"I am going to kill him," Naruto groaned. "I am going to kill Kakashi-Sensei."

"I'll help."

"Hn."

"You're welcome to try!"

Naruto sat up instantly, glaring at the silver-haired jounin. "You're late!" Naruto shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi. "Again! Jounin shouldn't be late! You told us to be on time!"

"Yeah!" Sakura agreed. "Shinobi should be on time, sensei!"

Kakashi just gave them that increasingly annoying eye smile of his. "A black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way here," he explained jovially as he pulled out an alarm clock that he sat down on a rock with a flat top. "It's set to go off at noon, that gives you two hours."

"Two hours for what?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"I was getting to that," Kakashi said, pulling out two bells and dangling them in the air. "Your task is to take these from me before noon. Whoever doesn't get a bell doesn't get lunch."

As if on cue, their stomachs rumbled. "That's why you told us not to eat!" Naruto exclaimed.

Naruto was really tired of that eye smile. It was worse than Sasuke's smirk! "Not only will you not get to eat lunch, you'll be tied to a tree and have to watch the others eat!" Kakashi revealed. "You only need to get one bell, and since there are only two of them at least one of you will definitely be tied to a tree." He paused, like he was thinking about something. "Oh, yeah! And the person who doesn't get a bell fails. So, at least one of you will go back to the academy."

Naruto's heart dropped. He looked between Sasuke and Sakura, Sakura's face one of obvious disappointment; she knew how close he and Sasuke were, and probably expected them to just completely abandon her.

"I suggest you keep up your earlier sentiment if you want to pass," Kakashi continued, either oblivious to their feelings or uncaring. Probably the latter. "If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you won't pass."

Naruto scowled at Kakashi. "You're gonna regret saying that, believe it!" The test was completely unfair, Naruto didn't want any of them to fail! He didn't want to kill anyone, but… "If we kill you, do we all pass?"

Kakashi's lone visible eyebrow disappeared into his forehead protector. "Sure, but I think you have better odds trying to get the bells. I'm not a jounin for nothing, you know."

"Yeah, but you couldn't even stop an eraser-"

A chill went down Naruto's back as Kakashi suddenly disappeared and a hand was placed on his shoulder. "I wouldn't get too cocky, Naruto." The hand was lifted and Naruto spun around, kunai in hand. Kakashi was still eye smiling. "It's good you're prepared to kill, though. I'm actually kinda starting to like you guys!"

Kakashi stepped back a few steps, attaching the bells to his waist. "Okay, let's get going." Naruto tensed up, and he could sense Sasuke and Sakura doing the same on either side of him. "Ready…" Kakashi trailed off. "Start!"

Three kunai were immediately sent sailing in Kakashi's direction, all three hitting him directly in the chest… only for a log to take his place. "Damnit!" Naruto swore.

"You didn't really think that'd be all it took, right idiot?" Sasuke asked. "Like he said, he's a jounin."

Naruto sighed. "I know…" He reached down, pressing his fingers against the ground. While he could sense better out in nature, Kakashi was a jounin and a direct connection to the ground was always helpful. Naruto smirked when he felt staticky chakra nearby. "Gotcha, stupid cyclops," he murmured to himself.

"Naruto, Sakura," Sasuke started, grabbing their attention. "Since only two of us can pass, it wouldn't be right for any of us to work together. Agreed?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, we should all try and get the bells on our own, that way it's not unfair," he agreed, glancing over at Sakura.

Her eyes were wide, looking back and forth between him and Sasuke. "Really? I thought you two would…"

Naruto grinned. "Hey, if the bastard isn't good enough to get a bell, I wanna be on a team with the one who was!"

"If the idiot can't get a bell, then he shouldn't be on my team."

Sakura looked between them a few times before nodding, a small smile on her face. "Yeah, okay. No teams."

"Then the loser goes back to the academy!" Naruto declared.

Then, before either of them could add anything else, he quickly made hand seals and disappeared into the ground so they couldn't follow him.

Kakashi watched with interest as Naruto used the Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu.

The file he was given said Naruto had skill in Doton and Suiton jutsu, but the ease with which he just used it… He definitely could have graduated years ago. Sasuke and Sakura made quick to run off to hide in the trees afterwards, none of them making for a direct attack, so Kakashi stretched out his honed senses to try and locate Naruto-

Only to have to jump away in surprise when he heard the ground underneath him start to rumble.

