Kakashi's fish-like eyes finally widened, and a glimmer of surprise flashed in his gaze. This was the first time in many years that he had encountered a Genin team that would cooperate like this from the start.
But Kakashi was still Kakashi. As he leaned his left arm back, he grabbed the back of Naruto's neck, who was leaping behind him, and flipped him over in front of him.
He then held a kunai in his right hand, deflecting the shuriken that had been thrown at him.
In the blink of an eye, Kakashi neutralized the crisis and regained control of the scene.
"Hmph!"
However, Naruto, who was caught, and Sasuke and Sakura in front of him didn't show frustration on their faces; instead, a sly grin crept onto their lips.
"Not good!"
Kakashi's heart skipped a beat as a bad feeling crept over him.
Boom!
The yellow backpack on the captured Naruto's back suddenly transformed into another Naruto with a puff of smoke!
This was the real Naruto!
This was Naruto's true plan, while the previous skirmishes had merely been setups!
The yellow backpack, clinging to Kakashi's abdomen, turned back into Naruto's clone. Now, in his true form, he quickly extended his right hand to snatch the two bells tied around Kakashi's waist.
Kakashi reacted just in time, twisting his body to avoid Naruto's grasp for the bells.
But one bell was already firmly in Naruto's hand. Kakashi could only tear the rope, and the second bell, which was tied to the same rope, was thrown forward and landed with a "jingle" in little Sakura's hand.
"YES!"
Sakura jumped up with joy.
"Ding-dong, ding-dong, Kakashi-sensei, did we complete the mission?"
Standing in front of Kakashi, Naruto waved the bell proudly in his face, letting its chime ring out.
"Hah!" Kakashi sighed weakly, his eyes drooping again, but they sparkled with surprise as he looked at the three of them.
For the first time in many years, a newly graduated Genin team had successfully grabbed the bells.
This was truly an exceptional Genin team!
"Alright, alright," Kakashi raised his hands weakly, "but your task is only half done. I said there were only two bells here, but there are three of you."
Only then did Sasuke and Sakura realize the gravity of the situation. They exchanged glances, then looked at Naruto.
Naruto put on a troubled expression, clenching his fists tightly, pretending to hesitate in giving up the bell.
Sakura hesitated as well. For her, graduation wasn't the main goal; it was staying with Sasuke. However, whether she gave Sasuke the bell or not, the two wouldn't be together, so she looked at Naruto.
"Naruto, you…" Sakura began, but she was interrupted.
"I'll quit!" Sasuke said firmly, clenching his fists.
As he lowered his head and began to turn away, Naruto unexpectedly handed the bell back to Kakashi. In the surprised gazes of everyone, he laughed and said:
"Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, Sakura, and I were always a team. If we're going to quit, we'll quit together!"
Sasuke looked at Naruto, dumbfounded. For the first time, he felt the true selflessness of the so-called "dead-last" standing in front of him.
Kakashi watched silently before finally asking, "Who organized your cooperation tactics just now?"
Both Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto.
Naruto scratched his head, embarrassed, and said, "I was just thinking about it; I didn't expect it to work."
Kakashi's eyes filled with surprise once again. Naruto's transformation was striking, although it aligned with his mischievous personality that had always created surprises.
Finally, Kakashi smiled and said:
"Congratulations! You've successfully passed the exercise!"
The three of them looked at him in shock.
"Yes, you passed!" Kakashi continued, narrowing his eyes. "You're the first team to pass under my supervision. The others only knew how to do what I said."
"A ninja must see through the mission's purpose!"
Kakashi looked up at the sun in the sky, his gaze nostalgic and filled with unbreakable sorrow as he firmly said:
"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum!"
Naruto, knowing the story's underlying meaning, lowered his head, saying nothing. "Comrades? Do I really have comrades?"
Sasuke pondered Kakashi's words, glancing thoughtfully at Naruto and Sakura beside him.
Sakura didn't care much about the saying; she was just happy she could stay with Sasuke.
Finally, Kakashi announced:
"Alright! I now declare: Team 7 will begin its first mission tomorrow!"
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