"In the darkness of the early hours, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke arrived almost at the same time at Training Ground Number Three.
The chirping of the birds was the loudest sound at this hour, before the sun had come up.
Under the cold, nocturnal air, the trio felt like burying themselves under a blanket and going back to sleep.
"Ahhh, damn it! I was so excited last night I couldn't sleep well! If only there was a bed here..." Naruto yawned with his mouth wide open, his eyes watering as if on the verge of tears from sleepiness.
"Baka, I told you before we parted ways yesterday to drink the tea. If you had done it, how could you not have slept well?"
Sakura didn't hold back and immediately pointed out his mistake.
"Ah, I can't, Sakura-chan, it's too bitter!" Naruto wailed, even though he didn't know what was in it; just remembering the bitter taste was enough to make him feel sick.
"Hmph! Even if it's bitter, just man up and endure. Now look at you, you can't even stand still."
Indeed, compared to Sakura and Sasuke, Naruto could barely walk properly and kept wobbling from side to side.
"Don't drag me down when the time comes. I'll take down anyone who stands in my way, especially you!" Recalling the scene when Naruto transformed, a nameless anger burned in Sasuke's eyes as he stared at him.
Naruto grumbled, rubbing his stomach. "Tch, if I'd known it'd be like this, I'd have stayed in bed another hour..."
Sasuke snorted. "As if you could afford to slack off any more than you already do."
Naruto's head shot up. "What did you say, bastard?"
"I said," Sasuke muttered, "don't drag me down."
Sakura, standing with arms crossed, frowned as her eyes moved between the two. Compared to their stiff postures and Naruto's sluggish yawns, she felt perfectly fine. Her pulse was steady, her muscles loose and ready. Even after such an early morning, her body felt almost optimal.
Thank my luck, she thought, lowering her eyes slightly. Every day, this strange boost makes me better. Even my stamina. It's like I am never running on empty.
Naruto glanced at her, scowling. "Why do you look like you just woke up from the best nap ever? I'm dying here!"
Sasuke noticed too, narrowing his eyes. "Hn. You don't even look tired."
Sakura tilted her chin proudly. "Of course I don't. Unlike some people, I prepare properly."
Naruto growled under his breath, but the words died when Sasuke smirked faintly. His fists clenched instead.
The sun finally peeked over the treetops, painting Training Ground Three in gold. Time passed, and still there was no sign of their teacher.
"Tch! Where is he?!" Naruto groaned, throwing his arms up. "We've been here forever!"
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Idiot."
Another half hour dragged by. Naruto eventually slumped against a post and, after fighting his own eyelids for a few minutes, began to snore softly.
Sakura and Sasuke remained awake. She glanced sideways at him, her cheeks heating faintly. Maybe this was her chance to talk to him, to actually close the distance even just a little.
"So..." she began, forcing her voice into casualness. "You always this quiet, or is today special?"
Sasuke didn't look at her. "Depends who's talking."
Her blush deepened into annoyance. "Hmph. What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
Sakura's hands curled into fists on her knees. She turned her head sharply, staring at the trees instead. Fine. If he wants to sit there and brood, let him.
The silence grew heavier, punctuated only by Naruto's snoring.
Hours trickled past. The warmth of the sun crept higher. Even Sakura felt her patience fraying.
And then, without warning, a rush of wind swept through the clearing. The air shifted sharply, stirring the grass and making the branches sway.
When they blinked, Kakashi was simply there in front of them, as though he had stepped out of thin air.
Naruto jerked awake with a startled yell, nearly tripping over himself. Sakura's breath caught, her irritation spiking, and even Sasuke's eyes narrowed faintly at the sudden appearance.
The three of them shouted at once, voices overlapping, loud enough to startle the birds from the nearby trees.
"You're late!"
Kakashi didn't even flinch. He closed his little orange book with one hand and gave them a lazy eye-smile. "Ah, well, you see... there was a black cat on the road, and I had to avoid crossing its path. And then, of course, I had to help an old grandma carry her groceries home."
Naruto's jaw dropped. "Lies! That's so fake!"
Sakura narrowed her eyes. "What kind of idiot do you take us for?"
Even Sasuke looked away with a faint scowl.
But Kakashi remained perfectly calm, as if he truly believed his own absurd excuse. His casual air made it impossible to argue further.