Apparently he was wrong, one of them did plan on a direct attack. Naruto burst out of the ground where he just was, familiar blue eyes trained on Kakashi. Kakashi landed a few meters away, allowing his eye to widen in surprise. "You found me that fast?" he asked.

Naruto grinned with pride. "You didn't know I was a sensor? You can't hide from me in nature, Bakashi!"

Kakashi's heart jumped at the nickname but he masterfully hid the reaction; he'd been an ANBU, after all, he only showed emotions when he wanted to. "Hm, good thing it's your job to hide and plan, not mine. Your teammates had the right idea, but it seems like you're a little duller, huh?"

"Hey, don't call me dull!" Naruto started racing through hand seals, impressively fast for a fresh genin, and called out, "Suiton: Water Bullet!"

Kakashi waited until the last second before dodging. Even without using his Sharingan, he could tell there was a lot of chakra packed into that jutsu. Naruto's chakra reserves weren't surprising, considering his parents and what he contained, but the ease he used the jutsu with was. That much skill in two elements, at such a young age? "Not bad," Kakashi admitted. "But you're gonna have to do better if you want to get a bell."

"Believe me, I know!" Naruto shouted, forming the tiger seal. The water he'd just blown out reformed, turning into four clones of him. "Water Clone Jutsu!" the original shouted. "Charge!"

The four clones charged, all pulling out kunai, but the original stayed back and formed more hand seals. Kakashi easily dispelled each of the clones, without even a drop of water getting on him, and watched as the original finished the hand seals and slammed his hands against the ground. "Doton: Dust Storm!"

Jumping away again, Kakashi took a moment to marvel at the chakra Naruto could so easily pack into every jutsu. Seriously, he shuddered to imagine what the kid could do with the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

When he touched down on the ground, Naruto was on him; the kid had used the visually obstructive jutsu to close the distance. Smart. Keeping in mind the amount of power a different Uzumaki had always packed into her punches, Kakashi deflected the first blow to test the amount of force. He was glad he had, because the punch probably could have broken an unprepared arm.

Not bad.

Kakashi easily blocked the next blow with a chakra enforced arm. Naruto's eyes widened comically when he did, but didn't slip up and followed it by twisting his body to aim a kick at Kakashi's side. Kakashi blocked that too, enforcing his body with chakra second nature to him. In retaliation, he grabbed Naruto's leg and threw the kid away.

"You're good for a genin," Kakashi said freely. "But you should know that you can't win in a head-on fight. If you don't-"

He felt something to his right, where the dust was still settling, and dodged a hand that swiped at the bells. With a hard chop down, he hit the back of the clone's neck and turned it back into water. "Okay," he continued, turning back to the original. "You-"

The original was gone. Kakashi stretched out his honed senses, but Naruto was gone. Now, Kakashi wasn't a sensor, but he was far too good for inexperienced genin to truly escape his notice. He could tell Naruto had escaped to the forest, and the ease he maneuvered through it was a little impressive when Kakashi doubted he'd ever been all the way out here before.

But Kakashi couldn't spend all his time on one genin. If Naruto wanted to fall back and plan, Kakashi had two more genin he could mess with. He wanted to see how the last Uchiha and top kunoichi measured up. But who to pick first…

His choice was made for him in the form of a roaring fireball. He dodged it easily enough, but he was still surprised by the power behind it. Apparently Naruto wasn't the only chakra monster, even if he still had by far the most. On the other end of the fireball, Sasuke was running through hand seals. "Raiton: Lightning Ball!" he shouted.

To Kakashi's surprise, a dozen balls of lightning appeared around Sasuke and shot towards him. When Kakashi tried to dodge, only two hit the ground where he was standing and the other ten sailed after him. Impressed, Kakashi pulled out a kunai and sliced through each of them before they could hit him. The dispersed lightning stung him a little, but it was nothing compared to chidori.

"Lightning too, huh?" Kakashi asked Sasuke, who was in the middle of closing the distance between them. Kakashi chose to humor him, curious at the one who'd gotten the top taijutsu spot; he had to be even better than Naruto for that. "Usually you Uchiha stick to fire, but it's good to branch out."

"I'm not usual," Sasuke said with a smirk, aiming a jab at Kakashi's solar plexus. When Kakashi blocked and grabbed Sasuke's arm, Sasuke twisted around to try and kick him in the head. Without letting go, Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's arm too. In an impressive display of agility, Sasuke twisted even further and used his other arm to force Kakashi to let go. As soon as he did, Sasuke jumped away and raced through more hand seals. "Katon: Flame Whirlwind!"

