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The sun was still below the horizon when the children gathered at the assigned training field. For the first 10 minutes, they stood there waiting, and by the time an hour had passed, they all sat in a circle facing each other.
“Ya think it’s gonna be like yesterday?” Naruto held his bag close to his stomach, head resting on the top.
“Probably,” Sakura sighed. She was tired and wished to be back in bed under her warm covers. Sasuke grunted in agreement, sitting in his usual broody posture. Sometimes, Sakura wondered why she even had a crush on the boy. He was attractive but had a shitty personality and could be so cringy it hurt. “Last night, I was reading this book about Genin teams and the protocol for them. As you might know, there are three Genin on each team who are placed under the care and tutelage of a Jonin instructor.” She pulled the book out of her bag, Genin Team Protocol. “While under the instruction of their assigned sensei, new Genin are to learn three fundamental lessons about being ninja: mission protocol, proper conduct for a ninja of the Leaf, and the fundamental values held by the Leaf village. When the Fourth Hokage was still alive, he strongly pushed for Jonin senseis to place greater emphasis on teamwork as a fundamental value. However, after he died, the Third didn’t continue enforcing the belief.”
“Others will only slow you down. It was a fantastical idea that would have been useless in the long run.” Sasuke’s voice was stern, serious in a way that had the others each give him a side eye.
“You're such a downer, I don’t really care for the Fourth myself, but at least I can kinda see where he’s coming from. What if you get hurt in the field, then who’s gonna help you if you’re all by yourself, huh?” Naruto just couldn’t sometimes with this guy. Sure, he hated the Fourth for his own reasons, but that didn’t mean he would dismiss sound logic when he recognised it.
“If you can’t save yourself, then you're weak and deserve to die anyway.”
Sakura was starting to really question this crush of hers. This boy had problems, and she was genuinely beginning to see it. In the last twenty-four hours, Sasuke had said some of the most disturbing things she’d ever heard in her life.
“That’s not true.” When the black haired boy looked into her eyes, they were different from what he was used to. No hearts or adoration reflected in them, the green pools were disturbed, pitying. He looked away, scowling.
“Sakura-chan is right, you stupid Teme. Having someone there when you are down and can’t get up isn’t a weakness; it means you have people who are there to make you stronger. That means when you're up and healthy, not only do you have your strength, but theirs too. Then you become double strong.” The delivery was rough, but Naruto was able to make his point. Sakura had to agree with him on this one.
“I agree, there is more power in two or three than in only one person. Having someone to cover your back never hurts.” Naruto nodded along in complete agreement.
“Tch, you two only think like that because you're weak.” Sasuke’s words hurt, cutting an invisible wound into their targets, formed from defensive irritation.
“Shut up, Teme. Sakura always scores higher than you on every test, and I can beat you in a fight any day. If we worked together, we could beat your sorry ass no problem.” Naruto’s voice was rising with anger as he stood up. Sasuke followed suit, both butting heads, seconds away from a fight.
“Will you two stop?” Sakura tried to put herself between them to prevent the brawl she was sure would transpire if something wasn’t done. She had almost succeeded in getting them to separate when she was forcefully shoved down, her backside hit hard against the soft grass.
“What the fuck is your problem, you shitty bastard?” Naruto yelled, and anger shot through him. “Why did you push Sakura-chan like that? That was totally uncalled for.”
“Maybe, if she weren’t always getting in my way, I wouldn’t have to move her out of it forcibly. And maybe if she weren’t so weak, she wouldn’t be in my way in the first place, so it just proves my point. Even if teamwork makes someone stronger, with teammates like you, I’ll only be slowed down. A weak pathetic girl that can’t do anything but lean on others for an opinion, and a dumbass that couldn’t even pass a single test given to him. I bet you cheated to get that headband.”
“Fuck you, bastard. At least I’m not a shit ass human being that can’t see the value in a helping hand. I bet you don’t even hate us that much, you're just scared we’re right, that you aren’t strong enough to complete your ‘ambition’ on your own. You’re just a weak, pathetic loser, who’s just as scared of your monsters as everyone else is of theirs.”
