Naruto readied himself through his morning routine, going through his breakfast and hygiene ritual before changing into the shinobi wear he'd managed to save up enough to afford from babysitting and hanging on to change from the stipend he received from Konoha to see him by until he joined the shinobi forces. The glint of the sun as minor through his windows and he could tell it was going to be a good day for whatever his next step in shinobi life had in store for him.
Privately admitting that maybe he was a little nervous, he'd never worked in a team before and Kakashi was a person of legendary senses and skill. He'd have to try harder to hide what he wanted to keep secret for now. Uncomfortable questions would rise if he revealed any suspect abilities, he wanted to do so on his own terms in a situation that he could control. He wanted to create an echo that would scream across Konoha and say 'Don't mess with me'.
There were still ways he could honour his heritage without being too overt about it. The Uchiha Clan wasn't the only clan he hailed from and the Uzumaki Clan's symbol was an iconic piece of design that was used in all modern Konoha uniforms and forehead-protectors. It wouldn't be out of place or suspicious of him to be wearing the sign of Uzushio and Konoha's friendship.
He threw on a new black long-sleeved shirt, customized for a low price to have the Uzumaki swirl on the back. He figured that if he wasn't going to represent the Uchiha yet, he'd try and make his departed mother proud. He had black sandals to match and a grey pants with the shins wrapped up. He tied up his new blue forehead protector last, and thankfully it didn't alter the style at which he wore his hair. It still parted to cover his right eye, and the rest at the back was only just long enough to reach the red swirl on the back of his shirt.
Naruto tidied up and finishes his dishes before grabbing his tool pouch and securing it to his belt. He opens the door is greeted by the morning sun, still casting shadows in the street of apartments. His senses told him that Kakashi was still in next door and that his chakra was still and unwound, likely meaning that he was still asleep. He pitied the team that got him as their sensei.
The Uzumaki boy begins a slow trek back to the Academy and decides to practice his sensing on the way. He could accurately determine the number of people nearby, the levels of chakra they had, the rhythm of their chakra to determine if they were resting or under Genjutsu and how strong their chakra was, which he could to some degree sense what chakra nature they possessed. But as with all things, there was room for improvement.
One of Madara's lessons was 'how do you take what you know to the next level?'. It was all well and good being gifted with abilities, but what good were they if they could not be taken to a degree that made them functionally better, as in the case of his Mind's Eye of the Kagura sensing ability? It was said to be an extraordinary and multi-purpose sensing technique and yet Naruto could barely sense twenty meters down the street before everything got fuzzy and inaccurate to him. He admitted to neglecting his training in that regard and resolved to do better with himself. He couldn't always make excuses by only training the things he found most interesting and got the best results from doing.
Even though it was boring, Naruto thought about a phrase that got passed around a lot when in the orphanage; Nothing worth having comes easy.
He immediately bumps into someone when he closes his eyes for a moment to focus. Trying to see without your eyes was quite the challenge.
"Pardon me." Naruto says to the back of the woman he knocked slightly.
"It's fine," The woman replies, her voice having a distinct maturity to it. "But you should probably walk with your eyes open, ne?"
"The risk of embarrassing myself helps me improve my sensory abilities." Naruto gives his poor excuse and hopes it's enough to deflect if she's actually upset about it.
She cracks a smile, and Naruto counts it as a victory.
"A sensor, huh?" The man with her speaks up, sounding surprised as he plucks a cigarette from his mouth. "Sounds like your sensei got lucky."
"I'm Kurenai, and this is Asuma." The beautiful woman introduces. "We're on our way to the Academy to pick up our new teams. I think Asuma is bitter that he didn't get you."
"I am not." Asuma protests, though he seems amused. "And I don't think there was a chance anyway. I get the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, as is tradition."
"Most of the teams were made up before the graduation anyway, but things had to be discussed to account for drop-outs and latecomers." Kurenai reveals, apparently not seeing any need to be secretive with the information.
"She's bitter that she didn't get you either." Asuma clearly fibs.
"Ignore him." Kurenai says even as she elbows him in the ribs.
"Don't tell me that I got Kakashi then?" Naruto surmises that there aren't many options left. He wasn't ignorant to the fact that as someone who was relatively high-profile in the way of genes and thus-far displayed performance, someone like him wasn't going to get an unproven sensei who lacked the knowledge to help him reach his potential. The higher ups didn't know that Naruto knew of his heritage, but if he could turn out even half as strong as his father who was the Hokage, then clearly it would be a good investment to give him a talented and powerful teacher.
