Hello everyone.

Not much to say this time other than the fact that updates will be rather sporadic. I work on the fic in my free time. But, as I'm sure all of you know, life gets in the way sometimes.

Please continue to give me feedback, tell me your thoughts on each chapter.

Let's get going, eh?

*Revised 10/26/23*

Chapter 4: Lazy Bells

Clone, transformation, substitution.

Naruto pondered these three rudimentary ninja techniques as he took his usual seat in the back of the class. They were the jutsu that all Genin needed to be able to perform in order to graduate.

Substitution was easy enough, one simply had to think about the object they wanted to 'swap' with and create a tether of chakra between themselves and said object. He was able to master this one a few hours after Iruka sensei showed it to the class.

Transformation was also rather easy. A low level ninjutsu to mask one's appearance with whatever you wanted. He even started using this technique whenever he went into the commercial district so as to not lose all his money to bigoted merchants.

Then there was the clone jutsu, another low level ninjutsu that involves creating an apparition of oneself with pure chakra.

Iruka said that only three clones were needed to pass the test. But no matter how hard he tried, Naruto just could not summon less than fifteen clones at a time. Even with the absolute smallest amount of chakra he put into the jutsu, they still appeared in the dozens.

He hoped that he wouldn't get points deducted for creating too many.

As he waited for Iruka to arrive, he took a moment to observe the class. He knew that many of his peers wouldn't even become ninja.

The glasses boy, who he'd come to find out was Shino Aburame, simply sat next to him in silence. The boy had not shown so much as a twitch in his brow for the entire duration of the academy. But, he'd grown to prefer the silence offered by the boy over the other kids who had no problem being as loud and rambunctious as possible. The boy's appearance hadn't changed much over the years, he simply sported a bigger jacket for his slightly larger frame.

To his left sat Sasuki like usual. Besides the initial change in her personality after the massacre, she largely remained the same throughout the years. She had her hands clasped in front of her and she seemed to be staring off into space. That's all she ever seemed to do.. except for the sparring sessions. When it was time for Taijutsu practice, she became a completely different person. The matches always ended in less than thirty seconds.

Her appearance did change however. Her spiky raven hair had grown longer, now reaching just below the middle of her back. She now donned a blue shirt with the infamous Uchiha symbol emblazoned on the back and short white shorts. She had a kunai pouch strapped to her leg and white arm warmers on her elbows.

Naruto's attention was diverted towards the door of the classroom as it slid open, revealing Iruka who held a handful of regulation Konoha headbands.

"Good morning everyone. As you all know, today is the practical portion of your graduation exams. All of your written tests have already been graded. Mizuki and I will go over your scores with you privately when it is your turn to take the test." He closed his eyes and smiled. "Good luck, all of you!"

Mizuki walked out of his testing room with a clipboard in his hands.

"Okay, the first one will be Asukai Kurahado. Please, come step into my office."

Naruto watched a nervous boy get up and stiffly walk to the exam room. 'So this is it huh? All I need to do is pass this test and I will be a ninja of Konoha.' He looked around the room at the variety of expressions on all of the genin hopefuls. 'I wonder which of them will be on my team..'

After several students entered and exited the testing rooms with faces of dejection and elation, he heard his name.

"Naruto Uzumaki, please come to the testing room," Iruka yelled with his head out the door.

He silently got up and walked down the stairs. As he headed to Iruka, he passed Mizuki's office which had the door slightly cracked. He paused and looked inside out of the corner of his eye.

"Sakura.. your written test was very good! In fact, they were almost perfect. You also did very well on the three standard jutsu." Mizuki paused, looking Sakura in the eye. "However, your performance in taijutsu practice was.. Well to put it nicely it was severely lacking. Your scores in taijutsu were the bare minimum required to graduate."

Sakura shuffled slightly on her feet and her posture stiffened. "O-Oh.. I see.."

"Had you scored higher on Taijutsu, you might have even made Kunoichi of the year. Unfortunately, so far you're the dead last in overall score." Sakura looked down at the ground. "Listen, Sakura. I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad. I'm telling you this so that you know what to improve on. Regardless, you still pass. Here is your headband, congratulations."

