Demons and Scorn

by Shadow Quil

Sakura had many secrets. The Naruto story retold from the beginning, with major and minor changes. Minor Inobashing. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

4. Bell Test

Hello peoples! I would like to thank the people who have waited for this chapter and all of my reviewers so far. Also, someone asked me about the vote-pairing-thing and...

NaruSaku has...12

ItaSakura has...1

As for other pairings...well, there are no more that people have voted on. Unless I get people voting for the ones we meet at the Chunin exams, I might end the story before then. In fact, its quite possible that I will.

Anywas...yeah. NaruSakura for now. Another thing (you lucky people), since I took so long to update, I'm giving you a 2-in-1 chapter. :D

Enjoy!

Chapter Four

Pass or fail: Survival test

"He's late." Naruto stated as he, Sakura and Sasuke waited for their sensei inside the academy classroom. Everyone had received their sensei and left. In fact, even Iruka had gone, leaving team seven alone.

Sasuke sat on his own at the front desk closest to the door as Sakura lay down on the front desk on the other side of the room, trying to get some sleep. Naruto, however, kept moving around and pacing at the front of the room, bugging the other two.

The blonde stuck his head out of the door and looked both ways several times, to see if their sensei was coming yet. He/She wasn't anywhere in sight, and Naruto was getting impatient. Not that the other two weren't annoyed as well, they just covered it up better than their emotional blonde-haired team mate.

"Naruto, just sit down." Sakura ordered him as she screwed her eyes shut tighter than before.

"I don't want to." Naruto said back. "How come our teacher's the only one who's late? I'm ready to roll. Believe it! The other groups already met their teachers and took off on some adventure or something, and Iruka-sensei's gone too." He stated.

"I know, okay?" Sakura sighed, covering her eyes with her glove-covered hands, frowning when her injured hand stung a little. "Hey! What're you doing?" She asked him when she heard clatter and opened her eyes to see Naruto making the noise.

Sasuke also looked over to the blonde. Naruto was standing on a chair, placing a chalk eraser into the gap between the slightly open door and the door frame, grinning like mad.

"Naruto!" Sakura growled, sitting up on the desk, but not getting down to stop him.

"That's what he gets for coming late!" Naruto informed the pinkette of his squad. "Surprise!"

"You're asking for trouble. You know you shouldn't do that." Sakura told him, casting a lazy look in his direction.

'Cha! I love stuff like this!' Inner Sakura cheered. 'Go cute blonde guy!'

"Hn." Sasuke said, closing his eyes. "Our teacher's a Jounin, an elite ninja; do you think he'd fall for that?" The dark eyed boy asked uninterested.

"Pff, no sense of time means he might fall for Naruto's prank actually, Uchiha." Sakura scoffed, rolling her eyes.

A hand appeared on the door and slid it open slightly before the owner of the hand peeped their head in. Just as Naruto had planned, the Jounin fell for his trick and the eraser plopped on his head, covering it in chalk dust and regular dust-dust. Naruto burst out laughing while Sakura sighed and laid back on her desk, clearly as uninterested as Sasuke was only moments ago.

"I got him! He totally fell for it!" Naruto boasted, pointing a finger at the man.

"Naruto, only girls like Yamanaka-pig say 'totally' and it's rude to point, baka." Sakura stated lazily, not opening her eyes or sitting up to see if he actually was pointing.

'Perfect shot, cutie!' Inner praised, giving Naruto two thumbs up.

"Huh? How do you know I'm pointing?" Naruto asked, looking right at the girl. "You're not even looking at me!" He claimed. Sakura just sighed, but she really wasn't looking at all.

"You're Naruto. It's pretty obvious." She told him with a shrug as she sat up again and looked at the new comer.

'He actually fell for that cheap trick?' Sasuke asked mentally. 'Is this guy really a Jounin?'

The man walked into the room and picked up the eraser, studying it for a few moments before observing his team. Sakura had jumped down from her table and was staring out of the window as she stood next to Naruto in her red and black training clothes. Naruto, dressed in all orange, just grinned at the man. Sasuke, however, was still sat behind the desk, scowling.

Team seven also observed their next sensei. He was wearing the usual, regulation uniform of a Jounin, meaning blue shirt, blue trousers and a forest green vest, with blue ninja sandals and his weapons pouches on his thigh and hip. He also had a blue mask covering his face up to the bridge of his nose, so all that was left visible were his eyes. Unfortunately, his Hatei-ate was tied in a way so that it covered his right eye, only showing his onyx left one. His hair was silver and spiked up, leaning slightly to the right as it did so. He also had blue, fingerless gloves on with a metal plate over the backs of his hand.

"Hm, how can I put this as kindly as possible?" He asked himself. "Ah yes, that'll do. Ahem. My first impression of this group…you're a bunch of idiots and I hate you all." The man concluded.

Sasuke glared at him as Naruto frowned and covered himself in a layer of gloom. Sakura, on the other hand, still didn't seem to be paying attention to the man, but was rather interested in the window. She sighed and rolled her head on her neck to face him with a blank gaze. Even that emotionless look caused the Jounin to feel as if he was staring into the eyes of death.

[--

Team seven and their new sensei were all out on the roof of the academy together. The Genin were sitting on the steps, with Sasuke in the middle of Naruto and Sakura, and their sensei was sitting on the railing across from them with his arms crossed over his chest. Sasuke had his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers laced together, hiding his mouth and the tip of his nose. Naruto had his legs apart with his hand on the ground, arms going though his legs to do so. Sakura was positioned with her knees pulled up to her chest and her right hand holding her left wrist in front of her legs.

"Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves, one at a time?" Their sensei suggested lazily.

"Introduce ourselves?" Sakura echoed suspiciously.

"Well, what are we supposed say?" Naruto asked dumbly.

"Things you like. Things you hate. Dreams for the future." The older man said with a shrug. "Hobbies. Things like that." He concluded, crossing his arms again.

"Why don't you tell us stuff first? I mean, before we talk, tell us about you so we can see how it's supposed to work." Naruto recommended simply.

"He looks like a spy or something…especially with that mask." Sakura confirmed, voicing her opinion.

"Yeah! Very suspicious! Talk, old man!" The blonde added with a grin, causing Sakura to roll her eyes and smirk at the boy. Sasuke, who was between them, seemed to grow angry at her paying attention to the less-able ninja than him and his frown deepened.

"Me?" He asked, pointing to himself. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate…I don't feel like telling you that." He shrugged, not caring to explain his reasons to the twelve-year-olds.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, but he was ignored.

"…My dreams for the future…never really thought about it." Kakashi admitted easily. "As for my hobbies…I have lots of hobbies." He concluded with a smile, as far as they could tell at any rate.

"Well, that was totally useless." Sakura commented to her team mates.

"I know. All he told us was his name." Naruto added.

"Hm." Sasuke agreed.

"Okay, your turn." Kakashi told them. "You on the right, the blonde, you first." He commanded.

"Believe it! I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant ramen in a cup, but I really, really like the ramen Iruka-sensei got me at the Ichiraku ramen shop or the ramen I eat with Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan. But I hate the three minuets you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup, unless I can talk to Hinata-chan or…well, Sakura-chan doesn't really talk much anyway." He mused, finger to his chin in thought.

"I do talk. You just wouldn't be able to offer me an intelligent conversation while waiting for your sludge in a cup." Sakura retorted casually, ignoring the fact that she just completely insulted his favourite food in the whole wide world. Naruto gasped at how she was –ahem- uneducated about the wonders of ramen.

"Sakura-chan! How can you say that? Ramen would probably replace Kami-sama if it were alive! I love ramen!" He gasped.

"Finish your introduction, dobe." Sasuke commanded coldly, annoyed that he was still getting ignored.

"Oh, I forget you were here." Sakura stated as Sasuke sweat dropped at her comment, thus proving that he really was being ignored and not just acting like a drama queen. I-I mean king yes…that's what I meant…really.

"Fine. My hobbies are…umm, pranks I guess. Oh! And also eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them against others. And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage. Then the whole entire village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important." Naruto concluded, pumping his fist in the air out of serious determination.

'Well, he's grown up in a very interesting way.' Kakashi thought, looking at the loud blonde.

'Naruto…' Sakura mused with a mental smile.

'GOOD LUCK CUTIE! GO! GO! GO!' Inner cheered to her favourite blonde.

"Alright, next." Kakashi said, looking at Sakura.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. What I like is…hmmm, I'm not too sure I like anything. I guess I like Hinata-chan and Naruto." She shrugged. Naruto cheered, until: "No, actually, just Hinata-chan. Naruto is a baka." She confirmed as he stopped cheering and cried.

"So mean, Sakura-chan!" He complained. Sakura just rolled her eyes and continued with her introduction.

