Chapter Three – And Some Things Do!
Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto
*Chokutō is a straight, single-edged Japanese sword
**Kusanagi no Tsurugi – Grass mowing sword
Another bead of sweat rolled down his forehead, and he took a shaky deep breath in.
Again.
Without taking a moment to pause, Sasuke began his reps one more time, training his muscles to remember how to wield his new chokutō*. It was a little shorter than the one Orochimaru had given him, but it was the best one Sasuke could find. Apparently, Orochimaru hadn't been lying. On his fourteenth birthday, the old snake presented Sasuke with his chokutō – crafted by the snake sages themselves.
When Orochimaru handed Kusanagi no Tsurugi** to Sasuke, he told him that he'd be hard pressed to find a better sword – and Orochimaru was right. Although Sasuke had checked all of Konoha's weapon shops and the Uchiha armory, he could only find one decent sword. He supposed his new chokutō was acceptable enough for now, but he was determined to find a better one when opportunity arose. Once he had sharpened the blade last night, Sasuke could tell it was a very good sword – just not exceptional.
Just as Sasuke completed the final rep, his alarm went off. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke sheathed his sword with a satisfying hiss. Although his skills were not yet where they should be, Sasuke wasn't concerned. Under Orochimaru's watchful eye Sasuke had excelled; the memory of those lessons proved to be an excellent teacher, although the muscle memory was gone.
Heading inside, Sasuke took a quick shower, relaxing his muscles with lukewarm and cold water. Once he was finished, Sasuke ate his breakfast and prepared his lunch. Leaving his sword at home – with only a day of practice, Sasuke knew it would be more of a hindrance – Sasuke marched off to the designated place. In the past, Sasuke had let the events play out similarly to how they did in the original timeline, putting in the bare minimum. However, since Sasuke had decided that actively helping his teammates would help him to improve faster, he knew the bare minimum wouldn't cut it. Besides, he was already a well-regarded genius, so it wouldn't be strange when he single-handedly got his team to pass with flying colors. If Sasuke could lead Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin with incredible efficiency, then he could lead Team Seven in a similar fashion.
Thinking about his current teammates, however, Sasuke knew the task before him would require a level of patience that he never needed to show before. What was it that his mother used to say? Patience was the virtue of a ninja. Well, Sasuke could only hope that she was right, especially since he was now forced to live it out.
Just as the sun finished rising, Sasuke and his teammates each approached their destination. Sakura was rubbing her eye while Naruto gave a loud yawn before scratching his back. They looked… weak. The powerful ninjas they would later become were nowhere in sight. Sasuke really had his work cut out for him – the things he was willing to do for power astounded even him. He briefly wondered if this was how Kakashi felt when he first met the trio.
"I have a plan." Naruto grinned suddenly; chest puffed out in pride.
"Naruto, it's too early for nonsense." Sakura complained, yawning.
"But I'm serious!"
"We don't even know what the task is yet." Sakura pointed out.
Naruto shuffled his feet for a moment before brightening up. "Well, I know that, but whatever it is he'll be our opponent, right?"
"I guess so…" Sakura said, sinking to the ground.
"What's the one way to defeat someone more powerful than you?"
Either by becoming more powerful than them before you fight, or by outsmarting them, Sasuke mused. Where was Naruto going with this?
"By gaining up on him! Didn't Iruka-sensei teach us something like that?" Naruto asked, sitting in front of Sakura. "I think the only way to beat him is if we work together."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow; so, the dobe could be smart sometimes. What a shame he didn't show it more often.
"In this book I'm reading, it recommends using guerilla warfare to defeat a much larger and more powerful army. If we work together and use some of these tactics, we might stand a chance." Sasuke agreed.
Naruto looked up at Sasuke in surprise. "You mean… you actually want to work together?"
"Naruto, we are pathetically weak genin against a powerful jōnin. We have no choice."
"I mean, yeah, I know that. I just thought you'd be too stuck up to know it, much less go for it." Naruto gave a sheepish grin.
Sasuke frowned. What kind of fool did Naruto take him for?
"Naruto!" Sakura reprimanded. "Sasuke, that's a really good idea."
"It was my idea first…" Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms. "What is guerilla warfare anyway? Isn't that some kind of monkey?"
