Team 7 had been told to meet at the training field at exactly 7o'clock. Each one of them arrived on time, all aside from their Sensei.
Naruto sat against a wall.
Sasuke stayed stood up.
Hinata sat on the other side of the wall.
they waited. For a couple of minutes. Then a couple of hours.
"Damnit, where is he?" Naruto sighed. He was clearly disappointed. He had hoped to start the mission by now.
Just then, a rustling noise came from down the path, and there was Kakashi Sensei! Only two hours late! He seemed to be taking a leisurely stroll rather then meeting up a squad of Junior ninja. "Yo!" Was his first greeting.
"Your late!" Naruto said. But honestly, at this point, he was just glad the Sensei was there. Better late then never.
"Sorry, I found a lost cat and..." Kakashi seemed to mutter incomprehensible gibberish. Naruto had a strained look on his face. He couldn't decide If he found his annoying or hilarious. Kakashi rooted into his pockets and pulled out two bells out of one pocket, and a timer of of the other. He put the timer on the tree stump he was stood next to. He then Held the bells up in the air.
"I have here two bells. The timer has been set to ring at Noon. Thats a time gap of three hours. Your mission is simple. Take the bells from me. That's it."
"B-But there's only two bells!" Hinata said.
Naruto looked closer and saw Hinata was right - only two bells for three people. "Hey yeah! There's two bells, and three of us!"
Kakashi sighed " I had imagined it would be obvious at this point. I never intended to pass all of one who doesn't get a bell doesn't of you is back on their way to school and shame."
Naruto and Hinata's eyes widened. Sasuke remained standing ridged, ready to go.
"You may use your surrounding, yourselves, even Shuriken if you choose. Attack to kill or you won't stand a chance." Kakashi added.
"B-But that's so dangerous! " Hinata protested. It seemed foolish to risk their lives at this point.
"When your out in the field, your enemy won't spare you just because your a child, or from a certain clan. It's kill or be killed. I DID say these were SURVIVAL exercises, so I'll be striking to kill as well."
Hinata gasped.
Naruto gulped .
Sasuke did nothing.
"A Shinobi looks for hidden meanings within the hidden meanings." Kakashi said, glancing at the clock . " get ready."
All three got ready.
"3...2...1..."
Before Kakashi even said go, his Genin team was away. Sasuke had ran of to the east on his own, while Naruto and Hinata ran to the west, together. Kakashi smiled. Other teams he had trained, all the students had gone on their own. This should be interesting .
"...Go."
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Naruto and Hinata ran together, both looking out for their Jonin Sensei. If he was striking to kill as he said, then relaxing their guard would be deadly.
Suddenly, Hinata skidded to a halt. Naruto followed suite, grabbing hold of a tree as not to fall. He noticed Hinata had her Byakugan active. "See anything?"
Hinata nodded, and pointed directly in front of them. Naruto nodded, and leapt into a tree.
Naruto and Hinata hid within visible view of each other, waiting for Kakashi Sensei.
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Naruto had explained to Hinata. "This guys an elite Jonin Rank ninja. On our own, we have no chance... But if we work together, we may have a chance." Teamwork, he thought, was the best chance for victory.
Hinata nodded, but spoke.
"B-Bu what about S-Sasuke?" Hinata had asked
"There's only two bells. Better Him then us." Naruto had said
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"The first skill a Shinobi must have is to blend into their surroundings. Eradicate yourself..." Kakashi said, to himself. He saw nothing, and heard nothing...
"Looks like they got that down." Kakashi said to himself.
Naruto nodded to Hinata, and jumped down as silently as he could, and swung his left leg for Kakashi's legs, knocking him up.
"Oww... Too easy... But man that hurt..." Naruto said, until he realised he hadn't hit Kakashi. He had hit a log.
The art of Substitution! He had used it to trade places with the log! That's why the kick had hurt Naruto!
Naruto spun around and saw his Sensei in a casual fighting stance. "Lesson one - Taijutsu." Kakashi said
He looked at his options. Naruto knew some impressive tricks. He had shown that much in the recent days of the academy. Kakashi would have normally taunted his students by reading his book, but he had to fight a Jinchuriki, a Hyuga and an Uchiha. He decided to face them full force, and see how they fare.
