"He is late!"

Naruto did not bother to turn his head. It was the fifth time she had said that. He was currently in the same room as Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, and the reason these three completely different people were together was because they were waiting for their Jōnin sensei to turn up and take them under his or her wing. The class of twenty-seven had been divided into nine groups of three by Iruka-sensei, and in the space of ten minutes eight of those nine groups had been whisked off by their respective Jōnin sensei. Only Team 7 – comprising of Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto – remained. And they had been waiting for nearly three hours.

"Maybe this is a test," Sakura said hopefully. "Maybe our patience as ninja is being tested here. Yes, that must be it! After all, as ninja we're expected to be able to remain undetected, and you can't be stealthy if you're always hyperactive!"

I suppose she means me, Naruto thought.

"If it was any other Jōnin, I might believe that," Naruto said.

"Huh?" Sakura said. "What the hell are you talking about Naruto?"

"You found out who our sensei is?" Sasuke asked knowingly.

"Hatake Kakashi," Naruto answered Sasuke, ignoring Sakura's question, "the scion of the Hatake family and the last of the Hatake family. He was born the only child of Hatake Sakumo, Konoha no Shiroi Kiba,Konoha's White Fang, a Jōnin of Konohagakure as famous as the Dansetsu no Sannin, the Legendary Three Ninjas themselves, and rumoured to be as strong. Hatake Kakashi-sensei was born on the fifth of September and is twenty-four years of age. Like his father, he is praised as a genius ninja after graduating from the Academy at the age of five, being promoted to Chūnin at the age of six and gaining the rank of Jōnin at the age of twelve. His Jōnin sensei was Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, and his team mates were Uchiha Obito and Inuzuka Rin. Like his sensei the Fourth, Kakashi-sensei gained his fame during the Third Great Shinobi War; while the Fourth's famous technique was Hiraishin no Jutsu, the Flying Thunder God technique, Kakashi-sensei's own famous technique was the assassination specialty Chidori, the One Thousand Birds. It was during the Third Ninja War that Kakashi-sensei lost his best friend Uchiha Obito during a mission and due to Inuzuka Rin's medical ninjutsu Uchiha Obito gave his uncrushed left Sharingan eye as a gift to Kakashi-sensei. Since then Kakashi-sensei has attained the nicknames "Copy Ninja Kakashi" and "Kakashi the Sharingan Warrior". He is one of the most powerful ninjas in this village and definitely a consideration for the position of Hokage in the future. He also has a reputation for never being on time for anything and everything." Naruto gave his team mates a foxy grin. "How awesome would it be if I played a trick on him?"

Without waiting for an answer he skipped down to the floor and got a stool and a blackboard duster from the front.

"How did you find out this information?" Sasuke asked.

"I went to the library," Naruto replied absently and as he opened the door slightly and placed the duster precariously on top of it.

"You went to the library?" Sakura asked incredulously and even Sasuke looked shocked.

"Yes," Naruto replied as he checked the door out to make sure his trap would work perfectly.

"Maybe you should have done that more often so your Academy marks wouldn't be so abysmal," Sakura reprimanded.

"Now that was unnecessary," Naruto said in a mock hurt voice as he jumped off the stool and replaced it back to where it had been. "I passed, didn't I?"

"Barely," Sakura scoffed.

"Hey, just because you have an abnormally large head for the technical stuff doesn't mean I have to have one," Naruto whined whilst wondering on the inside when the pointless conversation would end. Sometimes the whole acting thing was just so troublesome.

"Who are you calling big headed?" Sakura demanded.

"Do you really expect that trap to work on a Jōnin of Konohagakure, an elite ninja?" Sasuke interjected and Naruto had to fight not to show his relief at the reprieve from Sakura's questioning.

"You underestimate the complexities and intricacies of my pranks," Naruto declared. "I'm not known as Konoha's Prank Master for nothing you know."

"No one calls you that," Sakura said. "Only you call yourself that."

Just then the three of them heard the sound of footsteps coming from the corridor outside and unconsciously they all watched the door. It rattled a little as someone clasped the door knob and then slowly opened. A head of silver spiky hair poked through the opening and the duster fell on top of it, spreading a small cloud of chalk around the head. The person coughed and choked and sneezed for five seconds before they managed to get themselves under control.

