Naruto: Alone

by Arganaut

The meeting between the council and Sarutobi did not go as planned.... how will Naruto survive growing up without the help of the Third?

16. Chapter 16

Naruto: Alone

Hey there people, it's me, Arganaut, and I'm here with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone. Now then, last chapter I left you with a pretty nasty cliffhanger that I tried to make less painful with a large gaggle of Omakes. Needless to say, for many of you, I failed and failed terribly. So, before my life becomes too complicated by things again, it's time for another chapter to be written.

ANNOUNCEMENT: The last chapter has been fully versioned up. Both of my Betas read over the chapter, and together we made some needed changes. Just so you all know, the only parts that were changed were the final Academy scenes.

At any rate I should try to explain my long absence. I haven't had much time or inspiration to write for a while; really, things had been draining my energy greatly as of late. However, with the most recent chapter, I've rediscovered the outrage that got me into fanfiction in the first place, and now I'm roaring and ready to write up a storm! To apologize for my long absence, I've brought to this chapter a new type of Omake, one never done in fan fiction previously. With help from my Betas Zoneshifter D, Paintball-Gamer, and a loyal reader named FictionReader98, I have created a new series of jokes that will be sure to knock your socks off!

Anyway, onto most of the reviews:

Silver Warrior- Thanks, I thought so too. The way Ebisu was beaten in cannon seemed a little too outlandish, even for me. So I just decided to become a little more creative.

SpeeDemon- Well, the Omakes are technically optional, so if you ever felt like not reading them you could just skip over them. As for the third member, yes, this chapter the third member will be revealed.

Zashire- Rest assured that I would not rip off material from another artist without mention. I merely saw this on a video from some sort of anime convention (though, admittedly, it was choppy and hard to understand). If it's from a comic, then could you tell me which magazine I might find this comic strip?

VFSnake- Well, isn't Naruto reaching new levels of power and happiness also a bit overused? I mean, if this was your average fic, then Naruto and Hinata would be going out by this chapter, and Naruto would be an unstoppable behemoth. Really, I much prefer watching Naruto struggle and work hard for the things he wants in life (in a fic) versus the more mainstream fan fiction way.

Infinite Freedom- Keep your fingers crossed, man. And also, while he'll learn some taijutsu, I don't think stealing Zabuza's sword would really be all that possible for him.

Bassclone13- Wow, that's a lot of win then. I mean, I don't think I've ever heard of someone being affected by that much win. Also, yes, damn me and my cliffhanging ways.

Chronostorm- Whoa, whoa, pal, slow down. You're going one-thousand miles a minute and you're making it hard for me to find any congruency in your review. Use more periods and other punctuate marks when reviewing next time, please?

Dameus- Meh, you can't please all of the people some of the time, and you can't please some of the people all of the time.

Redcrimsonblood- Thanks for the compliments and welcome aboard, glad to have you as a reviewer.

Paintball-Gamer- Well, you're one of my beta-readers, so this review is somewhat outdated. However, I will say this on the Sakura or Hinata part… just read the chapter.

YamiKyuubi- Dude, seriously, you need to calm the hell down. Its one thing when you act silly once or twice in a review, but this. This is insanity.

Asfdwervr- Dude, let me just say this. I've already announced that this story will be heavily influenced by NaruHina in the later chapters. If you don't like it then deal with it. However, the pairing crap will be light in the earlier chapters, so you don't have to worry too much. In all honesty though, if Hinata eventually playing a larger role in this story disturbs you so much, then stop reading.

Dragon Man 180- Dragon Man, honestly, would you have expected any less from me, a guy who's repeatedly slapped you all with cliffhangers throughout my time here on FF?

InARealPickle- I see. Well, just make sure to get plenty of sleep next time then.

Gryphon Turboclaw- Well I sort of always imagined Ebisu as a closet pervert, one of those guys who has the books stashed around his house and hidden on his person, going to the porn store dressed up in a large coat to disguise himself; you know, one of those guys. That's why I felt that Naruto's trick was very fitting.

FictionReader98- Well, we've been discussing for months now, and so you'll finally see the fruit of the effort.

Well, that's the reviews. I have to say, these were actually the easiest part of writing this chapter. Believe me, it ain't easy balancing school, life, and trying to find new ways of writing, and trying out new diction, in order to improve the quality of a chapter.

So, without further ado, let's commence the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!

ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT!

From this point on the usual way of telling this story will be somewhat discarded. Instead of 80-95% of each chapter focusing singularly on Naruto, there will be somewhat extensive coverage of the rest of his team. Just letting all of you know that so when, by chance, I go on multiple paragraphs (or even pages) about another character, you don't start bugging me about where the hell Naruto is, or why the hell I haven't covered him in each and every single paragraph.

Just making sure we're on the same page here.

Chapter 16: They're here, they're here! Team 7 Has Now Arrived!

Last Time on Naruto Alone:

"Anyway, now we come to the listing for Team 7," Iruka said in a tone slightly laced with pride, with no real reaction from anyone in the classroom. "First member, Naruto Uzumaki..." Iruka read dreadfully slowly, Naruto immediately perking up at the mention of his name. This was it, this was his team, he'd soon know who he'd be teamed up with in his career as a ninja.

"Second member... Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka read off, Naruto no longer hanging on Iruka's words, as he now felt more like hanging himself... he wasn't going to get away from that Uchiha bastard...

"Alright then... the final member of Team 7, who will work beside Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha..." the climactic Chunin began, everyone staring at him, right through his eyes into the depths of his soul... well, that might be an overstatement, but everyone wanted to know, badly.

"Is....................................................."

And Now For Our Feature Presentation

Iruka continued to pause as he took in his former students reactions. The tension in the room was so thick you could slice through it with a kunai, cut a piece of it off, and then chew it like taffy. Under other circumstances, this would've freaked out the stoic Academy teacher… but, here and now, it made sense. After all, Sasuke was one of the most popular kids in the entire Academy; any girl would've wanted to be on the same team as him, so obviously half of the tension came from that. On the other hand, however, there was Naruto, who was perhaps one of the least popular kids at the Academy. With his record as a thief, there was probably an equal amount of girls praying to God they wouldn't end up on the same team as him. Of course, though, there was Hinata Hyuga, the only person there who probably wanted to know if she would end up on the fox boy's team so badly that she would pass out within the next few seconds if he kept up his silence.

Iruka knew he couldn't wait much longer. He had to announce the teams and then give them a lunch break before their Jonin-sensei would show up… well, he didn't have to worry so much about Naruto's Jonin-sensei showing up before they did, but nonetheless, he had to finish up. So, with a heavy sigh and an even heavier heart, he read the final name on the list.

"Sakura Haruno," he read off steadily, before suddenly being bombarded by what was perhaps the loudest series of groans, whines, cries, or shouts of outrage he had ever heard in his entire life. He knew this had to have disappointed a lot of girls who wanted to be on Sasuke's team. Ino Yamanaka was practically foaming at the mouth. However, he could see that some were relieved that they wouldn't be on the same team as Naruto "The Street Fox" Uzumaki, so apparently, to them, not being with Sasuke was a small price to pay for them.

Sakura, it seemed, held the opposite point of view. She was currently up out of her seat shouting in celebration over her victory. Apparently, her being on the same team as Naruto was a small price to pay in order to be closer to her crush. Still, Iruka couldn't help but wonder if Naruto was doing even worse off than when he announced that the Uchiha would be on his team. He looked over at the young blond and was not at all surprised to find Naruto just banging his head against his desk.

"How in God's name did this happen to me?!" Naruto shouted to himself as he slowly began splitting some of the wooden surface of the desk. Iruka just stared blankly before moving on. He knew Naruto was disappointed for now... but maybe it would be okay. It was unlikely to improve... but...

'Well... a man can hope.' Iruka thought to himself as he continued reading the list.

"Team 8," the Chunin began, looking at the three members. "Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyuga shall make up Team 8," the tanned Chunin stated, noting that the team had reacted, for the most part, positively… though, the positive tone was carried mostly by Kiba. Shino had remained, as always, calm and stoic. Hinata continued to look very disappointed, and it was no surprise to Iruka. He knew that out of all the females in the class, she was the only one who wanted to be on Naruto's team. To not have that spot was obviously crushing to her.

