The next morning the three genin met at the appointed time. Kakashi showed up 40 minutes later.
"Are you seriously going to be late every time?" Naruto yelled.
"Well, you see. . ." he started.
"Are you completely lacking in common courtesy?" Naruto interrupted.
"Of course," Kakashi said with a closed-eye smile, "I'm a shinobi and certainly not common."
Naruto rolled her eyes. Sasuke grunted.
Kakashi said, "Think of it as an opportunity to do some individual training and maybe give each other some helpful hints. I ask that you don't spar with each other without supervision yet, but anything else would be great."
"Are you going to train us for real?" Naruto asked suspiciously. "You look like the type to do the bare minimum to avoid getting into trouble with the Hokage."
"Yes, Naruto-chan," he replied. "I will train you 'for real.' To that end, I'd like each of you to give a summary of your skills: ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, weapons skills, or anything else you think makes you a good shinobi. Afterward, I want your teammates to say if they agree or have anything else to add. Sasuke-kun, you go first."
"I know the three Academy techniques and the Fireball Technique. I got 10/10 in the Academy shuriken and kunai tests. I'm also skilled with wire techniques. I'm skilled in the Uchiha family taijutsu style: the Interceptor Fist and the basic Academy style."
"Sounds right to me," said Naruto. Hinata nodded.
"Hinata-chan next," said Kakashi.
Hinata stuttered through her response while poking her fingers. "I know the three Academy techniques. I typically got 8/10 in the Academy shuriken and kunai tests. I'm proficient, but not excellent in the Hyuuga family taijutsu style: the Gentle Fist. I have a range of about 50 meters on my Byakugan."
Sasuke said, "Hinata-san is actually very good with the Gentle Fist forms, but she's too hesitant in using them in actual spars."
Naruto nodded. "Hinata-chan is pretty good, but she could be better if she believed in herself."
"Naruto-chan," prompted Kakashi.
"I'm decent at the Replacement Technique. I rock the Disguise Technique and I can make hundreds of Shadow Clones. I usually get 5/10 in the shuriken and kunai accuracy tests. I won about half of my taijutsu matches. I can see about 100 meters with my Byakugan, but I'm still getting used to focusing on multiple locations and the entire field of view. My clones can see about half that."
Sasuke said, "On the positive side, the Dead Last showed us that she can make physical changes with her Disguise Technique, which we didn't know was possible. However, her taijutsu forms are terrible. She won the matches she won due to endurance and unpredictability rather than skill."
Hinata nodded.
Naruto pouted. "The teachers always ran out of time before they got to me. Only Iruka would try and he would usually get called away by Mizuki."
"Sasuke-kun, Hinata-chan," Kakashi said, "you can help Naruto-chan with the Academy-Style taijutsu and throwing exercises during open training time. Teaching her should help you refresh your own skills more than working by yourselves."
After that, Kakashi evaluated them individually for an hour. He used Shadow Clones for Sasuke and Hinata. Then they did some team exercises. After lunch they did a boring D-rank mission which involved painting a fence. Kakashi prohibited Shadow Clone usage in order to "not cheapen the experience for your teammates." After that Kakashi assigned some hand signal booklets as homework. He also gave Naruto a chakra control exercise to work on before dismissing everyone.
The genin fell into a routine. Kakashi gave them Wednesdays off for personal training and Sundays off for rest. The other days they trained on their own while waiting for Kakashi to show up 30 to 180 minutes late. Frequently Sasuke or Hinata gave Naruto tips or instructions to help her catch up. Kakashi taught them chakra control and team building. The team building included silent communications, formations, and trust exercises. He also refined the rough spots in their taijutsu and kunai handling. When Hinata mentioned that her family discouraged the use of weapons as anything other than distractions to be thrown, Kakashi stated that there were some occasions when even a chakra-coated fist was contraindicated.
In the afternoons, they did D-rank missions. Kakashi mentioned some of the lessons from the chores that they could apply to higher-rank missions, but the genin were not impressed. After the mission, Kakashi dismissed them with some tips or assignments to work on by themselves.
After two months, Hinata had loosened up compared to how she was in the Academy. She did not stutter as much, although she was still shy. Kakashi was not very generous with his praise, but he was also not as negative as her Hyuuga teachers. Naruto's enthusiasm and praise made up for part of Kakashi's lack. Naruto also insisted that Hinata fight "for real" in their spars which helped her overcome her shyness in battle. Sasuke's irritating condescension when she held back also helped motivate her. Her taijutsu use in spars was now as crisp and fluid as when she was practicing katas by herself. Hinata had quadrupled the range of her Byakugan through practice to 200 meters. She had also gotten better at seeing tenketsu. She claimed this was partly because Naruto's stood out so much and that switching between sparring Naruto and Sasuke taught her what to look for. Hinata's chakra control was good enough that Kakashi said she could be great at genjutsu or medical ninjutsu. Hinata's primary role on the team was as a short-range fighter or bodyguard, since she was the best at taijutsu and had the quickest reaction times.
Sasuke had also loosened up in that he actually spoke sentences and occasionally participated with the girls outside of required team activities. Personally, Naruto and Hinata thought it was because he no longer had to deal with his fangirls as frequently. When Naruto asked him, he said it was because he could see the difference the chakra control exercises were having on the size and number of consecutive fire techniques he could do. He had added the Phoenix Flower Technique to his repertoire from his family technique scrolls. Sasuke's primary role on the team was as a mid-range fighter using his fire techniques and thrown weapons. He also supported Hinata with taijutsu and wire techniques needed.
