Chapter 15: Introductions and an Ominous Warning
Kakashi led his new three-genin team to the top of a quiet training building, the sprawling vista of Konoha spread out beneath them. The afternoon sun was warm, but a tense, anticipatory silence hung in the air between the four of them. They sat on the edge of the roof, the three genin on one side, their new sensei on the other.
"Alright then," Kakashi began, breaking the quiet. "Let's start with introductions."
The ever-eager Sakura raised her hand. "Sensei, what exactly should we say in our introductions?"
Kakashi hummed, his single visible eye crinkling slightly. "Well, you could talk about your likes, your dislikes, your hobbies, your dreams for the future... things like that."
"Could you demonstrate first, sensei?" Sakura asked, hoping for a more substantial example.
Kakashi glanced at her, then delivered his signature, infuriatingly vague introduction. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and dislike... I don't feel like sharing. As for my hobbies... I have several."
Sakura visibly deflated, her shoulders slumping. 'That's it? He just told us his name!' she thought, exasperated.
"Now, why don't you start?" Kakashi said, his gaze drifting to Naruto.
Naruto returned the look with a flat, unimpressed stare. 'We've spent months together on D-ranks. You know everything you need to know. This is just a formality.' And it was true. Over their time together, Kakashi had compiled a detailed, if unspoken, profile: 'Uzumaki Naruto. Possesses chūnin-level physical prowess and exceptional skill with the Shadow Clone Technique. Personality is detached and lazy, but not malicious or unstable. No confirmed contact with any subversive elements, barring the Hyūga heiress's affections, which do not appear to be a calculated ploy.'
Taking his cue from his sensei, Naruto mirrored the introduction almost verbatim. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Things I like and dislike... I don't feel like sharing. As for my hobbies... I have several."
Kakashi's eye twitched. Sakura stared in disbelief. Even Sasuke, who had been doing his best to look utterly bored, let out an almost inaudible sigh.
Seeing Naruto get away with such a bare-bones introduction, Sakura briefly considered doing the same, but one look at Kakashi's suddenly chilly aura made her reconsider. She launched into her own, much more detailed introduction, filled with not-so-subtle glances at Sasuke. Sasuke followed with a terse, brooding speech centered entirely on his clan and his ambition.
When the painfully familiar cycle of introductions was finally complete, Kakashi moved on.
"Alright. Now I will give you your first assignment. Or rather, your final test."
Three pairs of eyes locked onto him, the air growing thick with anticipation.
"This test is a survival exercise," Kakashi stated, his voice losing its lazy edge and becoming serious. "If you fail to win my approval, you will be sent back to the Academy. You will not become genin."
He let the weight of that statement sink in before delivering the final blow. "By the way, the graduation exams you just passed only determine who is eligible to become a genin. This test is the real gatekeeper. Each year, roughly seventy percent of graduates fail this test and are sent back for remedial training."
The color drained from Sakura's face. 'Sent back? After finally graduating? The humiliation! Ino would never let me hear the end of it!'
Sasuke's posture straightened, his focus sharpening to a razor's edge. Failure was not an option. It would mean a delay in acquiring the power he needed for his vengeance.
Naruto, however, remained utterly impassive. He knew the secret to passing—teamwork. It was a foregone conclusion in his mind, and he saw no reason to waste energy on worry.
"Meet me at Training Ground 7 at five o'clock tomorrow morning," Kakashi instructed. "And remember... don't eat breakfast." His eye curved into a sinister crescent. "You'll just throw it up."
With that ominous warning hanging in the air, he vanished in a blur of movement, leaving the three genin alone.
Naruto simply yawned, stretched, and then—without a single hand seal or puff of smoke—he was just gone. There one second, absent the next.
Sasuke's eyes widened. He instantly scanned their surroundings, his senses on high alert. 'What?! How did he do that? There was no Body Flicker technique! He just... disappeared!' It was a level of silent, seamless movement he hadn't thought Naruto capable of.
"Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, noticing his sudden tension.
"Did you see how Naruto left?" Sasuke demanded, his voice tight.
Sakura blinked, only now realizing Naruto was gone. "Huh? When did he leave?"
Her mind, however, was already racing down a different path. 'Naruto's gone! It's just me and Sasuke-kun alone! This is my chance!'
She was so busy constructing a romantic fantasy of the two of them watching the sunset that she completely missed the look of sheer disdain on Sasuke's face.
'This idiot...' Sasuke thought, his jaw clenching in frustration. 'And Naruto... what is he hiding?' The mystery of his teammate was now far more pressing than the fawning girl beside him.
"Sasuke-kun, I was thinking—" Sakura began, but she was cut off as Sasuke, with a sharp shunshin, vanished in a puff of air, leaving her utterly alone on the vast, windy rooftop.
"..."
(End of Chapter)