Chapter 7: Team 7 Pt. 2
Hatake Kakashi is a man who is an odd study of contrasts.
On one point, he is the ultimate shinobi. Highly skilled, loyal to a fault and a stickler for the rules.
On the other hand, he can also be one of the laziest people you could ever meet who loves reading his smut as much as the next hot-blooded male.
But very few people knew him for the man he really is. His closest aquaintances never really understood him and he never allowed himself to get too personally involved with anybody other then his old team and sensei who unfortunately had all died in the last war and ensuing attack by the Kyuubi.
So naturally, it came as a bit of a surprise to the Hokage when Kakashi personally came to him during evaluations for team assignments and VOLUNTEERED to mentor a rookie team. Before, one had to be assigned to him only for the said team to fail miserably in his exam. And not just ANY rookie team but a team with two members whose families he has ties with and whose mere presence would possibly be a constant reminder to the white haired jounin of the darkest phase of his shinobi carreer. Only Kakashi knew the reason why he wanted this particular team.
And this is where we find the ex ANBU captain. Sitting on the rooftop pondering his decision to mentor a team as he watches his new charges shuffle onto the roof deck and sit in front of him. He only knew the Haruno girl from the reports given to him by the academy but he was familiar enough with Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.
He knew that the Uchiha Clan resented him because he had led a member of their clan to his death and had the Sharingan implanted as a replacement for his ruined left eye. They had tried numerous times to have it removed because they felt that nobody except an Uchiha was worthy of it no matter how desperate the situation may have been. That resentment was naturally passed down to Sasuke who tended to avoid him like the plague.
In the case of Uzumaki Naruto, Kakashi was one of the very few shinobis who were truly capable of easily catching the blonde prankster without trying to hurt him and deliver him to the Hokage for his punishment. Add the fact that Naruto was familiar with his infuriatingly laidback attitude as well as the little perverted orange book which Kakashi was so fond of reading and you have a genin who took his relative ease of capture at the hands what he deemed to be a slackoff ninja as a personal affront to his abilities.
Kakashi knew that it will be difficult mentoring two such talented yet volatile shinobis when he had such an unpleasant history with them. But at least he had Sakura who, from what reports say, is no slouch herself and got along well with both Sasuke and Naruto to make things easier. He owed that much to the memories of his friend Obito and his sensei Minato.
Kakashi snaps his beloved book shut and places it in his pocket then takes a seat in front of his new students.
"Good morning. Now that you're all present, I can tell you the reason why I asked you three to come up here. It is that so that we can introduce ourselves to each other. Know our likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams... That sort of thing." Kakashi said. Naruto opens his mouth to say something but Kakashi beats him to the punch. "Before you say anything Naruto, Yes I am aware that the three of you have been together for a long time and probably know each other pretty well. Just indulge me on this for the time being."
"Well maybe you could start Kakashi Sensei." Sakura said.
"Hmm...? Ah, I guess that'd be ok." Kakashi stated lazily. "My name is Hatake Kakashi, Jounin of Konoha. My likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams... Are frankly none of your concern for now at least."
"So all we got was his name? What the hell!" The three genins thought simultaneously with a sweatdrop.
"Ok, you guys are up next. You first Pinky. Ladies first and all that." Kakashi said, bringing out his book. Sakura suddenly developed a tick-mark on her forehead at the "Pinky" bit but managed to stay calm as she stood.
"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like strawberries and hanging out with my friends. I hate arguments, bigots and Ino when she gets all bitchy on me..." Sasuke and Naruto chuckles softly at this but was silenced with a glare from Sakura. "...My hobbies are reading and learning about new jutsus and my dream is to be the best kunoichi I can be just like Tsunade Sama. That and..." Sakura glances at Sasuke who seemed oblivious and blushes before continuing. "...Well something else."
"A closet fangirl eh? I can work with that. At least that didn't stop her from taking her studies seriously." Kakashi thought to himself before looking at Naruto. "You're next blondie."
Naruto scowls defiantly at Kakashi before standing up and taking his turn. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. My likes are of course RAMEN!!..." This statement causes Sasuke and Sakura to roll their eyes in exasperation. "...And my precious people. My dislikes are perverts, bigots and the three minutes it takes to cook ramen. My hobbies are training and pranking people and my dream is to become the greatest Hokage this village has ever seen!!"
"Typical of Naruto." Kakashi thought with a smile. "But if he's anything like Minato Sensei then I've no doubt he'll be able to accomplish his ambitions with no problems at all."
Kakashi then turns to look at the last member of the team, Uchiha Sasuke who stares right back at him. "What are you waiting for? An invitation? We're waiting for your introduction Sasuke." Kakashi stated and earning him a snort of derisiveness from the dark haired prodigy.
"Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke intoned menacingly before continuing. "Likes are green tea and sleeping. Dislikes are sweet things and shallow people who always goes for the looks. My hobbie are meditating and training to become stronger." Sasuke then looks at Naruto and Sakura who smiles and nods reassuringly. "My dream... No, more like my ambition is to hunt down a certain man, find out what I need to know from him, then decide if I'm gonna kill him or not."
Kakashi was silent at this. He of course, knew who and what Sasuke was reffering to. It has been years since Uchiha Itachi had murdered his entire clan except for Sasuke and he had not forgotten the trauma from the experience. But at least the young Uchiha was handling his issues in a mature fashion which in itself was a good sign.
"...That and probably revive the Uchiha Clan." Sasuke added almost as an afterthought, earning him a snicker from Naruto and a rather hopeful look on Sakura.
"Probably teme? You're not going gay on us are you? Coz I definitely don't swing that way." Naruto said cheekily, earning him a smack to the back of the head from Sakura and a glare from Sasuke.
As amused as he was by his student's antics, Kakashi knew he should get down to business. "Alright then. Now that the introductions are out of the way, I can tell you guys about the REAL genin exams." Kakashi said, standing up facing his students.
"What the hell are you talking about? We passed our genin exams." Naruto protested hotly.
"Correction, you passed the academy genin exams. Not the genin team exams." Kakashi clarified. "It's entirely up to the jounin instructor of a cell to determine if the students assigned to him are really fit to become an active team."
"That crap. You're only saying that coz you just don't like us. You said so yourself." Sasuke growls.
Kakashi gives Sasuke an even look at the blatant questioning of his integrity. "I'm a professional Uchiha Sasuke. I've been at this line of work even before you were born and I don't let my personal feelings get in the way of an objective judgement. Besides, every team get's a test from their Jounin instructors."
"And what happens if we fail your test?" Sakura asks tentatively.
"Best case scenario is the three of you will go back to the academy for re-training." Kakashi answered. "Worst case scenario is that you'll quit as shinobis altogether."
Kakashi was met with silence at this so he took this as his cue to continue. "If you agree to take my exam, I'll give you a choice. You can take the exams now and get all this over with quickly or you can take it tomorow nice and early so you'll still have the rest of today to rest up and think about it. But I have to warn you that my exams have a seventy five percent failure rate. So what do you guys say?"
"Guys, a minute here." Sasuke said as the three huddles together.
"So what do you guys think? Is this guy just giving us the runaround?" Sasuke asks.
"Well he did say that the other teams are also getting a test from their jounin instructors though that success rate seems awfully small." Sakura said dubiously.
"Gives us even more reason to pass his stupid test and prove to this creep that we're the real thing." Naruto stated.
Unknown to the three, the act of huddling together was enough reason for them to pass in Kakashi's eyes since they had already had an idea of the test's objective which was teamwork. But of course, he was still curious as to how good they were so he kept quiet.
"I think we should do this now. We're fresh enough now as it is." Sasuke said.
"I agree." Sakura seconded. "Besides, if we put this off till tomorow, I'll be worrying about it all night and that's never good for my complexion."
Both Sasuke and Sakura looks at Naruto who gives them one of his wide, foxy grin. "So what are we waiting for here? Time's a-wasting."
The three turns to Kakashi as Sasuke spoke. "Tomorow's a bit too far off for us so we'll take the exams now if you don't mind."
Kakashi shrugs his shoulders in resignation. "Suit yourselves. Meet me in Training Field 7 then in fifteen minutes, ok? See 'ya." Kakashi said before disappearing in a puff of smoke. The three genins looks at each other then nods simultaneously before leaping off to search for the training field.
Fifteen minutes later, Kakashi finds his team waiting for him at Training Field Seven.
"Ahh, good that you're all here." Kakashi said as he digs out what seems to be two bells from his pocket. "Now then, the objective of my exams is for you to take these bells away from me by sunset."
"Excuse me Kakashi Sensei, but you've only got two bells there and there are three of us here." Sakura pointed out.
"You're right Sakura. And the reason why there's only two bells here is because whichever two manages to get a bell from me will be the only ones to pass the exam." Kakashi stated.
"What the hell is that?!" Naruto exclaimed angrily, jumping up to his feet. "That's the biggest load of bull I've ever heard. Now I KNOW you've got something against us coz if you didn't then you'd be giving ALL of us a fair shot."
"On the contrary, I'm actually doing you a favor." Kakashi said offhandedly. "The world of the shinobi is an unforgiving place and not for the fainthearted. If you can't take these bells away from me, then you don't have what it takes to be one and are better off quitting altogether."
Naruto starts to move against Kakashi but Sasuke suddenly grabs him and pulls him back.
"Teme... Let me go so I can tear this one-eyed freak a new one." Naruto growls as he struggles in his friend's grip.