"What I dislike, well, we'll be here all day if I listed them. My hobby is…er, I can't really say. I guess it's getting ramen with Naruto and hanging out with him and Hinata-chan, or shopping with Hinata-chan. Umm…train too, I suppose." She said thoughtfully. Naruto cheered. "As for my dream…dreams are utterly and completely useless. They don't do anything except give you a goal you'll never reach and make you angry when you fail miserably. So…I don't have one." Sakura finished with a shrug.

"Wow, Sakura-chan! That's the most I've ever heard you say all at one time! That's gotta be, like, a record or something!" Naruto stated in awe.

"Pff, whatever." She said, rolling her eyes.

'Well, that was unexpected. Her view on dreams is completely…different than anyone I've ever heard. She's been though a lot.' Kakashi noted, trying to get an insight to how Sakura's mind works. So far, no luck.

"Okay, last one." Kakashi told them.

"My name…is Uchiha Sasuke." He said slowly.

"What, did he forget his name?" Sakura muttered when she noticed the pause, but everyone heard her anyway. Sasuke glared at her while Naruto laughed and Kakashi sighed in amusement.

"I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan…and destroy a certain someone." He finished darkly. Everyone was silent, just staring at Sasuke.

'G-Gee, I hope he doesn't mean me.' Naruto prayed mentally, getting ready to run for his life if needed.

'Emo.' Sakura thought with a roll of her eyes.

'Sasuke is so hot! Naru-chan is so cute! Our sensei is hot and so, so cool! I think I'm in heaven!' Inner Sakura yelled, drooling.

'Does he even know how to restore his clan? If he did, I don't think he'd talk about it like he does.' Sakura pondered. For once, Inner was silent and wide-eyed when she picked up on what her outer-self was implying.

'Just as I thought.' Kakashi mused, frowning.

"Good; you're each unique and you have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow." Kakashi informed them.

"Yeeeup!" Naruto said, saluting sloppily. "What kind of mission are we going to have?" He asked energetically.

"It's a task that the four of us will do together." Kakashi said slowly and mysteriously.

"What, what, what?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"A survival exercise." Their sensei told the three new Genin.

"Huh? Survival exercise?" Naruto asked.

"I thought we were supposed to have a real mission, not more lame-o practice, sensei." The girl on the team stated, controlling her anger.

"Yeah! We already did this stuff at the academy! That's how we all got here!" Naruto told him testily, also getting angry at the idea of more training. The next thing will be another test or something. Naruto barely passed the first test, and he tried that one three times!

"This is not like your previous training." Kakashi informed them.

"So, uh, so, uh, what kind of training is it then?" Naruto questioned. The older man began to chuckle.

"Hey, that's a normal question. What's so funny?" Sakura asked, not wanting this man to try and insult or otherwise hurt Naruto.

"Hmhmhmhmhmhm, well, if I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it, hmhmhmhmhmhm." Kakashi taunted.

"Huh?" Naruto queried. Kakashi stopped laughing and adopted a scary looking face before speaking.

"Out of the twenty seven graduates who just came here, only nine will actually be accepted as Genin." He started menacingly. "The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words; this is a make it-break it, pass-fail test. And the chance that you'll fail is at least sixty six percent."

Naruto's face became a mix of shock and fear. Sasuke just looked annoyed and utterly pissed off. Sakura, on the other hand, yawed and blinked, still waiting for the bad part. She obviously wasn't too concerned about the threat.

"See, didn't I tell you, you wouldn't like it?" Kakashi mocked innocently, as if he hadn't just told them they would most likely have to go back to school for another year of learning.

"That's crazy! We worked hard to get here! Believe it! What was that graduation test for anyway?" Naruto yelled out questions at him in anger.

"Oh that? That was just to select candidates who might become Genin. Or not." Kakashi told him, not caring in the slightest for the future of the group in front of him.

"WHAAAAT?!" Naruto screamed.

"That's how it is. I decided whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at five am, and bring your ninja gear." Kakashi ordered.

'Well I'm not gonna be weeded out. People are gonna look up to me someday. I gotta pass this test. Believe it. Believe it!' Naruto thought seriously.

'I have got to pass this test. No matter how much I act like I don't care, if I don't pass I'm in big, big trouble. Those bruises still haven't healed from last time, and all I did was fight some guy- with barely any of my real strength, admittedly- and I don't want to face the rest of them for real, ever again! Okay, I have to pass without showing them any of my true power…this is going to be harder than I thought.' Sakura groaned mentally, keeping up the barrier around her emotions.

'Cha! And if we don't pass, we can't hang around the hottie, the cutie and the hot cool guy any more! Pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, and pass!' Inner declared.

'Shut up!' Sakura yelled to her inner, which was now driving her crazy with all this talk of boys.

Sasuke, since he was too 'cool' to have any thoughts -more like far too brainless- just tightened his grip on his hands in annoyance.

"That's is, you're dismissed." Kakashi said, waving a hand at them. "Oh, tomorrow, you'd better skip breakfast or else…you'll puke." He added menacingly, but with a cheerful smile under his mask.

[--

That night, Naruto practiced his ninja fighting skills on a lifeless, stuffed Kakashi doll as his clones helped him.

[--

Sasuke went home and trained or whatever he does there –most likely something full of angsty-ness- until he went to bed.

[--

Sakura trained until she dropped into an exhausted state of restless sleep, having flashed nightmares of her childhood and the pain she suffered all though her life.

[--

The next day at five o'clock in the morning, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura all walked to the designated rendezvous point. Each had a rather large bag with them -midnight blue shoulder bag for Sasuke and a black shoulder bag for Sakura, with a dark green backpack in Naruto's case- full of their ninja equipment. Their kunai holsters and shuriken pouches were in the correct places and each had an empty stomach. They each nodded in acknowledgement of the other two and waited for Kakashi to arrive.

"Sakura-chan, do you want to get some ramen later?" Naruto asked his female team mate. She looked at him though ghost-like emerald eyes and sighed.

"I don't know, Naruto. I'm kind of busy later." She admitted, half truthfully but lying all the same. Naruto looked down in disappointment.

"Hn. Who would want to go out with someone like you, dobe?" Sasuke asked him coldly. Both the pinkette and the blonde had to mentally restrain themselves to stop from killing him right then and there.

"Stupid Uchiha, you didn't let me finish." Sakura hissed at her cockatoo-haired team mate. "I'm busy later, but I could meet you for breakfast tomorrow if you want. My treat." She finished with a shrug. Naruto looked at her with wide eyes and nodded vigorously while Sasuke, for a reason he couldn't figure out, glared at the blonde.

'It's probably Naruto's fault my chest gets tighter whenever I look at Sakura. Also, he most likely activated a jutsu or something to make me want to glare and punch him in the face when he talks to or gets near her all the time. Naruto, it's you and your jutsu that makes me want to watch Sakura all the time. I just know it. Why else would I want to look at her all the time?' Sasuke, who was in a permanent state of denial, thought as he glared at Naruto again.

[--

An hour passed and the sun was starting to rise. Naruto was now weary and wished for nothing more than to sleep until lunch time, when he would scoop Sakura off of her feet and carry her to Ichiruka's ramen with or without her consent. Anything to get her away from Sasuke as quickly as he could. Once there, he would be crowned the ramen king, best ninja in the world!

'Hehe, then Sasuke-teme will have to bow down to me and admit I'm better than him. I'll have Sakura-chan, the perfect queen, Hinata-chan, my best friend and advisor, and everyone else will be my subjects. Ino-pig and Sasuke-teme will be thrown in my castle dungeon and Sakura-chan and I will live happily ever after.' Naruto concluded with a content sigh.

"Naruto, quit day-dreaming about me." Sakura ordered with her head and eyes turned towards the sun. Naruto grew a shocked expression and felt someone glare death by kunai, shuriken and fire-based jutsu at him, but just shrugged it off. Gee, I wonder who was glaring…not.

[--

Yet another hour flew by and Sasuke was still on his feet. Sakura, after pulling out a book to read, had settled herself on the ground, lying on her back, while reading contently. Naruto, however, had long since fallen to the floor in exhaustion and Sakura -out of pure, but hidden, concern for her friend- let him lean his blonde, spiky head on top of her stomach for rest. The blonde wasn't sleeping right now, but he was day-dreaming about something again.

'I can see it in my dreams.' Sakura thought as she closed her eyes. 'The moon in the day, the sun at night. Old or young, begin your plight…I can't remember the rest. Oh okaa-san, memories of you reading me that poem as a child are as fresh as the ones of yesterday. I miss you and otou-san from before what happened.'

Sakura broke her thoughts and looked up at Sasuke, who was still glaring at Naruto, then she let her eyes wander to the blonde on her stomach and she felt as if she could feel emotion again. She put her book on the grass, careful not to disturb Naruto as she did so, and subconsciously twisted her fingers though his hair as she looked up at the sky.

