Part I: Six Bijuus?

Two years later…

"Naruto, don't do this." Konan reached out for Naruto's shoulder."You'll be chased down; you know that. The Akatsuki won't allow you to escape alive with this crime. You're going to destroy everything we've worked for! I thought you're loyal to the Akatsuki!"

Naruto shook her hand off. "I'm only loyal to my heart, Konan-chan. I can't stand it anymore. Every night…" He trailed off, pausing for a long time. Konan and he had grown close during the years even though he had tried everything in his power to distance himself from her. Once he returns to Konoha, they will instantly become mortal enemies, one loyal to the Akatsuki and the other loyal to Konoha. Konan had been the only one in the organization to know that he was the Nine Tailed Bijuu, but she didn't reveal his secret to the others, knowing that as a result, he'd be hunted down – even though because of the Half-Fusion Technique, it would be impossible to separate Kyuubi from Naruto's body. They might end up killing them both, achieving nothing. "…I understood them. You already know how the Half-Fusion Technique works. I understood how they feel; I understood the urge to be free and wild." He turned around to look at Konan. "Just do me a favor and tell Pein-san that…I'm Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. I owe them that much, that knowledge at least. They did train me powerful techniques and trusted me enough to allow me in this organization." With that, he swerved at lightning speed and knocked her out before she could see and react.

Naruto sighed and walked into the room containing the special demon jars. There were five jars containing the three-, four-, five-, six-, and seven-tailed Bijuus. He shook away the guilt feeling and stole the jars…

……

Pein knocked on Naruto's door. There was no answer. Strange…he's not one to be this insubordinate. Pein knocked down his door. An empty, cold room greeted him. Pein narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Where could that kid be? Pein walked down the corridors of the Akatsuki headquarters. He thought he saw something lying on the floor ahead of him and laughed at the thought that entered his head – Naruto had been training in the corridors (that kid trains in random places seriously) and had exhausted his chakra supplies and had fallen asleep. On closer inspection, Pein widened his eyes. He slowly picked up Konan bridal style and blinked, confused. He shrugged it off though. Konan and Naruto must've been sparring and she must've exhausted her chakra supplies; those two are unbelievably close. Wait. Naruto would never just leave her on the floor like that. Something's wrong…

Konan stirred and looked up at the one carrying her. She blinked to orient herself. Once her head was straight, she gasped. She grabbed Pein by the collar and whispered into his ear. "Pein-kun…" her voice was weak with her all groggy and all. "Naruto…Kyuubi Jinchuuriki…stole all the Bijuus…" She trailed off, too weak to continue.

Pein widened his eyes. He must've heard wrong. "W-what?" One look into her eyes and he knew she was telling the truth. Pein laid her against the wall and said, "Wait here." He ran into the room Naruto had entered just a few minutes ago. The room was empty. There were none of those jars inside. "NO!" Pein quickly used telepathy to contact the rest of the members of the Akatsuki. Damn you, Naruto! Why? You ruined everything that we have ever worked for! You're the fox Bijuu, eh? Well, get ready to run! Pein angrily slammed his palm into the wall. He had liked Naruto, who had always heeded his orders submissively – until now. Clever fox…got us to trust him and then…

……

By the time Pein knew what had happened, Naruto was already in a different country. Kyuubi-chan, they were good teachers. I feel guilty about doing this. They taught me a lot.

"True, Kit. However, you did the right thing. The Akatsuki is getting too powerful anyways."

Still…Naruto set the jars down on the grass and sat down next to them. Are you powerful enough to defeat them all if they try to attack me, Kyuu-chan?

"My powers are unlimited, kit. They're yours for the taking."

Naruto nodded and unleashed all of the Bijuus. There was a dramatic moment of roaring and snapping and…

Houkou lashed out at Sokou. "What are YOU doing here, you snakey-rooster?" He blasted a large fireball at Sokou, who in turn spat poison straight at him. "If I must remember…"

Raijuu slashed Houkou in the back. "Leave Sokou alone. Can't we all live in peace and harmony for once?"

"Now that I thought of it, how did we all end up here in the same area anyways?" Kaku asked confused. The badger waited for an answer. "The last time I remembered, I was in Earth Country."

