Kakashi Hatake had a bit of a headache.
Before he had accepted the Third Hokage's proposal to become the jonin leader of Team 7, he had already gotten a sense of the kids' personalities. Especially Naruto Uzumaki, who was both the most important and the most troublesome of the group.
According to his plan, he wouldn't use any high-level ninjutsu during tomorrow's survival exercise. Instead, he would rely on his combat experience to teach Naruto a lesson and make him understand the massive gap between a genin and an experienced ninja. If he didn't, and Naruto one day rushed headfirst into a fight with an enemy like Orochimaru, Kakashi wasn't sure how he could ever face his teacher's spirit...
After all, this kid was the only legacy left from Team Minato. Besides, hadn't Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned him to be Naruto's jonin leader specifically so he could better protect the boy?
But the plan had already gone off track.
Kakashi originally thought that Naruto, having not inherited his father's genius-level intellect, would be a relatively easy kid to fool. Now, that view seemed incredibly biased. This kid was a natural-born ninja.
"Naruto, the Great Fireball Technique that Sasuke just used disappeared..." Kakashi scratched his head and asked, "Was that a sealing jutsu you developed yourself?"
That moment had been shocking. There were plenty of jutsu in the ninja world capable of sealing Fire Style techniques, and Kakashi knew some of them. But most required hand signs, incantations, or scrolls, and the process was always clumsy.
Just now, Naruto had simply extended his palm and completely neutralized Sasuke's Great Fireball. It was almost too convenient. Regardless of whether the jutsu could be taught to others, Kakashi needed to understand it today. He had to avoid any messy surprises tomorrow. This wasn't a matter of his confidence; it was a matter of preparation. Ninjas always prioritized practicality, often using any means necessary to win.
If you don't gather intelligence beforehand, do you think you can defeat an enemy just by being strong? No, the only thing that will happen is your teammates begging you not to die.
"I guess so!" Naruto nodded. The technique, called Sealing Art: Devouring, felt like it was embedded in his mind, yet it felt strangely unfamiliar when he used it. The yellow-haired boy didn't notice his teacher's ulterior motives and continued to explain, "Besides absorbing chakra, it doesn't really have any special use... and I have plenty of chakra!"
"Idiot," Sasuke Uchiha couldn't help but mutter, reminding him, "The more chakra a ninja has, the longer they can last in a fight and the more ninjutsu they can use..."
Even as an Uchiha, Sasuke often felt his own chakra reserves were too low, which was why he trained so diligently in taijutsu and shurikenjutsu.
"Ahem..." Kakashi coughed awkwardly, interrupting Sasuke. "Alright, let's change the topic! That jutsu can also absorb the chakra from ninjutsu. That effect should be more important, right? For now, can it only absorb Fire Style?"
"I'm not sure..." Naruto casually formed a Rasengan in his hand, infused it with wind-nature chakra, and transformed it into a dangerous Rasenshuriken.
Kakashi's visible eye twitched as he watched.
Naruto's palm suddenly flipped over, and the Rasenshuriken vanished instantly. "It seems," Naruto said in a low voice, "that it can also absorb the chakra of Wind Style ninjutsu."
"Is that so..." Kakashi frowned. If it could absorb Wind and Fire Style, it could likely absorb Water and Earth Style as well, which would be problematic. Moreover, judging from the power of the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken he just saw, the upper limit of what this sealing jutsu could absorb was high. It could potentially neutralize B-rank or even A-rank ninjutsu.
The Copy Ninja's gaze shifted to Naruto's face. The boy's mother was from the Uzumaki clan, a clan renowned for its massive chakra reserves and mastery of sealing jutsu. Had he inherited his mother's talent...?
Just as Kakashi was about to ask more, a small hand blocked the space between him and Naruto. Sasuke Uchiha pouted, "Teacher Kakashi, we agreed on a survival exercise for tomorrow. Are you already trying to gather intel on your own team?"
"..."
His plan had been exposed by the little brat.
But Kakashi was no ordinary person. A smile appeared on his face. "To already have the instinct to protect your teammates... I'm impressed."
"Hmph, it can't be helped," Sasuke glanced at Naruto and snorted. "The village had to put me in the same squad as him!"
"Wait... Sasuke, Teacher Kakashi was gathering intel on me? Why didn't you tell me earlier!" Naruto slapped his forehead and complained casually, "It's not a big deal, but it makes tomorrow's exercise a bit more difficult..."
"Because I was also curious about how you got rid of my Great Fireball," Sasuke's face turned a little red as he argued defensively. "And if we're teammates, we should understand each other's jutsu, right?"
"That sounds reasonable..." Naruto touched his ninja headband and nodded seriously.
For a moment, the atmosphere on the rooftop became almost harmonious. The two boys seemed to have forgotten their earlier fight and actually started chatting.
Kakashi reached up and adjusted his crooked headband, hiding the smile on his face. He was starting to feel satisfied with this team. Mutual recognition was the foundation of cooperation. It just meant he'd have to spend some time tonight formulating a new strategy for tomorrow's exercise.
Thinking of this, Kakashi looked up at the girl in the distance who was still gazing at Sasuke. As expected, girls her age were more interested in things like romance. A hint of pity appeared in the white-haired jonin's eyes.
Unfortunately, after his own brief investigation, he believed that neither Sasuke nor Naruto seemed like the type of boys who would get sidetracked by love. When Sakura Haruno finally realized the gap between herself and her two teammates, she would have to put in double the effort just to keep up with them.
Sasuke Uchiha lacked neither talent nor diligence, and he had the hatred from his clan's massacre to fuel his endless drive for progress, not to mention the Sharingan. As for Naruto, based on the few jutsu he already knew and the massive chakra of the Uzumaki clan, he was already at a level that would be difficult for Sakura to ever hope to match.
The ninja world was always cruel. What seemed like a single step behind could mean never walking side-by-side with someone for the rest of your life.
The simple little girl had no idea what her teacher was thinking. She came up to greet him cheerfully, "Eh? Teacher Kakashi, are you leaving already?"
"Yeah, I have to prepare for tomorrow's survival exercise." Kakashi adjusted his white hair as it fluttered in the wind and said with a light laugh, "You little brats had better not get a failing grade from me!"
Sakura complained, "Then if you went a little easier on us, wouldn't we be able to graduate?"
"You can't think like that." The white-haired jonin wagged a finger, his expression suddenly serious. "Every battle a ninja faces is one where we must be willing to bet our lives!"
Naruto's enthusiasm seemed to ignite at his words. He clenched his fist and pounded his chest. "Yeah! I'll bet my life! I will win tomorrow's survival exercise!"
Yes, he had decided. In order to win, he would have to interrogate the Nine-Tails again tonight.