'Naruto, the hardships you have faced are so different to my own, yet so similar. While you were alone due to hate and myself due to fear, we each have the opposite reason. People hate you so you were left with fear of them and their actions. People fear me so I was left with hate of them and their ways. You're like my younger brother, Naruto. Never shall I say it to your face, since I'm not that kind of person, but I hope that you see that one day.'

'If not, we can always get married and be crowned the king and queen of Konoha. Also, Sasu-chan and Kashi-chan will be deeply in love with me! I'll have Naru-chan, the perfect king, Hina-chan, my best friend and advisor, Sasu-chan and Kashi-chan as my fanboys and everyone else will be my subjects. Ino-pig and Sasuke-kun's fangirls will be thrown in my castle dungeon and Naru-chan and I will live happily ever after!'

[--

Around twenty minuets passed without thoughts. The only thing going on with the Genin members of team seven was glaring -from Sasuke- day dreaming and heavy blushing -from Naruto- drooling and the threat to take over and kiss Naruto –from Inner Sakura- and ignoring of all three of them, inner Sakura included, -from Sakura- until Kakashi arrived.

"Morning everyone." Kakashi said as he approached his new charges. "Are you ready for your first day?" HE asked. Naruto sat up, with some reluctance, and Sakura just then realised that she had been playing with his hair. She frowned and sat up as well. Sasuke, seeing the two separate partly, let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"Hey, you're late!" Naruto yelled at him, pointing an accusing finger at the older man, who just waved lazily at the three of them.

"Well, a black cat crossed my path; so I had to take the long way." He explained, pointing to his right, where he had approached from. Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke just looked at him in disbelief. "Well," Kakashi cleared his throat. "Let's get started."

Kakashi walked over to a near-by stump and placed a timer on top of it carefully. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto watched him in question. He then pressed the button on top to set the timer for a certain time and turned to face them so he could explain and answer the silent question asked by all three.

"Here we go." Kakashi began. "It's set for noon." He took two bells out of his pocket and let them jingle. "Your assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me. That's all there is to it." The bells bounced and jingled again. "If you can't get them by noon, you go without lunch."

"Wha-!?" Naruto cried loudly in protest of the idea.

"You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you." Kakashi continued, pointing to three wooden posts in the ground.

'So that's why.' Sasuke thought unhappily.

'He told us not to eat breakfast to make it harder on us. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but I'm twice as hungry from skipping dinner to train and I can't use my full strength.' Sakura scolded herself.

'Oh well, maybe we can try again next time.' Inner Sakura concluded with a shrug.

'If we don't pass this, we'll be punished.' Sakura told her.

'It doesn't hurt or anything.'

'And we won't get to spend any more time with Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei.' She added, remembering how boy-crazy her inner was.

'Pass, pass, pass, pass, pass and PASS!' Inner cheered.

"Wait a minuet, there's three of us." Sakura stated suspiciously. "How come there're only two bells?"

'Hmm, interesting. Sakura is the only student I've ever had who noticed that straight off the bat. She might be a better ninja than her appearance gives her credit for.' Kakashi thought to himself as he looked at the frown etched onto Sakura's angelic face.

"Well that way, at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission." The man informed her cheerfully and calmly. "That one will immediately go back to the academy." He declared, waving the bells around. "Then again, all three of you could flunk out too. You can use any weapons including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, then you're not going to be able to take the bells." Kakashi concluded, bouncing the bells into his palm and closing his fingers around them.

"Hmm, you might want to reconsider that choice. You see, I never had the thought of sparing your life in mind since I met you, old man." Sakura declared, crossing her arms and raising a delicate eyebrow at his confidence.

'This girl…she's…not even kidding.' Kakashi noted with mild worry.

"Ahahaha, you'll lose. Especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser from yesterday." Naruto laughed easily. Kakashi, putting the thought of the promise the young girl gave him to the back of him mind, looked at Naruto with a blank expression…as far as they could see in his single showing eye at least.

"Class clowns are usually the weakest links. You can safely ignore them, to be honest. Lowest scores; losers; dead lasts." Kakashi stated, annoying Naruto as planned. "When I say start, you can begin."

Naruto, riled up completely from the comments his sensei threw at him, growled and grabbed a kunai, swinging it around his finger. He got a good grip on it and ran passed Sakura and Sasuke, charging at Kakashi. The man's words flitted though his mind continuously, only serving to extend his anger even further. Just as he was about to lunge at the Jounin, his hand and head were both grabbed, the kunai he was holding now to his neck while still in his own hand.

"Don't be in such a hurry." Kakashi warned him. "I didn't say go yet." He added. Naruto, still in his sensei's grip, growled unhappily. Sasuke backed off a little as Kakashi let the blonde go, but Sakura walked over to Naruto and took his arm gently. Not knowing her to be anything but scolding and reprimanding when he did wrong, Naruto blushed and grinned at her.

'Faster than he looks. Oh well, nothing I can't handle.' Sakura thought with a mental shrug. Inner just squealed and hugged a Kakashi plushie

to her chest in joy.

'So this is a Jounin.' Sasuke noted with a scowl.

"But, you came at me with the full intention of destroying me so…how can I say this? I'm actually starting to like you guys." Kakashi told them with a small smile. Sakura stared blankly at him while Sasuke observed the man coolly for another trick as Naruto, being the trusting person he is, grinned slightly.

"Pff." Sakura scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Get ready." Kakashi told them. They got into positions to move. "And now…start!" He said. All of them jumped off into a hiding spot of their own, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack. At least, Sakura and Sasuke did.

[--

Iruka and the third Hokage, Sarutobi, were sitting at a desk facing each other. Both were drinking tea and had a calm aura around them, creating a scene perfect for small-talk and a meeting.

"Iruka, what did you wish to see me about?" Sarutobi asked. "I don't think you merely came here to drink tea with me and chat." He observed. "Did you?"

"No." Iruka admitted. "Naruto has been assigned to squad seven. The Jounin in charge of that group…just how hard a trainer is he?"

"Kakashi, you mean." Sarutobi corrected. "You are concerned about him."

"I am." Iruka stated, placing his fist firmly on the table. "I heard a rumour about his training methods. Sakura, I believe, will be alright with them, even if worst does come to pass, but Naruto I worry for."

"Hmm. You worry for those two more-so than any of your previous students, Iruka." The Hokage said as he began removing a book from inside his Hokage robes. He placed it on the table and Iruka looked at it in question.

"What's this?" He asked.

"All the trainees who've ever been assigned to him. Those who passed and those who failed." The Sandaime Hokage told him with a blank face. Iruka gasped.

"May I?" The brunette questioned, leaning across the table to take the book from his superior. He opened it to a page and began reading.

"Found something?" Sarutobi asked. Iruka looked at the page in shock and turned to another, only to be put into further worry and concern.

"This…this is-"

[--

"For all ninja, it is critical to know how to conceal your every movement and hide effectively." Kakashi said out loud.

Kakashi had attached the bells to his waist, making it harder to get them without him noticing they were gone. He looked around to see where the young shinobi were hidden. Sasuke was hiding in a tree, using a branch covered in leaves to cover him properly. Sakura, however, was nowhere to be seen or heard and her chakra had completely vanished.

'Well, at least they understand that much. They've hidden well. Sakura worries me though. I can tell where Sasuke is by feeling out his chakra, but she seems to have completely disappeared. With her claim of never showing mercy earlier, I'm a bit concerned about this sudden vanishing act.' He admitted to himself. 'Naruto, on the other hand…'

"Huh?" Kakashi asked his own mind as he saw Naruto standing right in front of him.

"You and me! Right now! Fair and square! Let's go!" Naruto yelled to his sensei.

"Hm?" Kakashi questioned, wondering if this orange-wearing ninja was really trying to fight him one-on-one.

'Fool.' Sasuke acknowledged, rolling his eyes as Sakura did a lot.

"You know, compared to the others, you're a little bit…weird." Kakashi informed the blonde with a 'you-can't-be-serious' look.

"Oh yeah? The only thing weird here is your haircut." Naruto retorted without grace. He then charged at the man, again, with a war cry. After seeing Naruto run at him, Kakashi reached into his back pouch and felt around inside it for something. Noticing his sensei reaching for something, Naruto stopped abruptly.

"Shinobi battle techniques. Part one: taijutsu. The physical art." Kakashi recited to the blonde.

'Taijutsu…that's hand-to-hand combat. Then why is he reaching for a weapon?' Naruto asked himself with a glare directed at Kakashi. The latter pulled his hand out of his pouch and an orange book came out with it. He opened the book and held it in front of him.

"What the…?" Naruto asked, completely confused.

"What're you waiting for? Make your move." Kakashi told him, not taking his eyes off of the book.