Flames erupted from Sasuke's hands and spun around him for a brief second before launching at Kakashi. Kakashi was growing more and more impressed, but still easily dodged into the ground. He came up under Sasuke, grabbing at his feet-

And let go when a jolt of electricity shot through his body. It didn't really hurt, he was far too used to lightning for that, but he still let go and gave Sasuke the chance to jump away. "Naruto's used that move way too often for it to work on me!" Sasuke shouted, making even more hand seals. "Raiton: Lightning Flash!"

Twin streams of lightning shot from Sasuke's hands, colliding midair and creating a bright flash of light. Kakashi closed his eyes in time to avoid any damage, but it gave Sasuke a brief moment out of sight. Surprisingly, he chose to close the distance and Kakashi had to block another kick to his side.

Opening his eyes, Kakashi tried to grab Sasuke's leg again, but it slipped away before he could. Faster than he'd been before, Sasuke followed it with a punch to Kakashi's face. Kakashi blocked that, too, but his eyes widened when he caught sight of the single tomoe Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes.

Dropping low, Sasuke made a grab at the bells. His fingers brushed against them, but Kakashi's surprise passed and he jumped away, kicking Sasuke in the same moment.

Landing a few meters away, Kakashi stared into the first Sharingan in years he'd seen that wasn't his. "Sorry, Sasuke, but genjutsu won't work on me," he said with an eye smile, fluctuating his chakra and effortlessly dispelling the one Sasuke tried to place on him. "Nice try, th-"

He jumped away seconds before another hand could swipe at a bell, this one belonging to a figure with bright pink hair. Sakura had snuck up on him surprisingly well; she'd tried to capitalize on his distraction from fighting Sasuke. Before he could say anything to her, Sasuke was on him again.

Trying to keep an eye on Sakura while fighting Sasuke was difficult considering he only had one eye, but Kakashi more than managed it. Even though Sakura managed to stay more or less out of his vision while he dodged and blocked Sasuke's countless attacks, he was able to sense her behind him. He'd almost call it teamwork, if most of Sakura's grabs didn't interfere with Sasuke's attacks and vice versa. They were using each other more than they were working together.

Growing bored, Kakashi grabbed Sakura's arm during one of her grabs and threw her at the attacking Sasuke. They both went flying, crashing into the ground a few meters back, and it suddenly dawned on Kakashi that he hadn't had the chance to pull out his book even once during the fight. Was he getting rusty?

They pushed off of each other quickly, both blushing, Sakura more than Sasuke, and Sasuke quickly raced through more hand seals. A massive fireball came roaring out of his mouth again, and both genin were gone by the time Kakashi dodged around it.

Hit and run tactics. Kakashi had the feeling they were testing him as much as he was testing them, gauging his reactions to everything they threw at him to form better plans. It was a good strategy, even if it'd never work on someone on Kakashi's level.

Completely casually, Kakashi caught the punch Naruto sent his way. The first had come back to play. Kakashi turned to face him, but hastily dropped the fist when it started turning to water. A clone. Kakashi ducked under the next hit from another Naruto, struck back, and watched it too turn to water.

Eyes landing on the original Naruto, Kakashi saw him form quick hand signs. "Suiton: Water Ball!" Naruto shouted. The water from the water clones turned into a large ball, too close for Kakashi to dodge.

With a flash of hand seals too fast for Naruto to see, Kakashi replaced himself with a log. Surprisingly quickly, Naruto's head snapped to where he'd replaced himself and the kid grinned in a way that sent shivers down Kakashi's spine. That was the exact grin Kushina used right before enacting an especially harsh prank.

Running through a decently long string of hand seals Kakashi couldn't immediately recognize, which was saying a lot for the man known as the Copy Ninja, Naruto flared his chakra. If it weren't for the sense of what could only be described as peaceful that the chakra emitted, Kakashi would have thought Naruto was tapping into the Kyuubi's chakra. He'd had plenty of time to just run forward and interrupt Naruto before he could finish, but his curiosity won out and he chose to wait.

Expecting an especially strong Doton jutsu, Kakashi prepared to jump away from the ground, but then Naruto shouted: "Mokuton: Birth of the Forest!"

