Kakashi glanced up from his book and was pleased to see that his new students were standing around him.
"Take a seat and we will begin."
Sakura and Sasuke did just that and sat on the small set of stairs, across from their sensei who was leaning against a railing, while Naruto decided to remain standing just off to the right of Sakura's right shoulder. Kakashi took note of this, realizing that Naruto was standing there for protection and not luxury. Sakura didn't seem to notice, or it simply didn't bother her.
The silver-haired jōnin took in what his students were wearing, seeing if they would be easily noticed in concealment.
The girl was wearing a red qipao dress, with dark green bike shorts underneath, blue shinobi sandals. Practical for movement and decent in cover, her hair was more of a problem. The Uchiha wore a navy blue short sleeved high collared shirt with white shorts and white arm warmers and blue shinobi sandals. A better choice, blends in easy. The only one standing, the blonde, was wearing an unzipped orange and blue jacket, with a white collar, with a mesh under shirt armor, a pair of black pants and sandals. All three had kunai holsters on their preferred side with white bandages wrapped as well. The black was a perfect choice but the orange jacket stuck out as much as the blonde hair.
"Okay, we are going to start off by introducing ourselves."
Sakura raised her hand. Kakashi motioned his head to let the girl know to ask her question. "What kind of stuff do you want to know, sensei?"
"Just your likes, dislikes, hobbies, your dreams, stuff of that nature. And you don't have to raise your hand to talk, this isn't the classroom anymore. Why don't you start?"
Sakura nodded and thought for a moment before speaking. "My name is Sakura Haruno, I like…well I have someone I like…" She continuously glanced over to Sasuke as her cheeks flushed the same color as her red qipao dress. "My dream is to…" She glanced at Sasuke once more before she squealed in delight at her own thoughts.
Kakashi inwardly groaned as he rubbed the back of his neck. 'Girls these days are more interested in love than anything else.' "What do you hate?"
Sakura hummed for a second before she answered. "I don't hate anything, to be honest."
Kakashi nodded and looked to the black haired Uchiha next to her. "You go."
Sasuke didn't hesitate as interlocked his fingers in front of his face and rested his elbows on his knees. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are a lot of things I hate, and not too many things I like or enjoy. The word 'dream' means nothing to me, I have but two ambitions. The revival of my clan and to kill a certain man."
Kakashi was not shocked by this response, he fully expected this type of answer from someone who witnessed the murder of his entire clan by his older brother. His one visible eye finally fell onto Naruto. "You're last, blondie."
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I guess you could say the one thing I like is ramen. My 'hobby' is training every day. My dislikes…" His mind flashed a memory of Jiraiya. "…betrayal. My goal is to be the strongest and prove this village they were wrong."
Kakashi was not surprised by this response either, he knew of the problems that Naruto had faced when Lord Jiraiya decided to leave Naruto in the village unexpectedly. It may have been for a mission but that didn't mean Kakashi agreed with the Sannin's decision to leave without an explanation. There was a lot of work to be done before this team would be able to function properly.
"Okay, if that's everything, then- "
"Hold on," Naruto suddenly spoke up, "we don't know anything about you."
"Ah. Well…my name is Kakashi Hatake, I have no intention of telling you my likes or dislikes. As for my dream…I have a few hobbies." His voice trailed off as he began to read his book once more.
While the two seated genin held deadpanned expressions, Naruto wasn't willing to let the man off that easy. "Well, we know you like to read porn in public."
Kakashi stopped reading and glanced up at the boy, ignoring Sakura's eye twitching and Sasuke's raised eyebrow. "You know, Naruto, I'm not the only one here that's being a little misleading."
Naruto arched his brow. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, just a tale I heard from a perverted old man whose favorite number was nine."
Naruto's shock was visible while both Sakura and Sasuke stayed confused at their sensei's statement. Kakashi worried that he may have hit a nerve by hinting at the Kyuubi, but he also wanted to confirm if Naruto knew about the beast within him or not. He worries were relived when he heard a small scoff from Naruto, who held a small smirk.
"Fair play, Kakashi sensei. You; 1. Me; 0."
Naruto's response only raised further questions about him. Kakashi wished he could ask them but knew this was not the time, nor in the right company, to do so. The boy would have to come to him on his own about his own concerns about the best before Kakashi could ask his.
"To continue what I was saying earlier, if that's everything then we'll head over to the training grounds."
Sasuke stared at the jōnin confusingly as he stood up. "Training grounds? We're starting training already?"