"But-I mean…why are you reading that book?" He asked obliviously.

"Why?" Kakashi echoed. "To find out what happens in the story, of course." He stated as if he was talking to a baby. "Don't let it bother you though. With your weak attacks, it doesn't matter if I'm reading or whatever." Naruto's fist clenched and his growled.

"I'm going to crush you!" He promised as he began charging again with his fist ready to swing round and punch the man in the face.

He kicked off from the ground and aimed a high punch at Kakashi's jaw from behind, only to be blocked by a single hand. Kakashi didn't move any part of his body other than his arm to do it as he continued to read. Not giving up yet, Naruto kicked off again and tried to kick the silver-haired man in the stomach, but Kakashi ducked.

"Now you're mine!" Naruto promised. With an opening spotted, Naruto aimed a punch at Kakashi's head, only to stop when the man was no longer in front of him.

"Don't let your enemy get behind you all the time." Kakashi scolded lightly as he appeared behind Naruto, his hands together with his index and middle fingers pointed up. His book was in-between his palms as he remained crouched on the ground.

From her hiding spot under a bush close to the battle, Sakura's eyes narrowed. She closely observed the way Kakashi was holding his hands, but rolled her ghostly orbs after an inspection. No matter how closely it resembled a jutsu hand sign, Kakashi was just fooling around.

'That hand sign is for a fire jutsu.' Sasuke, who wasn't looking as closely as he could, believed. 'He is not just toying with Naruto, he is going to demolish him.'

"You should have moved, but now it's too late." Kakashi told the blonde as Naruto first noticed the 'hand sign'. "Leaf village secret taijutsu finger jutsu!" He yelled with an evil gleam in his eye. Kakashi's hand raised as he poked Naruto in the butt, hard. "A thousand years on pain!" He yelled, sending Naruto flying with a major pain in his rear.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed as he flew forwards, clutching his throbbing backside.

"Baka." Sakura muttered, rolling her eyes at Naruto's loud screaming and calculated where he was going to land. Once she figured out that he wasn't going to harm himself landing, she settled down again.

"Two idiots." Sasuke muttered, speaking –of course- about Kakashi and Naruto. The display of the 'powerful jutsu' was just embarrassing for everyone on team seven really.

Naruto landed in the river with a big 'splash' and Kakashi just looked at the spot he sank in. The silver-haired Jounin became bored easily and took out his book again, flipping though the pages as he tried to find his original place again.

"Lets see." He muttered after finding and began reading.

Up in the tree, Sasuke observed the Jounin's every move with calculating eyes, ready for any openings. He moved his hand over his kunai holster, just in case he found one. Sakura, still in her hiding spot under the bush, watched the man read with mildly shown disgust over the context of the book.

'His strength is unfair on Naruto when he uses it like that. What is that blondie supposed to do against that?' Sakura thought to herself with a frown.

'Cha! We should go and beat up Kashi-chan for making Naru-Naru-chan sink like a rock! Shannaro!' Inner Sakura added, waving her fists at the calm man in front of her.

Back in the river, still sinking at the point, Naruto was getting frustrated by the constant defeats. Even if he couldn't see or hear Sakura, he just had the feeling she was still watching over him. It was a nice thought, but not the best when you're getting hit around like an old pair of socks no body wanted anymore. This was not the way he wanted Sakura to think of him, the future ramen king.

'Damn it! It wasn't supposed to end like this.' He thought angrily as he neared the bottom of the river. Naruto frowned and pushed off from the water bed, swimming back up to the surface for air and a re-match with his sensei. He launched a sneak attack by throwing two shuriken out of the water.

Sasuke looked on in mild shock, actually impressed by Naruto's idea, while Sakura smiled a little at his show of determination. Kakashi, however, was far too skilled to fall for slowly thrown projectiles. He merely lifted his hand and caught them with his index and middle finger, never once looking up from his little orange book.

The Uchiha boy, seeing this, slowly took his hand away from the kunai holster on his leg. Now was not the time to attack.

[--

"No way! This is more than what the rumours said about him!" Iruka exclaimed in shock as he read the book the third gave him.

"Kakashi's tests might be a little harder." The third stated slowly. Iruka looked up from the book in shock.

"But this is…zero people passed!" The academy teacher gasped.

"Yes, Kakashi never passed a person." Sarutobi admitted bluntly. "They have all failed."

[--

Naruto coughed and gasped greedily for air when he re-surfaced from the river, bent down to do so. He crawled out of the water slowly, his clothing slightly heavier than before due to the water-weight. Kakashi looked down at him with mild interest and respect for his determination to never give up, but still believed that his efforts were in vain.

"What's wrong?" He asked mockingly. "You won't get any lunch if you don't get a bell by noon." Kakashi finished. Naruto gasped one final time before looking up at Kakashi with wet blonde hair sticking to his Hatei-ate.

"I already know that, damn it!" Naruto declared loudly.

"You said you're going to exceed the Hokages, but your actions say otherwise." Kakashi taunted. Naruto was about to retort, but his stomach growled as if to help him find another excuse.

"Damn it! Damn it! I can still fight, even if I'm hungry!" Naruto pronounced loudly and falsely.

In his tree, Sasuke blushed mildly as his stomach also let out a loud moan of protest, begging for food. As everyone knows, Uchihas do not beg, not even their stomachs. Sakura, in the bush still, also heard her stomach groan for food, but she ignored it fully and kept her eyes on the bells.

'Cha! We can get a bell! Even if we did skip breakfast…and dinner last night…and lunch yesterday! Why don't we eat anything?! We starve almost all of the time? Are we dieting?!' Inner called in protest of her outer's bad dieting plan.

'No we're not! I just don't find a lot of time to eat in between training and hanging out with Naruto and Hinata-chan!' Sakura defended herself poorly with another stomach growl.

"I was just off guard a while ago!" Naruto yelled to his sensei's back as he walked away from the water-logged Genin. "Damn it. I'm hungry. My powers are so…" Another rumble of his stomach. "But I have to get one of those bells. No matter what! I can't…I can't fail at a place like this. Not now that I've come so far. Believe it." He promised himself. "I'm going to become a ninja!" Naruto concluded as a large group of Kage bunshins jumped out of the river to fight.

Kakashi turned and looked –in mild shock- at the barrage of seven Naruto clones plus the original, making it eight. The clones all jumped thought the air in his direction, but he seemed to remain perfectly calm. Naruto, believing that explaining himself is more important than actually getting a bell, yelled to the man.

"HEHE! Security is your greatest enemy! This is my best technique! The Kage Bunshin no jutsu! Believe it!" He screamed as he and the clones all jumped towards Kakashi for an attack.

'Naruto, you're using that again?' Sakura thought with a sigh, recalling just how many times he'd shown off that technique since he learnt it not too long ago.

The Narutos landed and began running, creating watery footprints where they trod on their way. Sakura rolled her eyes and mentally noted to tell him about that flaw, since it would be easy to track if he tried hiding at some point. Sasuke, in contrast, could only look on in absolute amazement of the technique.

Kakashi turned to the clones with no shock apparent on his features, obviously not really caring either way, but when he saw the water trail left by every last Naruto he became slightly impressed.

"A real Kage Bunshin no jutsu rather than just a regular Bunshin no jutsu?" He questioned to himself.

[--

"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei," Naruto began. "I'll kill you!" He threatened.

"Such big words." He said to Naruto, still looking at the rose haired girl beside the blonde. "I can completely destroy you with a single move!"

"Take your best shot, fool." Naruto said, placing his hands in the sign for Kage Bunshin. "I'll give it back to you a thousand fold!" He promised dangerously. Sakura looked at him and narrowed her eyes in wonder.

"Lets see you try. Show me what you can do, nine tailed fox!" Mizuki dared with a mad look in his eyes.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto yelled. Iruka and Mizuki both widened their eyes in shock, but Sakura remained looking at the original in contemplation. Hundreds of Naruto were now swarming the forest.

'Naruto…those aren't just illusions, those are solid clones!' Iruka thought in pride. 'He has mastered an extremely advanced jutsu.'

[--

"It must be the forbidden technique he and Sakura used together to beat Mizuki. The one I've heard so much about." Kakashi muttered, looking at all of the clones with one lazy eye. "Assuming from his abilities, he can only hold that jutsu for around a minuet or so." He saw the clones speeding up slightly. "Even if he starts talking big, Naruto is still Naruto, after all. Sakura said so herself yesterday in the classroom. He can't get me with that technique."

Kakashi, full of confidence, heard the bells jingle as he was caught from behind by one of the Naruto clones. The clone held tight around the older man's chest and eventually worked a way to hold Kakashi's arms and legs from moving.

'What?! From behind?!' Kakashi thought, now fully alert and paying attention to the battle.

