Dawn.
A pale mist clung to the earth, the morning air cool and quiet.
The sun inched upward, its soft golden light breaking the fog and washing over every corner of the world.
Today, nearly every new genin in the village was excited — stepping out of their homes full of anticipation.
Today was the day they officially became shinobi.
Of course… Team 7 was the exception.
"Cold… hungry… thirsty… sleepy… I wanna go home and eat cup noodles…"
Uzumaki Naruto lay sprawled on the ground like a sluggish mudfish, his eyes dull, lips dry from dehydration, and his entire body looking absolutely miserable.
He had woken at four in the morning and bolted to the training ground in terror, afraid being late would cost him his qualification as a genin.
But to his shock…
When he arrived, even after sprinting like his life depended on it, not even a shadow of Hyūga Ayato was there.
That's right — on their very first day, their teacher was ridiculously late!
Sasuke stood with hands in his pockets, back against a tree, expression icy. He spared Naruto a cold glance and muttered,
"Idiot."
Naruto weakly groaned back, "You're acting cool, but I bet you're starving too…"
He hadn't eaten since yesterday. He hadn't even had a drop of water.
Sasuke lifted his chin with faint arrogance.
"I told you — you and I aren't the same."
Naruto's eyes flared with anger, ready to snap back—
Grrrroooowl.
A loud stomach noise echoed through the clearing.
Naruto and Sakura both immediately stared at Sasuke.
That sound… clearly came from him.
Naruto burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
"Pfft—HAHAHA! Sasuke, your body's telling the truth for you!"
"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura fretted, worried.
Sasuke's face flushed faintly red. He looked away with a cold snort.
"Hmph. What can a man teach us if he can't even show up on time?"
He too hadn't eaten a thing.
"Don't say that, Sasuke-kun… maybe Ayato-sensei ran into something important. Let's wait a bit more."
Sakura forced a smile, trying to smooth things over — while secretly cursing Ayato to the heavens.
IT WAS ALREADY SEVEN O'CLOCK.
Seven!
They had been starving here for three whole hours!
What on earth was Hyūga Ayato doing!?
She had followed his instructions and hadn't eaten a single bite since yesterday, and now her stomach was screaming.
That bastard!
"Hopefully… he didn't notice," Sakura whispered, glancing nervously at Sasuke.
Seeing him look away at the sky, she sighed with relief.
Good. He didn't notice her skin looking worse from hunger.
Time crawled by.
Ten minutes passed.
7:10 a.m.
Three hours and ten minutes of waiting.
Naruto lay on the ground, barely alive.
"That bastard Ayato… I'm gonna kill him. I should've just slept in…"
"I'm done. I'm leaving."
Sasuke turned around, utterly out of patience.
Sakura knelt on the dirt, clutching her loudly growling stomach. "Sasuke-kun, wait! If we leave now, we might lose our genin status!"
"Stupid girl. You really think becoming a ninja gives you strength? Power makes you a ninja."
Sasuke clenched his fists, thinking of the man who slaughtered his clan.
"Even without the title of ninja… I will get strength."
"St–stupid girl?" Sakura's expression darkened. She raised her fist, about to slug him—
But then she looked at Sasuke's handsome face.
Her fist froze… and slowly lowered.
Damn it.
He's too handsome to hit.
If Naruto had said it, she'd have punched him ten times already.
Suddenly, Sakura blinked.
"Wait… Ayato-sensei is a jonin. Would a jonin really be late to an official appointment?"
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"This might be a test — testing our patience and endurance."
It made sense:
He told them not to eat.
He didn't show up.
He left them waiting.
Perhaps it was all part of evaluating whether they deserved to be real shinobi.
"A test…?"
Naruto and Sasuke both paused.
Sasuke thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.
"It's childish… but it does sound like something a jonin would do."
Sakura's reasoning held. A jonin wouldn't be late without purpose.
"Tch. How careless of me. Something this simple, and I didn't realize."
Sasuke gritted his teeth, punching the tree trunk hard.
"Huh? Huh? What test?" Naruto stared at them blankly, looking from Sakura to Sasuke like he was being excluded from a secret meeting.
Sakura sighed. "Idiot."
Sasuke added coldly, "Moron. With your brain, I don't expect much."
Naruto's eyes turned white with rage.
"HEY! What are you two even talking about!?"
Sakura rubbed her forehead.
"Ayato-sensei is testing our patience. As long as we endure, we'll pass. Naruto… you're hopeless."
"A test, huh? Fine! I'll endure as long as it takes! I'm gonna be Hokage — patience is nothing!"
Naruto shot Sasuke a mocking look.
"And if you can't handle it, Sasuke, feel free to run home with your tail between your legs."
"Idiot. I'll surpass you no matter what."
Sasuke sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes to endure.
Forty minutes passed…
8:00 a.m.
Their stomachs growled one after another like a chorus, but not one of them backed down.
Naruto and Sasuke were locked in a silent competition, neither willing to be the first to quit.
And then—
"Yo. Good morning."
A cool breeze swept across the field as Hyūga Ayato appeared out of nowhere using Body Flicker.
"Ayato-sensei!"
Sakura's eyes lit up with joy.
If he finally showed up… did that mean they passed the test?
Ayato pressed his palms together apologetically.
"Sorry. Overslept. Made you wait."