"Hey, down here!" Naruto yelled, calling out to the Bijuus. "I released you from those jars over there!"

Raijuu reached a conclusion. "Wait, last time I remembered, two guys in black and red cloaks attacked me and sealed me away. So…"

All the Bijuus stared down at Naruto. "YOU released us? But you're just a brat!"

Naruto folded his arms and pouted. "Thanks for the gratitude. Risked my life to rescue you and this is how you repaid me."

Now, contrary to most traditions, the Bijuus do have honor in them. Houkou stared for a second before saying, "We are grateful. However…just who are you?"

Naruto stood up proudly. "I'm Naruto Uzamaki of Konohagakure! Jinchuuriki to Kyuubi the Nine-Tailed Fox Bijuu, nice to meet ya!"

They all stiffened at the Kyuubi part. "Kyuubi?"

"Hai." Naruto cocked his head. Why did they suddenly became all tensed and…scared?

Houkou turned away. "She was the most powerful of us all. Nekomata-chan and I teamed together once to attack her. Nekomata was nearly killed; as for myself…" He showed Naruto a huge scar running down his back. He shivered. "That was during the Ancient War of the 9 Gods. Hmph. She could've killed me easily."

Naruto sat cross-legged on the ground. "So, uh…" There was an awkward silence.

Sokou then hissed out, "Now what? We all know the Akatsuki are after us."

There was uproar. Proposals were made by one Bijuu and the others contradict them, proposing others.

Man, Kyuu-chan, what the heck?

"I have to say. This is the first time I've seen them gotten along like this!" Kyuubi emitted a loud laugh. "Normally, they'd try to tear each others' throats out!"

Finally Kaku roared, "Silence!"

They were all quiet. Though they all try to deny it, the fact still remains that Kaku was the most cunning and stealthy of them all. The proposal Kaku will make might be the most agreeable.

Kaku cleared his throat. "Okay, let's look at the situation. We have three choices. One, we can be free now and be captured by the Akatsuki later on. Two, we could manage to escape from the Akatsuki and later be sealed into a Jinchuuriki, possibly a weak, bratty kid. Three, we could seal ourselves inside Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki, who I personally think is a good choice. We can't escape from the human civilization, so these are about our only choices."

"WHAT?" Kyuubi screamed in Naruto's head. "I ain't sharing my Jinchuuriki! No way, no how!"

"Uh, guys, I don't think Kyuubi's very happy about that decision."

Isonade growled. "Tell her that we'll all annoy her by annoying you, because yes, we know a Half-Fusion Technique when we see one."

"Argh, Kit! Fine they can share you. Just tell them they better not bother my peaceful mornings."

"Kyuu-chan says fine then…whoa, whoa, whoa! What about my opinions, eh? I don't want a bunch of demons sealed up inside me! Konoha already hates me for containing one demon!" Naruto cried out.

Kaku pondered thoughtfully. "Tell you what, Kid. Why don't you not tell anyone about it? It'll be our little secret. Also, in return for you letting us share you, we'll give you full control of all our powers. We can all perform the Half-Fusion Technique all over again on you. It'll be less risky because you're already part demon because you're already half-fused with Kyuubi."

Naruto sighed. "I don't know about this." Kyuubi, there's no setbacks to this, is there?

"No, Kit, there isn't. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Can't say the same for those guys though. They'll be sealed up inside you forever. They must be desperate."

Naruto nodded uncertainly. "Alright then. Seal yourselves up then…"

"Hold on, Kid, this will hurt…"

After a few minutes of preparation, chanting, and a blinding light, Naruto's scream could be heard throughout the forest.

……

A year later…

Naruto was sleeping in the forest, enjoying his daily visit to the Bijuus. At first they were grumpy and seemed unsociable, but after he got to know them, they were all quite polite and kind – in their own way. (The Bijuus are the following for those who aren't familiar with Japanese folklore: Isonade – Three-tailed turtle Bijuu, Sokou – Four-tailed half-rooster-and-half-snake Bijuu, Houkou – Five-tailed dog Bijuu, Raijuu – Six-tailed weasel Bijuu, Kaku – Seven-tailed badger Bijuu.)

