Jinchūriki in the Shell

by Darth Selendis

Naruto had worked hard to prove himself as an organic shinobi and gain the acceptance of the village, only for his dream to be ripped away from him. With Naruto struggling with what he has become, his friends try to help him reestablish his humanity while a mysterious woman encourages him to free his ghost and become something greater. Which way will his ghost lead him in the end?

5. Beta v1,3

Disclaimer: Naruto and all associated characters are a property of Masashi Kishimoto. Motoko Kusanagi and all associated elements and characters of Ghost in the Shell are properties of Masamune Shirow.

Jutsu: Original (Translation)

Bijū/Summon/Android Speaking

Bijū/Summon/Android Thoughts

Mental Communications

[Chat Box/Text communication]

Edit 12/27/16

Beta v.1.3

July 15th, 2247

Training Ground 3

---

Kakashi Hatake sat concealed within the crown of a tree, studying the group of genin he would have to teach. The young veteran couldn't help but reminisce as he studied the trio below him. As he took note of their personalities and mannerisms, the painful memories of the past had come rushing back. The stark similarities this group had in comparison to his own teammates out of the Academy was unsettling for the former Anbu captain.

Naruto was so much like Obito, even if part of it was a mask to cope with the amount of hostility he had been surrounded with as a child. That fiery determination to prove his worth to people who looked down on him as an outsider, as anathema. He even had that same intuitive yet oblivious intelligence and that uncommonly strong charisma that could inspire allies or sway enemies to his side.

There were a few subtle differences between the two, however. Unlike Obito, Naruto wasn't goofy and carefree about things. Naruto also had a lot more skill to justify his overconfident demeanor because he had taken his training seriously in the Academy. Obito had been a goof off and class clown in the Academy, more interested in making friends then taking his training seriously. It wasn't until he joined Team 7 and tried to gain Rin's attention that he began to train with motivation.

The pink haired civilian girl was more like Rin then he expected. Reports from the Academy had pegged her as a book smart fangirl who would likely wash out of the combat division after facing a particularly trying combat situation. From studying her movements, however, he could tell that her body was almost entirely prosthetic.

Unlike most civilians, who opted for the low to mid-level artificial limbs manufactured from Kyokutō or Kenbishi, Sakura had convinced her parents to shell out more for the Megatech combat enhanced prosthesis. That told Kakashi that she was far more serious about being a kunoichi than appearances would dictate. Her entire skill set seemed to have been carefully crafted to cover her weaknesses and highlight her strengths with a particular goal in mind. Even if her infatuation with the Uchiha was her primary motivation, at least she would have a strong foundation to work with if things didn't go how she planned.

The youngest son of Fugaku seemed to also be a bit different from the reports. Kakashi could see how the similarities between himself as a genin and Sasuke when it came to their abilities and flaws. While Sasuke was trying his hardest to overcome the perceived stain his disability had left on his father's legacy and the clan as a whole; Kakashi had been trying to overcome the stain of failure and dishonor that had tainted the Hatake name and drove his father to suicide.

Itachi had warned him that Sasuke was so determined to gain Fugaku's acceptance and recognition from the clan, that he had become blinded to the reality of his situation. Itachi had tried his best to steer Sasuke away from the traditional mentality of elitism and arrogant pride that had filled the clan with ruthless, power hungry individuals, but the schedule of an Anbu captain was a busy one. Fugaku spent every moment of his free time indoctrinating Sasuke with the Uchiha propaganda and the clan head had far more time on his hands than Itachi did.

Their mother, Mikoto, had also tried her best to foster a more caring, team friendly mentality, but as long as Fugaku maintained the determination to raise Sasuke to follow the beliefs of the clan, there wasn't much Mikoto could do. At best she was limited to making subtle comments and passively encouraging Sasuke when he deviated from expected behavior. If someone outside of the immediate family were to learn about Mikoto's actions, however, the vultures wouldn't hesitate to swoop down and try to oust them from control.

Knowing the vultures were ever circling meant they couldn't afford to show weakness at all. Any sign of division or "weakness" perceived in the Clan head's family would be leaped on in an instant, like when word of Sasuke's condition had spread throughout the clan. Fugaku and Mikoto had to show a united front in the face of everything lest they are forced into the proving grounds once more. Since a majority of the clan felt that Sasuke should have been put down at birth, all eyes were on him to succeed as expected of an Uchiha, or they would take advantage of the situation in any way they could. The clan would constantly pick at the main family until a vulnerability they could exploit was exposed. After all, it was the way of the strong to ensure that their leaders were strong at all times. If they were unable to keep those beneath them in their place, they didn't deserve to be at the top.

While Kakashi could still see that arrogance and superior attitude in the way Sasuke carried himself, his somewhat cordial interactions with Naruto seemed to imply that Sasuke might be taking Itachi's words to heart. Even if Sasuke was only using Naruto to gauge his own progress and strength. Treating him as a rival meant that Sasuke admitted that Naruto was, at least, on the same level as him. That was a major step in countering the Uchiha's mentality of never relying on anyone or anything but your own power and strength. A belief that fostered the ruthlessness and power hungry nature of the clan since the time of Madara.

Kakashi closed his eye and leaned his head back against the rough tree bark. The emotions he had suppressed for so long threatening to break free once more. He had never wanted this responsibility. He never wanted to let anyone close to him again, but the Hokage refused to let him be. The Hokage claimed that the only way to lift him out of his darkness was to open himself up once more, but Kakashi didn't think he was strong enough to survive more loss.

Everyone that he grew close to died before their time. Everyone. Opening himself up to these bright young lives would only ensure that their light would be snuffed out before it could truly shine. The curse of his existence dragging them into darkness or the afterlife.

Why couldn't the Sandaime see that?

It was the main reason he had driven everyone off with his annoying habits. To keep them safe from his curse and prevent himself from suffering that pain once more. Only Gai was too stubborn to keep his distance, despite how rude and indifferent he treated the Green Beast of Konoha. The last thing he needed was a trio of impressionable genin to get attached to him. For him to have to protect them only to watch them die in front of him, just like his teammates had. The last thing he needed was to get close to anyone, ever again.

Especially Naruto.

It had nothing to do with what was sealed inside of him or the painful similarities the boy had with his father and mother. No, it was the fact that Kakashi knew that being around Naruto would force him to open up once more. Naruto with that same damned charisma as Obito would smash through all his barriers and worm his way into his heart; cursing himself with an untimely death or horrible fate. And Kakashi would have to watch it all go down, helpless, just like in the past.

Kakashi clenched his fist, an action that proved his current state of agitation. Being the consummate professional that he was, Kakashi never let his emotions show. Years in Anbu had taught him how to control himself in all situations and keep his feelings hidden from even the most perceptive people. A decade of controlling himself shattered just by the sight of mere genin. It should be embarrassing, but Kakashi knew it was more of a foreboding. He knew this was going to end badly. He knew that he should fail them outright, send them back to the Academy so another sensei could be responsible for them and he wouldn't have to watch as they suffered and died.

He knew he was being a coward but just didn't care anymore.

Yet, there was a gnawing guilt inside of him that had grown with a vengeance when he had seen Naruto was on his team. The old bastard had probably done it on purpose knowing that his ultimate flaw was his failure to escape the ghosts of his past. Looking at Naruto caused him to feel the heat Kushina's fury and the crushing weight of Minato's disappointment for having kept his distance from their son. He could feel Obito's disgust and his father's shame bearing down on him for failing to uphold his promise. His promise to his sensei that he would protect his family with his life. The promise he had made when he learned that Kushina was carrying Naruto within her womb.

Like Jiraiya, he had neglected his duty to the boy and left him to the mercy of the villagers. Sure he had watched over him as part of his Anbu detail, but once his shift had ended, he was gone. His only interactions with the boy were when he needed to fetch him for the Sandaime. And each time he did have to interact with the boy, no matter how aloof and distant he tried to remain, he found his emotional walls beginning to crumble around him.

So, Kakashi would shut himself away afterward, shunning contact with anyone else as he tried to patch up all the cracks and holes that appeared in his emotional defense. Kakashi had thought that he had been somewhat successful, but now it was clear that he had been losing that battle from the start. Just the knowledge that he would have to interact with Naruto, even as part of a team, was already stirring up emotions that he should not have. Emotions that proved he was already attached despite all his efforts to prevent that bond from forming.

Kakashi opened his eye and looked down at the fuming genin. He was a bit disappointed that none of them had sensed him yet, but it was a category of instruction that the Academy just didn't have time for. If a child displayed natural sensory capabilities, then the Academy assigned someone to try and develop that skill further. The more common forms of sensing, that any shinobi could use, had been sacrificed for Technology classes instead, leaving the Jōnin to train their genin on how to use that skill.

He supposed it was a fair trade off. Sasuke and Naruto both knew a few elemental jutsu already and had been making strides into mastering the elemental control exercises. Naruto being much further along than normal since he needed such advanced control techniques to form a simple Bunshin. Sakura also had the basic Shōsen Jutsu (Mystical Palm) mastered along with first aid skills and a few low-level genjutsu under her belt. All he really needed to do was focus on advanced tactics, survival, and team maneuvers. With some of the Anbu level tactics and techniques that he knew, they would be easily ready to advance to Chūnin in the next exams.

He had six months to whip them into shape and make them a team to be reckoned with. Once their promotions were secured, he could fade into the background and, hopefully, free them from the curse of his existence. Without him in their lives, they would flourish and he could watch from a safe distance as he preferred. Until then, he would just have to come down on them hard and be extra obnoxious so they didn't form any positive attachments to him.

With an acceptable plan in his mind, Kakashi settled back and continued to watch over his future genin team as they began to grumble complaints about his tardiness. Flipping open his latest edition of Icha Icha, the infamously lazy jōnin picked up where he left off and let himself get absorbed into his book. Well, as much as a paranoid shinobi could allow himself to get absorbed into anything, at any rate.

With Team 7

---

Naruto sat on the left most stump in the center of the training grounds while waiting for their sensei in the early morning hours. He was tired and a bit grumpy at losing time training the new jutsu the old man had given him, but Iruka-sensei had instructed them to meet at this training ground at this particular time. So, here he was with an even grumpier Sasuke and a surprisingly subdued Sakura.

If Naruto had not recorded Iruka's instructions, he might have questioned himself for getting the time and place wrong, but he had been recording the team assignment day with his datapad for one particular reason.

To record, for posterity, the day he beat Sasuke for 1st place in the combat specialist category.

When Iruka announced that Sasuke had taken 2nd place, the class had erupted into chaos. The surviving fan girls were shouting and berating Iruka and himself since even they knew that none of the other graduates were near his level. Sasuke appeared to be his usual stoic self, but Naruto could tell he was frowning at the results.

As for himself, despite the numerous people shouting and putting him down at the moment, he couldn't keep himself from leaping up onto his desk with his fist raised in the air while releasing a loud cheer with a megawatt smile on his face. He hadn't been trying to rub it into Sasuke's face or anything, but he was just too elated to remain composed. Every time in the past he would get close to claiming the top spot, but Sasuke would always manage to best him on the final exams earning him the 1st place position for the overall year.

