Training Ground 3. 8:30am.
Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves, one hand in his pocket, the other lazily raised in greeting. His single visible eye curved as he looked at the three kids. "Morning everyone. Ready for your first day?"
The three genin froze for half a second. Immediately after, "YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura screamed in unison, pointing at him.
Kakashi tilted his head, entirely unbothered. "Well, I was on my way here when a black cat crossed my path. You know the superstition, bad luck and all that. So I had to take the long way around."
"Liar!" Naruto and Sakura yelled in perfect chorus. Sakura's face was red with irritation while Naruto's with pure outrage.
Sasuke meanwhile exhaled through his nose and saw through the excuse. 'He's doing it on purpose.'
Kakashi closed his visible eye briefly, and behind the mask, his lips curved upward. 'Aaah… so this is what it feels like. Daichi was such a stick in the mud compared to these kids. I'm going to have so much fun with them… if they pass.'
"Well then," he said lightly, "shall we begin?"
"Chaa! Begin with an apology, you bum!" Inner Sakura screamed.
Kakashi clapped his hands once. "Alright then, let's get to the point. Today's test will decide if you truly become genin."
The three of them straightened, listening closely now.
The one eyed Jonin walked to the center of the field and set down a small clock on a wooden post. The dial had a red line at 11:30. "This is a survival test," he said lightly. "It consists of two parts."
Naruto squinted. "Two?"
Sakura stood straight despite the hunger she was feeling and Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"Mm." Kakashi reached to his belt and took off the three bells tied to it. He held them up for the Genins to see. The three small bells jingled softly as they knocked against one another and three pairs of eyes immediately locked onto them.
"For the first part," Kakashi continued, holding them up, "your task is simple. Take these bells from me. Each bell represents a pass. If you have a bell when time runs out, you succeed."
Sakura blinked. "That's it?"
Naruto leaned forward, eyes glued to the bells. "Heh. Easy."
Only Sasuke kept quiet and observed the man with caution. 'What's the catch? It can't be as simple and straightforward as that, right?'
"You think so, huh?" Kakashi spoke cheerfully. "The time limit is three hours. Right now it's 8:30. And at exactly 11:30am, the first part of the test will come to an end." He tapped the clock with a gloved knuckle. "If you don't have a bell by then, you'll be tied to a post…" He gestured casually at the training posts behind them. "And then you'll go without lunch."
The clearing became very quiet. All three genin deadpanned at the same time.
Sasuke internally sighed. 'So that's why he had us skip breakfast.'
Naruto's jaw dropped. "That's evil! What kind of test is this?!"
Sakura's shoulders fell. "But you told us not to eat breakfast…" 'Completing this is gonna be so much harder now.'
Kakashi's eye crinkled. "Did I? Ah. it seems I did. Oh well."
All three of them stared at him with deadpan faces. Even Sasuke's expression went flatter than usual.
Kakashi continued smoothly, as if he hadn't noticed. "Now the Genin who passes the first test and has a bell will have time to rest and eat your lunch. Then we proceed to the second part of the test at exactly 12, noon."
Sakura raised her hand as if in class. "Sensei, what happens if we fail to get the bells before then?"
Kakashi's visible eye curved faintly. "We'll get to that when the time comes."
Her frown deepened, but she didn't press further. Naruto meanwhile grimaced. "That means it's bad."
Kakashi continued. "Remember. In the first part of this survival mission, I'll test your Taijutsu, Genjutsu and Ninjutsu skills. If you're not prepared, you'll fail."
"Hey. Did Daichi have to complete this exam too?" Naruto suddenly asked. Daichi was someone he wanted to surpass and he needed to know how far ahead his rival was.
Kakashi looked at Naruto and then at the other two. From their faces alone he could tell that they wanted to know the answer. "Yes." After a few moments of silence he replied. "During the survival exam I gave his team, Daichi was the only one who got a bell. And thus he was the only one who passed. His two teammates went back to the academy."
Kakashi's answer shocked the three kids.
Daichi, who was secretly listening in on the conversation from his hiding spot, smirked. 'Nice word play there Kakashi. You told them that to put more pressure on them didn't you. Now that they know he's serious and might even accept only one Genin they'll be even more rattled.'
After hearing Kakashi's answer, Sasuke's determination to get the bell only grew. 'If I get a bell and become an apprentice like Daichi, could I grow stronger faster than if I were in a team?'
Sasuke kept his thoughts to himself and looked at the Jonin. "You said there were two parts. What's the second?" He asked with a calm voice.
"Good question." Kakashi lifted the bells again, letting them chime. "The second part will be… Guard duty," Kakashi replied with a jolly voice. He looked at the three Genin and then continued. "Your task will be to protect the bells you've earned. To keep them safe."
Sakura blinked. "Protect them?"
"Yes." Kakashi nodded. "From me. I'll try to take them back. I won't go all out of course, but I can promise you that it'll be difficult. Much more difficult than the first part. If you lose your bell, you fail. That test will last until 6:00 pm."
Naruto's mouth fell open. "Six?!"
The Jonin nodded. "It's going to be a long afternoon for the three of you."
The three genin stiffened as the implications sank in.
Sakura's brows knit. "And if we lose a bell…?"
"You fail," Kakashi replied casually and tied the three bells to his belt.
Sasuke's jaws clenched as he looked at the man. 'The test hasn't even started and he's already put us at a disadvantage.'
Naruto's stomach answered with a loud groan. "Oh man, I'm already getting hungry."