"Yo," the person greeted them.

"You're late!" Sakura shouted.

"Sorry," Kakashi said. "I got lost on the road of life. But I'm here now anyway and that's all that counts, neh? By the way, who put this duster here? I could have had an allergy, you know."

This is our Jōnin sensei? Sakura wondered. Someone who can't even evade a trap laid by Naruto?

This is the elite ninja Naruto was talking about? Sasuke thought. Him?

"I told you!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm not called Konoha's Prank Master for nothing!"

"I thought I told you," Sakura said. "Only you call yourself that."

"You did this?" Kakashi asked. "Well, how shall I put this? My first impression of you guys … is that I hate you."

What? All three Genins thought miserably.

"Come; let's continue this conversation on the roof. I've never really liked being confined indoors," Kakashi said.

As Sasuke and Sakura followed Kakashi, Naruto stared at the Jōnin's retreating back. You didn't fool me, Hatake Kakashi-sensei. You might have been late but you were watching us for a full hour. What did you learn about us, I wonder?

XXX

Team 7 sat in the lukewarm rays of the noon sun facing their sensei. Kakashi sat on the railing at the edge of the roof, his gaze fixed on his possible-future students. They weren't that much to look at, if he was honest with himself. All of them had an air of being otherwise occupied, as if their thoughts were more important than what he had to say. The girl, Haruno Sakura, was clearly infatuated with Uchiha Sasuke whilst disgusted with Uzumaki Naruto at the same time. Uchiha Sasuke was clearly disinterested with his team mates and only interested in training. And Uzumaki Naruto … Kakashi couldn't get a clear read on the Kyuubi's container. He'd heard tales about Naruto, like how he was able to beat a Chūnin Academy Instructor, Mizuki, by using the Mass Shadow Clone technique. Naruto was a well known prankster in Konoha, and yet despite that, now that he had met the boy face to face, Kakashi couldn't shake the feeling that the boy's reputation and his true self were two different things. Whatever mystery surrounded Naruto, one thing was clear; Naruto, like Sasuke, would rather have been elsewhere, especially after Kakashi had "fallen" for Naruto's prank.

"Well, what do we have here," Kakashi said at length. "Why don't we start by introducing ourselves eh?"

"Introduce ourselves?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah," Kakashi said. "Tell each other your names, your likes, your dislikes, your dreams and hobbies. Things like that."

"Why don't you star then," Naruto suggested.

"Me?" Kakashi said. "OK. Well, I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no intention about telling you my likes and dislikes. My dreams are… Well, I have a few hobbies…"

"That was completely unhelpful," Sakura muttered. "All we found out was his name."

"How about you start?" Kakashi said gesturing at Naruto.

"Right!" Naruto said. "Well my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like training and I also like ramen. I love Ichiraku Ramen, especially when Iruka-sensei buys it for me. I hate the three minutes you have to wait while the water boils before you make cup ramen. My hobbies are trying out different kinds of ramen and eating. And my dream is to be just like Iruka-sensei and protect those who are precious to me. To that end I aim to be the greatest ninja to ever come out of Konoha and be the Hokage! That way I will be able to protect everyone and people will finally acknowledge my skill!" Naruto, who had decided to permanently don his loud prankster personality in public, had started speaking thinking he was mocking Kakashi by saying a lot of meaningless stuff but by the end he was very earnest. So is that what I really think? So much for being nondescript, eh Kenji-sensei, Naruto wondered to himself.

He's certainly grown up in an interesting fashion, Kakashi mused.

"Pinky, you're next," Kakashi said out loud.

"Hai!" Sakura replied. Pinky??? "My name is Haruno Sakura. I love … um well I mean I like … that is to say my hobbies are … well my dream is to … um well…" Sakura couldn't stop her gaze from going to Sasuke every few seconds.

Looks like girls her age are more interested in love than in ninjutsu, Kakashi mused.

"You haven't said anything at all, just like Kakashi-sensei," Naruto muttered admonishingly out the side of his mouth.