Finally! After all those years of hard work and struggle, finally! Even if he didn't get Rookie of the Year, he still felt vindication. Now everyone knew that he was strong enough, worthy enough to be looked upon with respect and admiration. That insurmountable goal just became a bit easier and he was one step closer to his dream that lies on the distant horizon of the future.

Naruto glanced at Sakura from the corner of his eye when he saw her take out a small dexterity puzzle and begin working on solving it. Ever since she had received her prosthetic limbs, she had been spending most of her allowance on games, puzzles, and tools to increase her cybernetic output and fine motor control.

It had been a sad day for Naruto when he had learned that Sakura had replaced her arms and legs, but he couldn't deny that she had excelled in her taijutsu once she had adjusted to her new limbs. Sakura knew that she would never have the chakra reserves necessary to rely on genjutsu as her primary form of attack, regardless of how much she worked to increase them. So, she augmented her weakness by focusing on taijutsu like Tsunade of the Sannin. This freed her up to conserve her chakra for healing or subtle genjutsu to cover her approach. It also didn't hurt that she had been almost fanatical about cyberization in the first place.

It was only her desire to marry and bear children in the future that prevented her from replacing her body entirely. Naruto had overheard her debating the topic with Ino and a few other girls in class once. Sakura believed that a mother would be somewhat detached from a child they didn't carry within their womb. She believed that feeling that child grow inside of you was the best way to truly bond with a child. Naruto's longing for her only grew with that revelation, but he didn't dare to hope anymore. He wouldn't be able to keep the Kyūbi a secret from her and he didn't want her to fear or hate him like he suspected would happen if she were to learn the truth.

Naruto had not been surprised that Sakura had taken first place in the support category, she was one of the few kunoichi in the class that was serious about her career despite her fangirl tendencies. Her intelligence, strength, and proficiency in both genjutsu, taijutsu, and iryōjutsu gave her an edge over anyone else in that category. Some would call her a jack of all trades, but Sakura was smart enough and had such impeccable control of her chakra that she could excel in multiple fields of study. Only her small chakra reserves restricted her into a support role, but Sakura had no problem with that from what Naruto could tell. It seemed as if she had been leaning towards that role from the very start.

Not even the challenge of molding chakra from an organic core to a prosthetic limb had held her back for very long. That particular hurdle was one of the reasons most shinobi were starting to opt for full body replacements instead of swapping out a few limbs. It wreaked havoc on one's chakra control to go from organic to synthetic chakra pathways without the proper control hardware and software. Technology that was extremely expensive and limited when it came to synthetic limbs but was standard for full prosthetic bodies.

His eyes landed on Sasuke who was leaning up against a tree off to the side of the clearing. His rival was reading a scroll with an impassive expression on his face, but Naruto could tell the Uchiha was just as annoyed with their tardy sensei as he was.

Naruto wasn't surprised that Sasuke took Rookie of the Year for their graduating class. His scores had been more consistent in every category from start to finish. When Naruto was rewarded 1st place combat specialist, however, his raven-haired rival didn't seem too surprised.

Naruto knew he had a bit of an advantage on that front because he had been working on elemental manipulation and chakra control for far longer than any of the other academy students. Otherwise, he would have never mastered the Bunshin technique required to display the fine chakra control needed to start elemental training. Naruto could admit he was lucky that the final year's focus on elemental jutsu and chakra control had given him the edge needed to beat Sasuke.

Without math or history to study, he could put his full focus on improving his technology grades as much as possible. He still fell short of Sasuke on that grade, but he wasn't to bothered by that fact, surprisingly.

Ever since he had that breakdown in the Hokage's office and came to realize the truth of his situation, he found himself more accepting of things in general. In the past he would have mulishly refused to accept the fact that Sasuke had scored consistently near the top of every category; only focusing in on the few subjects where he occasionally topped the Uchiha as evidence that he should be just as qualified for such a designation.

Now he could see things from a more realistic perspective and understand that not everything was a result of that nebulous bias that had plagued him in the past. The bias was still there, for certain, but it no longer seemed so all-encompassing and mysterious. He didn't feel like there was a gloomy cloud bearing down on him while everyone else felt the warmth of the sun. Now he could clearly identify when someone was just hating him for his tenant or were simply annoyed by his miscreant reputation in the past.

Pulling all those pranks certainly hadn't helped his reputation, but it had been the only way he could keep himself sane under the weight of such unrelenting hatred. With that realization, things had gotten a bit better for him. But now he had to deal with the growing resentment and bitterness within him at the simple injustice of it all.

Naruto let his eyes drift back up to the sky as he mulled over the aftermath of learning the reality of his situation and how much he had changed because of it.

After he had woken up in the Hospital, Naruto had tried to barge out of the room and back to the Hokage Tower only to be forced to remain in his room by the Anbu stationed in the hallway. Seeing the Anbu also posted outside of the window made him realize that the old man was really serious this time, so he stayed put, grudgingly. While he was a bit relieved not to have been committed to the asylum for a nervous breakdown, the Hokage had ordered him to remain for observation. From what he managed to find out later, this order was mostly due to his collapse and the subsequent flare of demonic chakra that had been expelled from his body rather than his reaction to the news.

Once the medics had given him the all clear, the Hokage brought him back to his office to interrogate him about what happened when he had blacked out and began leaking demonic chakra in alarming amounts. Naruto had then revealed the depth of his argument with the Kyūbi. Only after several more probing questions from the Hokage, Naruto had grown fed up with the interrogation and began demanding his own answers.

With great reluctance, the Hokage had revealed the rest of the truth about the Kyūbi attack and, more importantly, the truth about his parents.

Naruto wasn't surprised that the old man had been reluctant to reveal anything more to him. His extremely bad reaction to learning about the Kyūbi was more than enough justification to be wary about revealing even more stressful information to him. Yet, Naruto had refused to leave until the old man had revealed everything to him.

The Sandaime had run through the entire night of his birth to the best of his knowledge. His birth location had been classified on the highest level since there was a risk that the Kyūbi would break free while his mother gave birth. Two Anbu teams and a pair of jōnin level midwives were assigned to the birth with no previous knowledge of the birth location until shortly after his mother's water had broken. As far as he had known, everything was going as planned, at least until he heard a deafening roar ring out and was hit with a wave of malevolent chakra he had never felt before.

Hiruzen described how the Kyūbi suddenly appeared out of nowhere as if summoned directly at the gates of the village and began tearing a path of destruction towards the heart of the village. The Sandaime had to muster the initial defense amidst all the confusion because no one knew what had happened to the Yondaime. In truth, the Sandaime had suspected that the Yondaime was dead the minute he saw the Kyūbi appear at the gates. Only after the Kyūbi had been driven out to the very edge of the village did Konoha's Yellow Flash appear, warping the Kyūbi far away from the village.

When Hiruzen had arrived at the location where the Kyūbi had been subdued, his father had already used the Shiki Fūjin (Reaper Death Seal) to seal away the Kyūbi. His mother had already died by that point, a combination of having the Kyūbi ripped out of her seal and the massive stab wound that she shared with his father. Hiruzen could only deduce that the Kyūbi had tried to eliminate him before the seal took hold and that his father and mother had thrown themselves over him to save his life.

It was then that Hiruzen learned about what happened in the cave with his father's dying breath. That a masked man with a Sharingan had freed the Kyūbi before using his dojutsu to order the kitsune to attack the village on his orders. His father's last words had been to plead with the Sandaime to ensure that Naruto was viewed as a hero for his sacrifice.

Needless to say, the revelation that his father had been the Yondaime had been another earth shattering shock to his system. The man he had come to admire the most had also been the cause of all his suffering.

That storm of emotions that had gripped him when he had first learned about the Kyūbi rose up again, but this time, Naruto had been prepared to maintain a grip on his sanity. He managed to calm himself with the knowledge that his mother and father had loved him; that he wasn't some clanless nobody, and that everything that had endured was truly the fault of the Kyūbi and the man that had set the bijū loose in the village in the first place.

His father, being the Hokage, had no other option to save the village. He was the only Uzumaki child in the village and even if he weren't, his father wasn't the type of person who would ask someone else to sacrifice their child instead of his own. Everyone had pegged his father as a noble and honorable man, even the Iwa ninja that loathed his very existence couldn't dispute that fact.

Just knowing what his father sacrificed in order to seal the Kyūbi was proof enough to him that there was no other choice.

His father had sacrificed his very soul to seal the Kyūbi away into the only place that could keep the fox at bay, his only son. Sure he had some lingering resentment towards his father, but even he knew it was just unreasonable anger at the circumstances he was placed in. It wouldn't change the fact that he admired and looked up to him because he was still his father in the end.

Should have, could have, would have... None of that really mattered at this point. What was done, was done; unless someone invented a time traveling jutsu, there was no way to go back and change everything.

The old man had apologized for revealing the truth about his status as the Kyūbi container to the village. In hindsight, he admitted that he had only made a bad situation worse, but he had only been trying to fulfill his father's dying wish.

How could the villagers see him as a hero if his identity had been concealed?

The only thing he was guilty of was having faith that the villagers would accept the truth and respect the Yondaime's dying wish. Instead of using his vast knowledge and experience to reconsider that decision, he placed his trust in the village he loved. Both his father and the old man had simply underestimated just how strong the grief and anger of the village had been at that moment.

None of them could have realized just how lost to those emotions the villagers had been; that they would disregard the final words of the man they worshiped as a hero in order to satisfy a need for vengeance that could not be sated. They were all powerless to harm the Kyūbi in any way and instead of receiving torment or death, the Kyūbi was simply locked away in their minds.

It had been hard for him to fathom that the Kyūbi was sealed inside of him, and that was with some basic knowledge about how a storage seals worked. For civilians, all they could understand was that the source of all their pain and misery was inside of this little boy.

Even with this knowledge, however, Naruto was still coming to terms with the resentment and bitterness he was feeling towards the villagers, his father, the old man, and just his life in general. He had gone through exercises with a counselor to try and gain a sympathetic view towards the villager's point of view, but he had found that trying to follow their logic in such a way had only made his resentment of them grow. It hurt his brain to accept their idiotic conclusions about why he was a demon and he couldn't help but feel like a simpering, pathetic, weak minded idiot when he listened to the reasons behind their treatment of him.

The only thing that served to squelch that growing darkness in him was the determination to prove that he was better than all of them. To move on past his suppressed hatred for the mistreatment he suffered and prove them all wrong. Lashing out would only justify their idiotic arguments in their idiotic minds so it was pointless to let this hatred in him fester. Instead, he would continue with his goal. He would continue blazing forward on his path to becoming Hokage and forcing them to recognize the truth of who he was.

2 Hours 30 Minutes Later

---

Naruto lay sprawled out on the ground utterly bored and a bit fed up with the fact that their sensei still hadn't shown up yet. He wanted to get this meeting over with so he could set his focus onto mastering the different jutsu the old man had given him yesterday after team assignments.

For getting first place, the old man had finally given him free reign to study the Shunshin no Jutsu and the rest of the jutsu scrolls he had recovered from the Old Village a few years ago. He also received two more Fūton and two more Suiton jutsu to work on as well as more advanced chakra manipulation exercises for those elements. Naruto had been particularly interested in the chakra control exercises the Nidaime had taught the old man as a student. If he could manage to eliminate the need for a water source, it would make his jutsu that much deadlier.