Sasuke looked in shock as Naruto caught Kakashi and Sakura smirked in pride for being friends with the blonde. Kakashi was still shocked as he turned his head to see the clone, who chuckled as he held tighter so that the Jounin couldn't move properly and fluidly as before.

"A ninja shouldn't ever let the enemy get behind him during battle, right Kakashi-sensei?" The Naruto clone mocked the man's previous words. All of the Narutos soon took a hold of his arms and legs as one tried to hit him from above. "I used the Kage Bunshin no jutsu…then let one sneak out from the lower part of the river and attack you from behind. You're going to pay for that attack on my butt!" He yelled.

'Not bad…but not good enough.' Sakura thought sadly as she watched Naruto attack the man.

'A feint operation, huh?' Sasuke mused with a smirk as he watched Naruto's plan follow though.

"I'm going to punch you!" Naruto declared loudly to Kakashi as he came in for the attack. The hit landed and all of the Naruto clones holding Kakashi flew back with the force. Of course, the one he hit also happened to look like the blonde, orange wearing ninja. "Huh?" Naruto questioned when he saw what he had hit.

'Pff, I knew it.' Sakura thought, rolling her eyes. Sasuke just looked unimpressed and rather bored, not believing that he almost had a drop of awe in Naruto's thought-out moves.

"Ouch!" The Naruto he hit wailed as he fell to the ground, the other Naruto still holding his arms from moving.

"You must be Kakashi-sensei! You transformed, didn't you?!" Naruto declared loudly. Him and all of his clones began arguing about who was Kakashi in disguise, none even thinking of the obvious way to find out who it was. They yelled random things to each other as insults, hoping to catch out Kakashi. The hits got fiercer as the insults flew, but Kakashi was still no where to be found and the clones remained looking like Naruto.

"You must be Kakashi-sensei!" A clone yelled as he pushed another out of the way.

"You smell like Kakashi-sensei!" The one he pushed retorted, sniffing the air.

"It is the smell of an old man!" A third piped up. But never once were the clones thinking to back up their accusations. The clones, and the original, began attacking each other with punches and kicks.

"Hey, why don't we undo the jutsu?" One smarter clone asked, punching his copy in the face.

"Then, only two will remain and we'll know who it is!" Another confirmed, catching onto the thought.

"Why didn't you notice that, baka no-brain?" A third questioned as he was held by the collar, about to receive a hit in the nose.

"You're me, baka!" The one holding him replied angrily, giving him the hit for good measure.

"I'm going to undo it now!" Naruto –the original- declared as puffs of smoke began to appear around the clones.

"Okay!" A few of the replied.

The clones were gone and Naruto stood in the middle of the clearing alone, no Kakashi or Henge to look like Naruto in sight. He stood alone, bumps and bruises covering his now red face. Obviously the clones weren't the only ones to receive a hit and Naruto got a fair few as well, even though it was impossible for him to be Kakashi…right?

'I cannot believe I am friends with that buffoon.' Sakura groaned mentally. Inner was just gushing over how cute Naruto looked when he was confused and how she was going to beat Kakashi's ass for making her dear 'Naru-chan' get so bruised up.

'It was a replacement jutsu, baka.' Sasuke thought, scolding his team mate's idiocy. 'It is the technique where the user quickly trades place with an inanimate object, animal or something else to confuse the enemy into thinking they were hit. Then you are able to attack the enemies unguarded point, when they are vulnerable from the surprise. In this case, Kakashi-sensei replaced himself with a clone as he watched.' The Uchiha finished, rolling his eyes.

Naruto, not knowing that Sasuke was busy with his mental monologue in the tree, spotted something when the sun glinted off of it. "A bell?!" He asked in shock as he took sight of it. "He must have been in a hurry if he dropped a bell." Naruto added, grinning like an idiot at the thought of taking a bell so easily.

However -just as he was about to make a grab for the shiny, round jangler- he found himself being pulled upwards by a rope around both of his ankles. He flew up the tree and bounced on the rope a few times before becoming still.

'It was a trap.' Sasuke thought obviously, as if no one knew. 'That Jounin showed no unguarded point, even when he was fighting Naruto.'

"The bell!" Naruto cried out as he kept making grabs for the bell. A gloved hand took the bell from under him and held it out mockingly. Kakashi stood up and lifted the bell into Naruto's line of sight before smiling in a taunting way and letting the bell jingle as it bounced up and down on its string.

"Use your techniques only after thinking carefully." Kakashi warned him in a careless tone. "That's why I was able to use it to your disadvantage just a minuet ago. And…don't fall for an obvious trap, stupid." He finished with a quick smile.

"EH?! WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Naruto cried in an outrage.

"…baka." Sakura muttered as she rubbed her ear.

"Ninjas need to think beyond the normal. You know what I mean, don't you? Think underneath the underneath." The silver haired man said casually as he looked up at the trapped ninja.

"I already know that!" Naruto yelled angrily.

"Well, I'm telling you this because you don't 'already know this', as you put it. Got it?" He asked slowly, as if he were talking to a new academy student about kunai. Sasuke's eyes widened from his branch as he noticed the drop in guard. "Your movements are filled to the brim with unnecessary motions." Kakashi continued, as if he didn't know what was going on with Sasuke.

'This is my chance!' Sasuke thought with a power-mad face as he grabbed a few kunai and shuriken. He threw them all at Kakashi with the intent to kill the cocky sensei in one attack. 'He finally dropped his guard!' The weapons spun as they flew in an arch and closed in on Kakashi with impressive speed for a rookie ninja.

"You're so…oh-?" Kakashi was cut off from his scolding as all of the sharp weapons his exposed right side, sending the man to the ground.

"Ahhhhhhhhh! He got hit!" Naruto cried as he watched the weapons dig into Kakashi's flesh. "Sasuke over did it!" He added in a panic as he looked to where the weapons came from, also Sasuke's hiding spot.

You Failed! Kakashi's Final Decision

'He finally dropped his guard!' The weapons spun as they flew in an arch and closed in on Kakashi with impressive speed for a rookie ninja.

"You're so…oh-?" Kakashi was cut off from his scolding as all of the sharp weapons his exposed right side, sending the man to the ground.

"Ahhhhhhhhh! He got hit!" Naruto cried as he watched the weapons dig into Kakashi's flesh. "Sasuke over did it!" He added in a panic as he looked to where the weapons came from, also Sasuke's hiding spot.

Sasuke watched, without care for Naruto's panic, as he hit his target and Kakashi went down. However, his calm gaze turned to shock as the body of his fallen sensei was enveloped in smoke and, when the smoke vanished, he saw that his weapons were now lodged in a log. Nothing but a replacement technique!

[--

'Damn it! He used another replacement?' Sasuke questioned in his mind as he jumped thought the trees. 'He must have determined my location from that previous kunai and shuriken attack.' He added as he jumped off of another branch. 'He must have dropped his guard on purpose. I fell for his trap.'

"There he is." Kakashi muttered as he watched the fast Uchiha jump thought the trees to find a new place to hide. Kakashi reached into his back pouch and the bells jingled with his movement.

[--

Sakura was running thought the forest too, but not to get away from Kakashi as Sasuke was doing. No. she was trying to find her new sensei and get one of the bells. Not only had Sakura promised herself she would finish the task, but she also promised…someone else.

She had already freed Naruto, but he ran off.

[--

Sasuke had just set off and Kakashi when soon after him, leaving Naruto alone in the trap. Sakura, who had yet to leave, rolled her eyes and got up from her hiding spot. Naruto saw her right away, since no one can really miss pink hair rising from a bush, and grinned widely at her.

"Sakura-chan! Help me get down!" He requested, begging her for another chance to beat Kakashi to a pulp.

"Pff, whatever." She said as she pulled out a senbon needle. Naruto looked at the needle for a moment and then noticed something drip from the end of it. He gasped.

"T-That senbon is laced with poison! It's so covered that…the poison is even dripping off! Sakura-chan, don't kill me!" He begged, thinking that the poisoned senbon was for him.

"Naruto, I'm not going to kill you. The senbon was too close to my kunai for me to pick it up without jabbing myself." She explained, pulling out a kunai and placing the senbon back into her thigh holster. Naruto scrunched up his face to think before his eyes widened in realisation.

"That senbon…are there more?" He asked seriously. Sakura nodded and threw the kunai at the rope, cutting it and making Naruto fall. She caught him before he hit the ground, but dropped him lightly when she knew he was safe.

"There's more. Why do you ask?" Sakura questioned nonchalantly at what he was getting at.

"Are they for Kakashi-sensei?" He asked. Sakura looked right at him and nodded slightly. "So…you weren't kidding when you said that you had no plans to spare his life then?"