Kakashi started to think it was just Naruto trying to make him trip up when the ground just shook ominously for a second. Then it erupted all around them. Trees burst out of the ground, growing large in a matter of seconds with leaves thickening to the point where barely any natural light made it through. Kakashi wasn't sure he could have hid his surprise if he tried.

Despite Naruto's file stating he had no talent in genjutsu, that was still the most logical explanation, so Kakashi quickly made the sign and called out, "Kai!"

The forest didn't even waver.

Laughter erupted from the tree tops. "I knew you'd do that!" Naruto shouted.

Kakashi quickly threw a kunai in the direction of the voice, and was only a little surprised when only water trickled down from above. He could already tell the kid loved using clones.

Hair on the back of his neck standing up, Kakashi leapt away just as a thin branch tried to swipe at the bells. Another branch, larger and stronger, tried to attack him midair, but Kakashi swiped at it and broke it before it could. Still, he was impressed as he was surprised; Naruto had essentially transformed the entire area to create somewhere that he had the absolute advantage. Kakashi's vision was obscured by the trees, but Naruto was a sensor. It'd be practically impossible to hide from him in his own forest.

It was a good plan. If Kakashi were anyone else, the sheer surprise of seeing Mokuton would have lost him the battle. Unluckily for Naruto, Kakashi had plenty of experience fighting even while every tree in the vicinity could be his enemy.

At least he now knew why the Hokage suggested a more private training ground.

Figuring out how, exactly, Naruto had Mokuton would have to come later. Kakashi would never live it down if a genin managed to grab a bell from him, even if said genin had one of the most powerful kekkei genkai to ever exist in Konoha. Or anywhere, really.

It didn't take long for Kakashi to spot familiar blond and orange in one of the trees a short distance away from him. If he ended up passing the team, stealth training would be ideal for Naruto. If. No matter how good the genin were, they were still missing the one thing it'd take for them to pass.

Kakashi appeared in front of Naruto in the tree before Naruto could even react, standing casually with his hands in his pockets. "I'm guessing the Hokage knows about this little trick of yours and elected not to tell me?" Kakashi said lightly.

Naruto's eyes widened at his sudden appearance, hands still in the snake seal. The branch Kakashi was standing on tried to wrap around him, but Kakashi casually leapt off and landed on the same branch as Naruto. "I hope you didn't think a little Mokuton would be all it took to get a bell," he continued, grabbing Naruto's arm to pull his hands from the snake seal. "I already told you you can't win in a-"

"Raiton-Katon: Electrified Fireball Jutsu!"

Kakashi had thought that Sasuke's Sharingan and Naruto's Mokuton meant the genin were done surprising him, but apparently not. He jumped away at the same time as Naruto did, a massive fireball with electricity crackling through it obliterating half the tree they'd been standing on.

When he landed on the ground of the forest, he had to dodge a hand belonging to Sasuke, one-tomoe Sharingan blazing in his eyes. "Dual element jutsu?" Kakashi was genuinely surprised; it wasn't a kekkei genkai release, the kid had just figured out how to use Raiton and Katon separately and then combine them into one move. "Are you sure you two are genin? Also, I'm pretty sure you would've just killed your friend if he hadn't dodged."

"I knew he'd dodge," Sasuke said confidently, engaging him in another round of taijutsu. "And even if it'd hit, he probably would've somehow been fine. He's an idiot, but he can handle a lot and heals from whatever he can't in a matter of minutes."

"Don't call me an idiot!" Naruto shouted. "Suiton Bullet: Orca!"

An oh shit expression crossed Sasuke's face and he quickly fell back, mirroring Kakashi's exact thoughts as he turned to watch water literally drain out of the surrounding plants and form a massive pool in front of Naruto. Tenzo couldn't do that. The water shot forward in Kakashi's direction, spreading out in every direction and practically flooding the forest.

Kakashi jumped up before the water could reach him, landing on top of it to Naruto's obvious surprise. While Naruto was still staring at how his feet stayed on top of the rapidly receding water, Kakashi flickered over to Naruto and chopped down on the back of his neck to knock him out.

Catching Naruto before he could fall completely to the ground, Kakashi took a minute to just marvel at the kid. He was definitely his parents' child. Tenacious, unexpectedly smart, skilled-

And already stirring.

Sasuke wasn't kidding, the kid was resilient. Kakashi let him go and jumped away when he saw Naruto start to move, and Naruto caught himself on the now-muddy ground. He was already turning around to glare at Kakashi by the time Kakashi landed.

"Hey, did you try to knock me out, Bakashi?" Naruto shouted, mud-covered as he got back to his feet.