The final gift, however, was a list of Bunshin techniques for successfully completing the regular Bunshin. After all the hours of struggle and chakra control exercises, he had suffered to successfully complete the useless jutsu. The old man gave him a list of useful clones that he would have little to no problems learning.

Naruto had to admit it was a good gag gift from the old man. Paying him back for all the complaints and paperwork he had made the aged Hokage deal with over the years with his pranks.

Now the useless Bunshin technique he had spent years trying to master (and complaining about quite loudly) would truly be useless. On the list were the Mizu Bunshin, Kage Bunshin, and a few variants of the Kage Bunshin that required infusing them with Doton or Raiton chakra.

The old man had gone on, at length, about the dangers of the Kage Bunshin technique and to avoid trying to infuse elements into those clones until he had all his chakra manipulation exercises mastered completely. Particularly Doton and Raiton, since he was not aligned with those elements naturally. The old man also expressed his hope that Naruto would figure out a way to incorporate Suiton or Fūton into the Kage Bunshin because of his natural affinities and large reserves from the Kyūbi.

For Naruto, he could tell this jutsu would be key for him in advancing in strength. With the Kage Bunshin, he would become strong enough to make everyone respect him. He would grow strong enough to make everyone recognize him for who he was.

Naruto sighed again, gaining an annoyed glare from Sasuke while Sakura continued focusing on her dexterity puzzle. He couldn't read the scrolls from the Hokage around any others since he didn't want the old man getting any more pressure from his advisers or the council on associating with him. He might still partially resent the old man for how his situation turned out, but he could never forget the kindness or care that the Sandaime had given him in spite of everything.

He just needed a bit more time to forgive the old man. Probably after pranking him for failing to mention that his sensei was going to leave them hanging in this training ground for a few hours. Naruto knew that the old man had been smirking for a reason other than giving him the Kage Bunshin scroll, he just hadn't been able to figure out why. Now that he knew, however, he was already plotting how to get his revenge on the cunning old Hokage.

A sudden flare of chakra caught his attention, and he narrowed his eyes on the man who suddenly appeared in front of them. That spiked up silver hair and nonchalant posture was far too similar to be a coincidence. His sensei had to be Inu. The one Anbu that always managed to sneak up on him and scare the living daylights out of him just when he thought he had gotten away clean.

Naruto knew the Anbu were a step above most of the shinobi, but the other operatives were always straight forward with him. They would appear right in front of him, state their intentions before snatching him up, and depositing him in the Hokage's office without so much as a peep.

Inu, however, made it a habit of sneaking up on him and scaring the living daylights out of him. It was like the man just knew when he relaxed his guard so that he could pop out of thin air and cause him to jump out of his skin in shock. Inu was also the only one who would actually speak to him more than any others, however, but it was always in that bored, unimpressed tone of voice that annoyed Naruto to no end.

So, to say that Naruto was wary would be an understatement. Mentally, he was releasing a stream of curses knowing just how much of a pain in the ass this was going to be with Inu as his sensei. Here he had been concerned about getting a sensei who was amongst the group of idiots who was biased against him, but Naruto should have known that the old man wouldn't have made such a mistake.

Naruto stood up and made his way over to Sakura who had risen as soon as Kakashi had appeared before them. Sasuke positioned himself on her right, while Naruto fell in on her left; a throwback to their first time as a team together in the Academy. All three of them were glaring at Kakashi who seemed more focused on his book than on them. He didn't even seem to acknowledge their presence for several minutes before Sakura decided to say something.

"Um, excuse me, are you the sensei for Team 7?" Sakura said in a polite tone.

Kakashi only turned a page and continued reading.

"Oi! Mutt face, don't just ignore Sakura like that!" Naruto shouted indignantly.

"Mah, Mah, Naruto, that's not very nice," Kakashi said with a nonchalant wave of his hand. "I just find this paragraph to be far more interesting than the three of you."

Sasuke gave Kakashi a glare and a huff, just looking at the man made it seem impossible that he had graduated the Academy and advanced through the ranks as quickly as his perfect brother.

His father had plenty of negative things to say about Kakashi Hatake, mainly that he was the son of a disgraced failure and nothing more than a common thief, but Itachi had espoused Kakashi's known genius and talent; citing his nearly flawless record in Anbu and his previous training under the Yondaime as examples of his skill.

"Naruto, you know this guy?" Sakura whispered.

"Yea. You could say that I am familiar with him. I wouldn't say that I know him all that well, though." Naruto said softly.

Kakashi snapped his book shut seeing that his genin were now properly riled up.

"Okay, my cute little genin, it's time to see how much knowledge you retained from you last two years at the Academy," Kakashi said with a cheery tone. "First off, I know you three were paired together for a quarter so let's test how much you know about each other, shall we?"

Kakashi pointed to Sasuke who subconsciously straightened himself up and tilted his chin up as if preparing for a direct challenge.

"Let's start with mini-Itachi over there. Tell me three things about little pinky here that doesn't involve her skill set or abilities. Go." Kakashi said.

Sasuke growled a bit at the nickname before his brow furrowed in thought.

"Her favorite color is red, she knows how to cook, and she likes sweets?" Sasuke said with a bit of uncertainty.

Kakashi looked over at Sakura to confirm his answers only to be disappointed to see her clasping her hands over her chest with stars in her eyes.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun! You remembered all that about me!" Sakura said dreamily.

'Great the notes about her being a fangirl are quite justified. She doesn't even realize that he only pointed out the most obvious and superficial things or that he was even guessing at them..' Kakashi thought to himself.

Naruto let out a disgruntled huff but otherwise remained silent. Those were hardly the best attributes about Sakura, but she wouldn't appreciate him trying to show up Sasuke in front of their sensei.

"I guess that means the Uchiha is actually capable of observation without having his Sharingan active." Kakashi drawled in a bored tone earning a glare from Sasuke and Sakura while Naruto merely chuckled.

"Moving on. I have the same question for you, Sakura, but about little fishcake here."

"Oi! I'm not little!" Naruto shouted but Kakashi merely waved him off.

"Talk to me when you grow five more inches." Kakashi retorted before looking at Sakura. "Well?"

"Umm..." Sakura placed a finger over her lips as she tried to think about anything about Naruto that wasn't related to his skills or abilities.

"I know that he likes orange, very bright and... vibrant shades of orange." Sakura with a false laugh, "Um, he is always shou- er declaring his love of Ramen, and his dream is to become Hokage." Sakura concluded.

Naruto looked away to hide the blush on his cheeks. While it wasn't anything he hadn't declared publicly more than once, it was more than he had expected her to remember about him.

"Now it's your turn Naruto. Tell me three things about Sasuke that have nothing to do with his skills or abilities." Kakashi asked.

"He is always eating tomatoes and onigiri, always; it's like he can't eat anything else," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head in thought. "He hates being compared to his brother all the time, and he works hard to be just like the rest of the stuck up, arrogant pricks in his clan," Naruto concluded with a smirk towards Sasuke.

"Idiot." Sasuke retorted; a bit put off by the fact that Naruto had been able to perceive two of his sore spots.

Kakashi merely hummed in acknowledgment before he turned back to Sasuke. "And what would you point out about Naruto?"

"He's self-conscious about the fact that he doesn't have any cybernetics, He is so far beneath anyone's notice that he goes out of his way to attract attention to himself, and he is willing to do almost anything to try and prove he isn't insignificant," Sasuke said with a smirk.

Naruto only scowled in response. Nothing Sasuke said was false, it was just slanted to make him look worse.

"How interesting," Kakashi said in a bored tone. "It seems that at least Sasuke and Naruto are capable of understanding one another to some extent. Pinky here is too caught up in the superficial to see the reality of things. Which is probably the reason why Sasuke has no respect for you at all." Kakashi added with a loaded glance at Sakura.

"But sensei, you didn't ask me to mention anything about Sasuke. I am certain I can list more about him than Naruto and you didn't ask Naruto to say anything about me." Sakura asked.

'Lazy perverted bastard says I'm superficial!? At least I'm not hiding behind a mask! If he challenges me to list off Sasuke's best attributes I'll put him in his place. Shannaro!' Inner Sakura rambled.

"I don't need to ask you about Sasuke, Sakura. It is obvious you are blinded by your infatuation with him." Kakashi retorted. "If you want to prove me wrong, then list three faults about Sasuke that have nothing to do with his skills or talents or else I'll fail you right now and call up one of the reserve genin to take your place."

Sakura deflated at that challenge. She couldn't fail here in front of Sasuke but if she put him down, he might view her badly. In the end, she decided it would be better to pass and ask for his forgiveness later. It's not like she had managed to get any closer to her first love despite all her efforts. So, the only direction she could go was up. As she ran through Sasuke's personality in her mind using logic, not love, she found it surprisingly easy to point out his more problematic behavior.

"Sasuke-kun focuses too much on training and gaining strength which makes him tense and stressed all the time. If he doesn't learn to relax, the pressure might become too much for him." Sakura said while sending an uneasy glance at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked nonchalant, but his brow was a bit more furrowed than usual.

"Okay. I'll accept that one." Kakashi said. "Continue."

"Sometimes he lets his pride get in the way. If he accepted help from others more often he would be able to succeed with less struggle." Sakura said quietly.

"And?" Kakashi prodded.

Sakura sighed "Well, Sasuke-kun can be quite mean and nasty to people he doesn't respect very well." Sakura said sadly as she recalled all the times he had put her down quite thoroughly. "It wouldn't hurt him to be more polite to people who aren't as strong as him since they could become useful or stronger in the future."

"I'm impressed. I didn't think you would be able to list anything concrete but those are actually valid faults that Sasuke could improve on." Kakashi said in a slightly impressed tone.

Sasuke merely scowled at her before huffing and looking away.

"Now, you mentioned that I didn't ask Naruto to mention anything positive about you in particular, but I can tell by just looking at him that he wouldn't find it hard to answer that question," Kakashi said with a knowing glance. "I can also bet that he would be able to list three faults of yours quite easily."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and looked away as Sakura turned her gaze onto him.

The last thing he wanted to do was point out her flaws. While it was nice to see her put Sasuke in his place, Naruto didn't feel that Sakura really needed to be put in hers after what Kakashi had put her through. He could tell she had felt bad to say such things about Sasuke, even if they were true.

"I would like to hear that," Sakura said making Naruto's heart sink.

"Why not?" Kakashi said curiously. "Naruto, if you would?"

Naruto sighed. He knew it wasn't really a request so he kicked the grass petulantly before responding.

"I would say that the best attributes about Sakura are that she is highly intelligent and learns quickly. She always acts confident and she is passionate about what she cares about." Naruto said as he looked at Sakura.

"As for the faults, I would say that she has a tendency to lose her temper quickly, she worries about what others think about her too much, and that she is slow to apply the knowledge she has learned if the situation doesn't match the training scenario exactly." Naruto blurted out quickly before looking away. When Sakura didn't reply he risked glancing back at her only to see her staring at him with a strange expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. I didn't want to make you feel bad." Naruto said softly.