The way Kurenai and Asuma exchange amused glances gives it away. Naruto sighs but doesn't complain. Even a tardy teacher can be a good one.
"Well, sorry for bumping into you but I should set an example to my sensei by showing up on time." Naruto excuses himself, leaving the pair of Jonin to chuckle at his back.
The sensei exchanged a look.
"Did you feel his chakra?" Asuma asked lowly. He was no sensor but being close enough to anyone using a Jutsu could give off the feel of their inner power.
"Yes, it's insane. He has to have nearly as much chakra as Kakashi, and nearly as strong too. Is that even naturally possible? He's twelve!"
"His mother was the same." Asuma comments, idly recalling the story of how only a member of a certain clan could have chakra potent enough to suppress the strongest of all the Bijuu. "His father was no slouch in that department either. I don't think Kakashi has come close to that level, and he's older now than Yondaime-sama was when he passed."
"Still..." Kurenai thought on how dangerous that kind of potential could be in the hands of an enemy manipulator. "Kakashi really is the only choice to teach him."
"Yeah." Asuma agrees, taking a drag of his cigarette. If he were younger, he'd try to bluster and reason that he could be the teacher of someone like that. But Hatake Kakashi was on a different level. Elite among elites, and seemingly only better now that his mental state had evened out. Kakashi was the only person who could teach and protect a unit of prodigies while they were developing.
Regardless of what anyone wanted, Naruto could only be taught by Kakashi.
Naruto doesn't savor the glares from both the girls and boys as he steps into the classroom. There are a scant few people who aren't annoyed with his presence, included among them was Sasuke himself. He could sense the change in Sasuke's chakra that the awakening of the Sharingan had triggered, but it seemed he'd recovered well enough from Shizune's tending to his injuries.
It's annoying that he has to put up with looks like that. What had he done wrong, really? Beat up another student who was perfectly happy to fight him? The boys he could understand. He knew that it sucked feeling like you're second best or being out shined in every way. He wasn't angry with those looks, because he knew the ones with strong will would use that as motivation to grow, while the weak would complain about how unfair it was. There were several among them that just didn't care and would do things at their own pace. He could see reason in that at least even if he couldn't see himself doing the same.
Sasuke hadn't been holding back, and Naruto saw opportunity there. The other boy wasn't afraid to use his strength. Naruto felt like he could use someone like that as a sounding board for Taijutsu practice. If he could convince Sasuke to spar with him regularly, then it would be like having an ideal training partner. Both of them could learn to combat eachother when the other threw something new at them. The fangirls didn't understand that it was a good thing for Sasuke to meet someone who wasn't willing to just let himself get knocked over but he supposed the blame wasn't solely on their shoulders. They were only kids, and kids didn't think like adults or people who are obsessed with strength.
Maybe it was in the nature of those descended from the Sage to be obsessive. Whether it be power or love, no one had accused Uchiha, Senju or Uzumaki of being entirely sane. Smart, but not normal.
He takes a seat next to Sasuke which is miraculously empty. Most likely case being that the two boldest declarers of Sasuke's affections, Ino and Sakura, were comparatively more aggressive and competitive to get his attention and it probably didn't end well for any other female that took up seat next to him. The males didn't seem to be friends with Sasuke, and it was easier to talk to your friends in class when you were right next to them.
"Yo. Sorry for the beat down yesterday but I'm not going easy on you if we get on the same team." Naruto delivers a lackadaisical and frankly not-sorry apology.
"Hn." Is Sasuke's opener. "It's fine. It worked out in the end."
"Ho? Are you talking about your Kekkei-Genkai?" Naruto tries to bait Sasuke into communicating with him more.
Sasuke looks at Naruto and activates his Sharingan. Naruto doesn't flinch, the juvenile state of his eyes posed no threat to him. There was a single tomoe in each. It seems to startle a few of the students.
"Yes. I learned from you, as well. Don't think that our next spar will be the same." Sasuke deactivates his eyes after seemingly assessing Naruto's chakra network.
"I should hope not. It's hard to grow stronger when you fight weaker people." Naruto said, though his eyes cast over to one of the boys on the other end of the room. "Not that weak people aren't capable of extraordinary things. I hear that the Nara clan is full is strategists who wield a unique and useful Jutsu."
"I suppose." Sasuke said only. He probably didn't understand the value of people like that yet. "Did Hatake Kakashi train you?"
The question is a little awkward but given that this is the most he'd heard Sasuke speak, it was probably a good sign he was even being spoken to.