Kakashi eye smiled. "I thought I'd give the other two a chance to fight me without your extremely obstructive jutsu getting in the way, but apparently you're too stubborn for that."

Naruto grinned ferally. "Yeah I am, believe it!" He formed the tiger seal. "Water Clone Jutsu!" Dozens of water clones formed all around them, each just as mud-covered and grinning just as ferally as the first. "Charge!"

Kakashi was swarmed by Narutos, an ocean of blond and orange armed with kunai. Again, Kakashi considered the insanity that would happen if Naruto learned to create shadow clones. Or wood clones, for that matter. Because those types of clones lacked the weakness that allowed Kakashi to dispel each and every attacking clone with a tenth of the effort he'd need for the original.

"Sorry to tell you, Naruto, but your clones-"

He faltered when he whacked one Naruto and it didn't dispel, instead continuing to grab at the bells. Kakashi quickly grabbed the offending hand and threw it at a tree-

And watched it transform back into Sasuke midair, right before colliding with the tree with enough force to dent it. Kakashi winced in sympathy. He'd thrown thinking it was the original Naruto, and used force he knew Naruto could take. Sasuke would probably be feeling that for weeks.

Hopefully he didn't just break the last loyal Uchiha. The elders would be pissed, not that he really cared what the annoying old friends of the Sandaime thought.

Kakashi didn't let himself think about that for long, still fighting through dozens of Narutos. Was the original one of them? Or was he coming up with some other plan? Sasuke had been smart to try and hide with them; would Sakura try the same? There was a lot to consider, and Naruto had a reputation for unpredictability from all the pranks he'd pulled off over the years.

In the corner of his eye he saw Sasuke getting back up, looking remarkably well for someone who'd just been thrown into a tree. Definitely grimacing, but overall fine. Not bad for a genin who didn't have the benefit of Uzumaki, and apparently Senju, blood.

Naruto and Sasuke shared a look on either side of him, and Kakashi got the feeling he wouldn't enjoy whatever they cooked up. If they roped in their last teammate, who was probably frozen understandably dumbstruck staring at the forest, he'd even pass them. Unfortunately for them:

"Time's up," Kakashi said cheerfully, seconds before the surprisingly distant sound of the alarm going off rang through the forest.

Their faces both fell comically.

Naruto nervously looked between Sakura, tied to a tree, Sasuke sitting on the other side of it, and Kakashi in front of them with his arms crossed and a serious look on his face.

"I'll admit," Kakashi started, his lone visible eye flickering between them. "You all impressed me. And…" he glanced back at the forest Naruto had created, "surprised me."

"Does that mean you'll still let us be shinobi?" Naruto asked excitedly. "Or give us another-"

"Well, there's definitely no need for you to go back to the academy."

Naruto grinned. "So all three of us-"

"Should quit being shinobi."

Naruto's face fell. "What? Just because we couldn't get the bells?" His disappointment quickly shifted to anger "That's unfair! You're a jounin, we're just genin! Why do we have to quit?!"

"You're all punks who don't deserve to be shinobi," Kakashi said bluntly.

Naruto and Sasuke shared a quick look. On silent cue, they shot to their feet and charged at Kakashi. Maybe if they got bells now-

In the blink of an eye, Naruto's face was smashed against the floor and he was staring directly into Sasuke's equally smashed face. Kakashi had one of both of their arms pressed against their backs, holding them both down without any apparent effort. Naruto was pretty proud of his strength, but even straining as hard as he could he couldn't budge Kakashi.

"You guys are underestimating shinobi." Kakashi's voice was harder than Naruto had ever heard it. "Why do you think you were divided into teams and are doing this training?"

"What does that mean?" Sakura asked, the only one without their mouth half pressed against the ground.

"You guys don't understand the answer to this test," Kakashi explained simply. "The one that'll help you pass."

"Are you going to tell us?"

"Cmon, Bakashi, just tell us already!"

"Teamwork." All of them went quiet. "If you'd worked together, you may have gotten the bells. You almost had it, yet you still fell short."

"But there are only two bells!" Sakura shouted. "No matter what, someone was gonna fail! Teaming up would just be unfair!"