"You don't need to apologize to her, Naruto-kun, you were being honest," Kakashi said in a chastising tone.

"What about Naruto's flaws then?" Sasuke spoke up, drawing everyone's attention.

"Oh? What about them?" Kakashi asked him.

"That's easy," Sasuke said with a snort. "He's loud, obnoxious, and he's heavily biased against people with cybernetics."

"I suppose that is true. Obvious, but true." Kakashi hummed.

"Anyways, are we going to do this team test sometime today?" Naruto grumbled sourly.

"Who says we haven't been doing the test already?" Kakashi mused.

"Really? We are just going to answer a bunch of questions about each other?" Sasuke said in disbelief.

"Well, in the past I would have done a test to ensure you were capable of working as a team. With the changes to the Academy, you have already been trained to work as a cohesive group with a majority of your class. If you hadn't learned how to work as a team in the past two years, you wouldn't have graduated so that test is now moot." Kakashi explained.

"If you knew we were capable of working together, why would you ask us these kinds of questions?" Sakura asked with a confused look on her face.

"I wanted to gauge how perceptive your group was and how you interacted with each other on a personal level," Kakashi said with a shrug. "Just because you were trained to work as a team doesn't mean you would be truly effective as a team. I needed to see if your team had what it took to surpass those limitations the Academy has placed on you."

"What kind of limitations?" Naruto asked suspiciously. Even Sasuke couldn't hide his interest at the question.

"That is the question you need to answer as a team if you want to pass my test," Kakashi said seriously before he pulled a cluster of bells out.

"After evaluating your questions, I have placed some limitations on what you can do during the course of this test," Kakashi said as he jingled the bells. "First I will explain the rules, then I will explain the limitations. You will have a limited amount of time to pass this test, and if you do not meet all of the requirements to pass, I will simply replace you with a reserve genin."

Kakashi pulled out an alarm and set it on the three training stumps before continuing with the explanation. "The rules are that you must keep your bell on you at all times. If you lose your bell, you fail the test. If you try to hide the bell or conceal the bell anywhere but on your person, you will fail the test." Kakashi said before he handed each of the genin a bell.

"You will have two hours to keep your bell safe from yours truly," Kakashi said with an eye smile. "Now for the restrictions," Kakashi said with a cheery tone before looking at Sakura.

"Sakura, you will have to keep your bell clearly visible at all times. That means that you are unable to hide at all. You can move and fight back but other than that, you must remain within this clearing at all times." Kakashi said before turning his gaze to Sasuke.

Sakura looked nervous at her restrictions. How the hell was she going to keep a Jōnin at bay for two hours when she couldn't even hide or delay him at all? With no other choice but to keep her bell visible, she opted to place it somewhere that she could easily protect. Using the thread that the bell was attached to, she threaded through one of the cloth loops on the collar of her cheongsam before fixing it in a simple slip knot. The bell dangled down over her right breast making a faded tinkling sound.

'At least the bell isn't very loud.' she thought sourly.

"Sasuke. Since you failed one of the questions I posed to you and were snide when answering your second question, the restrictions I place on you is that you must keep Sakura within your line of sight at all times." Kakashi stated. "You can hide or conceal your bell or yourself within the rules of this exam, but besides the time needed to blink, you must keep Sakura within your field of view until time is up. Second, you must keep Naruto out of your line of sight at all times. If Naruto remains within your field of view for over 30 seconds, you will fail."

Sasuke's lips thinned as he began trying to form a strategy with his hands practically tied behind his back. Keeping Sakura in his line of sight would be annoying, and keeping Naruto out of his sight would be just as difficult. Despite Naruto's best efforts, Sasuke was well aware of his crush on Sakura. If he couldn't keep Naruto away from Sakura, he would fail. At the same time, if he left Sakura on her own, she would never survive. While that wouldn't really affect him too greatly, most of the kunoichi in the Academy had been quite pitiful, except for Sakura.

As annoying as Sakura was when she fawned over him, at least she was dedicated and skilled. The fact that she replaced perfectly healthy body parts to gain combat level prosthesis was proof enough to him, no matter how foolish he thought it was. There was no guarantee that a reserve kunoichi would be just as capable or dedicated as she was. If they had been, they wouldn't have been placed on a reserve team.

Sasuke turned his attention to his bell. Someone as reportedly skilled as Kakashi would be easily able to pick their pouches and holsters in the midst of combat, but putting it someplace as simple as his pockets would be just as risky. Sasuke tested how loud the bell was by shaking it a little and found it wasn't too noticeable. He would tuck it away into his arm warmer once the test started and he was positive he had gotten out of Kakashi's sight.

"Naruto. You must remain within 30 meters of Sasuke at all times. You are only allowed a leeway of 30 seconds if he moves out of your range. If you move out of his range, however, you will fail instantly." Kakashi said before moving back to lean on the stumps as he fiddled with the timer. "You can also hide or conceal your bell within the parameters of this test."

Naruto fidgeted a bit nervously as he tried to process just how he was going to pass this test while being tethered to Sasuke. 30M gave him a good amount of breathing room but he couldn't help but worry about Sakura. Leaving her alone and exposed was just out of the question for him.

Naruto wouldn't be surprised if Sasuke left Sakura to fend for herself, to be honest. Unless specifically required or ordered to, the Uchiha always did things on his own because he didn't want to be "held back". He could only hope that the restriction Kakashi placed on Sasuke forced him to remain close enough so that if Sakura was attacked, he could move in and help her. The only problem with that, however, is that if he did aid Sakura, he would be forcing Sasuke to fail. Even if Sasuke was an arrogant jerk most of the time, he didn't want to be responsible for making him fail.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke and almost laughed at the pinched expression on his face. Maybe appealing to his pride and arrogance would be the best method of making Sasuke help Sakura. Even if their team isn't finalized until they gain Kakashi's approval, she was still assigned to their team. If she died, it would be like "his" team failing. For Sasuke, Naruto knew that was unacceptable in his eyes. When the exam started, he would have to try and convince Sasuke to help her.

Naruto stared at the bell in his hand. He was tempted to simply put it into his pocket but he knew from experience it wouldn't be safe there from Kakashi. In fact, there weren't that many places he could hide the bell on himself that Kakashi wouldn't be able to easily access. He would have to hide it somewhere that would be easy for him to defend but completely unexpected. Suddenly, he had an idea, he could keep the bell in his hand underneath his glove. It would be safe in his fist, the sound would be suppressed, and it wouldn't be easy for Kakashi to sneak it out of his grip.

"I will give you 10 minutes to prepare without your restrictions before the two-hour time limit starts. After that, I will pursue you relentlessly because the last thing I want to do is babysit a bunch of pathetic weaklings for the next six months." Kakashi said coldly. "If you don't fight me with intent to kill, you will not survive this test and I will send you all back to Academy in disgrace."

The trio of genin tensed as Kakashi placed the timer down. His finger hung over the button for a moment before he pressed it down while declaring. "Time starts, Now!"

Immediately, Sasuke took off out of the clearing towards the cover of trees in the distance. Naruto tossed Sakura a forlorn look before following quickly after him, staying in the flanking position so he could remain in Sasuke's blind spot. With no real option but to follow, Sakura took off after Sasuke as fast as she could, stopping at the very edge of the clearing that he vanished into along with Naruto.

Kakashi watched as the trio moved to create as much distance as possible from him. Inwardly he wondered just how the group would deal with the challenges he placed before them. He had intentionally chosen restrictions based on the flaws in their responses.

Sakura's was quite obvious. She was far too concerned about the superficial instead of trying to read further into things. It was the main reason why she couldn't adapt to deviations from normal, like Naruto so aptly pointed out. When she saw the letters A and B she automatically thought C, so when Y appeared instead, she was thrown off. Instead of seeing Y and thinking Z, she would go back to study A and B expecting to find X so that she could justify the appearance of Y instead of adjusting her logic to adapt to the pattern.

Making her remain exposed in the clearing with her bell clearly visible should be enough to emphasize how dangerous it is to focus only on what is "apparent". The feeling of exposure should drive home the fact that anything with intelligence would seek to conceal their vulnerabilities or use deception to mask them in some way. It would force her to realize that reality didn't bend or fit her logic like the virtual one, something Kakashi had seen occurring more and more as the children became more indoctrinated by the technology around them.

For Sasuke, his tendency to ignore those as beneath him and focus only on those who he considered worthy was a major problem. Not only for his own sake but for the sake of the village and it's reputation. Too many young Uchiha died or were drummed out of the Shinobi Corps. because of that typical inflated arrogance and self-worth, that served as a mask for their own sense of inferiority.

Forcing him to focus on Sakura should make him realize that even those he considered beneath him could dominate and control a situation and that he might not be able to do a damn thing about it. No matter what he did in this scenario, the girl he viewed with contempt and dismissed as irrelevant was the key to his success or disgrace. And Kakashi knew that for an Uchiha, disgrace wasn't an option in their minds. He would be forced to place more value in Sakura regardless of his opinion in order to complete the mission.

It was also Kakashi's subtle way of testing just how much Sasuke subscribed to his clan's beliefs instead of the Will of Fire that the teachers in the Academy tried to foster. Most Uchiha in this situation would leave Sakura to her fate; opting to shore up their own defenses and defend their bell so that they could succeed. Theoretically, Sasuke could still do that with this scenario. He could just sit by and watch as Sakura fought and lost her bell without ever putting his own chances at success in risk.

That was where Naruto would come in, of course. The blond serving as a lesson in just how powerless you are to control any situation despite how powerful or skilled you were. Naruto was the embodiment of unpredictability and an icon of just how writing someone off because of face value was a flawed way of thinking.

While Naruto's presence should have reinforced the fact that you can't always see the true value or strength of a person based on a few interactions, Kakashi was certain that Sasuke had pegged him as an anomaly or a unique circumstance with his faulty Uchiha logic. What Sasuke needed to realize was that there were many people like Naruto out in the world and most of them were far more subtle than the rambunctious blond. Threats that the Uchiha, in their arrogance, tended to forget when they unlocked their Sharingan.

The best way to drill that belief home was before Sasuke unlocked his dojutsu. If he came to accept that lesson beforehand, it would always cross his mind each time a new challenge or opponent appeared before him. It would force him to ask himself "What is it that I am not seeing with these eyes?" instead of believing that his Sharingan revealed all; like most Uchiha claimed.

As for Naruto, this scenario would serve to temper his overconfidence and brash nature by placing him in a lose-lose situation. Naruto would have to choose between the metaphorical death of Sakura or Sasuke. Without Sasuke's help, he would never be able to help Sakura and keep Sasuke "alive" and if he did stick with his objective as mission parameters dictated, he would have to watch as the girl he, obviously, cared for "died" in front of him. It would also serve to open Naruto up to asking for help from others instead of trying to do everything on his own to prove his worth.

Kakashi knew that Naruto barely trusted anyone and for all his efforts in the Academy, the only real reason the boy worked with anyone was because it was necessary for him to succeed. Naruto may act social and welcoming- if not a bit overbearing at times- in his quest to gain recognition, but deep down the boy had been conditioned by the villagers to focus solely on himself.