"Nah, he's my neighbour. He pays me to babysit sometimes but that's about it." Naruto doesn't mention what he thinks of Kakashi. It wasn't really anyone's business if he liked or disliked someone.
Their conversation was halted by the noisy entrance of Sakura and Ino.
"My toe was in the door first! I win, I sit next to Sasuke-kun!"
"Like hell forehead girl!"
Stomping up the steps to where Sasuke was usually seated, their violent tendencies are halted by the sight of Naruto in the chair they both wanted.
"Sorry ladies. Sasuke-kun is mine now." Naruto smiles as mockingly as he could manage. "He fell deeply in love with my Oiroke no Jutsu and requested that I sit next to him for his last class."
"Hn." Sasuke visibly cringes at Naruto's words, making said boy smile wider.
"You can sit next to him this once." Ino's words are spat out contemptuously, but her eyes show fear at the thought of making Naruto angry.
Sakura glares at him too, but neither girl offer anything more than dirty looks after the display during graduation. Naruto doesn't miss the near-silent sigh of relief from Sasuke. It seemed Naruto was his savior.
Iruka walks into the room and prevents the awkward glare-down about to start between the two outspoken girls.
"Alright, I think I've kept you all waiting long enough," Iruka begins to call out the team list. "Team 3 will be-"
Civilians. And it remains civilian students until he gets to Naruto's team. Some teams were still in rotation so a few were skipped.
"Team 7. Uchiha Sasuke. Haruno Sakur-"
"YESSS!"
"NOO!"
"-Ahem. And Uzumaki Naruto. Your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi."
Naruto listens to the rest of the listings. Classic Ino-Shika-Cho, a recon-tracking squad, and some other teams likely thrown together based on teamwork capacity rather than skill sets.
Slowly but surely, each sensei comes to pick up their teams and Naruto knows that Team 7 has the misfortune of having to wait for Kakashi who he knows is still asleep.
"This sucks." He says, mostly to himself.
"You said he's your neighbour. Can't we just go get him?" Sasuke suggests.
"That's probably not a good idea. Kakashi is normally an early riser so he must have been kept up late for an emergency or something. And I don't really wanna get accused of stalking our sensei." Naruto thought it would be a bit too rude to go knocking on Kakashi's door. "In any case, nobody said we couldn't utilize this time. I think I'll practice my sensory jutsu."
"Hn."
Sakura looked unsure, and eventually bored as all she could do was go over the old text books on the shelves.
"Poor kids." Asuma said pityingly, parting ways with Kurenai after collecting their teams together.
Kakashi dismissed them both shortly after finding not just the body of the suspicious Academy instructor, but one of an ANBU aswell. It was standard practice to dispose of ANBU corpses carefully and the incident had occurred within Konoha's walls. An investigation like that was beyond his and Kurenai's pay grade, and the responsibility now rested in the hands of Internal Investigations.
"Oi! Sensei!" His new female student whined. "How come I get stuck with these two?! I got some of the best marks in all our class, I should be one Sasuke-kun's team!"
"Troublesome." Is Shikamaru's bored reply.
"It won't be so bad with us, will it Ino?" Choji asked innocently.
Ino falters a bit.
"The Ino-Shika-Cho trio is a famous collaborative team of particular clans. Maybe your old man hasn't told you but the teamwork of the last trio was legendary, just as the previous team was, and the one before that." Asuma's voice is stern. "At least be happy that you're part of an effective combo and on a team with people that don't hate you. Most Genin don't get that luxury."
Shikamaru and Choji look up at Asuma now.
"Or... you could be. If not for one small detail."
"What detail." Shikamaru asks/demands with narrowed eyes.
Asuma smiled. "You're not really Genin yet. You still need to prove you're worth my time training you."
"WHAT?!" Ino's voice explodes in fury.
"Your former classmates are a bit unlucky. Their sensei isn't going to be up for a while after how busy he was last night."
"N-Naruto-kun doesn't like to w-waste his time." Hinata stammers out quietly. "He w-won't sit still f-for long."
"Who cares what that asshole is doing?! What are you gonna teach us Sensei?!" Kiba bursts out, clearly brimming with energy at the thought of training and finally doing something that wasn't schoolwork.
Kurenai levels him with a red-eyed glare and makes Kiba flinch. Shino wisely remains silent.