"Anyway," Kakashi continued, slipping the book back into his pouch. "Let's not waste time. The rules are simple. There are two bells, and three of you. Whoever does not get a bell before noon..." His visible eye sharpened as his voice dropped, carrying a weight that settled on them like cold steel. "Fails. And goes back to the Academy."
Naruto clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles went white. "Tch! I don't care how late you are, I'm going to beat you up and take a bell! Otherwise, how can I ever become Hokage?!"
Kakashi adjusted his forehead protector slightly, unbothered. "Then come at me. And do not hold back. If you do not fight with the intent to kill, you will fail before you even start."
The atmosphere shifted instantly. The air grew heavy, tense, as if the training ground itself had been swallowed in silence.
"Start."
The word had barely left Kakashi's lips when a smoke bomb hissed on the ground. The clearing was swallowed in a puff of thick gray. And just like that, the three Genin were gone. Vanished with speed and precision, leaving nothing but swirling smoke in their place.
Kakashi's eye crinkled in mild amusement. "Oh? Not bad."
...
The scene blurred, rewinding to the previous day.
At Ichiraku Ramen, the counter was crowded with steaming bowls, the scent of broth and noodles hanging in the air. Naruto slurped loudly, already halfway through his second serving. Sasuke ate silently, eyes half-closed, ignoring the world. Sakura, seated between them, leaned forward on her elbows with a thoughtful frown.
"I did some research after our meeting," she said, her voice cutting through the clatter of chopsticks. "And I found something strange. New Genin teams are always made of three Genin and one Jonin. Always. Which means..." She paused, eyes narrowing. "...Kakashi-sensei was lying to us. This survival exercise isn't about passing or failing individually. It's about teamwork."
Naruto nearly choked on his noodles. "What?! That bastard!" He slammed his bowl down on the counter. "He wants us to fight each other, right? But you're saying the real test is if we work together?"
Sasuke scoffed. "Hn. That's ridiculous. I don't need anyone else."
"Listen," Sakura pressed, a spark of frustration flashing in her eyes. "If I'm right, and we try to fight him separately, we'll all fail. He'll crush us without even blinking. But if we work together... maybe, just maybe, we have a chance."
Naruto thumped his chest. "Then let's do it! Sakura-chan, you're a genius!"
Sasuke's eyes flickered with irritation, but when Sakura turned her determined gaze on him, he found himself begrudgingly nodding. "Fine. I'll go along with it. But don't get in my way."
Sakura exhaled in relief and pulled out a small notepad she had been scribbling on. "Then let's share what we can do."
Sasuke went first, his tone flat. "I can use all three basic techniques. Fire Release. Taijutsu. Shurikenjutsu. And some Genjutsu." He leaned back, voice low. "That's all you need to know."
Inwardly, he added what he would never say aloud: The Sharingan will stay hidden. That is my trump card. If she is wrong about this, I will use it to secure a bell for myself.
Naruto grinned, not noticing the tension. "Me next! I'm great at taijutsu, and I can take a lot of hits. My best jutsu is the Shadow Clone Technique. Believe it!"
Sakura smiled faintly, then straightened her shoulders. "I can use Shurikenjutsu and the three basic techniques too. But my strongest point is taijutsu." She clenched her fist, her tone sharpening. "If I go full strength, I can even blow up a boulder. If I can land a clean hit on Kakashi-sensei, he'll be injured for sure."
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Whoa! That's amazing, Sakura-chan!"
Sasuke's lips pressed thin, unreadable.
The three of them stared at each other for a long moment, the weight of the plan hanging between them.
Finally, Naruto grinned and raised his fist. "Then it's decided. We'll work together and take those bells!"
Sakura smirked and touched her fist to his. "Right."
Sasuke hesitated, then added his own fist, muttering, "This had better not be a waste of my time."
...
The memory faded.
Back in Training Ground Three, the smoke cleared. The field was empty. Not a single trace of the three Genin remained.
Perched calmly in the clearing, Kakashi closed his book with a soft snap.
"The first skill of a shinobi," he murmured, scanning the empty field with his single eye, "is the ability to hide in plain sight."
His expression softened ever so slightly. "Good. Very good."
He slipped the book back into his pouch, his posture loose but his senses razor sharp.
"Now... let's see what you can do."
Kakashi's foot had barely pressed into the soil when the ground around him erupted with a muffled boom. Dirt and dust burst upward, and in a blink, the clearing was filled with dozens upon dozens of identical blond figures.
"Got you now, Kakashi-sensei!"
"I will definitely beat you this time!"
"This is revenge for making me lose sleep, you bastard!"
