The next morning, Naruto woke up and frowned slightly.
Something felt missing.
It took him quite a while before he suddenly realized what it was.
The ANBU surveillance was gone.
Yesterday, Naruto had left immediately after Kakashi departed precisely because he wanted to verify whether the surveillance would resume once he was alone and away from Kakashi.
It had not.
And there was still no one watching him today.
Clearly, after Naruto graduated, the Third Hokage had indeed stopped having ANBU monitor him.
Naturally, Naruto did not believe this was out of kindness.
Rather, now that he had graduated, Naruto would grow quickly under Kakashi’s guidance.
If the surveillance continued, there was a good chance Naruto would eventually discover it, potentially creating a rift between him and the village.
More importantly, Kakashi could now watch over Naruto openly and legitimately.
As for kindness?
Heh.
If the Third Hokage had truly meant well, the surveillance should have been withdrawn long ago.
After washing up, Naruto strapped on his ninja tool pouches, put a loaf of near-expiry bread in his mouth, grabbed a carton of near-expiry milk, and left home.
On the way, he ran into Sakura and Sasuke.
“Naruto, you’re eating bread? Didn’t Kakashi-sensei tell us not to eat breakfast?” Sakura asked.
“He said we’d throw up if we ate. He never said we weren’t allowed to eat,” Naruto replied calmly.
“Want some?”
Naruto offered the food to them.
“This is almost expired!”
Sakura instinctively checked the expiration date.
Seeing that only three days remained, her expression immediately darkened.
“It hasn’t expired yet. If you don’t want it, forget it.”
Naruto snatched the milk back from Sakura and held it toward Sasuke.
“Sasuke, want some?”
“Thanks.”
The usually aloof Sasuke frowned slightly, accepted it, and began drinking.
He had been too agitated and anxious to notice such a simple point.
Naruto’s behavior helped him calm down.
Of course, whether Sasuke was anxious or calm probably would not change the final result very much.
But since this was an examination, there had to be conditions for passing.
Staying calm would make it easier to identify those conditions.
After all, they were freshly graduated Genin.
No matter how one looked at it, there was no way they could defeat a Jōnin.
If a Jōnin set an impossible objective for the test, then the entire purpose of an assessment would be defeated.
At that moment, Sasuke’s eyes gleamed with the qualities of a true ninja.
No wonder Orochimaru would one day love this boy so deeply.
“Even Sasuke-kun looks handsome drinking milk that’s about to expire.”
Sakura continued staring at Sasuke dreamily.
Skipping breakfast had left her hungry too, but after having just complained about Naruto’s near-expiry food, her skin was not thick enough to immediately pretend she had forgotten.
Still, she could endure it.
Girls, after all, were often better at tolerating hunger for the sake of dieting.
“What did you figure out?”
Naruto suddenly asked.
“What?”
Sakura looked completely baffled.
“I wasn’t asking you.”
Naruto glanced at her.
“Huh?”
Sakura became even more confused.
“You noticed it too?”
Sasuke looked at Naruto with slight surprise.
“Of course.”
Naruto smiled.
“Noticed what? Sasuke-kun, Naruto, what are you two talking about?” Sakura asked, now thoroughly lost.
Sasuke glanced at her and frowned slightly.
A trace of disdain entered his cold voice.
“Sakura, your grades in theory and intelligence analysis have always been higher than mine. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed anything strange about this survival exercise.”
“Huh? Didn’t Kakashi-sensei already explain it? It’s to select qualified Genin. Only nine graduates will be recognized as Genin, while the remaining twenty-one will be sent back to the Ninja Academy for retraining. The elimination rate is seventy percent,” Sakura replied uncertainly.
“Did he ever say that only nine must pass?”
Sasuke questioned her coldly.
“And even if only nine are allowed to pass, what are the rules for passing?”
“What are the rules for elimination?”
“Did you never analyze any of that?”
“Huh?”
Sakura froze.
Then she asked in confusion, “But Kakashi-sensei hasn’t told us the passing conditions yet, has he?”
“And whatever conditions he tells us must automatically be the real conditions?”
Naruto spoke calmly.
“Sakura, we’re ninja now. This isn’t a written test where every condition is neatly listed on the page for you.”
“This…”
Sakura stared at Naruto and Sasuke in shock.
She had never imagined that the two of them approached problems in such a way.
They had not even given her the answer yet, but their method of thinking alone was enough to make Sakura—who had ranked first in theory and intelligence analysis every year at the Academy—feel ashamed of herself. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Remembering how her own head had been filled entirely with thoughts of Sasuke-kun is so handsome, Sakura felt her face burn with embarrassment.
Still, Sakura possessed at least one quality befitting a heroine.
When she realized she was wrong, she corrected herself.
She might make the same mistake again later, but at least in the moment, she would genuinely change.
Taking a deep breath, Sakura asked,
“Then Sasuke-kun, Naruto… what conclusion did you reach?”
“No matter what, freshly graduated Genin like us cannot defeat a Jōnin unless that Jōnin is exceptionally incompetent.”
Sasuke began analyzing the situation methodically.
“And Kakashi Hatake may look unreliable, but often, ninja who behave that casually are precisely the ones who are most dangerous.”
“They can afford to act that way because they’re strong.”
As expected of the treasure of a ninja whom Orochimaru would one day acknowledge.
“So I wouldn’t be surprised if Kakashi Hatake is actually an elite Jōnin.”
“And if he is an elite Jōnin, then there is even less chance that three Genin who just graduated from the Ninja Academy could defeat him.”
“So although Kakashi Hatake said that he would be our opponent in the survival exercise, the actual condition for passing absolutely cannot be whatever he appears to present on the surface.”
“Exactly.”
Naruto smiled faintly and added,
“For example, suppose he makes us compete for some scrolls and tells us to take them from him.”
“The real condition for passing definitely wouldn’t be as simple as successfully obtaining the scrolls.”
“Right.”
Sasuke nodded calmly.
“That would only be a trap.”
“If we become fixated on the objective he gives us and never see beyond it, then even if we manage to obtain the scrolls, we still won’t pass.”
“When did you two become so in sync?”
Watching Naruto and Sasuke build seamlessly on each other’s analysis, Sakura spoke with a slightly sour tone.
Neither Naruto nor Sasuke paid any attention to her.
“Looks like you’ve already figured out what the real test is and what the actual passing condition will be,” Naruto said with a faint smile as he looked at Sasuke.
“I only realized it because of your reminder.”
Sasuke lightly shook the carton of milk in his hand.
“You already figured it out last night, didn’t you?”
“Naruto, Sasuke-kun… um… what exactly is the real test and the actual passing condition?”
Although Sakura felt somewhat jealous that Naruto had taken so much of Sasuke’s attention, she did not want to be left out of the conversation.
So she swallowed her pride and asked.
“You still don’t understand?”
Sasuke began,
“This test started from the moment we were assigned into teams after graduation.”
“No… it probably began from the very first day the Academy started teaching us survival exercises.”
“Since missions are carried out in three-person squads, then naturally the thing being tested is—”
“Teamwork!”
Sakura finally caught up with Sasuke’s reasoning and interrupted him with absolute certainty.