"Calm down dobe. There's no way in hell you'll be able to take him on your own." Sasuke hissed. "Besides, don't you think there's something fishy with all this?"
Naruto stops struggling and looks at his friend. "come to think of it, yeah you're right. I mean it's not as if one genin stands a chance against a..." Naruto stops as something clicks in his mind. He looks at both Sakura and Sasuke for confirmation.
"That's right. One on one, we can't match Kakashi Sensei but together, we've got a chance." Sakura said with a smile. "Which means..."
"...The damned bells are just a distraction. A way to divert our attention away from the real objective which is..." Sasuke continued.
"Teamwork..." Naruto finished softly. He almost blew it for his team with his impatience. "So what do we do now?"
"We go as planned." Sasuke said with grim finality. "We can't give this bastard the satisfaction of seeing us fail."
"Well what's you're decision?" Kakashi's voice came in impatiently. "I've still got places to go and people to see so I'd appreciate it if you made a decision now."
"Bring it you cheeky one-eyed bastard. There's no way we're gonna fail your stupid test." Naruto said as he turns around.
"If you say so..." Kakashi drawled lazily as he hung the bells from his belt. "But if you really wanna get these bells, you'll have to come at me with the intent to kill. That's the only way for you to get these."
"Come at you..." Sakura started skeptically.
"With the intent..." Sasuke continued with a growing smirk on his face.
"To kill?" Naruto finished with a smile of his own as he fished out a kunai from his holster. We can do that."
Kakashi sweatdrops as the blonde's teammates mirrors his moves and takes out weapons of their own. "Well I DID ask for this. Never expected them to take it THIS seriously." Kakashi thought to himself. "Ok then. Your time starts... NOW!!"
...
An hour later, Kakashi was starting to regret telling his team to come at him with the intent to kill from his hiding place in the treelines.
It didn't take long for the kids to make the first move in the exercise in the form of Naruto charging at him from the front. He had side stepped the attack easily enough but much to his surprise, the attacking Naruto turned out to be a shadow clone which dispelled when he struck it.
On the heels of the shadow clone came Sasuke who attacked him with taijutsu. His hand to hand combat skills were phoenomenal but when it was glaringly apparent that it couldn't match the jounin's, the last Uchiha leaps away to hide in the treelines.
As soon as Sasuke was clear, a brace of shurikens and kunais erupts from the bushes behind Kakashi which probably came from Sakura. Kakashi dodges the attack with a quick Kawirami No Jutsu but as he turns to find the source of the attack, Sakura's presence had disappeared.
The cycle of attack continued for a while with the genins trying increasingly diverse tactics from bum rushes, traps, katon jutsus and low level genjutsus to even Naruto's infamous Orioke No Jutsu (which Kakashi almost fell for) to try and take the bell from him. So much so that it was beginning to look like they were testing Kakashi's limits.
But of course, he had rejected all attempts and even managed to get in a few good hits of his own. He had Sennon Goroshi'd Naruto and sent him flying to the treelines after the blonde tried to sneak attack him. He had also pulled Sasuke to the ground and managed to reverse a genjutsu attempt by Sakura. But when he turned around, Shadow clones of Naruto managed to retrieve them to regroup for another attack.
Which is why Kakashi decided to conceal himself now in the treelines to wait for the team's next attempts on the bells.
Elsewhere, the genins were having another meeting and were almost at their wit's end at what to do with Kakashi. They had tried almost everything but to no avail.
"Dammit, I refuse to go down like this. There must be something we haven't tried. A weakness we haven't exploited yet." Naruto said, rubbing his sore posterior.
"That guy is too damn good and professional." Sasuke grumbled, brushing the dirt off his clothes. "No wonder he's an ex ANBU captain."
"We've established that our genjutsus, taijutsus and ninjutsus won't work that well on him. And neither does sneak attacks. Is there anything else we can try?" Sakura asks, still shivering from the memory of the horrible genjutsu that Kakashi had placed on her."
"Hmmm... Ninijutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu, huh?" Naruto said thoughtfully. "Maybe we can try 'em all in one go." Naruto concluded with a wide grin.
"Say what?" Sasuke asks as he looks at his blonde friend. His lips then quirk up in a smirk. "I know that look in your eyes dobe. You've got something planned. Spill it."
"Yeah. What did you mean when you said try it all in one go?" Sakura asks.
"You're gonna love this." Naruto said with a enthusiasm as he briefed his teammates on his plan.
A few minutes later, as Kakashi was reading his beloved book to pass the time, a voice calls out to him.
"Oi! Kakashi Sensei!! Come on out here so we can settle things man to man right now!!"
Kakashi looks from his hiding place and sighs. It was Naruto standing in the middle of the clearing with his arms crossed in front of him. Against his better judgement, he decides to indulge the blonde and jumps into the clearing.
