Naruto: BELIEVE IT

Hatake Kakashi.

Among all jonins who were barely mentioned in public, Naruto probably heard his name the most.

Son of the infamous White Fang, the war hero of Konoha. One of the many geniuses that Konoha produced.

There were many types of ninjas depending on their profession.

For one, there are sensor ninjas whose role is to detect enemy movements and instantly relay the information to allies.

There are medic ninjas to heal the wounded.

There are tracking and intelligence ninjas who specialize in gathering information.

Black Ops, ANBU. They are the ones who handle the top secret missions that are usually illegal.

Then, there were the assault ninjas—those who specialize in a combat-based situation.

In the end, ninjas are soldiers. Because of this nature, all systems in the division centred off the role of assault ninjas. This also reflected the nature of the current world, that the power was the most important above all. Funnily enough, this was also the reason why the information regarding the assault ninjas were less concealed than the others.

And Hatake Kakashi. He was the leading figure of Konoha's assault ninjas, known for incredible prowess that all the other nations take a close attention to.

Naruto understood immediately that the fact that Hiruzen placed such a man on them meant two possibilities:

One, Hiruzen has high expectations for them.

Two, Hiruzen thinks that they won't pass and intentionally placed someone of high standing.

Naruto found the latter possibility unlikely, considering how him and Sasuke were probably the ones whom the higher-ups have the highest expectations on.

"Now, I'd like you all to tell us a little about yourselves."

Standing in front of them, Kakashi casually stated.

"Like what?"

"You know, the usual. Your favourite thing, what you hate most, dreams, ambitions, hobbies, blah blah blah. Things like that."

"..."

Sasuke simply stared at Kakashi in silence as if not having heard what the white-haired shinobi said.

Naruto, on the other hand, carefully observed Kakashi. Poker face, casual body gestures, mask covering up the facial features... he couldn't tell what the man was thinking.

"How about you go first, sensei? Show us how it's done and we'll follow!"

And in silence, it was Sakura who boldly asked. Judging by her face, she seemed frustrated by the fact that Kakashi was 3 hours later than their supposed time to meet.

"Oh... me?"

Kakashi blinked, before stating impassively,

"Name's Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes. My dreams for the future are none of your business... but anyway, I have lots of hobbies."

"...The only thing you revealed to us is your name!"

Sakura sweatdropped. Ignoring her remark, Kakashi motioned his hands at them,

"Now now, it's your turn. Starting with you on the right."

Everyone turned to look at Naruto. Chuckling at the development of the event, he began the introduction,

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like the food in Ramen Ichiraku. I hate being helpless. My dream is to be happy. My hobby is taking a dip in a hot spring."

'...Is this kid really 12 year-old?'

Kakashi felt as if he was looking at an old man who knew the essence of life.

'But anyhow, I don't find any emotional instability... a good sign.'

Next to Naruto was the one in the middle, Sasuke. Seeing that Naruto comleted his introduction, Sasuke finally opened his mouth.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Plenty of things I hate and almost nothing I like. Talking about dreams is pointless, for it is just a word. However,"

Naruto, for the first time, got to see the glimpse of what that gleam in Sasuke's eyes were about,

"I do have determination, to restore my clan and... there is someone I have sworn to kill."

Sakura looked shocked by Sasuke's reveal.

'Last Uchiha, huh.'

Naruto immediately recongnized,

'Even if the village tries its best, it's impossible to completely hide the abrupt disappearance of the entirety of Uchiha clan except for one.'

The matter regarding Uchiha clan was something that was wide spread in Konoha. Almost all the adults were aware of this incident, and so was Naruto who eavesdropped on them.

And it was this Naruto whom Kakashi was observing in surprise.

'...How does he know?'

Meanwhile, Sakura seemed to be thinking just how cool Sasuke was.

Kakashi crossed his arms.

"And finally, the young lady."

"I am Haruno Sakura. My favourite thing is... hehe, it's not a thing, it's a person. A boy, and that boy is..."

Sakura blushed as she blatantly stared at Sasuke who seemed uninterested.

"Uh, let's move onto my dream."

She then shivered in delight as if imagining her dream future. Then, the smile on her face suddenly disappeared as she looked at Naruto reluctantly,

"...And I dislike Naruto."

Naruto deadpanned at Sakura who averted her eyes and continued speaking,

"My hobbies are..."

And there, the smile and blush returned on her face as she looked at Sasuke once more.

Kakashi sighed.

...

"Now, I believe we all understand one another. With the introduction done, the formal training will begin tomorrow."

Hearing no comment, Kakashi continued,

"Our first project involves only the members of this team."

"Which is?"

"Survival exercises."

"Survival exercises?"

Sakura seemed confused.

"But why would that be a mission? Our school days were full of survival training!"

"It won't be your typical practice, since you'll have to survive against me."

"?"

Sakura squinted her eyes,

"What kind of practice is that?"

To Sakura's question, Kakashi laughed lightly as if thinking of something funny. Feeling mocked, Sakura barked,

"What are you laughing at?!"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that if I told you, you'd chicken out."

"...Why?"

