Difference

The six Chakra Hearts inside Red Cat began running at once. Until now, Red Cat had only activated two of them. This was Red Cat at its strongest.

Crimson Chakra burst from Red Cat's body. Flames curled around it as the bloodline within it awakened, and the air around them shimmered in the scorching heat.

Through his Sharingan, Kakashi could clearly see just how immense the Chakra surrounding Red Cat was. He had thought Red Cat's Chakra was already powerful enough before, but who could have guessed it was now several times stronger?

This wasn't a one- or twofold increase. Red Cat had advanced to an entirely different level of power. Kakashi regarded it warily. Even he couldn't guarantee that he could subdue Red Cat, and even if he managed it, he would surely be injured—and things might end even worse.

How did such a powerful Ninja Beast end up in Sasuke and Naruto's hands? Kakashi wondered. There was no definite information in the reports about where Sasuke and Naruto had gotten their Ninja Beasts, but there was one theory, and it pointed to another surviving Uchiha: Yuyou Uchiha.

There were surely plenty of "stories" behind all this, but Kakashi needed to deal with the situation at hand first.

"This Sharingan was given to me by a dear friend who has passed away. Your Uchiha clan knew I had it, and they accepted that I possessed it." Kakashi spoke to Sasuke as he pulled down his Forehead Protector to cover his Sharingan.

Sasuke was stunned for a moment by Kakashi's answer, then lowered his guard. He chose to believe Kakashi. Given Kakashi's reputation and status in Konoha, as well as the Uchiha clan's former influence, Kakashi wouldn't lie to him about something like this.

The Uchiha clan hadn't taken the Sharingan back from Kakashi before, so they must have accepted that he could keep it. Now only two members of the Uchiha clan remained, so there was no need to be so particular about certain things—especially when dealing with someone far stronger than himself.

When Red Cat saw Sasuke stop attacking, it withdrew its power too. Activating all six Chakra Hearts put a considerable strain on its body.

Slimes had almost invincible physical resistance, but that didn't mean their bodies couldn't be damaged. Chakra wasn't physical force, either. An excess of Chakra could make a slime's body collapse.

After withdrawing its power, Red Cat retreated behind Sasuke. Its crimson eyes stayed fixed on Kakashi. Red Cat could sense how terrifying the man before it was. If they started fighting, it would protect Sasuke and then run to "God."

"Clap, clap, clap..."

Kakashi's eyes curved into a smile. He raised his hands and began clapping, then said, "Let's put what happened earlier aside. Congratulations once again on passing Team 7's test. From now on, you're official Konoha ninja."

"Your two Ninja Beasts are especially powerful, but you haven't registered them yet, have you? Go to the registration office tomorrow and register their information. That way, Konoha will officially recognize them as Ninja Beasts.

"This will be very helpful when you take on missions in the future. Powerful Ninja Beasts count toward the reward, too, so you can earn more money for each mission. That's no small fortune!"

Kakashi shared his advice with Naruto and Sasuke.

Of course, he also wanted them to register Red Cat and Snow Charm so Konoha could learn more about the two Ninja Beasts' abilities.

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a glance, then nodded. They had already thought about doing it; they just hadn't gotten around to it. Now that they remembered, they decided to go the next day.

"Let's call it a day, then! To make up for what happened, I'll treat everyone to a meal at a restaurant," Kakashi said to the three of them.

But Sasuke only heard the first half. He turned and walked away, his opinion of Kakashi now extremely poor.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei, but I have something to do, so I won't be joining you," Naruto said, also declining Kakashi's invitation.

Then Naruto left with Snow Charm in his arms. He had been through a fierce battle today, and both he and Snow Charm were covered in dust. He needed to get back and clean up quickly, or Snow Charm would get angry again.

And if Snow Charm got angry, that guy Nine-Tails would get angry too. If Nine-Tails decided to make trouble for him out of spite, he'd be done for. He had two foxes to look after now.

As for Sakura, she had been completely invisible today. She hadn't contributed anything to the battle at all. It had been nothing but a showcase of Sasuke and Naruto fighting with their two Ninja Beasts, with no part for her.

Even if Sakura had wanted to do something, there had been no way for her to join in. Their strength was worlds apart, and if she had forced her way into the fight, she would have only made things worse instead of helping.

So during the test, Sakura had simply stood by and watched. At first she'd been anxious, then calm, and finally anxious again.

That final anxiety came from the panic she felt about her own strength. She had known Sasuke was strong back at the Ninja Academy, but only now did she truly understand the gap between them. The feeling of being powerless was awful.

And Naruto was strong too—stronger than she could ever be.

After leaving the sheltered haven of the Ninja Academy and stepping into the real world, Sakura had to face the reality of being a ninja.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei, but I don't want to go either."

Sakura bowed to Kakashi, then left dejectedly.

Watching Sakura's retreating figure, Kakashi rubbed his chin. He knew what she was thinking. Compared to her teammates, Sakura was simply far behind.

The higher-ups in Konoha had decided to place Naruto and Sasuke on the same team. Sakura was just an extra. Since she was a girl who was close to both Sasuke and Naruto, they had decided to add her to Team 7.

Besides, Konoha's small-team assignments followed the principle of pairing boys and girls. It had been a long-standing tradition.

To be honest, Yuyou had more or less guessed as much.

Kakashi didn't take it personally that his students had turned him down. Once all three of them had disappeared from sight, his expression grew serious.

The situation had already veered far from Konoha's original plans.

Kakashi formed a hand seal, and vanished from the spot.