"Naruto…" Sakura began with a sigh. "I didn't cover the senbon in a poison that could kill someone. It'll just paralyse him for a while so I can grab a bell. Easy as that." She nodded and leapt off into the trees to find the older man. Naruto shrugged, now knowing that his friend wasn't getting ready to kill someone, and took a step forwards.

The step only succeeding in getting him hoisted up into another trap.

[--

'Where are those two bakas I'm being forced to call team mate? Did Kakashi get Sasuke? No doubt he did. I could sense that loser's chakra from a mile away. He doesn't even try to conceal it!' She thought in annoyance at the incompetence of the 'great Uchiha'. 'No…Sasuke's not that stupid, as much as I hate to admit it.'

She stopped when Kakashi's chakra got into sensing range and ducked behind a bush for cover. He was standing in a clearing, reading his perverted book, but Sakura wasn't stupid enough to fall for that. The pinkette rolled her eyes and placed her hands in a complex seal, so fast that not even the Sharingan would be able to read it.

'Baka…he thinks I don't know where he is.' Sakura thought as she rolled her eyes. The seals worked and her eyes lost all colour. No pupil, no iris, just plain white. She preformed the final seal and her eyes bled into a deathly colour of red with a single white circle surrounding where her iris would have been. Sakura smirked slightly as she blinked. This was the reason she loved her bloodline limit. The power she felt when using it.

"Sakura, behind you." Kakashi told her casually as the girl's smirk vanished and was replaced with a blank look. She had been told, more than once, that a blank look always makes the eyes scarier. Not that they needed enhancing in that area. Hinata saw them once and almost cried, begging Sakura never to show her those eyes again. No promises were made, but Sakura agreed to never use the eyes in sparring again.

Kakashi was crouched in a bush behind her and, when he saw the eyes, he froze completely. This Haruno bloodline was the most rare, since the Haruno clan barely used it before they disappeared, and extremely powerful, but many believed the actually limit to be a myth. He knew next to nothing about it. All he knew was that thousands at a time have died from only facing one Haruno with their bloodline limit on.

"Bring it on." Sakura muttered, narrowing her eyes slightly.

[--

Naruto, who was still caught in the other trap, squirmed around helplessly and hoped Sakura would come back.

"Ninja's need to think underneath the underneath? Damn it! I'm never going to fall for one of his traps again!" Naruto promised himself as he cut the rope with his own kunai and flipped down to land on the ground safely and without a scratch. When his task was done, he grinned, only to find himself in a third trap. "I FELL FOR IT AGAIN?!"

[--

Getting over his shock, Kakashi placed his hands in the seals for a basic genjutsu. Leaves flew around him and the Haruno girl as she stood in the clearing his clone was in just moments ago. As the leaves passed her, Kakashi expected to see a blank, trance-like look in her eyes, but all he saw was annoyance and boredom.

The leaves cleared and Sakura was standing alone in the clearing, which had darkened slightly with the genjutsu. She looked around and saw no signs of Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke or even the forest animals. Her eyes hovered over the trees and noticed one of them flicker like a badly copied movie. A smirk adorned her sarcastic features.

"Does he really expect me to fall for this? Hmm…I wonder how this is gonna go. Is his plan just to make me think I'm alone and hope I'll freak out, or is something coming to attack me?" She mused aloud, tapping her finger on her chin. Her red eyes were still burning brightly.

"Sakura." She heard a strained male voice call to her from behind her back. Her ears perked and she recognised it as Sasuke's voice, so Sakura turned to see what kind of thing Kakashi had planned for her.

"Sasuke?" She asked, knitting her brows together over the glowing red of her eyes. She would need to turn those off before she lost control over her chakra.

Sasuke, as she had guessed, was behind her. However, he had kunai digging into his flash and blood oozing out of the wounds. Weak and at a loss of blood, the Uchiha was using a tree trunk to keep him from collapsing completely.

"S-Sakura…h-help me." Sasuke begged her, blood streaming out of his mouth and over his shirt as he coughed violently. Sakura rolled her eyes and placed her hands in a single seal.

"Kai." She muttered, dispelling the weak jutsu. Kakashi looked on from he perch in the tree and his eyes widened when her red death orbs locked onto his position. The intent to kill poured out with her extensive chakra and told Kakashi two things.

One was that Sakura was far too powerful in her state of mind and two was that the Haruno girl had apparently become very, very annoyed with his time-wasting techniques.

He needed to leave. Fast.

[--

Sasuke's head perked up as he felt amazing chakra coming from the south of the training grounds. It was unreal, like nothing he had ever felt before. So much power, and all from the same place. The chakra felt the same, so it was also from only one person.

'It could be Kakashi-sensei. He is pretty powerful.' Sasuke thought to himself before nodding and taking off in the direction of the power, hoping to find Kakashi and the bells.

[--

"Ninja tactics know-how number two; genjutsu. Sakura was like a master against it…and that chakra…" Kakashi muttered as he landed further up north from where Sakura was. Before he took off, he noticed her trying to calm down and only hoped that she succeeded.

From his position in front of Kakashi, still unnoticed though, Sasuke narrowed his eyes at what Kakashi had just said. 'A genjutsu technique huh? Illusionary mind-control. I'm not surprised that the manipulative Haruno would be good at it…but a master? And what about that powerful chakra? Was it hers?' He asked himself.

"Ah! I was wondering where you went. You disappeared almost like Sakura did at the beginning. Naruto…not so much." Kakashi told the Uchiha, rubbing the back of his head and closing his eye in a smile.

"But…I'm different from them." Sasuke assured him with a minor glare shown in his eyes. Getting compared to Sakura wasn't so bad, since she was quite strong, but Naruto?!

"Why don't you say that after you get a bell? Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi questioned mockingly from his new place behind the frowning boy, still reading that book. Sasuke turned to face him and ignored the taunting suffix the man added to the end of his name, like he was impersonating a fangirl. The Uchiha moved fast and took out three shuriken, throwing them quickly at Kakashi. His sensei dodged easily.

"There's no use in just using normal attacks." Kakashi scolded. Sasuke smirked and threw a kunai in the air, cutting a rope above him as it went upwards. "A trap?" The man wondered as he had to dodge the trap, letting the eleven kunai hit the tree behind him instead of his body. As he skidded to a stop, Sasuke appeared behind him. "What?"

Sasuke aimed a kick at the side of his sensei's head, but Kakashi still managed to block it with his arm, despite the speed of the attack. He grabbed Sasuke's ankle and held it firmly in place as the Uchiha twisted his body around to punch Kakashi. His fist was caught so he carried on, twisting his body more to kick Kakashi's head with his free foot. To block this, Kakashi had to release Sasuke's fist and hold his arm above his head, letting his forearm take the bulk of the hit.

The bells jingled and Sasuke smirked as he reached up to grab one, but Kakashi noticed his plan too soon. So, as Sasuke's fingers grazed across the small silver ball, Kakashi released him and jumped back a bit with a curse muttered under his breath. Sasuke flipped over and landed on his feet, breathing rather heavily, as Kakashi skidded to a halt.

'What a guy. I don't even have time to read Icha-Icha paradice with him attacking me.' Kakashi thought as he prepared for another defence or block, even resorting to dodging with the powerful blows.

[--

Sakura was breathing deeply, trying her hardest to calm down after using her bloodline limit while thoroughly pissed off. She hadn't even used her eyes to their proper ability and yet her anger got to her. Usually she could control them perfectly, but having inner Sakura raging inside her mind, along with the many other souls inside her mind, must have worn away at her control. In the end, she almost let go and wiped out Kakashi. She did, however, manage to hold on long enough for him to get the hell away from her.

She shut off her bloodline limit a few minuets ago, but her head was pounding and almost forcing her to reactivate it. If she obeyed, Mizuki would end up right about his prediction of her killing everyone. There was only one person who had calmed her from her rage before, and that was Hinata. Now, without the Hyuuga near her, she had to try and remember the way Hinata calmed her.

'She…she sang a lullaby to us.' Inner Sakura informed her outer self helpfully. Sakura rubbed her temples and tried to remember the song.

"U-Umm…Nen-nen kororiyo okororiyo…boyawa…yoikoda nenneshina, Boyano…komoriwa dokoe it ta, Anoyama…koete satoe it ta, Sato no miyage ni nani morata, Denden taikoni sho no fue, Sho…no fue." She sang quietly, calming herself with the song Hinata sang to her once. Sakura took one deep breath and closed her eyes before releasing it. Content with her sane state of mind, she went looking for Kakashi before it was too late.

[--

Naruto, now hanging from one leg rather than two, and crossed his arms to think of a way down and to avoid any more traps. He was swinging to and fro before he looked over to see his surroundings. Seeing what was behind the logs, he frowned in thought.

"So that's how it looks behind the logs." He said to himself. Upon further inspection, two bento boxes were sitting innocently on a stone. "What the?" The blonde asked, looking at them for a moment. "Haha! There's lunch on the rock! 'ninjas need to think underneath the underneath', huh Kakashi-sensei?" He echoed Kakashi's previous words with a small laugh.

