An eerie silence descended upon the scene.
'Does Sasuke-kun know this teacher?' Sakura thought, stealing a glance at Sasuke.
"Heh heh heh..." Kakashi chuckled dryly, breaking the unsettling silence. "I didn't expect Sasuke to know so much about me."
In truth, he had arrived much earlier, wanting to observe his new students from the shadows.
While he had grown quite familiar with Sasuke over the past two years, he remained somewhat unfamiliar with Sakura and Naruto.
He wanted to gauge their dynamic and personalities.
From what he'd seen, the trio seemed to get along reasonably well.
"Huh?!" Naruto suddenly snapped to attention, pointing at Kakashi and shouting at Sasuke, "Sasuke, you've known this white-haired teacher all along?!"
"Yeah," Sasuke nodded. "Teacher Kakashi is my mentor. I've been training under him for the past year."
"Is that so?" Naruto rubbed his chin, muttering skeptically under his breath, "This white-haired teacher doesn't seem very reliable."
Kakashi rolled his eyes inwardly and said dryly, "Alright, Team Seven, follow me."
A few moments later, Kakashi led Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to the school rooftop.
Clapping his hands together, Kakashi introduced himself: "As your instructor for Team Seven, I'll introduce myself first. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I don't feel like telling you what I like or dislike. My future dreams? That's a secret. As for my interests, they're... varied."
"That's practically just telling us your name!" Sakura muttered under her breath.
"Well, that's all. Now it's your turn to introduce yourselves. Let's start with..."
Before Kakashi could finish, Naruto eagerly interrupted.
"Me, me! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I love Ichiraku Ramen, especially when Teacher Iruka treats me to it! I hate waiting for ramen and..."
Naruto glanced at Kakashi, adding pointedly, "...people who are always late and have no sense of time."
Kakashi calmly returned the look, showing no sign of embarrassment.
After a pause, Naruto continued, "My interests are training in taijutsu and challenging Sasuke. My dream is to become a Hokage who surpasses all previous generations, someone everyone acknowledges!"
"Alright, next."
Sakura nodded. "I'm Haruno Sakura. What I like is..." She glanced furtively at Sasuke before continuing, "Nothing I particularly dislike. My interests lie in the Water Release Technique, and my dream is to become a ninja who can protect her comrades!"
'A ninja who protects her comrades, huh?'
The corners of Kakashi's mouth curled slightly beneath his mask, a hint of warmth toward Sakura blossoming in his heart.
"Your turn, Sasuke!" Kakashi turned to Sasuke, while Sakura and Naruto looked on with curiosity.
Sasuke pondered for a moment, then casually said, "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. The rest is the same as Teacher Kakashi."
'What a dismissive answer,' the trio thought in unison.
"Alright, the three of you have rich personalities—very interesting," Kakashi clapped his hands dismissively. "Starting tomorrow, we'll begin missions. But before we do, you must pass my test!"
"A test?!" Naruto raised his hand and shouted, "What kind of test, Teacher Kakashi?"
"Tomorrow morning at Training Ground Three: a Wilderness Survival Assessment," Kakashi replied coldly. "In this exercise, your opponent will be me. This is a test with a 66% failure rate. If you can't pass my test, you'll have to go back to the academy for another year!"
"What?!"
Ignoring the two shocked faces, Kakashi turned to Sasuke, who remained calm. "Sasuke, you know a lot about me. You can share that information with them, but that one thing remains secret."
Sasuke nodded. "Understood, Teacher."
"Hmph! Making things all mysterious!" Naruto grumbled, looking annoyed.
He glared at Kakashi and shouted, "Hmph! White-haired Teacher Kakashi, we're definitely going to pass your test! Just you wait and see tomorrow!"
Kakashi's cold words didn't dampen Naruto's spirits; instead, they ignited his fighting spirit!
"Then I'll wait and see," Kakashi replied dismissively, then casually turned to the three youngsters and announced:
"Alright, dismissed. Assemble tomorrow morning at eight o'clock sharp. Remember, no breakfast—you'll just throw it up!"
As soon as the words left his lips, Kakashi vanished from their sight in a body flicker.
The moment Kakashi disappeared, Naruto immediately pounced on Sasuke, asking urgently, "Sasuke, you know White-Haired Teacher so well! Tell us everything you know about him right now!"
Sakura turned with equal curiosity.
Sasuke stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and, under their expectant gazes, replied, "One of the ninja's cardinal rules: intelligence gathering. To keep things fair, you should first gather your own information about Teacher Kakashi from around the village. Most of what there is to know about him, apart from a few classified details, isn't exactly a secret in Konoha. Once you've collected your intel, we'll reconvene this afternoon. I'll then tell you whether the information you've gathered is accurate or not."
Naruto scowled. "Ugh, why make it so complicated?"
Sakura nodded thoughtfully in agreement. "Sasuke is right. Information gathering is crucial. I bet the assessment started the moment Teacher Kakashi gave us a day to prepare—it's a test of our intelligence-gathering skills. Naruto, we should listen to Sasuke."
"Fine, fine," Naruto grumbled reluctantly, then his eyes lit up. "Once we've gathered all the intel, let's meet at Ichiraku Ramen!" he declared loudly.
With the plan to gather information on Kakashi settled, Sakura and Naruto hurried off.
After they left, Sasuke remained on the rooftop for a while, observing the scenery. He then slipped his hands into his pockets and slowly descended the stairs.
'It's March now, four months until the Chūnin Exams.'
Orochimaru had already set his sights on him—Sasuke had known this since Yakushi Kabuto first appeared.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Orochimaru would likely approach him during the Chūnin Exams in four months, all while executing his Konoha Crush plan, orchestrating a twisted father-son drama with his former mentor, the Third Hokage.
Although Sasuke was somewhat envious of the Cursed Seal's power, he would never allow Orochimaru to brand him with it.
Orochimaru's Cursed Seal was akin to a lich's phylactery. Once branded, the host would gain immense power, but their soul would be gradually corrupted by Orochimaru's fragmented soul within the seal.
Once the host weakened, Orochimaru could easily possess their body.
Moreover, Orochimaru had planted numerous hidden traps within the seal. In the original timeline, he might not have initially expected his first attempt at the Impure World Reincarnation to succeed.
Or perhaps, in his weakened state, Orochimaru lacked confidence in subduing the young and vigorous Sasuke.
His plan was merely to paralyze Sasuke, wait for him to weaken, and then unleash the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique as his trump card!
Alas, the moment the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique manifested, Uchiha Itachi pierced it with the Sword of Totsuka, permanently sealing it within a dreamlike genjutsu realm. Orochimaru was left questioning his entire existence.
If Uchiha Itachi hadn't been present that day...
'Hmm...'
Orochimaru might have directly encountered Indra, or even the Sage of the Six Paths himself—the founder of ninjutsu, whom he had yearned to meet for centuries.
In that scenario, Orochimaru wouldn't just have questioned his existence; he would have completely shattered.
___
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