Team 7 Forms

Just as Naruto prepared to grab the bells at Kakashi's waist, Kakashi suddenly said, "Oh, do you think you've won?" In an instant, Kakashi transformed into smoke.

The three of them exclaimed in surprise, "Shadow Clone Technique. When did he do that?"

Naruto immediately dispelled his own Shadow Clone, receiving the memories from his duplicate; he realized that Kakashi had likely used the dust kicked up during their intense skirmish as cover to create a clone.

Naruto immediately activated his White Eye to scan the surroundings, and upon spotting Sasuke, he warned, "Sasuke, watch your feet!"

But it was too late; Kakashi's hand had already seized Sasuke's ankle, and he declared, "Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique." In a flash, Sasuke was pulled into the ground, leaving only his head exposed.

Then, with blinding speed, Kakashi appeared before Sakura. Sakura locked eyes with Kakashi and instantly fell under his genjutsu.

After dealing with Sakura, Kakashi rushed toward Naruto with incredible speed. Naruto watched the approaching Kakashi with caution.

Kakashi said with a tone of appreciation, "Your plan was well-thought-out, but still too naive. Did you think this would be enough to win? You are all too confident."

Naruto suddenly chuckled, "Is that so, Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi hesitated for a split second, but having already reached Naruto, he threw a punch without a second thought.

Naruto blocked with both hands held against his chest, but just as Kakashi prepared to throw his next strike, the Naruto before him was suddenly sent flying by his punch.

Kakashi stood stunned, frozen on the spot, wondering why Naruto had been so weak. Suddenly, Sakura—who should have been trapped in the genjutsu—appeared behind him.

Furthermore, this Sakura moved with incredible speed, snatched the bells from his waist, and vanished.

Kakashi recalled the moment he had cast the genjutsu on Sakura and felt her touch his shoulder. He looked down at his vest and saw a fox pattern marked on the fabric.

Everything clicked into place: the Sakura trapped in the genjutsu had been Naruto using the Transformation Technique, while the Naruto he had sent flying was actually Sakura in disguise. They had done this to lower his guard while simultaneously planting a Flying Thunder God seal on him.

By now, Naruto had already pulled Sasuke from the ground and helped up the Sakura who had been sent flying by Kakashi. The three of them stood before him.

Naruto said triumphantly, "Kakashi-sensei, we won."

Kakashi looked at the three of them and said with admiration, "I never expected to be outplayed by you three brats."

Then, Kakashi asked curiously, "But I am curious how you pulled it off. My Shadow Clone was indeed trapped by your Adamantine Sealing Chains, Naruto. When did you and Sakura swap places?"

Naruto replied smugly, "Heh, Kakashi-sensei, it was right when you used Earth Style to charge at Sasuke. I used the Flying Thunder God technique to swap places with Sakura. We had prepared this beforehand; if the first person you grabbed wasn't your real self, Sakura and I would immediately transform into each other, and I would use the Flying Thunder God to swap our positions."

Kakashi asked, "Oh, and how were you so sure that I would attack Sasuke first? Why not you or Sakura?"

Naruto said confidently, "Because you already knew our intel beforehand, so you would definitely target Sasuke first. If you had gone for Sakura, Sasuke and I would have had time to react, and you would have been caught in our pincer attack."

"As for attacking me first, that was even less likely, because I have the Flying Thunder God and the White Eye; you couldn't have defeated me in one strike. So, you had no choice but to attack Sasuke first, then deal with Sakura, before finally wearing me down."

Kakashi looked at the confident Naruto and said in surprise, "I never imagined you would use the fact that I knew your intel against me to formulate a battle plan. I have to admit, Naruto, your grasp of the human heart has reached a terrifying level—it's the kind of experience only an old monster would possess."

"But I'm curious, what will you do now? There are only two bells, but there are three of you. How will you resolve this?" Kakashi looked at Naruto with a playful glint in his eyes.

Sakura and Sasuke were suddenly at a loss. However, Naruto just smiled and said, "Isn't that simple?" While everyone looked on in confusion, Naruto gave one bell to Sasuke and the other to Sakura.

Kakashi asked, "But Naruto, if you give the bells to Sakura and Sasuke, you won't have one yourself. That means you'll have to go back to the academy and start over."

At this, Sakura said, "That's right, Naruto. Why don't I give you my bell? I'm the weakest of the three anyway."

After saying this, Sakura looked a bit dejected. Naruto smiled, "No need, thank you, Sakura."

Sakura said excitedly, "But, but, you'll have to go back to the academy!"

"Take mine," Sasuke said coolly.

Naruto refused, "No need, Sasuke. Thank you for thinking of me, but I really don't need it."

Sakura said anxiously, "If you fail and have to go back to the academy, I'm going too. It was my fault for dragging everyone down anyway."