"You're thinking of a gorilla, Naruto. Guerilla warfare is the use of hit-and-run tactics by small, mobile groups of irregular forces in a territory controlled by a hostile force." Sakura recited with a raised finger, before frowning. "But how would we go about using this tactic? There's only three of us, and it's not like we'll actually use dangerous weapons on him."
"Well, why not?" Naruto asked.
"Because they are dangerous!" Sakura exclaimed, raising her hands in emphasis. "We could seriously hurt him."
"I dunno." Naruto said, leaning forward. "If we could seriously hurt him, then is he really a jōnin worthy of teaching us, you know?"
Sakura tilted her head, thinking. "You do make a good point, but I still dislike the idea."
"Then why did you become a ninja?" Sasuke blurted out. "It's literally in your job description."
Sakura turned a deep shade of red, and rose to her knees. "But he's a comrade! You can't just hurt a comrade; we are supposed to fight together, not try to kill each other."
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! There's no way that'll happen if we use our weapons against him. He won't kill us either, since he's our jōnin."
Speak for yourself, Sasuke thought, fighting the urge to rub the spot Kakashi's Chidori landed during his first trip back. Granted, he was trying to kill Naruto at the time.
"Since he's late, we should take advantage of the situation. Let's split up and look over the terrain. We meet back in this spot fifteen minutes from now."
Naruto looked like he was about to complain, but Sakura stood up to be eye-level with Sasuke. "What if he comes back before then?"
"Lie." Sasuke told her. "Or tell him the truth. If he's late, then it's his own fault for waiting on us."
The trio split up and scouted the area, returning exactly fifteen minutes later. Not only did Kakashi not return during that time, he didn't appear while they discussed their findings, either. In fact, they had enough time to speak in great detail – good hiding spots, places for traps and ambushes. Not only did they have time for all of this, there was even ample time for Naruto to set up a trap – which he dubbed to be a prank to end all pranks – and the trio discussed what they'll do to try and corner their new teacher. They made good use of the two hours given to them, and truthfully Sasuke didn't think they had ever planned something this well as a team before.
Once the plan was set, they fell into a surprisingly comfortable silence. Naruto had pulled out a package of dry ramen to munch on, while Sakura laid in the grass, deep in thought. Sasuke leaned against a tree and continued his book.
"Hey guys! Good morning!" Kakashi called, appearing before them.
Finally, Sasuke thought, putting away his book.
"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura said in unison, getting to their feet.
Kakashi ignored them, and pulled out an old alarm clock, setting it on a block of wood. "Okay; it's set for noon."
The three exchanged looks, though Sasuke knew where this was going.
"Here are two bells. Your task is to take these from me before the time is up. Those who don't have a bell before noon get no lunch. I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps," Kakashi pointed a thumb at the stumps to their right. "But I'll also eat your lunch in front of you. You only have to get a single bell, and whoever doesn't take a bell… fails! At least one of you will be sent back to the academy."
"You know, that's not fair." Naruto said half-heartedly.
"If you want, you can use shuriken and kunai. You won't succeed unless you come at me with the intent to kill."
Sakura visibly flinched at his words, but remained silent as she pulled out a kunai. Naruto did the same, getting in a fighting stance.
"What's this? It looks like you guys are prepared to come at me seriously!" Kakashi smiled, sounding a little proud. "I'm beginning to like you guys. Okay, let's get going. Ready, begin!"
The trio dispersed into their designated hiding spots, watching Kakashi from a distance.
"Oh? Looks like my cute students are good at hiding!"
They observed as Kakashi pulled out his orange book, appearing nonchalant. Sasuke knew the man was trying to trick them into lowering their guards, but Sasuke had already instructed they do no such thing. Earlier, he had pressed that they not underestimate their teacher, or overestimate their own skills – he was a jōnin, and they shouldn't forget it. Sasuke gave the signal, and eight Narutos appeared before Kakashi.
"We got you now, Sensei!" several Narutos exclaimed, throwing shuriken at him.
Kakashi blocked and evaded the attacks – dodging one Naruto, and throwing another.
Sasuke frowned; the jonin hadn't even put his book away. Naruto needed to work harder if he was going to get Kakashi distracted.
"You can probably only hold this for about a minute." Kakashi said, blocking a kick and a punch at the same time without bothering to look up from his book. "No matter how many you line up, you're still Naruto! You can't beat me with just that jutsu."
"Then it's a good thing this isn't the only trick up my sleeve!" A clone yelled, before exploding when a Kunai struck his side.