The Bijuus were all in their human forms as usual. Isonade was a man with medium length blue hair with a sharp horn on his head. Sokou looked kinda like a vampire with dark orange hair. Houkou was a young man with long white hair with robes (kinda like Sesshomaru in Inuyasha if any of you need an image hint). Raijuu was a thin man with spiky golden yellow hair and yellow eyes. Kaku was a small teenager with blue hair tied into a ponytail.

Naruto today was spending some time with Houkou. "So anything interesting happening today?"

Houkou didn't answer. He was just staring off into space.

Naruto pouted and looked in the direction Houkou was staring at. His gaze met Kyuubi a distance away. Something in Naruto brain clicked. He giggled mischievously and said, "You like Kyuubi-chan, don't you?"

Houkou turned to him surprised. "What?"

"Oh, don't act all innocent. You're in love with Kyuubi-chan, aren't you?"

Houkou blushed, a light tinge appearing on his pale skin. "No, I'm not. You're trying to embarrass me, aren't you?" Houkou, like most demons, hates to reveal the fact that he has emotions at all. His voice was calm and composed as ever, but his facial expression gave him away.

Naruto grinned and danced up and down, yelling at the top of his voice, "HOUKOU'S IN LOVE WITH KYUUBI!! HOUKOU'S IN LOVE WITH KYUUBI!!"

Houkou gave him a cool glare. "Right, real mature."

Naruto saw at the edge of his vision Kyuubi straightening up from her gardening to stare at him, wondering if he's gone nuts. "Yo, Kyuu-chan, guess what??"

Kyuubi cocked her head curiously. "What is it, little kit?"

Houkou sent Naruto a glare, daring him to tell Kyuubi.

Naruto was only too happy to comply. "Houkou likes you."

Kyuubi stared at him confused. It was a rarity that demons fall in love, so you couldn't expect her to catch onto the fact right away. "Okay then…Tell him if he wants to be friends, we already are."

Naruto smacked his head. "No, no, no, no, no, no!! I mean he's in love with you!!"

Kyuubi raised an eyebrow in Houkou's direction. Houkou himself looked as if he wanted to disappear out of sight. "Is this true, Houkou-kun?"

"NO!"

"Okay," Kyuubi replied simply, not really caring at all. She has better things to do than getting romance into her life. She returned to her gardening.

Naruto turned to Houkou. "Nice. Now she'll never know that you like her, and you'll never get to have her. I'm sure Kaku could steal her heart easily."

Houkou stiffened. Kaku was one of the more handsome demons in the world though he doesn't exactly care for romance.

Naruto continued, knowing he had gotten Houkou's attention. "Then the two would get married, live together, have children…"

Houkou stood up and slowly walked towards Kyuubi, his robes billowing slightly in the wind. Naruto saw him talking to Kyuubi and Kyuubi focusing entirely on him. Then Houkou was leaning in…

Kyuubi was kissing him back! Naruto smirked. Now, the two were rolling on the grass, kissing like there's no tomorrow. Naruto heard Kaku whispering to Sokou a distance away – "Well, they are distant relatives after all. She's a fox and he's a dog. Though he's gonna be in trouble if he gets her mad – like last time…"

Naruto rolled his eyes. Love always prevails.

At the Kyuubi/Houkou scene…

Houkou's long hair flew down like a river, covering a half of both of their faces. His hand was running through her red hair and they were both kissing. It was probably the first true love between two demons that ever happened in history. "Kyuubi-chan, do you…uh…actually love me?"

Kyuubi stared up at him with her red eyes. "If I say yes, I'm committed. You'll have to wait and see, Houkou-kun. I might like another demon." It was in fact a much more meaningful answer than a plain out 'yes'.

Houkou's eyes clouded. Then he smiled and leaned down to her ear, whispering, "I hope you won't ever, Kyuubi-chan." His warm breath tickled her ear, making her emit a shiver.

……

A few days later, Naruto was in Fire Country. "Alright, guys, let's do this…"

"Make sure you don't forget your bag," Kyuubi reminded him.

I won't. Naruto rolled his eyes. Demons can be really fussy and nagging. I wonder if Sasuke's an ANBU yet.