However, Iruka couldn't dwell on this forever, so he immediately moved onto Team 9. Team 9 was made up of some rather average Genin, and was fashioned together from the remaining Genin. After placing those Genin into Team 9, he moved onto Team 10, the last team on his clipboard.

"Team 10…" Iruka shouted over the screams of everyone else, silencing the class so that he could continue. "...will be made up by Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka," Iruka finished, putting the clip-board aside, having finished the list with that team. Team 10, by nature, wouldn't cause all that much trouble. Choji and Shikamaru were already good friends to begin with, so they were pretty happy with the arrangement. In fact, the only person who really hated, and Iruka meant hated, this was Ino, who had gone from foaming at the mouth, to being dead silent with a destroyed look on her face, to screaming at Sakura at the top of her lungs after the pink-haired kunoichi had taunted her a bit.

Still, by every measure of standard this could've been worse. Ino could've outright attacked Sakura, sparking what would've been a huge fight amongst most of the females. Iruka merely took what little victory he could dig out of avoiding such a catastrophe and set the clipboard aside.

"Dismissed…" he stated for the final time as their sensei before exiting the room, the students slowly following.

The first student out was Sasuke Uchiha, the young man desperately trying to make his way far away from the Academy. The second person out was Sakura Haruno, who was tailing him on his way out. As the other students left, however, Naruto was left alone in the room, grinding his teeth together. The young boy was frustrated, angry, and absolutely contusing with each emotion. He knew he'd now have to be on the same team with these two. Hell, it was an order from Iruka­-sensei and, he thought, the Hokage… didn't mean he had to like it, though.

He looked down at his right hand and saw that it was twitching… whenever Naruto got like this, he either did one of two things to relieve the stress.

Either do some ridiculously punishing training…

Or steal.

Now this was a difficult choice. As a Genin, he was now a member of Konoha's force, and he knew stealing was frowned upon… then again, he'd rather not rough himself up before meeting his sensei, lest he perform below average on whatever training or assignment they may be given.

Steal and be frowned upon, or train and come in looking like he'd just got beaten up…

As Naruto stood up, he checked his pouch and his pockets for what supplies he had. After all, very few people had any respect for him anyway. Besides, this would be the last time he stole… honestly, the very last time….

Then again, old habits are hard to break.

---------- The Streets of Konoha ----------

Sasuke Uchiha was a kid of few words, and even fewer emotions. You'd be hard pressed to ever find any sign of a feeling or stimulus flashing across his face, no matter what you said to him or what you'd do. You'd have a better chance of getting an emotional response out of a rock than you would out of him. However, somewhere, a rock must've been confessing its bottled up emotions to someone else, for Sasuke Uchiha had on his face one of the most vivid displays of anger that anyone had seen the boy display for quite sometime.

He was walking along, this look plastered on his face, as he thought about the current situation he had found himself in. This, in his mind, was the worst possible team combination he could've been given… ever.

Sakura Haruno, the girl ninja of the group. She was book smart, and thus probably knew a lot about plants, poisons, and most of the basic information taught during their time in the Academy… if only she was as effective at implementing it as she was at memorizing it. She wasn't strong, she wasn't terribly fast, her weapons accuracy was average at best… oh, and she was constantly following him around, even before they got on the same team. He was under the assumption that he'd have to carry her weight around, seeing as how she probably wouldn't allow herself to work with the other member of this screwed up team…

Oh, just the very thought of Naruto Uzumaki made the Uchiha's blood boil to a feverish degree. It wasn't that Naruto was a poor ninja. No, the kid would be able to hold his own weight… what frustrated Sasuke was that he now had to deal with a kid who was every bit his equal, without being his equal. As paradoxical as that might sound, Sasuke did have a rhyme of reason to come to such a conclusion. Sasuke and Naruto were not equally matched with the same talents, that was certain. Where they became equals, however, was how they managed to be good at what the other person wasn't skilled with.

While Sasuke was excellent with Taijutsu and could punch circles around Naruto for an entire fight, Naruto could easily outrun Sasuke in any race posed to them. Where Sasuke had a plethora of jutsu, Naruto had a plethora of ninja techniques that, quite often, didn't require huge reserves of chakra. Where Sasuke could finish a fight quick, Naruto could outlast you in a fight. Where Sasuke was only moderately good at sneaking, there would be times where you couldn't even tell Naruto was in the same room as you…

Yet despite this great annoyance, there was a silver lining. At the very least, Naruto could act as a test of Sasuke's skills, to see how he improved in his training….

"Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke heard behind him as he was dragged out of his thoughts. Oh yeah, he had forgotten the fact that he was currently being tailed by his pink-haired teammate. She had been asking him for… something these past couple of minutes. He sighed and stopped his movement, deciding that it would just be better to answer her than to ignore her and have her on his back for the rest of the lunch break. He turned around and looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, sighing again as he spoke.

"What?" he asked in his normal monotone voice, trying to subdue the frustration he had been feeling in order to deal with her. Sakura blushed a bit and glanced around to both sides, Sasuke just standing there waiting for her to talk.

"Well, Sasuke-kun, I was just wondering, you know, since we're teammates now… if you'd maybe want to get to learn about each other over lunch?" she asked. As she looked up at him, Sasuke lowered his cocked eyebrow. Of course… he should've expected that question from her.

"I'm not hungry," he said quite simply as he turned back around and began walking again, Sakura visibly struck morally after having been so quickly shot down.

"Ummm… okay… how about another time then?" she asked the object of her affections. However, Sasuke merely sighed once more, not even bothering for an answer. Sakura watched him move away, before slumping over, a sweat drop forming on the back of her head. The pink-haired girl sighed and shook her head; her attempt at getting some time alone with her crush, and now teammate, did not go like she planned.

It wasn't that she was hoping for him to say an enthusiastic yes, or even a cool 'okay'. She was just pulling for a 'whatever'. Even that would've been good enough for her to begin with. To expect more right out of the Academy would've been, even for her, a bit over-zealous. With another sigh, Sakura stood up, a confident look on her face.

"Well hey, we're teammates now, right? That means I'll get more chances in the future," Sakura declared rather strongly, as her inner-self had a deep fire in her eyes.

"CHA! SASUKE-KUN IS WITHIN OUR REACH!" Inner-Sakura declared with even more confidence than Sakura herself. With another nod, Sakura did decide to go out and eat, even if it was by herself for now. Overall, she was satisfied with the team she was assigned to, though admittedly her satisfaction had more to do with Sasuke than it did with Naruto.

A small vein appeared on Sakura's forehead as the name appeared in her mind. Naruto Uzumaki… the 'Street Fox of Konoha', and, according to rumor from the adults, an assistant to Itachi Uchiha during the Uchiha Massacre… not that she bought that herself.

Sakura was a smart girl and, looking at Naruto, there was no way he'd help kill an entire clan. Sure, she would believe that he would try and steal all of their stuff and break numerous other laws while he was at it, but he just didn't seem like the type of person to be a murderer. That being said, she still didn't like Naruto. To her, he was just a crook. Granted, he was a crook idolized by some, but a crook nonetheless. Plus there was the fact that, at nearly every turn, he seemed to be getting into some kind of trouble, something she wasn't looking forward to as a teammate of his. Then there was just the general feud that the Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club, founded by herself and Ino, and the 'Street Fox Fan Club' had years ago. Sure, the entire Fan Club thing had died down when the girls starting competing against each other for Sasuke, but the general feeling towards Naruto remained the same, diluted though it was now.

The pink-haired girl merely grunted as she forced such thoughts aside. For now, she just wanted to get a small lunch in before their sensei showed up. So, with a sigh and a smile, Sakura walked along, just trying to think of the positive side of today.

---------- The Academy, An Hour Later ----------

The classroom was buzzing with noise once again as the Genin had returned from their lunch breaks, all of them wondering, and most of them talking, about what type of persons their Jonin-sensei might be. The reason why only most of them were talking was because the members of Team 7 were, for the most part, off in their own little worlds. Naruto was in one part of the room counting up the yards of ninja wire, the several ninja weapons, and other items he had stolen in order to calm himself down. Sasuke was quietly thinking to himself, purposely ignoring Sakura, who was either trying to talk to him, bragging to Ino, or just conversing with other classmates for what would likely be the last time in a while.