Sasuke braced himself as six other clones exploded, and hoped that Sakura had the chakra reserves to successfully weaken the ground below Kakashi while he was distracted. Kakashi dodged the explosions – going in the direction the trio wanted him to – and threw a shuriken toward Naruto.
Knowing it was the real Naruto, Sasuke intercepted it with a kunai of his own, and hit the shuriken in such a way that both weapons catapulted towards Kakashi. Not to be out done by his student, Kakashi blocked both weapons and threw a shuriken in Sasuke's direction – who was forced to dodge.
One of the Narutos suddenly appeared behind Kakashi, grabbing the older man. Sasuke's grin was feral as he took that moment to throw his own weapons, supporting the several other clones who were throwing out kunai and shuriken. Sakura emerged from her hiding spot, raising her hands in position as she nodded to Naruto. Naruto attempted to reach for one of the bells as Sakura trapped Kakashi's feet using a basic earth release. Sasuke gave her the briefest of nods before unleashing one of the traps they had set, causing a series of knives to fly toward Kakashi.
Kakashi broke free, the clone behind him disappearing, and effectively dodged the trap – but Sasuke had anticipated this. Sasuke and Naruto's clones continued their assault, leading Kakashi into their trap.
Kakashi punched Naruto, sending the blonde flying back – but Sasuke caught the blonde, grunting as he flung Naruto back at Kakashi. Naruto landed a punch square in Kakashi's jaw, and before Kakashi could react, Sasuke jumped off of Naruto's back and threw down a kick from above. Kakashi caught Sasuke's leg, but unwilling to give up, Sasuke twisted his body to try and punch Kakashi in the face. Kakashi caught his fist, and Naruto took that moment to punch Kakashi in the gut. Grunting, Kakashi loosened his hold on Sasuke. Taking advantage of the opening, Sasuke reached for one of the bells while Naruto reached for the other.
Kakashi was faster though, and jumped up and out of the way before either boy could take one. But – Sasuke realized with a smirk – he had managed to touch it. Judging by the look on Naruto's face, Sasuke knew he had, too.
The trio surrounded Kakashi, Sakura throwing her kunai first. The three knives flew from her hand at the same time two clones threw their shuriken from behind Kakashi, while Sasuke aimed for his feet. Sasuke tensed when their weapons came into contact with wood, and readied himself for Kakashi's counter attack.
Oh no you don't, Sasuke thought as Kakashi threw weapons toward Sakura and Naruto. Using his own weapons, Sasuke once again deflected Kakashi's. Wasting no time, the trio unleashed a barrage of attacks to get Kakashi exactly where they wanted him. Almost… there! Sasuke jumped up to his designated tree in order to see better, and watched as Naruto, with Sakura's help, forced Kakashi to the clearing they had been leading him to.
"Now, Sakura!" Sasuke yelled.
Kakashi gave Sasuke a brief glance, but Naruto had already surrounded Kakashi, forcing his attention away from Sakura and Sasuke.
Already, Sasuke began the necessary seals as Sakura used her earth release one last time, causing Kakashi to fall in the landslide she created. Before Kakashi could escape, the earth beneath him crumbled, causing Kakashi to land in flammable ink. Confident that the man wouldn't die, Sasuke blew his most powerful fireball directly into the hole. He caught Kakashi's look of surprise before engulfing the area in his flame.
Meanwhile, Sakura and Naruto threw out metal chains Sasuke had supplied them earlier, trapping Kakashi in place. Sasuke jumped down as Naruto anchored his chains, peering into the hole they trapped him in, kunai in hand.
"We – did we do it?" Sakura panted, anchoring her chains to a nearby tree, sweat rolling off her forehead.
Neither Naruto or Sasuke took a chance to revel in their victory, weapons drawn as they peered into the hole. When the fire died down, it revealed… A stump. A burnt stump wrapped in chains.
Cursing, Sasuke looked around him and his teammates, wishing he had his sharingan. The trio jumped in formation, guarding each other's backs.
"Where'd he go?" Naruto yelled, looking wildly around. "Where'd he go!"
"Below!" Sakura yelled, just as their teacher erupted from underneath them.
They leapt away, and then surrounded their teacher, who was covered in ink. Sasuke reached into his weapons pouch - empty! Growling, Sasuke took that moment to attack Kakashi the old-fashioned way while Sakura acted as his support.
