You Only Have One Chance

Kakashi said, stroking his chin, "My name is Kakashi Hatake. As for hobbies... I have many. I don't have any ideals, and the rest is classified."

Haruno Sakura's face fell as she thought, That's it? He didn't say anything besides his name!

Her gaze drifted unconsciously to Naruto. Usually, at this point, he would be complaining to her, but today he looked indifferent.

Kakashi: "I'm done. Who wants to go first, you two?"

Sasuke, uncharacteristically, spoke first. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I have no hobbies. As for ideals, rather than ideals, I have things I must do."

His eyes suddenly sharpened. "I will restore the Uchiha Clan, and... kill that man!"

Kakashi blinked, then looked at Naruto.

Seriously? Are young people dating this intensely now? He must mean Uchiha Itachi, his brother, right?

Haruno Sakura was deeply drawn to this kind of declaration, her broken heart still finding it incredibly cool.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. My hobby, or rather, the person I like is..."

Her eyes slowly shifted towards Sasuke.

Kakashi's ears perked up.

But she stopped there. Haruno Sakura thought of Sasuke's earlier dismissal, of Naruto's bluntness and his attempt to stop her, and lowered her head in silence.

Not having received an answer, Kakashi was a little disappointed. He said seriously, "That concludes the introductions. We'll start missions tomorrow. Meet at the east riverbank of the Hokage Rock."

"Oh," Haruno Sakura replied with a dejected expression.

Naruto: "What's the mission?"

"A survival test. Only nine out of twenty-seven graduates will be qualified to become Genin. The rest will be sent back to the academy for training."

Kakashi said with a threatening expression, "Your opponent... is me."

Haruno Sakura's face immediately darkened.

Sasuke also broke out in a sweat, not out of worry about failing, but because his opponent was a Jonin.

Naruto, however, was excited. Purely excited.

He didn't know much about the ninja world. Although he hadn't fully acknowledged Kakashi, he had seen his strength when he instantly killed Mizuki. Kakashi could serve as a good benchmark.

"Six AM. Don't eat breakfast, and don't be late." Kakashi dropped three forms with specific requirements and, with a rapid series of hand seals, vanished in a puff of white smoke.

Naruto picked up one of the forms and glanced at it. He walked up to Haruno Sakura, who was half a head taller than him. "Sakura."

"Yeah?" Haruno Sakura looked up, sensing a peculiar calmness in Naruto's gaze and tone, completely different from his wild demeanor during fights.

Naruto: "Be my girl."

Haruno Sakura's eyes widened.

It was too direct, so direct it made her blush and her heart pound.

Although Naruto had confessed to her before, the current impression was entirely different.

She instinctively looked towards Sasuke, but Naruto reached out and blocked her view.

Their eyes met, and she found herself unable to refuse.

"You only have one chance. I'll give you time to consider."

With that, Naruto left.

First love, if not experienced, cannot be truly let go of.

Feelings are straightforward. If you like someone, you like them. If you don't, you don't. Express your thoughts directly.

Sasuke was completely unfazed by this.

Naruto returned home with two large bags of groceries, emptied the expired items, and restocked the refrigerator.

He was in his growth spurt, and already shorter than other boys his age, so he needed to fully replenish his nutrients.

Once the ingredients were on the cutting board, he focused his mind inward.

Chakra was formed by the fusion of physical and spiritual energy. Ninjas controlled Chakra to perform hand seals and unleash all sorts of Ninjutsu.

The only techniques he had mastered were basic support Ninjutsu like the Clone Technique, Transformation Technique, and Substitution Technique, which had no offensive capabilities.

To fight, he still relied on martial arts.

He rubbed his cells to generate Chakra, infused it into his palms, extending it into a tangible sharp edge, and began practicing Sword Qi to slice potatoes.

Six AM the next day.

Under the dark blue clouds, the three met by the river.

Kakashi was not there.

Seven AM, eight AM, nine AM, ten AM.

Kakashi arrived fashionably late.