Soon enough, the Jonin-sensei arrived in the classroom. These master ninja began taking their teams to their respective meeting places. Team 7 simply waited for their sensei to show up… and then they waited for him to show up when they were one of the last teams in the classroom… then they waited for him to show up when they were the last ones there… and they waited there for what felt like a good hour or so. Then that hour or so turned to two hours or so, and by that time, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were all bored out of their skulls. Naruto was counting up his stock for about the twentieth time in a row. Sakura had foregone trying to talk to Sasuke, and had decided to just sit there and wait silently, nearly falling asleep a few times. Sasuke, in the meantime, just went on doing nothing, though he had noticed that he was beginning to tap his foot in an annoyed manner.

It wasn't long, however, before Naruto broke the silence, finally snapping his mind from the endless counting. "Damn it! Where the hell is our sensei?!" the blond shouted while pulling at his hair in frustration. Sasuke sighed, though he was somewhat glad the silence was broken. Sakura, too annoyed with their tardy sensei to be annoyed with Naruto, just nodded in agreement, not wishing to vocalize her thoughts the way the blond had. As for their late sensei, well, if they had just looked out the door and down the hall, they would've seen Kakashi Hatake, standing there with a blank expression on his face.

He looked out a window at the end of the hall and saw that the sun had traveled quite a bit since he had arrived… he figured that he had tortured them enough. He walked towards the door and sighed as he slapped himself on both sides of his masked face. This would probably be the first time in a while that he had met a possible team that he actually felt was so promising… he needed to make sure that it was real.

So, he slowly slid open the door and stepped inside, immediately feeling three pairs of eyes beginning to drill into the side of his head as he slowly turned his head to look at his new team. He had to admit, it was an odd trio for sure. Sasuke Uchiha, the last Uchiha in Konoha, Sakura Haruno, the first ninja to come out of the Haruno house, and Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi-boy turned Street Fox turned Genin. 'If they do pass, I'll certainly have the most interesting team in Konoha,' he thought to himself with an inward chuckle before he began.

"My first impression of you all…" he began slowly, noting that Sakura and Sasuke were leaning in close to hear, while Naruto was just staring at him with a slightly puzzled expression. Kakashi himself was wondering whether or not the young blond recognized him from their little run-in all those years ago. The boy had been unconscious when Kakashi had stepped in to stop Ebisu, so their only other meeting was that chase. He then looked over at Sakura and Sasuke, who were still looking at him, Sakura doing so intently, and Sasuke doing so in a more 'whatever' sort of manner. "…I don't like you," he finished, causing all three Genin to sweat drop. The scarecrow smirked a bit underneath his mask, before pointing up. "Meet on the roof in five minutes," he said before disappearing in an explosion of smoke. Sakura and Sasuke quickly stood up to go head towards the roof, while Naruto sat up a bit more slowly.

Naruto was trying to figure out who their sensei was… he was sure he had seen this guy before, but… it was in the very back of his mind somewhere. After about three minutes of thinking about Kakashi, Naruto quickly shook his head and began running to catch up. He'd remember where he saw the masked Jonin later.

With only seconds to spare, Naruto made it to the top of the building, the other two members of his team already on the roof looking around for the silver-haired ninja. As soon as the fifth minute passed, another large plume of smoke appeared on the edge of the roof, quickly clearing to reveal Kakashi sitting on the ledge, his eye looking towards all three Genin. "Alright, sit down right over there," he said, pointing towards a spot on the roof that was about ten feet in front of him.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura merely nodded as they sat in the designated spot, looking towards Kakashi as they waited for him to speak again. The Jonin was looking over his new team, before turning his closed eye, indicating that he was smiling underneath his mask. "Well, I guess we should begin our first meeting by introducing ourselves," he said as he looked at them, waiting for them to speak.

"Well, what do you want us to say?" Sakura suddenly asked. Kakashi looked over at her before shrugging.

"Don't really care. Your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, names, et cetera," Kakashi said in as bored a tone as he could, all three Genin sweat dropping before Naruto pointed at him.

"Well, why don't you go first…" he said, hoping that such information would give him a hint in who this guy was.

Kakashi, for his part, just shrugged. "Alright. Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I have a lot of likes, and I have a lot of dislikes… dreams for the future… no thanks," he said, his students obviously waiting for him to say more. "That's it for me. Your turn, blondie," he then pointed towards Naruto, said blond twitching his eye at the nickname.

"Alright, fine. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like meat of all kinds: beef, chicken, rabbit, deer, snake… ya know, the works," he said. Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, while Sakura turned a deep shade of green. Even Sasuke, who was normally stoic, stared at Naruto dumbly, a bit nauseous himself. "I also like stealing, snow, and just ninja stuff in general."

"I don't dislike much, but you're quickly making your way onto the list," the blond said with a not so discreet twitch towards Kakashi, which made the Jonin chuckle inwardly, though it was perfectly hidden underneath his mask. "Dreams for the future… well, I just want to make a lot of money, and then live the good life," he concluded with a shrug. Kakashi raised his eyebrows at that goal. He had to admit he was a bit surprised that Naruto had pretty simple life goals.

So, with Naruto's turn finished, Kakashi turned his finger towards Sakura. "Alright, your turn," he said in a dull tone, as Sakura quickly began speaking.

"Okay! My name is Sakura Haruno. I like…" the pink-haired girl began, glancing over at Sasuke before giggling. "My dreams for the future…" she continued as she repeated the previous action. "I dislike Ino-pig and crooks," she said, a not so discreet shot at Naruto's reputation, which he merely shrugged off.

"You and about ninety-percent of everyone in town," the Street Fox said coolly as he yawned. Sakura's left eye twitched in annoyance at her teammate's barb. Kakashi merely watched the interaction with some amusement.

'Well now, this is somewhat interesting. Apparently his reputation as a thief irks her… and she is as infatuated with Sasuke as Iruka claimed… this could either be trouble… or fun to watch,' he thought with another chuckle. 'I might even put Icha-Icha Paradise down to watch,' he joked with himself before coughing, gaining Naruto's and Sakura's attention.

"Well, if you two are done, I believe it's his turn," the silver-haired Jonin said calmly, pointing over at Sasuke. The impeding disaster was averted, as Sakura immediately turned to pay attention to her crush, Naruto only listening half-heartedly, as a way of learning more about a teammate. Sasuke merely looked at the rest of the group before staring straight out into space.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha… I have very few likes, but have a lot of dislikes… my dream… no, my life's goal is to kill a certain someone…" Sasuke said darkly, Kakashi merely sighing a bit.

'He hasn't gotten over it yet… not all that surprising, really…' Kakashi thought solemnly as he remembered the night he was called in to examine the scene… he himself could barely stand it, so he could only imagine how the young boy in front of him did.

Naruto himself felt for Sasuke. After all, if he guessed right, he was talking about his brother… and Naruto certainly didn't have excellent feelings for the guy who tried to stab him for 72 hours. Sakura, on the other hand, had mixed feelings. While she could admit that the dark way he said it made him look and sound cool… the idea of him centering an entire goal around killing someone was a bit… disturbing.

"Well, that's it for introductions," Kakashi said with a smile underneath his mask. "I guess its time to inform you all about the test," he said in an almost cheerful manner, clearly confusing his understudies. "After all, I have to see if you're Genin material…"

"Kakashi-sensei? We all took the Academy Genin Exam, we're Ge-" Sakura began, before Kakashi interrupted her.

"Ah, yes. You're Genin by the Academy standards… but we have to see if you're Genin by my standards," he said in disturbingly joyful sounding tone. "Now then… tomorrow, you'll meet me at the Team 7 training grounds 5:00 sharp; you'll be able to find a map of the grounds just outside the Hokage Tower. If you just so happen to pass my test, you'll be my team and I'll train you… if you happen to fail… then I'd have no choice but to send you all back to the Academy for another year," the scarecrow said with a chuckle. "Won't that be fun?" Looking at his eye, you'd say the answer would be yes… looking at the Genin's faces… well, all three had an expression of horror on their face, though some of them had a degree of horror worse than the others.

