The morning breeze swept across Training Ground Three as Kakashi closed his orange novel with a soft snap.
His lone visible eye drifted across the three genin before him, lingering on Naruto for only a fraction of a second.
The blond’s introduction had been… unusual.
Not because of what he had said, but because of the conviction behind his words.
They were not the dreams of an idealistic child.
They sounded more like the promises of someone who had already lived them.
“Well then,” Kakashi began, slipping his hands into his pockets, “let’s move on to today’s exercise.”
The three genin stood.
“Your graduation from the Academy was only the first step. From this point onward, you’ll be facing missions where failure means death.”
Sakura swallowed.
Sasuke remained expressionless.
Naruto simply listened.
Kakashi reached into his pouch and produced two small silver bells, fastening them to his waist where they jingled softly in the breeze.
“Your objective is simple.”
He held up the bells.
“Take these from me before noon.”
Sakura blinked.
“…That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Naruto almost smiled.
Almost.
“You may use any weapons at your disposal. Come at me with the intent to kill. Otherwise…” Kakashi’s eye curved into a smile.
“…you’ll never get these bells.”
Sakura hesitated.
“But… there are only two bells.”
“Correct.”
Kakashi’s smile widened.
“Which means one of you will fail.”
The words landed exactly as they had years ago.
Sakura instinctively glanced toward Sasuke.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the bells.
Naruto watched both of them in silence.
The test had already begun.
Kurama’s voice echoed calmly inside his mind.
“There it is.”
Naruto nodded ever so slightly.
“The seed of division.”
Three students.
Two bells.
One inevitable loser.
Anyone focused solely on the objective would immediately begin viewing the others as rivals instead of teammates.
Exactly as Kakashi intended.
The lesson had never been about stealing bells.
It had always been about seeing through the deception.
Naruto’s thoughts drifted briefly to countless battlefields he had stood upon.
Against Zabuza.
Against Pain.
Against Madara.
Against Kaguya.
Victory had never belonged to the strongest individual.
It belonged to those who trusted each other.
“So?” Kakashi asked lazily.
“Why are you all still standing there?”
The instant his words fell, Sasuke vanished into the trees.
Sakura quickly followed, disappearing into nearby bushes.
Naruto remained exactly where he was.
Kakashi looked at him curiously.
“Not hiding?”
Naruto scratched his cheek.
“Seems like too much work.”
“Hm.”
The next instant, Naruto also disappeared in a blur.
Silence returned to the training ground.
Kakashi smiled beneath his mask.
“So far… exactly as expected.”
High among the trees, Naruto landed silently upon a thick branch.
He made no attempt to attack.
Instead, he closed his eyes.
His sensory abilities, though diminished by his younger body, were still leagues beyond those of an ordinary genin.
Chakra signatures spread throughout the forest like lights in the darkness.
Sasuke.
Hidden to Kakashi’s right.
Sakura.
Barely breathing behind thick bushes nearly fifty meters away.
Kakashi.
Standing casually beside the stumps while pretending to read his novel.
Naruto opened his eyes.
“As expected.”
Kurama chuckled.
“You could have rushed him.”
“I could.”
“You could probably outsmart him, too.”
“Maybe.”
“But?”
Naruto looked toward Sasuke’s hiding place.
“If I win alone…”
“…you fail the real test.”
Naruto smiled.
“And nothing changes.”
Without another word, he silently leapt toward Sasuke’s position.
A kunai instantly flew toward his face.
Naruto caught it between two fingers.
Sasuke emerged from the shadows, Sharingan-less eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“You.”
Naruto casually handed the kunai back.
“Morning.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Talking.”
“I don’t have time.”
“You do.”
Sasuke frowned.
“You’ll lose if you fight him alone.”
“I won’t.”
“You will.”
The confidence in Naruto’s voice made Sasuke pause.
“He’s a jonin.”
“I know.”
“You’ve never fought one.”
Naruto smiled inwardly.
If only you knew.
Aloud, he simply said, “Then trust me.”
Sasuke stared.
“…Why?”
Naruto looked directly into his eyes.
“Because I don’t want any of us to fail.”
For the briefest moment, something flickered across Sasuke’s face.
Confusion.
Before he could answer, an explosive tag detonated somewhere deeper in the forest.
Boom!
Birds scattered into the sky.
Sakura.
Naruto sighed.
“Looks like she attacked.”
Kurama laughed loudly.
“And probably missed.”
Naruto shook his head before looking back at Sasuke.
“We still have time.”
“…Time for what?”
Naruto smiled.
“To prove that three bells would have made this test too easy.”
Far below, Kakashi lowered his orange novel ever so slightly.
His visible eye shifted toward the forest.
A faint smile appeared beneath his mask.
At last…
The real examination had begun.