Chapter 4- Teams and Problems
Disclaimer: Still applies
[Academy Classroom, Konohagakure]
Naruto was a bit anxious today. Why? Because today was the day where he would get put into a genin team. He just hoped he didn't get put into a group of morons, primarily Sasuke and Sakura, if at all possible; he especially hoped he didn't get the both of them. Oh Kami, he prayed that he didn't have those two. He hoped he would get put with a teamof people like Hinata and Shino. Those two had some sense in their heads. He would take Shikamaru at this point; though he found his a bit annoying, Naruto was at least on good terms with him. His thought process was disrupted when he got of to the classroom. Iruka came into the classroom a few minutes later to address the class.
"Welcome class. First off, I would like to congratulate all of you for passing and becoming genin. As you know, this means that you will now be put into teams of threeand will carry out mission with both your teammates and your sensei. Now, for the team assigning. Team 1 will be …" Iruka said as he announced several teams; this continued until he got to Team 7.
"Team Seven will be Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha," said Iruka, as he saw Naruto just put his head down in anger.
"Kami, you have cruel sense of humor," Naruto thought to himself as he raised his head and looked at Sasuke and Sakura, seeing that they weren't too happy about the pick either. (Rocker1600 note: one of my two favorite funny moments in this story; was laughing and thinking, "Yes he/she/it does, Naruto".)
The rest of the teams were announced, and were soon picked up by their respective senseis. Only team seven was left and Naruto was getting pretty tired of waiting for a sensei that, to be perfectly blunt, probably couldn't teach him much. People far more powerful than anyone in Konoha, or the entire shinobi planet for that matter, had trained him personally. His squad leader would probably favor the Uchiha and spoil the little punk with jutsus. Naruto had to drown out these thought as they were making him sick to his stomach; Naruto was interested, however, to see just how he faired against a jonin.
"Ugh, where is he? He couldn't have gotten lost, could he?" Sakura asked as she wondered what was taking their squad leader so long.
"Sakura, it's bad enough that I am stuck on the same team as you; please don't make things worse by annoying me with your useless blabber," Naruto said as Sakura an angry look in response.
"What did you say, you ingnorant ba-," Sakura said before Naruto gave her one of those 'remember what I can do to you' looks, silencing her.
"Hmph," Sasuke said, annoyed at both his teammates and wishing he didn't have to wait around.
The classroom door opened a couple of hours later to reveal a man with gray hair, a mask that covered half of his face, a standard jonin outfit, and a headband that covered one of his eyes. He walked in and briefly observed the three genin.
"Okay, you three are with me. Come outside so we can talk a little," the man said as the young ninja got up and followed him outside.
"Okay, now I'm going to ask you guys about what you like, things you hate, and your dreams about the future. I'll start off. I'm Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes… My dreams for the future… Hmm… As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies…," Kakashi said while Naruto and the others had anime sweat drops on their heads.
"Well that was…informative," Naruto thought to himself as he looked at Kakashi lazily.
"Okay now, blonde kid, tells us a little bit about you," Kakashi back as Naruto regained his focus and straightened out his back.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen and hanging around with my friends. I hate people who are annoying and anyone who threatens my village and my friends. My dream is to one day become the strongest nina and become Hokage," Naruto said as Kakashi nodded at the son of his late sensei.
"He's certainly gotten much more powerful than even I am," Kakashi noted as he told Sakura to tell the about about herself.
"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like (giggles) well the person I like (giggles) is Sasuke. I hate Naruto and others who don't like Sasuke. My dream is to be a great shinobi," Sakura said while annoying both Naruto and Kakashi in the process.
"Oh perfect, a fan girl," Kakashi thought before he told Sasuke that it was his turn.
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone," he said; Sakura began to look worried while Naruto just shook his head.
"Revenge, the one thing that will make anyone a pain in the ass," Naruto thought to himself as he looked at Sasuke. Kakashi looked at Naruto's expression and realized that his thought probably matched his own thought about what Sasuke just said before he continued his little lecture.
"Okay then, tomorrow I'm going to give you guys a little exercise I use with my teams. So get some rest and meet me at the training field; I would also advise that you don't eat anthing in the morning if I were you," Kakashi said beofre he left to leave his students to their thoughts about his advice.