[--

"I'll admit that you're different from the other two." Kakashi said as he acknowledged Sasuke's ability with an indifferent look. Then again, after seeing what Sakura could do and being forced to run for his life, Sasuke wasn't all that impressive.

Sasuke smirked and began to do a series of quick hand seals.

"Horse." The Uchiha stated first. "Tiger." He said second. "Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu." Sasuke finished, taking in a deep breath after he said it.

'What? That technique is not something a Genin can do!' Kakashi thought to himself in shock. 'He shouldn't have enough chakra.'

Kakashi was, however, proven wrong when Sasuke took his stance and blew out great waves of fire, forming a pit in the ground by melting away most of the earth due to the intense flames. He was able to hold the jutsu long enough to that it would have burned the victim to a crisp and then burned away the ashes before letting go of the jutsu. The fire soon cleared without the chakra to hold it and no one was there.

"He's gone!" Sasuke stated in shock. "Is he behind me?" He asked himself, looking in all directions. "No…above? Not there either. Where is he?"

"Beneath you!" Kakashi roared as his arm came up from under the earth and grabbed Sasuke's ankle. Said Uchiha looked down at the hand holding him in place.

"How-?" He questioned in shock.

"Doton Shinjuuzanshu no jutsu." Kakashi said as he pulled Sasuke down.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sasuke yelled.

Kakashi rose from the ground and stood in front of the boy. Sasuke had been pulled under enough that his head and part of his neck were the only things above ground. Usually he pulled the enemy under completely, allowing them to suffocate, but that would have been a bit too much.

"This is the third ninja tactics know-how, ninjutsu." Kakashi informed him as he crouched down. "How is it? Can't move, right?" He mocked.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted as he looked away.

"Looks like your talents are quite exceptional. But…" He started as he rose to his feet. "They say that nails that point out get driven back with a hard hit on the head before they can get out any further." Kakashi finished, taking out his book again and flipping to his page.

"Damn it!" Sasuke cursed.

"Kakashi-sensei." A girl called before Kakashi could leave. Both the man who was called and Sasuke looked towards her and saw Sakura with a katana in her hand and a calm look in her eye.

"A-Ah, Sakura. I was wondering when you'd find me." Kakashi said in a slightly nervous way. Sakura looked down at Sasuke, who blushed from being caught by Sakura in a weak state, before shifting her eyes back up to Kakashi.

"Fight. Defend yourself. If you don't, you'll die." She stated easily. Sasuke looked at her with wide eyes. That wasn't a threat, but more of a promise of pain to the older man.

Kakashi took a breath and Sakura blinked. When her eyes opened again, the Uchiha saw Kakashi flinch slightly, but her eyes remained the bright emerald colour they were to begin with. She smirked slightly and her body vanished. Kakashi gasped as he heard the bells on his belt jingle when Sakura tried to grab one, but he moved away too fast. Only then did he notice the kunai to his throat and the other two Sakuras hold his arms.

"When did you…" He trailed off, obviously talking about the Kage Bunshin she had summoned.

"That's not important right now." Sakura stated. "What is important is how easily you were defeated." She ended with a smirk as she motioned to his belt. Sasuke and Kakashi both looked down to see only one more bell left attached to him. Sakura snorted and jumped into the forest, having Sasuke stare after her in mild awe. Kakashi frowned and Poofed away, leaving one very stuck Uchiha alone.

[--

"Hehehehehe. All I have to do is eat this while hiding instead of getting a bell. Time to eat!" Naruto declared.

"Oi!" A man called from behind him. Naruto was shocked when he heard his sensei and quickly began to think of an excuse.

"It was a joke and…" He started.

"Too late!" Kakashi yelled, mocking anger.

[--

'Damn it…we're really this different in power?' Sasuke thought, thinking of how he saw Sakura's ease in getting the bell while his attempt was a complete failure.

He heard a rustle of leaves and thought that it was someone coming back to get him. Hoping that it wasn't Naruto –the boy would have a field day-, or Kakashi –getting help from the one who did this to him wasn't an option-, or Sakura –too embarrassing-, he was pretty much out of options for help.

All thoughts of rescue, however, were blown away when Sakura dropped from a tree not too far from him. She landed as if she were asleep or unconscious, since she did nothing to land on her feet or brake her fall, but her eyes were open. Placing her hands under her, she pushed herself up on shaky legs.

Her head turned towards Sasuke and her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she was having trouble seeing. She frowned and swayed back and forth on her heals for a few minuets before shaking her head and looking at him again with clearer eyes.

"Sakura." Sasuke said in mild surprise with her appearance. Well, take the fact only his head was showing and then add that to the fact he was talking, and any normal girl would have fainted from shock. Sakura, however, was no normal girl and Sasuke knew that she wasn't interested in him.

Therefore, when she keeled over and hit the ground with a 'thud', Sasuke's only natural reaction was to get himself free to check on her and see if she was okay. He was an Uchiha and making sure a girl is in good health is the honourable thing to do…he didn't feel anything special about his particular girl…

[--

When Sakura opened her eyes, her vision was a little phased and unclear, but she was alive. The double image swayed for a while and her eyes eventually went back to normal. She blinked a few times before coming to her senses and realized that someone was hovering over her. Instincts kicked in and she lifted her leg fast, sending the person back a few feet.

After being sure that no one else was hanging over her like a bad smell, Sakura sat up and rubbed her head. She cast a wary look over to the one she had hit and saw Sasuke standing up, rubbing his stomach. If she had aimed a little lower…

"Are you okay?" Sasuke choked out. "You just collapsed out of the tree and fell unconscious a few seconds later. It's not like you." He observed keenly. Sakura frowned and held her shoulder.

"Hn." She muttered, standing up as she rubbed her arm.

"Fine. There's still a little time left until noon. I'm going, since you seem to be well enough to brush off someone's concern." He grumbled, looking out towards the forest where Kakashi went.

"You're still going after the bell?" Sakura asked, clearly not interested at all in what he was doing.

"I was able to touch it a while ago. I'll get it next time." He boasted slightly before remembering that she had a bell tucked away somewhere before he could get another chance to get one.

"Oh." She sighed. "Is that so? Well, good luck, Sasuke." The pinkette said unconvincingly

'You're acting…odd. Are you sure you are okay?' Inner asked with the same concern as Sasuke showed earlier.

'I have a fangirl in my head, an emo and a loser for team mates and a pervert for a sensei. I am so not okay.' She sighed in her mind.

"I would have thought that you might have given up already, since you have such little time left. Perhaps you'd try again next year?" She shrugged, already knowing that even by getting a bell she didn't pass in the end. Sasuke looked at her sharply and she frowned.

He remembered triple pin-wheel Sharingan eyes on a shadowy figure and looked down in sadness before the ever-present scowl worked its way back to his darkened features.

"Only I can kill that man." He confirmed, more to himself than the pinkette behind him.

"Who? Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"I was crying at the time…" Sasuke confessed without hesitation.

"…Crying?" She echoed.

"My…" He trailed off.

"Hm? Your what?" Sakura prompted.

"I am an avenger. I must become stronger than him. I don't have time to stumble or quit here." Sasuke stated darkly, still not making things much clearer for Sakura to understand.

"…to kill a certain man…"

Sakura remembered his words from the day before and knew that they must be tied in with his newest statement somehow. However, she got no further time to ponder this as the alarm went to signal that their time was up and Sasuke still didn't have a bell.

"Damn it, I wasted my time talking." Sasuke scolded himself. He walked off as Sakura glared at his back.

[--

Uzumaki Naruto was tied to the middle post as Sasuke and Sakura sat on either side of him. All three were hungry, but only one didn't have the ability to move and do something about it.

"Your stomachs are growling, eh?" Kakashi asked in a taunting tone as he stood before them, fully fed and happy. "By the way…about the results of this little training exercise; none of you need to return to the ninja academy." The older man told the three sitting before him. The words seemed to perk up Naruto, but the other two were still slightly wary of the older man and his tricks.

"Does that mean…we three…?" Naruto trailed off, dancing with his feet and grinning from ear to ear. Sakura frowned, but Sasuke smirked in triumph.

"Yea…you three…should quit being ninja!" Kakashi stated angrily as he watched Naruto's celebration die down to shock within a second of him saying those words.

Sakura, much to the worry of Sasuke –as he was the only one who could see her-, was swaying in and out of conciousness again, but seemed determined to stay awake.

[--

"U-Unbelievable. He never passed a student?" Iruka asked in awe as he set down the book.

"Iruka, I do not know if those three young Genin should become ninjas right away." The third confessed. "But, Kakashi's decisions were absolutely correct.