The words were meant to cut, hurt their recipients. The boys launched at each other in a burst of rage. Kicks and firsts landed, each bruise a testament to the anger that kept building. Both continued to throw vile words and cutting statements at one another. It lasted for a while before exhaustion kicked in. By the time they were done, each sported a sizable amount of scrapes and bruises. It wasn’t until they stopped that they heard the soft sniffles from their female teammate. She was sitting with her knees to her chest, tears running down her cheeks, eyes puffy and red.
They stopped and stared awkwardly. Naruto was the first to act. He slowly approached her, trying to reach out gently, but stopped when she flinched back. He retracted his arm and quickly retreated away, sitting off to the side, his eyes filled with hurt and uncertainty. Sasuke sat himself a few feet away from them, silent and broody as always, refusing to look in their direction.
That was how Kakashi found them when he arrived. Well, well, what happened here?
None of them acknowledged his appearance. It took him clearing his throat for them to look up at him. Sakura’s face had been resting on her knees, so when she looked up, Kakashi was able to see the slight soft pink puffiness around her eyes. She had been crying. The boys looked like they had been in a fight, and none of them would look at each other, so words had definitely been thrown around. But that wasn’t his problem right now, so he wouldn’t ask.
“Alright, kiddos, are we all ready for the survival test?” No one answered verbally, but their eyes stayed fixed on him, waiting for him to continue. Interesting. He pulled an alarm out of his hip pouch and set it on a stump that sat not far from the group. “This will go off at noon. Before that, you need to get these bells from me.” He also pulled out two little silver bells, hanging from two red threads tied together. This seemed to grab their attention. Sakura raised her hand.
“Why are there only two bells, Sensei?”
Kakashi grinned.
“Because only the ones that get a bell can pass. So whoever doesn’t get one will fail and be sent back to the academy. If none of you get a bell, then all of you will be sent back.” He smiled at the looks on their faces. “So, you'd better come at me with the intent to kill. You won't be able to get them otherwise.”
All the kids jumped to their feet, looking at each other and sizing up the others. Kakashi chuckled internally before calling for their attention. “You may begin.”
All the kids jumped back, going to hide. Well, at least two of the three did. Naruto stood tall and proud. Well, he definitely has a different approach.
“Are you not going to hide with your teammates?”
“Why should I? I’m gonna beat you fair and square, right here, right now, believe it!” The boy got into a flimsy fighting style before launching forward.
“I see, then I will teach you the first lesson in being a ninja, Taijustu.” Kakashi reached his hand into the pouch at his side. Naruto stopped his advance and jumped back slightly. Taijutsu was a fighting style that involved hand-to-hand combat. What was he doing, grabbing a weapon? Trying to guess what the man was about to do, Naruto prepared himself for the worst. A flash of orange appeared before the item was fully displayed. It was a little orange book.
Oh hell no, this guy was a total pervert. I knew he was a freak. The blonde’s face morphed into disturbed disgust as he slowly backed further away with quick steps, putting a more than comfortable distance between them.
This was not the reaction Kakashi had anticipated. Sure, he expected him to stop his pursuit, but not completely give up. “Mah, Naruto. Getting scared?” This was supposed to antagonize the kid back into action, but it didn’t seem to be working.
“Fucking pervert. I knew you were a freak, but I didn’t think you were this much of one.” The kid pointed at his book accusingly. “Do you get off on reading that trash in front of kids or something, perverted pedo?”
Kakashi almost dropped the book in shock. What the fuck.
“Now, Naruto, let’s not throw such names around. I would never touch any of you in a manner unbefitting of an adult towards a child.” He reassured the kid, still looking at him with distrust.
“I don’t believe you, I mean, look at you, confidently pulling out porn in front of a minor.” Naruto would not see reason. Kakashi felt backed into a corner. He closed his eyes for a second to rethink his strategy, missing the glimmer in the boy's eyes and the smirk that appeared on his face.