Being ostracized and scorned as he was, Naruto's mind had been conditioned to disregard anything that could impact others. Even when he was pulling pranks on people, the aftermath was primarily focused on internal reactions (being noticed, the exhilaration of being chased, revenge) rather than external reactions (his reputation, how the villagers would react, the consequences he would face). While that didn't mean Naruto himself was selfish, his mind simply didn't calculate how his actions would affect those around him because he had no real socialization skills.

For Naruto, it was like everyone else just disappeared when the heat was on, and once the danger or challenge had passed his mind finally registered that there was another person standing next to him. Even most of his team reports in the Academy had noted that most of the time, Naruto had focused more on carrying his own weight than working closely with others. Not that he was entirely to blame for that situation since a good portion of the students had forced him to behave in such a way.

If it weren't for the final two years of the Academy forcing him to work with teams, Kakashi was certain that Naruto would be far more loud, brash, and reckless than he was now. Kakashi could see a 12-year-old Naruto still rocking his hideous orange track suit trying to bull rush him for one of the bells. So caught up in trying to pass the test on his goal to become Hokage, he wouldn't even consider the fact that he stood no chance against someone he knew was an Anbu operative. If Sasuke or Sakura were on his mind at all, which Kakashi doubted, it would only be because he wanted to show up his rival while impressing the girl he had a crush on.

Kakashi repressed a shudder as his mind wandered down that alternate reality.

A Team 7 where Sasuke viewed his teammates as worthless and beneath his notice only working with them through coercion or force. His only motivation and focus going into a single-minded goal that he was willing to do anything to accomplish.

Where Naruto's recklessness and brash nature would only grow as he constantly tried to make Sasuke and Sakura accept him. His stubbornness and impulsive nature strangulating any potential to learn because he simply refused to accept guidance from others unless he deemed it valuable or exciting.

Where Sakura would be to blinded to reality by her infatuation with Sasuke only to take out all her frustrations on Naruto when her insecurities could no longer be disregarded or ignored entirely. Her failure to perceive reality would render her less than mediocre until her teammates lay battered and dying in front of her while her life hung in the balance.

It would have taken months of teamwork drills and possibly a life or death situation before they would be able to marginally work together; only for them to fall apart as soon as the team failed to overcome an insurmountable challenge or opponent. Kami, Kakashi wouldn't have been surprised if it required one of them dying to get their acts together in the first place.

Kakashi feigned ignorance as he detected Sakura put up a genjutsu around her to try and conceal her movements. If Kakashi had to guess, Sakura was going to try and surround herself with defensive traps in the hopes of funneling him into a certain area of attack. A smart move when faced with a situation where you had no choice to remain idle. Unfortunately, without the right support, it was doomed to fail nine times out of ten when facing a superior opponent.

He couldn't detect Sasuke or Naruto with basic sensory skills, so that was a positive note. His hidden clones had remained undetected by them all and if a single rule was broken, they would move in and render the violator unconscious. He had been somewhat surprised when Naruto had followed after Sasuke without a word. Kakashi was certain he would have put up more of a fuss to make Sasuke aid Sakura. Perhaps the blond was actually smart enough to play to Sasuke's weaknesses and use his pride and arrogance against him. It was one of the reasons Kakashi had made them announce their flaws. Gauging their knowledge of each other had actually been the secondary focus. An advanced team would identify each other's weaknesses and cover them with their strengths.

As soon as the grace period expired, Kakashi began strolling towards Sakura in a casual manner. His book was still held aloft as if here were totally relaxed and focused on reading, but his senses were on high alert. Sure he was cheating a bit, using Chūnin level detection methods, but that just made things more interesting for him. If the Hokage questioned him about it, then he would just claim he was using those talents to analyze his genin team's movements.

It wasn't like he needed to go all out to make them fail if he felt like it. The last time he had done that, it truly had been necessary.

The trio of genin he was assigned to test three years ago were all a bunch of arrogant, pathetic, weaklings that weren't worth his time or effort at all. So, he demolished them in record time before sending them back to Academy with a strong recommendation that they be removed from the program entirely. Last he heard only one of them made it onto the reserve forces while the other two washed out. The Hokage had been displeased, to say the least, and had doubled his time guarding Naruto with a reduction in pay.

Kakashi neared Sakura's genjutsu field and studied it carefully for a minute before removing the first layer.

'A triple layer illusion.' he thought with some admiration. 'All low level but they are fairly seamless. I know quite a few Chūnin that would easily fall for this.'

He strolled forward into the trap field with a bored expression fixed on his face, intentionally tripping the first few wires to see what kind of traps Sakura had set up.

The kunai launcher and the pit trap were not a surprise to him; being very basic and quick to set up in a pinch. Especially if you had a dual Doton, Suiton nature like Sakura had. He casually dodged the kunai before leaping over the pit and flicking a kunai of his own into the trees. Seeing the tied up log only confirmed his suspicions. She had used a basic dual layer trap to conceal the tertiary trap. What he wasn't expecting, however, was her aggressive charge that followed after he had dismantled the trap.

"Shannaro!" she cried before laying into him with a fully charged overhead cross to his solar plexus. Kakashi quickly used Kawarimi to replace himself with the log he had dislodged from the trap. Had she not put her full cybernetic output behind that attack, he could have been able to simply parry and dodge her strikes in his usual lazy manner. Fortunately, he had noticed her muscles straining as she redirected the tensile strength from her other arm and both leg muscles to increase her cybernetic output beyond its limits. The short burst of chakra he detected only reinforced the belief that avoiding the strike was the smart move on his part. Combining both the cybernetic redirection and chakra manipulation into a single attack was a feat he didn't think was possible for someone with cybernetic limbs alone. She must have also replaced her spine and nervous system as well.

Sadly, the end result of such a technique is a temporary weakening of the limbs she had drawn that extra power from. For that reason alone, it was never recommended to use such a technique unless you had an absolute certainty that your opponent wouldn't be able to evade the attack.

Real shinobi (and kunoichi) knew better than to believe in absolute certainties.

Kakashi wasn't surprised when she collapsed to her knees afterward while breathing heavily. The way the log had shattered under the force of her attack only reinforced his suspicions. She had vastly overpowered that attack in the belief that she had him dead to rights. A deadly assumption to make when using an attack that left you vulnerable afterward.

"That was an excellent move there, pinky. Too bad it was a completely foolish and wasted effort," Kakashi said in a lazy tone before moving in to knock her out.

Kakashi's senses flared in time for him to leap back and avoid the lightning-laced jet of water that raced out of the woods. Before he could land from his evasive maneuver, he was set upon by Sasuke who appeared behind him with a chokuto in his hand. The Uchiha was quick to begin launching a series of attacks at him with his sword, and Kakashi raised an eyebrow at how there was no hesitation behind each attack.

At least the Uchiha was taking things seriously, but Kakashi wasn't certain if that was a good or bad thing yet.

Behind the Uchiha, Kakashi could see Naruto flipping through hand seals to prepare another jutsu. If Sasuke had been more skilled with his blade, that would have been a big problem for him. Sadly, the raven wasn't as skilled at kenjutsu as Kakashi had expected. The silver haired shinobi was able to duck and evade most of Sasuke's attacks with ease. Kakashi had expected the boy to be, at least, mid to high genin level in kenjutsu based on the Academy reports. At the moment, Kakashi would barely peg him as a mid level genin in sword skills.

Growing bored with evading the slashes and strikes being sent his way, Kakashi went on the offensive. He sent Sasuke flying back with a fierce thrust kick when the raven extended himself on a horizontal slash. Just as he was about to charge in and disarm the Uchiha, however, Naruto released his jutsu to drive him off.

Kakashi was surprised at the speed at which Naruto managed to complete his jutsu. He had recognized the jutsu that the blond was using and expected to have more time to close the distance with Sasuke and force Naruto to cancel his jutsu. Apparently, the blond had a much better mastery of Suiton than stated on the Academy reports. Judging by the size of the volley Naruto created with Suiton: Mizu Shuriken he either had an extremely strong affinity or the brat had been secretly training in advanced elemental manipulation exercises.

Most people could only generate two handfuls of the water projectiles at once, but Naruto had managed to create five before the jutsu failed. If Kakashi had to guess, Naruto's vast chakra reserves had allowed him to keep the jutsu powered for much longer than normal. The jutsu probably only collapsed because his control had eventually faltered at the end, forcing the jutsu to collapse. At least, that is what he suspected based on the amount of water dripping from the blond's hands at the moment. Still, it was impressive for a genin to create so many water shuriken from that jutsu; especially ones that were actually dangerously sharp.

Kakashi put away his precious Icha Icha and decided to take them a bit more seriously when he saw Sasuke sending hand signals to Sakura. Pulling out two kunai, he prepared for their assault with a bit of excitement.

Their formation was a modified version of the "missing man" formation taught in basic training for Anbu. While the basic formation was the same, the movements and action points had been simplified before they were introduced into the Academy. He had to admit that it was clever of them to use this particular formation because it turned Sakura's vulnerability into a strong point. Without the formation, her restricted movement had been the easiest weakness for him to exploit. All he would need to do was put pressure on her to leave the restricted area and the test was over.

Now, however, she was forming the wall or hard point in the formation. Sasuke and Naruto would pressure him into her range with mid and long ranged attacks, driving him into close range where the pinkette's strongest attacks were focused. Sakura would always remain in Sasuke's sight because the formation demanded the two close to mid-ranged specialists to keep their target between each other at a slight angle while the long ranged specialist used the flanking position to prevent him from breaking their formation.

It was like forming a very skinny triangle with the mid and close range fighters forming the base and the long ranged fighter forming the point. The enemy would be pressured to remain near the base by the point position, which was Naruto in this case. Naruto would have far more maneuverability with this formation, making it easier for him to remain out of Sasuke's sight. In order to maintain the formation and apply the proper pressure on him, Naruto would be forced to remain within 30m of Sasuke or risk allowing the enemy an avenue of escape.

Overall it was a brilliant adaptation of a tactic designed for a different situation. It was also a clear indication that, with the proper motivation, Sasuke was more than capable of taking up the leadership role for the team. Kakashi made a mental note to himself to force more situations like these to see if Sakura or Naruto were capable of rising to the occasion. While he was certain all three of them were capable of becoming leaders, Kakashi wouldn't waste his time on training the others if they didn't bother stepping up. Some people were just made to be followers after all.

Now it was time to test how proficient they were with this formation before utterly shattering it along with their pride and confidence.

First, he would try a few of the simple counters that Anbu used against that formation. Then he would slowly step it up to see how they adjusted to the pressure. He might even cheat a little and use a higher level of skill against them, just to see how good they really were. The Hokage might be displeased with him again, but the usual form of punishment for annoying the old Sarutobi would no longer be valid. He was already going to be forced into watching over Naruto now that he was the blond's sensei. Not only did he have to spend more time with the emotional wall wrecker, but he would have to do it while dealing with a broody Uchiha and a borderline fangirl as well.