……

"Sasuke, how can you not be a genin yet? You're top in your class and you…"

"Itachi, I want to graduate when Naruto is there with me."

"He's not gonna be happy to be doing D-rank missions after seven years of intense training."

"…"

Sasuke and Itachi had no idea what surprises await them.

Part II: Team Itachi

Naruto grinned. He wanted to make a huge appearance. He tapped his foot by the toes and got himself ready. Alright, guys… Naruto took a deep breath and ran. Dust and dirt flew up behind him since he was running so quickly. He was running at nearly four hundred miles per hour. The ANBUs at Konoha's gates gaped at the trail being seen a mile away.

Naruto saw Konoha's gates loomed over him. He smirked and ran vertically over the walls straight up into the air. Floating there for a while, he suddenly shot straight into the direction of the Uchiha compound. The ANBUs would've treated it as an emergency to call the Hokage had Itachi had not told them all about a very powerful ninja returning to Konoha.

Naruto landed in front of the door, panting slightly. It had been exhilarating.

The door opened and Itachi was heard calling back inside to Mikoto, "Sure, Okaasan. Do you need me to buy anything else?" When he received a 'no' for an answer, he turned around, feeling a familiar chakra in front of him. When he saw who was in front of him, he gaped. "N-Naruto? Is that really you?"

"Yep! Yo, Itachi-nissan!"

Itachi reached out towards him and muttered, "You've grown. A lot."

"Duh. It's been seven years, Nissan." Naruto waited a few moments until his urge got the best of him. He launched himself at Itachi, clinging onto him like he did seven years ago. He squeezed Itachi, whispering, "I missed you. I really did."

Itachi chuckled affectionately and hugged him back. "You've definitely grown, Otouto." Itachi widened his eyes when he saw Naruto's eyes. The cerulean blue eyes were clearer than ever, but the pupils had red tints that were so prominent, it couldn't be the trick of the light. He shook his head and took Naruto by the shoulder, leading him inside. "Okaasan, Otousan, Sasuke, Naruto's HOME!" he called.

Mikoto looked up from washing the dishes and gasped. "Naruto, you've grown!"

Naruto rolled his eyes towards Itachi. "Yeah, I already got that."

Fugaku and Sasuke came into the room and stared. "Naruto?"

"Yep. Here I am." Naruto opened his arms wide to receive Sasuke, who rammed right into him, knocking all the wind out of him. "S-Sasuke, you're gonna kill me!"

Mikoto finished with the dishes and came over to Naruto. "You must be tired from the journey. Why don't you get some rest and then tell us all about your adventures afterwards?"

Naruto frowned at this, lowering his gaze to the floor. "Actually, I've got something I got to tell you. It's important."

Mikoto raised her eyebrows. "Alright then, but we should get comfortable before you tell us."

They went into the dining room and settled down. Fugaku then told Naruto, "Okay, what do you have to tell us, Son?" After that, the whole table went silent as Naruto told them his story...

Naruto's foster family gaped. "What?!"

"Uh, five more Bijuus sealed themselves up inside me. I was training with the Akatsuki and I released them after stealing the demon jars. Basically I'm on the run from them…"

Mikoto stood up, horrified. "Five Bijuus?"

"The Akatsuki?" Itachi asked, standing up as well.

Naruto waved them to sit down. "Calm down, guys. Yes, Niisan, the Akatsuki. I finished my training early so I went off to find more teachers. I had been careful, but now, they all know my secret. And the Bijuus are really nice, well in their own way. They can't take over my mind, but I could tap into their powers and all that."

Mikoto and Itachi seemed only slightly assured.

Fugaku sighed and finally announced, "I trust you, Naruto, and I will always. If you say they are harmless in your body, I believe you. However, be more cautious next time. The Akatsuki could've killed both you and Kyuubi-chan."

"Hai, Otousan." Naruto laughed nervously. "So, Sasuke, are you an ANBU yet?"

Sasuke hung his head. "No, not yet. I wanted to wait for you. We should do everything together, including graduating."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but he kept grinning. "Looks like we didn't beat Itachi's record then, did we?" Naruto didn't really mind staying at the academy. He wanted to stay with his age group anyways. Like he said before, he'll stay with Sasuke all the way, whether he be a genin, a chuunin, etc. Naruto has a choice of becoming any rank except Hokage for now.

