Leo Sasuke

"You brat." Kakashi was not angered by Naruto's words; instead, he smiled. "Then you'll have to go back to the Ninja Academy."

"Then I'll go back. I'm so strong that I'll still be first in the grade when I return." Naruto spoke dismissively, resting his head on his folded arms.

"No! He can't go back!" Sasuke gritted his teeth, stepped in front of Kakashi, and held out his bell. "He can have mine!"

"No, Sasuke. Neither you nor Naruto can go back!" Sakura handed over the bell she had just received. "Kakashi-sensei, Naruto can have mine."

"Anyway, I wasn't much help. It was always Naruto and Sasuke doing everything."

"All of you passed," Kakashi suddenly said.

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

"Jingle, jingle!"

"Passed?" Sasuke was stunned.

"Passed. All of you passed!" Kakashi reiterated.

Hokage Building.

"That's what happened, Lord Hokage." Kakashi placed three ninja files before the Third Hokage's desk.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing. His eyes remained fixed on Naruto's file at the top as he puffed steadily on his pipe.

After a long while, Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pipe and spoke.

"Kakashi, what do you think?"

"Lord Hokage, the three of them performed admirably today. Among the genin teams I've seen, they are the best."

Kakashi stood before the Third Hokage's desk with his hands behind his back, speaking without emotion.

"Naruto seems capable of using a small amount of Nine-Tails' chakra. Sasuke Uchiha has mastered Fire Style Ninjutsu and has excellent chakra control. Sakura has talent in Genjutsu and Medical Ninjutsu."

"Therefore, I request additional manpower from Lord Hokage to accelerate Team Seven's training, so they can become independent sooner."

"Kakashi, you're too impatient." The Third Hokage tactfully rejected Kakashi's request. "One is an Uchiha child, and the other is the village's Jinchuriki."

"Sasuke and Naruto are both important future companions of the village. More important than making them independent sooner is nurturing their bond with the village."

By then, Kakashi understood what the Third Hokage meant and said nothing more.

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

The Third Hokage watched Kakashi slowly leave the office. Only after the door closed did she let out a soft sigh. With a flick of her hand, she picked up the three files again and examined them carefully.

Elsewhere, Naruto lay on his bed, idly swinging a bell in his hand. Kakashi had given it to him afterward, if only as a keepsake.

A gentle breeze blew outside the window. The bell in Naruto's hand jingled, answering the deeper chimes of the large bell beyond the balcony.

No one could stand alone forever.

Naruto would inevitably carry out future missions with Sasuke and Sakura, and they would inevitably form bonds. He also hoped Sasuke and Sakura would grow stronger, so missions would be easier.

But as for this village... Naruto truly had no feelings for it. Being a ninja was merely a job, and working hard was only for the sake of eating.

Click. Naruto closed his hand around the bell and casually placed it on the bedside table.

There was no point overthinking it. He would take things one step at a time. First, he needed to earn money for food. He would adapt to everything else as it came.

With that thought, Naruto closed his eyes.

Time passed quickly. The three of them continued their regular tree-climbing and water-walking practice. Since the problem of Naruto's chaotic chakra had been resolved, everything went smoothly.

The three trained together from dawn until dusk, having long since lost track of time. Every so often, they took on D-rank Missions, as required by Konohagakure.

Before a genin team could accept C-rank Missions or above, it had to complete a certain number of D-rank Missions. It was somewhat like grinding experience.

D-rank Missions were simple, but the pay was pitiful. There was not much money to take home, and the continuous training had greatly increased Naruto's appetite.

Naruto had never considered relying on the system for the techniques behind tree-climbing and water-walking. Some fundamentals still required hard work.

Through the system, he had already gained part of the Nine-Tails' power, Four-Tails Lava Release, and Max-level Fishing Skill. Although he had given up Multiple Shadow Clone, he was not in a hurry.

That jutsu could be requested from the village once he became strong enough. If not, learning Shadow Clone in the future would be enough.

Hinata also seemed to be undergoing intensive training. He had not run into her for a long time, so even if he wanted to make some progress on his missions, he had no way to do so.

July.

Half-asleep, Naruto vaguely heard someone knocking at the door. He groggily opened his eyes, and the knocking became clearer.

Is someone really knocking? Who would come at a time like this?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Urgent knocking sounded out, accompanied by a girl's voice.

"Hey! Naruto, open the door!"

"I knew you'd forget! We agreed on this! You promised!"

Still groggy, Naruto went to open the door. When he saw who it was, he could not help feeling confused.

"Sakura? Why are you here?"

"Ah!" Sakura was about to explode with anger. "You clearly promised me a few days ago! I even reminded you yesterday, and you forgot again!"

"Yesterday?" Naruto truly could not remember anything. After thinking carefully, he finally recalled it and asked tentatively, "Sasuke's birthday?"

"Mm." Sakura turned her head away, looking somewhat awkward.

"Impressive that you remembered Young Master Sasuke's birthday." Naruto yawned.

"It's all in the files!" Sakura said from the hallway. "Sasuke is July 23rd, Leo. Naruto, you're October 10th, Libra."

"Uh..." Naruto was surprised that Sakura remembered his birthday and did not know what to say for a moment.

"See? Easy to remember, right?" Sakura asked.

"Then when is your birthday, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"March 28th, Aries. It already passed long ago," Sakura said. "But boys probably don't care about that sort of thing."

"Fine. I should never have agreed to this." Naruto spoke casually. "Training has been exhausting, and today is a rare day off."

"Come on, hurry up. Go pick out a gift for Sasuke with me. I don't know what to choose on my own," Sakura urged. "As payment, I'll treat you to grilled meat."

"Fine." Hearing there would be food, Naruto forced himself awake and went back into his room to change clothes.

Team Seven's training had come to a temporary end, and all three had performed fairly well. Kakashi submitted a request to the village higher-ups to take on C-rank Missions, but the review would take two days.

As a result, Team Seven unexpectedly received two days off after a month and a half. If nothing unexpected happened, they would begin taking missions once their break ended.

Around this time, Tazuna, the drunken bridge-building expert from the Land of Waves, should already have arrived at Konoha Village.