Sasuke ran off to the bushes to hide while Sakura went her way, taking longing glances at Sasuke.
It was only Naruto left in the open field along with Kakashi.
"Aren't you going to hide?" asked Kakashi.
Naruto smirked. "You know I'm not on their league. Let's see how much you have improved Kakashi."
"Mah, mah, Naruto, go easy. Shinobi fighting lesson number one: taijutsu."
"Alright, let's put on a show."
In a flash, Naruto teleported behind Kakashi.
"No way, has he learnt Minato-sensei's jutsu?" though Kakashi, eyes widening.
Naruto's smirk grew wider. "Underestimation is a big flaw of shinobis," said Naruto.
Quickly, Kakashi substituted himself with a log. Within a second, Naruto attacked again, this time quicker and deadlier.
The two engaged in a fierce taijutsu battle. Naruto threw a senbon at Kakashi's thigh tendon but he deflected it with a kunai. Kakashi threw his shurikens at Naruto who quickly hirashined behind him.
"Sh*t!" cursed Kakashi.
Before he could flicker away, Naruto dislodged his shoulder joint.
"Mah, mah, Naruto, are you trying to kill me?" drawled Kakashi.
Naruto eye-rolled. "Ne, Kakashi, always the actor. Come here, I will heal you."
Naruto placed his palms on Kakashi's shoulders. His hands ignited green. Within seconds, Kakashi was healed.
"Now test my other teammates, don't go too hard on them," said Naruto, flickering away.
It was just Kakashi left in the open.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"When did Naruto become so strong that he could land a hit on Kakashi?" seethed Sasuke, desiring Naruto's power.
Kakashi had an opening now and Sasuke seized the chance to attack. He threw his kunais and shurikens at Kakashi and they were about to hit him until...POOF!
"Damn. Now he knows where I am. He showed an opening on purpose, pathetic! I fell for it!" growled Sasuke, running away to hide in another place.
"So he's there," thought Kakashi.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sakura ran desperately through the bushes. "Sasuke-kun, where could you be? Could sensei have already...No, not Sasuke-kun, that would not happen to him..."
"Sakura, look behind you."
Sakura whipped her head back to only see Kakashi. In an instant, he disappeared and Sakura was caught in a whirlpool of leaves.
"Huh? What was that? What's going on? Where's sensei?" questioned Sakura, panicking.
"Sa...ku-ra..."
Sakura smiled. "That voice...Sasuke-kun!"
She turned around to only see Sasuke penetrated by innumerous kunais and shurikens. He was breathing heavily and staggering, leaning against a tree for support.
"Sakura...Help me..."
Sakura looked at Sasuke in fright. "Ahhhhhhh!"
And then she fainted. Kakashi looked on from a tree, sweatdropping. "I may have gone too far."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sasuke glanced around warily. "That scream...Sakura..."
Kakashi appeared out of nowhere. "Shinobi fighting lesson number two: genjutsu. Sakura easily fell for it."
"I'm not the same as them," said Sasuke.
"Say that after you get a bell, Sasuke-kun. The strength of the village's number one clan: Uchiha. This should be interesting."
Abruptly, Sasuke attacked. The pair engaged in a series of vicious blows and kicks.
Sasuke threw his weapons at Kakashi but it was futile.
"Such obvious attacks are pointless," mocked Kakashi, provoking Sasuke.
He hurled himself at Kakashi and threw a kick to Kakashi's backside. Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise at Sasuke's versatility.
Somersaulting, Sasuke threw a punch which was intercepted with ease. While Kakashi was busy on defence, Sasuke took his chance to grab a bell. Nearly...so close...his hands grazed it... Kakashi retreated quickly. Sasuke seethed.
"What a guy..." thought Kakashi. "I didn't even have time to read Come Come Paradise and he touched a bell as well."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sakura woke up, taking a look at her surroundings.
"Huh...I was...Oh yeah, Sasuke-kun was near death and I saw that and...argh, Sasuke-kun! Don't die and leave me behind! Where are you?!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Well," said Kakashi, "I will acknowledge that you are different from the other two."
Sasuke growled. Quickly, he began performing some hand seals. Boar. Horse. Tiger.
"What? A normal genin shouldn't even have enough chakra to be able to use that jutsu," thought Kakashi, shocked.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The whole area was engulfed in flames. Sasuke looked around. Where was Kakashi?