"Oh, by the way, don't bother eating breakfast before you come, you'll just end up chucking it all over the training ground, and believe me, the people who have to pick up after us won't enjoy that," Kakashi added with another chuckle. "Dismissed," he said quickly before disappearing in yet another explosion of smoke. The three young people stared off into the spot their sensei had been just moments earlier, before glancing at one another. Immediately Sasuke and Naruto stood up and began sprinting in opposite directions, with Sakura following suit a bit later, and went home. They all had similar thoughts running through their head; tomorrow was going to be hell, and they were definitely going to need a great amount of preparation.

---------- The Team 7 Training Area ---------- 4:55 A.M. ----------

It was very early in the morning in Konoha. The birds were not yet awake, the gentle sounds of grasshoppers playing their majestic melody was still humming in the air, and the air was cool and calm as could be. This time would normally be seen by many as a good time to be sleeping. However, three certain Genin were up at this early hour, making their way to their testing grounds, hoping that they would be able to keep their titles as newly minted Genin. They each came from a somewhat different direction, mostly because they thought their way was the short cut, but also because they wanted to be alone for a bit.

They all had run into each other when they picked up the maps from the Hokage Tower. Needless to say, being up so early did very little to improve the tension that still hung in the air. Sasuke didn't wish to speak to Sakura, Sakura didn't wish to speak to Naruto, though she wanted to talk to Sasuke, and Naruto didn't want to talk with either one of them. However, the three merely looked at each other and sighed as they walked into the middle of the clearing, right now too tired from the lack of sleep to really bother. They'd be pissy after the test…

So, all three of them stood there, checking the breaking dawn for a sign of the time. They saw that it was almost 5:00, and began waiting patiently for Kakashi to show up. They waited for five minutes… then they waited for one half hour… then they waited for an hour; and soon enough three hours passed… and the Genin team was still waiting for their sensei. Well, waiting was what they were sort of doing. They were more or less standing there like a group of the undead, yawning, moaning, and swaying around a bit as they tried to stay awake. About three hours later, however, Kakashi arrived in the field, the three Genin looking over at him with their eyes half open.

"You're late…" all three of them said in a tired tone as Kakashi sweat dropped.

"Sorry, you see I was on my way here, but a herd of black cats blocked my path, so I had to run into town and pick up several good luck charms," he said, pulling out two bells from his pocket. "Like these two bells; they are one of my charms… and your test objective." The scarecrow said this slowly, causing the three Genin to immediately perk up, seeing the goal right before their eyes. "You see, the test is simple enough. You grab a bell, you pass. You don't grab a bell, you fail and go back to the Academy. Sounds simple enough, right?" Kakashi asked before tying both bells to his belt. All three Genin noticed what was wrong with this picture, but Naruto spoke out first.

"Wait, there are three of us and only two bells… doesn't that mean that no matter what…" Naruto said in a grim tone in his voice while Kakashi nodded with a bright smile in his eye.

"That's right, Naruto. One of you three will be going back to the Academy if the other two get these bells!" Kakashi said in a way that sounded giddy, causing the three young ninja to stare at him in bewilderment. "However, if none of you can get the bells by the time the sun hits its apex in the sky…" Kakashi said, pointing right above himself. "All of you fail." All three Genin flinched yet again, though Naruto, once again, spoke for the rest of the group.

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Naruto shouted at Kakashi, who merely chuckled in response.

"Well, would you look at this; the Street Fox is actually a bit nervous!" Kakashi said, wincing to himself when Naruto growled softly… that may have been a tad over the line, but at he had to get the young Genin riled up for this. "Anyway, on top of going back to the Academy, I'll tie the loser, or losers, to those logs over there… and they'll have to watch the winners and I, or winner, or just myself, eat lunch…" Kakashi said, in a tone that sounded almost sadistic to the starved Genin, whose stomachs ached from the sound of the word 'lunch'.

"Well, it sounds like we're all clear on the rules, so on my mark you can begin the test," Kakashi said, the three Genin tensing up immediately, trying to forget the pangs of hunger in their stomachs. The tension remained for several moments as Kakashi tried to rack the nerves of his team a little more before beginning their nightmare. "Begin."

Before he even uttered the second syllable, all three Genin had leapt into the woods, making themselves scarce by trying to hide within the thick foliage.

The Jonin wasn't surprised by their decision. Even to him, hiding from a superior opponent and waiting for the right moment to strike was the right move. At the same time, they separated from each other, both a good and a bad move. It was a good move, since for now he couldn't easily find the cluster of chakra emanating from one spot. But it was also bad, because he still had a good track on all three of them anyway, and if he felt like it, he could seek them out one by one and knock them out for the duration of the test.

After all, Sakura's pink hair stuck out like a sore thumb under the bushes to the left of him, he could see Sasuke moving about in the trees, probably trying to pull out some weapons from his pouch, and Naruto, while most definitely the hardest of them to track, was right behind him in the branches of the tree. Naruto obviously wasn't checking to see if he was upwind of Kakashi or not, which allowed said Jonin to smell the thick aroma of barbeque meat and animal blood that seemed to constantly cover the boy coming from said tree.

When the leaves rustled, Kakashi sighed and pulled out a kunai. He was hoping that the Street Fox would be a bit better than that. He threw a kunai into the tree and was satisfied when he heard the metal tearing through clothing. He turned around to look at his prize, and indeed, he saw the young boy's black jacket fall out of the tree… the only problem was that there was no Naruto inside the jacket.

The scarecrow's only visible eyebrow rose in interest, when suddenly, a barrage of kunai followed by four shuriken came his way from seemingly out of nowhere. Kakashi quickly turned and, with merely the metal plates on the back of his gloves, deflected the kunai easily. Then, with all the dexterity he could muster, quickly plucked the shuriken from the air, the spinning stars resting with his fingers through their center. Kakashi took this shuriken and threw them back into the bushes from which they came, again hearing metal meet clothing. He knew Naruto was there that time, but was disappointed when all that came from the bushes was a mere explosion of smoke.

'Huh, Shadow Clones,' Kakashi commented idly, before he heard something emerge from the underbrush behind him. 'Looks like he's already begun integrating them into his style…' he thought. Then, he quickly spun on his heels and met with the sight of Naruto charging after him with a kunai in each hand. The scarecrow's interest immediately fell again, disappointed in the rather upfront way Naruto was handling the situation now.

As the blond tried to sweep the kunai across Kakashi's torso, the Jounin merely ducked down below the horizontal swings and kicked Naruto in the chin, sending the boy a good ten feet back. Naruto had dropped the kunai beside Kakashi due to the force of the kick, before he flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet, rubbing his jaw from the blow he took. The silver-haired Jounin sighed as he stood up completely. He could've used his patented 'Thousand Years of Death' on Naruto had he chosen to, but he decided that, as interesting as the fight started off, he couldn't go that route yet. Who knows? Maybe the boy still had some tricks up his sleeves.

Little did Kakashi know that the tricks weren't in Naruto's sleeves… they were in the kunai. The weapons immediately exploded in a column of smoke, which honestly surprised Kakashi when two Naruto clones immediately rushed him, trying to lay a punch on him. Kakashi dodged each attempted attack. Even when the real Naruto joined the brawl, the Jonin didn't find the need for effort too great to avoid Naruto's strikes.

'If I were to give him an A for effort, I would… but the reports were right, his Taijutsu isn't nearly up to par,' Kakashi thought as he deftly dodged a kick.

True, Naruto had been using some rather surprising tricks in order to catch Kakashi off guard, most of them actually surprising him for a moment or two. However, nothing the Genin had done as of yet had truly knocked Kakashi off his footing. The proof of that was the fact that no matter how fast these clones moved, they couldn't even nick him. Kakashi, however, immediately noticed one of the clones making a mad grab for the bells, coming perilously close to them.

'Alright, time to end this little bit of fun,' Kakashi thought before immediately turning to face the clone, which had left itself completely open in its move for the bells, allowing the Jonin to punch it in the gut.