Kakashi shook his head. "No, not really, this is a survival test. If you pass then you become my students, therefore genin. But if you fail then it's back to the academy for another year."
All three were shocked, but Sakura was the loudest about it. "We go back if we fail?! We passed the graduation exam!"
Kakashi simply chuckled as he placed his book away in his back pouch. "That was the knowledge portion of the exam. It's important but not the most vital."
"What do you mean?" Sasuke questioned.
"Think about it like this. If you've only read a book on how to disarm a timed explosive tag, would it be smart to throw yourself into a life or death situation where time is your greatest enemy and a single mistake will cost your life? No. It's better to practice the techniques and go through scenarios so that you have some type of experience when you must deal with the situation. Knowing how to do something then actually having to do it are completely different. I, as your sensei, have to make sure you can handle yourselves in dangerous situations."
The three students nodded at Kakashi's explanation for behind the test as they entered the training grounds. Kakashi stood in front of his possible students and pulled out two small bells from his pocket.
"The goal of this test is quite simple. All you have to do is take these bells from me before sundown. If you don't then you fail. Simple, right?"
Naruto slammed fist as he let his excitement show. "Finally! I was starting to wonder if that boring exam was it."
Sakura stepped forward. "Why are there two bells if there's three of us?"
Kakashi smiled innocently. "That's because one of you will fail, only two of you can pass."
Naruto's excitement was replaced with confusion as he stared at the grey-haired man.
'Well that doesn't make any sense. How can only two of us pass when a standard team consists of one sensei and three genin? There has to be a point to this then, it can't be as simple as he says. We'd just turn on each other and fight him by yourselves to get the bells. It would be easier to work toget- '
Naruto's eyes shot wide open as the realization hit him. 'That's it! He wants us to turn against each other! The actual point to this test is teamwork and come together as a unit. We might actually pull off a victory if we do this right.'
Kakashi saw the change in expression on Naruto. "What's that smirk for?"
Sasuke and Sakura snapped out of their own thoughts and both glanced at Naruto.
"Nothing really, just figuring out the secret to your test and how all three of us are going to pass."
The blonde's teammates' eyes went wide as they stared at him in shock.
Kakashi chuckled in slight amusement. "Is that so? Then what is the 'secret' to my test?"
Naruto's smirk never left his features as he crossed his arms. "You'll see."
Kakashi tied the two bells to one of his belt loops as he jumped back, towards the middle of the training grounds. He took out his perverted orange book and began to read it.
"Begin!"
The young blonde stayed put in the clearing while his two teammates jumped away into the trees that surrounded the training grounds. He knew that if he wanted to pass this test then he'd have to team up with Sakura and Sasuke, he didn't a major issue with teaming up with them, but he felt like he needed to try and fight his sensei one on one. He thought it would be fair since he was missing out on training for the day.
Despite Sasuke's protest, Sakura followed him into his hiding spot. Why she couldn't just leave him allow and try to think for herself was beyond him. But now was not the time to think about that, Sasuke was more interested on thinking how he was going to use this test to show up Naruto. He would get those bells without Naruto and Sakura's help and prove that he IS the strongest in the team.
Sakura's mind was working on overdrive as she tried to figure out a way to have her and Sasuke pass the test. She knew she had no chance of getting the bells by herself, that's why she decided to follow Sasuke and help him come up with a plan. It's not that she didn't want Naruto to pass, she just preferred it be her and Sasuke who pass. But Naruto did say he knew how all three of them could pass.
"Sasuke, let's go find Naruto. He said he had a plan for all of us to pass."
Sasuke's eye twitched. "We don't need that dobe. If he can think of a plan, then there's no way I can't."
Sakura nodded in agreement with her crush, small smile adoring her features. "I know you think of something, Sasuke."
Their attention was suddenly drawn back to the clearing where they saw Naruto still standing where they had left him. Kakashi seemed to have noticed but showed no indication that he has. Both Sakura and Sasuke were shocked to see him still there.
"What in the world is he doing?" The girl asked.
"No idea…"
Kakashi knew that Naruto hadn't left the area and was watching him intently. There was no sign in Naruto's body language that he was about to attack or even move towards him. Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow what the boy's intentions could be because Naruto was by far the strongest member of the team and could take the bells by himself, if Kakashi made the mistake of underestimating the boy.
Naruto was disturbingly strong for his age. From the personal files that the Sandaime gave Kakashi to study from to watching the blonde train, Kakashi was very impressed by the boy's resume. The file from the Third stated that Naruto knew basic jutsu for every chakra nature, was proficient in using the Kage Bushin no Jutsu, and, apparently, had an uncommon ability to use fuinjutsu quite easily.