He heard the sound of small feet rushing towards him, and in no time, he was surrounded by a dozen blonde-haired, blue-eyed look-alikes. They grabbed onto him as one jumped up, going for an attack. Before any of them could grasp the bells and/or get a hit in, he switched places with the first one he could get a hand on before teleporting to a tree. All the clones disappeared when they realized Kakashi was gone after having a little skirmish trying to find him. A cloud of smoke covered the area, revealing only an empty field.
He’s smarter than one would think.
Naruto was deeper in the forest than his teammates, glad for it when a rush of memories hit him, making him dizzy. That’s new.
After the commotion he caused, and while the shadow clones distracted the Jonin, he had made a quick escape, wanting to reassess his approach. He had to do this for pranking sometimes if something wasn’t working right or if he was about to get caught before he could set everything up.
It didn’t take him long, but an idea had popped into his head. The problem was he’d need help if it were going to work. Damnit, if only Shika were here, this would be so much easier.
Kakashi focused on his next target, Sakura, who he found quietly sneaking around trees. He watched her, drawing the assumption that she was looking for Sasuke by the way she searched the area. “Ninja lesson number two, Genjutsu, ” he whispered. He quickly weaved a few signs with his hands, then sat back to watch as Sakura fell under the low-grade jutsu. To his surprise, she broke it quickly.
Wanting to see how far she could go, he used a stronger one, nothing that would be above what an intermediate genin would be able to detect and break, but more than any fresh graduate would be able to handle. He watched her fall under and waited.
She felt a disturbance in her chakra as she tried to make her way through the forest silently. Her first instinct had told her to find either Sasuke or Naruto. After causing that whole scene and attempting to catch their sensei unawares, unsuccessfully, the blonde had disappeared entirely. So, she thought about going to find Sasuke to see if he would work with her, but when she thought about the words he had spewed about her, she stopped to rethink. In the end, she just wandered around trying to think up a plan and hoping by a stroke of luck she might run into Naruto, the teammate she wasn’t mad at currently.
The moment she felt something off, she took note of herself and thought it through. When she looked up, a bleeding, half-dead Sasuke stood in her wake. The sight shocked her greatly, but there was definitely something wrong with it. Her book had said that Jonin senseis were forbidden from using lethal force on a Genin under their tutelage. Genjutsu. Focusing, she disrupted her chakra. “Kai!”
The cloudiness in her mind cleared, and the weird feeling dissipated. Iruka-sensei had done a brief lesson on the subject back at the academy. Genjutsu was a type of jutsu that focused on the mind of its recipient. It used chakra to create an illusion that fooled the senses and the mind into a false reality. The caster could choose this image and usually took a great deal of imagination and chakra concentration. The better control you had, the more in-depth and vivid the illusion. People who specialized in this particular jutsu were rare and far between, but were a great asset to any ninja force.
Sakura knew that it was Kakashi who had put her under, but when she tried to look for him, there was nothing. Deciding her current location was compromised, she made a run for it. It took her a while before she realised she was caught in another one, this one stronger than the last. When she released it, she saw Naruto waving his hand in front of her to get her attention.
“Hello? Anyone in there?” She blinked before answering.
“Hey, Naruto. Sorry, Kakshi-sensei caught me in another genjutsu.”
The confused look he gave told her how much he had been paying attention during that lecture.
“Never mind, what are you doing here? I mean, I’m glad to see someone else, but you completely disappeared back there after fighting Sensei.”
“Oh, yeah, about that. You know how I use a different clone jutsu?” Sakura nodded, curious where this was going. “Well, I just found out that when they disappear, their memories transfer back to me.” His eyes held a light in them, but also something that spelled trouble.
“What!? That’s amazing!”
“I know, and I have an idea how we can try to get the bells, but I’m gonna need help.” The fox-like grin matched the glint in his eyes. Sakura couldn’t say she wasn’t at least a little interested in what Naruto had in mind, so she agreed.
Sasuke’s eyes were trained on their potential Jonin instructor. The man stood, relaxed, as he read his book in the middle of the forest. He had been trailing him, watching as he beat Naruto and Sakura, only to watch the girl stand in a clearing for several minutes and then walk off to stand where he currently was. This was his chance; he had stayed hidden for quite a while, letting the man get comfortable, relaxed.