"What did you say?" Sakura asked heatedly.

"Nothing, nothing," Naruto back-paddled.

"Well then what do you hate?" Kakashi asked determined to get at least some kind of information from the kunoichi.

"Naruto," Sakura answered succinctly, her eyes narrowed toward Naruto.

"What?" Naruto asked whiningly. "What did I do to you?"

"You're annoying," Sakura and Sasuke answered simultaneously.

"Aww," Naruto said. So this is what my team mates think of my persona eh? Well I'll just have to win them over. After all, team dynamics are important if all of us are going to work together efficiently as a unit.

Kakashi sighed. This is going to be tougher than expected.

"How about you, the dark brooding one?" Kakashi said.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I dislike a lot of things and like very little. I don't have any hobbies besides training. And my dream isn't a dream so much as a goal; my goal is to revive my clan and … to kill a certain man."

As expected, Kakashi thought. Well, at least Sasuke and Naruto have something in common, although I would have wished for it to be something less military like training.

"You're dreaming," Naruto said.

"What did you say?" Sasuke impassively.

"I said you're dreaming," Naruto replied with a smile. "The man you want to kill is Uchiha Itachi, an international S-ranked criminal who massacred the Uchiha Clan in one night, one of the most powerful clans to walk this earth. He graduated from the Academy at the age of six, was promoted to Chūnin at the age of seven and attained the rank of Jōnin and was made an ANBU captain by the age of thirteen. You're only twelve years old-"

"Naruto, stop it!" Sakura shouted as she saw Sasuke's eyes become darker and hate-filled.

"You're only twelve years old," Naruto continued as if Sakura hadn't spoken, "and you've just graduated from the Academy. You have a long way to go before you're promoted to Chūnin and then Jōnin. You're simply too weak to call such an ambition anything other than what it is – a dream."

"Too weak?" Sasuke said. "I'm not weak! Anyway, what would a dead last second rate shinobi like you know about it?"

"I am not a second rate shinobi!" Naruto said. "I bet I could beat you with my eyes closed!"

"Yeah, right," Sasuke said, subsiding. "I don't have time for dropouts like you."

Naruto clenched his fists, genuinely angry. "Who are you calling a dropout? I passed, just like you. In fact we got the same marks for the ninjutsu exam! We're both wearing Konoha hitai-ate which means we're equals. Where do you get off sounding so superior?"

"I am superior," Sasuke said. "These hitai-ate mean nothing when strength comes into consideration. Jōnin, Chūnin and Genin all wear the same hitai-ate, and yet Jōnin are the elite and Genin the inferior. It is an undeniable fact. Just because we might be the same on the outside doesn't mean we're the same on the inside."

Naruto stared coldly at Sasuke and clenched his fists, and it took him a moment to realise by doing so he'd lost the fight. He could have come back with a retort. He could have simply ignored Sasuke. But by reacting so emotionally and negatively he had effectively lost the fight. Sasuke smirked at him, victory gleaming in his eyes.

Time to intervene, I think, Kakashi thought. He started laughing.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"Huh?" Sakura said. "What's so funny, sensei?"

"It's just that … you guys are … going … to be so shocked … when I tell you," Kakashi said through bouts of laughter.

"Tell us what?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi suddenly stopped laughing. "Well," he said seriously, "the exams you just passed didn't automatically make you Genin."

"What!?" Naruto said.

"It's true," Kakashi continued. "You see, those exams just qualified you to be considered to be Genin. The real exam will be carried out by the Jōnin sensei of their respective squads in the form of Survival Training."

"Survival Training?" Sakura whispered.

"Yes, Survival Training. Out of the twenty-seven students who graduated, only nine will be promoted to Genin and the rest will be sent back to the Academy. This gives the Survival Training a pass chance of only thirty-three percent."

"What?" Sakura said.

Kakashi started laughing again. "I told you you'd be shocked. Well, I'm off now. Meet me tomorrow morning at five sharp. A word of advice; don't eat or you'll puke. Bye!" Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto looked down at his hands. They were trembling.

"Scared?" Sasuke asked mockingly.