Itachi shook his head. "Naruto, do you want to go to the academy? If you want to, I can just send a letter to Hokage-sama, and he'll allow you to. Also, if you do, I should give you a notice that the graduation exam is in three days."

Naruto nodded. "Hai, I do. I'm staying with Sasuke."

Four days later…

Naruto purposely scored the lowest score in the class. That way, he could even it out so that he and Sasuke could be on the same team (just in case the Hokage says 'no'). He could hardly care that everyone kept calling him a knucklehead and an idiot. He and Sasuke were brothers, except they were very different on the popularity scale. Girls went after Sasuke for a boyfriend, and boys go after him for a rival or an ally. "Otouto, here comes Sakura and Ino. Look out," Naruto whispered out of the corner of his mouth to Sasuke sitting right next to him.

Sasuke ducked under the desk. Two fangirls – just perfect.

The two came bursting into the room, glaring at each other. They turned to Sasuke and ran right over to him. "Sasuke, will you go out with me?" they both asked at the same time.

Sasuke let out an inaudible whimper. "Leave me alone!"

"Just leave him alone, Ino, Sakura," Naruto snarled. He knew how much Sasuke hated fangirls. They and Itachi weren't the kind of boys to be obsessed with romance and dating. They have better things to do.

"Who asked you, Naruto?!" they both yelled.

Naruto stood up, eyes flashing. "Did your parents ever taught you manners or did you just don't listen to a word they teach you?" Naruto wasn't about to let Sasuke get tortured. The girls will never leave him alone; it's actually more serious than it seems. Naruto saw Ino's fist coming, but he didn't dodge the punch.

Ino glared at him. "Why don't you just mind your own business?"

Naruto touched his cheek gingerly and replied calmly, "He's my brother. How's it not my business? Why don't you mind your business?"

Ino huffed and walked off to her seat. Sakura looked from Naruto to Sasuke and then back to Naruto before she went off to her own seat.

Sasuke pulled himself up from under the desk and stared at Naruto. "You didn't have to do that. Now you're gonna get a bruise." He squinted at Naruto's cheek and was surprised when there wasn't even a mark on it. "Kyuubi-chan…" he trailed off.

Naruto grinned. "The one and only. She's going out with Houkou-kun. Those two were meant for each other."

"Alright, everyone, attention please!" Iruka called in front of the class. "You'll all be assigned into teams to a jonin. There will be a last test before you will be fully recognized as a genin. Now I will assign you your teams…"

Naruto leaned back on his chair and listened without really listening at all. All he was really focusing on was Ino's punch. Man, that girl has anger issues. Hopefully she'll grow out of it once she's assigned to a team.

"…Naruto Uzamaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno…"

Sasuke banged his head on the desk; Naruto did likewise. Why in the world was fate so cruel to them? Sakura seemed to be aware that she wasn't really happily received. However, she just turned around to stick her tongue out at Ino because she got to be on the same team as Sasuke.

"Kit, she might not be so bad. I mean, she wasn't the one who punched you in the face, right? Besides being Sasuke's fangirl, you don't really know anything about her, do you? She might actually make a good addition to the team."

Sure. Most likely, all day during missions, she'll be gawking and cooing all over Sasuke. I feel sick just thinking about it. 'Sasuke, you're so hot!' and 'Sasuke, that was such a cool jutsu!' Really, don't kunoichis ever recognize their duties as kunoichis? They should concentrate more on training than on romance and boys.

"Do you know for sure that she doesn't work hard on her training?"

Naruto was quiet. No, he doesn't know. He had only met Sakura at most for four days. Maybe she might be a good teammate, Kyuubi. I shouldn't've been so quick on my judgments.

"You shouldn't."

After they were dismissed, Naruto pulled Sasuke away from the crowd of fangirls. "C'mon, Romeo, we gotta get home to prepare for tomorrow. Itachi might want to show us a new jutsu or something." When they arrive home, Sasuke immediately complained to Itachi.

