Sasuke

"You're such a brat," Kakashi laughed instead of getting angry at Naruto's words. "Then you're going back to the ninja academy."

"Fine, whatever. I'm so strong, I'll still be first in my class when I return," Naruto said nonchalantly, resting his head on his arms.

"No! He can't go back!" Sasuke gritted his teeth, walked up to Kakashi, and pulled out a bell. "I'll give mine to him!"

"No, Sasuke, neither you nor Naruto can go back!" Sakura said, handing over the bell she had just taken. "Kakashi-sensei, I'll give mine to Naruto."

"Anyway, I can't help much. It's always been Naruto and Sasuke doing... "

"Everyone passed." Kakashi suddenly said.

"Huh?" Sakura froze, the bell in her hand dropping onto the grass.

"Clink!"

"Passed?" Sasuke was stunned.

"Passed, everyone passed!" Kakashi repeated.

---

*Hokage's Office.*

"That's the situation, Hokage-sama," Kakashi placed three ninja files in front of the Third Hokage.

Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent, his eyes fixed on Naruto's file at the top, puffing on his pipe slowly.

After a long silence, Sarutobi put down the pipe and asked, "Kakashi, what do you think?"

"Hokage-sama, their performance today was commendable, but among the lower-ranked ninja teams I've seen, they're the best."

Kakashi stood by the Hokage's desk, emotionless. "Naruto seems able to use a small amount of Nine-Tails chakra, Sasuke has mastered Fire Style ninjutsu and has strong chakra control, and Sakura has talent in Genjutsu and medical ninjutsu."

"That's why I'm requesting more resources to speed up Team 7's training, so they can stand on their own sooner."

"Kakashi, you're too impatient," the Third Hokage gently refused Kakashi's request. "One is a Uchiha, the other is the village's Jinchuriki."

"Sasuke and Naruto are important companions for the village's future. Instead of rushing them to stand on their own, the priority should be to strengthen their bond with the village."

Upon hearing this, Kakashi understood the Third Hokage's meaning and didn't argue further.

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

The Third Hokage watched Kakashi slowly leave the office, and once the door was closed, he sighed deeply. He flipped through the three files again, scrutinizing them carefully.

---

Meanwhile, Naruto lay on his bed, shaking a bell in his hand. This bell had been given to him later by Kakashi as a memento.

Outside, a gentle breeze blew, and the bell in Naruto's hand tinkled, echoing the larger bells outside the balcony.

Life in this world can't be carried alone.

In the future, Naruto would often have to work with Sasuke and Sakura on missions, inevitably forming bonds. He also hoped that Sasuke and Sakura would grow stronger, making the missions easier.

But with this village... Naruto didn't have much affection for it. Being a ninja was just a job, and working hard was only to put food on the table.

The bell was casually placed on the bedside table as Naruto pondered that there was no point in thinking too much about it. He would take things one step at a time. For now, he needed to earn money for food and deal with everything else as it came.

With that thought, Naruto closed his eyes.

---

Time passed quickly, and the trio continued their routine of tree climbing and water walking practice. Since Naruto's chakra disorder had been resolved, everything went smoothly.

They trained together early in the morning and late at night, long past the point of keeping track of time. Occasionally, they were assigned D-rank missions, which were mandatory in Konoha.

Before accepting C-rank or higher missions, the lower-ranked ninjas were required to complete a certain number of D-rank missions, essentially for gaining experience.

D-rank missions were easy but offered little reward. The constant training had caused Naruto's appetite to increase.

While practicing tree climbing and water walking, Naruto didn't rely on the system. There were still basic skills that needed hard work.

Thanks to the system, he had gained some of the Nine-Tails' power, the Four-Tails' Lava Release, and maxed-out fishing skills. Though he had given up on using Shadow Clones for now, he wasn't in a rush.

He could always ask the village for more jutsu when he became stronger. If nothing else, learning Shadow Clone Jutsu later would be fine.

Hinata seemed to be in training as well. It had been a while since Naruto had seen her. Even if he wanted to level up his mission progress, there wasn't much he could do.

---

*July.*

Naruto was in a deep sleep when he vaguely heard knocking on the door. He opened his eyes groggily, and the knocking became clearer.

Someone was really knocking. Who would come at this time?

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The urgent knocking continued, accompanied by a female voice.

"Hey! Naruto, open the door!"

"I knew you'd forget! You promised me!"

Naruto, still half asleep, went to open the door. He was a little confused when he saw who it was.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?"

"Ah!" Sakura was furious. "You promised me a few days ago, and I even reminded you yesterday, but you forgot!"

"Yesterday?" Naruto couldn't remember anything. After thinking for a moment, he asked cautiously, "Sasuke's birthday?"

"Yes," Sakura turned her head awkwardly.

"Well, at least you remembered Sasuke's birthday," Naruto yawned.

"It's in the files!" Sakura stood in the hallway, "Sasuke is on July 23, Leo, and you're on October 10, Libra."

"Uh..." Naruto was surprised that Sakura remembered his birthday, and for a moment didn't know what to say.

"See, it's easy to remember, right?" Sakura asked.

"Then what about you, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"March 28, Aries, it already passed," Sakura said. "But I don't think guys care about these things."

"Okay, I shouldn't have agreed to this," Naruto said casually. "Training is tough, today is a rare day off."

"Alright, let's go, help me pick out a gift for Sasuke. I don't know what to choose on my own," Sakura urged. "As a reward, I'll treat you to grilled meat."

"Okay," Naruto said, motivated by the thought of food, and went back to change clothes.

Team 7's training had concluded for the day, and their performance was good. Kakashi submitted a request for C-rank missions to the village higher-ups, but it would take two days to be processed.

Thus, for the first time in a month and a half, Team 7 got two days of rest. Once the break was over, they would be assigned new missions.

At this moment, the bridge expert from the Land of Waves, a drunken Dazna, should have already arrived at Konoha.

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