"A Shinobi must conceal their presence, not attacked them wildly" Kakashi said, sounding disappointed
'Thats part of the plan' Naruto thought to himself. On the inside he was calm and relaxed, on the outside, he acted annoyed and aggressive. "Duh! I know that!"
Kakashi sighed " If you know that, then why didn't you use it to your advantage?"
"Shut up!" Naruto shouted, charging at Kakashi. He swung one fist toward Kakashi's left cheek, which Kakashi easily dodged. Naruto swung his right foot to sweep Kakashi off his feet, but when he swung, Kakashi, quick as a flash, was behind him. Naruto then threw his hands down to the ground,pushed down, then jumped up to kick Kakashi. Kakashi blocked with relevant ease, then jumped back. Kakashi was now at the spot Naruto had slammed his hands into the ground. He smiled. He had string on his fingers, which Kakashi hadn't noticed. He threw his hands behind him, and two Shuriken Stars leapt up from the ground, cutting Kakashi's left and right arm.
Kakashi was stunned for a moment. Not once- NOT ONCE, had a Genin team managed to wound him in his entry exam. Kakashi was impressed. He was on his own, and Kakashi had fallen for such a simple trap.
Naruto grinned. This was only a small part of a larger plan.
Kakashi was now stood under a tree branch. He was impressed. He had assumed that when Naruto had slammed the ground it was for greater air leverage. Instead, it had been part of a trap, connecting Shuriken stars with String, which Kakashi hadn't noticed as Naruto had been moving around too much.
Kakashi heard a rustle above him. When he looked up he saw Hinata, about to drop down on him. Kakashi dodged just in time, but now was surrounded by Naruto and Hinata. Naruto ran towards Kakashi, aiming for the bells. Kakashi swept his foot down on the ground, making Naruto crash into the ground.
"Argh!" Naruto cried. That hurt!
Hinata had , however, used that to her advantage and gone for the bells too. Kakashi jumped into the air, and put some distance between them. Hinata then ran to help up Naruto.
"Your good. " Kakashi admitted " impressive teamwork. Though in the end, I - UGH! " Kakashi was Impealed with a large Number of kunia and Shuriken, aimed for the pressure points in his neck.
"No way!" Naruto yelled. There was only one other person who could've done that " That was overkill Sasuke!"
Kakashi's body fell to the ground... And evaporated into a Cloud of smoke, and revealed a log. Another art is substitution!
Naruto looked around. Nothing.
"He's run off. After Sasuke. Damn that cocky idiot." Naruto sighed
"Wh-What should we do?" Hinata asked
"I almost got em... Damn..." Naruto sighed " there has to be a better way of getting the bells."
"U-Um.. I-I have an idea..." Hinata said
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Sasuke raced through the trees to get away from his disclosed location. His Shuriken Jutsu had revealed his location to Kakashi. He would find a spot where he could ambush Kakashi , and take him by surprise.
A rustling came from the left of Sasuke, followed by three Shuriken stars spinning in front of Sasuke. He skidded to a halt and turned. Kakashi had found him. Not a problem. This worked as well...
"The final prodigy of the Uchiha clan." Kakashi said. He had emerged from the tree line, to confront Sasuke . " I'm looking forward to it."
Sasuke drew out some kunia, and threw them at Kakashi. Kakashi blocked the , and threw them into the ground. While he was doing that , Sasuke skidded down below him and got ready to strike. Kakashi however, had anticipated this, and jumped up lightly before turned to face Sasuke with a kick to the ribs. His Genin student had dodged though, and had charged head first into this stomach, aiming to grab the bells. Kakashi put one hand on top of Sasuke's head, and pushed him down into the ground, using the momentum to fling himself into the air.
'Where is he?' Sasuke asked himself .
"Not right, not left." He looked into the sky. "Above?"
"Below."
A hand shot out of the earth and grabbed Sasuke's left foot. Sasuke took his right foot and kicked the hand as hard as he could. The hand would not flinch, so Sasuke took out his kunai and thrust it into Kakashi's hand. The kunia didn't penetrate his skin- it just broke the Kunia!
"What the-" Sasuke Gasped , confused. Then he realised. Kakashi must be using some sort of earth Jutsu, and thereby turning the outer layer of his skin into a rock like substance, making it impossible to penetrate. But that meant Sasuke had no way of getting away.
