Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke face off against Itachi today for the 'Battle of the Bells'. And in case some of you took it the wrong way, no, there will be absolutely no yaoi in this story. Just Naruto/Sasuke friendship. FRIENDSHIP. If this took a romance turn it will definitely be NaruSaku. I'm a big fan of that pairing.

"Good job, you are all here on time," Itachi noted. His little Genin brother stood beside him, and the two Uchihas watched as Naruto and Sakura practically dragged themselves to the training ground.

"Good... morning... Itachi-sensei..." Naruto said drowsily, letting off a big yawn.

"Yeah... good morning Itachi-sensei..." Sakura was just as tired.

"You guys better stay awake," Itachi chuckled. "This test will determine whether you stay on as Genin, and you certainly won't pass it if you don't feel active enough."

"We should have took this in the afternoon then..." Naruto released another huge yawn.

Itachi took out three bells, ignoring his blonde student. He looked at his team.

"Alright, there are three bells here, right? Your job will be to take all three from me - one for each of you. The one who doesn't have a bell by... say, lunchtime, will be sent back to the academy. How about that?"

"Yes, Itachi-sensei," the trio said nervously.

"By the way, you can't attack your own teammates to retrieve their bells, if they get one. Your task will be to attack me, and only me," Itachi told them sternly.

Sakura then raised a hand.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Do all Jonin sensei use this method to test their students, Itachi-sensei?"

Itachi thought for a moment. "Well, most of them, but some alter the rules a little, like this one guy called Kakashi Hatake. You lot are lucky you aren't in his team. I heard his new implemented rules seriously toughens the test."

"I feel sorry for his team," Sasuke shook his head.

"Anyway, enough of that," Itachi pocketed his three bells. "As an experienced Jonin, if I go at you with everything I've got - obviously all three of you will be killed." He paused, enjoying the sight of his students' frightened expressions. "However, because you three are Genin and I don't want to kill any of you, I will be using less than half my power. Good luck."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "When do we start?"

"Now."

With that, the entire Team 7 jumped into the trees, hidden from sight.

Naruto had contemplated going up against the man one-on-one, but having saw Sasuke's brother in action against Mizuki, he knew he stood no chance.

Looking around, Naruto realized his pink-haired teammate was beside him. "Sakura-chan, how do you think we should-"

Suddenly, the two heard rustling, and then the presence of someone behind them.

"Ah-!" Sakura's scream of surprise fell quickly as a hand clamped over her mouth. They looked back to see Sasuke.

"We shouldn't give away our position," the Uchiha warned. He peered down towards his older brother, who was still in the same spot.

Itachi looked around. They are probably hiding somewhere. Hopefully they're discussing a plan of some sort. I wouldn't want to be able to take all of them out. Teamwork is the key to the completion of this test, I hope you've realized that, Sasuke!

"Teamwork is the key to the completion of this test," Sasuke silently informed his teammates. Sakura didn't look too surprised, but Naruto had an obvious expression of 'holy, I didn't know that'.

"What should we do?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I'm not good at devising plans and strategies. But I say the three of us all attack him together."

"Good thinking, Sasuke-kun."

"Go!"

It seems, Sasuke has figured it out, and so quickly too, Itachi thought, looking up into the air to see three ninja flying at him together.

"Get ready for this, big brother!" Sasuke smirked. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."

Both Uchihas performed hand seals, and both blasted fireballs at each other.

Collision caused the fire to disappear in smoke, and when the smoke cleared, five Naruto clones emerged.

Itachi only had two seconds to dodge a flurry of punches from the clones, but he took those two seconds wisely and avoided.

He was soon attacked again as a giant shuriken, thrown from Sakura, flew towards Itachi. The prodigy leaped into the air, effectively dodging the shuriken.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Itachi looked around, and counted at least fifty Naruto clones ready to jump at him. Sasuke and Sakura both got into a fighting stance.

"How's your taijutsu, guys?" Sasuke looked over at his two Genin teammates.

"Uh, well, I aced the taijutsu exams but I don't know if I can execute it in real life," Sakura replied with an awkward tone. Naruto just shrugged, indicating he'd failed most of his taijutsu tests in the academy.

"Taijutsu, huh?" Itachi's eyes left the clones. "Well, come at me with everything you've got then."

"Naruto, Sakura."

Two heads snapped up and nodded.

"On my brother together... 1... 2... 3, go!"

