The next morning.
Inside the ninja academy.
A half-asleep Sakura was slumped against Ino's shoulder while the curious girl poked her cheek with a finger.
"Mom, stop it… let me sleep just a little longer…"
"Who's your mom?!"
Ino couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous she looked, but she still kindly shifted so Sakura could rest her head on her lap.
The classroom door slammed open, and an orange blur burst in front of everyone.
"Naruto? Didn't you fail the—"
Kiba's jaw dropped, eyes wide.
"Heh heh!"
Naruto rubbed his nose proudly and flicked his thumb up to tap the forehead protector on his head.
"Hmph. Dead last."
Sasuke, surrounded by a swarm of fangirls, let out a cold snort.
But even that tiny sound carried all the way to Naruto, who leaped over and squatted right on Sasuke's desk.
"You wanna fight?!"
Naruto narrowed his eyes, locking his bright blue gaze onto Sasuke's.
"Tch, yo—"
Before Sasuke could finish, a kid horsing around behind Naruto stood up and accidentally bumped into his back.
So, the blond and the raven-haired boy ended up mouth-to-mouth, kissing in front of all the girls who were fawning over Sasuke—eyes wide in total disbelief.
Cold sweat dripped down both their foreheads. Time seemed to freeze~~~~
Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other in horror, then turned away in perfect sync and started gagging.
"Naruto, you idiot—I'm gonna kill you!"
Sasuke frantically wiped the spit off his lips, glaring daggers.
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He didn't even want to imagine the thunderstruck look his mom would have when word got back to the clan.
"Me?! Blegh—my mouth's gonna rot off!"
Naruto grimaced, hands clutching his throat.
But before he could say more, Sasuke's fan club had already surrounded him and started pounding away with fists and feet.
"Huh? What's going on?"
The commotion made Sakura mumble, her eyes still half-closed. She had no clue what she'd just missed.
"Nothing, go back to sleep," Ino said gently, smoothing down Sakura's messy hair and lightly covering her ears with her slender fingers.
The whole scene in the classroom was being watched from the Hokage's tower by the Third Hokage and a group of jonin instructors.
"That Naruto kid—he's always right in the middle of chaos, no matter what!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, then flicked the crystal ball. The view switched to Sakura.
The girl resting on Ino's lap suddenly snapped her eyes open and looked straight up—right into their line of sight.
In that instant, their gazes met.
Hiruzen: "…"
The jonin: "…"
"This jutsu isn't two-way, is it?"
A white-haired guy whose face was completely covered scratched his head.
"This girl's strength… it's probably no joke," a red-eyed kunoichi said with a smirk, glancing at the masked jonin.
"Old man, if she's that good, why keep her in a genin squad? And—"
The guy with the cigarette in his mouth started to speak, but Hiruzen raised a hand to cut him off.
"The joint chunin exams with the four nations are coming up soon, and you all know about the Scroll of Seals incident."
Hiruzen took a deep drag of his harsh tobacco, sharp eyes glinting through the smoke.
"Someone's eyeing the village. We need to show them that Konoha is still Konoha! Got it?!"
His voice boomed, snapping all the jonin to attention.
"The team assignments are in your hands. Get ready. Kakashi, stay back a second."
"Yes, sir!"
The jonin nodded in unison and vanished with Body Flicker.
Hiruzen led Kakashi out of the office, heading straight for Naruto's place.
…
Back in the academy classroom.
After Iruka announced the team assignments, the other students were picked up one by one by their jonin instructors.
Only the three members of Team 7 remained, still waiting for theirs.
"Jeez, where is he? Even Iruka-sensei's gone home already!"
Naruto shoved his head into the doorway, scanning the hallway.
When no one showed up, he dragged over a chair, balanced the chalkboard eraser on the sliding door, and rigged a simple trap.
"Haruno Sakura!"
Sasuke, still trying to act cool, turned toward the girl he hadn't seen in years.
Compared to four years ago, she looked more mature—somehow… more captivating?
"Thanks for what you did for my family. Also, my mom wanted me to tell you—if you get the chance, she'd love to have you over for our home cooking again!"
His face flushed red the second he finished, and he immediately turned away, too embarrassed to look at her.