"Ano... Naruto, you DO know you're no match for me in a one on one battle like this right?" Kakashi stated lazily.
"Shut up!! I don't care how many times I try, I won't stop til I get those bells from you!" Naruto said then smile as he makes a familiar cross shaped seal with his hands. "Besides, who said I'm alone? KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!!" Instantly, the entire clearing was filled with Shadow Clones glaring at Kakashi who simply shakes his head sadly.
"Haven't you tried this before already?" Kakashi asks lazily. "Quantity doesn't always mean quality you know?"
"We'll never know till we try won't we?" Naruto stated then made a signal to attack. As Kakashi said, despite the large number of shadow clones, they were being easily dispatched by the seasoned jounin. But in the middle of the wild melee, one of the Shadow Clones jumps up and goes through a string of handseals familiar to Kakashi and making his visible eye widen.
"What the...?! When did he learn THAT jutsu?" Kakashi thought to himself, attempting to jump away even as other clones struggled to keep him down while the lone 'clone' attempting the jutsu cries out KATON: GOUKYAKU NO JUTSU and blows out a powerful stream of flame at the jounin. At the last second, Kakashi managed a quick Kawarimi and escaped with slightly singed hair and uniform.
But as he lands on the ground, he could feel himself sinking into the earth. Kakashi knew that the training area was made of solid earth so he figured he was under some genjutsu, however imperfect it may be and looking behind to see the flickering image of another Naruto going through handseals confirmed his suspicions. But as he put his hand on the tiger seal to disperse the genjutsu, a flash of orange rush past him and the tinkle of the bells told him that it had been taken from him.
He then suddenly stops sinking and the genjutsu disperses revealing three Naruto's in front of him with the middle Naruto holding the bells in his hand.
"Guess we got the bells from you, didn't we Kakashi Sensei?" The middle Naruto said with a grin jingling the bells in his hands as the Narutos besides him poof to reveal Sasuke and Sakura.
"That you did Naruto. But that still doesn't change the fact that only two of you will pass the exams. Who will it be?" Kakashi asks.
Naruto looks at the bells in his hands somberly, then looks at his friends before tossing the bells at them. "You guys take the bells." Naruto said. "Nobody's gonna miss me if I don't make the cut anyways."
"What the hell are you saying?" Sakura protested, throwing her bell away. "We got the bells by working together, remember? If he can't accept that then I'm not letting you go back to the academy by yourself."
"Sakura's right dobe." Sasuke said, tossing his own bell away. "If you fail, then we ALL fail. That's what being a TEAM is all about, isn't it?" Sasuke stated, glaring at Kakashi.
"So you're telling me that you'd rather give up the chance to be a genin then leave your teammate behind?" Kakashi asks.
"Yes." Both Sasuke and Sakura answers
Naruto looks at both his teammates gratefully before turning to Kakashi. "Kakashi Sensei, you said before that this is a TEAM exercise and a team can't be complete without all it's units. We accomplished our objectives as a team so if you're gonna fail me, then you might as well fail all of us." Naruto stated.
Kakashi takes a deep breath then looks at his team. "So be it then. Team Seven, it is my decision that you all... Pass!!" Kakashi stated with an eye smile.
At his announcement, the genin's reactions were varied. Sakura breathed an obvious sigh of relief. Sasuke simply put his hands in his pockets with a smirk and Naruto started jumping up and down happily.
"You obviously got the objective of the exam from the beginning and for that I congratulate you." Kakashi said. "It's been said that those who don't follow the rules are trash. But I say that those who abandon their comrades are lower then trash. A team is like a family who supports each other through thick and thin and that's what you displayed."
Kakashi then turns around and looks at the sunset. "Which is why I felt lower then trash when everyone in my team died. Obito, Rin and Minato Sensei. In a way, it felt like I abandoned them."
Team Seven had nothing to say about this. For Sasuke, he realized how much it pained Kakashi when Obito died and the fact that Obito gave him his Sharingan made the pain worse. For Naruto, the tough, no-nonesense exterior was just a facade for a man who probably felt as tormented as him. For Sakura, she probably can't emphatize with Kakashi because she hasn't experienced any major tragedies or traumas in her life but she sure as hell probably wouldn't know how to deal with them if she did.
Kakashi then looks back and gives them an eye smile. "But then again, my sensei taught me to look underneath the underneath. And I realized that there has to be a reason why I'm still alive. And that reason is this moment right here."
Kakashi turns and walks towards the three genin. "I swear to you three, in honor of the friends and loved ones who had passed on before me that I WILL do everything in my power to help all of you achieve your dreams and ambitions." Kakashi said with a serious expression before giving them another one of his eye smiles. "Team Seven is now officially in business."
Author's Notes: How's that for quick update? As I've said countless times, R&R please.