"No," Naruto replied as he clenched his hands into fists. "I'm … excited. This will be my chance to prove once and for all who's superior!" Naruto turned his back and started for the stairs. "No time to talk, I have to go and start training. See you tomorrow! Make sure you bring your A game because only one of us is going to be promoted to Genin, and I'm going to make sure it's me!"

From the shadows of the opposite building Kakashi watched undetected. And so the test begins, and already they are failing.

XXX

All three members of Team 7 arrived on time and therefore had to wait a whole two hours before their sensei bothered to show up.

"You're late!" Sakura accused when Kakashi finally showed up.

"I'm sorry," Kakashi replied without looking the slightest bit contrite, "but I got lost on the road of like but-"

"That's exactly what you said yesterday!" Sakura interjected.

"Is it?" Kakashi mused. "Well, I'm here now and that's all that counts. Now, let's get started, shall we?"

"Hai!" all three students shouted suddenly serious.

"Your objective is simple," Kakashi explained. "You have to get a bell from me before noon or you fail. You are allowed to use any and all weapons in your arsenal because if you come at me with anything less than the intent to kill, you will be unsuccessful. Now was there anything else…? No, I don't think so."

"Sensei, wait," Sakura said. "You only have two bells."

"Oh yeah," Kakashi said snapping his fingers. "I knew there was something else. I only have two bells because only two of you will pass."

"But I thought you said only one person from each team will pass?" Sasuke asked.

"I did," Kakashi replied. "The two who get the bells will be shortlisted for the title of Genin, but ultimately only one will pass. Also, I only brought three lunches; two for the ones who get the bells and one for me. That way the looser can be tied to one of those posts and watch the others eat. Or if you all fail you'll all be tied up and watch me eat. Whatever. I still get to eat." These kids are sharp, Kakashi thought. And troublesome. They ask too many questions. Let's just hope they figure out the point of this exercise before noon strikes or else…

"… Food…" all three students mumbled enviously.

"Right, if you're all ready then we can begin," Kakashi instructed. All three students tensed and bent their knees. "Three … two … one … go!"

All three of them took out smoke bombs from their weapons pouches and threw them to the ground. There was an explosion of white smoke and the three made their escape.

Well, at least they know the basics of concealment, Kakashi thought as his hand reached inside his pouch. … What the hell…?

From the surrounding foliage Naruto emerged, a cocky grin on his lips. "Let's fight now, fair and square. Just you and me!"

Kakashi scratched his head. Oh boy… "You're a really strange boy, you know that?" Kakashi asked.

"The only thing strange here is your haircut!" Naruto said charging Kakashi. Kakashi slowly started pulling out his hand from his pouch and Naruto instantly stopped running, his posture tense.

Ok, time to use my perceived weakness to gather information. Let's see just what Kakashi-sensei can do.

Kakashi pulled out a novel.

"What the hell?" Naruto asked, momentarily unbalanced. "Why did you take out a book?"

"To find out what happens, of course," Kakashi replied nonchalantly. "You see, because you're so weak, it won't matter whether or not I read."

I'm going to make you regret those words, Naruto thought with an evil smirk. But for now, time to gather information. I hope those two are watching closely.

Naruto charged, setting his face in a fierce mask.

XXX

While Naruto was getting his butt kicked by Kakashi-sensei, his shadow clone snuck up behind Sasuke, and before the Uchiha knew it a kunai was pressed against his carotid artery. Sasuke stiffened but he instantly realised there was nothing he could do.

"How are you in two places at once, Kakashi-sensei? Is this Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?" Sasuke asked stalling for time while he thought of a way to get out of the situation. Who'd have thought he'd come after us from the rear whilst our attention was focused elsewhere. Naruto, you idiot, you played right into his hands.

"Who said I was Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto's shadow clone asked amusedly.

"What!?" Sasuke shouted as he turned around, completely forgetting the kunai. Naruto removed it before the idiot impaled his own neck. "What are you doing here? How did you sneak up on me like that?"

"Questions, questions," Naruto said. "We don't have time for those right now. Answer me truthfully; do you really think you can take out Kakashi-sensei on your own? And don't give me any bullshit! This is the dude who was trained by the Fourth Hokage and is counted in the same bracket as Itachi."