Sasuke added, "I'll go back to the academy with you, too."

Naruto looked at Sasuke and Sakura, feeling a wave of warmth in his heart, and said with a smile, "You don't need to worry."

After calming Sakura and Sasuke down, Naruto said to Kakashi, "Kakashi-sensei, you said that as long as we get the bells before 12 o'clock, we pass, right?"

Kakashi, curious about Naruto's plan, replied, "That's right."

Naruto answered confidently, "Then Team 7 has perfectly completed your mission, so we should all have passed, right, Kakashi-sensei?"

Seeing Naruto's confidence, Kakashi realized that Naruto had already grasped the true purpose of the test and said helplessly, "Yes, you have all passed."

Sasuke and Sakura were confused by Kakashi's answer, but Sakura was both shocked and delighted as she asked, "What? We all passed? But why?"

Naruto smiled and explained to Sakura and Sasuke, "It's simple. There were only two bells, and the mission was to get them to pass. I grabbed the bells and gave them to you and Sasuke, so you two have bells and passed the test. And since I was the one who grabbed the bells in the first place, I am someone who has already passed."

"The true purpose of this test was to see if we were united, if we cared about each other, and if we treated one another as true comrades."

Kakashi added, "That's right. If you hadn't helped each other while trying to get the bells, you wouldn't have succeeded within the time limit. And if Naruto hadn't shared the bells with you, he wouldn't have passed either."

"Furthermore, if you hadn't been worried about Naruto after receiving the bells, and hadn't been willing to stand together, you still would have failed."

Sasuke and Sakura were stunned; they hadn't expected this to be the point of the test, and they felt relieved that they hadn't abandoned Naruto.

Kakashi looked at the three of them and said seriously, "In the ninja world, those who fail to complete their missions are called trash, but those who do not care about their comrades are even worse than trash. So remember, you are a single unit, a team of comrades who live and die together, and who can entrust their lives to one another."

The three looked at each other and replied to Kakashi in unison, "We understand."

Kakashi said with satisfaction, "Good. I now declare Team 7 officially formed. We begin missions tomorrow."

The three cheered with joy, and Kakashi watched them with a look of contentment.

In a dark space, Evil Naruto watched everything that had transpired.

He said with disdain, "Hmph, I hate this so-called friendship. Human nature is ugly and selfish. How could anyone entrust their life to so-called companions? How hypocritical."

At this moment, the other Good Naruto spoke up: "How can you say such a thing? The most precious things to humanity are familial love, friendship, and romantic love. These are the most valuable emotions humans possess; how can you call them hypocritical? To speak this way is to blaspheme such great emotions."

Evil Naruto replied with disdain: "You are the most hypocritical of all; I feel sick every time I hear you speak." Having said that, Evil Naruto vanished.

Good Naruto watched Evil Naruto disappear and muttered: "It is precisely because of your temperament that people dislike you, and why he blocked the Mind Channel. You've caused me to suffer along with you."

Just then, Evil Naruto's voice drifted over: "That is because he also knows you are a hypocritical fellow. That is why he sealed you off as well."

Good Naruto did not get angry upon hearing this, merely saying: "I am the manifestation of all his goodness, and you are the manifestation of his evil. In truth, we are the same, only I give people a much better impression than you do."

"Furthermore, I believe that before long, he will reopen the Mind Channel. When that time comes, I advise you not to tempt him again. After all, he is wary of both you and me, and I have no desire to be sealed off from the Mind Channel again. It makes me feel even worse off than the Nine-Tails."

A cold snort came from the darkness, and then silence returned. Good Naruto knew he had taken the words to heart, so he ceased bothering him.

He merely muttered to himself: "I hope you do not disappoint me, Naruto." With that, Good Naruto also vanished.

The next day, Naruto and his two teammates began their missions under Kakashi. Sakura and Sasuke went from being eager and ready to go at the start to completely listless by the end, as if they had become different people entirely.

Because Naruto knew beforehand that D-rank missions were nothing more than weeding, finding lost items, or picking up trash, he had been prepared. But after a long time, even Naruto couldn't take it anymore. For over a month straight, it had been nothing but babysitting, weeding, or cleaning the streets; anyone would find it unbearable.

Naruto said to Kakashi: "Kakashi-sensei, can't we take on a higher-level mission? Even a C-rank mission would be fine. If it stays this boring every day, everyone is going to be driven mad."

Kakashi closed the Icha Icha Paradise in his hands and looked at Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura with a puzzled expression: "You want to take on higher-level missions?"

All three nodded vigorously. Seeing how expectant they were, Kakashi said helplessly: "Very well, but we must finish today's mission first."

The three were very excited, and Naruto said confidently: "No problem, leave it to us. Today's mission will be finished in no time."