Before the Interlude

After some brief pleasantries.

Menma casually found a spot to sit properly, then simply closed his eyes to rest. If there were no deviations from the Original Work, they would have to wait at least another five or six hours. Kakashi seemed to have shown up around ten or eleven o'clock.

Before that, conserving their energy was the right choice.

Seeing Menma like this, Naruto helplessly shrugged and gave up on trying to chat with him.

Naruto had thought that now that they were in the same team, they should be able to get along better. He had not expected Menma and Sasuke alike to remain exactly the same as before.

Sakura looked as though she wanted to speak but did not dare to. Her little hands were twisted together in nervousness.

The atmosphere was completely different from that of Team Seven in the Original Work.

As the four waited in silence, time slowly passed. One hour, two hours, three hours.

By the time the sun hung high in the sky.

It was already past eight o'clock.

Yet there was still no sign of Kakashi.

Veins immediately bulged on Naruto's forehead.

"Aaaah! Brother Kakashi, that bastard! I knew I couldn't trust him! He's late again! It's already past eight!"

Naruto said indignantly.

"Maybe he ran into something urgent on the way..."

Sakura timidly offered words that even she herself did not believe. Beneath her seemingly quiet exterior, she was already roaring furiously inside.

Anyone who had to get up at four in the morning, arrive at the training ground before five, then wait three or four hours for someone who had stood them up without even showing their face would be strange if they did not lose their temper!

Even Sasuke's expression had visibly darkened.

It was still March.

And it was early morning, with no breakfast.

Even the nicest person would get cranky under those circumstances.

Only Menma remained as steady as a mountain.

It was not merely because of the Original Work's plot. The moment he arrived, Menma had already used his immense sensory abilities to locate Kakashi in advance. Kakashi probably assumed that four little kids could not possibly detect his position.

So he had casually chosen the simplest method of concealment, hiding off to one side to observe them. Unfortunately for him, he could not fool Menma, who possessed the Mind's Eye of the Kagura.

It would be more accurate to say that while there were indeed quite a few people in the current Shinobi World who could defeat Menma, there were pitifully few people or methods capable of escaping his senses!

The Uzumaki Clan's Mind's Eye of the Kagura.

It was an utterly overpowered sensory ability!

"Tch, what urgent business could there possibly be? He's definitely just late! No, I'm going to report him properly to Grandpa Third later. Brother Kakashi has gone way too far!!!"

Naruto said with an aggrieved look on his face.

More importantly, this was not the first time Naruto had been tricked by Brother Kakashi. They had once arranged to go eat ramen together, yet Kakashi had actually stood him up!

Naruto's anger meter was through the roof right now!

This made Kakashi, who was hiding not far away, unable to stop himself from lightly shaking his head.

Naruto is still too immature. Sakura... hmm, she's not much better. Sasuke is acceptable. Menma seems to be the most composed one...

As Kakashi observed the four, he silently considered them in his heart.

Unlike his usual casual lateness.

Kakashi had deliberately arrived late these past two times in order to observe his four subordinates from the shadows. This was entirely different from before.

He could disregard Sakura Haruno, who was merely an extra.

But he had to take the other three seriously. To better guide and educate the members of his team, Kakashi naturally needed to gather more information and understand them from every angle.

This was also a small test for the four of them.

What was a ninja?

Only someone with a heart capable of endurance could be called a qualified ninja. All kinds of unexpected situations could easily arise during missions, and those greatly tested a ninja's temperament and capacity. Such qualities could often determine the success or failure of a mission, or even whether the ninja survived!

From the looks of it.

Naruto and Sakura were still lacking.

They had not truly put themselves in the proper mindset, nor did they truly understand what it meant to be a ninja!

They'll need more training in this area!

Kakashi considered his upcoming teaching arrangements.

For now, he still had no intention of showing himself.

It was useful to wear down these little ones' patience a bit. Besides, Kakashi really wanted to see whether Sasuke and Menma would also show some emotional fluctuations if he made them wait longer.

Especially Menma.

Menma was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!

Issues with his mental state required even greater attention. A Jinchuriki whose emotions were easily shaken was the most likely to lose control!

This was also the Third Hokage's special instruction to Kakashi.

He had to pay close attention to Menma's state of mind!

Time continued to pass bit by bit. By the time it was past ten, Menma, Naruto, and the others had waited for a full five hours. Seeing that Menma still looked calm, without the slightest fluctuation.

Kakashi finally nodded to himself.

Whoosh!

He leaped forward.

"Good morning, everyone!"

With a smiling expression, he appeared directly before Menma, Sasuke, and the others.

"Aaaah! Good morning, my ass! Brother Kakashi, have you even looked at what time it is!? It's almost eleven! You were more than five hours late!!!"

The instant Naruto saw Kakashi, he immediately bared his fangs and claws.

"Haha, sorry, sorry, Naruto. When I left home this morning, a black cat blocked my path. I had to wait for it to pass before I could set out, so I ended up being late!"

Kakashi explained with a smile.

"Brother Kakashi, do you believe that excuse yourself?"

Naruto stared at Kakashi with the most resentful expression imaginable.

Beside him, Sakura also looked at Kakashi with an awkward expression that said she was angry but dared not speak.

At that moment, Sakura Haruno had truly stamped Kakashi as completely unreliable in her heart!

"Ahaha, all right, let's get straight to the point. I told you yesterday that today's test mission might very well be the last mission you ever take on. If you fail, you'll have to return to the Ninja Academy and continue studying!"

Kakashi laughed awkwardly, then his expression turned serious as he got straight to the point. Sure enough, when they heard what he said next.

Especially when they heard that they might have to return to the Ninja Academy.

Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and even Menma, who was putting on an act alongside them, all changed expressions.