And Kakashi was confident in the fact that wasn't all Naruto knew. He did spend the first six years of his life traveling with Jiraiya, whether he liked to admit it or not.
"So, Naruto, care to explain how being here and not with your teammates will pass you all?"
Naruto's smirk never faded. "This has nothing to do with passing. It's just I normally train for most of the day and this little test is cutting into that. I thought seeing how I do against a jōnin would be a good trade off. Especially since it'll be against the Copy Cat Ninja."
"So, you've heard of my nickname. You're full of surprises, Naruto." Kakashi let a small chuckle escape as he placed his book back in his pouch. "I don't mind a quick sparring match."
"You must be serious about this since your putting that smut away."
Kakashi sighed. "I wouldn't be where I am because I underestimated my opponents, I'm not going to make that mistake with you. And I figured you'd have more appreciation for masterpieces."
Naruto groaned and rolled his eyes. "They are just his late-night fantasies, nothing masterful about it."
Kakashi shook his head. "The younger generation will never appreciate a good book."
Naruto was done talking and charged at Kakashi, vanishing from man's sight. The jōnin blocked the kick from his right as he already prepared to block the punch to his stomach.
'He's faster than I expected. Those must be chakra weights on his ankles. But to move at this speed with them on, how fast can he be without them?'
Kakashi watched intently as he continued to block repeated kicks and punches from the blonde jinchuriki. Naruto's taijutsu was better than what Kakashi thought as well. What else was this young boy capable of?
Kakashi wasn't the only one impressed with Naruto, both Sakura and Sasuke were as well. Sasuke knew first hand how good Naruto was in battle, he was his main sparring opponent in the academy after all, but to watch him fight was something else entirely. Naruto's movements were swift and precise, there was no wasted energy. It was painfully obvious that Naruto was very disciplined in his training.
Sakura was in the same boat as Sasuke. She had watched Naruto go up against Sasuke time after time, but never really paid much attention to Naruto's movements in battle. His 'brawler' type style was uncommon but seemed to be highly effective. His strong kicks and punches would leave bruises easily and his quick reaction time was, by far, ahead of anyone in their age group. Sakura hoped that Naruto's strength would rub off on her so she could impress the likes of Sasuke.
Naruto flipped into the air, using Kakashi's latest block as his springboard, and went through a series of hand signs.
"Futon: Sunabokori!" (Wind Style: Dust Storm)
Naruto exhaled a massive dust cloud from his mouth and it covered the entire field, including the surrounding trees. Kakashi's vision was completely blocked by the thick dust, he couldn't see a mere two inches in front of him. He resorted to using his sense of smell and hearing to protect his bells.
Both Sakura and Sasuke covered their eyes so the dust wouldn't get in them and cause future problems. Suddenly, they were grabbed from behind and pulled out from their hiding spots and brought out of the cloud of dust. Once their eyes readjusted, they were surprised to see two Naruto's.
"What the hell, Naruto?!" Sakura immediately shouted. "You could've just told us to follow you and not grab us like that!"
"You wouldn't have been able to follow me in that thick of dust. Even Kakashi sensei is having a hard time with it." One of the Naruto's said.
Sasuke stood up and dusted himself off, raising an eyebrow at the blonde's actions. Sakura did the same and voiced her questions. "What are we doing out here, Naruto? And what's your plan?"
The other Naruto moved his neck and a loud pop followed. "Sasuke, I need to head back and help the real me fight off Kakashi sensei. Once that dust cloud disappears, I don't think he'll very happy."
"And why is that? You seem doing just fine against him." Sasuke questioned.
The clone reached into his pocket and pulled out the orange book that the jōnin was reading from earlier. "He probably won't like me having his favorite book. Besides, the whole point to this test to work as a team."
At this, both Sasuke and Sakura eyes shot open as everything made sense.
"While you and boss are dealing with sensei, Sakura will be the one to take the bells."
"How am I going to do that?" The pinkette questioned.
The clone held up the book. "With this." He handed it to Sakura. "You are going to threaten to destroy the book and demand he handover the bells to save it."
"That seems a bit harsh." Sakura responded.
The clone shrugged. "It's what he gets for reading that smut in the first place."
Sasuke caught something in the clone's tone. "You seem a bit hostile towards a book. What, don't like to read?"
The clone ignored the insult as he looked towards the clearing, he could see the cloud of dust starting to disappear. "It's not the book. Go, the dust is being carried away by the wind." The two clones burst into clouds of white smoke while the two rushed to the clearing.
