Afternoon, classroom.
The three sat idly in the classroom, waiting for their jōnin instructor. Naruto, fully aware of Kakashi's habit of being late, had already sprawled across his desk, asleep.
Sasuke sat by the window, long fingers interlaced on the desk, his gaze wandering over the dense treetops outside.
Sakura kept her head lowered, staring at the tabletop, looking somewhat downcast.
Even though her teammates had comforted her earlier, once things turned quiet again she couldn't help but feel a wave of confusion.
No one knew how much time had passed before the classroom door finally pushed open.
Team Seven's instructor arrived late as expected. The instant he stepped into the room, his lazy voice sounded.
"Yo, sorry, sorry, I accidentally came late."
"I'm your jōnin instructor, Hatake Kakashi."
The man who introduced himself as Kakashi looked young, perhaps in his early twenties. His head was covered in spiky silver hair, he wore a black mask over his face, and his forehead protector slanted to cover one eye.
Dressed in a black combat outfit and a green flak jacket, he spoke with his visible eye curving into a crescent.
Naruto had already woken up at the sound.
All three looked at Kakashi, their gazes carrying complex emotions.
"Sensei, you're way too slow," Naruto complained first.
"Well, on the way I had to help an old granny cross the road, so…" Kakashi scratched his head, giving an absurd excuse.
"Liar!" Sakura retorted.
Kakashi, a little embarrassed, forced a laugh and shifted the subject.
"Anyway, follow me. We'll talk somewhere else."
With that, the three rose together and followed him out of the classroom. Along the way, the three kept a silent, unspoken agreement.
Kakashi had already gotten their files from the Third Hokage: one was the survivor of the Uchiha massacre, the other the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Uzumaki Naruto, huh?
The days ahead wouldn't be easy.
Leading them forward, Kakashi felt a headache.
The decisions made by this village's higher-ups were truly hard to understand. After doing what they had done, they still wanted to raise these two as shinobi.
He sighed inwardly, then drew a deep breath to collect himself.
The next morning, before dawn.
Sakura, wearing her usual clothes, stepped out of an alley and paused briefly under the lights, seeming to orient herself.
"Here!" Naruto waved at her.
She waved back with a smile as she walked over—only to see he was waiting outside a small restaurant. Last time their intel-sharing had been at a barbecue place; now again, it was food.
"Didn't Kakashi-sensei say not to eat breakfast?"
"He said it's best not to, since you might vomit," Naruto said casually. "But eat anyway, it's fine. Better to throw up than go hungry."
Sakura froze, about to refuse, but when she saw both Naruto and Sasuke ordering, she unconsciously nodded and sat down as well.
After eating breakfast, the three went to the meeting place to wait.
They waited for hours. When the sun was high and blazing overhead, Kakashi finally arrived.
"Uh… there was a little girl lost on the road," Kakashi said with a shameless grin, acting as if he weren't late at all.
"Seriously, Kakashi-sensei, that's awful!"
"Yeah, what a half-baked excuse."
"Tch."
The three, having already eaten, gave their ritual complaints. Kakashi was surprised—they didn't look hungry.
Since his trick hadn't worked, Kakashi let it go. He pulled two small bells from his pouch and shook them.
"Alright, here are the test rules."
"I only have two bells. Whoever grabs one before noon qualifies to be a ninja. Which means… one of you will be eliminated."
"Eliminated?" Sakura immediately tensed. "Kakashi-sensei, what happens to the one who's eliminated?"
"Heh." Kakashi's eye curved into a crescent. "They'll fail the test, won't qualify as ninja, and will be tied to a log until sunset."
"If none of you get a bell, then all of you go back to the Academy."
"During this time, you can use any method. Don't worry about hurting me—with your level, that's nothing but a dream."
He paused, then hooked the bells back onto his waist.
"Now, is that clear?"
The three didn't answer. Sakura's face turned pale.
A real combat test? Her strength lay in theory and analysis, not fighting. Forget stealing a bell—just approaching a jōnin was impossible.
If someone had to be eliminated, then without a doubt…
Naruto stood to the side, expressionless. After yesterday's barbecue, he hadn't shared more intel. Some things were better left unsaid, and there was no need to spoil too much.
The true point of the bell test was to measure teamwork. But after last night's conversation, their bond had already grown closer.
Still, when forced to choose, he wasn't sure what would happen.
That was why he stayed quiet. He wanted to help them avoid detours, not walk the road for them.
And he also wanted to see how they would react when faced with choice.
Suddenly, the familiar mechanical voice rang in his mind again.
[Option One: Go all out to snatch the bells, then give them to Sakura and Sasuke. Reward: Lava Release ninjutsu.]
[Option Two: Do nothing. Lie flat in front of Kakashi and willingly be tied to the log. Reward: Wood Release ninjutsu.]
Seeing the panel pop up, Naruto almost spat blood.
Wood Release and Lava Release?
Damn!
Both gold-tier rewards at once?
How was he supposed to choose? The Four-Tails' Lava Release was insanely strong. If he got it, if he really got it…
But then there was Wood Release.
Rare, yes, but to wield it like the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, was unlikely.
The system hadn't specified the mastery level either—it was probably only an entry-level chakra nature.
If he chose Lava Release, he could put on a show of teamwork in front of Sakura and Sasuke. But stealing bells wasn't easy, and failure was likely.
If he chose to lie flat, that would leave Sasuke alone against Kakashi. The chance of them getting the bells was nearly zero.
While he hesitated, Kakashi announced the start of the test.
Almost the moment the words left his lips—swish, swish—Sasuke and Sakura vanished from sight, leaving only..
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