EDIT 08/10/23: Edited to improve formatting.
A/N: Mid-story horizontal lines indicate a change of POV.
Hiruzen was already waiting when Kakashi entered his office to give his report on his team. No one else was present, his advisers busy elsewhere.
"Kakashi, anything interesting to report on Team 7?"
"Naruto and Sakura were exactly as expected, Hokage-sama."
"And Sasuke?" Kakashi paused for a moment at this question.
"Sasuke was… Surprisingly stable." This shocked Hiruzen, who almost dropped his pipe.
"Surprisingly stable, Kakashi?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama. When I asked him to introduce himself, I expected him to give vague answers, but he was quite forthcoming. And when he mentioned his dream for the future-"
"To kill Itachi, I presume?"
"Actually, no. Or at least, not by itself. He said he wanted to avenge his clan, as expected, but followed up by saying he wanted to protect the village and make sure no one else did as Itachi did." Hiruzen took a long, slow drag on his pipe.
"That is a surprise. In truth, I had thought he had snapped."
"Why do you say that?"
"Did you know that he was late to the academy yesterday? He never showed up for his final morning," Hiruzen explained. "When I heard he was late, I used my Tomegane no Jutsu (Telescope Jutsu) to check on him in case something had happened. He was laying on the floor, sobbing in front of a mirror." Kakashi's visible eye widened.
"What did you do?"
"I sent an Anbu to retrieve him. When the agent arrived, Sasuke insisted he was fine and had merely been distracted by the awakening of his Sharingan. He appeared lucid, so the agent allowed him to leave and trailed him to the academy. The boy used the Shunshin no Jutsu to arrive shortly before you did, I believe he copied it from the agent." He took another drag. "Kakashi, you know how the Sharingan is awoken." He did. It typically appeared after great emotional stress. Some had speculated that, since Sasuke's apparently remained dormant after the massacre, he had not inherited it. Apparently that wasn't the case.
"What do you think happened?"
"I don't know, Kakashi, but I suspect the boy had some kind of… Personal revelation. We can only hope it was a positive one."
The moment I got back to the Uchiha compound, I went looking for any scrolls that contained jutsu I could use. In canon, Kakashi had been surprised by Sasuke's use of the Great Fireball Jutsu, so I knew he wouldn't expect me to know any elemental techniques. That one jutsu alone wouldn't be enough to grab the bell, but if I could learn at least one or two more, and if I could convince Naruto and Sakura to work together, we might very well be able to take the bells. And I definitely wanted to take the bells. I could allow things to go as they did in canon and pass by feeding Naruto, but it would be much more satisfying to follow in the footsteps of the sannin by actually succeeding in the test. Fortunately, I found the scrolls containing the Fireball Jutsu, Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu, and Dragon Fire Jutsu in Sasuke's room, the three fire techniques he used before his training for the chuunin exam finals.
Perfect. Kakashi won't know what hit him.
Since the Uchiha had their own training ground, I was able to practice in peace. The Great Fireball Jutsu was easy, Sasuke's prior mastery of the technique apparently passing to me. The Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu was similarly quick to learn, though it took a few attempts before I could hide shuriken in the flames as Sasuke had. The final technique though…
"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu)!" What was supposed to be a mighty ten metre flamethrower instead came out as an anaemic jet of flame, one that would definitely burn an enemy at close range, but was a far cry from the destructive potential it had shown in the Forest of Death. Looks like I've found something I need to improve on.
I slept like a log that night, exhausted from constantly shooting off blasts of fire at nothing. By the time I became too exhausted to continue, I had managed to extend the Dragon Fire's range to about four metres. In this form, it was at least usable, but I wasn't satisfied with it. I had a feeling, though, that if I pushed any further with my training that night, I could end up suffering from chakra exhaustion and end up in the hospital. Early the next morning, I grabbed the boxed meals I had prepared the night before (just fried rice, nothing fancy) and made it to Training Ground Three just after the other two.
"Good morning. Did you take my advice and eat breakfast?"
"No way, Sasuke! I didn't fall for your trick!" I figured Naruto wouldn't listen.
"Sakura?"
"Um, I thought about it, but I thought I should listen to our sensei, so…" I sighed, reached into my bag, and pulled out the boxed rice I brought with me.
"Well, I'm going to eat mine right now. I brought two more, just like I promised. They're yours if you change your mind." They looked shocked when I popped open a box and started eating.
"Sasuke-kun, Sensei could be here at any moment! He'll see you ignoring his orders!"
"Sensei showed up even later than I did yesterday," I reminded them. "He's probably not going to be here for hours."
I was right, of course.
"Good morning, students," Kakashi greeted casually when he finally showed up.
"You're late!"
