At the training ground, Kakashi glanced at Sakura, then at Sasuke beneath his foot.
With his usual deadpan expression, he said, “Are you looking down on ninja?
Huh!
Why do you think you were put into teams for this exercise?”
Kakashi’s calm voice spread across the training ground.
“Eh?
What do you mean?” Sakura asked.
After glancing at Sakura, Kakashi continued explaining, “You completely failed to understand the answer to this test!”
“The answer?” ×2
“Yes.
The answer that determines whether or not you are qualified.”
Sakura frowned.
“That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to ask about from the beginning!”
“Seriously, are your brains filled with tofu?
Do you even understand what being placed in a three-person team means?” Seeing the three of them fall silent after his words, Kakashi continued, “It means teamwork!”
“So we’re supposed to work together as a team?” Sakura asked the question Sasuke wanted answered, while Naruto frowned.
“That’s right.
But you’ve only realized it now, and it’s already too late.
If the three of you had attacked together from the very beginning, you might have had a slim chance of getting the bells.
But, unfortunately!”
Sakura looked at the two bells and seemed to realize something.
She immediately asked, “Why are there only two bells if we’re supposed to work as a team?
Even if all three of us get a bell, one person would still have to give theirs up in the end.
How is that teamwork?
Isn’t this obviously designed to make us turn against each other?”
Kakashi gave her a straightforward answer.
“Of course.
That’s exactly what this test was designed for.
It’s meant to select people who, even under those circumstances, will put teamwork ahead of their own interests.
That’s the purpose of the test.”
Kakashi raised his head and continued looking at the three of them.
“But you three…
Heh!
First, Sakura.
You completely ignored Naruto right in front of you and spent your entire time thinking about Sasuke, who you didn’t even know where he was!” Hearing this, Sakura lowered her head in shame.
“Then there’s Sasuke.
From the very beginning, you treated the other two as obstacles and acted like a lone wolf.
Your traps were well done, and you eventually joined forces with Naruto, but that was nothing more than a compromise forced by circumstances.” Hearing Kakashi’s assessment, Sasuke gritted his teeth.
“And finally, Naruto.
You made the same mistake as Sasuke.
Perhaps you thought you could get the bells by yourself, which is why you charged around recklessly at the beginning.
Only after realizing that it was difficult to get the bells alone did you remember that you had two teammates.” Naruto didn’t refute Kakashi’s analysis.
“A mission requires every member of a team to work together to complete it.
It’s true that ninja need exceptional individual skills, but teamwork is even more important.
A lone wolf who destroys teamwork can put their comrades in danger, and may even cause them to lose their lives!” Looking at Kakashi in front of him, Naruto silently thought, ‘Kakashi, you’ve got to have been brainwashed by Uncle Tobi.’
Kakashi pulled two kunai from his ninja tool pouch.
He threw one and cut Sakura’s ropes, then placed the other against Sasuke’s neck before continuing, “For example, Sakura, kill Naruto quickly, or Sasuke will die!”
She stared at Naruto, unable to make up her mind.
“What?” Naruto exclaimed in shock, as if he couldn’t believe what he had heard.
“Just like this!” Kakashi glanced at the two flustered children and put away his kunai.
“What the heck!
You scared me to death!” Sakura breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the kunai being withdrawn.
“When a comrade is taken hostage and you’re forced to make a choice that could cost your comrade their life, that’s the kind of situation you may encounter.
The missions you carry out are all ones where you risk your lives.” Kakashi put away his kunai, released Sasuke, and turned toward the Memorial Stone.
“The many names engraved on this stone all belong to ninja who were called heroes in the village!” Kakashi said solemnly.
“Isn’t becoming a hero great?
I want to become a hero too!” Naruto said excitedly upon hearing this.
“This is the Memorial Stone.
Every name engraved on it belongs to a hero who died in the line of duty!” Kakashi stared intently at the Memorial Stone.
“What!” Naruto exclaimed.
The three of them looked at the rows of names engraved on the stone, seemingly realizing something.
“Kakashi-sensei, there’s someone you care about on here too, isn’t there?” Naruto looked at Kakashi’s back and spoke solemnly.
“Yes.
The name of one of my friends is on it!” Looking at Kakashi’s back, the three fell silent for a moment.
“You three, I’ll give you one last chance.