"Of the twenty-seven members of your graduating class,"

Loosing the bored look, Kakashi spoke seriously,

"Only nine will actually be accepted as genins. The other eighteen must go back for more training. There for, we are talking about the test that has the 66% rate of failure."

'Just as you said, Shika.'

Naruto inwardly smirked, with the usefulness of Shikamaru proven once more.

Sakura's eyes became dull. Sasuke seemed to be sweating. 66% failure wasn't nothing, after all.

"Hahaha! See? You're chickening out already!"

Kakashi then returned back to his chill self and said jokingly.

"Heh, not really."

And to Kakashi, Naruto replied, grinning confidently for the first time in this meet.

"Oh?"

"Our team consists of the best members. If we fail, the failure rate of the so-called survival test that you speak of may as well be 100% instead of 66%."

Surprised, Sakura and Sasuke looked at Naruto. Clearly, they didn't expect Naruto to think of them highly.

"Aren't you being a little arrogant here?"

"Arrogance surely is a vice to have for ninjas, but underestimating one's own capability can lead to an outcome just as devastating."

Narutos shrugged,

"It's matter of perspective, really. Besides, I don't believe that my confidence is baseless."

Kakashi looked at Naruto for a little while.

"...Well then,"

Finally putting his eyes off of him, he began the explanation,

"In any event, we'll meet tomorrow morning on the practice field so that I can evaluate each of your skills and weaknesses. Bring all of your ninja tools and weapons. And lastly... don't have breakfast beforehand unless you enjoy throwing up."

"Throw up?!"

Sakura pulled her hair in panic,

"How hard is this exercise going to be?!"

Reaching into his pocket, Kakashi took out the papers and distributed them to three students.

"The details of your assignment are in this hand out. Memorize it and don't be late."

That was the end of the meet.

Sakura anxiously read the paper while Sasuke crumpled it up.

'No breakfast? To avoid throwing up? What?'

Naruto seemed to be thinking of something else, however.

'Isn't having the breakfast better?'

__________

After the long night's contemplation, Naruto ended up having a breakfast, unable to understand the reasoning behind Kakashi's words.

Besides, breakfast was something that he's been having for years every day; he won't be at his 100% if he intentionally broke his routine.

Standing on the designated training ground, Naruto saw Sakura and Sasuke in their own ninja attires. Dark red for Sakura, dark blue for Sasuke, and plain black for Naruto. Their outfits were designed so that they can easily hide and camouflage themselves.

"..."

Sakura only stared at Sasuke as if Naruto didn't exist to her. Sasuke, not interested in interacting with anyone, entered the world of his own.

After looking at the two of them briefly, Naruto sat down on a rock, waiting for Kakashi to arrive.

However, the mentor didn't come.

'...?'

An hour passed.

"WHERE IS THAT JERK?!!"

Sakura shouted as she kicked a nearby bark in frustration.

Two hours passed.

"HE'S THE ONE WHO TOLD US TO NOT BE LATE!!"

Sakura was going berserk. Sasuke too seemed to have reached his limit.

As the third hour passed, Kakashi finally arrived.

"Good morning, class!"

"YOU'RE LATE!!!"

"Now, let's get started, shall we?"

Ignoring Sakura's scream, Kakashi placed down a timer on a wooden stump.

"I've set this alarm to go off at noon."

Calming down, Sakura began to focus on the details along with Naruto and Sasuke.

"I have two small bells. Your challenge is to steal these from me before the timer sounds. Anyone who fails... doesn't get any lunch."

"..."

"Instead, you will be tied to that tree stump so that I can eat your lunch in front of you."

They realized,

'So that's why you wanted us to go without breakfast?!'

Sakura and Sasuke's stomachs growled. Naruto seemed fine, however. Naruto rubbed his head, feeling a little awkward here.

"All you need is just one bell among these two. But since there aren't enough to go around, one of you is definitely headed for the stump."

In Kakashi's hand were two bells.

"And the one without a bell, one who will be tied up to the stump and be not given the lunch—you will be sent back and called a disgrace."

'...Is that possible even?'

Naruto swore that he never heard of 'three-men team' before. Academy clearly taught them that four was the ideal number for a team, that it was the highest capacity that a team could have without losing mobility.

'Besides, the word "disgrace" seems to be a little too excessive. He's trying to install fear in us. This tells me that he's bluffing, but I have no way to tell...'

As Naruto thought, Kakashi added on,

"You may, if you choose, use shurikens and kunais. Attack as though you mean to kill, or you'll never stand a chance."

To that, Sakura refuted,

"W-What?! But that's too dangerous!"

'Sakura...?'

Turning to Sakura, dumbfounded, Naruto couldn't help but mutter,

"...You know that we are aiming to become ninjas, right? It's supposed to be dangerous?"

"..."

Sakura froze in embarrassment, realizing how idiotic her words were just now.

"Now,"

Tying the bells around his waist, Kakashi clasped his hands.

"we'll start on my signal."

"Ready... steady..."

Erasing the embarrassment, Sakura gulped as she lowered her stance.

Sasuke seemed to have willed himself, clenching his hands as he glared at Kakashi.

Naruto, darting his eyes to the surroundings, was trying to think ahead.

Go.

In an instant, all three students were gone from the site.

The test has officially begun.