Naruto shook his head and continued towards Iruka's office. That was none of his business anyways.

After entering the testing room, Iruka closed the door behind him and took a seat behind his desk. Naruto watched patiently as his teacher scanned the contents of his clipboard and made a few notes.

Iruka looked up at him. "Alright Naruto, please perform a substitution," he said, gesturing to the chair in the corner of the room.

Nodding, Naruto willed his chakra to envelop the chair, then tugged it towards him. In an instant he found himself leaning against the wall where the chair just was.

"Good! Now the transformation," Iruka said.

Naruto held up a single hand sign and molded his chakra within himself to the required consistency and frequency for the transformation. After a puff of smoke, he changed into Iruka.

Iruka chuckled and waved his hand, prompting him to dispel the jutsu.

"Alright now finally, create three clones."

Naruto closed his eyes in concentration, picturing the ocean that was his chakra. 'Just a drop..'

Bringing his fingers together once more, he channeled the crisp energy through them at a different frequency than before then expelled it into the air around him.

The invisible energy coalesced into several vague shapes that slowly filled with color, mirroring Naruto. Twelve clones shimmered into existence, nearly filling the room with copies of the redheaded boy.

Iruka looked at each of the expressionless Naruto clones for any defects. "..You only needed to make three, but good job Naruto. You pass!"

The clones vanished and Iruka turned to the real Naruto with a small smile. "As far as your written and taijutsu scores go, you passed those with flying colors as well. Keep training and you will most certainly become an excellent shinobi."

Naruto stared at his teacher of six years, trying to figure him out.

For a long time Iruka's attitude towards him had always been nothing more than neutral. But in the last year or so Iruka had been more friendly towards him. He didn't understand the change in behavior, nor did he question it. But it no longer mattered, he'd passed the graduation exam.

He looked down at the headband in his hand and couldn't decide how he felt. Most people would feel ecstatic at having just graduated from a place that you had just spent the last six years of your life learning in.

He gazed into his own ice blue eyes in the reflection of the spotless metal and waited for the feelings to come.

They didn't.

Shrugging, he tied the headband around his head and returned to his seat.

Shino had apparently passed too judging by the headband on his head, and Sasuki wasn't in her seat.

'She's probably still testing,' he thought.

After a few minutes passed, said Uchiha sat next to him with a shiny new headband on her head.

"So you passed," she said, just loud enough for only him to hear.

Naruto blinked and turned to look at Sasuki. She was still looking forward with her hands clasped in front of her.

The girl seldom spoke since that day, only when absolutely necessary. Small talk or useless words were completely out of the question. In fact, he probably only heard her say a few dozen words in six whole years.

He returned his gaze forward once again and nodded, absently watching the last few students get called in to finish their exam.

"Yes, as did you," he replied in a similar whisper.

A long moment silence went by and he looked back at the reserved girl with narrowed eyes.

'Did she even say anything? Am I going crazy?'

"Alright everyone, good job to those of you who passed the academy exam! I'd like to take a moment to congratulate two students in particular for having outstanding scores." The classroom broke out into whispers. "Ahem, the first is Naruto Uzumaki, the rookie of the year!"

The class went mostly silent. Nobody really knew anything about Naruto as tended to keep to himself. Then there was Kiba, who shouted in denial.

"No, that can't be right sensei! Really, he was rookie of the year? How is that even possible?"

Iruka looked at Kiba with a disappointed frown.

"It's possible because he had near perfect scores on every portion of the exam. Don't forget that he beat you in our last taijutsu session, Kiba."

The class burst out laughing much to Kiba's dismay.

Naruto himself gave no real reaction to his achievement, just nodding to Iruka who nodded back.

Hinata decided to voice her opinion as well and shot up from her seat.

"Sensei, you said there were two students. So who is the second?" she asked, unable to fully mask her excitement.

Iruka nodded. "Right, I was getting to that. The Kunoichi of the year is Sasuki Uchiha, congratulations to both of you!"

