"Sas… Sasuke…"
Naruto, still hanging upside down from the tree, was now crying uncontrollably.
His tears were falling so heavily they were almost landing directly into his lunchbox.
Covered in snot and tears, Naruto's pitiful state made both Sasuke and Sakura visibly uncomfortable.
At that moment, Kakashi suddenly appeared.
"Congratulations! You've passed!"
Naruto froze, stunned.
What?
What did this white-haired guy just say?
They passed? How?
What was going on?
Kakashi released Naruto from the tree.
Once on the ground, Naruto seemed ready to ask for clarification, but Kakashi began speaking before he could.
"A team needs to be united and understand the importance of cooperation to complete missions effectively!"
"Relying solely on individual strength has its limits."
"For instance, none of you could have taken the bells from me alone. It's impossible."
"But if you had worked together, there was a chance!"
"This test was designed to see if you'd grasp the concept of teamwork."
"Based on your recent actions, it's clear you've taken the first step in understanding the importance of making sacrifices for your comrades."
"Well done! That's why I'm declaring you all passed!"
Sasuke couldn't help but internally scoff at Kakashi's speech.
Teamwork?
In Sasuke's eyes, teamwork was just an excuse for the weak to justify their failures.
Would someone truly powerful ever need cooperation?
But this wasn't the time or place to voice such thoughts.
"I see."
Naruto glanced at the lunchbox in his hands and then at Sasuke.
If he and Sasuke had worked together, they might indeed have had a chance to take the bells from Kakashi.
Sasuke's combat ability was far superior, and while Naruto couldn't match him, he could at least serve as a distraction.
With the right opening, Sasuke would've been able to seize the bells.
But they hadn't done that.
Sakura, standing nearby, also seemed to understand now.
Kakashi looked at the three of them. "Alright! Now that you understand, Team 7 is officially formed as of today!"
Naruto and Sakura broke into genuine smiles upon hearing this.
Sasuke, however, remained calm and indifferent.
Both Kakashi and Hiruzen, watching through his crystal ball, frowned slightly.
Even the formation of a team couldn't bring joy to Sasuke?
But in the next moment, Sasuke's lips curled ever so slightly into a subtle smile, almost imperceptible.
Hiruzen noticed this and chuckled softly.
"A prideful kid… even trying to hide his smile."
Thinking back on Sasuke's childhood, Hiruzen realized it had been equally challenging and harsh.
It was only natural for him to develop this kind of personality.
But as long as he wasn't truly cold and emotionless, there was still hope for change.
Both Kakashi and Hiruzen thought the same thing.
What they didn't realize, however, was that Sasuke's smile had nothing to do with Team 7 being officially formed.
If anything, he would've preferred not to join Team 7 at all.
The real reason Sasuke couldn't suppress his smile was…
"Congratulations, Host. You have successfully passed the team assignment test."
"You are now officially a genin and a member of a ninja team."
"Reward: Ninjutsu mastery level upgraded."
Unexpectedly, Kakashi's test resulted in the system awarding an encouragement prize.
This was truly an unforeseen reward!
Sasuke now found himself wishing Kakashi would come up with more tests.
Of course, that wasn't a realistic request.
"Ninjutsu mastery level upgraded!"
"Does this mean I can enhance the level of techniques I've already mastered?"
For example, upgrading basic mastery to proficiency!
This encouragement prize wasn't bad at all.
Although Sasuke felt that, with his natural talent, improving his ninjutsu mastery level wouldn't be difficult, the current circumstances were different.
Spending time with Naruto meant there was always the risk of Hiruzen "spying" on him.
Hiruzen might secretly keep an eye on Sasuke, which meant it was safer to practice ninjutsu outside of Konoha.
Now that he had become a genin and joined Team 7, he also had daily missions to complete, leaving less time for ninjutsu training.
Under these conditions, this reward was incredibly valuable to Sasuke.
As Sasuke secretly smiled to himself, both Sakura and Naruto noticed his increasingly evident grin.
Sakura said, "Sasuke-kun's smile gives off such a warm feeling!"
Naruto, for once, didn't get jealous and even nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's not that bad. If you can smile like that, why keep a scowl on your face all the time? Smile more often!"
Their comments snapped Sasuke back to reality.
He wasn't in the mood to engage with them.
"Since today is the first day of our Team 7 formation, how about I treat you all to ramen?" Kakashi suggested, aiming to foster team bonding.
As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, Sasuke quickly wiped the smile off his face as if embarrassed.
Waving his hand dismissively, he said, "I'm not going. I need to train!"
Without giving them a chance to respond, he bolted away at full speed.
Kakashi, watching Sasuke retreat, smiled helplessly and called out, "Don't forget, tomorrow at 6 a.m., we meet to start our mission!"
Kakashi could easily understand Sasuke's reaction.
A child who had endured long-term solitude might feel happy when finally accepted by others, but it was natural to have a slight resistance as well.
Sasuke was just too prideful.
He was clearly happy but refused to admit it or show it. He wouldn't even join them for a simple meal.
"Sasuke must have been terribly lonely in the past," Kakashi thought.
"But that's okay. Things will surely get better over time."
Lonely?
If Sasuke knew what Kakashi was thinking, he'd probably be speechless.
Lonely? What nonsense!
The only reason he left in such a hurry was to immediately claim the system's reward.
It had nothing to do with what Kakashi was imagining.
Yet both Kakashi and Hiruzen believed Sasuke was a long-isolated, extremely prideful kid.
They thought there was hope to reshape him and instill the Will of Fire within him.
Naturally, this task would fall to Kakashi.
Although Sasuke was an Uchiha, and the clan had nearly been wiped out, if nurtured properly, he might one day become a staunch defender of Konoha.
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