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"Fifteen minutes remaining," Kakashi said, not looking up from his book.
"Plenty of time," Naruto said, walking out of the tree line with his hands spread wide. The clones jumped forward until the open ground was bracketed on both sides.
The formation left exactly one comfortable exit into the forest. Kakashi considered resisting the suggestion on principle. But went in as the entire clone army flickered forward simultaneously with thrusting blades.
The canopy swallowed him whole.
The first trap was a tripwire at knee height on the third tree.
"So this is your plan," Kakashi said, leaping into the branch. "Force me into a forest rigged with traps?"
"A shinobi has to be somewhat resourceful," Sakura's voice came from somewhere above. The pink haired girl cut some wire. A log the size of a small tree swung in towards the jonin.
Poof.
The log hit a smaller log.
"Working as a team now," Kakashi said standing behind the young kunoichi.
"NOW," Sakura yelled, unleashing the white shockwave of the Force miracle. The transformation jutsu dropping to reveal that it was actually Naruto.
The real Sakura and Sasuke stood on opposite ends of the forest floor cutting through wires
Kunai launchers mounted behind hollowed bark panels released in overlapping spreads from both flanks.
Earth Style: Earth Dome Jutsu!
The forest floor erupted upward in a curved shell of compressed earth that sealed around him before the first wave of kunai arrived. The blades hit stone. Then the explosive tags attached to the second wave hit stone.
The forest floor disappeared inside a rolling wall of overlapping detonations.
"You children need to learn the definition of overkill," Kakashi said popping out of the ground as Naruto's clone army rushed him.
Ninja Art: Hair Needle Senbon!
The white hair hardened and released in barrage of silver. The hair senbon moving faster than shuriken at close range. And the shadow clone horde popped in a chain of white smoke that cleared the immediate area in seconds.
Just then Sasuke came from the left and Naruto from the right simultaneously.
They were communicating without words. Naruto created the large movements that forced Kakashi's positioning. Meanwhile Sasuke exploited the positions with the Sharingan's. Each of them using body flicker to sustain their assault.
Even with all that, neither seemed to affect Kakashi much.
That was the signal for plan C.
"KAKASHI SENSEI." Sakura's voice came from above. "I HAVE THE LAST PAGE OF THE NEW ICHA ICHA AND I AM GOING TO READ IT OUT LOUD."
"Don't."
"The protagonist finally meets the woman from chapter three," Sakura called out while holding tje latest ivha
"DON'T."
His hands covered his ear. But as Sakura landed infront of him, Kakashi realized the Sharingan could read lips and closed his eyes instead.
Taking advantage of this two flickers took the bells from the copy ninja. The alarm clock rang out across the training ground indicating the end of the bell test.
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Kakashi began to clap slowly.
"Congratulations on acquiring the bells." He let sakura give the boys some water. "However, only two of you can pass. And looking at the distribution of effort today, the boys move forward and Sakura goes back to the academy."
A heavy silence settled over what remained of the forest floor.
"I wouldn't blame her. But she didn't do much."
"She built every trap in this forest," Naruto counter3d.
"Is that enough?"
Sakura looked at the ground. Something in her posture suggested she had already accepted the verdict.
Naruto looked at her for a moment. Then he held out his bell.
Sakura stared at it. "Why?"
"I've failed the graduation exam three times already. And honestly, next time I could probably come back as the next Rookie of the Year." Naruto said with a grin.
If anything, it just meant more time to explore Lordran and its secrets.
Guilt twisted in Sakura's stomach. Naruto was giving himself up so she and Sasuke could pass. He was the strongest among them. And yet he was willing to step aside. Every harsh word she had thrown at him during their academy years came rushing back pressing heavier against her chest.
"Sens— Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, forcing the words out, "I'm willing to give up my spot. Please… give it to Naruto."
Behind her, Sasuke looked at the bell in his own hand. Itachi's voice moved through his head. Hate me and live. Like the coward you are. Clinging to life without honor.