"Shit," Itachi looked back to see Sakura accompanied by thirty clones charging towards him. Looking back to the front, he saw Naruto and Sasuke also charging, backed up by twenty clones.

The first punch came, one that Itachi ducked under. The clone that had thrown the punch was knocked gently to the side and got dispelled. The Uchiha Jonin launched into a flurry of kicks and punches, dispelling ten more clones.

Jumping into the air, Itachi watched as his three students and the clones all looked up at him.

"Shadow Clone Explosion."

Three clones appeared beside Itachi, and was pushed by the Jonin towards the Naruto clone army. One by one, they exploded, dispelling all the clones and throwing the three Genin back.

"Chargeeee!" Naruto issued a battle cry.

"Well..." Itachi formed a one-handed hand seal.

"Wha-?" Naruto looked around, to see he had been magically chained up. The blonde struggled, but found he could not move.

The next moment, Sasuke and Sakura were back at his side, but a huge fireball was right in front of him.

"Yow!" Naruto fell back, surprised to find he wasn't chained up.

"Are you alright?" Sakura asked in concern. Naruto's eyes brightened. His Sakura-chan was showing him concern! But he quickly brushed that off.

"Just got a few burns," he replied awkwardly, as he felt the sting from the burn spots.

Sasuke looked at him with a confused look. "You were charging at big brother and then you suddenly froze. What happened?"

Naruto blinked.

"I put a genjutsu on him," Itachi replied for his student.

Genjutsu! No wonder! Naruto thought. I'm the worst at genjutsu, I can't figure out how to do one and I also can't figure it out when I'm stuck in one. No wonder Itachi-sensei was able to catch me off-guard.

"Just one of the techniques that comes with this," the Jonin continued cheerfully, pointing to his eyes. This was when Naruto discovered that Itachi's pupils had become red.

"You're using your Sharingan against us," Sasuke scowled.

"Be thankful it's the normal one and not the Mangekyo," Itachi chuckled, as Naruto got back up. "Just a quick reminder - you have three more hours to get these bells."

"Then we'd better be quick!" Sasuke leaped into the air. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

As Itachi was pre-occupied with dodging Sasuke's fireballs, Sakura sneaked up on him.

"Nuh uh." Itachi swung a back-kick, but found his foot crashing into a log.

Sakura appeared in front of him, and managed to land a punch on his cheek. Itachi backed away, rubbing the spot he'd been hit.

"Good hit, Sakura," the older Uchiha smiled. "You timed the Substitution perfectly."

"Don't forget about me!"

"Huh?!" Itachi turned quickly, to see Naruto stretching for the bells. Swiftly, the Jinchuriki was kicked away.

I can't let my guard down for a second against these three...

Sasuke charged to meet his older brother with a kunai, and so did Sakura. Itachi drew a short sword and engaged the two.

"Gotcha!"

Itachi swung his head back, to see Naruto behind him again, grabbing one of the bells.

"Damn." The prodigy elbowed Naruto in the gut and snatched the bell away forcefully.

Unfortunately for the Uchiha, this was enough of a distraction for Sasuke and Sakura to nick Itachi with their kunai. Naruto, his insane stamina giving him the advantage, recovered from the former ANBU's blow quickly and disarmed his sensei by kicking him in the arm, which saw Itachi drop his sword.

As Itachi was distracted again by the hits, Sasuke stretched for the bells. Itachi shook him off with an uppercut that sent his little brother flying into the air.

Then, Naruto reached, but was again tossed aside by Itachi.

Third time was the charm for Team 7 though, as Sakura seized the opportunity and grabbed a bell right after her sensei was done with Naruto.

"Got it!" Sakura cried, and jumped away.

"Good job, Sakura," Sasuke panted. The compliment from her crush made Sakura blush.

"That's my Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, shooting his teammate a thumbs-up. Although the pink-haired girl somewhat disliked Naruto, she couldn't resist a smile.

"Congratulations on passing, Sakura," Itachi nodded, although on the inside he was thinking something a little different. That was a fluke, unfortunately. She only got a bell because of her other two teammates... Naruto might have been the 'dead last' but I can see Sakura is the weakest out of this three. I'll have to start teaching her some ninjutsu.

He snapped back to reality after Sasuke reached for the bells again. The younger Uchiha was forced to cut short his pursuit of the reward in Itachi's pocket, dodging as his older brother launched a Fireball Jutsu at him.