Naruto lost his mask and looked straight into Sasuke's eyes. After a few seconds Sasuke scowled and looked away. "No," Sasuke said, "probably not."

Naruto regained his mask and smiled. "Well, in that case how about we join forces. Attacking from multiple fronts is better than attacking from one, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied as he gave Naruto a strange look. "What about Sakura-chan?"

"Oh, another shadow clone transformed into you and proposed the same plan. Seeing as she thinks it's you're asking she'll definitely say yes."

So it's true, then, Sasuke thought. You can actually do the Shadow Clone technique, and those clones can perform jutsu without disrupting the chakra flow. That takes skill. Not mention the fact that you managed to sneak up on me and I didn't notice a thing. You're more than appearances dictate, Uzumaki Naruto…

"So your plan is that we all combine forces to accomplish the objective?" Sasuke asked. "What about after we take the bells? Who decides who gets the bell and who fails?"

Failure never entered your calculations, Naruto noticed. I like that about you, Uchiha Sasuke.

"I figure fighting it amongst ourselves is a lot easier than fighting a skilled Jōnin, don't you agree?" Naruto said with a smile.

He plans on getting a bell himself, and there is no way I'll lose one to Sakura-chan, so ultimately his plan is to stiff Sakura-chan so it's just the two of us.

"Whatever," Sasuke said out loud. "So what's the plan?"

"With my Shadow Clone technique and the Transformation technique I can fool Kakashi-sensei into thinking all three of us are attacking him. Seeing as I have the most stamina it's only understandable I do this and, well, I'm the only one who can do the Shadow Clone technique. I can't hold the Shadow Clone for extended periods of time, though, so you and Sakura-chan will have to step in now and again to keep Kakashi-sensei from getting suspicious. If there's one area I excel in it's being sneaky – you know this. I did sneak up on you after all. So I'll be the one who will co-ordinate our movements. I haven't fully mastered the Shadow Clone technique so I'll use them to contact you and Sakura whilst the real me attacks Kakashi-sensei. We'll keep up the ambush and sortie attacks for a few hours, take a short rest, and then we'll launch our final attack. Don't hold back, otherwise we'll lose before we've even began. And, by the way, watch Kakashi-sensei closely. Watch how he moves. We'll need that information to form our final attack strategy. Any disagreements?"

"No," Sasuke answered. This guy … his whole manner has changed. This isn't the loud mouth dead last I had to share a classroom with…

"Any disagreements, Sakura-chan?" shadow clone Naruto asked his attention going back to Kakashi trying to shake off the real Naruto from his back.

"No, no," Sakura answered from behind.

"Good. I'm going to engage Kakashi-sensei fully and hopefully wear him down a bit. Watch how he moves. Both of you have sharp eyes and quick analytical minds. Between the three of us there's no way we'll lose to some scarecrow look-alike." The shadow clone formed a seal and undid the technique, making him disappear in a puff of white smoke.

"Naruto-kun," Sakura murmured.

"There's no doubt about it," Sasuke said. "This is not the Naruto we knew in the Academy. Come on, let's see if the dead last's plan can actually succeed."

Fifty metres above the two Kakashi looked away from his book and looked at the two creeping students. Well, well, you continue to surprise me, Naruto-kun. Even I didn't notice you creep up on Sasuke-kun and I was watching unhindered from above. I haven't seen this talent for stealth in shinobi outside ANBU in a while. And coming up with the plan to combine forces to accomplish your goal. Well, well, it looks like you all pass. But … I'm curious. How will you attack my shadow clone? Will you actually manage to best it?

XXX

Naruto blinked as the information from his dispelled shadow clone was relayed back to him.

So they both agreed with my plan. That's a relief. It's a shame that I've gotta stiff them in the end but no one and nothing is going to stand in my way. I will become the Hokage one day!