As the clone dispersed, Kakashi immediately grabbed the arm of another Naruto that had made a grab for the bells, and began swinging him around. It crashed into the last Naruto, causing it to disperse into smoke, leaving Kakashi with the Naruto he was currently spinning. The Jonin chuckled as he spun around faster, swinging Naruto around with him until he let go, throwing the Genin into the very tree that had started off this round.

Naruto slammed into the tree's trunk and fell to the ground, coughing violently as the air was knocked out of him. He stood back up, grabbed his jacket and pulled it back on. "You know, that was actually a good start… too bad you didn't succeed, I was really pulling for ya," Kakashi said in a sort of disappointed manner. Naruto glared at him, coughing due to the hit.

"S-shut up…" he said, finding it difficult to talk without a lot of air in his lungs. "I was so close…" Naruto muttered, more to himself, while Kakashi shrugged.

"Believe me when I say 'so close' won't cut it in the Ninja World…" Kakashi began, before Naruto snapped at him.

"I know that!" the young boy shouted. Kakashi was taken aback by his tone. However, if he was honest with himself, he should've seen that coming. He knew that Naruto's entire life had circled around 'so close' not cutting it. Hell, he wouldn't have survived if close had cut it. Kakashi sighed. Oh well, at least the boy was getting into this, and hopefully he'd be able to put up a better fight… still, Kakashi didn't really find much to fear from Naruto and, at this point, Sasuke and Sakura, both of whom were still hiding in the surrounding foliage. After all, even if the others were moderately skilled in Taijutsu, he had no doubt in his mind that they couldn't lay a finger on him.

So, slowly, Kakashi reached into his kunai pouch. Naruto immediately tensed up and pulled out a kunai of his own, ready to defend against whatever weapon the Jonin would try and use against him. So one could imagine Naruto's utter surprise when what Kakashi pulled out wasn't a weapon, but a book… a particular book that Naruto had seen now a number of times in his life. Immediately Naruto took on a look of indignation as he stood up. "PERVERT!" Naruto shouted loudly as he pointed at Kakashi, who merely giggled perversely. "You're reading that book!? Isn't this supposed to be a test, you… you…?!" Naruto shouted, growing angrier and more frustrated by the second. He knew why Kakashi was reading the book in the middle of the fight… he just didn't want to sa-

"What? You're no threat; I figure I can get some reading in." A vein began throbbing violently on Naruto's forehead as Kakashi worded out his thoughts. Even Sasuke and Sakura, who were just watching from the sidelines, were annoyed at the Jonin's actions. Sakura because her would-be sensei was a pervert, and Sasuke because he found it to be just the most stupid thing he'd seen today. However, their annoyance covered up a budding nervous rush. After all, they had just watched Naruto, the Street Fox, throw some keen tricks at the Jonin, all of which failed. Though Sasuke still felt he could handle Kakashi, his own confidence was diminished, while Sakura's confidence was diving fast.

Naruto merely looked at the perverted Jonin as he read… the…

It suddenly snapped. Everything in Naruto's mind began to click. He knew where he'd seen this guy before! That day, he was running from the Chunin… the book, the silver-haired Cyclops; that was Kakashi! Naruto's eyes widened as the dots suddenly connected. Naruto looked Kakashi over with this sudden realization, and grew all the more frustrated. "You... I remember you now!" Naruto said, standing up with great speed. "That day, in the streets… you, the book…" Naruto stammered, speaking in incomplete sentences due to his frustration. Kakashi merely gave Naruto his eye-smile as he nodded.

"I figured you'd remember me sooner or later," Kakashi said as he turned a page in the book, giggling as he did. "So, what are you going to do about it?" Naruto flinched, before grinding his teeth. This revelation, combined with the embarrassment of the beat down Kakashi delivered onto him and his Shadow Clones, caused Naruto to snap a bit.

"If you're still just as obsessed about that book as before, then I won't have any trouble beating you while you keep one hand tied up!" Naruto shouted, charging Kakashi. The scarecrow sighed at the boy's actions, shaking his head.

"Really?" Kakashi asked in a rather astounded tone as he suddenly closed the book, and tossed it up into the air. Naruto, having already gotten in front of the Jonin, was taken by surprise with the sudden unexpected action.

'…. Shit!' Naruto screamed in his head when suddenly, Kakashi began severely beating him down with his fists, striking him several times in the body, but also across the face. It all culminated when Kakashi grabbed Naruto's arms, picked him up, and swung him into the ground, causing a spine-aching thud to be heard by the other two Genin, who merely looked at the fight with pitched panic. Kakashi then tossed Naruto beside the nearby river, sighing as he shook his head. The blond mentally slapped himself.

'Well, I definitely didn't think that one through,' Naruto thought as he crawled into the river water, trying to use the current to get farther away from Kakashi. As he sunk under the surface and was swept away, he could hear Kakashi's idle comments from where he last stood.

"You know, that was a pretty stupid idea," he said, the Icha-Icha Paradise book just then landing in the dirt beside the tree. "I've already read that book several times, and they're so cheap nowadays that I could run into town and buy another copy just by using some spare change I might find in my pockets." Kakashi then shook his head. "Still, it would've been a good idea back then, not so much now…" he said with a small chuckle. "Unlike with others before you, I'm taking this test seriously, because this time this group has much potential, and I'd like to see if any of you had the chance to honestly become a student of mine."

He then shrugged. "But seeing as how you're basically floating down the river, I don't have to worry about you… I can start focusing on the others," he said with a light chuckle, immediately catching Sasuke's and Sakura's ears.

Sasuke and Sakura looked at Kakashi with a new level of panic… this guy… he was powerful, he was fast… maybe they were in over their heads. Sasuke, however, was about to strike when all of a sudden Kakashi spoke. "Well, I guess its time for me to find the other two and see if they can pass…" the scarecrow said in an off-handed tone, after which there was a great amount of movement in the spots where he had felt Sasuke and Sakura earlier. The Jonin laughed lightly as the two bolted off. "Oh, this will be fun…" he said as he strode off into the woods, following Sasuke.

Moments after Kakashi left, Naruto surfaced from the river, a ways down from where he started, and immediately attached himself to the bank, rolling onto his back as he did. He sucked as much air as he could into his, trying to regain his breath while the pain died down from the hits Kakashi landed on his torso as he lay there. He'd go after him again soon… but that would be quite a while, and he wasn't greatly anxious for another beat down.

Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Sasuke worked at a feverish pace in order to set up his own confrontation with Kakashi. Though he had just watched Naruto get beaten to a pulp by the Jonin, the Uchiha still held out hope that his own set of skills would be good enough to beat Kakashi, and get a bell for himself. With the kunai and shuriken set and ready, Sasuke now just patiently waited for the Jonin to show up.

Sasuke didn't have to wait long. Within seconds Kakashi strode into the clearing, looking around for the remaining Genin. He had felt Sasuke sneak into the immediate area and had a pretty clear idea as to where the young boy was. Though that was how he felt about Naruto earlier… but then again, he highly doubted that Sasuke had the same stealth abilities as the young Uzumaki. His suspicions were confirmed when, from the area he had pinpointed the Genin, several shuriken and kunai came his way.

"Really? If I'm not mistaken your teammate just tried this, and with disastrous results," Kakashi said casually as he leapt away from the spot they were aimed at, not bothering to block them this time. Pulling out his own kunai, he noticed Sasuke hiding in the bushes. He was about to throw it at the black-haired ninja, when he noticed Sasuke cutting a wire with one of his remaining kunai.

'A trap?' Kakashi thought to himself with a somewhat surprised tone as suddenly several kunai and shuriken came his way. The Jonin quickly forced a landing, dragging his feet on the ground to stop his forward momentum, using his kunai to deflect as many of the projectiles as he could, while allowing some to graze his arms and legs. As he was doing this, Sasuke suddenly rushed towards him, two kunai firmly grasped within his hands. 'A slightly modified version of Naruto's plan… he must be confident," Kakashi thought as he attempted to swat Sasuke away with the kunai in his hand, only to have Sasuke knock it away with his own.

