that was only possible at their age. She'd gotten a real taste of what being a Shinobi was like, and found her spine. She'd been training constantly over the few days they'd had, asking Rin for help whenever possible.

He wasn't sure it was entirely professional to let Rin and Obito help Kakashi's squad, but for the time being, he didn't mind. Barring them from helping would've been harsh, especially to Naruto. He'd never told anyone about Rin helping Naruto with his chakra control. Neither of them had ever mentioned it, and Iruka understood enough not to bring it up. It would frighten those who knew of Rin's identity. Danzo certainly knew, as he made it his business to keep tabs on the Jinchuriki, but the others elders might be frightened by the idea of the Jinchuriki "colluding".

He refocused on the crystal. Rin and Obito were well concealed, a distance from the clearing, waiting for the three to re-emerge. Kakashi, evidently also choosing to wait, was resting against a tree, one knee drawn back, reading.

He'd always wondered how much attention Kakashi was paying to the book whenever he pulled this trick. He was confident the man had read the whole thing before, and couldn't decide whether he was actually reading it, or just pretending to, his senses alert.

After all, Kakashi could easily be called overconfident, but he'd never pull this trick if he knew his Hokage was watching.

Kakashi didn't look up from his book as Sasuke approached.

"No sneaking?"

"What's the point?"

"I suppose that's fair. Still, you could've tried." He stood up and snapped the book closed, tucking it into his bag. They'd surprised him once today. He didn't want them to damage the book. "So, where are the others?"

"I don't need their help."

Kakashi held up a hand, seizing the nearly invisible wire before Sakura could draw it tight. He heard a sigh above him.

"So did Rin just take you ninja tool shopping or…"

"Not...really," Sakura didn't bother to conceal herself, moving into view. "She just gave me some of her stuff, and then I think she went shopping on her own, to replace it."

"That's sensible," He said cheerily. "What's wrong Sasuke? Not gonna set fire to the tree?"

"I might, just for the stress relief," The Uchiha grumbled. "Not gonna hit you with anything."

"Well that's just depressing. Didn't you guys plan before coming out here?"

"We came up with lots of plans," Sakura said defensively, shifting so she could sit comfortably on a tree branch. "They just all ran into the same problem."

"Me?"

"Yes you! You're one of the most capable Shinobi in the entire village, if not the world! It's not about us! If this were a real mission, we would retreat, even if it was really important. But we aren't allowed to!"

Sasuke crossed his arms, clearly in agreement. "You set up a situation in which we were fundamentally disadvantaged. I may not like it, but we can't possibly beat you in a fair fight, and we can't really make the fight unfair, at least in our favor. It's a no-win scenario."

"You might face some of those in time, but I guess I see your point. After all, it's not really possible to recreate the kind of threat you would experience in those scenarios, that would drive you to do things like-"

"Kamikaze!" Naruto burst out of the treeline, jumping and wrapping his arms and legs around Kakashi. He could the telltale hiss of a paper bomb.

"-that."

The explosion engulfed the shadow clone and the log he'd replaced himself with. He'd only just touched the tree branch when he heard Sakura yell.

"4 O'clock!"

Sasuke turned and threw the kunai he'd been hiding in his shirt sleeve. Sakura's rope had been laced with chakra, and she had been able to track which direction he'd gone.

The kunai flew wide, but the hissing noise indicated it had been meant to. He leapt into the air as the explosion engulfed the tree.

"Above!" Sakura called.

He looked down to see the dim outline of Naruto's jacket, and putting the pieces together, looked up, seeing another shadow clone falling to the ground as his eye met Sasuke's.

He'd used the clones as stepping stools.

Sakura and the real Naruto were on the edges of the clearing, which was covered in Shadow Clones. As he saw Sasuke's hands move, he couldn't help but feel impressed as he dropped toward the horde of clones below.

"Katon! Goukyaku no Jutsu!"

Not bad, kids. Not bad.

The explosion lit up the clearing, dispelling all the Shadow Clones and kicking up a wave of dust. Naruto and Sakura shielded their eyes as Sasuke dropped to the ground. He immediately jumped away, landing near Sakura.

"Did we get him?" Naruto asked, unwilling to move closer to the smoking crater.

"I doubt it," Sasuke grunted, looking around.

"Hard to see how he could've moved out of the way," Sakura said, though she sounded like she didn't believe herself. "Hypothetically, what would happen if we incinerated our Sensei?"

"We'd get promoted?" Naruto suggested.

"More like kicked out," Sasuke said.

The ground below Naruto exploded in a cloud of dust. The blonde let out a yelp and disappeared from sight. Kakashi jumped neatly out of the cloud, landing slightly to the right of Naruto, who's head was now the only visible part of his body, as he was buried up to his shoulders. Kakashi dusted the dirt off his jacket, looking none the worse for wear.

"You'll never find out."

"Somehow I didn't think so," Sakura said, sighing. "How?"

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu," Kakashi said cheerily. Naruto's head was visible by Kakashi's feet. He was buried up to his neck, but rather than be angry, he seemed to have accepted his fate, looking only mildly annoyed.