"Sorry, a black cat crossed my path, so I had to go around." Thankfully, before Naruto and Sakura could complain anymore, Kakashi set down an alarm clock on a nearby tree stump and started to explain the exercise. "I have two small bells here," he began. "Your objective is to take them from me before the alarm sounds at noon. Whichever one of you fails, doesn't get any lunch. You will be tied to that stump while the rest of us eat." It looked like Naruto and Sakura finally realised that they should, in fact, have taken me up on my offer. "To pass, you only need one bell. Of course, since I only have two, one of you is guaranteed to fail. Whoever it is goes back to the academy. You may use whatever method you like to take the bells, but I warn you…" He paused dramatically here. "If you don't come at me with intent to kill, you'll never be able to take the bells. Good luck!" I had to give Naruto credit, I barely had time to blink before he pulled out a kunai and tried to rush Kakashi. Fortunately, I was faster, and managed to grab both him and Sakura and Body Flicker us into some bushes.
Kakashi blinked. He had expected Naruto to come right at him while the others went off to hide and plan, but this?
Looks like Sasuke figured it out. He pulled the latest Icha Icha book from his pouch and began to read. Now we'll see if he can wrangle the others into working together. I think I'll give them a little time.
"Sasuke-teme, what the hell!? I was about to get him!" Naruto whined when we came to a stop. Internally, I noted that using the Body Flicker without the hand seal made it use much more chakra. "Well, you bastard!? Answer me!"
"Quiet, Naruto, he'll hear us," I admonished him. "Listen, there's no way any of us can get the bells by ourselves. We have to work together here."
"But there are only two bells," Sakura answered. "Even if we work together, one of us-"
"He's lying," I interrupted. "Think about it. Have either of you ever heard of a team with fewer than three members? He wants to see if we're able to put aside self-interest and work as a team. He told us not to eat breakfast so that we'd be desperate to get lunch. The only way we're getting sent back to the academy is if we fall apart and go it alone."
"But if you're wrong-"
"I was right about breakfast, wasn't I? But how about this: if I'm wrong, then I'll be the one sent back to the academy. You two can have the bells." Naruto looked especially surprised by this. He was definitely expecting me to ignore him and Sakura and go off on my own. "So, are you in?" They both nodded, making me smile. "Good, then we need to come up with a plan. So, let's talk jutsu…"
Well, that seems like enough time, Kakashi finally decided. Time to go on the hunt. He was just about to get moving when a loud shout rang out behind him.
"Hey, Sensei! I'm getting that bell, dattebayo!" Kakashi sighed.
I suppose I shouldn't have expected better. Looks like Sasuke couldn't get through to him after all. He didn't bother putting his book away, no single genin could push him into making an actual effort. Especially one who casually disregarded every lesson the academy had taught on how to be a ninja. Naruto tossed a kunai at him, which he dodged with no effort at all, before charging directly at him. The blonde's taijutsu was sloppy, he fought more like a street brawler than a shinobi. One strike to the back of the head and Naruto… Burst into smoke? A shadow clone! Immediately, a flurry of knives and shuriken burst at him from opposite directions. A trap! He quickly substituted himself with a log just before impact. From his new position in a nearby tree, he carefully examined the locations from which the projectiles had been launched.
"Hey, Sensei."
"What!?" he breathed, looking up only to find himself staring right into a pair of incomplete Sharingan.
Genjutsu: Sharingan! Kakashi leapt away as soon as we made eye contact, but it didn't matter. I could tell from the flow of his chakra that he was under, and I'd know the moment he broke it. I weaved a quick hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)." Instantly, my chakra dropped by half as a single copy of myself appeared beside me before moving to inform the others that it was time for stage two. Thanks, Naruto, I thought with a grin. Shadow Clones will open up a lot of options for me. The fact that Sasuke never copied this technique in canon had always bothered me. Was he just too proud to use a move he'd never be better at than Naruto? I knew I'd never be able to make even a quarter as many as he could, and right now I could only manage the one without leaving myself dangerously low on chakra, but even a single clone could be a game changer if used well. I wonder if I could recreate Itachi's exploding clones? I set aside my pondering for later, focusing more on manipulating Kakashi's perceptions. It was a difficult balance – too subtle and it would make no difference, but too overt and he'd realise what was going on and break it. The fact that I had literally no experience with genjutsu only made it harder, since I had to figure out how it worked on the fly. Still, I knew from Sasuke's fight with Danzo that even the slightest manipulation could win a battle.
"Hoy, Naruto." The blonde in question jumped a little when Sasuke appeared behind him with that weird teleporting trick he'd seen those masked guys who always hung around his house using. "I've got Kakashi in a genjutsu. I already told Sakura, so it's time for the next step." Naruto hated to admit it, but the bastard was smart. Not as smart as Shikamaru, but smart. He still wasn't convinced Sasuke was right about the test, but if he wanted to be the one sent back to the academy, it was no skin off Naruto's back. Then he'd be on a team alone with Sakura! "Hey, you ready?" Naruto nodded, focusing on the moment, and blinked as he saw Kakashi sneaking up on… a rabbit. He shot a questioning glance at Sasuke, who grinned back at him. "Genjutsu. He thinks that rabbit is Sakura." Naruto barely suppressed a laugh.
"Let's go."