Blocking an attack meant for Sakura, Sasuke kicked up, making contact with his teacher's chest. Hardly moving an inch or even shifting his expression, Kakashi thrusted Sasuke away. Sakura took advantage of the situation, lunging for a bell. For a split second, Sasuke thought she had managed to seize it, but Kakashi had grabbed her arm, twisting her around.
Meanwhile, Naruto disappeared, only to reappear with four of him in the air, all aiming a kunai at Kakashi. Releasing Sakura, Kakashi parried Naruto's attacks. Sasuke and Sakura worked to keep Kakashi in Naruto's line of fire, but he evaded all of these – and of course he would!
Sasuke gritted his teeth, and launched himself forward to attack. Kakashi blocked Sasuke's attack, but grimaced in pain when Naruto's kunai made contact with Kakashi's shoulder. Good work, Naruto! Sasuke thought, as he gave his teacher another series of kicks.
Kakashi disappeared then, leaving Sasuke to narrowly avoid a punch from Naruto by rolling onto the ground. Naruto helped Sasuke up, giving the raven-haired boy a kunai. They exchanged a wordless nod as he pressed the weapon in Sasuke's hand. Without another thought the boys guarded each other's backs, weapons in hands.
"Where did- Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed, causing Sasuke to whip around to see Naruto's line of vision.
Kakashi had a kunai to Sakura's throat. Her eyes were wide, and Sasuke knew that they were beat. He just didn't have the skill to get Sakura away from Kakashi without hurting her – and if he didn't have the skill, then Naruto definitely didn't. Not by themselves at any rate.
"Give up!" Kakashi ordered.
"Hey, that's not fair! Let Sakura-chan go!"
"Are you guys' underestimating ninja? Huh? If a hostage is taken, you will have to make tough choices, and then you die. You will be risking your lives in these duties, and they won't be nice like me. So, make a choice boys; Sakura doesn't have all day."
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances. Naruto grinned, and Sasuke nodded. He should have known Naruto wouldn't give up. In a flash, several Narutos attacked Kakashi from all directions, while Sasuke used the hilt of his kunai to force Kakashi's arm away just enough to grab Sakura, and bring her to safety. If it had been any other jonin aimed to kill, they would have lost.
"Give up?" Naruto yelled, going for a bell. "Yeah right, sensei! You know that ain't happening."
"I – I'm sor-" Sakura started.
"Don't apologize." Sasuke interrupted. "Get on your feet; don't be embarrassed that a stronger opponent bested you."
Especially when she's as weak as she is, Sasuke thought, but refrained from saying out loud as she rose to her feet. Although she wasn't strong, she was doing well.
Kakashi looked down at his students, and then back up at the sky, but before the trio could do anything, Kakashi spoke.
"Alright, kiddos; playtime's over." Kakashi said, stringing together a series of seals.
In moments, Kakashi had Naruto strung upside down and knocked Sakura out. Before Sasuke could even react, Kakashi had pinned him to the ground, his arm painfully held against his back.
At that moment, the alarm clock rang.
"Tch." Sasuke growled.
Naruto groaned as he cut himself free, and Sakura sat up looking dazed, rubbing her neck.
"The alarm!" Sakura gasped.
"Look at that. You three did well, but it looks like you failed to get the bells!" Kakashi said, leaning against Sasuke's arm, who grimaced in pain.
"B-but we tried so hard!" Naruto whined.
"Get off me already." Sasuke grunted.
"Let us try again! C'mon sensei! Give us another chance!"
"In the ninja world… there are no second chances."
Sasuke involuntarily gulped at Kakashi's words.
Letting Sasuke go, Kakashi walked a little way away from them. Sasuke carefully sat up, massaging his shoulder.
"So, so that's it? We don't get another try?" Sakura asked, near pleading.
"That's right. You all…" Kakashi paused before whirling around to face them, a smile on his face. "Passed!"
A moment of silence fell on the youths; Sasuke glared at his teacher, who continued to smile happily away – seemingly oblivious to the ink that coated him. Sasuke hadn't realized it before, but Kakashi's silver hair had turned a murky sort of black, and his green vest had turned different shades of black and brown. He also faintly smelled of fish, making Sasuke wonder what the ink was made of.
"Huh?" Naruto asked.
"Say what?" Sakura blinked.
"But we didn't get either of the bells." Sasuke said, pretending he didn't know how this would play out.