His movements were quick and rehearsed as he threw several shuriken as a distraction. He was behind him in seconds, kunai at the ready, charging full speed to catch him unawares. With lethal force, he thrust the knife-like object into his target; the feeling of it penetrating flesh made his hands shake slightly, but he held his nerve. As the Jonin has said, they should come at him with the intent to kill.
The moment seemed to go into slow motion as he prepared to grab for the bells; he could have sworn his fingers grazed one of the mental balls, only for the corpse, which had been falling, to turn into a log, the silver-haired man nowhere to be seen. In a panic, Sasuke quickly turned around, darting back into the trees for cover. His target knew he was there and where he was. His position was compromised. As he planned his next moves, a blur of silver caught his eye. Kakashi stood in front of him, book still in hand, and an aura of disinterest surrounding him. The single eye that could be seen measured him up with contempt. Quickly, Sasuke got into a fighting stance, ready for the battle he assumed would come.
“Hm, looks like you're the last one standing. I should be able to make quick work of you.” The tone the man used was dismissive, like Sasuke’s skill amounted to no more than a speck of dirt. It irked him, rage simmering beneath his skin.
“I’m not like those two idiots you fought earlier.” He spat the words. He was stronger. Better. Smarter. They couldn’t compare to him. How dare this man look down on him? He was different. He had to be different. Strength was everything. If he wasn’t strong, he was nothing. A waste of space that deserves to die, as they did. He should have just killed him, too.
“Is that so. Well, we’ll see about that, now, won’t we?” A provocation, plain as day. He wasn’t even trying to hide the way he felt about the dark-haired preteen. He didn’t move, just flipped a page in his book, letting his posture slouch further.
Sasuke could feel the simmer turn to a boil as the bubbling rage he felt spilled out of its confines. With a growl of frustration, he began a quick succession of hand signs. The movements were smooth, like he had done them a thousand times; by this point, he probably had. Kakashi, who had previously been putting on airs as someone who could give less of a crap about the situation, zeroed in on what the boy was doing. So, he does know that jutsu.
A sizable ball of fire formed and came barreling at the man. The earth where it landed was scorched black. Ash dusted the ground, and the smell of cinders wafted through the area. There was no way he had missed; the shot was taken at close enough range that there was no other option than for the hit to land. As the smoke cleared, Sasuke watched for the charred body that should have been right where the charring was the worst. Nothing. The area was clear. Trees were singed, but nothing else was there.
Where was he? Left, right, front, back, up? He looked in every direction, but there was no sign of the Jonin. His heart was racing, loud and thundering in his chest. The inevitable feeling of danger rang every alarm bell in his head, but before he could run, the ground shook. A hand shot out from the dirt, grabbing onto his ankle in a death grip. He was buried in the manmade whole, head still out, but body completely encased in the earth. Kakashi stood over him, looking down at him, amusement gleaming from his eyes.
“Well, well, it seems you're not so different after all. I thought you could use a moment to cool down that ego of yours, help you grow a more sensible mindset.” The man laughed to himself as he taunted the boy. Sasuke could only continue to boil in his own heated rage after the man left, probably to find one of the other kids to torment.
“Hahahaahahaha,” Naruto laughed so hard he fell onto his back, rolling on the floor. Sakura stared at the head poking from the ground before turning to hide her own giggles. Sasuke could only glare at them.
“I hate both of you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, you jerk.” Naruto sobered, a grin still plastered across his cheeks. “Need a hand?”
Black eyes narrowed, before an affirmative grunt was made.
“Please.”
Black met blue in a long stare.
“What?”
“Say please, and I’ll help you.”
Sasuke only stared at him, silent.
“Naruto, stop teasing him, and let’s help him out.” Sakura, who had finally gotten herself under control, interjected. Already knowing this tension could easily cause sparks if left alone.