Hundreds of Narutos shouted at once, their voices overlapping in a storm of noise. The clones charged in with fists raised, teeth bared, and grins wide.
Kakashi's single visible eye narrowed, calm and steady. He had already noticed the signs of preparation when they laid the trap. "Shadow Clones, well hidden underground. Good. Setting traps and using ambush tactics. Two fundamentals of a shinobi."
The clones swarmed him, fists and kicks flying in every direction. Their coordination was surprisingly sharp, their taijutsu polished enough for fresh graduates, and the sheer number of them should have overwhelmed any ordinary opponent.
But Kakashi was no ordinary opponent.
He slipped between strikes with lazy grace, bent out of the way of kicks, parried punches with the flat of his hand. Each movement was minimal, efficient, as if his body predicted their attacks before they happened. To the clones it felt like chasing smoke.
"Too slow." Kakashi's voice was quiet, but it cut through the chaos like a blade.
The clones growled and yelled louder, but their frustration only widened the gap.
Finally, Naruto roared. "Everyone, all at once! Get him!"
The clones obeyed. They leapt as one, a hundred bodies dogpiling over Kakashi, burying him under a mountain of flailing fists and shouting mouths.
For the first time, Kakashi's sight vanished in a blur of orange and yellow.
Which was exactly when Sasuke struck.
"Fire Release, Great Fireball Jutsu!"
From the shadows, Sasuke exhaled a torrent of flame. The fire roared like a living beast, swallowing the pile of Narutos in a blazing inferno. Smoke and heat erupted outward, searing the air.
Sasuke didn't even glance back. He was already darting into cover, his expression unreadable. He knew Kakashi wasn't foolish enough to be caught by something so simple.
As the flames died, dozens of clones burst into puffs of smoke.
And where Kakashi should have been, there was nothing.
The real Kakashi emerged silently from the ground beneath him, his hand gripping Naruto's ankle like a snake. Before Naruto could resist, Kakashi yanked hard. "Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu."
Naruto screamed as he was dragged underground, his head sticking out comically from the dirt. "Nooo! Not this again! Help me, Sakura-chan, Sasuke, anyone!"
But Kakashi didn't have time to savor the moment. The second he surfaced, a storm of kunai and shuriken hissed through the air, cutting toward him from three angles.
His eye sharpened. "Hn."
Metal clashed as Kakashi's hands blurred, deflecting projectile after projectile. Sparks flew, steel rang, and every blade that should have struck him was knocked aside.
That was when Sakura moved.
From her hiding place, she inhaled sharply, her hands clenching as she kneaded her chakra with deliberate care. She forced it into her muscles, evenly, precisely. Her skin tingled, her limbs heavy for a heartbeat, then light, powerful.
In a burst of speed, she shot forward.
The ground cracked beneath her step, and in the next instant, she was in front of Kakashi, faster than even Sasuke expected. Her fist whipped forward, air splitting around her knuckles.
The impact was deafening.
BOOM!
A shockwave split the clearing. A tree behind Kakashi exploded into splinters as his body was hurled back like a ragdoll. The earth trembled under the sheer force of her strike.
Naruto's eyes bulged. "Sakura-chan, that was awesome!"
But the momentary triumph was short-lived.
The broken body of Kakashi flickered, then burst into smoke, leaving behind a battered tree trunk in his place.
"Substitution Jutsu..." Sakura hissed, her chest heaving.
"Two pillars of a shinobi," Kakashi's voice came from behind her, calm as ever. "Taijutsu and Shurikenjutsu. You've shown me both. But how do you cope with the third?"
Sakura whirled, her eyes widening.
And what met her was not Kakashi's lazy expression.
It was a crimson eye, spinning with tomoe.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"The Sharingan?" she whispered.
In an instant, the world twisted.
She gasped as the clearing warped into a nightmare. Naruto stood before her, screaming, only for a kunai to pierce his throat. The next moment, another Naruto, crushed under falling rocks. Then another, torn apart by invisible claws. Again and again, every heartbeat replayed his death in some new, horrifying form.
Sakura clutched her head, eyes wide in terror. "Stop... stop it!"
The illusion dragged her down, each image heavier than the last, each death carving despair into her chest.
From the sidelines, Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he watched. He clenched his fists, a faint growl in his throat.
Kakashi stood behind Sakura, watching quietly. "Genjutsu. The most dangerous pillar of all. If you lose your mind to fear, all your strength is meaningless."