The day after, early in the morning, Team Seven could be seen waiting for Kakashi in the training ground. Sakura and Naruto wore sleepy faces, while Sasuke maintained his usual indifferent expression. The trio stood near three wooden stump in complete silence. Naruto, growing bored, asked Sakura when Kakashi would arrive, prompting a rebuke in return.
"As genin, we need to obey the orders of our superiors and show the patience required of shinobi."
Naruto whined, "I just asked a question, sheesh."
Sasuke, leaning against one of the poles, added with bored eyes, "You're annoying, deadlast."
Naruto's whiny face turned into an angry scowl as he retorted, "You always have something to say, don't you, Sasuke-teme?"
Sakura, hearing Naruto's answer, yelled at him, "Don't talk this way to Sasuke-kun!"
"He started it, Sakura-chan!"
Sasuke, seemingly unfazed, continued to lean against the pole, totally ignoring the exchange with bored eyes.
The trio spent the next hours waiting, their faces growing increasingly irritated as the realization set in that Kakashi's lateness was becoming a norm, not an exception. Tension built up, and a dark aura surrounded them. When Kakashi finally appeared with a casual "yo," the three immediately yelled at him for being late.
"YOU ARE LATE "
"Sorry Abit it. I got lost in the way of life" Kakashi explained with a nonchalant tone, "Met a black cat, you know, didn't want any bad luck, so I had to take the longer road."
The trio stared at him with deadpan expressions, the excuse doing little to alleviate their frustration. Sakura crossed her arms and sighed, "You can't be serious, sensei."
Clapping his hands together, Kakashi produced an alarm, putting it on one of the wooden poles. He then revealed two bells, showing them to the trio. Starting the timer, he informed them that they had until Mid Day to take the bells from him, or they would fail. Sakura,confused by something, pointed out the obvious, "There are only two bells."
Kakashi gave an eye-smile and replied, "Sharp observation, Sakura-chan. You're catching on. But remember, the one not getting a bell will go hungry and return to the academy."
A drop of sweat formed on each of their faces as they suddenly saw each other as competitors rather than teammates. Kakashi simply hummed in response to their reaction, advising them not to waste time.
"As a last advice,I suggest you to do your best to come at me with the intent to kill. Or else you will have no chance " Smiling at that, he disappeared in a blur of speed.
Sasuke, eyeing Naruto and Sakura, muttered, "Well, it looks like it's every man for himself."
The trio looked at each other, Naruto staring at Sasuke, Sakura eyeing Sasuke, and Sasuke fixing his gaze on both of them.
"Dont drag me down "
"I will cut anything Standing on my path ! " Sasuke warned with a cold voice
Sakura, sensing the seriousness in his words, whispered his name, a hint of worry in her voice." Sasuke-kun…"
Naruto, not liking Sasuke's tone, retorted, "Who the hell do you think you are?" His temper flaring, he was ready to start a fist with Sasuke, who looked at him with disdain.
Sakura, waking up from her stupor, yelled at them "stop ! " Getting their attention, she insisted that something was wrong with the test
" no genin should be able to beat a jounin " Sasuke hearing her, responded with a derisive sound
" you should worry more about yourself "
With cold eyes, Sasuke told Sakura that he would beat Kakashi and take the bells By Himself, emphasizing his strong belief in his own power.
Turning his back on them, he jumped to a tree, then started moving from one to another in a quest to find Kakashi. Naruto, growing angrier, yelled at Sasuke not to underestimate them, only to be stopped by Sakura.
"Wait, Naruto," she said, surprising him with her sudden call. "Sasuke-kun won't hear us now. Let's first follow him and figure out what's going on with Kakashi-sensei."
Naruto, still fuming, nodded reluctantly, recognizing the wisdom in Sakura's words. "Fine, but I'm not letting him get away with that attitude."
As they ventured into the forest, Sakura couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. "There's something off about this test. Jounin are supposed to be unbeatable for genin."
Naruto scoffed, "Yeah, Sasuke's attitude is the worst part."
Sakura shot him a serious look. "No, I mean Kakashi-sensei intentionally making it difficult. It doesn't make sense."
Naruto sighed, "Whatever. Let's just find him and get this over with."
"we need to find them both,should we separate ? "
"Heh,Leave it to me at this "
Telling Sakura to leave it to him, Naruto explained that multiple people searching for someone is much better than just the two of them, earning a confused expression from Sakura. Grinning, he crossed his fingers and used the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, summoning multiple copies of himself and surprising Sakura.
"Wait, when did you learn the Bunshin no Jutsu?" Sakura asked, skeptical that Naruto had acquired such a skill
"Illusional clones won't be of any help."
Smirking arrogantly, Naruto declared, "I'm a new Naruto. Check it for yourself." He then asked Sakura to touch one of the clones.
Amused by his audacious claim, Sakura reached out and felt the physical touch, her eyes widening. "Where did you learn such an advanced jutsu?" she questioned.
Naruto gave a small grimace and replied, "It's a secret."
Being an excellent theoretical student, Sakura was aware of the difficulty of the Kage Bunshin and how dangerous it could be for unaware people. She started shaking Naruto, a worried expression on her face, and told him to drop the clones if he didn't want to die.
"HEY YOU IDIOT DROP THEM ! THATS TOO MANY CLONES ! "
Naruto pushed her away, telling her not to underestimate him and that he's special.
"Im just that good "
Sakura, witnessing this sudden cool side of Naruto, gave him a determined stare, asking him to do it. In response, all the clones jumped into the forest, searching for Kakashi. As they disappeared from view, Sakura and Naruto began planning how to convince Sasuke to join them.
Naruto, sour at the mention of Sasuke, reluctantly followed Sakura, mainly motivated by his crush on her (Naruto being quite the simp yo).
Their images became more distant, appearing on a crystal ball. It seemed like the Third Hokage was very interested in Naruto's development, not missing any important moments. Smiling,The Third Hokage took a deep breath from his pipe, turning to the side and told Kakashi
"When will you go ? "
Kakashi replied " those kids are still too green for me to go test them in person ".
The Third Hokage, getting pensive, suggested that maybe one of them could push his clone.
"you'd be surprised "
In response, Kakashi sighed and closed his book, a subtle acknowledgment.
"Do i really need to pass them ? "
Asking the Hokage about the matter of the team, Kakashi expressed that giving him such problematic children was a total low blow, "Im not sure Im qualified at being a teacher " earning a chuckle from Hiruzen.
Smiling, the Third Hokage revealed that he was also a problematic child "At the time,you were also a probleme child,kakashi " Adding that the only reason he graduated at the time was because of Minato's trust in him.
"Just like Minato trusted in you,Trust in them and give them a chance "
Kakashi, with a blank expression, questioned " what good did that trust do him ? "
The Third Hokage, looking at the Yondaime's picture, assured him that Minato was never wrong about him. The Hokage advised Kakashi to trust more in his old teacher.
"Believe more in your Teacher ! "
Kakashi, without answering, jumped out of the window, disappearing into the village, heading to the training grounds. Hiruzen, not offended by Kakashi's abrupt departure, continued looking at Minato's picture. Speaking to himself, he said, "Kakashi, it's time for you to bathe in the light once more. There is no place anymore in the dark for someone like you."
Focusing back on his observation ball, the image changed to Makoto Mori, appearing in a meeting with Genma and his team as they tried to pass their survival exam.