Kakashi spun on his heel and charged at Sakura in a burst of speed. Sakura rapidly flipped through hand seals while Naruto tried to slow him down with a volley of shuriken. Kakashi ignored the projectiles, knowing they were only a distraction and continued his charge. He could feel Sasuke closing the distance as he neared Sakura, but he wouldn't make it in time. The bigger question was, would Sakura finish her jutsu in time?

He felt himself get staggered by Fūton: Reppūshō (Gale Palm), which successfully slowed him down enough for Sakura to fumble her last hand seal and raise a Doton: Doryūheki (Mud Wall) to halt his charge. As soon as the wall rose, he heard Sasuke call out Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Great Fireball) from behind him. Trusting his instincts, Kakashi quickly threw a kunai towards Naruto to cancel his Fūton: Daitoppa (Great Breakthrough) before it could power up Sasuke's attack. He began quickly flipping through hand seals of his own while Sasuke recovered and Naruto evaded his kunai before scurrying out of Sasuke's line of sight. If he hadn't been able to read Sasuke's hand signs to Sakura, that combination might have caught him off guard, but they had failed to conceal their signals completely.

A rookie mistake, even for a genin.

With a blur of speed, he managed to raise his own mud wall to block Sasuke's attack before flipping through a few more hand seals to burrow underground using Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Headhunter Jutsu).

Kakashi moved to pull Sakura underground but was forced to back off when she cratered the ground beneath her feet with a prosthetic-enhanced punch. He rose up from the ground slightly behind Sasuke to try and force him to turn his gaze away from Sakura or eliminate him outright, but Naruto had been prepared for his appearance.

Kakashi wasn't certain if it was luck or recklessness on Naruto's part, but the blond gave little to no warning to his teammates before his Fūton: Daitoppa (Great Breakthrough) ripped through the area.

Kakashi only had time to cling to the ground with chakra to avoid being sent flying by the attack.

Sasuke had either been warned or anticipated the attack because Kakashi saw him off to the side before the main gust of wind struck him. Either he had replaced himself or had managed to dive out of the way before being caught up in the jutsu.

He had sensed a chakra flare behind him before the wind struck him so he was assuming that Sakura had formed another wall of mud to weather the attack.

As the gust of wind began to die down, Kakashi was quick to retaliate. Using Shunshin (Body Flicker) he closed the gap with Naruto and began testing the blond's taijutsu. While it wasn't terrible, it obviously wasn't his strong suit either as he was quickly being driven back and overwhelmed. Kakashi knew that Sasuke wouldn't have time to take the pressure off of Naruto without breaking his own restrictions, and Sakura was too far away to offer any assistance.

Kakashi smiled to himself when he parried a right hook from Naruto and heard the muffled tingling of his bell. It was a clever hiding spot, he would admit, but not good enough. Kakashi seized his arm quickly before he could retract it and moved to claim Naruto's bell to try and eliminate him from the test. Naruto lashed out with a thrust kick towards his abdomen, which Kakashi pivoted away from, before following up with a falling roundhouse kick. Kakashi was forced to release one of his hands to block the kick instead of ripping off Naruto's glove. With his strong hand occupied, Naruto used his legs to push off of Kakashi, utilizing his weight and gravity to break the grip of his left hand, allowing Naruto to fall to the ground before his bell was lost. Kakashi lashed out with a kick while Naruto tried to recover, but, as expected, Naruto had taken the opportunity to use Kawarimi to appear next to Sasuke.

Kakashi looked at the trio of Genin with some amusement.

Sasuke could only look at him out of the corner of his eye because of where Sakura was located. His face was expressionless but his body was relaxed. It was apparent the Uchiha thought he had this test in the bag. Kakashi would have to take his arrogance down a bit, he would never let some foolish genin believe he was even close to his level. That was how genin ended up dead, fast.

Naruto had apparently taken to the trees to remain out of Sasuke's line of sight and was looking at him with a scowl on his face. Not hiding how he felt in the least, but that didn't surprise Kakashi at all. Naruto had always had problems hiding his feelings when you managed to set him off. Kakashi also knew that Naruto was fully aware that he was toying with them all. If Naruto really wanted him to get serious, then he decided he should oblige him.

Sakura looked frustrated, which was understandable. Kakashi was certain she believed she hadn't done nearly enough to prove herself in this test. She was probably smart enough to know that he hadn't put much effort into claiming their bells and was probably berating herself for being trapped in such a vulnerable position. Hopefully, this would teach her to squelch those fangirl tendencies even further and pay more attention to other people.

Kakashi gave them all an eye smile and a lazy wave before disappearing in a Shunshin. It was time to show them just how far apart they were from him in terms of skill.

He struck at Sasuke first, using a genjutsu to distract Naruto long enough to drive the Uchiha away from Sakura with a Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu. As soon as Sasuke replaced himself, Kakashi ambushed him, using a wrist lock to disarm his sword before sending him flying with a side kick. Naruto had managed to recover from the genjutsu at that point and began sending more water shuriken and regular shuriken to relieve the pressure off of Sasuke, but by then it had been too late.

"Looks like the Uchiha is out of the game. You lost sight of Sakura for too long." Kakashi said in a mocking tone before knocking Sasuke out with a pressure point on his neck. He commanded one of his observation clones to pick up Sasuke and take him back to the original meeting point.

"Shit." he heard Naruto say before the blond fled back towards Sakura.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Kakashi said when he appeared before Naruto in a Shunshin while wagging a finger side to side. "Who said your restriction no longer applies if Sasuke had been eliminated?"

"What?!" Naruto shouted indignantly.

"Ut oh, you only have 15 seconds to track down my clone before you get eliminated," Kakashi said in an amused tone.

Naruto let out a string of curses as he turned back and tried to race after the Raiton Kage Bunshin that had taken Sasuke back to the clearing. He would lead Naruto on a merry goose chase while removing Sakura from the test next. He should have made his clone Henge into a child, just so that Naruto would know how it felt to have to waste his time chasing an annoying brat all day.

Kakashi observed Sakura closely for a few minutes before planning his approach. He could tell that Sakura was beside herself with nervousness and concern for Sasuke. If he had to guess, she was promising not to forgive herself for putting Sasuke in such a predicament. Never mind the fact that Sasuke's own actions had been the cause of his restrictions. Kakashi shook his head in embarrassment.

This was going to be too easy.

He created two clones and Henged them into Naruto and Sasuke. He made certain that he got a few details wrong about Naruto's outfit while ensuring that Sasuke's outfit was an exact copy. He sent the clones bursting into clearing while fighting off the third clone of his to increase the tension of the moment. His clone managed to "knock out" the Naruto clone before being dispelled by the Sasuke clone.

"Eya! Your so amazing Sasuke-kun!" she cheered, not caring in the slightest that Naruto had been eliminated or injured.

It appeared she still hadn't learned her lesson. It was time that she learn a very painful one or else she was a danger to this team.

The Sasuke clone advanced on her and Kakashi could literally see her heart in her eyes as she clutched her hands to her chest and the blush on her face grew.

"Sakura. Are you alright." "Sasuke," asked.

"I am now that you have saved me Sasuke-kun!" she tittered. "Together we can win this test. Together we can do anything," she said with a dreamy sigh.

"Sasuke" leaned in closer making her blush spread from her cheeks to the rest of her face.

"I was a fool to deny you in the past, Sakura, but no longer." he said before bring his hand up to trace her cheek.

Sakura closed her eyes at the sensation and leaned forward with her lips puckered ready to accept the kiss of her dreams. Instead, she felt a tugging on her shirt and the cold steel of a kunai being held against her throat. Opening her eyes in shock she saw "Sasuke" with a smirk on his face dangling her bell in front of her face. Behind her was Kakashi pressing the kunai into her jugular vein. If she so much as blinked the wrong way, she was dead.

"Congratulations, your foolish infatuation with your teammate had just gotten you raped and murdered for your efforts," Kakashi said pointedly. "If you're lucky the enemy shinobi will grow tired of gang raping you after a few days and will slit your throat to end your misery." He tugged her hair a bit sharply to ensure she was listening to him closely instead of mourning over the loss of gaining a kiss from her crush. Believe it or not, some fangirls he had flunked out would actually think something that stupid instead of realizing they had just fallen into a trap.

Kakashi let his voice grow more menacing as he whispered harshly in her ear. "Sadly that isn't the case for most kunoichi who fall for such a stupid and obvious trap like you did. Real shinobi have no respect for foolish fangirls and love making them suffer. They like to give girls like you to those really sadistic bastards with dangerous fetishes in order to keep them sated so they don't take out their fantasies on innocent civilians or fellow kunoichi. Kumo especially likes to gather up all their fangirls and make them watch some depraved bastard get his rocks off so that they learn just what happens to foolish, useless kunoichi like yourself. And the few that are rescued from such a fate, and I mean very few as in one out of ten, they all beg for death because you can't even begin to imagine just how twisted and depraved some of those sick bastards are."

Kakashi let her drop after he was done with his speech. It was harsh and fucked up, but necessary. Perhaps he was a bit pissed that she had so easily ignored Naruto being defeated in front of her. He couldn't help but think the worst of her, that she wouldn't have cared had he been a real enemy and Naruto lie bleeding out or dying on the ground. The Hokage might disapprove, but no one could deny that her behavior was extremely dangerous. For herself and her team.

He would not let this simpering bitch stand by and let Naruto waste his life for her just so that she can continue with her useless fawning over the Uchiha. Kakashi knew that Naruto was the type that would be willing to throw himself in front of her, even if he didn't have a crush on her. He was far too much like his father in that respect. If Naruto was to waste his life on her, she better damn well earn it.

Sasuke would never do such a thing for her, not in this life or the next because he deemed her as useless. He might do something like that for Naruto because he respected Naruto and recognized him as useful, but Kakashi could tell that Sasuke would only see her as a necessary sacrifice until she managed to save herself and gain respect in his eyes.

That would never happen if she continued to act like a useless fangirl around him.

Sakura had fallen to her knees sobbing as she hugged herself. Kakashi could only hope that message had gotten through to her before it was too late.

"Get up and return to the center stumps, your test is over," Kakashi said coldly before walking away.

He strolled back towards the center stumps where his clone had already deposited the unconscious Uchiha. Naruto was already sitting on top of one of the stumps with his arms crossed over his chest and a vicious scowl on his face.

"From that expression on your face, I take it you realized you had been chasing a fake this whole time," Kakashi said in that tone of voice that he knew aggravated Naruto.

"Yea, yea," Naruto said with a huff. "Payback is a bitch, mutt face," he muttered.

"Is that so?" Kakashi said with a hum. "By my count, I still have plenty of payback to return to you for all those times I had to chase you into the Old Village when I had better things to do. Just think of all the embarrassing and disgusting things I can make you do as your sensei."

Naruto snapped his gaze back over to Kakashi with a nervous expression on his face.

"Hey I haven't done anything like that for some time and besides you never fell for any of those traps so why don't we just call it even," Naruto said with a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head.

"I might consider it, but you would have to pass this test first," Kakashi said in a bored tone. "Which you haven't succeeded in doing since you had been so easily fooled by my clone."

Naruto slumped over depressed while muttering to himself.

When Sakura neared the stumps she simply slid down one of them before clutching her knees to her chest. She was still was still crying but it was much softer that before.

