In His Presence, He Felt So Small

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stared blankly at the scene before them. Ling Xuan stood there, holding a silver bell in each hand.

Kakashi stood opposite him, brushing the dust off his clothes. His visible eye held a complicated expression.

"Exercise over." Kakashi's voice gave nothing away. "Ling Xuan, you got three bells. By the rules, you pass."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the other three.

"But there are only three bells. Your teammates, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, didn't get any. That means they failed and will be sent back to the Ninja Academy. Was that your plan?"

The question made Naruto and Sasuke, who had only just recovered from their shock, change expressions. Sakura also looked nervously at Ling Xuan, unsure how he would answer.

Ling Xuan didn't answer right away. He weighed the bells in his hands, making them chime crisply.

Then he did something no one had expected: he casually tossed the bell in his right hand to Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke instinctively reached out and caught it. The bell's cold touch sent a shiver through him. He looked at Ling Xuan, his eyes full of confusion and curiosity.

Next, Ling Xuan tossed the bell in his left hand to Naruto Uzumaki on the other side.

"Here."

"Huh? F-for me?" Naruto fumbled to catch the bell, looking bewildered.

He naturally tossed the last one to Sakura.

Only after doing all that did Ling Xuan look up at Kakashi and speak calmly. "Kakashi-sensei, you've got one thing wrong."

"Oh?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"My plan was never to take the bells." Ling Xuan's voice was clear and steady. "It was to prove that we had the teamwork to take them from you. We've proved that now. We've achieved our goal."

He continued, "The bells are just symbols. It doesn't matter who ends up holding them. If the point of the rules is for three of the four of us to pass at the cost of sacrificing the other, then the rules themselves are flawed and don't deserve to be followed."

"We're a team. Either we all pass, or we all fail."

His words struck everyone present like a heavy hammer.

"Ling Xuan..." Naruto murmured. He looked at the bell in his hand, then at the one in Sasuke's, his heart swelling with an indescribable excitement.

Sasuke gripped the bell tightly. Looking at Ling Xuan's back, he felt for the first time that the pride he'd always held dear seemed so small in Ling Xuan's presence.

What Sasuke sought was the power to kill that man. Ling Xuan, on the other hand, seemed to be thinking about something beyond strength.

Kakashi fell silent. He looked at the four boys before him and at the test Ling Xuan had turned on its head. After a long while, a smile appeared in his visible eye. Then he couldn't help laughing aloud.

"Heh... hehehe... Ahahahaha!"

Covering his face, Kakashi laughed until his shoulders shook.

"Remarkable... That's a remarkable answer." He lowered his hand, his gaze more serious than ever.

"It's been years. I've taught many classes of students. Some only cared about themselves; others tried to work together but failed. But no one has ever seen through the rules as you have—even rejected the rules themselves."

He walked to the Memorial Stone in the center of the training ground, turning his back to them.

"In the world of shinobi, those who break the rules and regulations are called trash."

His voice grew low.

"But..."

"Those who don't value their comrades are worse than trash."

Kakashi turned around, his visible eye curving into a crescent.

"I'm very satisfied with your answer."

"Team 7—all members pass!"

"Yeah!!!" Naruto was the first to jump up, cheering like crazy. Sakura was so excited that tears ran down her cheeks. The corner of Sasuke's mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.

Ling Xuan remained calm, as if everything had gone exactly as it should.

[Mission: Pass the survival exercise. Status: Complete. Evaluation: Perfect. Team core position established. Initial combat data and behavioral patterns for Hatake Kakashi acquired.]

"All right, since everyone passed, let's eat lunch." Kakashi took four lunch boxes from his ninja tool pouch.

But when Naruto eagerly opened one, he found it empty. The other three were the same.

"Sensei! The lunch boxes are empty!" Naruto protested.

Kakashi spread his hands. "Well, I didn't expect all of you to pass, so I only prepared training props. As for lunch, I'll have you treat me to Ichiraku Ramen to celebrate your becoming Genin."

They'd been tricked, but the joy of passing soon made them forget all about it.

That afternoon, at the Ichiraku Ramen shop,

the four Genin sat around a table with their jonin instructor. The steaming ramen chased away the exhaustion of the exercise.

Naruto wolfed his down, while Sasuke ate quietly. Sakura kept sneaking glances at Sasuke, and every now and then she looked at Ling Xuan with curiosity.

Ling Xuan, meanwhile, reviewed the entire battle in his mind.

[Hatake Kakashi combat data entry: 7.3% complete. His combat intelligence, experience, and timing are all top-tier. His use of Earth Release is polished, and his Taijutsu skills have yet to be fully revealed. The ability of his left eye is his greatest asset—and his weakness. Overall assessment: unbeatable at this stage. However, his behavioral patterns are predictable.]

"Starting tomorrow," Kakashi said, setting down his chopsticks, "Team 7 will officially begin taking missions. We'll usually start with D-rank missions, like weeding, finding cats, or babysitting..."

"No! I want a more exciting mission!" Naruto shouted at once. "Like fighting powerful shinobi!"

"Idiot, we've only just become Genin," Sasuke said coldly.

"What did you say?!"

Watching the two start arguing again, Kakashi sighed helplessly. He glanced at Ling Xuan, who had remained silent the whole time.

One kid with too much energy, one icy genius bent on revenge, one ordinary girl with love on her mind, and one... unfathomable monster who seemed able to see through everything.

My days ahead are probably going to be anything but boring, Kakashi thought.

Life after Team 7 officially formed wasn't filled with passion and adventure the way Naruto had imagined.

Quite the opposite: their days were packed with a series of mind-numbingly trivial D-rank missions.

"Team 7, your mission today is to weed the vegetable garden at Mrs. Yamada's house."

In the Hokage's office, the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, read out the mission assignment at an unhurried pace. Naruto's face fell on the spot.

"Weeding again? Old man! Can't we get a more exciting mission?"

"Naruto!" Iruka barked from beside him, but the Third only smiled and waved them off.