"Unfair," Kakashi mocked. "Do you think every mission you ever go on will be fair? I can tell you they won't. More often than not, the odds will be stacked against you. But in a team, your odds will always be better. The purpose of the test was to see if you could push aside your own interests and effectively work as a team, like you may have to if you become shinobi. But you guys…

"Sakura, you tried to use Sasuke's attack against me as a way to get a bell, but neither of you actually did anything to assist each other. If you'd been coordinated you may have gotten a bell, but instead you both interfered with each other whenever it was convenient. Maybe if you hadn't you wouldn't be tied to a tree.

"Sasuke, like I told Sakura, you interfered with her attacks when you could have assisted. On top of that, you attacked me with a large scale destructive jutsu when Naruto was with me. Even if you say otherwise, you can't be sure he would be fine after that."

Naruto opened his mouth to insist that he would, but then Kakashi's hand pressed down harder and he shut up. "And Naruto, you used large scale jutsu to change the environment into one only you would benefit in, without even offering a heads up to either of the others. They could have been hurt, and the surprise of it incapacitated one of your teammates until the end of the match."

Naruto grimaced. He hadn't wanted to shock Sakura that badly and ruin her chances, but he also knew none of them had a chance at getting a bell by that point and knew he couldn't afford to hold back against Kakashi.

"Teamwork is the most important thing for a shinobi. Independent ability is important, but individual acts that disrupt teamwork can put your comrades in danger, or worse.

"Sakura, if I told you to kill one of these two or I'd kill them both, would you do it?"

Sakura's gasp was audible. "Wh-what?"

"One of you could be taken hostage or grievously injured in enemy territory," Kakashi said bluntly. "You will have tough choices, and someone may even die. As shinobi, you'll be constantly risking your lives."

Suffocating silence fell across the training ground, the wind itself seeming to hold its breath. The pressure from Kakashi's hand left his back, and Naruto turned around and sat up in sync with Sasuke. They looked at each other, considering.

They both knew what it was like to be alone. Naruto still didn't know what it felt like to lose someone, but he knew Sasuke did. Sasuke had lost everyone. They didn't really talk about it, but Naruto could still hear Sasuke's voice from that day by the river. I know what monsters look like. Naruto couldn't imagine how he'd feel if a monster stole his best friend from him, or even Sakura or any of his other former classmates.

"I lost my best friend on a mission." Naruto's head snapped to look over at Kakashi, eyes wide. "I'll give you three one more chance after lunch, but I'll make it even harder." His eye hardened. "Naruto, Sasuke, don't give any food to Sakura. If either of you do, you fail immediately."

With that warning, Kakashi turned and started walking away. After a few meters, he just vanished. Even when Naruto pressed his fingers against the ground, he couldn't sense Kakashi.

Immediately, Naruto walked over to grab one of the bentos Kakashi brought. Sasuke followed, grimacing when he stood up, and did the same.

At that same moment, Sakura's stomach growled.

She blushed when Naruto and Sasuke both turned to her. "Sorry, I know you can't-"

"You can have mine," Naruto interrupted immediately. She stared blankly at him and he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, balancing the bento in one hand. "You, uh, kinda got treated unfairly because I didn't warn you about my Mokuton. So it's kinda my fault you didn't get to try more."

Mokuton, Sakura mouthed. Her eyes flickered between Naruto and the forest he'd just created, like she'd forgotten for a moment. "No, it's fine. I, uh, get why you'd keep that secret."

"Still!" Naruto thrust out his bento box. "Besides, maybe I can, like, grow an apple and eat that. Apple trees are a thing!"

Sakura smiled a little, but still shook her head. "You and Sasuke need it more than me. You both did-"

"Just take some of mine and some of his," Sasuke said, holding his box out too. "That way we all get to eat."

"But Kakashi-Sensei said-"

"That we need to work together, and you won't be of any use to the team if you're starving."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "We gotta work together! I think I can think of some plans for the three of us…"

"Any plan we make is being decided together," Sasuke said drily. "I don't trust your ability to make a plan while considering that not all of us have your freakish healing ability."

"My plans aren't that dangerous!" Naruto protested. Sasuke just stared. "Okay, fine, maybe they're a little dangerous. But I know not everyone heals like me!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Sure you do."

Sakura giggled. Naruto and Sasuke looked at her, and neither of them could hold back laughs either; Sasuke's was far more subdued than either Naruto or Sakura, but still there. Naruto wasn't even entirely sure why they were all laughing, but he couldn't stop himself. Maybe it was the stress. Maybe-

A giant plume of smoke appeared. Their laughter cut off immediately, all three of them jolting and staring at Kakashi's suddenly appearing form. "You guys…" he started ominously.