From there it became a small duel of Taijutsu, with Sasuke swiping at Kakashi with his two kunai while Kakashi ducked, dodged, and blocked every one of Sasuke's attempts at offense. Suddenly, Sasuke pivoted on his leg, quickly turning to deliver a round-house kick to Kakashi's right side, which the Jonin skillfully blocked. The acclaimed genius ground his teeth as he used both his momentum and Kakashi's to his advantage, twisting to try and deliver a kick to the top of the Jonin's head, which the one-eyed man merely blocked again. Sasuke saw his moment of opportunity and, using one of the kunai in his hands, he cut the bells from Kakashi's belt.

Kakashi's eye widened considerably as he watched Sasuke drop the other kunai in order to make a grab for the falling bells. He quickly grabbed both of Sasuke's legs and swung Sasuke front side first into the ground behind him, the force of the blow causing a quite painful 'crunch' to be heard. The Uchiha gasped for breath as he turned onto his back, grabbing his chest as he fought to catch his breath, sitting up as he did. Kakashi, for a moment, was worried that in his split second reaction, he over-reacted, though, upon seeing Sasuke slowly sit up, he merely reached down and grabbed the bells on the ground, before leaping a ways away.

"I have to admit, you were even closer to getting these than Naruto," he said as he pulled out some of his own ninja wire, using it to retie the bells to his belt. "Had I reacted a second later, you could've grabbed one, maybe even both," he said in a taunting manner, causing Sasuke to glare at him with great rage as he slowly stood up. "Yet, as I told Naruto, close won't cut it in the ninja world," he said with a light chuckle as Sasuke growled.

"I'll show you close!" Sasuke shouted as he brought his hands in front of him and began making seals. For a second time, Kakashi witnessed something he didn't think he'd see out of this fight: a Genin using a fire style attack.

'A Genin shouldn't have enough chakra to do this technique!' he thought to himself as he began doing his own seals. Yet despite this, Kakashi couldn't finish before Sasuke.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" the young Uchiha shouted as he brought his fingers to his lips, expelling breath from his body that turned into a stream of fire, aimed right at Kakashi. Soon the area where Kakashi once stood was engulfed in flames, Sasuke's fireball roasting everything there, including the earth. As Sasuke felt he had done enough, he released the jutsu, ending the fire stream. Though imagine his surprise when he saw nothing there but mere ashes. "What? Where did h-" Sasuke never finished that sentence since right at that moment, a certain Jounin's elbow struck Sasuke in the back of the head.

Kakashi stood over a semi-unconscious Sasuke, sighing as he shook his head. "I'll say that this was almost as entertaining as my confrontation with Naruto. You, a Genin, using a C-Rank jutsu: a rare occurrence if there ever was one," the scarecrow said before shaking his head. "Still, you really didn't see a Replacement Jutsu coming? Looks like you were a bit overconfident when you tried to burn me…" he continued with a small chuckle as he walked away from Sasuke, heading back into the forest. "Now… where's pinky?" Kakashi commented in a nonchalant manner as he walked off, looking around for the last of his would be students.

Said student, Sakura, was currently running around the forest, looking desperately for a place to hide. She knew that there was no way that she, by herself, would be able to beat Kakashi, and was looking for a place to hide till Sasuke, or if needed, Naruto came by. At this point she didn't care if she didn't like the blond; she was going to need help. She suddenly stopped in a grouping of leaves in the trees, looking around quickly before forming the Ram seal. "Transform," she whispered as suddenly a little bit of smoke surrounded her, her skin suddenly turning into a similar color and pattern as the leaves around her.

'I'll just wait like this. Kakashi shouldn't see me, and if Sasuke or Naruto stop by, I'll be able to dispel the jutsu and ask for help,' she thought as she steadied her breath and began waiting, now glad she had paid attention during all those trips to the forest. She sat there for several seconds, waiting patiently for some kind of change. The pink-haired Genin sighed silently before she heard a twig snap, her eyes snapping open as they looked from side to side.

"Sakura, I'm right behind you," she heard Sasuke's voice say from behind her. Immediately her eyes snapped open in happiness as she quickly turned, dispelling her illusion.

"Sasuke-ku-" she began, her eyes widening immediately as she saw who was actually behind her. Kakashi sat there… his eye staring at her as he raised his hand in a wave.

"Hi," he said in a somewhat light tone, as Sakura tried to scream. She could only try because the second she opened her mouth, Kakashi rammed his palm into her forehead. She fell from the treetops, landing hard on the ground as her eyes spun in circles, a huge palm-print on her forehead. Kakashi blinked as he looked down at Sakura, raising his only visible eyebrow as he shrugged.

"Huh, that wasn't fun at all…" he said as he dropped from the trees and onto the ground beside Sakura. He looked through the tree leaves and at the sky, looking at the position of the sun. "By the looks of it… they have about an hour left… that means I don't have to wait for much longer." he said to himself, placing his hands into his pockets as he walked off. "I guess I'll just wait for them for now…" he said as he headed off to yet another clearing, awaiting the arrival of the Genin once again.

It took each of the Genin a while to recover from their individual beatings, Naruto being the first to get up. He grabbed his chest in a pained manner as he stood up, having laid there for several minutes waiting for it to die down enough for him to move. He sighed as he began walking off, trying to find Kakashi again… he might as well give it another go, or else he'd just end up back at the Academy. Naruto actually found it somewhat easy to track Kakashi; after all, he noticed that the Jonin smelt an awful lot like dog, and the smell was easily traceable in the wind.

Sasuke, moments later, also recovered from his temporary case of 'knocked right the hell out' disease. He began moving as well, slowly moving in the same direction Naruto was. He could feel Kakashi all the way out there; he could sense his chakra. He had to pass… if he couldn't beat this guy… how could he kill… him? He slowly marched through the woods, and before long, he heard footsteps right beside him. He drew one of his last kunai and aimed it towards the sound, but immediately saw Naruto…

His anger was in no way dissipated by this, somewhat, relieving sight. "What the hell are you doing up, dobe? The Jonin kicked your ass…" he said with an ache audible in his voice. Naruto, though insulted, could only smirk back at his beleaguered rival.

"Look who's talking. You look like you can barely stand, much less put up a fight," the blond countered to the Uchiha, causing Sasuke's eye to twitch.

"Whatever, dobe. It's not as if it matters. I'll get a bell, even if you ruined my initial attack…" Sasuke said, causing Naruto to flinch a little bit.

"Wh-what do you mean, bastard?! I didn't do squat to any 'attack' of yours!" Naruto snapped as Sasuke scoffed.

"I had a plan right from the very beginning to handle Kakashi. If you hadn't jumped the gun and tried to play top dog I would've been able to-" Sasuke began before Naruto immediately began shouting.

"Oh don't even try to play it like that bastard! You didn't have squat, I was the only one who had a reasonable idea on how to fight the Cyclops freak!" Naruto shouted as a throbbing vein forced its way to Sasuke's forehead.

"Yeah right, idiot!" Sasuke shouted, as Naruto immediately returned with an equally childish insult.

"Jerk!"

"Baka!"

"Teme yarou!"

Just as the two were about to strangle each other, they suddenly felt someone walking towards them nearby. They turned their heads and saw Sakura slowly walking over towards them, her head bent down as she came closer. Sasuke and Naruto blew her off for a moment, and momentarily resumed their shouting match… until they felt… a dark presence, one that chilled both Sasuke's and Naruto's spines.

The two turned their heads and immediately paled, as what they saw was not what they were expecting. It was Sakura, with a large red palm print on her forehead. Her eyes seemed like they were on fire, and it looked as though a dark aura had completely engulfed her. She came closer to them, and grabbed both of them by their collar, not knowing that it was now 'Inner-Sakura' who controlled the reins.

"Look… I like you…" she said softly as she nodded towards Sasuke. "… I don't like you…" she said, nodding towards Naruto. "…I'm going to ask you two something… did we not just get our asses kicked by some insane Jounin?" the pink-haired embodiment of rage asked as both merely nodded. "Are we not just a mere half-hour away from being sent back to the Academy?" she asked, grinding her teeth together so that it made an audible noise, both nodding again, only more slowly.