"You guys are the first." Kakashi said, absently rubbing his exposed cheek, which was turning a dark shade of purple from the ink.
"Huh?" Sakura asked. "Why?"
"Let me give you a hint: why do you think you were divided into teams of three, and doing this training?"
Sasuke contemplated giving the answer outright.
"Teams… teamwork?" Sakura made a hesitated guess. "Since ninja are going to be encountering a lot of powerful enemies, the… the only way to win is ganging up on them, and working together as a team, right?"
Well, she has always been a smart girl.
"Bingo!" Kakashi replied. "You were the first team given to me that actually worked together!"
"But there were only two bells. One of us would still have failed, no matter if we worked as a team or not." Sakura pointed out.
"Yes, this test is purposely set up to make you fight amongst yourselves. The purpose was to see whether you can forget about your own interests, and successfully work together under these conditions. The moment the three of you began to work together, you passed."
"What?" Naruto protested. "Then why didn't you pass us then and there?"
"You three were working so hard that I felt bad." Kakashi chuckled. "Besides, I needed to determine your skill levels in order to teach you accordingly."
"So… we passed? We really did it!" Naruto shot up in triumph. "Dattebayo!"
Sakura squealed, and Kakashi looked at his team with delight.
Naruto's stomach growled then, and blushed. "Erm, do you think we can eat now? I'm starving."
Before long, the trio had taken out their bento boxes, and sat next to the memorial stone that was nearby. Truthfully, Sasuke was content to eat in silence, but their teacher decided to take the opportunity to teach them a lesson.
"Look at this, the numerous names carved on this stone." Kakashi said as the students sat down.
"Is that why you wanted us to meet here?" Sakura asked in between bites.
Kakashi nodded, rubbing his arm. "It's something I want you guys to understand. These are ninjas who are recognized as heroes of the village."
Sasuke thought he had seen an Uchiha name or two on the stone when he glanced over.
"But these guys aren't just normal heroes… They are all heroes who died while on duty. Sacrificed themselves for their comrades, their country, and the innocent."
"Oh." Naruto deflated, lowering his chopsticks for a moment.
Sakura looked stricken and Sasuke looked down at his food.
"This is a memorial. My best friend's name is carved onto here." Kakashi said softly, a sad glint to his eye. "Listen, this isn't a game. You are ninjas now, so you need to understand that there are risks. That is why teamwork is so important; a ninja must see underneath the underneath, and do everything they can to protect each other."
Sasuke tried to take another bite, but the tomato tasted like ash.
"Those who break the rules and codes of the ninja world are called trash, but you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades are lower than trash."
Sasuke refused to look up from his lunch. Even though the man didn't know what Sasuke did, he could still feel the judgment. Images of her blood on his sword flashed through Sasuke's mind, and his heart constricted.
But he was justified! She was trying to kill him, and well, he had no choice… Right? She knew the risks when she tried to kill him, and he… he… But she hesitated. For a moment. A millisecond.
To Sasuke, it had been an eternity.
"When you two chose to save Sakura, I was actually quite impressed. I thought you would do what I told you to, and surrender."
Saved Sakura… how ironic, Sasuke thought darkly.
"Heh, heh, it looks like we saw underneath the underneath! Right, sensei?" Naruto said, breaking Sasuke out of his thoughts.
That was then, Sasuke decided, head still down toward his lunch. This is now. That never happened, not in this timeline at least. Sakura… She's fine. I didn't kill her, and neither did Kabuto. Not yet, and not again.
Kakashi chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you did. All three of you did well, especially you, Sasuke."
Sasuke looked up then, surprised. What was the man talking about?
"Although you are clearly the strongest in the group, you acted as support rather than going in by yourself like I thought you would. You used your strength to amplify your teammates capabilities, and protected them every chance you got. I was very impressed."
Sasuke was speechless. When had he done any of those things? When did he protect them? When he deflected Kakashi's weapons? That was nothing.
"Are you blushing?" Naruto asked, before laughing. "He is! He's blushing!"
"Shut up!" Sasuke hissed, hitting Naruto in the gut.
Naruto grunted, but continued to laugh. "What about us, sensei? How did Sakura-chan and I do?"
Sakura shrunk back a bit, looking embarrassed.