"I can still help my two teammates, right, Itachi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Of course."

"Right!" The Haruno girl jumped back into the battle. Shuriken were thrown, but Itachi deflected them with a kunai.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke blew his fireball. Itachi jumped into the air, dodging, and the fireball instead went towards Sakura. "Sakura!" The user of the technique yelled in horror, but Sakura appeared again beside Sasuke, showing that she'd used the Substitution Jutsu.

Itachi, looking downwards, sighed in relief.

Then he felt a hand in his pockets.

I let my guard down! Itachi looked back, and twisted his body in mid-air to land a kick on Naruto. Both landed on the ground, with Itachi on his feet and Naruto on his butt.

To Itachi's dismay, Naruto whipped out a bell, grinning broadly at the Jonin.

I know this was the test's objective, but to have two Genin getting two bells from me within two hours... wow... Itachi reprimanded himself, then sighed softly. At least I know I held back.

"Looks like I pass, Itachi-sensei!" Naruto said gleefully.

"Yes, you do."

Sasuke looked at his two teammates. He was supposed to be Rookie of the Year! With determination, he lunged for his brother with a kunai.

Two Naruto clones assisted him, and Itachi found himself having to block every punch - something which was getting a little difficult.

Sasuke wanted to do a Fireball Jutsu but decided not to. His chakra was at an all-time low.

"Take this!" Clone One leaped up and tried to kick Itachi in the face, but was dispelled with a punch.

Clone Two tried to knock Itachi off his feet, but was stabbed in the chest with a kunai and dispelled.

The clones managed to complete their job however. Itachi was distracted again. Sasuke crouched and kicked Itachi in the chin, sending him flying.

Itachi managed to land on his feet. "Nice hit, Sasuke," he commented, forming a few hand seals. "But from here, it gets tougher for you. Crow Clone Jutsu!"

A barrage of crows appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, and came together to form a clone of Itachi.

"Fire Style: Uchiha Giant Flame!"

Both clone and original performed the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, and the two fireballs combined to form a gigantic one. Sasuke gasped as the giant fireball headed for him.

The young Rookie of the Year shielded his eyes, convinced he was finished.

Not on Naruto's watch. Sasuke allowed himself to have a peek around him, and found another fifty Shadow Clones, shielding Sasuke from the fireball. The young Uchiha looked up at his teammate and smiled gratefully. Naruto responded with a huge grin and a thumbs-up.

The giant fireball dissipated, and so did Naruto's clones.

"How much chakra do you have left, Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Not much... but I think I've got enough left for a mini fireball."

"That's good enough. I've been thinking of this technique for the past few minutes. When I give you the cue, blow small fireballs onto the shuriken I throw." Naruto got out a set of shuriken.

Sasuke looked at his teammate, confused.

"Now!" The whiskered Genin shrieked, flinging the army of shuriken. Sasuke carefully ignited them all with fire - accurately shooting the small flames onto his targets. To his surprise, the shurikens burned with the flame.

What a move... Itachi thought, as he tried as best as he could to dodge the burning shurikens. One slashed his cheek, and he couldn't resist a yelp. Then he knelt down, clutching his cheek in agony. The burn of the shuriken had made the pain even worst.

Sasuke charged along - this time backed up by Sakura. Itachi recovered quickly and kneed his younger brother in the chest. Sakura swiped a kunai but Itachi ducked, before picking the pink-haired girl up and slamming her on the ground.

"That hurt, Itachi-sensei," whined Sakura as she got up.

"Enemy ninja won't hold back like I did Sakura. If it didn't kill you, be thankful," Itachi replied calmly. Sasuke got back up and attacked with his kunai but Itachi parried his attack.

"Hya!"

Itachi ducked in time as Naruto's kunai swung over him. This time, it was Sasuke's turn as he kneed his brother in the chest.

"Ow..." Itachi clutched the spot that'd been kneed. When he looked up, Sakura had punched him in the face.

The Jonin fell to the ground, silently cursing as his nose bled.

Sasuke sat on top of him, pinning his older brother down. Itachi struggled, but it was too late. He turned back to see Sasuke holding a bell.

Rubbing his nose, the Mangekyo wielder got up and smiled.

"Congratulations. You all pass!"

In my opinion I didn't write that fight scene too well, but hopefully you think differently. Thank you for reading! In the next chapter, Team 7 get their first C-Rank. See you then.