"Nissan, there's a fangirl on our team! She's gonna slow us down on missions," Sasuke whined.

Itachi looked up at him from his desk and frowned at Sasuke's outburst. "Sasuke, don't make such quick judgments," he scolded. "You don't know her."

"I do, and you know how? She goggles at me all day!" Sasuke complained. "Just today, she asked me out. Yesterday, she sent me flowers. The day before, she sent me a card. She's nuts I tell you! No one needs a fangirl on their team!" Sasuke resolutely folded his arms and turned away, walking out into the garden.

Itachi sighed and returned to his work.

Naruto got reminded of when he was young, when he was shunned. Now, they're doing to Sakura the same thing the villagers did to him. He took a deep breath and went outside to where Sasuke was brooding on the porch. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke glance at him. "What?"

Naruto sat down next to him and after a moment's silence said, "Maybe Sakura-chan might not be so bad."

Sasuke didn't answer.

Naruto continued. "Remember long time ago? People shunned me and treated me as if I'm a monster. They didn't know me. Now, we're turning into the villagers. We're shunning Sakura even though we don't even know her that well."

"You and she are different. You focus on what's important. She focuses on romance and forgets her duties as a kunoichi. Even if I want to accept her, Naruto, I can't."

"She might change."

"Not likely she will. She's just another annoying fangirl."

"Who is now also our teammate. That sets her status among us, Sasuke." Naruto brushed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder before leaving the Uchiha and going inside.

Sasuke glanced up at a sakura tree planted in their backyard. "I really want to accept her, Naruto. I really do. I tried to, too. Now it's all up to her."

……

Naruto glanced at the clock. "When's Itachi gonna arrive? We have a test to do!"

Sasuke laid his head on his elbow and waited patiently. If he knew Itachi, something or someone must be stalling him.

Suddenly the door opened to reveal a man with silver hair and a mask covering his lower face. "Sorry I'm late. A black cat cross my path and…"

"You're not Nissan!" Sasuke and Naruto cried out.

The jonin sweatdropped. "Hmm, my first impression of this group is that they're a couple of ninnies."

"Where's Itachi??"

"He's quite busy at the moment. I'll be the one to give you your last test, the one that will decide if you are to be genins or not. Besides, I'm much better at handing out these kinds of tests than your brother is. Don't worry about it. He's just arranging with the Hokage, so that he could be free of his ANBU status and missions for now." The jonin marched out of the room, saying, "Follow me."

Sasuke growled. Could this day get any worse? A fangirl for a teammate and a random jonin for a teacher.

Once they reached a training area, the jonin turned to them and said, "Since I'm not gonna be your teacher either way, all you need to know is that my name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't need to know your names since you won't be my students. As far as I'm concerned, I'm just here to babysit. Anyways, let's get down to business, shall we? Normally, you're supposed to take this test tomorrow, but Itachi-kun wanted to get this over with today. Now, you have until noon to get these two bells from me…" Kakashi held up two bells. "…those who managed to get the bells, pass. Simple to understand you see."

Naruto raised a hand. "Uh…there's only two bells."

"Smart, are you? The one, who doesn't have a bell by noon, fails." Kakashi tied the bells to his belt (?) and folded his arms. "Alright, BEGIN!"

All three of them disappeared into the trees. Naruto peered at Kakashi from a branch. Kyuu-chan, what now? I know Itachi told us all about teamwork, but there's only two bells. Either way, one of us will have to fail.

"I'll tell you this, Kit. Things aren't always what they seem."

Uh…Naruto sighed. Oh, well, they can worry about who will pass later. Right now, they have to worry about teamwork. Itachi had said they might be able to set the record for teamwork, and they will. They can't expect it to be easy, right?