Sakura and Sasuke were both worried; Naruto, on the other hand, was not fazed by Kakashi's warning in the slightest, as he already knew that Kakashi was bluffing.
"You might have these other two fooled, but you'll soon find that I'm much sharper than that," Naruto thought as he headed back to his apartment.
The next morning Naruto woke up and ate a plentiful breakfast before he made his way to the training ground; Sakura and Sasuke showed up a few seconds later, their stomachs growling from not haven eaten they left the training ground the previous day. Naruto mentally chuckled at the pathetic site of them both. After a couple of hours Kakashi finally showed up to give them their task.
"Good morining everyone. Today's exercise will be a simple one; all you have to do is take one of these two bells from me. The two who manage to take a bell pass the test while the one who didn't get a bell will be tied to one of those posts there," Kakashi said as he held up the two bells.
"That's it? And here I was thinking that this would be a little bit challenging," Naruto said while popping his neck.
"I thought that we would be fighting or something," Sasuke said while Sakura nodded in "agreement".
"You may think it is so simple, but I haven't told you this next bit. If you don't get one of the bells, you also won't get any lunch at the end," Kakashi said, getting surprised looks from both Sasuke and Sakura.
"That's why you didn't want us to eat this morning," Sakura said before Naruto gave a slow clap.
"And the light finally turns on," Naruto said sarcasticly, getting an angry glance from Sakura.
"Getting back to what I was saying that punishment pales next to the last bit yet," Kakashi said; Sasuke's eyes widened when he heard this while Sakura gulped. The tension in the air grew as Kakashi waited a few seconds before he continued.
"Whichever two of you get a bell will continue on to do another exercise while the one who failed to get a bell will not only fail the test... he or she will be sent back to the academy immediately. This 'training exercise' is is actually an extremely difficult post-academy exam with a failure rate of over 66%. In other words out of the 27 graduates this year only nine will be chosen to become genin," Kakashi declared; he took a moment to mentally enjoy the reactions from Sasuke and Sakura before he saw that Naruto wasn't even fazed in the least.
"I see... that's very clever, Kakashi; if it wasn't for my time training at Las Noches I wouldn't have figured out what you really want from us. Too bad these two wouldn't bother agreeing to it," Naruto thought to himself.
Kakashi guessed that he either felt that his strength would be enough to beat him or, from he could tell from Naruto's expression, that he already figured out what the true purpose of this test really was. Shaking off these thought Kakashi refocused his attention to the three graduates.
"Alright, you three. I want you guys use whatever means to take these bells, and that includes the use of any ninja tools and jutsus; if not prepared to kill me, you won't get the bells. Understood?" Kakashi asked; the genin nodded in agreement.
"It's time to see how I fair," Naruto thought as he readied himself for battle.
"Ready? Go!" Kakashi said; while Sakura and Sasuke scattered Naruto stayed put, crossing his arms.
"I have no intention of hiding and waiting. I'm going to see right now if I can hang with one of the best Konoha has to offer," Naruto said; he cracked a smile as Kakashi readied himself.
"I've actually wanted to see what you can do as well," Kakashi said while pulled out an orange book from one of his pouches.
"What are you doing?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow at his sensei.
"Finding out what happens at the end," Kakashi said as he saw Naruto's face drop to the ground.
"Anyways," Naruto said before disappearing in a Flash step.
"What the-?" Kakashi said before looking up to see Naruto with one leg raised vertically in the air.
"Hollow Leg Drop!" Naruto yelled as he brought his leg down on Kakashi, causing a huge crater in the process.
"Holy crap!" Sasuke and Sakura thought to themselves, with their jaws on the floor, as they witnessed the immense power Naruto had just displayed.
When the dust settled, Naruto stood over a log that was broken in half.
"A substitution jutsu. This guy is quick on his feet," Naruto said as he looked around for his sensei.
"I have to admit I wasn't expecting that from him. I guess I won't be able to fight and read a book at the same time with him on my heels, " Kakashi thought to himself as he hid in the tree from his student; he also decided to put his book back into its pouch.
"How in the name of Kami did you get so strong, baka?" Sakura asked as she and Sasuke came out of hiding and walked to Naruto.
"Years of intense training and a drive not fueled by revenge," Naruto said, having clearly directed the second part of his comment at Sasuke.