Naruto: "Teacher Kakashi, you said not to be late. Is the first lesson you're giving us that ninjas should break their promises?"

Kakashi, who had intended to brush it off habitually, could only raise his eyes at the sharp words and say earnestly:

"I think I said not to be late, but I didn't say I wouldn't be. Alright, alright, don't look at me like that. This is part of the test too."

He took out a clock and placed it on a tree stump, setting the alarm for noon. Then he pulled out two bronze bells and jingled them.

"Your mission is to get the bells before noon."

Haruno Sakura couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, didn't you forget to bring one?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No."

Without needing further explanation, the three understood that the goal was to make them compete, to foster cutthroat competition.

"Survival of the fittest?" Naruto grinned and stepped forward, looking at Haruno Sakura. "Follow me, and the bells you get are yours."

If ninjas had to be like dogs biting each other internally to stand out, then he had lost interest.

Naruto then turned to look at a frowning Sasuke. "Don't worry, I'll only take one."

Haruno Sakura pondered. Her skills weren't as good as Sasuke's, and Naruto seemed stronger than her too. This seemed like the best option.

The obsession with not being eliminated suppressed her girlish feelings. She nodded and stood to Naruto's right.

Naruto laughed heartily. "As expected of someone I've taken a liking to."

Haruno Sakura suddenly felt a bit selfish, but if Naruto were eliminated, wouldn't being alone with Sasuke be the best outcome?

She wanted to apologize, but she caught sight of Naruto's uplifted profile and lost her train of thought for a moment.

At that moment, Sasuke suddenly walked to Naruto's left. "Let's compete. Whoever gets them first."

Naruto readily agreed. "Haha! Alright!"

Kakashi scratched his head.

The original intention of the team assignment test was teamwork, to make the graduates understand the principle of disregarding personal gain for the sake of a team goal.

But these three, by some strange twist of fate, had ended up together, though for the wrong reasons.

He said grimly, "I have some bad news for you: so far, no one has ever passed my test."

Naruto charged forward, laughing loudly, "I'll be the first!"

Sasuke, unwilling to be outdone, attacked from the left, his fists clenching six shuriken and shooting them towards Kakashi's surrounding positions.

Haruno Sakura followed closely behind the two, closing in from the right. Her high-slit qipao fluttered, her fair, firm legs crossing rapidly.

Facing the combined attack of the three and the incoming shuriken, Kakashi still appeared nonchalant.

For him, a Jonin, their movements were too slow. Getting the bells was impossible.

The focus of the test was never on getting the bells.

Kakashi formed hand seals, creating mist. Earth Style jutsu burrowed into the ground, allowing him to escape the encirclement.

He moved beneath Naruto, grabbing at his ankle, intending to drag the culprit who had thrown the situation into chaos into the earth.

However, at that moment, Naruto stomped hard, retracting his leg, and then punched at Kakashi's wrist.

The punch was exceptionally powerful, numbing Kakashi's wrist.

This numbness caused him to be unable to retract in time. Sasuke's shuriken flew again, forcing him to dispel his jutsu and leap into the air.

Kakashi was surprised that Naruto could detect him. "Not bad."

Naruto was born with the ability to distinguish good from evil and sense hostile intent. The moment Kakashi made a move, he had sensed it.

He followed, leaping up, pulling a metal rod from his pants leg, and smashing it down towards Kakashi's head.

Weapons like kunai were too short; they didn't suit his style.

Kakashi drew a kunai with his free hand and blocked the strike.

The two exchanged over a dozen rapid blows in the air. Kakashi's expression shifted from flippancy to seriousness.

Was Naruto's style... sword fighting?

Each move was fast, accurate, and fierce, striking at his joint vulnerabilities.

At this moment, behind Kakashi, Sasuke formed the "Horse" and "Tiger" hand seals, unleashing the Great Fireball Technique.

He formed a circle with his thumb and index finger, blowing out a stream of flame that expanded into a raging fireball several times taller than a person.