[--

"Quit being ninjas? What do you mean? Sasuke and I couldn't get a bell, but why do you say we should all quit?!" Naruto demanded as he flared his legs around in fury.

"Because you three are just kids who don't deserve to be ninja." He told them without regret. Sasuke frowned and ran at the man quickly, ready to pummel him. However, Kakashi got the upper hand and turned the attack around to that he was casually sitting on top of Sasuke as if the latter were a sofa. His foot rested on the Uchiha's head and he held Sasuke's arm behind his back.

"Wha-!?" Naruto yelled as he saw how fast Kakashi had taken down Sasuke.

"See? You are all just kids." Kakashi said with a sigh. "Do you guys think being a ninja is easy? Why do you think we're training by breaking up into groups? In other words, you three don't understand the answer of this test, no matter how easy it is."

"The answer?" Naruto asked.

"That's right. The answer to determine whether you pass or whether you fail this exam. Geez, are you brains empty? Do you not get the concept of why you are in a group?" He asked slowly.

"So what about the tree people being in a group?" Naruto demanded, getting annoyed by the suspense.

"Pff, the answer is simple baka. Teamwork." Sakura stated, rolling her eyes and playing with the bell in her hand.

"If you knew that, why didn't you act upon it, Sakura?" Kakashi wondered, slightly impressed that someone picked up on it.

"…Teamwork isn't my thing." She stated simply.

"Teamwork is the correct answer, but it's too late for that now. You failed, all of you did." He said angrily. "If all three of you came at me at once, maybe Sakura wouldn't be the only one with a bell. But that's too bad."

"Umm…there are three of us and two bells. How does that work?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"Tch. Group conflict leading to one person failing anyway. Or so you'd think, at least. Coming together was the true aim. In a mission, your life comes third to completion of your task." Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

"Third?" Naruto repeated, still confused.

"Second would be the mission and first would be to protect the lives of your team or subordinates." She told him in a tone that suggested she didn't truly think that way.

"She's right. This test was made to make you think that we put you three against each other. In this situation, we chose those who pick teamwork over their own success. That was the purpose, but all three of you were pathetic. Sakura! You cared more about fighting me for a bell than helping Sasuke when he was right in front of you! Naruto! All you did was work on your own." He stopped to push harder on Sasuke's head. "And you! You just assumed that Sakura and Naruto would hold you back, so you did everything yourself."

"This is pointless." Sakura muttered so that no one would hear her.

"Missions are done in groups. On a mission, teamwork is more important than ninja skills alone. One person's action that disrupts teamwork will result in danger or even the death of his or her team mates, or worst, torture. For example…" He said, taking out a kunai and holding it to Sasuke's throat. "Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke will die!" He threatened harshly. Sakura's eyes flicked over his face, then Sasuke's and finally Naruto's before she glared at her sensei.

"I'm not killing Naruto. Example or not…never ever ask me to do something like that again." She threatened, her glare becoming colder than ice.

"That's what will happen, though." Kakashi said, not taking her threat lightly. He took the kunai away from Sasuke, who sighed in relief.

"You surprised me!" Naruto said in shock, feeling more relaxed now that he knew Kakashi didn't mean it. Thinking about what Sakura said, Naruto decided to question her about it later.

"After someone is taken hostage, you'll have to deal with a dangerous situation or someone could get hurt and someone will most likely die in those cases. In every mission, you put your life on the line." He concluded, getting off of Sasuke and walking back slightly. The boy just glared at the ground.

"Hn." Sasuke said, trying to act unaffected and not slightly shaken up by the demand to kill or have killed Kakashi gave Sakura.

"Look at this." Kakashi ordered, walking to the stone. "There are many names carved into this stone. All those names are people who are praised as heroes in this village."

"I like that! I like that! Believe it!" Naruto yelled. "I've decided that I'm going to have my name carved into that!" He said with a grin. Sakura collapsed onto the ground and frowned, baring her teeth as an inaudible growl left her throat.

"No, Naruto, you won't." Sakura stated firmly.

"What? You want your name on it? Well, forget it! That's going to be my name, no offence Sakura-chan!" He concluded.

"Baka! The heroes on that stone are d…dead. They died on missions or in a battle. A ninja's death." Sakura told him mournfully. "And I hope to never see your name on that rock, Naruto." Naruto's grin fell from his face and he paled, looking towards Sakura. She was scowling at the ground, breathing heavily. The girl had basically just said that she cared about him and didn't want him to die.

"The names of my friends are in here as well." Kakashi confessed, looking sorrowfully at the stone. Sakura's eyes scanned over it before landing on one name…the person in her life she turned cold without.

"You…" She began, getting the males to look at her. "You're not…the only one with people you love in that stone, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura concluded, turning her back to all of them with a glare directed at the ground. The younger boys looked at her, unsure how they should feel for her, but Kakashi sighed in pity. Such a young child already had a reason to visit the memorial.

"I'll give you one more chance." Kakashi told them. "However, the battle for the bell will be much harder after lunch. Sakura, you'll have to return your bell and start again with the boys. Eat up, but only if you are up to the challenge. But! Naruto isn't allowed food. Feed him and you fail." He said, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

[--

"I must leave now. We have the new entries for the academy and I can't leave the other senseis to sort thought them all." Iruka said as a way of excusing himself.

"Iruka, do not hate Kakashi for his ways of testing." Sarutobi told the brunette.

"Yes sir." Iruka replied with a bow.

[--

Sasuke was eating his lunch, quickly but politely, as Sakura just pushed hers around a bit. At first she was hungry, but a few bites later and she had lost her appetite. The reason? Naruto's stomach was growling loudly and she felt guilty for eating when he cannot.

'Passing is important to Sasuke and Naruto. more important that it is to me, I'll bet. I could just feed Naruto and try again next time.' Sakura decided. Her inner self nodded, hugging the Sasuke and Naruto dolls she had somehow gotten.

"I'm okay! Even if I don't eat!" Naruto claimed as his stomach let out another contradicting moan of protest. Sakura smirked.

"Then I guess I won't give you this." She teased as she moved her chopsticks in front of his face, a big clump of rice on the end.

"W-Well…maybe I am-" Naruto was cut off from his words when Sasuke grabbed Sakura's hand and plunged the rice into the blonde's mouth roughly.

Naruto, however, didn't complain until he noticed that Sasuke was still holding Sakura's hand. The Uchiha noticed too and let go fast, knowing that Sakura would kill him for touching her longer than necessary. Sakura just smirked when Naruto nodded his head at Sasuke's reluctance to hold her hand for longer.

"Why did you guys…?" The blonde started.

"If you're hungry, then you're a set back. You'd just hold us back." Sasuke stated coldly.

"Pff, I don't care. You were hungry and I wasn't." Sakura explained with a shrug.

[--

From behind a tree, Kakashi watched the whole thing.

[--

"Thanks you guys." Naruto said happily.

"Don't thank us." Sasuke said, grabbing Sakura's hand and picking up more rice for Naruto in her chopsticks.

"Just eat." She finished as Sasuke shoved the rice in Naruto's face again, still using Sakura's hand.

A massive cloud of smoke appeared, changing the weather from sunny to storming in less than a second. Kakashi stood in the centre of the storm, since he conjured it, with an evil look on his face. He appeared to be angry, very angry in fact.

"You three!" He yelled heatedly.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr." Sakura growled.

Sasuke just got ready to fight if he needed to.

"You three broke the rules. Are you prepared for the punishment?" He asked them cruelly. "Any last words?" Kakashi questioned as he preformed hand seals and the storm got worse.

"B-B-B-But…" Naruto started. "But…But…But…You said…!" He yelled randomly. "That's why these two…"

"We're a three man squad." Sasuke said, aiding Naruto in his excuse of why they did what they did. Sakura, seeing that the two were awful at this, took over for them.

"As a three man squad, we wouldn't have functioned properly as a team if Naruto was hungry. He would have been slower and it could have gotten us into a dangerous situation!" Sakura defended.

"Yeah! Believe it!" Naruto added, not being able to help himself.

"Is that so?" Kakashi asked, getting closer to them.

"Hai!" The three answered confidently.

"Then you pass!" The sensei finished cheerfully. He beamed at them from under his mask and the storm faded away, revealing sunny skies again.

"Pass?" Sasuke echoed.

"Yep! Training ends here! All three of you pass!" Kakashi ended with a bright grin as far as they could see. "Let's go home." He told them.

Sasuke and Sakura followed their sensei away, leaving Naruto tied to the post all alone.

"I KNEW it was going to end like this!" Naruto complained. "UNTIE THE FREAKING ROPE!"

---

EDIT! I have corrected most of the mistakes pointed out by sakuragirl13579, but some I have left as they were. The simple reason for that is I'm British and that is the right spelling. Thanks for helping my out though hands sakuragirl13579 a cookie