"Shit!" Naruto swore. He hadn't even sensed Kakashi!

They braced themselves for the conclusion that they'd be going back to the academy, or even get kicked out of the program altogether, and were all drawn up short when Kakashi gave a singular heh. "Pass!" he declared with an eye smile.

"What?" Naruto and Sakura screamed. Sasuke just stared with wide eyes.

"Pass?" Sakura asked. "But why?"

"You guys are the first," Kakashi said. "Every other team just did what I told them. But as shinobi, you have to learn to look underneath the underneath." Naruto scrunched his face up in confusion. "In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are called scum. But you know what? Those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."

Again, silence reigned. Naruto stared up at Kakashi in awe. He was so cool! Those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum. Naruto looked between Sasuke and Sakura, resolving to never abandon them, no matter what. His eyes then drifted to the stone heads of the Hokage, lingering on the first two, on the Shodai and Nidaime.

He hoped they had thought the same as Kakashi.

"That ends our first training." Naruto looked back at Kakashi, who was giving the three of them a thumbs up. "You all pass! Tomorrow, Team Seven will begin its duties!"

Naruto pumped his fist in the air and grinned at Sasuke. "We did it, bastard! We did it! We're shinobi!"

"Hn. Of course we did." Despite his words, Sasuke's smirk was closer to a smile for once. "We're the last Senju and Uchiha."

"Speaking of…" Naruto and Sasuke both looked at Kakashi questioningly. Naruto had half expected for him to just disappear after passing them. "Naruto, do you know how you're related to the Senju?" Kakashi asked. "Because, honestly, that's been bugging me."

"Oh!" Naruto beamed with pride. "The old man says I'm related to the Nidaime!" He lifted up his left arm, briefly channeling his chakra. With a poof of smoke, his new sword appeared in his hand. "He even gave me the Nidaime's sword!"

Kakashi's eyebrow raised. "Really? Interesting. I would've expected the Shodai, considering your kekkei genkai."

"That's what we originally assumed," Sasuke admitted. "But Naruto does look more like the Nidaime, save for his coloring."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "You know, you kinda look like you could be related to the Nidaime too, Bakashi-Sensei." He'd originally just called Kakashi that as an insult, but it rolled off the tongue so easily that he was keeping it. "Spiky silver hair. And you're really strong!"

Kakashi glanced in the direction of the Nidaime's stone head. "I never really thought about that before." He shrugged. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence, though."

"Yeah, probably," Naruto agreed. Part of him wished otherwise, but he knew the odds; having the same hair color as someone didn't make you related. Naruto had the same hair color as the Yondaime, after all, and that didn't make them related.

"Well, I should get going." Kakashi gave them all one more eye smile. "Have to report your success to the Hokage. Meet me at training ground three tomorrow, and don't be late!"

Before any of them could tell him the same thing, Kakashi disappeared again.

"He's so gonna be late again tomorrow," Naruto muttered.

"Hn."

Turning back to Sakura, Naruto noticed she was again staring at him with obvious surprise. "What?" he asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

"You're related to the Nidaime? And," she gestured at his sword awkwardly, still tied to the tree, "that's his sword?"

"Oh, uh, yeah." Naruto held up the sword with both hands, the blade still sheathed. "I only just found out, actually. Like Sasuke told Bakashi-Sensei, we thought I was related to the Shodai ever since we found out about my Mokuton."

"Wow." Sakura stared at him for long enough that he started to feel his cheeks heating up, then asked, "Do you, uh, think you could use your Mokuton to get me off of this tree?"

"Oh! Yeah!" Naruto put his sword away and formed the snake seal, practically second nature to him at this point. Without much effort, he manipulated the tree to grow spikes on the side that cut the rope and freed Sakura. "There! Sorry I didn't think to do that sooner."

Sakura stared at the now-spiky side of the tree in awe. "It's… fine. I still can't believe you actually have Mokuton. That's crazy. I'm surprised you didn't tell our entire class!"

Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"I told him not to," Sasuke explained. "It'd be dangerous if everyone found out before he could use it to protect himself, same for my Sharingan."

Sakura looked at him questioningly. "Why?"

"We have two of the most coveted kekkei genkai of all time," Sasuke said, hands in his pockets. "My clan is… gone, and anyone who wanted the Sharingan would target me to try and get it if they learned I have it. And Mokuton is even more rare; people from all over would try to kidnap or even kill Naruto if word got out."

