Team 7, Assemble!

Once their break was up and they returned to the Academy, they learned that students had been split up into teams that would be managed by one Jonnin each trio. It was 'fortunate' though that one of the teams mentioned, which went by the number of 7, had their names on it. The three strangest Academy students were put into one group...

Naruto was visibly relieved while Sasuke stoically shrugged his shoulders like the tsundere that he likely is. It may have been an action annoying to Naruto, but to Sakura who had actually seen the worst of him, this side of him was actually pretty cute~ In the time they spent together, even a muscle-brain like Naruto understood that he'd probably not get the affections of his crush…

'This lucky guy, getting all the girls!' Although Sakura didn't outright tell him she liked Sasuke, it was extremely obvious from how she treated him that she definitely had feelings for him! He felt at a loss, but decided to use the opportunity when the sensei that had been assigned to them came late to try and win her over anyway.

Though his efforts were in vain…

"What is with this sensei? Dammit! Let's prank him for messing with us!" The knucklehead finally couldn't take it anymore and stood up. Sasuke expected Naruto to be the only one juvenile enough to prank a teacher, but he realised he was wrong when Sakura stood up as well. There was a amused look in her eyes as she egged him on.

"Let's do this! He deserves a beating! But what about you, Sasuke?" She turned to the blindfolded youth behind her. The look of expectations in the duo's eyes made it hard for him to refuse their offer. After all, he was also annoyed by Kakashi.

They united under one banner: 'Justice'! Ahem...

Meanwhile, the copycat ninja. Kakashi, the one assigned to train and test them as Gennin, was looking through the documents the Academy gave him that told him key information about his new students. It was only after reading them did he make his way to greet them. This was while knowing full well they would be annoyed.

Though it wasn't like they could do anything to him anyway...

However, once he opened the door, what he was greeted with was a duster falling on his head, the door activating a trap that threw chalk on his vest, and a second trap that threw a bucket of water at him activating as soon as the door was completely open…

'This is really elaborate.' Despite having his clothes ruined, he was more surprised by the trio who all clearly had a hand in what just happened. He wasn't angry at them, but instead had a higher evaluation of the team that seemed to have grew up together.

"Who is responsible for this?"

"Us!" They all spoke in unison.

"Eh… Sorry guys, I have a good reason for coming late." He spoke before cleaning himself up with some sort of transformation technique. The three of them were a little surprised that it could be used that way…

But despite saying he had a good reason, he didn't find it necessary to explain it as he sized them up. No matter how he looked at them, the three students he was given seemed different than what he was told.

Sasuke Uchiha was supposed to be a broody loner with a survivor's complex after being the only two living members of his Clan. However, the youth using his forehead protector as blindfold didn't seem as edgy as he has predicted. He also wondered how the boy could even see him considering his eyes were fully covered…

Sakura Haruno was supposed to be the bright student of Iruka-sensei, but the current defiant girl he saw before him looking nothing like the respectful student he had heard of. He could even tell that she seemed to be the ringleader of this team of three, who the others trusted in.

And as for Naruto Uzumaki, although he outwardly looked the same, he felt a strange feeling as soon as he came close to him that almost made him want to scan him with his Sharingan. He didn't know why but the feeling the knucklehead gave off seemed similar to a Tailed Beast, which was accurate considering the youth's new powers.

Naruto first had a body, then gained chakra that shared his sentience. If any Byakugan user was to scan him then they'd find that the once blue chakra signifying the power of a human suddenly turned into orange chakra. It was his power and his alone.

If the Nine Tails was like an inferno, then Naruto's chakra would feel like warm and gentle sun to anyone who came into contact with it. Although he didn't have enough chakra to create a Tailed Beast Cloak, the benefits he gained from Sakura's Bloodline Seal allowed him to become the heaviest hitter in the team.

After Kakashi was done talking with them, he took them to where he was going to test if they were worthy of becoming ninja of the village. In a place very familiar to Sakura, he sat them down and talked to them.

"Why don't we all start by introducing ourselves? You can say your name, likes, dislikes, and what not." It occurred to him that trying to get his angry students to talk would take some patience, so he went first.

"Let me introduce myself, I am Kakashi Hayate.

My dislikes: I have a lot.

My likes: I have a few.

I don't have much ambition. That's all…" His introduction almost made Sakura facepalm.

"Understood. You're a grumpy old guy who is way beyond his prime. Isn't that right, sensei?" Sakura spoke harshly, causing her teammates to smile sarcastically as they gave her the thumbs up.

Even Kakashi was a little speechless at how sharp-tongued the little pink devil could be…

"My name is Sakura Haruno.

What I like… I forgot.

What I dislike: Idiots.

I only want to protect my family." Despite her harsh words, she respectfully introduced herself.

Kakashi felt that her dream was pretty normal for a villager of the Hidden Leaf, yet was unaware of its true meaning. Protecting her 'family' didn't mean just her blood relatives, but the village as a whole.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki!

I love Ichiraku Ramen!

I hate the time I have to wait for it to be cooked!

My dream is to become the greatest Hokage!" Naruto was very spirited as he introduced himself just like Sakura without even waiting for Kakashi to ask.

"What about your introduction?" He pointed at the blindfolded youth who seemed to be in deep thought.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha.

I hate sweet things.

I don't particularly like anything.