The uchiha held the bell out toward Kakashi.
"If it comes to that then I go back too. A team of one is not a team."
Silence.
Kakashi looked at the two bells sitting in his palm. Then at the three people standing in front of him.
"You kids are so overdramatic," he said. "But all three of you have... passed."
"...Eh?"
"Every year, teams come through this test and sacrifice each other without hesitation. They calculate, they compete, and they protect their own position." Kakashi closed his palm around the bells. "Not one of them has ever passed. Because that was never what the test was measuring. A shinobi must see beneath the underneath. What is written on the surface is not always the whole truth."
The jonin gestured for them to follow.
The memorial stone caught the afternoon light along its polished edge.
"These are the names of heroes of Konoha that died in the line of duty," Kakashi said, standing before it. "The lesson of the bell test is about teamwork. It is about what you do when someone beside you is about to be left behind."
"But what if you had been telling the truth?" Sasuke asked. "What if only two of us could actually pass? Would we have made the wrong choice?"
"No," Kakashi said. "Even then. Especially then." He looked at the stone rather than at them. "I am not interested in training shinobi who act as extensions of their superior's will without judgment or conscience. Orders are given by people, and people are sometimes wrong. The day will come when following an order without thinking will cost you something you cannot get back. I am interested in leading a team that will suffer that cost."
"What kind of team are you interested in leading?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi was quiet for a moment.
"Before my best friend died," he said, "he gave me two things I've carried since. One of them was his Sharingan."
Sasuke's eyes moved to the headband covering the eye.
"The other was a principle. One I failed to understand until it was too late to tell him I had learned it." Kakashi looked at the three of them. "Those who break the rules of the ninja world are called scum. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."
The memorial stone reflected the late afternoon light between them.
"The team that carries this principle is the team I am interested in leading." Kakashi looked at all three of them in turn and gave them a thumbs up. "Hence, I am happy to announce that Team Seven is officially formed."
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Author's Note:
And with that, the gang is officially together. Let's get into the Q&A.
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Q. Did Kakashi take Team Seven seriously?
Short answer: not really.
He took them more seriously than his canon counterpart. But he was never operating at half capacity during that test. The hint he dropped for Naruto about needing help was deliberate. When Team Seven forced him into the forest of traps, Kakashi absolutely could have ended that entire sequence with one B-rank jutsu and walked out. He chose to play along. The bell test was always meant to be a lesson first and a genuine combat exercise second.
My depiction of the bell test was loosely inspired by both the original and the Shippuden version ( especially the ending where they use icha icha spoilers against Kakashi ). I wanted to give each member of Team Seven something meaningful to contribute that they never got in canon. Sakura built the traps. Sasuke's Sharingan actually came into play. Naruto led the strategy. None of them were just there.
Let me know what you thought of how it came together.
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Q. How did Kakashi use so many jutsu?
Kakashi is a bit of a meme for someone whose title is the Man Who Copied a Thousand Techniques. He tends to reach for the same handful of moves in most situations. Plus his chakra reserves limits how liberally he can use large techniques.
For this fic I want to honour his title more literally. Having access to a thousand techniques should mean something. And, I intend to show that across the story.
As for the chakra concern, it is worth noting what Kakashi actually used during this test. The jutsu he deployed were almost entirely D and C rank elemental techniques: the Stone Blade Jutsu, the Earth Dome, the Earth Flow River, the Hair Needle Senbon and the Water Wall. Nothing in the B or A rank range. Nothing that would significantly drain his reserves.
The test also ran over six hours with natural recovery windows built in.
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That's It… For Now.
I want to thank you all for taking the time to read, comment, and follow along with this story. Your feedback means more than you know, and it helps push me to make each chapter bigger, sharper, and more true to the worlds of Naruto and Dark Souls.
Until next time,
Praise the Sun.
\-Adam-/