"Oi! Sakura, what's wrong?" Naruto ran up to her and began to reach out but stopped himself. He whirled around and glowered at Kakashi before yelling. "What the hell did you do to her mutt face!"

"It's nothing Naruto." Sakura shook her head but kept her face buried. "I just failed badly. It was all my fault." Sakura said between sniffles.

"Hey, it couldn't have been that bad!" Naruto said encouragingly. "I was chasing a fake around like an idiot. I didn't even realize that I had failed until way afterward and this bastard here barely lasted a minute against mutt face."

"Just shut up, Naruto. You have no idea how badly I failed." Sakura snapped as she raised her head to glare at him. "Just, just leave me alone, please," she added in a softer tone before burying her head in her knees again.

Naruto stood up with a dejected expression on his face as he took up his previous position on top of the furthest stump.

Kakashi sighed to himself before flipping through hand seals for a low powered Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu (Water Bullet). He shot the small jet of water at Sasuke to wake him up.

Sasuke flailed about as the spray continued to hit him in the face before he shot up to his feet. Taking a note of his surroundings he saw the dejected look on Naruto's face and saw Sakura looking defeated as well. Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth he shot a glare towards Naruto and Sakura before looking down at his own fist as it shook in rage.

"You have all failed to keep your bells safe or have failed because you broke the restrictions I have placed on you," Kakashi announced with authority. "Now, because you three managed to impress me somewhat with your team work I will give you one last chance to earn your place on this team."

Naruto and Sasuke looked at him with determination while Sakura looked hopeful.

"Tell me, Sakura, why you failed," Kakashi asked.

Sakura remained silent for a moment as she studied her feet before looking back up to answer.

"I failed because I didn't pay attention to all the details. Because you had all the details accurate on Sasuke-kun, I ignored the differences on Naruto's clone or that he had been apparently eliminated from the test. I ignored the fact that despite us three attacking you at once, we never really landed a hit on you yet the Sasuke clone you made was fighting you to a standstill." Sakura said quietly.

Naruto looked away to hide the pained expression on his face. It hurt knowing that she didn't even care for him as a teammate. That she really had thrown him aside completely to chase after Sasuke.

"Tell me, Sasuke, why you failed," Kakashi asked.

Sasuke scowled at the term "failed" but managed to reign in his anger and disappointment to think everything through.

"I failed because of the restrictions placed on me," Sasuke said shortly.

Kakashi narrowed his eye at Sasuke before asking. "And why did you have those restrictions place on you in the first place."

"Because I failed to see the value that both of my teammates could provide. When you began to pressure me I tried to prove myself to you one on one instead of immediately falling back when Naruto provided me an opportunity to back off." Sasuke admitted with bitterness.

Kakashi nodded in response before turning his gaze to Naruto.

Naruto released a sigh before looking up at Kakashi.

"I failed because I put more importance on helping Sakura instead of sticking with Sasuke. I should have tried to help Sasuke until the very end because Sakura wasn't the one in danger at the moment." Naruto replied.

"Good, you three both learned the lesson I tried to teach you," Kakashi said approvingly.

"As a team you can't place one person's life over the other. You can't view one person as lower or less than another. The second you begin to rank or rate your team members in order of importance is the second your team fails. In a combat situation that failure will result in death or worse." Kakashi said sternly. "The only time you can rise up and defeat those beyond your level is to work together flawlessly, to trust each other unequivocally, to know precisely how you move, think, and react."

"As genin you are the smallest fish in the pond. Everyone else is a bigger fish that is out to eat you, so you have no choice but to work together until you grow big enough, strong enough to start standing on your own and can leave the pond to face the ocean. But never forget that there is always a bigger fish. There is always someone who will be far beyond your level because very few rise to the top. Do you understand? Kakashi asked.

Sasuke nodded while Naruto and Sakura both replied, "Yes."

"Good. Then I will give you all a chance to prove it." Kakashi said before adding a dramatic pause. "As of this moment I declare Team 7 active. As long as you remember what you learned today, I will help you improve yourselves. Be prepared for hell for I will put you through training that would make Anbu candidate beg for their mothers. So, you better give me everything you have because I won't waste my knowledge on you if you don't." Kakashi said coldly. "I will cut you from the team and find someone who is willing to accept my knowledge gratefully. Believe me, when I say there is a very long list of qualified genin and chūnin who would kill someone to take your spot."

"Yes, sensei." Team 7 replied in unison.

"Good. Training starts tomorrow at 8am sharp. Don't be late." Kakashi said before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The trio of genin didn't even bother with celebrating their success, they had far too much to take into consideration. What should have been a happy moment was only a somber one, highlighted by the flaws and failures that had been so thoroughly exposed.

---

Sakura was reconsidering her feelings and goals in life. She had put far too much time and investment into becoming a kunoichi to change her mind now, but now she had to wonder if it had all been worth it. Her singular purpose was to prove herself a strong and capable kunoichi capable of marrying a strong and capable shinobi. Part of that goal had been driven by her own desires but another part had also been driven by her own parents.

Her mother and father had struggled to pay for her enhancements and, she had learned only recently, that they had timed her birth to coincide with the rest of the clan heirs in Konoha. Her mother claimed it was just to ensure that she had the best potential teammates for success, but now she was starting to realize that wasn't entirely true. Sakura knew that her mother only wanted the best for her, so it was no surprise to her when she had encouraged this crush on Sasuke.

Her mother had fostered that behavior in her, encouraged her to drop her friendship with Ino to become rivals in love for Sasuke. She had strongly emphasized focusing more on her skills and talents as a kunoichi to attract his attention while still maintaining her beauty and feminine form as much as possible. She had even encouraged her to drop her blooming friendship with Naruto in favor of earning Sasuke's approval.

Now she had seen that all of her efforts had been pointless because Sasuke didn't care about any of it. She had been too blind to realize that the only thing that mattered to Sasuke was gaining the acceptance and recognition from his clan. The only way to do that was to gain what the Uchiha clan coveted most, power.

While she was strong and talented, she wasn't nearly on the same level as Sasuke. In fact, if it wasn't for her replacing her body parts with prosthesis, she would be leagues behind him and Naruto. The only one who really was capable of challenging him was Naruto who had no enhancements, whatsoever. That was why Sasuke recognized Naruto and accepted him because he displayed strength and power without the need for augmentation. He pushed Sasuke to his limits, helping him grow strong enough to gain what he wanted most, acceptance from his clan.

She had so foolishly ignored the fact that he had been looked down on a belittled by his clan for needing prosthetic limbs. While she was a fan of cybernetics and had no problem with full or partial prosthetic bodies, Sasuke had no choice and his clan viewed them as a sign of weakness. Here she had been thinking that replacing her limbs with prosthetic ones would allow her to relate to him on some level.

Kami she had been such an idiot.

It took today's exercise to realize the reality of her situation. Sasuke viewed her as a mere annoyance at best and a burden at worst. Even though she had truly been serious about becoming a kunoichi, she had put too much emphasis on trying to attract his attention when he hadn't been interested in anyone. That had become clear when she looked back on the Academy days without her jaded crush blinding her. Ino, herself, all the other girls that swarmed him and swooned over him had never gotten more than a cold shoulder, a cold stare of contempt, and even an occasional insulting rant that they merely shrugged off. She might as well have insulted him to his face at that point. Even when he had been clear about how annoying and idiotic she had been and she just brushed it off as him being stressed or blaming Naruto for pissing him off by defeating him in a spar.

Kakashi had brought things into perspective for her now. What mattered was her career first. She was going to become a kunoichi because she really and truly did want to become one. If she managed to attract Sasuke's attention along the way, that would only be a bonus in her mind. Not a goal. Besides, she deserved more from a relationship than being chosen because she was first place. She deserved to be loved and cherished in return for her own faithful devotion. If Sasuke didn't show interest in her, wouldn't view her as an equal or respect her for her talents and skills as a kunoichi and a woman, then she wouldn't bother to chase after him anymore. She needed to focus on what was more important now. Right now she needed to get strong enough to survive and avoid that horrid fate Kakashi-sensei had painted for her.

Maybe once she reached Jōnin, she would start worrying about love.

---

For Naruto, he was stubbornly determined to prove to that mutt faced bastard that he wasn't going to back down on anything. He would take everything that he threw at him and more.

He wasn't going to change who he was just because everyone else told him to. Sure he should and would listen to advice on how to improve himself. He was young and had hardly any guidance in his life so he knew there was plenty of room for improvement. Yet, he wouldn't stop caring for people or trying to find the best in them just because it made things more difficult for him. He could still care for Sakura, despite her disdain for him apparently. He would not put less value on her life just so that asshole Sasuke could live. Sasuke could take care of himself more than Sakura ever could. If any of them needed help, he would give it to them, gladly. Yet, he also knew that Sasuke wouldn't really appreciate that help. With Sasuke, all he needed to do was give him a little bit of time or a small opening and the bastard would take full advantage of it.

Sakura wasn't weak but she was limited in her options and Sasuke wouldn't lift a finger to help her. It fell onto him to protect her because he would be damned before he stood by and watched as she was hurt or slain. While Sakura might not ever love him for it, she would, at the very least, be grateful for it. To him, it was enough to know that she was safe and happy.

He wouldn't deny that it hurt knowing that his chances of finding a woman to love were slim if not non-existent entirely. As long as they all viewed him as a naturalist freak or demon reborn, he would always be alone. Even after gaining their acceptance and respect it might be possible that he would never find a woman willing to embrace those aspects of himself.

He had seen plenty of older shinobi that had never found love. Too caught up in advancing their careers that time had slipped by and soon it was too late for them to start a family. Maybe too many kunoichi had burned them in the past that they would never allow themselves to trust another woman. After all to love a woman was to expose all your vulnerabilities to her. If too many women had tried to end him with a kunai in the midst of intimacy he might have problems trusting them as well.

What was more likely was that he would end up like one of those shinobi who had lost their love to death or another shinobi. Unable to move on from what they lost, they simply fulfilled themselves in duty until their end finally came. Hoping that they would get their chance in the next life.

Once more Naruto wished that he could just turn off his emotions at times like this. It would be so much easier to focus on his goals and grow stronger instead of being weighed down by all the negative feelings that had built up inside of him. The depression, anger, bitterness, pain, and loneliness that tried to drag him down; emotions that tried to distract him from his goals and sabotaged his ability to find true happiness. Naruto remembered the tales about Root shinobi being trained to forgo all emotions entirely and wondered if it was truly as bad as the old man had painted it.

Sure there were good emotions. The fleeting moments of happiness he did have in his life were treasured memories that were almost worth all the pain he had suffered. It was why he maintained his cheerful and happy nature as much as he could, so he wouldn't drown under that unyielding weight of loneliness and hatred.

It was so much easier to be happy. Even people that despised you for no reason typically behaved in a more positive manner when they were surrounded by happy people. If more of those bastards had found happiness, they might stop treating him like a plague on the village and move on with their lives.