Hinata sat down slowly, now hateful white eyes glaring at nothing in particular as she held her wrist.

Sasuki didn't look particularly happy about her title either.

Iruka sweatdropped at their lack of reaction. 'Overjoyed aren't they..'

"R-Right.. Now I will tell you your team compositions. Each of you will be formed into a three person squad led by a Jounin," Iruka said as he reached for his trusty clipboard.

"Squad one will be…"

A young pink haired girl with green eyes rubbed her clammy hands together and tried her hardest to quell the nausea that threatened to empty her stomach.

This was it; the culmination of the last six years of her dread in one single moment. She dreaded this day because she didn't know if she actually wanted to be a ninja at all.

Sakura looked down to her clenched fists in her lap when Iruka finished listing off another team.

'What am I doing? Please, please let me be on her team. I'm only here at all because of-' A small, warm hand firmly planted itself her shoulder like it always did when she felt doubt.

"Hey Sakura! Don't worry, alright? There is a good chance that we'll be on the same team. Think about it, Iruka sensei already listed off most of the class and neither of us have been chosen yet."

Sakura looked up from her lap and was greeted with a grinning face framed by platinum blond hair and the familiar light blue eyes of her best friend.

'Your scores in taijutsu were the bare minimum required to graduate.'

'Unfortunately, so far you're the dead last in overall score.'

Sakura lowered her gaze once again, the words of Mizuki still fresh in her mind. "Y-Yeah but.. Ino I don't think I-"

"Team 7 will consist of Sakura Haruno.."

Her head snapped forwards at the call of her name. This was it.

'Please..'

"Sasuki Uchiha.." Iruka continued.

She clenched her fists around the hem of her red dress and she barely registered the hand on her shoulder grow tighter.

'Please!'

"..and Naruto Uzumaki. Your Jounin Sensei will be Kakashi Hatake," he finished, pausing for a moment before proceeding with the next set of Genin.

Sakura slumped in her chair.

This was exactly what she didn't want to happen. She only joined the academy in the first place because of Ino. On top of that, her teammates are the two best students in class, rookie and kunoichi of the year, while she was the dead last.

'Maybe it's still early enough to drop out. There should be someone available to fill my spot on the team, surely. Yeah.. I think that's what I'll do.'

She really should have listened to her parents. Take business classes, learn to manage money, then take over their shop when they got too old to run it anymore. It was a clear cut path through life but she just had to go and do something different in order to stay with her friend.

A hand waving in front of her face brought her back to reality.

"..kura! Earth to Sakura! Hey, are you alright?"

"..Ino?" she asked, voice thick with dejection.

"It'll be ok, Sakura. Trust me." Ino looked over to a sleeping boy with a dark spiky ponytail and a plump boy who gorged himself on potato chips.

"I don't know how I didn't see this coming, but.. I'm on a team with Shikamaru and Choji. Our dads were also on a team together. It's kinda obvious that that's how it was gonna be now that I think about it." She looked back to Sakura apologetically. "I really shouldn't have gotten your hopes up, Sakura. I'm sorry."

She quickly shook her head at the apology. "N-No, it's fine, really. I think I'll just quit-" Ino grabbed both of her shoulders and shook her around, making her dizzy.

"What?! No way! Sakura, you can be a great ninja, really! You don't need me to be on your team for you to succeed, you know. Please, at least see what your teammates are like before you give up."

Sakura looked up to the back of the room at her new team. 'They are so much better than I am. I hope.. I hope I can be a good teammate.' Naruto noticed her staring and met her eyes.

Sakura quickly looked away.

"..I'll try, Ino," she said meekly. Doubt still plaguing her mind.

The platinum blond girl grinned and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"That's what I wanted to hear! I'm gonna go talk to Shikamaru and Choji now, maybe you should go talk to your teammates too. See ya!"

"I'll try.."

Sasuki tapped her fingers against the grain of the desk in front of her impatiently.

The last team already went with their Jounin sensei over an hour ago. Even Iruka and Mizuki left the classroom, leaving the three of them.

