15 Chapter 14
" Why is it only our squad's teacher who's late?" Naruto complains looking left and right outside the door of our classroom.
"the other squads have gone off somewhere with their new teachers, and Iruka sensei also left" he continues to whine
Currently, we're waiting to meet our Jonin leaders. All the other squads were picked up by their Jonin leaders and went off to introduce themselves. On the other hand, our leader appears to be late.
"Come on, come on, Naruto, Just take a seat and wait, he'll be here any minute," I say trying to convince him to settle down
Suddenly as if inspiration hit him he grabs a chair and a chalkboard eraser.
"Eh?" I sound out with a surprised tone
He proceeds to lodge the eraser in the door so when someone opens it, it will fall on them. A childish trick, unlikely to work on a Jonin.
"It'll be his fault because he's late," Naruto says with a chuckle
Sasuke on the other hand was sitting by himself on a seat not too far away from us minding his own business.
But this time he opens his mouth to comment
"A Jonin wouldn't fall for such a simple trick" Sasuke comments
But before we could contemplate the effectiveness of the chalkboard eraser trap a hand slides through the crack of the door and pulls it open. Sticking his head in an older looking gentlemen with his mouth covered by his mask and an eye being hidden by his headband.
The eraser falls, In slow motion everyone even Sasuke was anticipating the results.
falling
falling
*bonk*
The eraser hits our Jonin leaders head creating a small cloud.
"Hahaha, I got him, I got him" Naruto cheers and laughs loudly with a hand on his belly
Looking at his response I frown, even if he scolded us it would be a better response, but the battle-hardened Jonin merely inspected us seemingly evaluating our worth.
Sasuke was surprised at the results, as he expected the Jonin to dodge or catch the eraser. But if a Jonin was predictable he wouldn't be a Jonin would he. He would be a dead man.
Realising I was still staring at him evaluating him with my own eyes, I quickly break out a smile and wave to him
"Hello," I say gently as he continues to look at us.
He puts his hand on his chin as he begins to talk behind his mask.
"hmmm, how can I put this? As my first impression of you guys? Well, Unlikable" he says with a straight face.
Almost as if a bucket of cold water was poured on Sasuke and Naruto they respond with bitter looks.
.
.
.
On a rooftop above the academy, Naruto, Sasuke and I sit on a set of stairs while facing our sensei who's leaning on the railing
"Let's see, first off, let me have you guys introduce yourselves," Our masked Jonin leader says
"What should we say about ourselves?"I think quietly before I say
"Hmmm, Your likes, dislikes, your future dream, hobbies, things like that" he responds after thinking for a bit
"Hey! before that, tell us about yourself," Naruto says with an inquisitive tone
"me?" he responds surprised
"My name is Kakashi Hatake, I don't feel like telling you guys about my likes and dislikes" he continues
"Eh?" Naruto and I respond with a surprised sound
Come on, try a little harder even if you have to lie
"I've never really thought about my future dream," he says calmly
Thinking hardly Kakashi then tells us
"As for my hobbies, I have many"
"It seems like we only caught his name" I mumble to my teammates
Naruto nods in agreement
"Next is you guys, Let's start with you," Kakashi says while ignoring our dissatisfaction with his introduction.
He looks at Naruto to introduce himself next to which Naruto happily responds by starting
"My name's Naruto Uzumaki, I like instant ramen, but what I like even more is the ramen from Ichiraku that Iruka sensei treats me to. What I dislike is the three minutes after pouring hot water in the instant ramen. My hobby is eating and comparing ramen." he says excitedly
"And my dream is to surpass the Hokage, And I'm going to get the entire village to acknowledge my existence," He says with conviction
Acknowledge existence huh? Even Kakashi raises an eyebrow at this statement.
"Okay, Next," Kakashi says
"My name is Hebi, What I really like is ninjutsu, even though I can't perform many. What I dislike is the pain of taijutsu training. And my hobby is mastering lots of jutsu." As I tell this to the group I slowly realise the sadness in my statements but I continue
"My dream is to be a strong shinobi that wanders the lands," I say enthusiastically with a smile.
Kakashi gives a look of acceptance at my answer, considering most shinobis dream to be strong even as children, not a particularly special dream.