Watching Naruto and my clone sneak up on Kakashi as he snuck up on a rabbit was certainly amusing. I was quite proud of pulling off that little trick. After experimenting by manipulating the sizes and positions of rocks and shrubs in his perception, I'd figured out that it was much easier to change his perception of one object into another object than to make him see something where there was nothing. I quickly Body Flickered to a much closer tree for a better look and grinned at the sight. Sakura was hidden behind a bush Kakashi was heading right for while Naruto and my clone were closing in from behind. I figured Kakashi would try to genjutsu the rabbit, at which point I'd drop the illusion and Naruto and my clone would strike in the moment of confusion. While they were fighting in close, Sakura would wait for an opportunity to go for his Achilles tendon with a kunai. If it worked, Naruto and Sakura would grab the bells from a disabled Kakashi. If not, she'd drop a smoke bomb to distract him and we'd regroup to try again.
Kakashi grinned evilly beneath his mask as he snuck up on the unsuspecting pinkette. She wasn't even trying to hide, instead running around shouting for Sasuke to come back and help her. A girl like that definitely wasn't cut out for the life of a ninja, he'd be doing her a favour by failing her. He waited for her to turn around, jumped out and activated his prepared genjutsu.
"Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Jutsu)!" He realised immediately that something was wrong: Sakura's chakra felt far too weak, weaker even than an untrained civilian child. The girl faded, leaving him confused. He looked down and saw a petrified rabbit that he had apparently hit. Sasuke! The boy must have gotten him in a genjutsu with his Sharingan, and he'd been strung along all this time! He didn't have time to properly process what had happened before he was set upon by the two boys, coming at him from his left and his right, forcing him to drop his book to defend himself with both arms. Strangely enough, even though it looked like he was blocking and striking back accurately, the boys were somehow managing to hit through his guard, and didn't seem to react to any of his own counters.
I was smiling wide watching Kakashi getting hammered hard. He must have thought that the Sakura illusion was the extent of my genjutsu, because he didn't even try to disrupt it. In reality, I was just barely shifting the locations of Naruto and my clone in his perception, causing him to be ever so slightly off with his reactions. A few millimetres between where he thought they were and where they actually were was enough to completely ruin his ability to fight back. As a result, he was slowly being pushed back towards the spot where Sakura was waiting patiently.
Kakashi was getting frustrated by his seeming inability to even land a solid hit against the two genin. Genin! It couldn't be real!
Wait… With that thought, he realised what was happening. Kai! A quick pulse of chakra broke the illusion, and he saw the boys' positions shift just slightly. Sasuke, you're a clever one, but you should have grabbed a bell while you had the chance! He was just about to give them a proper lesson in taijutsu when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his leg and lost control over it. Sakura!
Perfect! I had been worried when Kakashi had finally broken the genjutsu, but thankfully, Sakura had picked that exact moment to execute her part of the plan, bringing Kakashi down to one knee. I almost felt bad for getting her to inflict such an injury, but he had told us to come at him with intent to kill, and medical ninjutsu would allow him a quick recovery. My clone quickly put a kunai to his throat and told the others to take their bells. As they moved in, however, I saw Kakashi's chakra begin to flow, and the muscles in his arm shift. No you don't, you shifty bastard! I quickly used most of my remaining chakra for a Body Flicker, landing in the perfect place to stick my own kunai right over the point where the cloth of his headband covered his eye. "I don't know where you got that Sharingan you're hiding under there," I drawled. "But if you move even a millimetre, you won't be 'Sharingan no Kakashi' anymore." I looked at the others. "What are you waiting for? Grab the bells already, I don't know how long it'll take him to figure out a way to escape." Sakura was closer, so she grabbed both and tossed one to Naruto. I dispelled my Shadow Clone and stepped away. "Naruto, Sakura." They looked at me nervously, no doubt wondering what I would criticise them about. "Absolutely flawless, both of you." Naruto looked relieved, while Sakura squee'd like the fangirl she was. I can't help but think I've just made her a whole lot worse.
"Ahem." We all turned to look at Kakashi, who was casually bandaging his ankle. "Well, I wasn't really expecting you to manage, but… You all pass." Naturally, Naruto immediately started dancing around shouting about how awesome he was and how he was one step closer to becoming Hokage.
"You were right, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted happily. She looked like she was about to hug me, but an annoyed glare made her think twice.
"Well, now that you all know you've passed, could Sasuke please help me back to the clearing?" asked Kakashi. "It seems I can't walk on this leg." He sounded cheerful, but there was definitely an intimidating undertone to his voice. I awkwardly supported him as we walked back to the clearing, while Sakura and Naruto went on ahead. "How did you know?" he asked quietly.
"About?"
"My Sharingan." Shit, I hadn't intended to reveal that, it had just sort of slipped out.
"You have a reputation," I replied, as smoothly as I could manage. "They say you've copied a thousand jutsu with it."
"You did your research."
"Didn't have to. The clan used to talk about you. They didn't like an outsider having a Sharingan." A plausible excuse. Frankly, I've always wondered why the Uchiha would allow it, no doubt if Obito had been a Hyuuga and given him a Byakugan that clan would have had Kakashi assassinated.
"And you?"
"Clearly, whoever gave it to you thought you deserved it. That's good enough for me."