Her fingers continued their rhythmic movements as she tried to focus on small, irrelevant things to keep her mind busy. Whenever her mind wasn't busy she couldn't keep those thoughts out.

'Fifty-six. There are fifty-six books on that bookshelf. Seventeen are paperbacks and thirty-nine are hard covers,' she concluded, observing the shelves full of books with her Sharingan active for a second time to make sure she didn't make a mistake.

After seeing that she was correct, her eyes scanned desperately around the room for something else to uselessly analyze. But there was nothing else. She'd already counted the ceiling tiles, the chairs, the desks, the buttons on Naruto's jacket, and now the books.

Her eyes landed on the poorly erased chalkboard.

Three random chalk marks that were left behind slowly morphed into something else right in front of her eyes. A fully mature Sharingan with three tomoe took shape. Then a face formed around the eyes.

The silence in the room became deafening. Her own heartbeat pounded in her ears, causing new highs of anxiety as the face gained more features.

'No.. Not again, no!' She tried to close her eyes but couldn't. Her body was no longer responding. It was always like this if she didn't keep busy.

The noise of a chair sliding on the tile floor to her right caused her to involuntarily look over.

She saw Naruto walking down the stairs towards the door with his hands shoved in his pockets. Her mouth moved before she could stop it.

"Where are you going?"

Naruto looked over his shoulder. "I'm leaving. If this Jounin doesn't want to be here on time, then what's the point of us being here?"

Sasuki cautiously glanced back at the chalkboard. The face and Sharingan were gone, leaving the three random chalk marks. They were just lines with no meaning. She stood and followed Naruto down the stairs.

Sakura stared at the backs of her teammates as she chewed her nails.

"Uhh.. g-guys. Maybe we should just wait a little longer.." she suggested.

She debated on whether or not she should follow them. On one hand she wanted to stay and wait for their Sensei, but on the other she wanted to follow her teammates.

Neither Naruto or Sasuki responded, they simply kept marching towards the door.

Sighing, Sakura stood and gathered her things before trailing behind them.

Upon seeing that his teammates agreed with his rationalization, Naruto nodded. He reached out and grabbed the handle to the door, sliding it open in one swift motion.

He closed his eyes and stepped out directly into- a green vest.

He looked up from the pocket full of kunai that he ran into. A man with spiky silver hair, a headband over his left eye, and a mask over the lower half of his face gazed down at him. Somehow Naruto could tell the man was smiling.

"Aww leaving already?" Kakashi said with a drawl.

The three Genin didn't respond and stared at the Jounin with blank faces.

"My first impressions of you guys.. You're all boring." Kakashi turned and started walking towards the stairs. "Meet me on the roof."

Shrugging, Naruto followed the Jounin prompting Sasuki and Sakura to do the same.

Naruto found himself sitting in the middle of the two Kunoichi, opposite their Sensei who leaned against the railing with a slouched posture.

After a few long minutes of awkward silence, Kakashi sighed. "Alright.. I guess we should all introduce ourselves." He gestured to the graduates.

Sasuki was staring off into space again, Naruto kept staring at Kakashi like he was trying to solve a puzzle, and Sakura looked from Naruto to Sasuki waiting for one of them to say something first.

Kakashi sighed again, something he would find himself doing a lot with this team. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a small orange book.

"Do any of you ever talk? Fine, I'll go first. My name is Kakashi Hatake. My likes.." He turned a page of his book and giggled a few times before continuing. "..Well it should be obvious. My dislikes.. Hmm. As for my dreams for the future.. Well.." He turned another page of his book.

Looking up from the lecherous pages, Kakashi glanced at Sakura. "Now you go."

Sakura fidgeted in place, quickly trying to think of what to say. After a few seconds, she gained her bearings. "I-I'm Sakura Haruno. Umm, I like my friend Ino and helping people in need. Um, I don't like people who are mean for no reason or seeing people get hurt. M-My dream.. Uhh.." She looked down at the ground.

Kakashi nodded before pointing to Naruto. "Now you. You've been staring at me the whole time, do you wanna have a staring contest or something?" he said.

