At Training Ground Three.
Kakashi heaved a long sigh, eyelids drooping, and raised his hands in weary surrender.
"Fine, since you've snatched the bell, I'll call this exercise a win."
Hearing that, Sasuke, who had been keeping watch in the distance, finally relaxed. He dropped onto the grass, gasping for breath. The fight had been brief, but the suffocating mix of poison gas and explosions had weighed on him far more than the blows exchanged.
Sakura crawled out of the grass and dusted herself off, her feelings a tangled mess she couldn't quite sort out.
"However…"
Kakashi's tone shifted; his lone eye narrowed craftily.
"Naruto, there are only two bells."
He pointed at the bell in Naruto's hand, then at Sasuke and Sakura.
"By the rules, only those who hold a bell pass. There are three of you. In other words, even after defeating me, one of you must return to the Academy."
Kakashi's voice turned grave. "So, holder of the bell, how will you split the only two?"
Kakashi was testing them.
Impressive tactics, but being a shinobi demanded more than strength…
"That? Easy."
Without hesitation—or even a glance—Naruto flicked his wrist.
Jingle.
The bell arced through the air. Reflexively, Sasuke and Sakura each caught one.
They stared, stunned. So did Kakashi.
"Naruto, you…" Kakashi looked at Naruto's empty hands.
"I don't need it." Naruto adjusted his glasses, calm. "To me, the title 'Ninja' isn't indispensable."
"If claiming the rank of Genin means abandoning the comrades who just fought beside me… sorry, I can't."
He turned away, leaving only a silhouette and words drifting on the wind: "If I want to grow stronger, anywhere will do."
The sunlight cast his long shadow across the ground.
"Naruto…"
Sakura's eyes reddened instantly. In that moment, he towered in her sight, eclipsing even Sasuke. She glanced at the bell, then at the boy who'd given up his place for them, shame and gratitude swelling inside her.
"I want to be that cool, too!"
Clenching her teeth, she hurled the bell back at Kakashi.
"I don't want it either!"
Her voice cracked with tears yet rang firm: "If becoming a shinobi means sacrificing Naruto, I'd rather not! I'll just repeat the year—I'm still young!"
She spun and sprinted after Naruto.
Sasuke's fists tightened reflexively. The "dead last" he used to look down on had first outclassed him in strength, and now sought to outshine him in spirit?
"Hmph."
He flicked his bell to the dirt with a metallic clatter.
"Not interested."
Struggling to his feet, he glared toward Naruto. "A loss is a loss; I don't need your charity. I'll train until I earn my place on my own."
With that, he walked off.
Only Kakashi remained, two discarded bells at his feet. Watching the three very different youths stand united by the refusal to abandon a comrade, Kakashi's masked mouth curved in a smile of pride.
"In the world of shinobi, rule-breakers are called trash," he said, retrieving the bells, his voice solemn. "But those who discard their comrades are worse than trash."
Sasuke and Sakura whirled around, eyes wide.
"Therefore…"
Kakashi beamed, giving them a big thumbs-up: "You all pass!"
"Eh?!"
Sakura blinked, then shrieked with joy. "Yes! We'll all be shinobi together! Naruto! Sasuke! We're staying as a team!"
Sasuke stayed silent, yet the tension left his shoulders and a faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Alright, since you've passed—dismissed." Kakashi waved them off, then surveyed the battered field with a wry grin. "I'll file the repair bill with Hokage-sama. Tomorrow 08:00, Hokage Building for your first mission."
"Sir!" Sakura chirped; Sasuke nodded and turned to leave.
Just then, the Naruto standing before them politely bowed to Kakashi.
"See you tomorrow, sensei."
"Mm, tomorrow." Kakashi gave a lazy wave.
Poof.
A soft puff of smoke. The Naruto they'd been talking to dissolved into white mist before their eyes.
"A… Kage Bunshin?"
Sakura's cheer died mid-breath; Sasuke spun around, his mouth twitching.
"You've got to be kidding… that Naruto—the one lecturing us on character, making all the decisions—was a clone too?"
Even Kakashi froze, his exposed dead-fish eye bulging, cold sweat sliding down his brow.
"No way… He fought, chatted, even hung around after I declared them passed—and it was still a clone?"
That was taking caution to absurdity! So much for "hating accidents"—was he afraid I'd stab him after the bell test?
…
Meanwhile, five hundred meters away, in the crown of a leafy tree, the real Naruto sat cross-legged, reading.
He sipped black tea and tossed ration pills into his mouth like candy.
"Oh, done?"
Memories from the clone flooded in; he adjusted his glasses, satisfied.
"Environment secure. Everyone passed. Field test confirms: Jonin instructor values loyalty—acceptable risk profile."
Stowing his things, he glanced toward the field and murmured: "In a world of lies and deceit, caution is mandatory. Keeping the real body safe is simple respect for life."
"Still…"
The boy who'd controlled the entire exercise without ever showing himself leapt down from the branch.
"Now that safety's confirmed and we'll be working together… staying hidden forever would be plain rude."
He straightened his clothes and smoothed his hair.