Kakashi set his hands on his hips and looked at them all. "So. Those who pass the first part of this test get lunch and a half hour rest. Then you'll need to endure and protect the bells until evening. If you're smart, you'll get the bells as soon as possible and conserve your strength. Trust me. You'll need it." He studied their faces. 'Let's see what you do.'
High above, unseen, Daichi leaned against a tree branch, arms folded as he watched with sharp eyes. 'So that's how it is. He's altered the test… It's not just about stealing the bells now... Clever, Kakashi-sensei. He's forcing "we" to matter thrice without them knowing. This time there's no infighting for the bells. He wants to see a different kind of teamwork.'
Kakashi looked at his new students. "Oh, and one more thing. All three of you could pass. But it's also possible none of you will pass and all of you will go back to the academy. It depends on you."
The three genin's eyes widened slightly.
Sasuke quickly went through the conditions of the survival test in his mind. He looked at it from the perspective of completing a true shinobi mission. 'So for the first part we have to attack an enemy and retrieve an item from him. Our advantage lies in numbers but I'm not sure how much help that'll be against a Jonin.'
Sasuke discreetly glanced at Naruto and Sakura and quickly dismissed the idea. 'They're far weaker than me. They'll only slow me down. And now that I've awakened the Sharingan, the odds of passing this are in my favor.'
Sasuke looked at the bell tied on Kakashi's belt. 'And after getting the item, we retreat and recover and then defend the item from the enemy… This seems like one of the mission simulations Iruka told us about in the academy.'
Sakura was tense as she realized the difficulty of the mission. 'Sensei is right. The more energy we spend trying to get the bell in the first part of the test, the less we'll have in the second… The best course of attack is to hide and try to take him by surprise… Or maybe Sasuke might have an idea. He's the strongest in the class. So he might be able to get a bell quickly.'
Naruto's hands balled into fists. 'No way. This test is already so difficult. But I've trained so hard. I can't give up now.'
Kakashi's tone grew a fraction harder. "You can use any weapons you want, even shuriken and kunai. Come at me with the intent to kill, otherwise you'll never succeed."
Sasuke's eyes darkened a shade as he listened but he didn't raise any objection.
Sakura swallowed. "Intent to kill…? Isn't that dangerous?"
Naruto tried to play it off with bravado, pointing a thumb at Kakashi. "Yeah! Especially for a guy who couldn't even dodge an eraser!"
Kakashi's head angled. "Class clowns are usually the weakest links on a team. You can ignore them and it won't make a difference." he said, tone turning almost bored. "Losers."
Naruto's temper lit up in a heartbeat. "What'd you call me?!"
"Loser," Kakashi repeated, calmly.
Sasuke's hand shifted toward a pouch. 'He's prodding Naruto on purpose. Trying to make him lose his cool.' Sasuke had sparred with Daichi on numerous occasions, so he knew when someone was being deliberately antagonistic.
'Loser.' That word echoed in Naruto's head and his blood boiled instantly. "I'll show you who's a loser!" He snatched a kunai from his pouch and launched forward towards Kakashi with a sharp shout. "YAAAAAHHHHH….!"
Sakura's hand shot out to stop him but it was too late. "Naruto!"
"What did I just say about intent? Loud isn't the same as lethal," Kakashi spoke calmly as he looked at the blonde boy rushing straight at him.
When he neared Kakashi, Naruto swung his kunai. It was somewhat fast for a fresh academy graduate but it wasn't anywhere near fast enough.
In an instant, before the Genins realized what happened, Kakashi had grabbed Naruto by the head and grappled the boy's arm with kunai and had it pointed at the back of his own neck.
Naruto was frozen in place. Kakashi's hand calmly gripped the back of his head and held him steady as if he were no more dangerous than a misbehaving child.
Sakura gasped, her eyes wide. 'No way. I didn't even see him move.'
Sasuke's eyes also widened in shock. 'He subdued Naruto in an instant. So he's an elite Jonin after all… It was my mistake to assume otherwise. This guy was Daichi's instructor. I should have expected no less… Looks like this is gonna be a lot more difficult than I thought.'
"Too slow and too predictable." Kakashi said evenly, not even glancing at Naruto's weapon. "Lunging in a straight line to attack a Jonin while shouting is… ambitious. Stupid, but ambitious."
Naruto tried to move from his grip but it was futile. "L-let me go. I'll show you!" Naruto grunted but he couldn't move from his position.
"Don't be in a hurry Naruto. I haven't started the test yet." Kakashi then let go and Naruto stumbled forward a few steps before gathering himself.
"You came at me with the full intent to kill me. So…" The silver haired Jonin glanced at the three Genin and chuckled. "How should I put it? I'm actually starting to like you guys."
"All three of you… get ready."
The Genins tensed. Sakura drew a slow breath, thinking fast. 'Three hours. Then lunch. Then guard the bell until six. We'll need to pace ourselves. I have to hide and make a plan to get the bell.' She darted a look at Naruto. 'If I know him, he's going to rush sensei head on again.'
"Begin!"
The next moment Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke vanished from their position.
—-
Daichi got comfortable in his hiding spot and took out a small snack. He made sure to make his presence near undetectable so as to not affect the test.
"So has the test started?" One of the shadow clones from the lab suddenly messaged him.
"Yup. It's definitely different from the one he gave me… How's everything going over there?"
"I'll need a few more hours to complete the sequence analysis. Based on my estimates it'll be done shortly before noon." The shadow clone that Daichi had working at the lab, replied.
"Alright. Keep me updated." Daichi then focused on the three little Genins hiding under the trees.
—--------------
Author's Note:-
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