“Why, though? It’s not like I’m asking him to grovel at my feet. I mean, I just want a basic amount of courtesy to come out of his mouth before I help the bastard.” Naruto and Sakura argued for a bit, neither reaching out to help their teammate, still stuck in the ground.
“Please.” The word came out gritted and ugly. Like a dozen kunai were tearing into it, both stopped and looked at the speaker, bewildered. “Well, I said it, so get me out of here.” His tone was annoyed, and his face red from anger or embarrassment, neither could tell.
Whiskers stretched from the bright smile on the blonde's face. “You got it. Give me just a sec.”
Sasuke was out, dirty and a bit rough for ware, but he was out, finally. The two Naruto clones that had helped get him to that point disappeared while the original helped him to his feet.
“Thanks.” It was quiet, clipped.
“No problem. Though now that I’ve helped you, you owe me one.”
A dark eyebrow only raised, black eyes boring into blue ones. A shit eating grin was plastered on that stupid face.
“Sakura and I have a plan to get the bells, but Sakura said we should get you to help us too, even though you’re a jerk face.”
“No, thanks. I can do this on my own.”
“Yeah, because getting buried neck deep in the dirt, really says wonders for your amazing skills.” His tone was pissing off the black-haired boy.
“At least I touched one of the bells. Can’t say the same for the dozen of you that were running around like headless chickens. There were a whole bunch of you, but that amounted to nothing, because you suck.”
Naruto was about to shoot back a retort when Sakura interjected. “Alright, that’s enough. We get it, you don’t like teamwork, but as I was trying to tell you both in the clearing, there have to be three genin to make a team. So, it doesn’t make sense that he can only pass two of us when he should be required to pass all of us to make a team.”
The logic was there. Everything she said made so much sense that Sasuke couldn’t help but feel kind of stupid for not releasing it sooner. He would have to work with them no matter what.
“Fine, I’ll help with your stupid plan, but if this doesn’t work, I’m doing things my way.”
“Ugh, I say we just ditch this asshole and figure it out between the two of us.” Naruto hated how self-centered the boy was.
“No, if we want even to get close to beating a Jonin, we need all the manpower and brain power we can get. Now explain your plan to him, Naruto, so we can go over it again and detail it out.” Sakura was firm on her stance; she knew in her gut this was the right thing, and they needed to work together to achieve their similar goals.
“Okay, so here’s what I’m thinking…”
~~~
“Sound good?” Naruto has just gotten done explaining his plan, a rough sketch scrawled out in the dirt below them.
“Let me get this straight. You want to trap Kakashi by using the fact that he reads… erotic,” Sasuke said the word with distaste, “books.”
“Yeah, we just kinda use that against him and lure him to where we want him.” Naruto gestured with his hand, making a motion of leading his finger, then grasping it with the other fist like a trap. “Then we spring the trap and boom, one Jonnin at our mercy.”
“I thought it was a good idea, but I think we could take it a bit further.” Sakura brought their attention to her. “We have one of Naruto’s clones start; he’ll make Kakashi uncomfortable. Then he’ll switch out with me; I’ll continue baiting, keeping him in one place, and then switch out with you. During that time, real Naruto will start setting up the trap, and when the others give the signal, we’ll lead him to it. Plus, with the memory thing, with Naruto’s shadow clones, we have a way to stay updated with the situation.”
Sasuke nodded along. The plan wasn’t that bad. “Hn, we should come one at a time. Let the Naruto clones engage first, then Sakura. You’ll start towards the location when the clones find him, and we know where he is, and continue to fan the flames. I’ll wait a bit, then come in after you. During that time, we can bounce comments off each other. Then, when we start to lead him towards the trap, it will be all three of us; he won't suspect anything because he’ll be too flustered to realize that Naruto is actually a clone, a long."
The other two nodded. Neither acknowledged that this was the most they had ever heard Sasuke say while not being a jerk. They talked a little more, smoothing out the details of their plan.
Kakshi stood in the clearing of the training ground, reading his novel, when at least twenty Narutos came running at him full speed, each brandishing a kunai. They were fought off quickly, but more and more continued to run out of the woods surrounding him.