"To the side? No, above? Where?"
"Below you."
Sasuke glanced down and the whole earth crumbled beneath him.
"Wha—?"
"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Jutsu!"
Instantly, Sasuke was pulled underground. Only his head was above the surface.
"Shinobi fighting lesson number three: ninjutsu. Well, you're already a head above one of your teammate in this area. I acknowledge that you're different, but maybe not in a good way."
"Damn," growled Sasuke angrily while Kakashi smirked and walked away.
Sasuke remained trapped in the earth for a while, writhing desperately around to get out. Eventually, Sakura came along, and her reaction was not too pretty.
"He severed his head, ahhhhhhh!" shrieked Sakura while Sasuke deadpanned.
Sakura fainted, again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Hey."
"Huh? Sasuke-kun's voice? thought Sakura, half unconscious.
And then she opened her eyes.
"Sasuke-kun!" she screamed excitedly. "You're alright."
"Stop! Don't hug me!" There's not much time until lunch. I'm going," grunted Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun, you're still going after the bell?" asked Sakura.
"I already touched it. Next time I'll get it," stated Sasuke plainly.
"What? Oh...I see...You're incredible Sasuke-kun. You know...There isn't much time left so... We don't have to push ourselves too hard...There's always next time..." said Sakura,
"This is bad," she thought. "There's no way I can get a bell. At this rate I will be separated from Sasuke-kun," she thought.
He glared at her. "There's a man that only I can kill."
"Oh, who? Kakashi-sensei?" she asked cluelessly.
"That time...crying..."
"Crying?"
"My..."
"What do you mean?..."
"I am an avenger. I have to become stronger than that man so I can't just stay around here..."
Sakura's eyes widened. Sasuke's introduction when he first met Kakashi played
RING!
"Damn it, wasted too much time," growled Sasuke.
Soon after, all four of them were assembled in the clearing.
"Well, it looks as if all of you are going back to the academy," stated Kakashi.
"No, not all of us," said Naruto, holding up two bells.
"Huh? Naru-chan, when did you get them? After all, I still have the bells," asked Kakashi, not surprised that Naruto managed to secretly get the bells from him.
"Well, when I was fighting you, I took your bells and replaced them with rocks under a genjutsu to make you think that you still had them," explained Naruto
"Well then, who are you going to give the second bell to then?" asked Kakashi.
Naruto answered by throwing his bells to Sasuke and Sakura.
"They can have it. Going back to the academy does not bother me, I can always quit and go out of Konoha again," said Naruto nonchalantly.
"But why would you do that?" asked Kakashi.
"Cause the whole point of this test is to pit us together. The purpose is to see whether we can forget our interests and successfully work together to get the bells under these designated circumstances. Why else do you think we were divided into three-man teams of equal strength?"
"Well explained Naruto. A ninja must see underneath the underneath. Those who break the rules and codes of the shinobi world are called trash...But you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades are worse than trash."
"Kakashi, it's okay, you don't need to talk about it," soothed Naruto, sensing utter heartbreak underneath his cool exterior.
"It's fine Naru-chan. It's a valuable lesson for them as rookie shinobi. Look at the numerous names carved on this stone. These are the shinobi who are recognised as heroes if the village. But they aren't just normal heroes...They are all heroes who died on duty. This is a memorial. My best friend's name is also carved on here. Okay, that ends training. All of you pass! Starting tomorrow, Team 7 will begin its duties! You may all go."
Sakura left happily, excited about becoming a kunoichi along with her Sasuke-kun.
The next day, Team 7 was given a mission to catch Tora the cat.
"What's the distance to the target?" asked Kakashi through the intercom.
"Five metres. I'm ready anytime."
"Hn, same."
"Me too!"
"Ok...GO!"
The three leapt out of the bushed to capture Tora. Sasuke tried grabbing her but it escaped, flailing its paws at him. Sakura saw her chance to impress Sasuke so she made a run for Tora but the cat just scratched her arm. Tora kept running until it saw Naruto.
Naruto was about to scoop Tora up into his arms but Tora leapt into his arms already, snuggling warmly against him, purring contently. She fell asleep.
"Hey! Naruto-baka, how does Tora like you over Sasuke-kun!" screeched sakura.
Naruto shrugged and walked off.