"Now where did Kakashi-sensei disappear to?" Naruto mused out loud. As he looked around he saw a shiny object glinting in the sunlight by a tree trunk. A bell. Such an obvious trap … but as the dead last I gotta fall for such tricks. Also, if Sasuke is still in position he'll be in a perfect position to launch an attack from behind. Naruto picked up the bell and was instantly flung into the air by a piece of hidden rope. Kakashi stepped from behind the tree and picked up the bell.

"A ninja should never fall for such obvious traps," Kakashi admonished.

"I know, I know!" Naruto said both because he did know and to keep Kakashi's attention. This guy hasn't dropped his guard once, despite the fact that he'd dealing with kids. He's good…

"You obviously don't. How am I supposed to work with such material?" Kakashi sighed putting his head in his right hand, effectively blocking his eyesight. At first Naruto thought, yes, this is it. He dropped his guard! But then he noticed Kakashi's posture. While his eyesight had been reduced to zero visibility, his whole posture put his ears in position to hear any attack coming from the right, his perceived blind spot. I hope you notice, Sasuke-kun, because I can't help you if our plan is to succeed.

The whistling of kunai and shuriken in the air soon answered that question. Naruto was, however, in perfect position to see Kakashi form hand seals for the Body Replacement technique. This guy's hand seal speed … he's fast! No wonder earlier on it looked like he'd just disappeared. This makes our goal that much harder. We'll have to incorporate immobilising his hands in our strategy otherwise he'll easily escape whatever we throw at him. As soon as I escape this trap I have to tell those two what I've learned.

As Kakashi used the Kawarimi no Jutsu Naruto performed the same technique with a shadow clone he'd made earlier so that no one would realise the real Naruto wasn't caught in the trap anymore. From the safety of the bushes Naruto formed the ram seal and slowed the beating of his heart. Silence engulfed him and he scanned his surroundings with his senses.

I detect no one and I don't feel like I'm being watched so I guess it's safe to locate Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan.

It didn't take him long to find them, but rather than creep up on them he approached them openly so they wouldn't do something stupid like attack him.

"Kakashi's hand seal speed is amazing, and with his reputation as the ninja who copied over a thousand jutsu, he's going to be hard to beat. Also, you two need to separate. Kakashi-sensei could be watching and the last thing we need is for him to know what we're up to."

"I'll head south," Sasuke replied and started running instantly.

"Oh, come on, I was just starting to cosy up to Sasuke-kun," Sakura whined.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said hesitantly.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"I don't even know why I'm helping you out but here it goes; you need to get your head in the game. Forget about Sasuke and concentrate on the job at hand."

"I am concentrating. Anyway where do you get off telling me what to do? Just because you came up with one good idea. Sheesh!" Sakura walked off south, following Sasuke.

"I'm not the one going back to the Academy so why should I care," Naruto muttered darkly. "Serves her right!"

Naruto stepped out into the open. After all, if he couldn't see Kakashi-sensei then the sensei couldn't see him. Putting himself out in the open like that had its risks but it also had its rewards. There he is! Naruto started running and formed hand seals as he did so.

"Doton: Gansetsukon!" Earth Release: Rock Staff!

Naruto slapped his hands onto the ground and spikes of sharp earth jutted out from the ground in front of him. Kakashi noted the technique with some surprise.

"I didn't expect you to be able to do elemental techniques just yet, even D-rank jutsu like this," Kakashi said as he jumped up into the sky and backwards away from the attack.

"I'm full of surprises!" Naruto shouted. "Ha!" More spikes came up from the ground just as Kakashi landed, forcing the Jōnin to keep dodging and moving. Naruto smiled.

"What's so funny?" Kakashi asked.

"You're not reading your book anymore!" Naruto shouted. "I'm not weak after all!"

"Oh, you're still weak," Kakashi said conversationally as he returned to reading his book whilst still dodging Naruto's jutsu. Naruto growled genuinely.

He's more skilled than I thought. But he is a Jōnin of the Hidden Leaf Village, after all.

"I'll be back!" Naruto shouted before throwing a smoke bomb onto the ground and hiding himself in the nearby foliage.

It's been four hours already. None of us have eaten anything and these weak attacks and constant dodging are only sapping strength. We're only growing weaker. We have to act soon!