I don't necessarily have something like a dream, but I do have an ambition: That is to one day resurrect my clan and… to kill a certain man." He unconsciously followed the same pattern as the previous two but the words he spoke was heavier than imagined.

He even felt unable a little uncomfortable as he felt that his recent actions towards him may have been a little immature… This was the first time he heard Sasuke had such a desire, making him rethink their relationship. He almost felt a like he had never truly knew his rival despite having fought him for so long.

This was actually the result of his Orange Chakra that boosted his ability to empathise and sense the emotions of those in his vicinity. Even Sakura didn't realise that the Bloodline Seal she gave him actually made the knucklehead mature a lot more quickly.

They were scheduled for Survival Training by Kakashi for the next day and were even specifically told to skip breakfast. Not that the trio cared since despite having learnt many techniques in the months they had been training together, fighting together made it so they had to now think about what their battle plans will be.

"How should we fight together?"

"You two are the Fighter Types, so it will be a given that you both will fight as I back you both up as support."

"Can I use a Mini Beast Bomb on Kakashi-sensei?"

"Naruto, are you trying to kill our sensei?!"

"Come on, you're the one who told us he's overpowered. Will he really get hit that easily?"

"I told you that Kakashi-sensei is a genius of the previous generation with extremely high battle experience, but that doesn't change that getting hit by that Jutsu may end up seriously injuring sensei."

"Why don't we take him on in Taijutsu? All of us are much stronger than average Gennin when fighting."

"Even Gai-sensei has lost to Kakashi-sensei in Taijutsu, and I haven't ever heard of him ever winning… I don't think we'll be able to beat him in a frontal fight." They might have had their potential boosted, but their abilities had yet to fully bloom.

She knew quite well that expecting a veteran like Kakashi to be overpowered in a frontal fight was more like a fantasy than reality… Even their improved potential was mere that: Potential.

"What about my Shadow Clones?"

"You might be strong, but you're not experienced in fighting together with your clones yet. It will actually become easier for sensei to fight if there are more of you he can manipulate and play mind games with." That's what happened last time.

"Argh! Isn't there anything we can do?"

"It seems like Sakura already has a plan."

"Correct! You both know I'm a Genjutsu Type, right?"

"What?" "What?" Both of them asked.

"You sure you're not a Fighter Type?"

"I have to agree with Naruto on this one. There's no reason for you to be support if you're so strong."

"Listen. I work better when it comes to playing mind games. We'll fight like this: Naruto will first attack Kakashi-sensei with all he got while Sasuke will help me set up traps at the back.

The signal that we're going to lure him into our traps will be when Sasuke buts in while you're fighting him. If this strategy doesn't work then we might as well give up on winning."

Even though Sakura had the Flying Thunder God Technique, she wasn't willing to use it for mere test like this. Not only that but the Bloodline Seals she put on the two of them couldn't be revealed yet.

When the day of their test came, Kakashi stood in front of the trio with a stronger demeanour than yesterday. The world would freeze over before any of their grubby hands grabbed the test's bells.

"To spice things up, on top of surviving, you will all also aim to get one of these two bells. If you fail to do so before lunch time, then someone will be tied to that log over there and not get lunch. A final chance will be given in the afternoon… if you are still unable to get one by that time then you will be sent back to the Academy." Sasuke and Naruto felt pressured by that last statement but Sakura knew that not only was this a ploy, the three of them could definitely steal some bells from him even if they haven't reached their true potential.

"I will do a count down: 3, 2, 1!" As soon as he said the last number, the three of them disappeared into smoke. Kakashi smiled under his mask approvingly as scattering was the best option they could use.

But as soon as he believed they would get together and form a strategy, he heard a battle roar from above him as Naruto descended from above him. He was amazed while fighting the knucklehead as he couldn't believe that the kid before him could have such mastery over his chakra to the point of enhancing every one of his movements naturally.

It was only unfortunate that this was Kakashi we were talking about, even as Naruto came at him with a barrage of punches that even broke down the tree behind him, he still hadn't got to the point of being pushed back. This had to do with the knucklehead ninja's lack of experience rather than a flaw in his fighting style. He was too green...

The only improvement from the original timeline was that Kakashi didn't have the guts to read a certain lewd book while he was dodging the cannonballs that were Naruto's punches. He was even almost caught off-guard despite being alert due to Naruto having Shadow Clones appear from the bushes beside them, which all had the physical capabilities of the original.

Though as Sakura said, even with all these advantages stacked against him, Kakashi had Taijutsu so powerful that not even four Naruto Clones coming from different directions could beat the Jonnin. It was a good thing Naruto listened to Sakura's advice and didn't make too many clones that could be taken advantage of by Kakashi.

'I can use some help over here!' Kakashi who had half his mind into a lewd book wasn't anything like the serious teacher he was now that giving any chances for Naruto to retaliate. It was to the point that he felt like he would be captured if they fought for too long...! With animal-like instincts, the knucklehead understood what his best option was.

A few minutes later, a change occurred as one of Naruto's clones was able barely touch the bells on his waist. Kakashi, realising something was amiss from Naruto's movements, immediately released the Genjutsu put on him and found Sasuke had somehow mixed in with the Shadow Clones at an unknown time. A chill ran down his spine as it was the first time a Gennin was able to put him even under a small illusion like this... He felt like there was a sinister snake watching him from afar.

The pink-haired figure clenched her fist.