Chapter | XVII |

"It's been an hour... Where is our Jōnin Sensei?!!!"

Sakura yelled, shortly after, she was gasping for breath. Irritated by her new instructor, she cursed him silently.

'Where is he?'

Naruto pondered. Kakashi had told them to be at sharp 5:00, and yet he was the one who is late. Leaning against a tree, Naruto heaved a sigh. Shaking his head, the blonde closed his eyes, but he was conscious.

As the hours ticked by, the growls of stomach echoed through the air. Opening one eye, Naruto observed the two fellows.

"I'm so hungry!"

Crashing on the ground, Sakura said. Sasuke, on the other hand, despite his growling stomach, sat silently like him. Naruto though, with his vitality, it wasn't a big deal even if he didn't have food for the whole day.

Swish!

Suddenly, out of nowhere, their Jōnin instructor appeared in the middle. He waves his hand with an eye smile.

"You're late!! You told us to arrive at 5:00, and here you are coming at 10:00!"

A visible sweat ran down Kakashi's forehead.

"Calm down, calm down... I agree I was a little late-"

A vein popped out of Sakura's forehead-as wide a field-at his remark. She internally screamed and cursed at him.

"What can I do? A black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long route"

Naruto awkwardly smiled at him.

'I used to make those types of excuses too, when I cut Iruka's classes

He couldn't but admire Kakashi, Naruto started to see him in a new light.

'What kind of excuse... Is that?', Sasuke sweated, but still appeared as stoic as ever. From the day his clan got wiped out, the teen has always been silent.

The pain after losing his brethren at just the age of 7 was traumatic, however, he used that as a fuel to further push past his limits. Sasuke was a genius, a hard-working genius.

Because of his talent and effort, the guy has been the No.1 recruit of his generation, and the most skilled.

Naruto—the old one—was the complete opposite. He had no talent for being a Shinobi, no talent in academics, hell, he even neglected training sessions to enjoy ramen at Ichiraku.

For that reason, the blonde was dead last, the only reason he was even a graduate was because of the Hokage's pity. Otherwise, there were better candidates to replace him.

However, despite his lacking attendance in the academy didn't mean he did not train. He would, but not with the kids, but in the forest, alone, all by himself.

He would polish his shuriken throwing skills, Naruto even practices taijutsu for just the sake of defeating and crushing Sasuke's ego... Well, that didn't turn out well in the past, the Uchiha always won.

But things were different now. Naruto steeled his will, ready to take on any challenge their Jōnin instructor throws at him.

Feeling his enthusiasm, Kakashi silently whistled.

"Ok then"

Kakashi pulled out a timepiece and kept it on a boulder, twisting its wheels, he set the timer. Then, he pulled out two bells from his pockets.

"You have time until sunset, if you can snatch the bell from me, you pass... If you don't, you'll get sent back to the academy"

Mouth agape, Sakura states wide eyes at him.

"Y-You mea-"

"Yes, now shut up and focus... Another point, try coming at me with the intent to kill, or you won't have a chance"

Again, Kakashi's body flickered away. But unlike the past, he left trails. Understanding the situation, Sasuke and Naruto quickly went after. Sakura stood there still shocked to hear the news, but snapping out of her thoughts at the duo's departure, she followd behind.

Sasuke and Naruto were far ahead, trying to overtake each other.

'When did he get so quick?'

Sasuke was slightly surprised that Naruto could match his pace, he picked up his speed, but the blonde was still on his tail.

Frowning, Sasuke accelerated forward with twice the speed, leaving Naruto to eat his dust. Gritting his teeth at the swiftness of his teammate, Naruto also picked up his pace. But even though he tried his best, he simply couldn't catch up to the Uchiha.

'Weak, still too weak!'

Naruto clenched his fists, his heightened emotions were not only for positive, but for negative emotions as well. As he took an arrow to his pride, Naruto gnashed his teeth.

'Those guys! How are they so damn fast!?'

Sakura gaped at the figures fading away from her vision, until they were nowhere to be seen. Feeling her stamina run dry at a rapid pace, she regretted her past decisions. Coupled with her hungry state, her speed was decreasing.

Not aware of the turmoil the pink-haired girl was going through, Sasuke and Naruto reached the edge of the forest. Seeing Sasuke had already hidden, Naruto somehow contained his frustration and concealed his presence.

'They're fast, I'll give them that'

Kakashi was crouching on the clear field, not bothered to hide. Seeing that their instructor had no intention of taking the initiative, Naruto rushed out of his hiding spot.

'He's impulsive'

Kakashi concluded. The Jōnin shook his head as he blocked a punch... or at least he thought he did. Contrary to his expectations, Naruto's hand passed through his forearm.

Kakashi tilted his head, avoiding a barrage of shurikens thrown by Sasuke. Surprised at their coordination—which they never intended to—Kakashi smiled underneath his mask.

"They take my words too seriously'

Kakashi tucked his hands inside his pocket, the two hidden graduates tensed, they raised their guards. However, what Kakashi did next made them... Puzzled.

He took out an orange book, and started flipping through the pages without a care in the world.

Sasuke frowned, was he mocking them? He jumped out into the clearing. 'Another hot-head'. Kakashi thought, but widened his eyes as Sasuke raised his arm to form the tiger seal.

'An elemental Justu?! At his age!?

The air around Sasuke changed, Sasuke blew out fire from his mouth, taking the shape of a ball as big as him, the Justu traveled toward Kakashi at alarming speed.

'Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!'