XXX

It's been four and a half hours, Kakashi thought. I guess this is when they are going to make their move. They're pretty exhausted and hungry.

As if on cue a hail of shuriken was hurled from the foliage but Kakashi easily dodged it. As he jumped backwards he sensed an attack coming from behind him. He turned just in time to block Sasuke's attempt to steal one of the bells. But Sasuke wasn't done. The young Uchiha launched a barrage of taijutsu attacks, all of them well timed and aimed at getting the bells, which kept Kakashi on his toes and in constant retreat. As Kakashi leapt away from the fierce attacks to buy time to regain his footing another hail of kunai came his way.

"The same attack!? You guys aren't taking me seriously!" Kakashi shouted as he easily dodged. But as he jumped away he noticed that he was jumping back into Sasuke's line of sight – and Sasuke was quickly forming a set of hand seals.

That hand seal sequence … no way! He's not even a Genin yet! There's no way he'd have the chakra to perform a Chūnin level technique like that!

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Fire Release: Great Fireball technique!

Sasuke exhaled a stream of fire that coalesced into a large ball before heading toward Kakashi-sensei. Kakashi's shock was so great he nearly forgot to dodge but thankfully his senses came back to him and he performed the Body Replacement technique with a nearby tree branch that had dried up and fallen to the ground as winter approached. But unbeknownst to him Naruto had been watching closely from up above and easily saw through the technique. He jumped down onto the ground and as he touched down he slapped his hands onto the ground.

"Doton: Gansetsukon!" Earth Release: Rock Staff!

"Not this again!" Kakashi whined as he jumped out from his hiding place as spikes of earthen staffs protruded from the ground and tried to impale him.

"I'm not finished yet!" Naruto yelled as he formed the tiger hand seal. "Katon: Dochū Kibaku Fuda no Jutsu!" Fire Release: Underground Exploding Tag technique!

The ground underneath Kakashi exploded and Kakashi barely escaped.

"Nice move," Kakashi complimented. "Since you're the only one who's used Doton techniques I'm assuming you're the one who put the exploding tags underneath the ground?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied, "but it wasn't just one trap designed to immobilise you. You're so fast I couldn't take that chance so I turned this whole area into a mine field!"

"Gutsy move," Kakashi said unfazed. "But isn't that a bit risky? Anyone could be caught in such a trap."

"The tags will only explode when I activate them," Naruto replied with a smirk. "Ha!" he shouted as he extended his right hand and clenched it into a fist. Kakashi leapt away a second before the earth underneath him exploded. "You can't escape!" Naruto shouted as he repeated the gestures with both hands with increasing speed, turning the whole area into a mini war zone as more and more explosions were set off.

"I highly doubt that," Kakashi replied nonchalantly as he dodged yet another explosion. "Your technique, while flawless, is a simple one and therefore easy to figure out. As long as I can escape the ground I'm standing on before you clench your fist I won't be caught by it."

"Naruto you idiot, stop!" Sasuke shouted. "At this rate we won't be able to see him with all this dust being kicked up. You fell right into his trap!"

"Wrong! He fell into mine!" Naruto shouted triumphantly. Naruto reached into his weapons pouch and pulled out a scroll.

A summoning scroll? They're getting too confident. Time to counterattack a bit, Kakashi thought.

"Too slow!" Naruto crowed gleefully as he unravelled the scroll and spun it around him. Fūma Shuriken, Wind Demon Shuriken, exploded from the scroll travelling at tremendous speed toward Kakashi.

How did he get them to come out like that? Kakashi wondered. This kid is just full of surprises. Too bad I'm a Jōnin full of my own surprises.

"I win," Kakashi announced in a bored tone of voice from behind Naruto.

"Keep dreaming," Naruto replied unfazed as he grabbed Kakashi's kunai-wielding arm by the hand, twisted it and the Jōnin so he now stood behind Kakashi. He gripped Kakashi tightly around the neck. "End game," Naruto whispered viciously.

"Doton: Chikasen no Jutsu!" Earth Release: Underground Cable technique!