"Then… answer me this… why are you two standing here… WASTING YOUR TIME BY SHOUTING AT EACH OTHER!!!!" she screamed, Naruto and Sasuke paling considerably. "NOW I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU TWO, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO THE ACADEMY! SO IF YOU TWO WOULD PLEASE STOP HAVING THIS RIDICULOUS COCK FIGHT, WE CAN FIND A WAY TO PASS THIS FUCKING TEST AND STAY GENIN!!!!!!!!" she shouted as she let both boys go.

At that point, Naruto and Sasuke were both nearly frozen in fear. They had seen some bad stuff, but that was the last thing either expected to see: Sakura, Sasuke-loving Sakura, shouting at both of them and damn near biting their heads off! Naruto would be pretty much scarred for life, and Sasuke was shaken enough to the point where he nodded and was the first to sit, Naruto following him.

"Ye-yeah, we should work together," Naruto said, Sasuke nodding as Sakura took one last deep breath and looked back up at both of them.

"Well… what do we do? I mean, none of our best skills could beat him… I mean, I couldn't outsmart him…" she said as Naruto nodded.

"I couldn't even trick him…" the blond said as Sasuke looked at both, before sighing.

"And as much as it hurts to say this, I couldn't fight him off…" the Uchiha said as he looked at both his teammates. "So… if we couldn't beat him separately… is there a way we could beat him together?" he asked as both Naruto and Sakura sat there… all three Genin putting their heads together. Suddenly, all three's eyes snapped open and looked at each other.

"I have an idea!" all three said, though Sasuke was far less excited, as they began discussing with each other.

---------- Fifteen Minutes Later----------

Kakashi yawned lightly as he checked the sun again. They had five minutes, ten at the most, to get over here and try and beat him for the bells. He knew they'd fail, though. He had no faith that any one of them could attack him in such a manner that they could make an honest grab for one of the two bells. He sighed again as he scratched the back of his head. 'Another group of kids, another non-existent 'team',' he thought scornfully as he looked up. 'I had such high hopes for this one too… oh well.' Suddenly, he heard something come out of the bushes. He looked down and saw Sakura standing there, shaking slightly as she held several kunai and shuriken in her hands.

"Well, well, looks like pinky's the gutsy one in the group," Kakashi said as he began walking towards her, causing Sakura to bring up the kunai and shuriken. "… Please…" Kakashi said as he shook his head, which caused Sakura to throw the weapons… everywhere but at Kakashi. The kunai and shuriken embedded themselves all over the clearing; in trees, in the ground, everywhere. Kakashi's eyebrow rose as he looked at Sakura. "Maybe I hit you a little harder than I thought…" he said as Sakura ran out of weapons, and jumped up into the treetops.

Kakashi sighed as he walked towards the area Sakura ran, before finding himself unable to move further than a couple inches. He looked down at the area in front of him, and saw little glints of light. 'Ninja wire?' he thought to himself as he looked at the kunai and shuriken. 'If they're only secured at one end, they shouldn't be this…' Kakashi began thinking before his eye suddenly widened. Before he could act, from the area behind where Sakura stood, dozens of Naruto clones, each holding a single wire, began leaping out and around the clearing, pulling their ninja wire tight and around Kakashi.

The Jonin grunted as his arms were forced stuck beside his chest, his legs captured in the ninja wire wrap as the clones continued to jump around and wrap the wire even tighter around him. Suddenly, the kunai and shuriken gave out from their positions, and flew towards Kakashi. The Jonin gave a small grunt of pain as the kunai and shuriken embedded themselves in his arms, legs, and his Jonin flak jacket as the clones continued to wrap the wire tighter. The Naruto clones suddenly converged at one point, each one disappearing as they left their wire hanging in one spot with the others. When the very last Naruto jumped by, he ran back into the woods with Sakura, leaving Kakashi trapped, wrapped up by ninja wire. He was about to make another attempt at breaking the wires, when Sasuke jumped out from his hiding place and grabbed the bundle of wire ends the clones left him. He smirked at Kakashi as he brought both of his hands together, causing Kakashi's nerves to jump as he struggled to bring his hands together.

Sasuke, however, had no intention of giving Kakashi a chance to act, and began flashing the seals for his jutsu while keeping the wire secure between his fingers. When he finished, he once again brought his fingers to his lips, keeping the ninja wire in those specific fingers as he did. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted as he blew an enormous fireball towards Kakashi, the Jonin only just then beginning his own set of hand seals.

The fireball struck the spot where Kakashi stood, a pyre of flame jumping into the air as a small shockwave rocked the area. Sasuke let go of the wire and looked at his handiwork, Naruto and Sakura walking out of the woods as they gazed at the fireball. "Did ya hit him?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded with a small smile.

"Yeah, I think we got him this time…" he said with a budding excitement in his voice as, in a moment of victory, all three Genin, whether they liked each other or not, clapped their hands together.

"Alright! Now all we have to do is get the bells and then decide… or fight… amongst ourselves as to who gets them!" Naruto shouted, whispering the 'or fight' part under his breath, though Sakura and Sasuke had a feeling that fighting for the bells would've been an option if they succeeded.

"Wait guys, shouldn't we be more concerned about him? I mean, that fireball did look awfully big…" Sakura said slowly as Sasuke shrugged.

"Whatever, he's a Jonin, if he can't handle a fireball being launched at him then-." whatever Sasuke was about to say was interrupted when the fire suddenly cleared… to reveal a pile of smoking ash, causing all three Genin to sweat drop. Sasuke immediately knew what happened; his teammates, on the other hand…

"OH MY GOD, WE KILLED HIM! WE TOOK OUR SENSEI AND BURNT HIM TO ASH!" Sakura shouted in a panic as she held onto her head, Naruto looking at the ashes in panic.

"Lo-look, here's our story, cause we'll need one for something like this: we weren't here, we never saw him, we don't even know a Kakashi, we were just out here having some fun!" Naruto shouted, thought not nearly as loud as Sakura looked over at him.

"What do we do about the ashes, we can't just explain that away!" she shouted, before Naruto pointed to the nearby river.

"We'll dump the ashes into the river, no one will ever know!" Naruto shouted, Sakura nodding as she was about ready to gather up the ashes, before Sasuke hit them both across the head. "Ow! What was that for!?" Naruto shouted, as Sakura looked at Sasuke with a hurt look before the Uchiha sighed.

"Hey geniuses, we didn't burn him to death... he replaced himself with a log…" Sasuke said as Naruto and Sakura both looked back towards the ash pile, before hearing clapping noises from the other side of the clearing. All three Genin looked over, and grimaced when they saw Kakashi, standing there, the two bells still tied to his belt… though, he was worse for wear, as sighted by the fact he was still pulling kunai and shuriken out of his arms.

"Well done. I must say that was quite the show," Kakashi said as all three Genin sighed, having failed yet again. "Plus, would you look at what time it is?" he said, pointing up directly above him. No one of them had to look up to guess what he meant; he meant that time was up, the sun was at its apex… they failed. "Well, come with me to the logs… unless you want me to drag you there," Kakashi said in a threatening tone, all three children willingly following him back to the log area.

---------- Back at the Logs ----------

A few minutes later, the group arrived back at the clearing with the three logs standing in front of some kind of monument. The four lunches, somehow still warm, sat there, teasing the hungry Genin, though at the moment they were in either too much pain from earlier beatings or in too much grief over failing to care. Kakashi had them sit in front of the three logs, before he himself sat in front of them, looking them each in the eyes, or, if you prefer, eye.

"Alright… before I tie you up, would you mind telling me about what you learned?" he asked in a serious tone, drawing confused looks from all three Genin. Kakashi sighed as he pointed to Sakura. "You, Sakura," he said, shocking Sakura, as before he really only referred to her as 'you'. "Tell me… why were you all so unsuccessful in the beginning?" he asked. Sakura, though still confused, managed an answer.

"We… depending too much on our own individual skills, we thought we could beat you on our own… even if we knew how much of a superior opponent you were…" the pink-haired Genin said slowly as Kakashi nodded, pointing to Naruto.

"What made you realize you weren't enough on your own, Naruto?" Naruto tapped his chin in thought. The blond wanted to say 'Sakura scared the crap out of me' but that wouldn't be an answer.