"Are you saying that my way is wrong? That I shouldn't punish the man responsible for my clan's destruction?" Sasuke asked while Naruto just shook his head.
"You just don't get it," Naruto said while Sasuke began to walk away.
"Whatever, I'm gonna go find Kakashi and get my bell," Sasuke said before he disappeared, leaving Naruto and Sakura by themselves.
"Sasuke will definitely get a bell; he'll also help me get one too," Sakura said, to which Naruto just rolled his eyes.
"That idiot won't get a bell with that kind of attitude. Heck, even if he did managed to beat Kakashi, he still wouldn't get a bell," Naruto said with a smile while Sakura looked at him with confusion.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked while Naruto still smiled.
"This is what I mean," Naruto declared, holding up both bells.
"When did you get those?" Sakura asked, shocked at the sight of the bells.
"When I disappeared, I snatched the bells quickly and then moved above Kakashi. I'm actually surprised he didn't notice," he said while Sakura's eyes sparkled at the bells.
"So I guess I have to beat you to get the bells. Let's do this," Sakura getting ready only to get laughed at by Naruto.
"As much as I would love to smear you across the ground, you're still my teammate," Naruto said to Sakura as he tossed her a bell and started to walk off.
"Why just give it to me so willingly?" Sakura asked as Naruto turned around and looked at her.
"Because you'll need it more than me," he said before Flash stepping away, leaving Sakura lost in thought.
Naruto searched around for Sasuke. He expected to see him fighting Kakashi, but he found something else. Sasuke was neck deep in the ground, having been put there because of Kakashi. Naruto had to fight the urge to snicker at the "prodigy's" situation.
"So I guess you didn't get a bell, huh?" Naruto said; this got him Sasuke's attention, as well as a frown.
"I almost had him. What do you want loser?" Sasuke asked, while Naruto stood a few inches from his face.
"Your goal to get revenge for your clan isn't going to get you anywhere," Naruto replied. Sasuke was shocked at what Naruto just said.
"I have to avenge my clan. What do you know about it?" Sasuke asked while Naruto just looked at him with a calm and collected expression.
"I don't know what it's like to lose your whole clan, but if you continue to go down this path of revenge, it'll only consume you in the end. Then what will you do?" Naruto asked as Sasuke simply smirked at him.
"Here's my answer, loser," Sasuke said before proceeded to spit on Naruto's sandals.
"Oh well, can't say I didn't try. You don't deserve this, but I really don't care," Naruto said as he tossed the second bell in front of Sasuke.
"When did you get that?" Sasuke asked; Naruto just Flash stepped away again without responding.
Naruto landed on a tree, where a certain masked, orange book reading jonin was sitting on a branch. Kakashi put his book away and started to slowly clap.
"I'm impressed that you were able to get those bells in such a short time," Kakash said as Naruto sat down on the tree branch.
"You should've at least attempt to use your Sharingan, though; it would've at least made things more interesting," Naruto said to Kakashi before taking a moment to mentally smirked at the jonin's reaction.
"How did he... never mind; I don't I even want to know," Kakashi thought to himself as he regained his composure.
"Anyways, I'm just surprised that you didn't stop me or try to get the bells back," Naruto said as Kakashi sat down next to him.
"I wanted to see what you would do with them. So, why did you give those two the bells?" Kakashi asked while Naruto thought back at his time in Las Noches.
Flashback
[Somewhere within Las Noches, Hueco Mundo]
"You really think that you can take me?" Apacci asked, enraged that Mila Rose would even try to take her on.
"Heck yea I could, Unicorn weakling," Mila Rose said as she got face-to-face with Apacci.
"You two fighting all the time is so childish and trivial," Sung-Sun said, getting angry looks from the other two as a result.
"What did you just say?" Apacci asked, getting even madder because of the comment.
Naruto, meanwhile, watched as the three Fraccion members fought amongst themselves from the top of a nearby tower. He saw Tier Harribel walking behind him.
"Why do they constantly fight amongst themselves, Harribel-sama? They have to work toether as a team with you and the rest of the Arrancar, but all they do is fight each other," Naruto said as Harribel walked up to him and to his right side.
