"A Special Jonin? Beaten and sent to the hospital?"
Sasuke Uchiha looked up in confusion, staring at the expressionless blond boy in front of him. "Hey, what kind of joke is that?"
He still lived on the Uchiha clan grounds, which had its own exclusive training area. Plus, he had arrived early today, so he hadn't heard the latest village gossip.
Clearly, the other person present had.
"I heard that rumor yesterday, too," Sakura Haruno spoke up weakly. "Sasuke, you probably live too far away to have heard the news... But no matter how I think about it, it just seems impossible!"
Sakura glanced at Naruto Uzumaki, who was standing beside her. "A Special Jonin might not be as strong as a full Jonin, but they're still stronger than a Chunin!" she continued. "Naruto just graduated as the dead-last of his class. There's no way that story is true, right?"
"..."
Sasuke ignored Sakura's explanation, his eyes fixed on the bored-looking Naruto. He felt he had a decent understanding of the guy. Back at the academy, Sasuke knew that with a brain like Naruto's, he was the type who couldn't keep anything to himself.
The corner of Sasuke's eye twitched as he secretly gritted his teeth. Has this guy really gotten strong enough to beat a Special Jonin? To surpass that, I'd have to defeat a full Jonin!
Although Sasuke knew he probably couldn't win a head-on fight against a Jonin at his current level, a perfect opportunity was right in front of him: the survival test Kakashi Hatake had mentioned.
The only problem was… that guy, Kakashi Hatake, hadn't arrived yet. Just how late was he going to be?
"I've got some intel here on our Jonin instructor..." Naruto Uzumaki pulled a small notebook from his pocket. Twirling a pen, he scribbled something down. "I got it from Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen, and Ayame. I was afraid I'd forget, so I jotted down the important parts on the way here."
Sasuke scoffed dismissively. "Tch. What useful intel could a ramen shop owner and a waitress possibly have?"
Sakura chimed in, "That's right! They're just ordinary people, and we're ninja! That Kakashi is a Jonin. They wouldn't know anything about ninjutsu, so how could their information be useful?"
"Alright, it seems you two don't care." Naruto rubbed his forehead helplessly and closed his notebook. "If I confirm the intel is valid, I'll share it with you if you need it."
"Hmph, keep it for yourself!" Sasuke grumbled, rubbing his stomach.
The sun rose higher in the sky, and as time passed, the day grew hotter. What made Sasuke curious was that Naruto, who could never sit still at the academy, was showing a rare patience.
It wasn't until after ten o'clock that Kakashi Hatake finally appeared before the listless trio. He waved a hand casually. "Yo. You all arrived early!"
Sakura gestured wildly. "Hey, you're the one who's late! We've been waiting here for over five hours!"
Sasuke frowned. "Do all Jonin arrive this late?"
"No, I'm just a special case," Kakashi said, pushing up his crooked headband. He glanced at the silent Naruto Uzumaki. "Seeing as one of your classmates had a very exciting fight yesterday, I'm going to raise the difficulty of this survival exercise."
"Huh? Why!" Sakura was the first to protest. She had finally been assigned to the same team as Sasuke!
Sasuke, however, just waved a hand nonchalantly. "Whatever. It's better to get this test over with quickly. I need to hurry up and train..."
Naruto Uzumaki spread his hands. "I have a feeling I'm that 'certain student.' Can I offer a suggestion?"
"No." The Jonin instructor smiled and shook his head, pulling out two small bells that dangled from a string. He looked at his three subordinates. "Before noon, you have to take these two bells from me. Only those who get a bell are qualified to graduate."
"That means at least one person won't pass..."
"Or perhaps, all three of you will fail and be sent back to the academy to repeat the year..."
"And to show you my respect..." Kakashi's expression gradually grew serious. "I will come at you with all my strength—ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu... I might even use an S-rank forbidden jutsu!"
Sakura's face turned pale with fright. "This kind of test could be fatal! And we really have to eliminate one person?"
"Using an S-rank... forbidden jutsu..." Sasuke's face also became unusually grim. The only jutsu he had mastered were C-rank, but right after graduating, he had to face an S-rank forbidden technique. Is this masked man just looking for an excuse to beat us up?
"I have a question!" Naruto held up his notebook again and said, word for word, "According to the intel I've gathered, Kakashi-sensei is supposed to be someone who values his teammates..."
"According to your test rules, one of us will definitely be eliminated. That means our team won't be complete, right?"
"..."
Kakashi was stunned for a moment. He glanced at the little notebook in Naruto's hand and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "You don't need to worry about that. In that case, the village will just assign another genin to this squad."
"As for the intel you've gathered, it's all wrong! Companions aren't irreplaceable," Kakashi's face suddenly turned menacing, scaring the three genin of Team 7. "They are just tools for completing a mission!"
He had originally thought Naruto's talent was going to be the troublesome part. He never expected the kid to be this difficult to handle. He looks like he doesn't have a brain, so why is he taking notes on intel? If I don't scare him a little, he'll expose the true purpose of my test right now!
Naruto sighed and put the notebook back in his pocket. He said, as if it were an afterthought, "Is that so? It seems the intel I gathered is useless then. Does Kakashi-sensei still remember his teammates who were sacrificed?"
"I don't remember." More cold sweat appeared on Kakashi's forehead. He wiped it away, forcing himself to act cold. "Those who died because they lacked strength were all wastes not worth remembering."
Sakura's expression grew uglier. "..."
The young Sasuke was also a bit terrified. "..."
Naruto added another jab. "It seems there's no other way to interpret these rules. One of us is destined to be eliminated..."
"Shut up!" Sakura shouted irritably.
"But one piece of intel was true. It's said that Kakashi-sensei had a very poor relationship with one of his teammates. It seems that guy died in battle later. Was his name Runtu?"
"His name was Obito." Kakashi corrected him automatically, then lowered his head and glanced at Naruto. "Nice work. In just one day, you even managed to find out something like this."
"That name... even I feel like I've heard it before," Naruto grinned, looking up at Kakashi. "As his teammate at the time, how could you not remember his name, sensei?"
"Alright. If you can't take these bells from my hand..." Kakashi shook his head, his face serious again. "No matter how much intel you've gathered, it's useless."
"Let's begin!"
-----
Bonus:
Kakashi Hatake: "Lord Fourth, we've got a problem."
Minato Namikaze: "Tell me — what happened?"
Kakashi Hatake: "Your son's… kinda devious."
Minato Namikaze: "Hmm? Is it because of the jinchūriki thing?"
Kakashi Hatake: "Way worse. That mouth of his is getting more and more irritating."
Minato Namikaze: "Still better than getting hit by Kushina's fists, right?"
Kakashi Hatake: "…Fair point."