Kakashi: Trust
Sharingan no Kakashi was a shinobi with very high personal standards. An undisputed genius, he had reached jounin level at the tender age of thirteen. Considering he had had to match his barely-teen physique against adult ninja in their prime, this in itself had indicated massive future potential.
Tragically the death of his favourite rival followed shortly after by the demise of his beloved Sensei had severely stunted said potential as Kakashi had been consumed by grief. Refusing to put more effort into improving than was absolutely necessary to remain in ANBU, Kakashi had coasted along for over a decade without seriously exerting himself. Considering this was the period in which he ascended to ANBU captain and gained his nicknames -one of with was 'the man with a thousand jutsu'- the amount of wastage involved was staggering. He could have reached kage level at twenty had he not been so depressingly lacking in drive.
Ame's healing of the copy-nin's mind and the frankly embarrassing confrontation with Momochi Zabuza had been the kick in the pants the jounin desperately needed: by the week of the chunnin exams Kakashi was rapidly approaching sannin level and had reached a level of mastery of lightning manipulation unheard-of outside of the Kumo elite. His skill level was still rising and the former-ANBU's standards for his students were correspondingly high. Team seven had thrived under the intense pressure, though Kakashi had to be careful not to break them. He'd been a chunnin for four years by their age, after all, and a jounin by the time he was thirteen, which Naruto was now. They would obviously be behind where he remembered being at their age.
Considering the aforementioned standards and the amount of sheer effort getting his team up to solid chunnin level had required, Kakashi was somewhat peeved that people seemed to think he was entering his genin into the chunnin exams for the hell of it. Has my newfound dedication not been noticed? I haven't been more than an hour late for anything in months! I even hand my reports in mostly on time! What's the point of making an effort to improve if nobody notices?
Of course, I could scare the pants of anyone wanting a fight if I wanted to. Hm. Maybe I should accept a challenge from Gai and flatten him before we even get started. That might be fun.
Sakura is starting to seriously affect my thought processes.
"They're too young and inexperienced, Kakashi-san!" the chunnin on desk duty -it would have to be Umino Iruka today- protested. "They've barely been genin for five months!"
Kakashi respected the chunnin -the Academy instructor actually liked Naruto- but the man was slandering his student's competence, which the copy-nin was not about to let slide. "Have you such little faith in their abilities?" the jounin drawled, eye never leaving his orange-jacketed copy of 'the nervous system and how to hijack it'. Where does my koi find these books? I really hope this one is not in general circulation; Inoichi would kill for what is in here. "Besides," he added over Iruka's incoherent defensive stammering, "they're my soldiers now; have been since they accepted their hitai-ite. I believe they will perform admirably."
"No shit," Azuma mumbled around his cigarette. Team seven -and Sakura in particular- had left an indelible impression on the other two rookie teams and their senseis. Kurenai had taken to scanning her surroundings periodically for seals -Naruto's ingenuity knew no bounds and held nothing sacred; you were never safe- and Azuma's cigarette vanished from his mouth whenever the bearded jounin caught sight of a specific shade of pink. Kakashi only regretted he had been unable to schedule spars against team nine; Despite being a year older, the copy-nin was sure the students of his 'eternal rival' would be creamed by his own adorable genin trio.
Of course, Kakashi himself had learned there were things you just didn't do to team seven unless you actually wanted them to discard all inhibitions and make what remained of your life humiliating, short and agonisingly painful...
1- You do not try to stab Naruto in the back; Sasuke will really try to kill you. It had been the first and only time the Uchiha had gone into a cold fury. The chilling determination to maim had been thoroughly disconcerting and had only ended when Naruto himself carefully talked the younger boy down.
2- You do not try to maim Sakura; Naruto will blow holes in you with youki. That inch-wide hole through his shoulder had been the most excruciatingly painful and debilitating wound he ever remembered receiving. Worse, Naruto had only been aiming to maim; a kill shot through his head would have been just as easy for the blond to perform. The scar still ached sometimes and Kakashi would never, ever underestimate the range of the jinchuuriki's chakra tails ever again.
3- Never, ever go for Sasuke's eyes; Sakura can do things to the human body that would make Mitarashi Anko weep with envy. Her medical genjutsus were the most unpleasant and humiliating things the jounin had ever experienced and her hiccup technique was as dangerous in its own way as the Nidaime's Edo Tensei or the Yondaime's Hiraishin. The young kunoichi had invented the Sakuri no jutsu in two weeks as an experiment after a chat with Hinata. Two. Weeks. Aged eleven. Okay, so Naruto had also invented an S-rank technique on a whim -that blasted Orioke Kakashi himself had succumbed to before he banned it during spars- but it was getting slightly ridiculous. The copy-nin lived in fear of what Sasuke would come up with.
With all of this in mind, the jounin was rather looking forward to watching the chunnin exams; seeing what happened to unsuspecting genin who knew not the Rules of team seven -of which the three aforementioned 'don'ts' were part- promised to be highly entertaining. At least to those not immediately involved who enjoyed a little sadism every now and then.
"Then all three rookie teams will participate in the chunnin exams," the Sandaime said firmly, ending the discussion.
"I also nominate my team, hokage-sama," Maito Gai said jovially. "I desire my students to gain experience and show off their Fires of Youth!"
"Have they killed yet?" Kakashi asked laconically, eye never leaving his book.
"Kakashi! What an Unyouthful question!"
"But nonetheless a valid one," the copy-nin persisted. "Team seven is fully blooded, which is a good part of why I am confident they have the necessary skills and experience to excel in the exams. Are your teams blooded, Gai, Azuma, Kurenai?"
There was a short silence in the hokage's office. Kakashi read this as proof that his was indeed the only blooded team represented. What an unnecessary stumbling block for their students.
"They are likely to have to kill in the exams and I have ensured that my team is fully prepared for that eventuality," Kakashi said quietly, radiating irritation. "My genin understand the truth of what it means to be a shinobi: it is not about power, glory, skill, honour or self-affirmation. It is about protecting what is precious to us -our village, comrades and kage- by any means necessary, killing for it and eventually dying for it. They have taken that lesson to heart and chosen to live by it. Can your students say the same?" He shunshined off before any of his stunned audience could formulate a response; he already knew what their answers would be.
Coddling genin will only stunt their growth in the short-term and get them killed in the ling run. I am proud of what my team has achieved in the last four months, if not of the methods I have resorted to to get them that far. The exams will be easy for them and they will be promoted, if not immediately, then in short order.
Hatake Kakashi went home over the rooftops of Konohagakure, utterly confident in his students' competence.
A/N: Yes, Kakashi has ridiculously high expectations. No, he really can't help it. Yes, team seven are much more prepared for the harsh realities of ninja life than their age-mates.
A/N2: Odds, Ends and Outtakes -my oneshot collection- has a new addition. It's a scene with Gaara and Naruto set towards the end of the time-skip. Not exactly brain breaking, though I kinda like it for all that it's fluffy. Plus, I like how totally unphased Gaara is by Naruto's gender... issues. It just doesn't bother him. Go Gaara!