"Well, we… we saw how stupid our efforts were, we saw how badly we were beaten when we tried to take you down on our own…" he said slowly. Kakashi again nodded, finally pointing to Sasuke.

"Teamwork sure made a difference… eh, Sasuke?" the Jonin asked, the black-haired young man scoffing… before nodding in defeat moments later.

"When we brought our individual skills together and tried fighting you as a unit, we were open to more strategies than we would've had on our own… we were open to more ideas than we would have been on our own…" he said, Kakashi again nodding as shrugged.

"So, do you think you might've gotten the bells earlier if you had acted like a team at first?" he asked, all three Genin nodding solemnly in response, a small smile forming under Kakashi's mask. So… they figured it out. "Well then, I guess there's only one thing left for me to do" he said, all three Genin scooting closer to the logs, prepared to be tied up…

Imagine their surprise when suddenly three of the four lunches were tossed into their laps, Kakashi opening up the fourth and eating it himself. "Get a good meal, get plenty of rest tonight, and show up at our meeting place at 6:00 in the morning. You should be able to find its location at the Hokage Tower," Kakashi said as he took a bite of food, all three Genin staring at him in a dumbfounded manner, before he sighed. "Do I have to say it more plainly?" he asked, before his smile reached his eye, his mask visibly moving as the smile that had been hidden there moved to his eye. "You passed," he said, drawing highly confused gazes from all three Genin.

"… WHAT?!" all three shouted at once as Kakashi laughed.

"The bells, ah, they were only a distraction from the real test… I wanted to see if you all could, willingly, act together as a team. Your final display that nearly burnt me to death… while dangerous to my health, was exactly what I was looking for, so you pass. You're Genin," he said as he took another bite of food, all three kids looking at each other, and then at Kakashi, and then at each other… before Sakura and Naruto nearly spilt their lunch from jumping up in celebration. Sasuke was content to just sit and smirk lightly while beginning to open the box of food, actually entertained by his teammates display.

From this day forward, Team 7 was officially formed, and only Kami knew what was in store for the small group……

Omake

Kakashi Speaking- Hello

Naruto Speaking- Hello

Sasuke Speaking- Hello

Fangirls Speaking- Hello

Sakura Speaking- Hello

Zabuza Speaking- Hello

Haku Speaking- Hello

All three Genin- Hello

Today was the first day of training for Team 7, as they were all gathered in the middle of the same clearing they had been tested in. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all standing in a row, as Kakashi stood in front of them, staring over each and every one of them. Before any of the Genin could speak, there was music filling the air suddenly. All three of them looked around in a confused manner, wondering where the tune was coming from, before Kakashi began… singing.

"Let's get down to business.

To make you – a team!"

He began, with Naruto being the first to pick up on what was going on.

"I think that I can do this!"

"Ha! In – your dream!

You're the saddest bunch I've ever met

But you can bet, before we're though

Children I'll, make some men,

Out of you!"

He declared, Sakura deciding to remain quiet about the fact that she was a girl, a little spooked out by Kakashi's, and Naruto's, sudden singing.

--------- Ten minutes later ----------

Kakashi had the Genin holding their hands in the Tiger seal, focusing their chakra in their bodies.

"Now make the tiger-seal

Practice helps, your zeal!"

He said as suddenly Naruto became engulfed in warm chakra.

"Hey I think I got it!"

He said, before noticing a rabbit suddenly enter the clearing, causing him to lose focus.

"Oh look a – free meal!"

He began walking away, but Sasuke and Sakura proceeded to beat him over the head till he was limp, Sasuke for having broken the exercise, Sakura for him having tried to eat a rabbit. They all looked up at Kakashi, who merely shook his head, pointing to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura in that respective order.

"You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot

And you haven't got a clue

Somehow I'll, make some men

Out of you!"

---------- A Half-Hour Later ---------

By this time Kakashi had seriously turned up the heat on the Genin, Naruto was lifting amazingly heavy waits, Sasuke was sparring with Kakashi, and being beaten badly, while Sakura was running her fiftieth lap.

"Oh my God this is worse than death!"

"To this guy I can't hold a candle!"

"Man I really hope Sasuke will be okay!"

--------- An Hour Later --------

By now all three Genin were on the ground, practically dieing, while Kakashi surveyed them.

"What's wrong children out of breath?"

"Fangirls were easier to handle!"

"Boy Sasuke we're really glad you're not gay!"

Several voices said from behind Sasuke, as the brooding ninja turned to see a whole bunch of his old fangirls leap on him, dragging him into the bushes: the Uchiha screaming 'DEAR GOD NOT LIKE THIS' as he was dragged away.

BE A MAN!

"You must be swift as a coursing river!"

BE A MAN!

"With all the force of a great typhoon!"

BE A MAN!

"With all the strength of a raging fire

Mysterious as, the dark side of, the moon!"

--------- In another forest ---------

However, somewhere in Wave Country, another group was practicing, two people, with one of them giant and another… that looked like a girl.

"Time is racing forward

Until we, arrive!"

Haku shouted, as he ducked yet another slice of Zabuza's sword.

"Shut the hell up Haku!

And we might, survive!"

Haku looked over himself for a moment, before looking back up at Zabuza.

"Sir will they think I'm a girl?"

"Yes Haku yes they will!"

With that, Haku suddenly used a Transformation Jutsu… but was dressed up in a frilly pink dress.

"How bout now?"

"Yes God damn, it Haku!"

---------- Back in Konoha ---------

BE A MAN!

Kakashi watched his students with a small hint of pride in his eyes, as they suddenly appeared to be getting the hang of training.

"You must be swift as a coursing river!"

BE A MAN!

"With all the force of a great typhoon!"

BE A MAN!

"With all the strength of a raging fire

Mysterious as, the dark side of, the moon!"

BE A MAN!

"I must be swift as a coursing river!"

BE A MAN!

"With all the force of a great typhoon!"

BE A MAN!

"With all the strength of a raging fire!"

"Mysterious as, the dark side of, the moon!"

As the tune died down, and the music disappeared, all three Genin looked around, Naruto turning excitedly towards Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, does this mean we're done?"

Naruto asked, Kakashi giving them a smile before shaking his head no.

"Not even close."

He said, causing all three Genin to suddenly collapse, the Jonin chuckling a little bit as he yawned.

('Make a Man out of You' is Property of Mulan and Disney Studios, Arganaut only takes claim for this Omaked version of the song, and does not aim to make any money off of it)

Second Omake (by Paintball-Gamer): Adventures with Kunai

'I'll just wait like this. Kakashi shouldn't see me, and if Sasuke or Naruto stop by, I'll be able to dispel the jutsu and ask for help,' Sakura thought as she steadied her breath and began waiting, now glad she had paid attention during all those trips to the forest. She sat there for several seconds, waiting patiently for some kind of change.

Just then, however, she noticed a kunai embedded into the tree limb she stood on. Probably left over from another team's training session. 'I should get that out, though; it's not good for the tree,' thought Sakura as she knelt down and began tugging at the kunai, which was stuck in pretty deep, completely unaware of a certain person's arrival behind her.

"Sakura, I'm right behind you," came Sasuke's voice from behind her. However, Sakura didn't react at all, so focused was she on getting the kunai out of the tree limb. It was turning out to be quite a stubborn kunai. Kakashi, seeing no results, spoke up louder. "Sakura, behind you!" Again, he got no response.

'What is she doing that so completely has her attention like this?' Wondered the Jonin as he moved to peer over her shoulder, which happened to be at the same moment Sakura gave a final mighty pull.

"Got it!" Sakura yelled triumphantly as she wrenched the kunai free –

BAM!

- and inadvertently slammed the butt of it right between Kakashi's eyes with the force of the pull, knocking him silly and causing him to fall off the branch and hit the ground hard, knocking him fully unconscious.

"Huh?" said Sakura as she heard a loud thump below her. Looking down, she saw Kakashi's unconscious form sprawled on the ground beneath her.

"What do you know, I beat him!" she cheered.

(Special thanks to The Red Green Show for the sketch that inspired this omake)

R&R