"Don't be rude. You three are in for an unpleasant surprise if you think the Academy was the hardest thing you're going to be doing as a shinobi. In fact, you're going to prove to me that my time is better spent teaching you than going on regular missions. I still have one last test for you, and if you fail... back to the Academy for another year." Kurenai finished with a grim smile.
The three Genin look up at her in horror.
Naruto wasn't brooding, he promised himself. He was just a tad frustrated at his sensei being late. Three hours late.
"Yo." Kakashi finally deigns to greet his students from the door. "Sorry I'm late guys, a black cat crossed my path so I had to go the long way."
Three equal deadpan looks.
Kakashi coughed in the awkward silence. "Anyway, let's have a nice chat on the roof." And walks out the classroom door.
The three Genin plod after him all the way up and they eventually find themselves in a decorative little rooftop balcony, well-shaded for students lunchtime leisure.
"Introduce yourselves, hmm? Likes, dislikes, any dreams and hobbies?"
"Why don't you go first Sensei?" Sakura asks him shyly.
He nods, couldn't hurt right?
"Well, I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. My dreams for the future..." Kakashi trails off boredly.
Three expectant looks.
"As for my hobbies... I have lots of hobbies."
'Useless.'
'Weird old man.'
'Just his name?'
Sasuke, Naruto's and Sakura's simultaneous thoughts.
"You first, Sa-ku-ra-chan!" He gives an eye smile at her dull look.
"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like..." A distant and dreamy look at Sasuke. "I dislike Ino-pig!" She develops a fiery look. "My dreams include..." Back to point one.
'Oh brother.'
'What an emotional spectrum.'
'Hn'
Kakashi, Naruto's and Sasuke's thoughts were all unexpressed outwardly and remarkably similar inwardly.
"Well," Naruto starts off, shaking off his dry reaction. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like training and cute girls."
Sakura growls and Naruto fights hard to keep the smile out of his voice.
"I dislike when people underestimate me. Dreams? I want to have a big family that I can be strong enough to protect."
In the confines of Sakura's mind, an inner voice aww's.
"And hobbies, well. I don't mind learning new things I guess." Naruto finished lamely on realizing that his only real hobbies was training and winding people up.
Kakashi nods. Many orphans expressed desire to have family. The teams he'd rejected before had many of the same answers in that regard. The devastating incident twelve-years ago had left early scars on Konoha's youth.
"How about you, Sasuke-kun? Anything to share with the team?"
"Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like or dislike much. My goal... I wish to restore my clan," His mood shifts slightly darker. "And to kill a certain man."
'Scary!' Sakura thought, gulping a little. She didn't know Sasuke-kun had such ambition!
Naruto doesn't think anything in particular. He feels only a wave of understanding.
"Well," Kakashi claps his hands together, effectively breaking the uncomfortable silence. "It's good that you all know each other now. I hope you continue to be friends after one of you goes back to the Academy."
"What?" Naruto voices the confusion he and his teammates are struck by.
Kakashi jiggles two bells tied to a hoop on his pants.
"I don't really have the time or desire to train three needy students. We're ah, going to have a little survival test shall we say? You three are gonna try your best to get these bells from me, and the one of you who doesn't manage to get one... bad luck!" Kakashi is entirely too jovial.
Sakura jitters in place, obviously scared at the thought of competing with Sasuke-kun and Naruto.
'They won't hesitate to fight me for a bell!' She thought in panic and looked at Naruto. 'I have to trick him! There's no way I can't be on Sasuke-kuns team!'
"Meet me at Training Ground 7."
"Alright... You three have until sundown to get these two bells from me. Ready," Kakashi begins a markdown.
All three Genin tense.
"Set. Go!"
Sasuke and Sakura run into the bushes surrounding the grounds but Naruto leaps into action immediately. He challenges Kakashi with vicious punches and kicks, all of which are blocked as easily as the Jonin breathed.
"Already? I thought I'd be able to get some reading in before you started." Kakashi complains as he flips Naruto over his head.
The younger male is extremely aggressive and quick. Kakashi is even more impressed than he was the day before. Naruto's speed was nothing to flinch at and his form and strength could rival other skilled Taijutsu users in the village. Unfortunate that Kakashi was not a Chuunin, or even a normal Jonin, because he blocks and meets Naruto's every blow evenly but doesn't push the offence, making it clear who was stronger between the two.
Naruto lands deftly and pulls out two shuriken, throwing them just right of Kakashi's centre and attacks his left with Kunai in-hand. Kakashi catches the shuriken on a finger each without moving from his spot and throws them back immediately. Naruto deflects, catches one of the shuriken before it lands on the grass and flicks it at Kakashi's neck within a foot of it.