Naruto ignored the absurd question and began. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, and I don't like ignorance. I don't have a dream or a goal. I live simply for the curiosity of life."

Sasuki glanced at Naruto when he said that, as if remembering a distant memory.

Kakashi's gaze lingered on Naruto for a few seconds before turning to the last member of the team. "And finally, you. The spacey one."

Sasuki closed her eyes and furrowed her brow.

"My name is Sasuki Uchiha.. I hate fake people who have ulterior motives. My goal.." She opened her eyes and looked to the sky. "..My goal is to become strong."

Kakashi nodded, eyeing the three of them which made Sakura squirm.

Without warning, he jumped atop the railing and started tilting backwards.

"Training ground three, five minutes," he said before falling off the building.

Sakura gasped and ran to the railing, fearing the worst. Looking over the edge, she found that he was gone. Turning around to find her teammates, she found that they had already left too.

With a sigh, she began walking towards the training grounds.

Naruto, Sasuki, and Kakashi stood in an uncomfortable silence in the training ground. It was a relatively large clearing surrounded on all sides by dense forest. In the center of the field were three wooden posts next to the memorial stone.

Sasuki tapped her foot on the grass impatiently. This lack of stimulation was causing her to think again.

Hearing gasps for breath, they all turned their heads to see a haggard Sakura dragging her feet through the field.

She stopped before them, putting her hands on her knees and spoke between breaths. "..Am I… Late?"

Kakashi chuckled and pulled out two bells from his pouch.

"No later than I usually am," he said with a smile.

When Sakura caught her breath, Kakashi continued. "Now I will explain the unfortunate predicament you all find yourselves in; you're not Genin."

Naruto and Sasuki narrowed their eyes and Sakura gasped.

Sasuki decided to speak up. "What are you talking about, we all passed the graduation exam."

Kakashi chuckled mirthlessly and jingled the bells, their ringing tickled their eardrums, sending shivers down their spines.

"Oh but you see, there is one final test that all Genin must take in order to see if they're ready. I decide if you pass or fail. Also, this test has a guaranteed thirty-three percent failure rate, meaning that no matter what, one of you will fail. Or you could all fail, who knows?" He smiled and jingled the bells again. "The objective is simply to get one of these bells from me."

Sakura looked down at the ground. 'There's no way I'll be able to get a bell before Naruto and Sasuki. At least I gave it a shot, like Ino said.'

Kakashi tied the bells to his waist and pulled out an alarm clock. He twisted the knob on the back of it, setting a timer.

"You have an hour. If nobody gets a bell in that time, you all fail. Good luck! Now begin."

The three kids jumped into the foliage that surrounded the clearing.

Kakashi's lazy gaze slowly scanned from each branch that moved, to each twig that snapped. Nothing seemed unnatural.

"Well at least they know how to hide," he said with a small amount of satisfaction.

Naruto hopped from branch to branch, never taking his eyes off of Kakashi. 'Something about this Jounin seems familiar, but I can't quite place it.' He stopped on a branch that positioned him behind the silver haired Jounin. 'I don't have much time, an hour to defeat a Jounin is not enough. I need to make a move now, to see if this is even remotely possible.'

He grabbed three kunai from his pouch and threw one of them at the tree several feet to his left. It severed the string he set up a few minutes prior, launching several kunai in Kakashi's direction.

The Jounin lazily dodged all but the last one which he plucked out of the air and threw back the way it came with astonishing speed. It embedded itself into the same tree that Naruto's kunai did.

Seeing that attack fail, Naruto created a dozen clones and sent them all towards the Jounin. Just as the clones neared Kakashi, he threw the remaining two kunai in his hands as hard as he could. 'With all those clones as a distraction, at least one of those should get him.'

Kakashi simply ignored the clones as they approached him and sidestepped the kunai as he turned a page of his book.

Naruto stared at the lazy man as he repositioned. 'What is with this guy.. He is barely even paying attention but still blocking every single one of my attacks.'