"Ribbon on the left ear, are you sure this is Tora?" asked Kakashi.
"Hn, yeah," confirmed Sasuke.
"Good! Lost pet 'Tora' search mission complete!"
Team 7 went back to the Hokage tower to give Tora back to her owner, the Fire Daimyo's wife, Madame Shijimi. She smothered Tora with many hugs and kisses.
"Oh, my cute little Tora-chan. I was so worried. Thank you so much for finding him!"
"No wonder it ran away," thought Sakura, feeling pity for Tora.
"Anyway, Naruto, how did you manage to catch Tora so easily?" asked Hiruzen curiously. "Afterall, even a lot of our ANBU have a hard time catching Tora."
"Who knows? Maybe it has something to do with my tenant?" replied Naruto ambiguously while Sasuke and Sakura listened to the conversation in interest; Naruto had changed.
"Ah, that makes sense. Anyway, your next duty is...hmmm...Babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighbouring village and help with the potato digging."
"With all due respect, could we please have a higher ranked mission? Oji, I'm getting tired of doing all these chores. I need some action."
"You idiot! Everyone starts with the simple duties and work their way up," scolded Iruka.
"I'm not the same person," stated Naruto coldly. "Everything you have envisioned about me is false."
"It's fine Iruka. Naruto has proven to me that he is indeed a very interesting and capable individual. I'll give you a C-rank mission. It's a protection mission of a certain individual. Hey, will you come in here?"
The door creaked opened.
"What's this? They're all just a bunch of super brats. Especially the shortest one with the black hair, whiskers and pale skin. Are you reallyshinobi? You look more like some weak sissy. Hey!" slurred the man.
Naruto laughed. "In the shinobi world, those who underestimate are the ones that are killed off first."
"Mah, mah, Naru-chan, he's a client so don't threaten him," said Kakashi.
"Anyway, I am the super expert bridge builder Tazuna. I expect you to provide me with protection until I get back to my country and complete building the bridge."
"Alright guys, meet at the front gate in 15 minutes," said Kakashi and he flickered away along with Naruto.
Sasuke and Sakura hurried back home.
In 15 minutes, Team 7 assembled at the front gate along with Tazuna.
"Did you bring anything Naruto-baka?" asked Sakura
"I just sealed it into a scroll. It's called fuinjutsu."
"Oh, I knew that! Anyway, let's go! This is the first time I get to be out of the village!" said Sakura excitedly.
Tazuna sighed. "Am I going to be safe with these people?"
"Don't worry," replied Kakashi. "I'm a jonin and the black-haired kid you insulted is very strong. He's a lot stronger than me."
"Uhuh," said Tazuna, doubt showing evidently on his face.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Ummm...Tazuna-san?" said Sakura shyly.
"What?" he grunted.
"You're from the Wave country right?" she asked.
"What about it?" he replied.
"Umm...Do they have shinobi in that country too?"
Kakashi interjected. "No, not in the Wave country. But, in most other countries the culture and customs may be different but hidden villages exist and so do shinobi. Don't worry, there won't be any shinobi combat in a C-rank mission."
"Then we won't come in contact with foreign shinobi?" asked Sakura.
"Of course not," said Kakashi while Tazuna looked at the floor, fidgeting.
They walked further, and apart from Kakashi and Naruto, they were completely oblivious to the seemingly innocent puddle on the ground.
"Meizu, Gozu, come out," drawled Naruto. "It hasn't been raining for weeks and there's a random puddle on the ground. That's one terrible disguise."
Out of the bush came two sheepish-looking twins.
"Ah, sorry Naruto-sama," said Gozu. "We didn't know it was you."
"Who sent you here?" asked Naruto coolly.
"We can't tell you," said Meizu hot-headedly. "We're sworn to secrecy."
"Oh really? Do you want a repeat of last time?"
"Sorry, Naruto-sama. My brother does not know sense. Gato sent us here to kill the bridge builder so he doesn't finish the bridge," replied Gozu, bowing.
"Alright, you may take your leave."
With that, the twins disappeared in a wreath of mist.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hi reader-chans! I'm so sorry for not updating for a week; I have been so caught up with my exams and uni lectures have been so overwhelming! Especially when you have been procrastinating. 0w0
Hope you like this chapter! Thank you for all the reads so far! CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, please.