"Too slow!" Kakashi is all to happy to tease. He grabs Naruto's kunai hand and uses his strength to pull Naruto forward and his kunai into the shuriken. It pings off the kunai before it lands and drops sadly onto the ground.
With a strong grip on his arm, Naruto uses his legs to climb up Kakashi's torso as if rappelling up a cliff. With his spare hand he launches a wicked punch at the top of Kakashi's head while making a stomping motion with one foot, aimed at his hip.
Instead of catching it like Naruto predicted, Kakashi lets go of Naruto's arm which causes him to float for a moment. The silver-haired man grabs Naruto's leg instead, whirls him around and tosses him into the bushes at high speed. Naruto doesn't leap out to challenge him again.
"Hmm... Maybe Sasuke and Sakura will give a better challenge?"
'How am I supposed to get a bell if Naruto can't even hit him?!' Sakura is on the cusp of a panic attack when Naruto lands roughly next to her.
"Ow."
"You're giving away my spot!" Sakura hissed at him.
Naruto scowled. "At least I tried to get a bell! You just gonna lay here all day? At least I tried to see how much of a chance we have!"
"I'll have a better chance than you if I wait for him to come to me!"
The tall boy considered the chance of capturing Kakashi by leading him into a trap, but saw a flaw immediately. "We're the ones that need to get the bells. Not the other way around."
"We?" Sakura's whisper is mocking. "Already giving up and begging for my help?"
Naruto lips curl into an annoyed sneer. "We'd have a better chance against a damned Jonin, and I don't want to go back to the Academy, do you?!"
Sakura made her own consideration. If she could get both bells, she could just give one to Sasuke instead of Naruto.
"Fine. We'll try once!" Sakura looks trepidatious as she readies to get to her feet, but Naruto pulls her back to the ground.
"What now?!"
Naruto nods forwards through the bushes. "Look. Sasuke's going for the bells. Let's watch and make a plan before we strike."
They watch as Sasuke throws throws a kunai from Kakashi's other side. The kunai cuts through a rope and sends multiple more kunai from a spring-wire trap out of the trees.
'Guess he wasn't idly watching.' Naruto approved, spotting Sasuke's Sharingan which probably helped the precision of the throw.
"Sharingan out already?" Kakashi calls him out on it too. Sasuke doesn't wait for Kakashi to dodge the kunai before engaging him in Taijutsu. His attempt isn't as fast or spectacular as Naruto's but he seemingly maneuvers Kakashi into standing still for a second. He weaves hand-signs before Kakashi turns around.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"
'A Genin using a Katon Jutsu?' Kakashi could feel the impressive chakra emmited.
Sasuke watched as he 'cooked' the Jonin, but his wishful thinking is deflated by a puff of smoke, showing the Kawarimi no Jutsu. He is immediately thrown around like Naruto was and goes back into hiding.
Kakashi is almost surprised when a storm of shuriken are flung at him from two different parts of the foliage. Naruto is behind him and wraps his arms around Kakashi, holding him in place for the shuriken. That is what actually surprises him. Where were the other shuriken coming from?
He lets the shuriken hit 'him', while his real self observes from the branches. He spotted two Naruto's, one approaching in tandem with Sakura and the other holding down his Kage Bunshin. It seemed Naruto knew some valuable Ninjutsu aswell.
Naruto blocks Kakashi's Kage Bunshin from protecting the bells and Sakura rushed in for the take.
"Yes! I have them!" Sakura cheers, before they dissapear with a 'poof' in her hand. "Huh?"
"Too bad!" Kakashi's clone dispels in the same way.
'Not bad.' The real Kakashi thought. He wondered if they were starting to catch on.
He watched as Sasuke approached his other prospective teammates.
"We need to work together. We can decide who gets the bells later."
Naruto immediately agrees. "Kakashi is too strong. There's no way we can fight him alone or two-on-one."
Sakura is all too happy to agree with Sasuke, but internally frets at the thought of Sasuke giving a bell to Naruto.
"Interesting." Kakashi mutters before finding somewhere else at ground-level to stand and wait.
Kakashi is leaning against a tree next to a beautiful river when they find him again.
"You found me! I was wondering if you were going to give up!"
Naruto appears to be alone but is backed up by four other selves. They all rush Kakashi.
Kakashi's senses are quick enough to keep track of the real Naruto in the mess of Kage Bunshin, and takes down each clone swiftly.