He stopped on another branch, this time watching Kakashi from a different angle. 'Well, long range attacks don't seem to work. I have no choice but to engage him in Taijutsu.. I need to catch him off guard and end it quickly if I want any chance of getting a bell.'

Naruto brought his fingers together, forming a hand sign. "Transform," he whispered, his form shifting into that of Sakura's. He changed his posture and mannerisms to match hers and walked towards Kakashi slowly.

"S-Sensei.. Um.. I don't think this test is fair," 'Sakura' said as she got close to Kakashi.

Kakashi giggled and turned a page. "Oh? How so Sakura?"

'Sakura' took small hesitant steps forward. 'Just a little more..'

"W-Well.. You're a Jounin and we're only Genin. There's no way Naruto or even Sasuki could beat you, let alone me.." she said weakly.

Kakashi sighed and brought his hand up to turn another page.

'This is it!' Naruto thought, quickly palming a kunai. He thrust his arm forward intent on cutting off the strings of the bells and taking them.

The blade almost cut through one of the velvet strings when a gloved hand grabbed his wrist in a crushing grip. The kunai to fall to the dirt as the transformation fell.

"Clever, disguising yourself as your weaker teammate to lower my guard. You might have even gotten one if I were a lesser Jounin." Kakashi praised, his grip not lessening in the slightest. "Since you're the first to make a move, I'll give you an easy one. Shinobi battle tactics part one; Genjutsu," Kakashi said, forming a hand sign.

Naruto cursed as he felt a foreign chakra invade his body, taking control of his senses. The grassy plain of the training ground morphed into the busy, merchant-filled streets of the village center.

"Hey, it's that kid," a woman whispered behind him.

"Yeah the Kyuubi, right?" a gruff voice replied.

"I hate him for what he did," the woman said.

Naruto examined the fake world around him with disgust.

"This is just an illusion," he said aloud to himself, making the hand sign required to dispel the Genjutsu.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain erupt from his side and he turned to look for the source.

A man with a feral grin rammed a wheelbarrow full of dirt into him and was preparing to do it again.

"This place will never be your home, fox!" the man snarled.

He narrowly dodged the wheelbarrow, jumping back several feet to avoid the illusion.

"It sure feels real. But why can't I dispel it? I'm doing exactly what Iruka said to do.." Naruto muttered.

Sasuki watched from between leaves as Kakashi lay an unconscious Naruto on the ground. 'Did he really get beaten that easily? Now is my chance.'

She leapt from the trees and threw several kunai at Kakashi.

Kakashi twisted and ducked away from the kunai easily, causing one to hit the prone Naruto in the side.

"It's wise to be careful of your own attacks, Sasuki. You may end up doing more harm than good." Kakashi said, his attention still on his little orange book.

Sasuki grunted and threw several kunai at his feet, causing him to step back several feet away from Naruto. Going through several hand signs, she inhaled sharply and compressed her chakra in her lungs.

Kakashi's eye widened. 'Ninjutsu of that caliber? At such a young age.. What are they feeding these kids?'

Sasuki brought her hand up to her mouth and shouted. "Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive sphere of flames emerged from her lips, enveloping Kakashi entirely.

She cut off the Jutsu and peered through the smoke as she caught her breath. When it cleared, Kakashi was nowhere to be seen.

'Damn, he got away.' She cursed and looked down at Naruto who was bleeding slightly from the kunai she threw.

She channeled chakra to her fingertips in order to dispel the Genjutsu, only to feel the ground beneath her rumble.

Two hands shot up from the ground and grasped her ankles before pulling her neck deep into the dirt.

Kakashi appeared in front of her in a blur. "Shinobi battle tactics part two; Ninjutsu. Though you seem to know about that one already don't you?"

"Get me out of this stupid hole!" Sasuki spat as she struggled against the compacted dirt.

"No. Maybe your last teammate will come to your rescue. It's funny really, the rookie and the kunoichi of the year both remain helpless while the deadlast roams free," Kakashi said.

Sasuki bristled with anger and embarrassment at her situation.

