Naruto was moved to tears. He hadn't expected Kano-chan to give up being a Ninja for his sake.
"Oh, you're giving it up?" Kakashi was somewhat surprised, then turned to Sasuke. "In other words, Sasuke is the only one who passes this time."
Sasuke also stepped forward and returned the bell to Kakashi.
"I give up too. I couldn't have snatched the bell alone, and it's thanks to having a good teammate like Kano. It's truly not worth giving up such a good teammate for a single Ninja slot."
Both of them giving up was quite a surprise to Kakashi.
"Oh? You both don't want it? Then Naruto, this bell is yours. This is your only chance to become a Ninja. Those two could easily pass even if they take the exam next time, but you might not. Aren't you going to take the chance? Anyway, even if they return to the Ninja Academy, they'll catch up soon."
Naruto gripped the bell Kakashi tossed to him and lowered his head.
After a moment of silence.
He held the bell high and slammed it onto the ground!
"Don't look down on me! How could I, Uzumaki Naruto, abandon my comrades for such a small temptation! So what if I go back to the Ninja Academy! At worst, a year from now, I, Uzumaki Naruto, will definitely become a Genin again. I'm the man who's going to become Hokage!"
"Oh, so all three of you are giving up, right?"
"Yes."
"Mm."
"Of course! I mean what I say!"
"Congratulations, you all pass."
Kakashi suddenly beamed and congratulated the three. Sasuke remained cool, Kano had known the result all along, and only Naruto was both excited and confused.
"Pass?! That's great!"
"You're the first group to pass. The previous guys were just idiots without teamwork. A Ninja must cherish their comrades; even if you have to give up the benefits in front of you, you cannot abandon your comrades.
In the Ninja World, those who break the rules are scum, but those who don't know how to value their comrades are worse than scum."
"That line is so cool!"
Naruto also began to mimic Kakashi's mannerisms.
"Next is the critique of your performance in this exercise. First, Sasuke! Your timing for every attack was grasped very well, and your basics in both Taijutsu and Ninjutsu are quite solid. In terms of teamwork, you were able to execute the mission perfectly even if you were at a disadvantage. Truly worthy of being the number one genius of the Ninja Academy."
"Naturally."
"Next is Kano. You are not only excellent in teamwork but also very skilled in handling intelligence. You used Naruto to bait out my information, used music to relay information to Sasuke, and also used false information to confuse me, finally using hidden information to deliver a fatal blow. You don't know Genjutsu, do you?"
"Yes, I don't know Genjutsu. It was only used to deceive you and relay my position to Sasuke."
"It's more than that, isn't it? While you were running away, you were also keeping an eye on Naruto's position. Naruto's silly face when he finally stumbled in didn't look like someone who knew the plan. You must have calculated the position, knowing he might be curious about the sound of the music and run this way. Just as the performance ended, Naruto arrived exactly on time to coordinate with Sasuke's surprise attack.
As expected of the Nara Clan, you've grasped your teammates' personalities perfectly. You even refrained from telling Naruto the plan because he might leak information, using this method to include him in the plan instead.
Even among Chunin, there are few tactical commanders as excellent as you. It's completely different from the evaluation the Ninja Academy gave you."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Sasuke, listening from the side, was also startled. So Kano had calculated that much? Even that idiot Naruto was within her plan.
"Wow, Kano-chan is so amazing! It's my turn, my turn! Hurry up and tell me what my strengths are!"
Naruto couldn't wait for Kakashi's critique. Both of his teammates had been praised, so he expected to be praised too. What would his highlight be?
"Finally, Naruto... My evaluation of you is: idiot, cannon fodder, stumbling block! You just charged in alone, completely disregarding your teammates. If Kano hadn't saved you, you'd still be hanging from that tree. It's only because Sasuke's timing was good; otherwise, you wouldn't even have managed an assist.
If you replaced those two, you'd just be a stumbling block who only drags down your teammates."
Naruto's head drooped, the joy of passing extinguished, as he muttered unwillingly:
"Even if Kano-chan hadn't come to save me, I could have broken free alone."
Although Kakashi heard him, he didn't want to mention the double trap. His purpose in lecturing Naruto wasn't to humiliate him but to help him grow.
"Naruto, your two teammates are very excellent. You should learn from them. At least one thing is worth praising, and that is your never-give-up spirit. You need to work twice as hard to catch up with them."
"That's right, Naruto, don't be discouraged. Since we're teammates, you can come to me for help with any difficulties. If there's any knowledge you don't understand, you can also ask me. But my theoretical knowledge is about as bad as yours; you can also ask Sasuke-kun, he's very excellent. Right, Sasuke-kun?"
Kano was also comforting Naruto; he had a lot of potential. Sasuke originally didn't want to bother with Naruto, but since Kano had spoken, he had no choice but to nod reluctantly.
"Kano-chan! Sasuke!"
Naruto was deeply moved by his teammates' loyalty.
Seeing them getting along harmoniously, Kakashi seemed to see the past.
"The exercise ends here. Everyone passes! Team 7 will begin executing missions starting tomorrow!"
"Yes!"
Kano and Naruto responded loudly.