Kakashi's "Fame"

It was a pity that the two who arrived on time were destined to waste their morning just as they had in the original story, and they were forced to wait at the training ground on empty stomachs. Past five o'clock, as the hour hand slowly ticked forward, not only did their instructor—Hatake Kakashi—fail to show up at the appointed time, but their other teammate, Naruto Uzumaki, was also nowhere to be seen. That would have been one thing, but as time continued to slip away...

Six o'clock.

Seven o'clock.

Eight o'clock.

Sakura Haruno and Sasuke, who had been waiting in the second training ground on empty stomachs for so long, still saw no sign of Naruto or Kakashi.

Sakura, who maintained the appearance of a well-behaved girl on the surface, had already been cursing up a storm in her heart for over an hour.

It wasn't just directed at Kakashi, who was late for the second time in a row.

She was also furiously venting her frustrations toward her teammate, Naruto.

Being late yesterday was one thing! But why are you late today too? We agreed on five o'clock, and now it's already eight! And it's not just Kakashi-sensei; why hasn't Naruto shown up either? Could something have happened to them? No, no, that's impossible, right?

Sakura, who was on the verge of losing her composure in the wind, felt her mental state becoming somewhat unstable due to hunger and sleepiness.

Even Sasuke, who had initially been leaning against a tree, calmly closing his eyes to rest, grew increasingly impatient as time passed. By the time nine o'clock in the morning arrived and Naruto and Kakashi still hadn't appeared, the impatience on Sasuke's face turned into a look of confusion.

This made no sense at all.

The appointed time was five in the morning.

And now it was already nine.

A full four-hour discrepancy.

No excuse could possibly justify this.

"Could it be that Naruto wasn't joking yesterday?"

Only at this moment did Sasuke and Sakura recall what Naruto had said to them before he left the previous day.

And the moment this possibility crossed their minds, let alone Sakura, even the corners of Sasuke's mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly. One had to understand that a five o'clock meeting time didn't mean they were leaving at five. To arrive on time, one had to prepare ninja tools and other equipment in advance; Sasuke had woken up and washed up before four in the morning. If Naruto hadn't been joking, and that warning was true, it meant that the four hours—no, perhaps even more—they had spent waiting here was simply the act of an idiot wasting time!

This thought caused Sasuke's expression to darken slightly.

Wasting time was one thing.

But being played for a fool like this was something that someone as proud—or perhaps arrogant—as Sasuke Uchiha could not accept. Yet, he couldn't vent his frustration, and he was forced to stay here until Kakashi and Naruto arrived. This dual mix of emotions, bottled up inside Sasuke, created an indescribable sense of stifling annoyance.

"Tick, tock, tick, tock..."

Time continued to slip away slowly.

Finally, as the hour hand pointed toward ten o'clock in the morning, Naruto's figure finally appeared within the line of sight of Sasuke and Sakura. He was still wearing his cliché orange outfit (he had no money to buy anything else), and his face bore his customary gentle smile. When Sasuke and Sakura saw Naruto, they didn't realize they had let out a sigh of relief in their hearts; if no one had shown up yet, they really would have started to doubt their sanity.

Facing the girl with the resentful expression and the boy with the slightly darkened face, Naruto raised an eyebrow and said softly in a calm tone, "Yo, Sasuke, Sakura, good morning!"

"It's not morning anymore! Naruto! It's already ten o'clock!!! You're a full five hours late!"

She wanted to control herself, but seeing Naruto's calm expression, her emotions spiraled out of control. Her expression, half-restrained and half-frenzied, was filled with extreme dissonance. Watching Sakura like this, Naruto almost laughed out loud, but fortunately, he held it in; otherwise, heaven knows if this student Sakura would have truly gone on a rampage.

"Huh? Five hours? Don't tell me you two actually arrived at five? No way, right?"

He asked with a hint of knowing, though seeing them, he couldn't help but ask. He had specifically reminded them yesterday, after all. Even if they didn't believe him, wouldn't they have felt confused enough to ask someone familiar in the village? As a Hidden Leaf jonin, Hatake Kakashi was a prominent figure in the village, and certain aspects of his personality were well-known.

But looking at this situation, it seemed these two had simply thought he was joking and had honestly come to gather at five o'clock.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly, and he looked at Sakura and Sasuke with an expression of disbelief.

And just as Naruto finished speaking, Sakura's expression instantly became incredibly awkward.

Sasuke's already dark complexion turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Um, it's not that, it's just that I wanted to ask..."

Sakura twisted her fingers, seemingly wanting to ask something in a roundabout way.

"Why did you say yesterday that it would be better to arrive late today?"

Sasuke, leaning against the tree, spoke up first, though his words lacked any warmth and were filled with a cold, biting chill.

Naruto, naturally, didn't care at all; he had known Sasuke's personality for a long time.

"Oh? You mean that? Because Kakashi-sensei is quite famous in our village. In every respect, as a jonin, Kakashi-sensei is a leader among them in terms of pure strength. But in another aspect—well, his personality—he is also quite famous. Especially regarding his tardiness. It's not that everyone in the village knows, but many do. I had heard rumors about it before, so when I saw Kakashi-sensei yesterday, I understood that his being late was a normal occurrence. Or rather, as long as it isn't a matter of great importance—like yesterday's meeting, or today's survival exercise which only concerns our squad—he could be early, he could be late, or it could even be pushed back two days, and Kakashi-sensei would absolutely be late. And this delay isn't just a few minutes or tens of minutes; at the very least, it's two or three hours, and four or five hours is entirely possible. These things aren't particularly secret, but if you pay even a little attention, you can find out. After all, this isn't the first time Kakashi-sensei has led a team."

Naruto put down his backpack and said it all very nonchalantly.

His words were certainly not a lie.

Kakashi really did have this peculiar "reputation" in the Hidden Leaf Village.

It included, but was not limited to, his tardiness, his reading of "Icha Icha Paradise," and the fact that his previous attempts to lead a team had all ended in failure!