Naruto did his best to remain happy and carefree because it was the best way to show that those idiots hadn't succeeded in defeating him. If he lost his original personality he was admitting defeat. If he gave up on his happiness then he was letting those idiots drag him down into their miserable existence because they wanted him to live a life of misery and suffering like they did. And if there was one thing Naruto refused to do it was to lose himself to those emotions like those pathetic weaklings. By remaining happy, by remaining himself it was like spitting in the faces of those morons who tried to make his life miserable. Because those selfish bastards couldn't move on and let go of their misplaced grief they wanted everyone else to suffer along with them. By remaining steadfast in his beliefs and fighting to remain himself, he was proving to everyone that those idiots were all wrong about him. It was proof that he was not what they labeled him, but what he made himself despite their efforts to keep him down.

So no matter what that bastard Inu threw at him, he would laugh and take it. He would use it to grow stronger, better, faster and he would rise up above it all and prove he was a better person.

---

Sasuke trudged his way back home lost in thought. He hadn't realized just how much of a gap there was between him and a jōnin level shinobi until today. With the extended training and advanced classes in the Academy, he thought that gap would have been much less. It was a startling wake up call just how pathetic the Academy had truly been before the changes and just how much of a prodigy Itachi had been to graduate and advance as fast as he had.

For Sasuke, it was a bitter pill to swallow but it changed his view on things immensely.

His brother had constantly disputed his father on how to gain strength. Every time his father told him one way to gain power, his brother countered with a completely different point of view. For the first time in his life, Sasuke was truly questioning his father's beliefs and motivation.

His father had claimed that true strength could only come from gaining power on your own. That relying on others to grow stronger and improve yourself was a sign of weakness and made you unworthy of the Uchiha name. Yet, after today's test, Sasuke realized how fundamentally wrong that belief actually was. That his brother had been right when he tried to guide him down a different path to power. A path that had you relying on friends and colleagues that you could trust and rely on. That having bonds with people only made you stronger, not weaker.

Before they were Shinobi students, they were children that had to be trained by someone. Someone had to teach them the very basics in order for them to pass the acceptance test into the Academy, even if it was pathetically easy. After that, they studied and learned under the guidance of the instructors and maybe their family or clan members if they had them. Once they graduated they were all Genin under a Jōnin sensei who taught them how to work together and how to survive. The Jōnin sensei guided them until they were strong enough to enter the Chūnin exams as a team. Even if they did pass the Chūnin exams, they were still often paired with their former teammates or with new ones if they weren't guiding and leading Genin on missions. This remained true until they reached the rank of Jōnin. Yet, even as Jōnin they would still have to work with other Jōnin or even Chūnin unless they decided to take a Genin team or advance into Anbu. He also couldn't forget that the elite of the elite. Even though the black ops organization was mysterious and secretive, there were still common facts that everyone knew. Everyone knew that it was rare for an Anbu to operate on their own. Sure there were missions where one Anbu was enough to complete the task, but for the most part, they were known for working with tight knit four-man cells that were heavily dependent on trust and reliance upon each other. Everyone knew that if you saw one Anbu that only meant that there was, at least, one that you couldn't see in the immediate area.

So Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why his father had told him he could only grow stronger if he stood on his own? Why would he encourage him to isolate himself and struggle to prove his worth without help from anyone? Did his father truly want him to succeed or was he hoping that Sasuke failed and ended up dying in the field so that the "stain" on his honor could be erased?

Sasuke couldn't help but think such suspicious thoughts when he constantly heard the whispering throughout the compound about him being a symbol of his father's weakness. He still recalled the insults, the taunts, the sneers and contempt that were thrown at his mother and father as they prepared to enter the proving grounds. He could still recall the resounding silence and disgruntled whispering that trickled through the crowd when both his father and mother had defeated and/or killed their detractors. The women who sought to remove his mother so they could seduce his father and take her position as the top female just so they could poison him and his brother and replace them with their own children. The men who sought to kill his father so they could wipe out his entire family and take their place as the most powerful family in the clan so they could lord it over everyone else. So that they could enjoy watching the rest of the clan grumble and curse them while they were forced to grovel before them on their knees.

It was the first time that Sasuke fully understood why Itachi had been so disgusted with the clan. Why his oldest brother, who had been hailed and worshiped as the prime example of an Uchiha, despised the very clan that practically kissed his feet. Now he fully understood why his brother had called them vultures and vermin because they truly were shameless, opportunistic, and nasty individuals who would do anything for power and would throw anyone to the wolves just to keep that power.

Why else did they force him to constantly struggle and prove himself time and time again? Why else did they look down on him even though he had managed to prove himself to be one of the best of his age despite the massive disadvantage he had? Why else did they jeer at him and sniff at him like a pack of ravenous jackals when none of them had been forced to overcome the hurdles and obstacles that he had?

Because they were jealous of the fact that he had managed to succeed where they would have likely failed or had been killed off as a child. He knew that if his parents hadn't fought off those fucking vultures, he would have likely been "purged" from the clan. He had never seen it happen personally but there were enough "disappearances" that were whispered about in secret. There were enough kids that mysteriously vanished whose families never spoke about them again. He hadn't really thought much of it before because his father had simply chalked it up to "the weak falling prey to the strong, as they should."

Sasuke shook his head at himself as he decided to take the long route home and simply walk. His mother and brother had teased him about this particular hobby of his but there was just something about walking that calmed him and allowed him to think straight. Sometimes it was nice to simply walk a slow pace and observe everything around you. And right now, he really needed that calm.

He needed that peace because he was finally seeing how much of a blind idiot he had been. How he had been too prideful and arrogant to see the truth of just how foul his clan really was. It was a painful realization because he truly did love his family. Even his asshole father held a place in his heart and deep down, he wanted to gain his father's acceptance. But now he realized that it was pretty much impossible with how his clan operated. Even if his father truly did love him on some level, even if he wanted to be proud of him, the vultures would never allow it. They would constantly challenge him, never giving him peace until they managed to get their way.

Until his clan was freed from their bloated sense of entitlement and arrogance that came from their twisted traditions, they would always be under attack. It was stupid because they were falling behind all the other clans when it came to strength and technology.

Sure Naruto had managed to match him and even best him when it came to certain things but it wasn't that long ago that he was the norm. Less than ten years ago, Naruto would have been just another student who was average or above average in skill. Now, however, the future was in cybernetics. Even if he had required cybernetics in order to become a shinobi, there were plenty of other shinobi who were surpassing their limits and even the limits set by their ancestors because of cybernetics. There were advancements in prosthetic limbs and bodies that would have required decades of training and hard work for people to accomplish and many of those people would have never been capable of reaching those levels because of their own limitation.

Most of the clans were embracing technology in some way. Only the Akimichi and the Inuzuka were downright against augmentation because their clan jutsu didn't work as effectively with any prosthetic limbs. In the Inuzuka's case, cyberization interfered with their instinctual bonds with their ninken and was incompatible with their feralistic jutsu. However, Sasuke was starting to believe that only time was needed to solve those problems.

The Hyūga Clan, which had been known for being more hidebound and arrogant than any other clan, had worked out some deal with Kyokutō corporation that eliminated the need for the Caged Bird Seal completely. He didn't know all the specifics but he had overheard Hinata speaking about her operation with her friends. She had mentioned that nanites were installed to secure her eyes in case they were removed. If someone tried to implant her eyes into someone else, somehow the nanites would identify that the body was foreign and respond by attacking the optical nerves and brain of the person they were implanted into. There were also implants to control fertility so that the dojutsu couldn't be stolen through more nefarious means. He didn't know how but Hinata had simply said if the attempted to remove the implants or force themselves on a Hyūga, the results would end in failure.

Not only did the nanites secure the Byakugan bloodline, but they also reduced the amount of chakra necessary to keep the dojutsu active while increasing the effective range. Hinata had boasted that her effective range had increased by 20 m and she could now keep her Byakugan active for an hour longer. With training, those benefits would only become stronger, allowing her to exceed any limit she might have run into before she had the operation done.

In the past, Sasuke knew he would have looked upon such news as a sign that the Byakugan was weak and flawed. That the Hyūga clan was foolish for requiring such a crutch to succeed because he held the same mindset as his father. Now he couldn't help but wonder how much more powerful the Sharingan could be if they had worked with Kyokutō corporation like the Hyūga did.

Hinata had even mentioned that the corporation had given them a large sum of money and economic incentives in their corporation while also paying for the costs that would arise from the entire clan undergoing the procedure. All that was required was that the Caged Bird Seal be removed once the procedure was completed. The corporation had been willing to go to such lengths simply because they viewed the Caged Bird Seal as nothing less than slavery.

Sasuke could only wonder what kind of benefits his clan could receive if they had approached Kyokutō on friendlier terms then eliminating a slave seal. Everyone knew how powerful and versatile the Sharingan was, he was certain that the scientists would jump at the opportunity to study their eyes while finding a way to secure and augment them in some way.

Right now there was nothing protecting the Sharingan from other users. All a thief needed was enough chakra and a halfway decent medic in order to harvest their precious dojutsu. Kakashi was the perfect example of someone who had adjusted to the use of the Sharingan with ease and it was a major source of contention with his clan. If the lazy bastard decided to approach the corporation, who knows what kind of secrets they could learn from him?

If they had embraced technology instead of spurning it, who knows what they could do to protect their eyes?

Who knows what new levels of power could be attained if the Sharingan was augmented with technology?

Sasuke sighed as his mind drifted back to a topic he could do something about. It wouldn't do him any good to dream about the things he clan may or may not do while it was currently infested with the power hungry vultures that only cared what position they were on the internal pecking order.

No. All he could do is worry about himself and how far he had set himself back by listening to his father's flawed idealism. He couldn't forget just how foolish he had been to ignore Itachi's advice all this time when he could have been improving himself. He could have been so much stronger than he was now if he had just listened and then none of those vultures would have been able to harass his family any longer.

He also couldn't forget the fact that Kakashi had forced him to watch Sakura as a lesson and when he viewed Sakura as a burden, then she became one. When he utilized her as an asset, focused on her talents and strengths instead of her weaknesses, she became useful. When he tried to go his own way, to do things on his own he had failed badly. He had only lasted as long as he had because Naruto had been there, in the shadows, to save his ass but that still hadn't been enough. If Sakura had been in the picture, he would have survived the exchange. With Naruto's help, Sakura would have given him more openings to evade, to counter. With Sakura's help, Naruto would have more openings to launch his jutsu. While that happened they were both covering his vulnerable spots. They were both giving him opportunities whether or not he deemed them worthy of his eyes or not.

Now it made sense to him why Kakashi had restricted him in such a way. To look upon what you think is weak and find the value or strength it held and to realize that it would always have some value, some strength that you could draw upon or learn from.

It also forced him to remember that just because you couldn't see something or decided not to view something as worthy, didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. That to write something off or ignore it as beneath your notice was foolish and risky. Even though he couldn't see Naruto during that whole fight, he could never rule him out of it. Naruto represented the silent threat, the hidden danger that arrogance and pride blinded you too. Sasuke knew Naruto was dangerous and strong, but when it came time to face an enemy, letting his pride or arrogance write them off was a foolish mistake to make.

A mistake that was all too common for an Uchiha.

Sasuke picked up his pace in order to make it home before dinner. This time, he would seek approval in the eyes of those who truly mattered. In the eyes of his mother and brother who had already accepted him for who he was in the first place.