The real Naruto, who was hiding in the dissipating cloud of dust, felt a small headache suddenly wash over him. The memories of what the clones did with Sakura and Sasuke filled his brain and Naruto smirked once more.
Kakashi was finally starting to see and, soon enough, all the dust in the air had completely been blown away by the wind. He was surprised to see that Naruto was no longer alone, standing next to him was Sasuke. They were both in a battle stance.
Kakashi had little time to react to Naruto and Sasuke's joint attack. They both went at him with opposing attacks, Sasuke would send a kick and Naruto would send a punch. And vise versa. Kakashi was impressed once more, he was pleased to see that they could put aside their differences for a common goal. Now if they could incorporate the female member of their team then-
'Sakura! Where is she?!'
A sudden wave of worry came over the famed 'Copy Cat' shinobi as he tried to sense the young girl's chakra, but he couldn't find her. He noted that Sakura would be a natural at chakra control because she was hiding her chakra signature very well.
Naruto and Sasuke's dual attack was quickly countered when Kakashi used Sasuke's momentum to throw him into Naruto, giving Kakashi the breather he needed to search for Sakura. He didn't have to look very far because she was standing out in the open. She seemed to be hiding something behind her back.
"Say Kakashi sensei, how about a trade?"
Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "A trade?"
Sakura removed her hands from behind her back and held Kakashi's book with both hands, near her chest. "You hand over the bells and I won't destroy your book." The innocence in Sakura's voice told Kakashi that the pinkette wasn't kidding.
True panic and fear fell upon the jōnin. "Okay! Okay!" He took the bells off his belt loop and held them out. "Deal! Deal!"
Sakura smiled triumphantly as she skipped over to her sensei and took the bells in her hands and handed over the orange book. All three students noticed that their teacher breathed a heavy sigh of relief when that book was in his hands, like some type of security blanket.
"I must say, I'm impressed you three." Kakashi said when he made his way over to his students. "Who's plan was it to use my precious book against me?"
"Naruto's." Sakura couldn't stop smiling as she answered.
Kakashi should've figured that one. His gaze moved to the blonde as he held on of the two bells in his hand. "Dislike my taste in literature that much you'd threaten it just to pass the test?"
Naruto shrugged, placing the bell in his pocket. "Kakashi: 1. Me: 1."
Kakashi chuckled slightly. "Well played, Naruto. You three did very well. Not only did you figure out the true purpose for this test by yourselves, you figured out a weakness of mine and exploited it. You three did well. Congratulations, you pass!"
Sakura's wide grin somehow became even wider as both Naruto and Sasuke smirked in triumph. They were now official shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato. And unknown to them, the first to pass the bell test.
"Good job you guys, we are now officially Team 7. Our first mission is tomorrow. Meet here at seven tomorrow morning."
-Two months later-
Naruto and the rest of Team 7 couldn't believe this was the third time this week that the same damn cat had run away from its owner, it was also the eighth time this month as well. Naruto knew he wasn't the only one considered skinning the cat alive as a way of showing Madame Shijimi, the Fire Daimayo's wife, that you can't bear hug an animal into loving you.
Team 7 watched the Fire Daimayo's wife pay for her third mission this week then leave the room behind them. Leaving only the team and the Hokage in the room.
"Good work Team 7." The Hokage said. "Your seventh D-rank mission this week and twentieth one this month. Your team is quite impressive Kakashi."
Kakashi bowed slightly. "Thank you, Lord Hokage."
Sarutobi was going through some papers on his desk, seemingly searching for something. Kakashi knew that the Hokage was looking for another D-rank mission to give his team. He didn't mind that but the grey haired jōnin felt that his team was ready to take the next step.
"Lord Third, I believe my team is ready for the next level."
Sarutobi stopped rummaging through his papers and smiled at one of most trusted shinobi. He picked up another piece of paper he had set aside earlier. "You think they're ready?"
Kakashi didn't say anything but nodded that carried all the words he wanted to say.
"At your request, I do have C-rank escort mission to the Land of Waves."
Kakashi looked over his shoulder to his team. "Any objections?"
Sakura was nodding excitingly, Sasuke was smirking, and Naruto slammed his fist into his hand and held a toothy grin. Sarutobi liked to see Naruto expressing himself like he was. It was a nice change of pace for the elderly man.
"We'll take it, Lord Hokage."
Sarutobi nodded in recognition for the up and coming team of genin and looked towards the door of his office. "Hey, you can come in now." He called out.