"Earth style! Earth decapitation!"
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"You think that will work?" Naruto asked.
"Yes... But we need Sasuke for it to work." Hinata said
"No chance. He won't work with us." Naruto sighed. At this rate, no one was going to pass this stupid test.
"There's no other way. If Kakashi is going to be weary of us, there's you and Sasuke, but Kakashi already knows your fighting style, so Sasuke is a good a bet as any." Hinata explained
"But Kakashi Sensei may have already beat Sasuke." Naruto said
"But he hasn't seen ALL of us fight together."
"And there's only two bells. One of us will go back no matter what we do."
Hinata sighed. It was true. She didn't want to leave Naruto, but at the same time, she didn't want to disappoint her father. It was either leave Naruto and let him keep his dream, and upset her father, or beat Naruto, and crush his hopes and dreams, but appease her father. She couldn't take one from Sasuke, he was too strong, so it was either Naruto or her going home.
"Okay, I trust you." Naruto said, smiling at Hinata. " if you say it'll work, it'll work."
Hinata blushed and nodded "Y-Yes."
Naruto got ready to go. He considered. He just hoped Kakashi hadn't fought Sasuke, cause if he had, then their chances of both getting a bell were slim.
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Naruto and Hinata dashed through the trees, fast as possible, looking for their Uchiha teammate. They assumed to find Sasuke, stalking Kakashi, waiting to make his move.
"Hey! "
Naruto and Hinata turned to see Sasuke... 'S head buried into the ground.
Naruto and Hinata's widened open as far as they could. "What the hell?" Naruto said, mesmerised by the sight.
"Yeah, dope. Help." Sasuke begrudgingly asked. He was disgusted at himself that he was actually asking for help.
Naruto and Hinata began digging out Sasuke. It took about 20 minutes to get Sasuke out of the ground.
"Alright, I'm outta here." Sasuke said, standing up.
"Not even a thank you?!" Naruto snapped. " Y'know, we coulda just left you to rot there!"
"Hmffp. Then Why didn't you?" Sasuke glared.
"Because we're on a team! And teams stick together!" Naruto shouted right back.
"Huh. All I see are a couple of paperweights." Sasuke said.
Naruto almost snapped , but remained calm ' remember Naruto' he told himself ' we need him alive.' Naruto sighed "Look- we think we have a way to get the bells. But we need your help." Naruto said
Sasuke chuckled " even if you have found a way, there's only two bells. One of us will be left behind."
"They really think they'll keep the fourth Hokages son behind? Besides... I think if we impress them enough.." Naruto started
"What crap." Sasuke laughed " impressing them won't do anything for you. "
"Listen, the Jonin leaders are looking for the best of the academy, yes?" Naruto asked " that means they're looking for the next generation of ninja to protect the village. If we show them enough skill, that could be used to defend the village, then they would HAVE to pass us, for the good of the village."
Sasuke smirked. He was right. basically all this was was finding new people to defend the village. If that was the case, the most impressive ninja would pass. And teamwork was an important skill... Not that Sasuke would openly admit it. "finally using your brain are you dope? " he walked back to Hinata and Naruto and crouched " okay, what's the plan?"
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Kakashi had been wondering around the training field for the past hour, and not one sign of his pupils. They had exactly 30 minutes to get the bells, or not one of them would pass. Had they given up? Most likely. Had they gotten lost? Likely.
Where they fighting one another? Almost defiantly.
Kakashi sighed. The essence of this exercise was to encourage teamwork. Kakashi had only two bells, but that was to see which of them would put aside their own personal gain for the betterment of the team. But now it looked like they all were not about to put aside their gain. That meant they would fail.
13. 13 teams had been placed under Kakashi. Not one team had passed his training. Not one. He had hoped that this team would be different. A Jinchuriki, which was also the fourth Hokages son, an Uchiha, the lone survivor of the clan, and a Hyuga, the heiress to the clan! How could they NOT pass?
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Naruto hid atop the trees. He was ready. The plan was fool proof. If It went to plan. Naruto's part was to jump down and distract Kakashi for as long as he could. Hinata and Sasuke would do their bit.
