Sure enough, that afternoon, the other students were quickly taken away by their assigned Jōnin instructors.
Only Naruto’s Team Seven remained, waiting and waiting without their instructor ever appearing.
Knowing the plot, Naruto naturally did not become impatient like his counterpart in the original story.
Instead, he sat quietly in his seat and entered meditative absorption.
Although Sasuke was growing slightly impatient inside, none of it showed on his cold expression.
Or rather, his usual aloofness concealed it completely.
As for Sakura, as long as she could admire Sasuke’s handsome face while constantly fantasizing about how to win him over, she was perfectly satisfied.
In that sense, she was actually the most patient of the three.
Unfortunately, that state also left her head completely empty.
What a waste of an academically gifted brain.
Two hours later, a tuft of silver hair finally appeared at the classroom door.
“Sorry. I got a little lost on the road of life.”
Although Kakashi wore a mask, anyone could tell that he was smiling.
His uncovered right eye had curved into a crescent, and there was not the slightest trace of genuine apology in his voice.
Feeling how completely insincere he was, Sakura and Sasuke immediately developed dark expressions.
Naruto, meanwhile, calmly opened his eyes and glanced outside the window.
So they finally decided to withdraw the surveillance?
That was right.
The instant Kakashi arrived, the two ANBU who had continuously monitored Naruto withdrew.
Clearly, the Third Hokage believed that with Kakashi around, there was no longer any need for ANBU to continue watching Naruto.
It showed just how much the Third Hokage trusted Kakashi.
For Kakashi himself, that had to be considered something of a tragedy.
“Liar…” Sakura muttered under her breath.
However, to a Jōnin, there was essentially no difference between whispering and speaking normally.
Kakashi could hear her perfectly clearly.
He simply did not care.
“Well, anyway. Follow me first.”
Before long, the three followed Kakashi to the rooftop.
“Then let’s start by introducing ourselves.”
Once they arrived, Kakashi casually sat on the railing.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura found places to sit on the steps in front of him.
“What are we supposed to say in an introduction?” Sakura asked.
“Uh… didn’t you introduce yourselves when you were in school?”
Kakashi replied, “Things like what you like, what you dislike, your dreams, your hobbies… that sort of thing.”
“Shouldn’t you introduce yourself before asking other people to do it?” Sasuke asked coldly.
“Exactly. Sensei is the most suspicious person here,” Sakura immediately agreed.
“Me?”
Kakashi looked mildly surprised.
Then, with his usual dead-fish eye, he said,
“My name is Kakashi Hatake. What I like and dislike is a secret. As for my dreams… I don’t really have any. I have quite a few hobbies, though.”
“So in the end, all we learned was his name.”
Sakura looked speechlessly toward Naruto and Sasuke.
“Now it’s your turn. We’ll start from the right.”
Kakashi looked toward Naruto.
“My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My dream is obviously to become Hokage. I like delicious food, dislike bad food, and as for hobbies… I guess fishing counts.”
Naruto spoke calmly. You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
“Your dream is to become Hokage?”
Kakashi stared at Naruto, who had stated such a grand dream with absolutely no enthusiasm whatsoever.
He was speechless.
He strongly suspected Naruto was putting on an act for him.
“Next…”
Kakashi turned toward Sasuke.
“My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are plenty of things I hate and nothing in particular that I like. As for dreams… those are nothing more than things people casually talk about. I’m not interested in them.”
“I have an ambition.”
“I will restore the Uchiha Clan… and kill that man!”
When Sasuke spoke the final words, a sharp killing intent erupted from his entire body.
Kill that man?
The person who destroyed the Uchiha Clan?
Sasuke-kun is so cool!
Naturally, Sakura knew about the destruction of the Uchiha Clan.
Back then, she had even worried deeply about Sasuke because of it.
But that was all she knew.
Having never investigated the matter in any depth, Sakura only knew that someone had wiped out the Uchiha Clan.
She had no idea that “that man” was also an Uchiha.
More importantly—
He was Sasuke Uchiha’s own older brother.