"You are right, they do fight amongst themselves a lot, but they still work together of because of their loyalty ot me. Loyalty is the key for any team to work together for a united goal," Harribel said as she saw that her wisdom had already reached Naruto.
End Flashback
[Konoha Training Grounds]
Current Time...
"Lets just say that I had a good teacher that taught that loyalty is the key to uniting a team," Naruto said as Kakashi nodingd at him.
"Well, the timer should be going off any moment now. You should probably go off somewhere," Kakashi said; Naruto took off as soon as he was done.
A few seconds later, the timer went off and everyone made their way back to the Hero's Memorial Stone. Sakura and Sasuke showed Kakashi that they had their bells. Kakashi congratulated them both and told them they could eat; he told Naruto that he would have to be tied to the log. Naruto willingly went over and let himself be tied up. Kakashi then told Sasuke and Sakura that they could eat their lunch, but were told that Naruto could not and that they could not feed him any of their lunch. Kakashi then said that they would attempt this test one last time just in case the results of the first attempt were a fluke before he left Team 7 so that they could eat their lunch.
"I still don't understand why you helped us, Naruto," Sakura said while Naruto just stared off into the ether.
"It doesn't matter if you understand it or not. Though I don't like it, you guys are my teammates, so I have to help you," Naruto said while Sasuke scoffed at him while he ate.
"You're an idiot who doesn't know how to take advantage of and opportunity and that's all there is to it," Sasuke said while eating his lunch in front of him in an unsuccessful attempt to irritate Naruto. He stopped when, to his amazement, he saw was Sakura raising her lunch to Naruto. Naruto was equally surprised by this move.
"Don't think that this means that I like you or anything, but you did help me. This is just way for me to thank you," Sakura said as Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank Kami. For a moment I thought you were trying to make me fall for you or something," Naruto said as he got an angry look form Sakura.
"Do you want to eat or what?" Sakura asked before she that saw that Naruto now had a serious look on his face.
"You'll have to feed it to my mouth considering I'm a little tied up right now," Naruto said; Sakura, while undoubtebly angry, understood the circumstances.
"Fine, here," Sakura said as she took a little bit of the food with her chopstick and giving it to Naruto.
The minute Naruto swallowed the food, there was a huge boom; Kakashi appeared a split-second later with an angry expression on his face.
"DIDN'T I TELL YOU NOT TO FEED HIM!" Kakashi yelled as he noticed Sakura looked scared out of her mind while Naruto had a serious look in his eyes.
"I w-was j-j-just giving him s-some of my l-l-lunch s-since he helped m-me get a b-b-bell," a terrified Sakura stuttered as Kakahsi looked at her, then Naruto.
"Is this true Naruto?" Kakashi asked, though he already knew the truth.
"It's true. I gave Sakura her bell," Naruto replied while Sasuke just looked at him with anger.
"Well if that's the case…" Kakashi said in angry tone; just as Sasuke and Sakura began to brace themselves for the worst, Kakashi suddenly turned tail and smiled at them, though it was hidden behind his mask.
"….. you pass," Kakashi said cheerfully while getting shocked looks from Sakura and Sasuke.
"We… passed," Saskura said before proceeding to jump up with joy after Kakashi's statement sunk in.
"Well that was a good act you put on their sensei," Naruto said; even Naruto was willing to admit that Kakashi scared him at the beginning, though not by much.
"What do you mean we pass?" Sasuke asked as he was still unsure what was going on.
"This test was all about teamwork and how well you three could you work together. Naruto was the only one who realized it, though it was Sakura's actions that sealed the deal," Kakashi said as he untied Naruto.
"I figured as much, but why so much deception? If the goal was teamwork, why not have a bell for each of us?" Naruto asked, to which Kakashi responded by pointing at the memorial stone behind him.
"It's something that a close friend of mine taught me. Those who break the rules are scum, but those who betray their…. are worse than scum," Kakashi said. Naruto nodded in understanding; he now realized this test was designed to see if the people partaking in it were able to place their team over the rules.
"So what now?" Naruto asked after that they had passed their sensei's first test.
"Now? Team 7 starts missions tomorrow!" Kakashi said as give the genin a thumbs up.
"Finally, we can get down to business," Naruto thought as he left Kakashi and his teammates and headed home.
Next Time – A Mission on Waves