"Naruto, you need better chakra control over your clones. Although it's impressive you were able to produce nine of you at a time, you need to work on your chakra distribution between each one. That's why some of your clones were so easy to destroy, and others were more difficult. Sakura, you are clearly quick on your feet – which is a good skill for a ninja – but you need to strengthen your ninjutsu, taijutsu, and overall physique. You do very well for a civilian born girl, but now that you are a ninja you need to step up your game."
"Yes, sensei." Sakura said, looking down.
"Overall, I was impressed by the cohesive teamwork I saw. If I didn't know any better, I would think you three had been on a team longer than a day!"
"Well, we were classmates for a long time, you know." Naruto said.
"And we planned it all out before you even got there." Sakura said.
"Yes, I saw. Watching you three put your heads together was quite a sight to behold." Kakashi said.
That got Sasuke's attention; Kakashi was watching them? Had he always done that?
"What?" Naruto exclaimed. "You mean you were there, the whole time?"
"Well of course; I got here before you lot had."
"Wait," Sakura accused. "Then, did you already know about our plans?"
"No." Kakashi shook his head, scratching his ear. "I stayed far enough away that I didn't hear anything, and was too busy reading my book to watch you set up your traps. It would have given you an unfair disadvantage for me to know everything, especially since you all worked so hard together."
"Oh. Well, thanks then." Sakura said.
"No problem. By the way, I am very disappointed none of you adhered to my command to not eat breakfast." Kakashi said, absently rubbing his hair, which had deflated as the ink continued to weigh it down.
"It was a stupid command." Naruto shrugged, putting his empty bento box back in his pack.
"Naruto!" Sakura reprimanded as Sasuke put away his half-eaten bento.
"But it's true! Did you skip breakfast?"
"Well, no, but that doesn't mean you can just outright say his command was stupid!"
"So, you're saying that so long as I don't say it to his face, it's okay?"
"No." Sakura groaned. "Oh, forget it; you're hopeless."
Naruto chose to grin in response.
"Oh, that reminds me… How do I get this ink off?" Kakashi asked, rubbing at his stained fingers.
"Oh; that is a special ink that I used to use on the Hokage faces! Which means normal water won't be able to wash it off, and you can't just rub it off, either."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Then how do I get this off?"
"Pig fat." Naruto shrugged. "Just mix a little bit of soap, hot water, and pig fat and it'll come right off. Your clothes are completely ruined though."
What is this ridiculous conversation? Sasuke wondered, but if he were a different sort of person, there would have been a fond smile on his face.
"Naruto, that is actually kind of disgusting." Sakura frowned, putting the lid back over her bento box.
"Hey, I did say that it was a prank to end all pranks, since Kakashi-sensei was disappointed by my eraser trick!"
Kakashi sighed then, rubbing his temples before straightening up again. "Okay; starting tomorrow, Team Seven will begin its duties!"
"All right!" Naruto exclaimed.
Sakura gave a similar squeal of excitement, and Sasuke almost smiled at his teammates. It had been a while since he'd really allowed himself to be near them like this. It was actually -
Wait. No. He couldn't. There was no way he was going to forget his role, his objective. It's best to keep them at a distance as much as possible.
"I will see you three at 6 a.m. sharp at the Old River bridge." Kakashi instructed before disappearing.
"We should celebrate!" Naruto turned to them, grinning. "With ramen!"
Sasuke turned to go.
"Naruto, we just ate!"
"Okay, fine, ramen can wait but – hey! Teme! Where are you going?"
"Away from you." Sasuke responded without glancing back, hands in his pockets.
Really; there was only so much of Naruto he could take. Besides, Sasuke had a lot of personal work to do. Starting with deepening his chakra reserves, and retraining his body to use a sword. Sasuke's hands itched to grasp its hilt and swing it. Even if it is inferior, Sasuke thought for the seventh time that day. Sasuke would begin helping his teammates progress tomorrow, after he had a chance to recuperate from their tireless energy. But today, at least, Sasuke would focus on his own progress.
As Sasuke walked away, he replayed the events in his mind. Kakashi was right; their teamwork had been flawless. In fact, the fight had gone better than all the times they had sparred with Kakashi before. If anything, today confirmed Sasuke's suspicions that teamwork of all things may very well be the key to unlocking his own potential. He couldn't help but wonder just how much further he would get, if he continued with the whole teamwork thing.
I really hate it when Kakashi is right.
Author's Note:
*Chokutō is a straight, single-edged Japanese sword