A piece of wire cable emerged from the ground and looped five times tightly around Kakashi and Naruto, effectively rendering them immobile. Sasuke emerged from the surrounding shrubbery holding two ends of the steel cable, and from the opposite direction Naruto emerged holding two more ends.

So they turned a simple D-rank Doton ninjutsu into a Collaboration technique … impressive. And by using a shadow clone to capture me they can attack me without fear of hurting each other. This means I fell into their trap by counterattacking this Naruto shadow clone. They planned this extremely well. These kids are good. But where is … Sakura? … Oh shit.

Kakashi started laughing quietly to himself. I cannot believe that I, Kakashi, known for being sneaky, was tricked by a dead-last Academy graduate. Those two kept me so busy fending them off I forgot about Sakura until it was too late.

"There's nothing funny here," Naruto's shadow clone said. "You've lost."

"I know," Kakashi said as his laughs became louder. "I surrender. Team 7 wins. You all pass."

Both Naruto and Sasuke blinked and looked at each other uncertainly.

"What?" they both asked simultaneously.

"You win," Kakashi said with an evident smile, "and I'm not trying to trick you into letting me escape. Earlier on I was just talking rubbish about the whole thirty-three percent pass rate. As Genin you are the weakest a shinobi will be their whole life and you have to learn team work. If one of you fails, all of you fail. You all grasped this concept and put aside your differences to accomplish the mission. You embraced the concept of team work and did brilliantly. No other Genin team has managed to destroy a Hatake Kakashi shadow clone before. Well done." With that the shadow clone Team 7 had been fighting all along puffed out of existence.

"You only saw Naruto and me working together," Sasuke said as he undid his part of the Doton ninjutsu, reeled in his steel cable and put it away in his weapons pouch. "We could have been working together to get the two bells and leave Sakura-chan hanging. How did you figure out Sakura-chan was part of our plan?"

"Sakura was the integral part of your plan," Kakashi explained as he walked out from behind a tree, Sakura by his side. "As the Genin with the best chakra control and theoretical knowledge, her role was a true shinobi's role; behind the scenes, and if done properly, undetectable. You utilised this information and had her do only what she could do – cast a genjutsu on my shadow clone to make it believe it still had the bells when in fact Naruto was going to steal them during my capture and replace them with fake ones."

"My timing was off," Naruto said with a frown and both he and Sasuke came to stand before Kakashi-sensei.

"Only by a little," Kakashi said indulgently.

"What does he mean Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked confusedly.

"It is impossible to cast genjutsu on a shadow clone," Naruto replied. "Seeing as their whole body is made out of semi-sentient chakra, there is no physical brain to confuse with genjutsu. I mean you could cast a genjutsu, but it wouldn't hold."

"Which is why a simple and precisely cast genjutsu was needed for the two second time period Naruto's shadow clone needed to steal and replace the bells," Kakashi added. "My shadow clone would have been too busy dealing with Naruto and Sasuke to notice a genjutsu had been cast. I'm guessing that's why Naruto told you to concentrate your chakra and only cast your genjutsu, Sakura, just before Sasuke and Naruto used their collaboration Doton ninjutsu. Both your timings were off, but by only half a second or so, which is how my shadow clone realised what was going on. But considering this is your first time working together as a team, I'm impressed. Even teams who have been working together for a while don't show this cohesion. You're a natural team. Now, how about we all go get some much deserved lunch?"

"LUNCH!!!" Naruto screamed and in a heartbeat he was off racing toward the three poles where their lunch was secured.

"Where does he get all that energy?" Sakura grumbled as she followed with Sasuke.

He certainly has grown up in an interesting way, Kakashi thought. And how did he realise he was fighting my shadow clone and not the real me? But then again he is one of the few people who can use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to its fullest potential. Maybe there's something he learnt that I haven't. In any case, I guess I am now a Jōnin sensei. Obito … Minato-sensei … I hope I do you proud…

"Wait a minute," Kakashi said out loud. "I only brought three lunches because I thought I'd have to tie one of you to the pole."

Sasuke and Sakura looked back at him, at each other and then back at him. And then they ran with as much energy as Naruto had shown earlier.

"Where do they get so much energy?" Kakashi grumbled as his stomach rumbled.