"You can use Suiton and Doton?" Sasuke asked.

"And Katon and Raiton."

"Of...course you can." Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets, moodily kicking at a rock.

"That was pretty good though," Kakashi said. "You honestly fooled me at the beginning there. What was that trick with the wire, Sakura?"

"Oh, it wasn't a wire. It was just pulled as tight as I could when you grabbed it."

"So just a Chakra thread them?" They were used cut and various lengths, and had chakra worked in when they were made. They had a variety of uses, mostly involved in making paper seals or setting some of those seals off.

"Yeah. We figured you'd use substitution and whichever way you broke the thread would be the way you went. I know it wasn't perfect, but I thought it was our best chance."

"You thought?" Kakashi asked, curiously.

"Well…" Sakura hesitated, and then Sasuke spoke up.

"We all came up with the plan," He said, not looking at any of them. "Sakura came up with most of it," The girl flushed a deep red and turned away, looking a great deal more like herself than she had during the exercise. If Sasuke noticed, he gave no sign, finally looking at Kakashi with a faint smirk.

"Even Naruto."

"Oh?" Kakashi squatted down, amused. He still didn't let his guard down, but sensed the fight was done. "And what did our favorite knucklehead contribute?"

"He remembered I had paper bombs," Sakura's face was red for a different reason this time. "I had honestly forgotten."

"Why did you know?" Kakashi asked, looking down.

"You mentioned Rin showing them to her," He said. "I just...remembered."

"That really scared you when you found out, didn't it?" Given Sakura's behavior around the blonde, Kakashi couldn't entirely fault him. Sakura turned away, her face in her hands.

Satisfied, Kakashi reached down and gripped the back of Naruto's jacket.

"Please don't-"

He pulled up, hard, freeing Naruto in a showed of dirt and small rocks. He set the boy down next to the hole, dusting his shoulder off and stepping away.

"There are rocks where rocks shouldn't be," The blonde whispered, but Kakashi elected to ignore him.

"Well, congrats to you all. You pass."

"Wha-really!?" Sakura asked, clapping her hands together. Naruto looked startled, though pleased, and even Sasuke had a ghost of a smile on his face.

"But we lost. Badly," Naruto said. "You buried me alive."

"I also knocked you out cold," Kakashi pointed out. "But that's beside the point. Even if this was purely a combat exam, I still would've passed you all. You and Sasuke were at the top of your game, and Sakura," He turned to look at her. "You surprised me quite a bit. I more or less had the measure of these two's skill level but you performed much better than your test scores led me to expect." She looked close to fainting, but in a good way. "Having said that, this wasn't just a combat test. The purpose of this exam is to test your teamwork. If you three weren't capable of working together to go after a high-level target, we really wouldn't trust you out on missions."

He could see they understood, more or less.

"So, wait…" Naruto frowned, walking over to his squadmates. "Does that mean we passed right away? I mean, we all worked together then."

"I suppose you did," Kakashi said. "But all of you just jumping me in a mob isn't the same as actually coming up with a plan. The exam is still passed or failed at my discretion. I wanted another example of you working together." He smiled under his mask. "And I got it."

The three began to turn to each other and celebrate, congratulating themselves on a job well done.

Kakashi stood up straight and put his hands behind his back, feeling a little formality was in order.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Sakura!" They jumped and stood to attention, focusing on him. "You were placed in a difficult scenario, with no clear path to your objective, and with victory unlikely. Despite this, you analyzed the situation, fought to the best of your abilities, and did everything in your power to achieve victory. Today, you acted like real Shinobi, and today, you earned those headbands."

This time, he allowed them to celebrate. They'd done well, and they deserved to know it.

Still…

"Alright you three, get it out of your system. We've still got a whole day of work ahead."

"Ha ha...wait, what?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi could feel a smile stretching across his face, and Naruto, at least, could tell.

"Well, I can't praise you and give you the day off, can I?"

"Yes you can!" Naruto said quickly, and he pretended to consider it.

"I suppose I could...but I'm not going to."

"...damn it," Naruto muttered, closing his eyes.

"One of the bridge builders got out."

The clink of a glass getting set down. A cigarette lighting up. Then a response.

"Who was supposed to be watching the road he took?"

The watchman swallowed nervously. "We don't think he took a road. He took a boat, right from the bridge itself."

Another pause.

"No one was watching...the actual bridge?"

"N-no one was assigned to, sir."

A growl of frustration entered the boss's voice. "He'll make it to the village before anyone can catch up to him."

Before the watchman could respond, there was a loud crack, and they turned to see a long, iron sword in the ground.

"Won't matter if he never makes it back here." The owner of the sword said, voice neutral.

Slowly, the boss smiled.

"You make an excellent point."

I live! And I'm...terrible, I really am.

Also, when I came back to this, I did a lot of thinking and rethinking about the story and what I'm gonna do with it, and went back and edited stuff to reflect that. So if you notice anything different it...probably is.