Naruto had become less loud and manic because she had people paying attention to her. She had tightened up her taijutsu forms. She was still not as good as Sasuke or Hinata in taijutsu, but she managed to surprise them and won the occasional sparring match. She had also improved her chakra control to the point it was as good as Sasuke's. This was mostly due to Kakashi having her use Shadow Clones to practice chakra control. She had greatly improved her kunai and shuriken throwing techniques to the point where she was a better at it than Hinata. Kakashi taught Naruto some Shadow Clone strategies so that she no longer just rushed into a fight. He had her practice the Replacement Technique until she could do it with only one hand seal and recommended that she keep at it until she could do it seal-less. The hundred-clone kunai barrage and sneaky Replacements made her much more dangerous. She also practiced replacing her clones with Sasuke and Hinata. This mainly involved getting them to relax when they felt her chakra engulf them. She could overpower them, but this left them disoriented and Sasuke did not want to use any technique that left him unable to fight, even in retreat. She had improved her Byakugan to the point where she could see a kilometer. She had improved more than Hinata due to the fact that she could keep the bloodline constantly active due to her huge chakra reserves and chakra regeneration rate, if she wanted. Hinata was better at noticing details, however, due to her training and personality. Naruto's primary role on the team was as long-range support using her clones to attack at range and to get Hinata and Sasuke into position or out of danger. She also was the team's primary scout and trap-maker. She had expressed interest to Kakashi about fuuinjutsu, having a personal interest due to her role as a jinchuuriki and what the Hokage had told her about her clan. Kakashi had promised to get her started once her handwriting improved enough.
Although the three had their primary roles, they were all at least proficient at their teammates' roles, although neither Hinata nor Sasuke were as flexible at long range as Naruto despite Sasuke still being the best marksman.
The three genin had talked about asking for a tougher mission after Kakashi had left the previous day. They had all agreed that they were ready, although Sasuke and Naruto could tell that Hinata was a little nervous about it.
As they gathered after lunch, Naruto stepped up to Kakashi with Sasuke and Hinata bracketing her. "Kakashi-sensei," she said firmly, "the three of us have discussed it and we believe that we are ready for a C-rank mission."
"Really?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Do all of my cute little genin agree?"
Sasuke grunted. "I don't know about cute genin, but Hinata and I agree."
Hinata said, "Yes, Sensei. We all agree."
Kakashi visibly pondered for almost a full minute before finally saying, "Very well. If all my cute little genin agree, we'll ask for a C-rank."
Naruto let out a whoop. Hinata smiled. Sasuke smirked.
They walked to the mission desk at the Hokage Tower. When they got there, Iruka happened to be the chuunin manning the desk. The Hokage was also there, as he was about a third of the time.
"Hello, Team Seven," said the Hokage. "We have missions to obtain goods for an event, renovating a training ground, or grooming some ninken. . ."
"Hokage-sama," said Kakashi. "Team Seven requests a C-rank mission."
Iruka spluttered. "It's barely been two months since they graduated! Plus there was the kidnapping attempt!"
"Iruka-sensei," Naruto scolded, "I'm not going to hide. I want to be a shinobi, for real!"
"Iruka-kun," Kakashi drawled, "I don't think you realize how much my genin have improved. Besides, unless there's a leak in the mission office, it's unlikely we'll see a repeat of Naruto's graduation test. We've also have a protocol in place in the event that something like that happens." The protocol was that Naruto flooded the place with Shadow Clones and Replaced all of the genin to get out of immediate danger. With Sasuke being one of the last potential Sharingan holders and Hinata being a Main-Family Hyuuga, Naruto wasn't the only potential kidnapping target.
The Hokage stared at Kakashi for a moment, who nodded. "Very well," said the Hokage. He looked through a list. "We have an escort mission to Nami no Kuni." He turned to one of the Chunnin near the door and called, "Bring in the bridge builder."
An old drunk man carrying a jar of sake was escorted in. "Tazuna, this is Hatake Kakashi-san and Team Seven. They will be your escort back to Nami no Kuni."
"Bah. They're just a bunch of brats. And why does the pasty white one have those weird ear things on her head? Where are the real shinobi?" the old man complained.
"Bah, this guy's just an old drunk," responded Naruto. "Where's the real client?"
"I'm the super-important super bridge-builder Tazuna. Who are you?"
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Future Hokage! Count on it!"
Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Enough. Tazuna-san, I'll pick you up at your hotel at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning. Team Seven, be ready at the main village gates at that time." He looked at the mission briefing that Iruka had handed him while Naruto and Tazuna were squabbling. "Pack for three weeks. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
The genin dispersed.
Author's Notes: Kakashi acts different than he does in canon because he was threatened with being replaced if he didn't teach them seriously by the Third offscreen. He complies because he does really want to teach Sasuke and Naruto. The Third intervenes because Naruto's kidnapping shows that she needs to get up to speed quickly.
Naruto is a little more cautious and thoughtful than in canon because the world is a more dangerous for a little girl that no one likes.
Sasuke is a opens up sooner than in canon due to the fact that neither Hinata nor Naruto are fangirls and because Naruto shows that she is more skilled in the Bell Test than in the canon one because they work together.
While Hinata still stalked Naruto to a certain extent, because she admired her determination, they're friendlier to each other because there weren't any blushing or fainting episodes like in canon.