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha" Sasuke starts a few moments after I finish
"I have a lot of dislikes but no likes in particular"
"And I don't feel like summing up my ambition as just a dream but I do have an ambition. The ambition to restore my clan without fail. And to kill a certain man" Sasuke says with a dark expression.
Knowing his history there will be a long path to his goal wrought with troubles. Kakashi sits quietly likely thinking the same.
Naruto looks at Sasuke nervously. Likely thinking that he meant he wanted to kill Naruto. when the news came out he was too young to remember the event that wasn't related to him. Leaving him with this idiotic thought
"Good!, the three of you are very distinct and different," He says nearly condescendingly
"We'll have a mission tomorrow" Kakashi continues to announce
Hearing this word Naruto springs into gear, I don't feel particularly joyful as low-level genin usually start their missions with the most basic, being nearly indistinguishable from chores.
"Yes, What kind of mission?" Naruto asks impatiently
"So quickly?" I also question
"First, we'll do what we can with just four people," Kakashi says slowly
"what is it? what is it?" Naruto repeats excitedly.
After a brief moment, Kakashi reveals our mission
"A survival exercise," he says calmly
"Survival exercise?" Naruto says confused
I doubt this is gonna be a simple exercise. Chances are with this exercise he'll test our survivability and if he can trust us to hold our own in the field. Nonetheless, I question to find more information.
" Survival exercise? We've already done those in the academy, what's so special about this one?" I ask him
"This isn't a simple survival exercise" he responds to us seriously
"Then what kind of exercise is it?" Naruto asks again
Hearing this Kakashi chuckles. Surprising Naruto and I. Even Sasuke who was quietly letting us talk looked like he paid attention to Kakashi's reaction.
"Hey, what's so funny?" Naruto questioned bewildered by his reaction
Stopping to talk , he waves his hand in a playful fashion
"Uh, well, If I tell you I know you'll grow disenchanted," he says with an eye smile
Watching this back and forth even I don't know the direction this is going. What will cause us to feel that way during a survival exercise? It can't be an impossible task right? or some newbie bashing with even more menial labour than the chore-like missions to come?
As long as you are on the path to shinobi these things can be endured.
While I was thinking Kakashi continues
"Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be recognised as genin," He says with a serious expression
"The remaining eighteen will be sent back to the academy. In other words, this exercise is an extremely difficult test with a 66% failure rate or even higher if the genin don't meet the standards"
Urgh, another test? I look back to Naruto and Sasuke's reaction.
Naruto was catching flies with how low his mouth was hanging while Sasuke had a deep expression with the intention to pass no matter what.
I don't have a particular problem with tests when I know the content whether Ninjutsu, taijutsu or knowledge-based. But this test likely encompasses all of these factors while examining our application of the skills which isn't easy for a bunch of rookies.
Still, I sigh in expectation of the difficulties to come.
" See, see, you got disenchanted," Kakashi says playfully seeing our reactions
"That's crazy, To have suffered that much, what was the graduation test for" Naruto complains to Kakashi
I stay silent on this matter, believing no amount of words can stop being continually tested
"Oh that, It was just to select those who have the potential to become genin" he responds carelessly
Ignoring Naruto's suspension of disbelief he continues
"Well, that's the way it is, I'll be determining whether you pass or fail, bring your complete set of ninja tools, we meet at five in the morning" He finishes with a loud announcement which is actually an order
Naruto who heard this was twitching uncomfortably at the prospect of failing after all his struggles, Sasuke was clenching his fists heavily not wanting to accept a losing result either.
I on the other hand had long accepted the arduous path to proving oneself and refining after constant difficulties. Proving yourself so that your team knows that you got their back is important after all, even I recognise that.
Taking a deep breath, I think of the preparation I need to do, what'll I need to bring, what to expect and what unexpected situations I should prepare for.
"Okay you're dismissed," Kakashi says with his back turned to us waving his hand
But stopping to turn his head to mention
"And you'd best skip breakfast or you'll throw up" he warns before he disappears in the blink of an eye.
We each head our separate way soon after to prepare our tools and sleep early to wake up at five tomorrow.
Setting up my tools and going to bed when the darkness of night comes, I sleep in expectation of the struggles to come.
Although I'm calm, don't get me wrong
I will pass
I will be a shinobi
And I will be the Strongest.
