The next day, Konoha Training Grounds.
Naruto and Sasuke, who had arrived early, looked at the dark sky in silence.
"Ah, why haven't Sakura and Kakashi-sensei come yet? And I have to stay with this stuck-up Sasuke."
Naruto slumped forward in despair, his head resting on the backpack he had brought.
"Hmph, do you think I want to be stuck with a loser like you?"
Sasuke found a shady spot under a tree, sat down, and placed his backpack beside him.
The morning sun grew increasingly scorching, and the two of them, baked by the heat, sat on the ground dejectedly.
"Oh, found you. You two came really early."
Sakura greeted them, looking clean and tidy without any luggage.
"Sakura!"
Upon seeing Sakura, Naruto immediately perked up, his eyes shining.
"You're too late! Not only are you late, but you didn't even bring the tools for the survival exercise!"
Sasuke, sitting with his knees hugged to his chest and his chin resting on them, said coldly.
He had actually wanted to say something caring, but being the tsundere he was, it came out as stiff criticism.
"No~ no~ no~"
Sakura wagged her finger in front of him, walked to a spot between the two, and sat down cross-legged.
"Information is necessary, you know. You didn't bother to collect it yourselves, so you can't blame me."
Sakura's words made Naruto and Sasuke pause, and they both focused their gaze on her.
"Today's survival exercise is different from what they taught in the Academy."
"And that guy Kakashi is the king of being late."
Feeling Sakura's teasing gaze, Naruto and Sasuke felt an itch on their noses, as if small red balls were about to grow there.
Rustle!
There was movement in the trees above the three. Sasuke and Naruto dodged to the left and right respectively.
Just then, Kakashi's head popped down from the dense foliage of a branch, his tone frivolous.
"I can't just let that slide. I was just..."
"A black cat blocked your path? Or perhaps you lost your way on the path of life?"
Sakura's words left Kakashi speechless.
'What's going on? How is she saying all my lines?'
Kakashi coughed and pulled an alarm clock from his pocket, placing it on a nearby stump.
"Anyway, the exercise will run from now until noon."
"As for the subject..."
Kakashi met Sakura's emerald-green eyes, which seemed to see right through him, and felt a spark of rebellion.
"The subject is, the two of you have to snatch these two bells from Sakura, whose strength is not inferior to a Jonin's!"
"You must be prepared to kill her! The person who doesn't get a bell in the end will be sent back to the Ninja Academy!"
Kakashi pulled two bells from his pocket and tossed them to Sakura.
"Hah? Kakashi, you damn..."
Sakura opened her mouth with some beautiful words, but Kakashi stepped forward and covered her mouth.
"So, you two prepare first. Sakura and I will be right back!"
Kakashi smiled at Naruto and Sasuke.
Using the Body Flicker Technique, he took Sakura and quickly left, arriving at a hidden thicket.
"Kakashi, let me tell you, I absolutely won't-"
"Please! In exchange, you won't have to lift a finger for D-Rank Genin Missions!"
Kakashi clasped his hands together, earnestly pleading with the girl before him.
Anyway, he couldn't go easy on Sakura, so the teamwork test wouldn't work.
So he might as well hand the initiative to Sakura and determine their qualities through their interactions during the fight.
Sakura's eyes darted around, a sly glint appearing.
"You see, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and Sasuke are my sworn brothers, my beloved kin and dear friends!"
Upon hearing this, Kakashi rolled his eyes.
'Beloved kin and dear friends aside, but 'sworn brothers'? Do you even have those to call them that?'
"So?"
"You have to pay more!"
"Emm, fine!"
…
A moment later.
Having successfully haggled with Kakashi for the reward of an A-Rank Mission, a satisfied Sakura stood before Naruto and Sasuke.
"Anyway, your opponent is me now. Come at me!"
Sakura planted herself firmly in front of the two boys, raising a hand and crooking her finger at them.
"Ah, but Sakura..."
Naruto scratched his head frantically.
He already didn't know how to attack Sakura, let alone the fact that whoever didn't get a bell would be sent back to the Academy.
"Hmph!"
Sasuke snorted coldly, pushed past Naruto, and charged out.
It had been four years since his last match with Sakura. Now he wanted to see just how big the gap between them was!
The boy bent at the waist, and four or five kunai and shuriken were flung from behind him.
"Have you forgotten? Projectile techniques are useless against me."
Sakura casually reached out, just like back in the Academy, grabbing for the shuriken Sasuke had thrown.
However... bang!
The shuriken suddenly burst into a large cloud of smoke. Sasuke's figure emerged from within, his right leg lashing out fiercely towards Sakura.
"Haruno Sakura, I am not the same as I was four years ago!"
The whip-like kick whistled through the air, pouring all of Sasuke's strength into it, holding back no mercy whatsoever.
"Ara, you've grown."
Facing Sasuke's attack, Sakura unhurriedly raised her hand, blocking the kick from his right leg.
But as one blow ended, a second followed immediately.
Sasuke's extremely flexible body twisted, his other leg swinging out using the force from his waist.
Bang!
"Too weak! That won't do~"
Sakura steadily caught Sasuke's second leg.
Unexpectedly, using Sakura's hands as a pivot, Sasuke did a backbend and reached for the bells at her waist.
"Hee-yah!"
Sakura's hands loosened, her body bending in an impossible way. Sasuke's hand grabbed empty air, and without his pivot point, he crashed to the ground.
With light steps, Sakura once again put distance between herself and Sasuke.
"Damn it..."
Sasuke patted the dust off his face and stood up, glaring resentfully at Sakura before him.
Just one exchange of Taijutsu, and Sasuke knew he was still no match for the girl in front of him. If that was the case, when would he ever be able to wipe away the Uchiha Clan's shame?
Agitated, a bloodshot hue stained his pupils. Two tomoes spun into existence within Sasuke's eyes.
"Well, I'll be..."
Kakashi put away his copy of Icha-Icha Paradise, looking seriously towards the center of the field.
"Sakura, don't blame me if you get killed!"
Sasuke formed hand seals. Chakra was drawn from his abdomen, traveling through the meridians in his chest to connect with his mouth and tongue.
"Fire Release..."
"Stop it!"
Naruto rushed forward and tackled Sasuke, interrupting the Ninjutsu halfway through.
The Great Fireball that was about to be spewed out was forcibly swallowed back by Sasuke, two columns of fire shooting out from his nostrils.
The flames also licked at Naruto's clothes, setting him on fire and making him roll on the ground.
"Bastard, what are you trying to do?!"
Two streams of blood trickled from Sasuke's nose as he stood up furiously, grabbing Naruto by the collar and lifting him up.
"That's Sakura! Our comrade! Are you trying to kill her?"
Smoking slightly, Naruto struggled in mid-air, unwillingly questioning Sasuke.
"Idiot, this is a mission."
"Becoming a Ninja and getting stronger is the first step to achieving my ambition!"
"And you, if you keep playing Ninja Games with that half-hearted attitude, you'll die under an enemy's blade sooner or later!"
After speaking, Sasuke's Sharingan remained fixed firmly on Sakura. He tossed Naruto aside, sending him crashing into a tree and sliding down.
'Absolutely, absolutely must defeat her!!!'
'If I couldn't even defeat that man's junior, how could I advance to greater heights? How could I wash away the shame of the Uchiha Clan?'
"Should I give you a bit more time to discuss?"
Sakura placed her hands behind her back, tilting her head, appearing completely relaxed and at ease.
"No need!"
Sasuke picked up a kunai and charged once more.