Naruto looked over to Sasuke. He was staring down at Kakashi. Sasuke looked at Naruto and put two fingers together. He swung then down to point at Kakashi. Naruto nodded. He leapt down, aiming for Kakashi's head. Kakashi had realised that Naruto was there, so he had evaded the attack with great speed. Naruto landed on his feet, then leapt straight to attack Kakashi, aiming for the bells.
Kakashi slid back , then jumped over Naruto. "Stay quieter! Being too loud will kill you!"
"Unless it was part of a plan." Naruto grinned. He then disappeared into a cloud of smoke. A shadow clone!
'I see. ' thought Kakashi ' so this is the technique he used against Mizuki.' Mizuki was dead, so that meant that Naruto clearly knew how to use this technique.
Kakashi span on the heel of his foot, with a Kunia in hand, and span a 180 degrees and threw the kunia to the clone Naruto had sent to Kakashi. The clone dispersed into smoke. Kakashi knew, with his chakra levels the way they were, Naruto couldn't make too many more clones. He had expanded too much Chakra before this encounter.
A blur descended down from the trees, and materialised into another pupil of Kakashi's- Sasuke.
He grinned. He focused. His eyes turned red, and began to spin.
Kakashi was shocked. This was surreal! Unheard of!
The Sharingan!
The Sharigan was the kekkei Genkei of the Uchiha clan. The Sharingan allowed the user to copy and Mimic their enemies Jutsu. For example, if a Sharigan user and his enemy were fighting, and the ninja used the fireball Jutsu, the Sharigan user would be able to dodge, analyse and copy the Jutsu, almost subconsciously. It was regarded as one of the most powerful traits in existence, and was defiantly the most effective in the leaf when it came to Jutsu.
But to have it at such a young age was amazing! There had been only one other Uchiha who had done it before...
Sasuke's smirk widened. He slapped his hands together and began to perform his handsigns. Tiger, rat, boar, monkey, horse, tiger!
Kakashi was stunned. Was he about to perform a Jutsu of THAT caliber?! His chakra shouldn't have developed enough for it!
"Fire Style- Fireball Jutsu!"
Immediately, a bellow of fire erupted from Sasuke, aimed straight for Kakashi. The Jutsu was trademark of the Uchiha, and was extremely deadly. Kakashi leapt to the treeline, avoiding the massive Fireball by the skim of his teeth.
'An impressive kid... ' Kakashi thought.
Pfff!
Kakashi heard rustling behind him. He turned as quick as he could to find Hinata running up to him, with her gentle fist ready to attack. Kakashi knew the Hyuga techniques were meant to suppress chakra, thereby making Kakashi unable to continue. He leapt right back out of the treeline to avoid the Hyuga.
Clingg! Clingg!
The bells! Kakashi checked.
They were gone.
"I got 'em!"
Kakashi looked back to find Naruto proudly holding the two bells in the air. He grinned. The plan had worked!
Kakashi was literally lost for breath. This was the first team which had genuinely used teamwork, and succeeded. He smiled. The first team which actually thought for themselves, and didn't follow his orders like little mindless drones. Heh... These kids.. Would make good ninja.
Naruto threw one bell to Hinata ." Catch!"
Hinata caught the bell with both hands.
"Here." Naruto threw one to Sasuke, who grabbed with with one hand.
Kakashi looked at Naruto. He's the one. The one who put his own needs aside for the betterment of the team.
" 13 team." Kakashi said. His students turned to face him. " 13 teams have failed under my training. They all worked alone, and were selfish, putting their own needs against the needs of their followed every single order I gave like mindless drones. This team, however, has proven themselves to be better then that. This team has used teamwork, their brains and their incredible skills. I'm sure you will be happy to hear all three of you have passed the test."
Naruto and Hinata Both cheered! Naruto was SO happy he was finally a certified Ninja, and Hinata was so happy that not only Naruto was able to keep his dream, and she didn't have to disappoint her father!
Sasuke gave a faint grin. One step closer... To revenge.
Kakashi looked between Naruto and Sasuke. They both had pretty ambitious dreams, but Sasuke's... Seemed more deadly. He would have to be watched closely. What Sasuke wanted meant he would try to attain power, no matter the cost.
Even at the cost of treachery.