In a nearby bush, Sakura watched both fights begin and end. She shook with uncertainty. 'I really want to help them, but.. If they couldn't beat him then what could I do?' She grit her teeth. 'No.. I need to do something! What would Ino say if I told her that I did nothing?'

She shakily drew a kunai and walked out of the bushes.

"K-Kakashi Sensei! Release both of them.. Plea-" She shook her head, emerald eyes looked up with unusual ferocity. "No.. release them now!"

Kakashi actually put his book away for once and looked at Sakura with intrigue.

"You want me to release them? Why? Why do you care about them? You know.. This could be your chance to take a bell from me Sakura," he suggested.

Sakura shook her head and tightened her grip on the blade.

"No. I don't care about the bells. In fact, if you release them I'll.." She looked from the bleeding Naruto to the stuck Sasuki. "I'll let them both have the bells. I know they can get them."

She didn't know if it was a play of the light, or her own adrenaline causing her to see things, but she swore that the area where his mouth was beneath his mask began to turn upwards into a smile.

Then the bell rang.

Kakashi sighed and pulled a glaring Sasuki out of the ground and picked Naruto up. He walked over to the wooden posts and tied the unconscious redhead to the middle one before tapping him on the forehead.

Naruto's eyes shot open and he looked around wildly, as if preparing for an attack.

"Calm down, Naruto. The test is over. None of you got the bells," Kakashi said with disappointment evident in his tone. "Naruto, you actually did the worst. Sasuki and Sakura displayed some kind of care for their teammates, while you did everything completely solo."

He walked over to the memorial stone where two lunchboxes sat.

"It's only because of them that I'm willing to give this team one last chance. Sasuki and Sakura eat lunch, but Naruto gets none. When you're finished you will try again." He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto stared blankly ahead. 'I did the worst? Unbelievable..'

His stomach growled loudly, earning looks from his teammates. He closed his eyes and ignored the feeling. 'Why couldn't I dispel that Genjutsu? All Iruka said to do was channel your chakra and cause an irregularity in the flow of it.. I need to ask him about it.'

Sakura looked at Naruto, then down to the large portion of food in her lap. 'He's hungry.. and I have more than enough for me. Did Kakashi sensei give us these big lunches on purpose?' She picked up a rice ball with her chopsticks. 'Maybe if I just give him a little without Kakashi noticing..'

"N-Naruto.. Here, eat. Quickly!" Sakura said, shoving the morsel in his face.

Naruto and Sasuki stared at Sakura incredulously.

"You heard Kakashi, Sakura. I'm not supposed to eat. Don't worry about me, really, I'll be fine," Naruto said, closing his eyes once more.

Sakura shook her head and shakily pressed the ball of rice into his lips.

"No! You need to eat to regain your energy. Think about it, Kakashi Sensei is a Jounin. Neither of you could beat him and you were the best in class." Her confidence fizzled out slightly. "M-Maybe if we all work together you two can get the bells."

Sasuki huffed and gently guided her food to Naruto too.

"She has a point. Eat quickly, I don't see Kakashi anywhere."

Naruto looked at the rice and shrimp offered to him in confusion. 'Why are they helping me at all? Oh well, who am I to turn down a free meal?

He ate the food in front of him one quick sweep, earning weird looks from his teammates.

"Whaa?" he asked with a mouthful of food.

Before they could respond, a plume of smoke exploded in front of them, revealing a very angry Kakashi.

"You!" He roared, quickly flying through several hand signs. His hand exploded with visible chakra in the form of electricity. A noise similar to thousands of chirping birds echoed throughout the clearing.

Sakura squealed and shielded her face from the imminent attack. Sasuki glared at Kakashi in defiance, her Sharingan spinning to life.

But it was Naruto's reaction that surprised Kakashi the most. He visibly shook with rage and the rope restricting him started fraying at the sheer intensity of the chakra he exuded.

Seeing that he'd tortured the poor Genin enough, Kakashi relented. His single visible eye crinkled upwards into a smile.

"Pass."

Sasuki sighed and deactivated her Sharingan, slumping against the post behind her.