The team's attention was shifted to the door as it was opened by an elderly man, holding a nearly empty bottle of sake, who stumbled into the room. The man glanced over the young teens and their teacher before looking at the Hokage in mild disinterest.
"What the hell, Mr. Hokage? These are kids, not ninja. How am I supposed to be safe with damn kids protecting me? The short one with the angry looking face looks too stupid to be a ninja."
Naruto glared daggers at the older man, it was no secret that he was talking about him. Sasuke was smirking and Sakura couldn't help but giggle at the insult. Sarutobi, however, wasn't going to let this client insult his shinobi.
"If you don't like the team selection I have for you, you can take your business elsewhere Tazuna. I wouldn't have given them this mission if my confidence was lacking in them. It is my firm belief that you will be safe in their hands."
Tazuna stopped his stumbling around and thought about the Hokage's words. If the man that ran the village had such confidence in a bunch of kids, what did he have to say against that? The man let out a laugh. "Okay, I was too quick to judge you all. I'm sorry for that. I'm the super bridge builder expert, Tazuna. I would be honored if you'd take on my request."
After receiving the actual briefing for the mission, Team 7 and Tazuna decided to head out of the village the following morning to give them some rest before the mission. And to pack and spend time with family. Well, that was mostly for Sakura because her two male teammates didn't have any family to go home too.
-With Naruto-
Naruto had been lacking on his training as of late because multiple D-rank missions could be done in a single day. Most days, Team 7 would complete three to four missions a day. That really had been cutting into Naruto's training time, he needed to let loose some pent-up frustrations of the past few months.
The young blonde dispatched a squad of ten clones to attack him, working on his taijutsu and physical prowess, while another set of clones studied scrolls and practiced the jutsus he already knew. This was the blonde's release for anger, frustration, or anything else really. Training was the boy knew. His daily routine revolved around it.
Naruto dispelled the final clone with a hard kick to it's head. He breathed in and out heavily. He ran his hand through his sweaty hair to move it out of his vision. Blood was mixed in with his sally sweat.
'I told those clones to come at me with the intent to kill, I didn't even notice this.' It wasn't a large amount of blood but a decent amount to cause some mild concern. 'I can't let something like this happen again. I have to get stronger!'
The image of his long-gone caretaker suddenly came into his mind and a surge of energy surged through his body.
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"
Instantly, thirty more clones came into existence in plumes of smoke. Naruto eyed them all as he cracked his knuckles by simply making a pair of fists.
"Again!" He cried out as he charged head on into the crowd.
-With Sasuke-
The black haired Uchiha boy was deep in the woods that laid inside village walls. There was battle worn target with seven kunai and thirteen shuriken sticking out of it, all thrown with deadly precision. Sasuke had taken a break from his physical training, which consisted of hitting a tree until he went numb from the pain.
Looking at the target always brought up memories of the days where he trained with his older brother, Itachi. Back then, his only concern was making sure he actually hit the target instead of trying to aim for the bullseye.
Then, Sasuke just wanted Itachi to be proud of his skills so that their father would be impressed too. Now, Itachi was the sole reason for Sasuke to keep going. The young avenger would not stop or rest until Itachi Uchiha laid dead at his feet.
-With Sakura-
Sakura had been growing more nervous throughout the rest of the day and into the night. After she was finally able to stop and think about the possible outcomes of leaving the safety of the village for the first time both excited and terrified the young kunoichi.
She was excited to what the world was like outside Konoha, but Sakura was not stupid nor naïve. She knew there were bandits that preyed on the weak and missing shinobi that hated the Great Nations and were far stronger than her. Some of those worries were laid to rest because of her teammates and jōnin sensei.
Sakura knew Kakashi would be there and would protect them if things became out of hand and the genin couldn't handle them. She even believed Sasuke could do the same if Kakashi was readily available to help. But then there was her other male teammate, Naruto.
She hadn't really given it much thought since becoming a team but there were some things about him that made the pinkette question. One thing about Naruto that Sakura was confused about was that there was a sense of familiarity, like she had met him before. When she actually thought about it, Sakura had never seen Naruto before the academy. It was like he just popped into existence out of thin air.
Another thing Sakura noticed about her blonde teammate was that whenever she'd see him around the village, during their academy days and even today, there was a distinct feeling in the air that emitted from the villagers. She wasn't sure what that feeling was, the best word she could think of to describe it was fear.
But she never dwelled on this for a long period of time, her mom and dad would always tell her to leave 'that boy' alone. Sakura shrugged to herself and covered herself with her sheets as she shifted to get comfortable. A few minutes passed before the young girl was asleep.