The next morning, sunlight spilled down from the sky, filtering through the clouds and shining faintly over the quiet village of Konoha.
At the Ninja Academy, unlike the other students who were in class, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were waiting in a room for their instructor.
"Sasuke, Iruka-sensei and the Third Hokage have already agreed to let us graduate. Does that mean we've become Genin and can start taking missions?"
Growing a little bored of waiting, Naruto suddenly turned to Sasuke and asked.
"We're only provisional Genin for now. To become full-fledged Genin, we still have to pass our instructor's test."
Sasuke shook his head and explained.
"Provisional Genin? A test? Why does it have to be so complicated?"
Naruto pouted and grumbled.
As far as Naruto was concerned, since they had already passed the Ninja Academy's tests, they should be able to become Genin.
"Sasuke, what kind of test will our instructor give us?"
Haruno Sakura blinked, looking a little surprised as she asked.
"To test our teamwork, they'll probably have us try to take the bells from our instructor. Of course, it might be some other kind of test."
If their instructor was Kakashi, the test would definitely be to take the bells. But that wasn't necessarily true of other Jonin. Sasuke smiled faintly as he made his guess.
"Haha, that'll be easy! I'll just use the Multi Shadow Clone Technique and send dozens of myself rushing in. We'll get the bells no matter what!"
At that, Naruto laughed loudly, brimming with confidence.
"Naruto, you idiot!"
"The instructors are all battle-hardened Jonin. How could they possibly be that easy to beat?"
Hearing Naruto's ridiculous idea, Haruno Sakura scoffed.
As expected of Sakura. Sasuke was impressed by her clear-headed reasoning.
"Hmph, what's so great about Jonin? I'm going to become Hokage someday! I'll beat him and take the bells in the test later!"
Naruto smirked, ignoring Haruno Sakura's words as he spoke with unwavering confidence.
"Naruto, Sakura has a point. Our instructor isn't someone we can take lightly. If we want to pass the test, we need a plan. And we'll have to spend the afternoon practicing."
Sasuke hated Naruto's smug attitude. The more violent and terrifying side of Haruno Sakura's double personality was about to emerge, but Sasuke spoke up and cut her off just in time.
"What plan?"
Naruto asked curiously.
Sasuke had already come up with a battle plan to prepare for their instructor's test. Whatever kind of test it was, they would be able to pass. So Sasuke slowly explained the plan to Naruto and Haruno Sakura.
"That plan is perfect, Sasuke! You're so clever."
After hearing Sasuke's plan, Haruno Sakura's cheeks flushed, and she gazed at him with admiration.
"Hmph, what's so perfect about it? I'm the one who has to do all the hardest, most exhausting stuff."
Seeing Haruno Sakura nearly clinging to Sasuke, Naruto immediately complained.
Naruto was competitive and had always been trying to outdo Sasuke, so he naturally hated how Sakura was always praising him.
"Naruto, you're the key to the plan, so thanks for taking on the hard part!"
Sasuke smiled faintly at Naruto's disgruntled voice.
The old, aloof Sasuke would never have said that, but he understood Naruto, who was an orphan just like him, so he had always treated him kindly.
"Haha, I'm willing to be the one out front for our team, no matter what!"
Sasuke's words made Naruto feel good. He scratched the back of his head and laughed.
"Hey, you're all here early!"
As Naruto's laughter faded, a tall figure walked in through the doorway.
"It really is Kakashi-sensei! This is great!"
When Sasuke saw the silver hair and the black cloth covering the man's face, he jumped up excitedly.
Ever since that morning, Sasuke had been praying that Kakashi would be their instructor. He wouldn't have minded if Jonin like Asuma or Guy had been assigned to them, but any fan who had crossed over into this world would hope for Kakashi. Only then could Naruto's "Team 7" from Naruto be considered truly complete.
Was he really that happy just to meet their instructor?
Naruto and Haruno Sakura were both surprised by Sasuke's sudden excitement. They had known him for so long, but had never seen him act like this.
"Heh... Since this is our first meeting, let's start by introducing ourselves. You can tell us what you like, what you dislike, and your interests and dreams."
Kakashi only smiled faintly at Sasuke's excitement before speaking casually.
"I'll go first! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, and I hate waiting for ramen. My dream is to become Hokage. I'm going to make everyone in the village acknowledge me!"
Naruto adjusted the Forehead Protector on his head and loudly introduced himself first.
"That's a good dream. All right, next!"
Kakashi nodded, then looked at Haruno Sakura, who stood in the middle.
"I'm Haruno Sakura. What I like... well, I like a person more than a thing. As for my interests and dreams for the future..."
When she got to the person she liked, Haruno Sakura glanced at Sasuke, blushing with embarrassment.
Kakashi had a good idea what Haruno Sakura was thinking, though, so he asked, "Then what do you dislike?"
"I hate Naruto the most!"
Haruno Sakura answered without hesitation.
Naruto heard her answer and promptly toppled over in embarrassment.
"Girls fall in love at every age, don't they?"
Kakashi sighed after hearing Haruno Sakura's introduction.
"All right, next!"
Kakashi turned his gaze to Sasuke, whose face still wore a smile.
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are lots of things I like, and nothing I dislike. As for my dream, I want to work hard to protect every member of my family and every one of my teammates."
When it was his turn, Sasuke spoke without hesitation.
"Protect his family and teammates..."
Sasuke's dream suddenly reminded Kakashi of one of his former teammates. He had also been a member of the Uchiha Clan.
"You three have quite the personalities. Now I'll introduce myself. My name is Hatake Kakashi. There's nothing I particularly like or dislike, and I have plenty of interests. That's about it!"
After pausing for a moment, Kakashi spoke softly.
Sasuke and the others were speechless at Kakashi's brief introduction. He had barely said anything, and all they knew was his name.
"All right, introductions are over. Tomorrow, you'll face a brutal test. If you fail, you won't become Genin. You'll have to return to the Ninja Academy!"
"Meet at the Forest Training Ground at five in the morning. And don't eat breakfast!"
Ignoring the expressions on Sasuke and the others' faces, Kakashi spoke in a low voice.
"Got it!"
Naruto and Sakura had heard about tests like this, so they weren't surprised. Like Lin Feng, they obediently nodded.