Naruto had to force himself to calm down, his chakra was acting up again. 'What the hell is the matter with me? Why did that make me so.. angry?'

Sakura peaked one green eye from between her fingers. "W-What? We pass?"

Kakashi dispelled the strange jutsu and walked over to the memorial stone with his hands in his pockets.

"Yes, you all pass. The entire point of the test was to see if you had the ability to work together. Every single squad I've tested before you always fought amongst themselves." He reached out a gloved hand and traced the names inscribed onto the stone. "The names of my closest friends are carved into this stone. Friends that would still be here had I cherished them."

He turned around and looked at his students with unusual intensity in his eye.

"I will only say this once, so listen closely," he said.

The three Genin leaned forwards and listened with rapt attention.

"Those who break the rules are trash, yes." Sakura looked down at that. "..However, those who abandon even one of their friends are even worse than trash."

He reached into his pocket, pulling out his infamous book once again. "Well, team seven officially starts missions tomorrow. I'll see you then!" He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura smiled and turned to her teammates. "We passed!" She took notice of the blood on Naruto's jacket. "O-Oh that's right, you're hurt! Here.." She rummaged through her pouches, trying to find something. "Here it is, my mom got me some healing salve for situations like this. Sasuki, could you cut him free."

Sasuki drew a kunai and went to cut the rope tied around Naruto, only to see that the rope was nearly disintegrated.

'What the.. did he do that?' she pondered as she sliced through the rest of the rope.

Sakura spread some salve on her fingers and palms.

"First, Sasuki. Let me see your arm. I saw that bruise there," she said in a tone that left no room for argument.

Sasuki begrudgingly brought her hand forwards and watched in veiled interest as the bruises that Sakura applied the salve to vanished in seconds.

"Now Naruto. Lift your jacket," Sakura said, getting more of the medicine.

Naruto lifted his jacket where wound was, only to reveal perfectly unharmed skin.

Sakura froze when she saw that there was no wound and dropped the medicine. Her eyes glossed over, as if she was remembering something.

'Sakura, you have that boy in your class don't you?'

'What boy?'

'Naruto Uzumaki. Listen to me Sakura, I want you to stay away from him. He's trouble, do you understand?'

'H-He doesn't seem all that bad, I mean he just keeps to himself..'

'That.. boy.. Isn't human. I won't tell you again; do not interact with him.'

'..Yes father.'

Naruto slowly lowered his shirt and turned to walk out of the clearing without a word.

Sasuki looked at the salve that was now spilling on the floor, then to Sakura.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

Sakura jumped at the question, breaking her out of her trance.

"O-Oh it's.. Nothing. I'll be going now, see ya tomorrow." Sakura said, quickly walking out of the clearing.

"Well Kakashi, how did they do?" the Hokage questioned the man that stood before him.

Kakashi handed the Hokage a scroll containing a detailed description of the test and his new students behaviors.

"They would have passed even if you didn't order me to pass them." He drawled and shifted on his feet before continuing. "Lord Hokage, Naruto actually is the worst out of the three of them. Not in talent of course, but teamwork. The others at least showed that they were capable of it to some extent."

The Hokage exhaled the smoke that was in his lungs. "I see.. Well, that is not unexpected given his upbringing. Would you be ready to rely on others when your whole life you've been self sufficient? Give him time, Kakashi. Let them form a bond."

Kakashi nodded in agreement and pulled out his infamous book.

"Then that's all, Lord Hokage," he said.

Hiruzen smiled at the Jounin. "Still reading that stuff Kakashi?"

Kakashi eye smiled. "Yes. You are too, you hide it in the bottom left drawer underneath the stack of files on active ANBU agents, right? Tell me, have you gotten to the part yet where Ikesai and Sasumi walk in on Kyouze making out with Hiruka? Or what about the part-"

"Enough!" Hiruzen whispered sharply, his cheeks tinted red. "You are going to spoil it for me if you keep talking. You are dismissed, Kakashi."

Kakashi tilted his head to the side. "Really? You sure you don't want to talk about chapter thirteen where Sasumi licks Ikesai's-"

"I said you are dismissed!"