“Ha, got you now! Those bells are mine. Believe it!” Their voices rang across the clearing, loud and boisterous. Kakashi only gave a disinterested glance before returning his nose to the book in his grasp. “I can’t believe you're still reading that sex book. Is that what you do to beat your enemies, read about sex so you can perve on your next victim? That’s messed up, you creepy pervert.”
Kakshi almost dropped his book in shock. “Now, now, Naruto, I’ve already told you it’s not nice to spread such nasty falsehoods about people.”
“I’m not saying anything false! You like reading porn in front of kids. That makes you a nasty pervert. Believe it!” Dozens of yellow spikey heads bobbed in agreement.
“Naruto, you idiot, what are you doing!” Sakura had a kunai held up near her chest and looked ready to fight; however, when she saw the gaggle of orange, she was thrown off her game. A multitude of popping sounds and smoke clouds happened before there was only one Naruto in the clearing.
“Sakura! I think our assigned genin instructor is a kid toucher.” Naruto ran up to her, voice loud and clear over the distance. Kakashi could feel the blood drain from his face.
“What!?” Sakura’s voice was alarmed, her features changed from frustrated to uneasy, eyes darting from Naruto to Kakashi.
“Yeah, he likes reading porn in front of children.” Naruto had reached her, his volume only going a notch lower than it had been. “That orange book is filled with sex stuff.” Sakura reared back, eyes shifting to Kakashi, apprehension clear on her face.
“They wouldn’t let someone like that teach fresh genin, though, right?” Her voice wavered, uncertain.
“I don’t know. Some of those kinds of people are really good at hiding it.” Naruto’s voice was resolute, like he had completely made up his mind. This seemed to sway Sakura significantly.
Kakashi attempted to rectify the situation. “Now, children. I want to make this very clear. I would never try to do anything like that. I am not attracted to kids.” This didn’t seem to persuade them at all. As Kakshi stepped towards them, both took generous steps back.
“That’s what every pedo says,” Naruto whispered to Sakura, who curled in on herself as fearful mint green eyes bore into the Jonin’s face.
They stood in that standstill for quite a while, and Kakashi continued to defend himself to deaf ears. The more he said, the less the children believed him. He almost became hysterical with his defence when a blur of black shot towards him. Sasuke, trying to catch him unaware, came from behind, trying to slash at his neck, but the Jonin dodged easily. The boy was about to launch another attack when Naruto launched at him, holding him back.
“WAIT!” The panic in the blonde's voice stopped the other’s struggle to get free and push the other boy off.
“Idiot, get off of me. Why did you stop me? You're getting in my way!” Sasuke huffed, finally wrenching himself away.
“Don’t go near him; he might make you the next victim.” Naruto’s tone was serious.
“What are you talking about, dumbass?”
“Okay, let’s not start this again.” Kakashi’s interjection was ignored.
“Our sensei‘s a child toucher.” This was said as a fact. Sasuke stopped and looked at Naruto before turning his eyes to the silver-haired man.
“You can’t be serious. They wouldn’t let someone like that be a jonin instructor.” The way his voice wavered was all it took for Kakashi’s hopes to be crushed.
Sakura piped up, “I thought the same, but if he has never acted on the urge or gotten caught, it’s still possible.”
Naurto nodded along, face set in a hard stare. Sasuke let a frosty detachment scrunched his features as he continued to look at their to-be teacher.
“Disgusting.”
“Do you think we should report this to the Hokage?” Sakura’s words had everyone’s attention on her.
“Yes.”
“That’s a good idea, Sakura-chan. We can’t let someone like this be allowed near kids, believe it.”
“Absolutely not, I am not a pedophile. You could get me in a lot of trouble spreading a rumor like that. That’s defamation and very much illegal.” The jonin’s voice was stern, face pale at the implications of what these kids could do.
“That’s not true. It’s not defamation if what we’re saying is the truth.” Sakura stated matter-a-factly.
The three looked at each other, then shot off in the direction of the Hokage tower. Kakashi ran after them. A fire had been lit under him. While that would get him suspended from being a genin instructor, it would also paint an understandable target on his back. He would lose any respect he ever had, and even without that, he refused to be associated with such disgusting people.