Naruto took a deep breath. He could've gotten the bells all by himself, but that was not the point of this test. Naruto ran off to find Sasuke and Sakura. He knew exactly what he has to do. He motioned for Sasuke to follow him and led him to Sakura. "Listen, we all know that this is about teamwork, right?" He glanced at Sakura, who stared at him in surprise. Of course, he mentally smacked himself. He and Sasuke knew; Sakura didn't. Sakura didn't have someone like Itachi to teach her. "Only two of us can pass." He smiled sadly. "You two can pass. I'll stay behind. I could catch up to you guys easily." When Sasuke was about to protest, Naruto gave him a piercing look, silencing his brother immediately. "Anyways, here's the plan…"

Sakura felt her chest tightening. Naruto was sacrificing himself for her and Sasuke. She finally realized something. All those times she teased Naruto along with the others, she had been acting as a monster. Naruto wasn't bad…he was a really good person. Before she could say anything, the plan was set immediately into action. There wasn't that much time before noon. Sakura waited up in the trees for Naruto to do his part. When Naruto appeared, she felt a twang in her chest. It was regret – regret for all those times she treated him bad. He was a good person – a really good person.

Naruto walked out calmly onto the field. "Alright, Kakashi, why don't we have a one-on-one taijutsu match?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Really now?" Minato-sensei, what in the world is your son planning? Why is he so confident?

Naruto got into taijutsu stance and charged. Kakashi blocked a punch coming straight at his face. Naruto then launched a barrage of punches and kicks. Kakashi widened his eyes; he had to focus entirely on Naruto, not just a bit of his attention. Naruto then looked him in the eye and smirked. "You lost, Kakashi." He jumped back and stood in front of Kakashi.

Kakashi felt for the bells, but he found them gone. He gaped. "How - ?"

Sasuke and Sakura came out, standing next to Naruto, holding up their bells. "We won your game, Kakashi."

Kakashi's expression returned to its emotionless mask once again. "So, Naruto, you failed? As a sacrifice to pass your teammates?"

Naruto smiled brightly. "Hai, I am. Fail me, Kakashi."

Sasuke gripped his bell until his knuckle turned white. "It's not fair. Stupid test." He then glared at Kakashi and suddenly chucked the bell at Kakashi's face (Kakashi caught it of course). "You know what? I don't want to pass. I don't care. Fail me as well."

Sakura, at the same time, threw hers on the ground, surprising both boys, and said, "Fail me, too. I don't care either."

To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke and Sakura put their arms around him. Sasuke smiled and said, "Remember when you and Itachi sacrificed a whole day of the mission just to come to my orientation? We stick together – no matter what."

Then they both looked at Sakura, who lowered her eyes, remembering that she was practically the odd one out of their group. Sasuke smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder. "You just proved to both of us that…you're no ordinary fangirl."

Sakura widened her eyes. Did she heard right? Did Sasuke actually compliment her of all people? Sasuke never compliments anyone. Tears welled up in her eyes. She was finally accepted into their circle.

All three of them looked up at Kakashi. "Pass all of us…or fail all of us. We're a team, and we stick together no matter what."

Kakashi glared at all of them. "Is that all you have to say? You're just gonna fail yourselves for each other?"

"Hai."

"Then I only have one thing to say to all of you…" He suddenly smiled underneath his mask. "You all passed…and set the most dramatic record for teamwork."

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura stared at each other unbelievingly. Did they just pass? Did they heard right?

Kakashi's smile widened. "You all showed pure teamwork…and that was the whole purpose of this test. You passed!"

Sasuke smiled, relieved. He turned to Naruto and hugged him. "We passed, Nissan; I can't believe it," he whispered into his ear. Then he turned to Sakura, pausing before he gave her a full-hearted hug.

Sakura gasped in surprise. "Sasuke-kun!"

Kakashi chuckled at the scene before leaving the group silently, as to not disturb the moment, to report to the Hokage and Itachi. They will become great. One day…possibly they'll become the most famous ninjas in history…

……

"They all passed – with perfect marks," Kakashi announced to the Hokage and Itachi, who was signing the last of the papers.

They both looked up, surprised. It was rare enough that Kakashi actually admits that a team passed, but Kakashi actually complimenting a team? Was this really the Kakashi they knew?

Itachi gawked. "My team passed? With perfect marks no less?"

Kakashi nodded proudly. "Hai, they did."

Itachi was impressed. Sasuke had hated Sakura. How then did they work so well together? He knew that they'd do anything to pass (in the sense of having to deal with a very annoying teammate) and that they will pass but with perfect marks, too? He smiled and said, "That's my brothers for you. They can do anything, even impressing me."