The next day, at five in the morning, the sky was a pale, pre-dawn grey. Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha, each carrying a standard ninja tool pouch, arrived at the designated training ground.
"Hm? Naruto's not here yet?"
Sasuke, uncharacteristically, was the first to speak. His simple question immediately soothed Sakura's mood, which had been soured by the brutal, early wake-up call.
"Yeah, and Kakashi-sensei isn't here either."
The unspoken thought hung in the air between them: This means we're alone.
A silent, primal roar of excitement erupted in her heart. This heart-pounding, once-in-a-lifetime feeling of being alone with her crush lasted for exactly one hour, until the first rays of the sun crested the trees.
As the sun climbed higher, Sakura's blissful mood soured into sharp annoyance. Seriously, she fumed internally, we all agreed on a time, and no one else shows up? Worse, Sasuke wasn't talking to her. After standing there in foolish silence for what felt like half a day, her few attempts to start a conversation were shut down by his cold, one-word replies.
She was still a young girl, after all. Her excitement withered.
It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that their Jonin leader finally arrived.
"Yo," he said with a lazy wave. "Good morning, everyone."
"You're late!" Sakura couldn't be bothered with formalities at this point, pointing an accusing finger at him.
Kakashi paid her no mind, his single visible eye scanning the surroundings with a slight furrow of his brow. "Naruto's not here yet?"
"That dead last? Who knows if he overslept like a certain teacher," Sasuke said, his voice dripping with cold sarcasm.
Kakashi just chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Well, you see, a black cat crossed my path, and I had to—no, ahem." He cut off his own subconscious excuse, instantly shifting back into his serious teacher persona. "It looks like one of you can already pack your things and head back to the Academy."
THUD.
The words had barely left his lips when a heavy sound came from a nearby tree. The three of them turned in unison to see a figure tumble from a thick branch, landing in a heap on the grass.
It was Naruto, fast asleep and clutching an empty sake flask.
"Hm? Is it morning already?"
As if he felt no pain at all, Naruto stretched languidly, then stood up, his eyes still heavy with sleep.
"Eh? You guys are here. I've been waiting for you all this time."
No, you haven't. Anyone can see you just passed out drunk, Kakashi thought, the corner of his mouth twitching under his mask. He silently compared this version of Naruto to his late teacher, Minato Namikaze.
Completely different.
With that thought, Kakashi decided he would focus all of his attention on this kid today.
"Alright, then. We'll set the time limit for noon." As he spoke, he placed a small alarm clock on a wooden stump. "Today's exercise is simple. You just have to take these two bells from me."
He held up two small silver bells, their chimes cutting through the quiet morning.
"Whoever gets a bell can stay. The one who doesn't, besides being tied to that stump to watch us eat lunch, will be sent straight back to the Academy."
This bell test was one of the methods his own teacher had used on their team. For him to use it now, on Minato's son, felt like a strange twist of fate. Hearing the threat of failure again, the three Genin reacted differently.
Panic flared brightest in Sakura. Coming from a civilian family, the shame of being sent back would be a crushing disappointment to her parents. Sasuke's expression also grew grave. He was confident, but facing a Jonin, it was foolish to not feel a shred of unease.
In stark contrast, Naruto—the one Kakashi was most focused on—simply squinted, looking as if he hadn't fully woken up, and didn't react at all.
Seeing this, Kakashi frowned imperceptibly, deciding to provoke his target. "As you can see, I only have two bells. So at least one of you is guaranteed to fail. At most, all three of you will."
At this, Naruto finally showed some reaction. He raised his hand, a lazy motion. "Kakashi-sensei," he asked, "can I forfeit?"
The question caught Kakashi completely off guard. It was the last thing he expected. "Are you sure?"
"Mmm. If I forfeit, then the two of them can stay, right?" Naruto asked, not a trace of regret on his face.
"What are you talking about?!"
Unexpectedly, it was Sasuke who exploded. "Who needs a dead last like you to sacrifice himself?!" he shouted, his expression aggressive and furious, as if Naruto's casual display of "pity" had struck a deeply personal nerve.
Kakashi secretly gave Sasuke a thumbs-up in his mind. He had been wondering how to get under Naruto's skin. "That's right, Naruto. Even if you forfeit, if these two don't get the bells, they'll still fail."
"Eh? What a pain..." Realizing that quitting was pointless, Naruto simply sat down, then leaned back onto the grass, propping his head up with one hand. "Alright, alright, let's start the test then." He even gave a dismissive wave, like a kindergarten teacher reluctantly agreeing to play with children.
This damn brat! Even Kakashi's forehead, hidden by his headband, throbbed with a vein.
"You can use any ninja tools you want. In return, I will counterattack with the intent to kill. Now..."
"Begin!"
As the word fell, Sasuke and Sakura vanished into the trees. Only Naruto remained, lounging leisurely on the grass. Because he had said he would only "counterattack," even with Naruto lying there riddled with openings, Kakashi could only glare at him.
I should have said I would attack first.
Time ticked by. The sun rose higher. In the clearing, Naruto and Kakashi remained motionless. Hidden in the foliage, Sasuke and Sakura were growing restless. Finally, Sasuke couldn't hold back any longer.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
A dozen kunai and shuriken tore through the air, striking Kakashi with lethal accuracy. But with a soft poof, his body turned into a log.
"A substitution jutsu?" Realizing his position was exposed, Sasuke began to move.
From the shadows, Kakashi's eyes scanned the training ground, tracking both of them. Who should I take out first? His gaze flickered, but he didn't forget the Hokage's instructions.
Two shuriken flew from his hand, faster than Sasuke's, aimed directly at the slumbering Naruto. They were attached to nearly invisible ninja wire; he could pull them back if needed.
Just as the shuriken were less than ten centimeters from Naruto's face, the boy's hand, which had been propping up his head, suddenly slipped. His whole body went flat on the grass. The two shuriken missed, stabbing into the ground beside his head.
A coincidence?
Kakashi's fingers twitched, and the shuriken were pulled back, flying towards Naruto again. This time, as if uncomfortable, Naruto gently rolled onto his side, the shuriken once again missing by a hair's breadth.
I knew it. This kid is not simple.
Just as Kakashi was processing this, a confident voice sounded from behind him. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive torrent of flame erupted from Sasuke's mouth, engulfing Kakashi's position. The jutsu was powerful, but Sasuke's chakra reserves were still small, and it quickly died out. He was confident, however, that even a Jonin would be injured by that surprise attack.
"Now look behind you."
The sudden, calm voice made the triumphant smirk on Sasuke's face freeze. The flames dissipated, revealing nothing but scorched earth.
Kakashi was now crouching behind him, his hands formed into the Tiger seal. "Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu: A Thousand Years of Death!"
The attack hit its mark. Even a boy as cool and collected as Sasuke let out a sound that was anything but.
"A pity," Kakashi said, retracting his fingers with an expression of lonely victory as he looked at Sasuke, who was on the ground clutching his rear. "I was originally planning to use this move on Naruto."
"Eh? Then why don't you look behind you?"
When?!
Like Sasuke before him, Kakashi was startled by the sudden voice from directly beside him. He was a Jonin. At the last possible second, he flooded his legs with Lightning Style chakra, exploding backward with speed far beyond his norm to escape the unseen threat.
Or so he thought.
The final result was Kakashi clutching his own rear with one hand, whirling around to stare at Naruto with a wide, wary eye.
Naruto stood there calmly, not a single bead of sweat on his brow. He gently raised his right hand.
Dangling from his fingers, two small silver bells chimed softly in the stunned silence.
"Well then," Naruto said with a small smile. "I suppose this exercise is over now."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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