Catching up to the kids, he was immediately filled with suspicion when both Sasuke and Sakura split up from the blonde who jumped down before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Kakashi’s foot had barely grazed the ground when a rope curled around his ankle, pulling him upside down, hanging from a branch. The three children jumped out from the forest around him and went straight for the bells, but before they could touch him, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared behind them. They whipped around to face him.
Sakura let a soft, nasty string of curses. All three males looked at her, and Naruto could help but let out a soft “damn”. The jonnin cleared his throat to regain their attention.
“So, which one of you little shits came up with the plan to call me a pedophile to throw off my focus?” Naruto’s shit eating grin told him all he needed to know. “I see.”
The timer's alarm went off at that moment, and the children’s faces fell; they had forgotten entirely about the timer in the midst of their planning and execution, having been so sure it would work. Kakashi gestured for them to follow him as he made his way back to the clearing.
“You pass.” The words came out as if they were a menial conversation starter.
All the children stared at the jonnin like he’d grown another head.
“But we didn’t get any of the bells!” Naruto practically shouted. Sasuke grunted in agreement. Sakura said nothing, her thoughts swirling for an answer.
“Sakura?” The way he said her name prompted her to lay her thoughts out in the open.
“A genin team is made up of three genin and a chunnin or jonnin instructor, depending on the level of the genin. You only have two bells, and if we have to have a bell to pass, then there would only be two genin on the team, which is against the rules. That means that the bells weren’t the real objective in the test. From your age, I infer you must be over 25. I originally thought you were like 40, but that wouldn’t make sense, so you have to be in your late twenties.” Kakashi wheezed at the accusation and was about to interject, but Sakura continued without pause. “So, that would mean you would have been a genin in the time of the Fourth Hokage, meaning that teamwork would have been a part of the curriculum you were taught. That would mean that the true objective was teamwork. Right, sensei?” She looked up at him, searching for approval.
“That is correct, Sakura.” Kakashi couldn’t say he wasn’t impressed by the clear intellect she possessed. All those books were certainly put to good use. “Remember this, in the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.”
They were silent as they took in his words.
“Does this mean we’re real ninjas! YES!” Naruto happily bounced around shouting his excitement, breaking the silence. The other two weren’t nearly as excited, but both seemed to be happy in their own way: Sasuke with his moody frown and arms crossed over his chest, and Sakura, who was still riding the high of the praise she was given.
“Wait, this means we’re stuck with a pervert as our teacher.” Naruto went from celebrating to bemoaning this fact.
“Yep!” Kakshi chipped. “You're stuck with me!”
“Absolutely not, I’m telling the Hokage that you're a freak who likes reading porn in front of kids. I don’t wanna be stuck with you.” The other two kids seemed to agree with this; both found it disgusting that the man would read that kind of content in front of minors. Where was his shame?
“What if I promise not to read that in front of you anymore. At least until you become an adult.” The three seemed to consider this, huddling in whispers before reaching a consensus.
Sakura was the representative they chose to speak. “We will agree, but you also have to buy us lunch to make up for past grievances. Those are our terms, take ‘em or leave ‘em.”
Kakashi wanted to laugh, but he held himself back. He was beginning to like these kids. This is bad. I might be getting attached. I can’t do that, gotta keep my distance. “Fine, I’ll buy lunch, but no more calling me a pedo or anything that is associated with that.”
The genin agreed.
“Let’s have ramen!” Naruto’s voice abruptly rang through the clearing as he ran out of the train, ground to his chosen destination.
“Naruto, we have to agree on a place, you can’t just decide that all on your own!” Sakura shouted after him, but it fell on deaf ears. Naruto was already out of sight, and the growl from her stomach told her that ramen was fine as long as she got it as soon as possible.
Kakashi followed after them, Sasuke walking a few paces in front of him. Neither said anything, but Sasuke didn’t have to with the scowl on his face. Is there anything that doesn’t make this kid unhappy?