But this afternoon, we’ll have an even more brutal battle for the bells.
Anyone who wants to challenge it can eat their lunch.
But don’t give any to Sakura.
And you two, go tie Sakura back up!” Kakashi turned around and looked at the three of them.
“What?
Kakashi-sensei, why can’t Sakura have any?
Didn’t you say we have to work as a team?
She’s also a member of our team!” Naruto protested angrily.
“This is punishment for contributing nothing during the morning exercise.
At least you two put in some effort, but she…
Heh!” Kakashi glanced at Sakura before continuing, “If I find anyone giving her food, that person will immediately be deemed unqualified!
Don’t question it.
Here, I am the rules.
Understood?”
The three stood frozen in place after hearing Kakashi’s words.
At the training ground, Sasuke sat to one side eating his lunch.
Naruto opened his lunch box, hesitated for a moment, looked around, then glanced at Sakura and quietly approached her.
“I’m so hungry!” Sakura, tied to the log, lowered her head and looked at her growling stomach.
She couldn’t help regretting listening to Kakashi.
Just then, she heard footsteps approaching.
When she looked up, she saw Naruto holding his lunch box.
“Here!” Naruto picked up a mouthful of rice and held it to Sakura’s lips.
“Naruto, you’ll be in trouble if you get caught.” Sakura glanced at Sasuke, then looked at the food in front of her and hesitated.
“I checked.
Kakashi-sensei isn’t here.
Besides, he said we have to work as a team, right?
We’re one unit, so have some!
We’ll all pass the test together this afternoon.” Naruto grinned carelessly.
Sasuke heard Naruto’s words, glanced at him, then held out his own lunch box.
“Sasuke!” Sakura looked at the lunch box he offered with a deeply moved expression.
“Here.
The Dead Last is right.
The three of us are going to get the bells this afternoon.
If you get in the way because you’re hungry, it’ll be a real headache for me!” As he spoke, he personally picked up a mouthful of rice and held it out to her.
“Hurry up, or that guy will be back soon!”
“Sasuke!” Hearing Sakura’s overly sweet voice, Naruto shuddered.
Fortunately, Sakura had already eaten, and Kakashi was probably about to show himself.
Naruto walked away with a disappointed look before perking himself up and starting to eat.
Watching from behind a tree, Kakashi remained silent, but the smile in the corners of his eyes showed that he wasn’t angry.
“You three actually dared to disobey my rules.
Are you prepared to face the consequences?” Kakashi jumped in front of the three and said.
He then formed hand seals, and the sky seemed to darken along with his movements.
“Anything else you want to say?”
“Because the teacher said the three of us are a team!” Naruto shouted loudly, his voice breaking through the pressure Kakashi was imposing.
Sasuke also straightened up.
“That’s right.
Didn’t you say the three of us are one unit?”
“Yes, exactly!” Sakura immediately followed their words.
“Isn’t this the team you wanted?”
“The three of you are one?” Kakashi slowly approached, his face solemn as he looked at them.
Then, while the three stared at him in confusion, he smiled and said, “Congratulations.
You’ve passed.”
The dark clouds dispersed.
At the training ground, Kakashi looked at the three of them and said, “The previous ones were all idiots who only knew how to follow my orders.
A ninja needs to see through a trap within a trap!
In the world of ninja, those who break the rules are scum, but those who don’t know how to value their comrades are the lowest of the scum!”
Naruto looked at Kakashi, tears of emotion streaming down his face as he shouted, “That was so cool!
Kakashi-sensei!”
“The exercise is over.
Everyone passes!
Team 7 will begin carrying out missions tomorrow.” Kakashi gave them a thumbs-up.
“The three of them answered, “Yes!
At this moment, even Sasuke, who had kept a cold expression the entire time, couldn’t help feeling excited.
‘Finally, I’ve become a Genin.
Soon, I’ll be able to catch up to you.’
Seeing the three excited children, Kakashi was filled with emotion as well.
“All right, it’s still early.
Go home and get yourselves ready.
To celebrate the formation of Team 7, let’s have dinner together tonight!”
“Yay!” Naruto was the first to jump up, already deciding to make Kakashi pay for a good meal.
After all, he’d been eating cup noodles for nearly two whole months.
Sakura also looked at Kakashi expectantly, while Sasuke still showed no expression, though his eyes revealed a hint of anticipation.
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