Sakura went white as a sheet. "I promise I won't say anything to anyone!"

"You won't have to keep it a secret for long!" Naruto assured. "We wanna tell everyone at the Chunin Exams. Plus, Bakashi-Sensei is pretty strong so I'm sure he'd be able to protect us if anyone did find out. Right, bastard?"

"Hn." Sasuke looked off in the direction Kakashi disappeared. "He held us off effortlessly and it's obvious he wasn't even trying. The Hokage knows about our kekkei genkai too, so it makes sense he'd assign us to a powerful jounin."

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed, grinning brightly at Sakura. "So don't worry! And feel free to tell everyone in our class how awesome we are, just without mentioning trees or red eyes!"

She laughed, some of the color returning to her face. "Okay. No trees or red eyes."

"Do you guys wanna get some Ichiraku?" Naruto asked impulsively.

"Naruto, we just had Ichiraku," Sasuke said drily. "At least wait one more day."

Naruto groaned. "But I love ramen!"

"It really is a wonder you aren't constantly sick."

"I've never been sick in my life!" Naruto crossed his arms proudly. "My immune system is as amazing as my kekkei genkai!"

"One day, you're going to get sick and you're going to be the most insufferable person alive," Sasuke remarked. "More than you already are, at least."

"Whatever, bastard," Naruto grumbled. "What about you, Sakura? Do you want Ichiraku?"

Sakura had been watching them go back and forth, but shook her head when Naruto's attention was on her. "Sorry, I need to go home and tell my parents I passed."

"Oh, okay." Naruto… kind of forgot other kids had parents sometimes. With all the same he spent around Sasuke it was really easy to, depressing as that was. "Well, cya tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll see you both tomorrow," Sakura agreed. "Bye, Naruto, Sasuke."

"Bye, Sakura!"

"Bye."

Sakura turned and started walking away, making the long trek back towards the village. After she'd left the training ground, Naruto turned back to Sasuke with a grin. "Wanna have our first spar as real shinobi?"

Sasuke smirked. "Only if you're ready to lose."

"Ah, then I guess not,' Naruto said sadly. "Because I'm only ready to kick your ass."

"We're resetting the count, right?" Sasuke asked. "All of our previous spars were just as academy students."

And because the old count was unfairly lopsided since their first many spars were before Naruto had caught up to Sasuke, but Naruto wasn't gonna voice that if Sasuke wasn't. "Yep! So get ready to start behind, bastard!"

"I was going to say the same to you, idiot," Sasuke retorted, pulling his hands out of his pockets and forming the Seal of Confrontation.

Naruto mirrored him, a feral grin on his face. "Three, two, one…"

They both rushed forward at once.

Author's Note:

I've seen a few people ask about pairings, so: it most likely won't be a major focus, and if it is it'll only come into play after the eventual timeskip, but i'm most likely going to just stick to canon pairings. I'm someone who gets really attached to specific ships and doesn't really feel comfortable writing other ones, which tends to just be canon ones. I've also just found that the way I've planned out the plot lends more to the canon ships because of specific events, but even then i'm not sure it'll be a focus.

Also, I dropped a hint that Naruto'll learn fuinjutsu eventually in the last chapter, but it'll most likely be a while before it's to any significant degree (again, probably timeskip) because I don't plan on making any of them too powerful too soon, and fuinjutsu skills can be really advanced and powerful. with Naruto already having three elements (Suiton, Doton, Mokuton) to work on training with and needing to train with a sword, he already has a lot on his plate (plus, Jiraiya's really the only one who could give him significant training)

Sorry I haven't responded directly to any reviews, but FFN isn't the easiest platform for that. I do read them all though, and I am very thankful to everyone who's left them!

Later note: I AM SO SORRY. i've repeatedly forgotten to post for over a month and i honestly have no excuse, this chapter has been ready for a while. i've just forgotten every Friday and then don't remember until Sunday and by then i'm just like "okay may as well wait until Friday" and then i forget again. i even forgot again today, despite a friend reminding me when i woke up, which is why I'm technically posting this at nearly 1am on Sunday.

A bit of a warning though, the next one might take a while to come out too. This is the last chapter I had pre-ready as a draft on FFN, and I only have two finished drafts after this and I need to download both to my computer from Google Docs and then upload them to FNN. It's a bit of a pain, and I do most things from my phone so I'm always a bit lazy when it comes to things I have to do from my computer.