Team 7! Formed!

"Third Hokage, this is too much!"

Iruka said anxiously. Having resolved his misunderstanding with Naruto, he had begun to quietly pay attention to this mischievous student.

"Calm down, Iruka. Be patient and keep watching—this is Kakashi's real test! Actually, whether they grab the bells or not doesn't matter!"

The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, blowing out rings of smoke.

After Kakashi left, Naruto hesitated slightly, thinking about what to do next. Jimo, however, helped himself to two super-luxury bento boxes.

"The hint is way too obvious..." Jimo remarked, looking at the bento that was double the usual portion. He picked up a slice of meat and held it to Sasuke's lips.

"At least Kakashi-sensei has decent taste in bento!"

Seeing Sasuke reluctant to open his mouth, Jimo tickled his armpit. The moment Sasuke couldn't hold back, Jimo shoved the meat in.

On the other side, Naruto was also feeding his boxed lunch to Sakura.

"Why? Are you just giving up your chance to become a ninja?" Sasuke couldn't understand Jimo's actions. Kakashi had made it clear—once Jimo and Naruto shared their food with them, they would lose their qualification to become ninja.

"Why what? Let me ask you—what is a ninja? Does a ninja's power really come from jutsu and chakra?" Jimo asked back while eating his bento.

"Isn't that the case?"

"Remember, a ninja is someone who endures all hardships for the sake of their goal! A ninja's power comes from protection, not destruction!" Jimo turned around, striking what he thought was a cool pose.

"If you can sacrifice your comrades to achieve a goal, that's not a ninja—that's trash! Failing a mission might make you a lousy ninja, but abandoning your comrades makes you worse than trash."

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

"At least there's someone here who gets it."

Kakashi was sitting in a tree, clapping in praise, having appeared there at some unknown time.

"Actually, this test was to see your teamwork," Kakashi paused, looking at the training ground scarred by explosions.

"Although Naruto and Jimo made their moves while you two, Sasuke and Sakura, just watched, I don't know how you see these two teammates of yours. But remember—one person's strength is ultimately limited. In many missions, only by working together can you survive and complete the objective."

"But I'll pass you this time. After all, those two's jutsu are really something else..."

"Team 7 is formed!"

On the way back to the village, aside from Jimo and Naruto, the other two were unusually silent.

"Ji... Jimo..." Sasuke finally spoke, his face red.

"Huh?"

"I know this is rude to ask, but... that technique you and Naruto used... can you teach it to me?"

Sakura also looked at Jimo nervously. She really wanted to learn that jutsu that could strike from far away.

"Sure! I can teach you right now!"

The four of them went to another open training ground.

"Try gathering chakra in your hands!" Jimo said, slowly forming a glowing orb in his palm.

Since Naruto had already gotten a head start from Jimo, he quickly gathered his own orb.

Sasuke and Sakura also managed to form orbs, but their surfaces rippled with obvious chakra fluctuations, like wisps of gas constantly dispersing.

"Not bad—way better than someone's first try..." Jimo glanced subtly at Naruto, who looked indignant.

"This is the most basic form of the technique. Next, start compressing it with the chakra inside your body!" Jimo dispersed his orb, beginning the demonstration from a ball of chakra gas, slowly compressing it until the light grew blinding.

After some practice, Sasuke and Sakura could compress their chakra into orbs too.

"Now just throw it. You can control the power by how much chakra you compress."

Sasuke and Sakura tossed apple-sized orbs at a nearby shuriken target.

After the explosion, not only was the target gone—the tree was obliterated too.

"What about that move of yours with the long tail of light? How do you do that?" Naruto asked excitedly. That was the technique that even Kakashi-sensei had to dodge.

"Uh... that one's way harder... you can't learn it yet..."

Jimo had considered teaching the kids the Kamehameha, but it required an enormous amount of chakra. He was afraid that if they learned it, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto might mix its chakra in and cause an accident. As for Sasuke and Sakura, injecting too much chakra could damage their foundations. That would be a loss not worth taking.

"Naruto! How can you ask about someone's secret technique! That's so pushy!" Sakura knocked on Naruto's head.

"Oh..."

Jimo smiled and dragged them all to Ichiraku Ramen again. This time, Sasuke didn't have to be dragged along.

The next day, everyone arrived early at the meeting spot Kakashi had designated. As expected, Kakashi was late again.

"Today... our mission is... helping the village east of here harvest pumpkins!"

"What?! What kind of mission is that!" Naruto protested.

"Naruto, taking care of the villagers' daily lives is also part of Hidden Leaf Village's duty."

After some coaxing and pushing, they finally got Naruto to the pumpkin field.

Throughout the harvest, Sasuke and Sakura barely lifted a finger. Naruto and Jimo's shadow clones turned their frustration into productivity—not only did they help the farmer uncle harvest the pumpkins, they even plowed the field.

Jimo was even more astonishing—he plowed the field with his bare hands. The farmer uncle said he'd ask for Jimo's help again next time.

Shadow clones worked incredibly fast, but Jimo and Naruto had forgotten that when the clones were dispelled, the fatigue would be transmitted back to the original body along with the experience.

"Ugh... forgot about that side effect..."

Jimo lay limply on Kakashi's back, barely better off than a dead dog.

"This is the downside of overconfidence..." Kakashi said wryly, carrying Jimo on his back and holding Naruto under his arm, explaining the drawback of the Shadow Clone Technique to Sasuke and Sakura.

The next few days were spent on tasks like buying supplies for the village, delivering milk, and helping plow fields.

The most unbearable of all was the task entrusted by the wife of the Fire Country's daimyo—Lady Shijimei—to find her cat.

Jimo felt utterly helpless and speechless about it, silently feeling sorry for that poor cat. With an owner like that, no wonder it chose to run away from home time and again.

If he were that cat, being held in someone's arms all day and subjected to the storm of affection from those terrifying two-legged creatures, he'd be suffocated to death.