While he is 'distracted', Sasuke arrives and attempts another Gokakyu while Naruto was still dangerously close. Kakashi internally dissaproves of the tactic or putting a teammate at risk. They'd have to do better than that.
Kakashi vanishes and reapperears in the tree, watching the scorching fireball decimate the ground and force Naruto to cartwheel back. While in the tree, he is met by what he is beginning to understand as the only thing Sakura can currently do; thrown shuriken until she runs out.
"Dissapointing." Kakashi says, loud enough for all three to hear.
He lazily weaves some signs of his own, creating a whip of water than grabs Naruto by the neck and drags him into the river. He vanishes again and places Sakura under a Genjutsu, causing her to scream at whatever nightmare he'd concocted. Sasuke's eyes roam the opening in a panic and he is suddenly pulled into the ground with only his head sticking out.
"You three are running out of time." Kakashi pulls out a book and walks away.
Sasuke is the only one that can scowl at him.
Naruto looks like a drowned cat when he reunites with his fellow Genin prospects. He digs Sasuke out of the ground and dispels the Genjutsu that Sakura is under.
"Kakashi is only using as much power as he needs to stop each of us from getting the bells." He reveals, pulling his wet hair out of his face. "He's pushing us to get them but he's a Jonin for a reason. I don't think there's any way we can actually get the bells at all, and if he wanted us to get them then one of us would have one by now."
Sasuke nods, seeing that Naruto may be on to something.
"The test probably isn't about getting the bells then. He lied to get us to compete for them. There's a hidden meaning that he's letting us uncover on our own. But what haven't we tried yet?" Sasuke asks pointedly.
"Maybe a plan?" Sakura suggests nervously. "We keep throwing ourselves at him and it's not working."
Naruto nods to the suggestion and offers more of his own input.
"We all attacked together and it looked like we were getting in eachothers way to him. I think we need to show him that we actually can work together, not just that we're willing to. Any ideas? He's just standing there."
Sakura offers up a simple plan, but both Naruto and Sasuke were frustrated and beyond caring about how simple it was. The goal was to get Kakashi to pass them, not to get the bells.
The sun is getting dangerously low, and the three Genin steel themselves.
Their next attack is swift. The remainder of their Shuriken are weaved into Ninja Wire in an attempt to capture him and send a fireball at him. He escapes easily. Kakashi notices that a clone of Naruto is guarding each of Sakura and Sasuke's backs, as well as one for Naruto himself. Clearly a prevention method to stop Kakashi from taking them by surprise at the rear. Every time he dodges, they push him into another trap of logs, Taijutsu assault or Ninjutsu.
Kakashi weaves through them all before he is body-slammed by the exhausted Genin. It's enough to surpise him and his arms and legs are held tightly by Sasuke, Sakura and their clone bodyguards. He lets the real Naruto swipe the bells this time instead of protesting the teamwork. Their temporary reward for their efforts.
"Ah... you got them." Kakashi smiles menacingly. "Now make your choice. Who's going back to the Academy, Naruto?"
"That's up to you." Naruto retorts, and he drops the bells at his feet. "All of us, or none."
Kakashi gives a genuine laugh, and it carries his happiness easily across the sunset grounds.
"I guess I have no choice..." Kakashi's pose is ridiculously dramatic. "You Pass!"
All three students slump in relief.
"Well done you three. You're the very first Team 7 under my tutelage."
"However." Naruto is struck with a sense of foreboding.
A water rope lunges out of the river and dunks Naruto a second time.
"Blrurbrbr!" Naruto chokes on the cold water.
"That was for giving me the scare of my life yesterday. Meet me at the Hokage's Office in the morning." Kakashi vanishes in a puff of smoke.
'Truly there is no end to conflict in the cursed shinobi world.' Naruto swears and thinks on how he'll one-up Kakashi next time.
Naruto stretches as soon as he closes the door of his appartment and immediately makes his way over to the kitchen for some dinner.
He really should have known that Madara wouldn't give him any useful advice on a test like that. But that was his grandfathers way, teach him to learn on his own instead of spoon-feeding him the answers. He grins at the thought of finally going on official missions.
The hidden Uchiha does some light reading in Fuinjutsu theory for a short while before practicing his sensing once more before bed.
Sakura only had time to eat her mothers cooking before passing out and needing to be carried to bed by her father.
"Sleep tight, baby girl." Kizashi tucks her in lovingly.
Sasuke has a harder time sleeping, despite his exhaustion. His excitement had overwritten his tiredness.
'One step close to you... Nii-san.'