But… then he heard steady breathing. He leaned in—and realized this girl had been asleep the whole time!
"Haruno Sakura, you—"
Sasuke's face went beet red.
Naruto came back from setting the trap just in time to see a fuming Sasuke about to yell at Sakura.
"Hey, stay away from Sakura!"
Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs and charged over, grabbing and tugging at Sasuke.
Their scuffling woke Sakura up from her sweet nap.
Sure, with her giant-level stamina she could go ten days without sleep, but sleep is crucial when you're still growing! Did these two little punks even get that?!
What if it stunted her development and she ended up regretting it for life?!
Didn't they know that size matters to girls just as much as length matters to guys?!
"You two—are—so—loud!"
Emerald eyes flashed with an invisible pressure. In that split second—
It was like thunder turned into pitch-black lightning, streaking wildly across the void.
Naruto and Sasuke both felt a suffocating weight crush down on them. The same sensation hit Kakashi the instant he pushed open the door.
Distracted by the overwhelming presence, Kakashi took the eraser full to the face, his silver hair now dusted with chalk.
"Well… quite the welcome. Follow me to the roof."
Kakashi raised a finger and pointed toward the rooftop.
They climbed the stairs and followed him up. Kakashi hopped onto a comfy spot on the railing.
"First things first—let's do introductions."
He spread his hands, looking at the three of them.
"How?" Naruto tilted his head.
"Hmm, name, hobbies, favorite food, dreams—anything about yourself."
He pointed at himself.
"For example, me—"
Sakura cut in before he could brush it off.
"Name: Hatake Kakashi. Age: 27. Former student of the late Fourth Hokage. Graduated the academy at 5, chunin at 6, jonin at 12. 42 S-rank missions. Knows over a thousand jutsu. Nicknamed 'Konoha's Technician' and 'Copy Ninja.' All five chakra natures. Hobby: reading Jiraiya-sensei's Icha Icha series…"
Holy crap—my file?!
Kakashi's face twitched under the mask. He Body Flickered right in front of her to stop her.
"You little— you peeked at my ANBU records, didn't you?!"
His voice was exhausted. He stared helplessly at the girl.
"ANBU?! Sakura, you're amazing!"
Naruto pumped his fist, itching to challenge her.
"Tch. I'm that far behind?"
Sasuke crossed his arms under his nose and clicked his tongue.
Kakashi took in their reactions and mentally noted: Huh. Looks like a team with a lot of drive.
"Alright, since you spilled all my info, your turn!"
He shot Sakura a threatening glare. Come on—mutual destruction!
Sakura wasn't fazed. She stood up and cleared her throat.
"Haruno Sakura, twelve years old… probably."
"Favorite food: grilled sea beast. Good at earth style, water style, sealing jutsu, and medical ninjutsu."
"As for dreams… I want to fight every strong person in the world, see the view from the very top someday, and then throw huge parties with friends all over the globe!"
She threw both hands in the air, emerald eyes sparkling with excitement.
Pure, blazing desire turned her into the center of the universe in that moment.
Naruto, Sasuke, even Kakashi—none of them could look away from the radiant girl.
After a long pause, Kakashi finally snapped out of it and coughed to wake the boys up.
"Ahem. You two?"
"Me, me!" Naruto shot his hand up. "Uzumaki Naruto! I love ramen, and…"
His eyes flicked to the girl beside him, but she just looked back calmly. A flash of disappointment crossed his face.
"I hate waiting three minutes for instant noodles. My dream is to surpass the Hokage and have the whole village acknowledge me!"
Sasuke snorted at that, then started his own intro.
"Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things. Don't really like much."
"If we're talking dreams, it's more like ambition. I'll personally wipe away the Uchiha clan's shame and lead us back to glory!"
Kakashi, perched on the railing, let out a long sigh.
Three students. Three headaches. Each a pain in their own way. Lucky me.
"Well, you're all… colorful."
"Starting tomorrow, we'll begin missions."
He pulled slips of paper from his jonin vest and handed them out.
"Tomorrow at 5 a.m.—a four-person mission: survival exercise!"
"Oh, and don't eat breakfast. You'll just throw it up~"