[A.N: You'll see a small change in Writing style,from third person perspective to from Naruto's perspective, hope you like it from here]
"All I gotta do is grab the bell, right?" I said, lunging at Kakashi with a punch. He barely blocked it in time. "But I want a fight!" I added, grinning.
"You've really trained well... but you want a fight, huh!" Kakashi replied, then vanished right before my eyes. Sakura came over to me and asked, "You could've just grabbed the bell. Why didn't you?"
"I know..." I said, "Listen up, I've got a plan. This whole thing is about teamwork. So, I'll pinpoint Kakashi-sensei's location, and you'll be the one to attack him."
"Okay! But what about you?" Sakura asked.
"You'll see!" I replied with a smirk.
Kakashi was hiding behind a tree, reading that pervy book I gave him. Suddenly, Sakura, with her insane strength, punched the ground near him, causing a massive shockwave that uprooted trees.
Kakashi dodged just in time. "You found me, huh! That's really an improvement!" he said.
"It is!" Sakura smirked, throwing another punch. Kakashi dodged again, but she hit the ground hard.
"If that hits, I'm a dead man!" Kakashi thought.
I suddenly appeared beside Sakura. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, I don't see the bell around your waist. Did you lose it?" I said.
Kakashi looked down, realizing the bell was gone. "No need to look, I got them," I said, smiling.
"You took them, but..." Kakashi started, then stopped. "So, Sakura distracted me with her attacks, and in the meantime..."
"Yep! While you were busy dodging, I swiped the bells. You didn't even notice!" I said.
"You've really grown, Naruto. You didn't just use your strength but also Sakura's. You've come a long way," Kakashi thought. "You won. You got the bell, and besides that, you both have grown really well!" Kakashi said.
Sakura and I high-fived and headed back to where we started the test. Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya were waiting for us. "Naruto and Sakura, you've both become very strong shinobi. I hope you continue to improve," Tsunade said.
"Yeah, you two have really improved over the last few years!" Kakashi-sensei said, looking at us.
"Should I break the news to them, Kakashi?" Granny Tsunade asked. I had no idea what news she meant, but Kakashi-sensei nodded.
"From now on, Kakashi won't be your team leader!" Granny Tsunade announced. Sakura and I exchanged confused looks and then turned to Kakashi-sensei, who seemed to be smiling under his mask.
"What do you mean, Granny Tsunade?" I asked, still puzzled. Sakura nodded in agreement, looking for answers.
She gave a small smile. "No need to worry. Kakashi won't be your team leader because from now on, you three are a team, and Kakashi will be your teammate. The team's name is 'Team Kakashi,'" she said.
With that, Granny Tsunade returned to her office. Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Pervy Sage, and I walked through the village. Yeah, I still call him Pervy Sage...
I suggested a team reunion meal, but Kakashi-sensei had some work to do and left. To be honest, his "important work" is probably just reading one of Pervy Sage's books.
So, it was just me and Sakura heading to Ichiraku Ramen for our reunion meal. As we sat there, I noticed she hadn't changed much over the years. Sure, she's gotten a lot stronger, but her feelings seemed the same. I had hoped they'd change a bit, but they didn't.
Anyway, we chatted about the past few years and how much we've both grown since we last met. It was one of the best conversations I've ever had with her.
Anyways, we sat there, ate, and had a conversation about our past few years and how much we both have changed since the last time we met.
This may be the best conversation I had with her, like, forever...
After that, we went our separate ways. I headed back to my apartment, and she returned to her place as well.
Back at my apartment, I spent most of the day cleaning and trying to make the place livable again.
After a few hours of hard work, I was exhausted. I realized that I had nothing in the refrigerator, so I went outside to get something to eat for the night. I ended up going back to Ichiraku Ramen for dinner and then returned to my apartment.
After taking a relaxing bath, I went straight to bed.
The next morning, I got up early, as usual. Years of training have turned me into an early riser. Today was no different; I did some yoga and meditated a bit.
After that, I stepped out of my apartment, looking sharp in my black combat jacket with glowing blue patterns. Underneath, I had a sleeveless shirt. My black pants, equipped with kunai, matched my knee-high boots. My blue cloak with silver designs flowed behind me. I adjusted my fingerless gloves and tightened my headband, ready to roll.
I bought this outfit while training with Jiraiya-sensei. He took me shopping after my old clothes got shredded. I liked this new look; it's darker and way cooler than what I used to wear.
After leaving my apartment, I headed to Ichiraku Ramen for breakfast again. I realized I would need to buy a lot of groceries soon; eating out all the time was getting a bit too much.
After eating, I met up with my team—Sakura and Kakashi-sensei—and we walked through the village to the mission assignment desk. This was my first mission after two years, and I couldn't help but feel a lot of excitement.
Both Sakura and Kakashi-sensei seemed a little stunned by my outfit choice, but they complimented it nonetheless. Sakura said, "It looks cool!" and Kakashi-sensei also chimed in with a compliment.
After a while, we reached the mission assignment desk. We knocked and entered the room to find Iruka-sensei and a few others. Granny Tsunade and Shizune were standing beside him.
After some talking, she gave us our mission. To our surprise, it was a D-Rank mission. Seriously? I didn't spend over two years training outside the village just to come back and chase cats.
I rejected it, and we started a heated discussion—well, more like a conversation—about this mission.
Before I could say anything else, the mission assignment room door slid open. A woman walked in, holding a piece of paper. "Lady Tsunade, there's bad news," she said urgently.
"What's going on?" Granny Tsunade asked, her eyes narrowing.
"An urgent message from the Sand," the woman replied, handing the paper to Granny Tsunade.
"The Sand?" Granny Tsunade's voice echoed with surprise as she read the paper.
Iruka-sensei, standing next to her, looked just as shocked. "I can't believe it," he mumbled.
"What's the news?" Kakashi-sensei finally asked.
"The Kazekage of The Sand has been taken by the Akatsuki!" Granny Tsunade announced, leaving everyone in shock.
"The Kazekage? You mean Gaara, right?" I asked, even though I already knew. I just couldn't believe they got him.
"Yes, they attacked the Sand Village and took Gaara after a fight with one of the Akatsuki members," she explained.
"But didn't they strengthen their defenses after Master Jiraiya's warning?" Kakashi-sensei questioned.
"They did, but somehow the Akatsuki still managed to infiltrate the village," Granny Tsunade responded. There was a brief silence before she continued, "Our intel on Akatsuki's movements is top-notch, giving us an edge over other villages. The Sand has called for our help, so Team Kakashi, your new mission is to head to the Sand Village and help them bring back their Kazekage."
"But Lady Tsunade...!" Shizune exclaimed.
"No buts. Team Kakashi will join the Sand Village to retrieve their Kazekage. I'll send a backup squad as soon as I can," she said firmly. "Understood?" She looked at the three of us, and we nodded in agreement.
We nodded in agreement...