Itachi Uchiha.
That was why the lovestruck Sakura thought Sasuke’s determination to avenge his clan was incredibly cool rather than…
Incredibly cruel.
So it really is like that…
Kakashi’s gaze became slightly more serious.
But he quickly returned to his usual dead-fish-eyed expression.
“All right. Now the girl.”
Sakura immediately began introducing herself with a dreamy, bashful expression.
“My name is Sakura Haruno. What I like is… or rather, the person I like is… um… my dream is… should I really say it…? Kyaa!”
Watching Sakura somehow work herself into a squeal during her own introduction while constantly sneaking glances at Sasuke, Kakashi was utterly speechless.
Girls at this age really do care more about romance than ninjutsu.
“That’s enough for introductions. Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin missions.”
Having essentially understood the situation, Kakashi finally moved on to the main topic.
Naruto remained completely calm.
Sasuke rested his chin on his hands and merely stared coldly at Kakashi.
Sakura looked expectant.
Kakashi could not help rolling his eye inwardly.
These three brats…
Don’t they know they’re supposed to respond when someone is talking?
“First of all, this mission will be carried out by just the four of us,” Kakashi said.
“What kind of mission is it?” Sakura asked curiously.
Kakashi gave Sakura an approving look.
At least someone finally knew how to respond properly.
Then his expression abruptly darkened, and his eye sharpened as he answered solemnly,
“A survival exercise.”
“A survival exercise? Why are we doing something like that? We did exercises like that all the time at the Ninja Academy,” Sakura asked in confusion.
Kakashi remained completely serious.
“This isn’t an ordinary exercise.”
“There are ordinary and extraordinary exercises?” Sakura asked doubtfully.
“Hehehe…”
Kakashi suddenly gave a strange laugh.
“Sensei, don’t scare us like that. You’re acting really creepy,” Sakura said as goosebumps rose across her skin.
“Of course exercises can be ordinary or extraordinary.”
Kakashi continued smiling, somehow becoming more ominous while deliberately keeping them in suspense.
“For example, if I tell you what this exercise really means, every one of you will probably want to quit.”
“I-Is it really that scary?”
Sakura was genuinely frightened by his words.
“Out of the thirty graduates, only nine will actually be recognized as Genin.”
“The rest will be sent back to the Ninja Academy for additional training.”
“This test is extremely difficult.”
“The elimination rate is seventy percent!”
Kakashi directly used numbers to convey how terrifying tomorrow’s survival exercise would be.
And those numbers genuinely startled both Sasuke and Sakura.
“Hehehe. See? See? You want to quit now, don’t you?”
Kakashi laughed mockingly.
“Then what was the point of the graduation exam?!”
Once the initial fear passed, even Sakura could not help asking angrily and aggrievedly.
“That exam only selected students who might have the potential to become Genin.”
Kakashi replied calmly.
“After all, it was such a simple exam. You didn’t seriously think becoming a ninja could be that easy, did you?”
“Huh?”
Sakura froze.
“All right. Meet me at the training ground tomorrow. That’s when I’ll decide whether you pass or fail.”
Kakashi returned to his usual dead-fish-eyed expression.
“Don’t forget your ninja tool pouches.”
“And skip breakfast.”
“You’ll throw up otherwise.”
This time, aside from Naruto, neither Sasuke nor Sakura dared take his words lightly.
“The exact requirements are written here.”
Kakashi handed over three sheets of paper.
“Make sure you aren’t late tomorrow.”
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura each received one.
“Well then, you three. See you tomorrow.”
With that, Kakashi vanished with a smile using the Body Flicker Technique.
“Then I’m heading home too. See you tomorrow.”
The instant Kakashi left, Naruto stood up.
He casually tossed away the sheet in his hand, climbed onto the railing, and calmly jumped down before leaving.
Seeing that, Sasuke crumpled his own paper into a ball with one hand and left as well.
“Hey! Sasuke-kun, wait for me!”
Sakura hurriedly chased after him.