Seeing Sakura looking so sad, Naruto's eyes flashed with a bit of disgust.
"You can hit me and yell at me, but the moment I hit back or talk back, now you're the victim?"
He might not have this body's twelve years of memories, but just from the way Sakura acted, he could already guess how she used to treat the old Naruto.
Not to mention, since he had taken over this body, there was no doubt in his mind that Sakura had probably treated the original him terribly.
Hearing Naruto's words, a confused look appeared on Sakura's face.
Was I… really that bad?
But should Naruto really hate me for that?
Should he really talk to me like that?
She wanted to argue back, but Naruto clearly had no intention of continuing the conversation. While she was still stuck in her thoughts, he had already walked away.
.....
The next morning at 4:30 a.m., Naruto rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up from bed.
He knew Kakashi would be late, but still didn't plan on arriving late himself.
What if Kakashi just wanted to mess with them and had already shown up early?
Naruto didn't want to fail the test just because of something like that.
He was even willing to put up with it just to earn a little money.
Besides, he had gone to bed early the night before, so he didn't feel too tired.
He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and looked at a cup of instant noodles in the corner.
After hesitating, he decided not to eat it.
He had eaten at Konohamaru's place last night anyway—missing a cup of noodles wouldn't kill him.
"Yata no Kagami!"
It was still early, and the village was mostly dark.
The sun hadn't risen yet, and no one was awake.
But Naruto didn't need sunlight to teleport long distances—he just needed something reflective.
Glass windows, morning dew, even shiny roof tiles would work!
As a flash of golden light bounced off something in his room, Naruto vanished.
And right after he disappeared, Kakashi quietly stepped out from behind Naruto's house.
"Golden Flash?"
"Don't tell me Naruto inherited the Fourth Hokage's jutsu?"
"At that speed, he's going to be a real handful!"
Kakashi scratched his head, already feeling a headache coming on thinking about the training test a few hours later.
If Naruto used that kind of power, even protecting the bells might be tough.
And being taken down in one second by a Genin? That'd be pretty embarrassing for a Jonin.
Naruto had no idea that Kakashi had shown up outside his house early that morning to secretly watch him in preparation for the test.
He also didn't know Kakashi was already coming up with counter-strategies based on what he saw.
Not long after,
Naruto arrived at the training field.
Sasuke and Sakura showed up around the same time.
"Morning, everyone~"
Sakura walked in, eyes half-closed like she was sleepwalking.
Sasuke and Naruto, on the other hand, looked wide awake and ready.
The two of them exchanged a glance but didn't respond to her at all.
Being ignored like that snapped Sakura out of her sleepy state.
She glanced at Sasuke, then at Naruto, wanting to say something but holding it back. In the end, she just stayed quiet, clearly annoyed.
Talk to Sasuke? He'd ignore her.
Talk to Naruto? He'd talk back.
Might as well say nothing at all!
Time ticked by slowly,
And the sky gradually turned a soft blue.
The sun was already high in the sky when Kakashi finally strolled in.
"Yo, morning, everyone!"
Kakashi smiled with his eyes half-closed as he looked at the three of them.
"You're way too late, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted, pointing at him angrily.
"Sorry, sorry. A black cat crossed my path just now and blocked the way…"
"Who would believe such a dumb excuse?!"
Sakura felt like Kakashi was treating them like idiots, but Kakashi was good at playing dumb.
When he saw they didn't believe him, he didn't bother explaining and simply pulled out an alarm clock to move things along.
He placed the clock on a wooden post nearby and pressed a button.
"Your mission today is to take these two bells from me before noon."
"Oh, and whoever doesn't get a bell doesn't get lunch!"
"Not only that, you'll be tied to one of these posts while you watch me eat~"
"No way!"
Sakura's face fell and she let out a cry like her heart was breaking.
Sasuke looked annoyed and frustrated.
So that's why they told us not to eat breakfast?
That's just cruel!
Kakashi smiled, clearly pleased with Sasuke and Sakura's reactions.
But when he looked at Naruto, he was a bit surprised.
Other than that pink-haired fangirl, was there really nothing else that could stir this kid's emotions?
"Kakashi-sensei, why are there only two bells?" Sakura asked, holding up two fingers.
"Because at least one of you has to be tied to the post," Kakashi replied with a smile. "And that person will fail the mission."
"At least one of you—and maybe even all of you—could be sent back to the Academy."
Naruto didn't really believe the whole "fail and lose your ninja status" thing.
After all, the Third Hokage had already added them to the official ninja records. If they were really going to lose their ninja status, what was the point of recording them in the first place?
And why not wait until after this test to do it?
And if Konoha only produces nine new ninjas each year, can that really make up for the number of ninja who die on missions every year?
So where did Konoha's more than ten thousand ninjas even come from?
Taking all that into account, Naruto felt that Kakashi was probably just bluffing.
That didn't mean everything Kakashi said was a lie though.
Maybe if they failed the test, they really would have to go back to the Ninja Academy and repeat the year—but they could still become ninja the next year.
They'd just lose the chance to be personally led by a Jonin.
After all, there were only so many Jonin in the village, and not every ninja had the right to follow one around for a year or more to learn.
"You can use shuriken and kunai. Just remember—if you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you won't get the bells." Kakashi said with a smile as he looked at the nervous Sakura and Sasuke.
"But isn't that kind of... dangerous?" Sakura asked, sounding a little naive.
"There's no such thing as a safe ninja. If you're not ready to kill or be killed, you'd better go back to the academy right now."
Kakashi didn't hold back. "In a real mission, enemy ninjas aren't going to wait around for you to be ready. So you'd better get serious now."
Sakura's cheerful face instantly froze, and she felt a bit upset inside.
Why has everything gone wrong since she graduated?
The cool and popular Sasuke was ignoring her—
Naruto the simp wasn't simping for her anymore.
Even their Jonin instructor didn't seem to like her much.
Kakashi didn't give Sakura any time to process her emotions. After explaining all the rules, he quickly announced the start of the test!
Sasuke immediately found a place to hide.
Sakura, though a bit shaken, still reacted just a second later and hid herself too.
Only Naruto... didn't move at all!
Seeing Naruto just stand there, Sakura and Sasuke both thought he didn't even know the basics of being a ninja and quietly cursed him for being dumb.
Sakura even felt a little smug inside.
If Naruto got eliminated, then she and Sasuke could each get a bell.
But they didn't notice the serious look in Kakashi's eyes!