Naruto wore a smile, while Sasuke remained calm.
And then there was Sakura Haruno, who had just come to.
She stared blankly at Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto.
"Hmm, that was a perfect strategy. You two really did fool me. You completed the objective, but as I said before, getting the bells only means you qualify. There are only two bells, and only two spots for those who pass. Are you choosing to let yourself and Sasuke pass?"
Kakashi looked Naruto straight in the eye as he asked.
Sasuke's expression grew a little complicated.
Off to the side, Sakura had still been in a daze, but as soon as Kakashi finished speaking, she snapped out of it.
Huh?
What was going on?
Naruto and Sasuke had gotten the bells?
And now they had to decide who would pass?
Her thoughts were muddled, but quickly began to fall into place.
Sakura got to her feet and looked at the bell in Naruto's hand. At first, she was still bewildered, but then it all sank in. A somber look crossed her face. Naruto and Sasuke had gotten the bells, so they would surely pass. She, on the other hand, had been of no help at all.
Listening to Kakashi, Sakura figured she was bound to be sent back to the Ninja Academy to repeat the year.
For a fleeting moment, she wanted to speak up.
She wanted to graduate!
She wanted to stay!
She wanted to be on the same team as Sasuke!
But she quickly forced those thoughts down.
She had neither the right nor the courage to speak.
Sakura knew it well.
Sasuke and Naruto had worked together to get the bells, and they were both far stronger than she was. Naruto and Sasuke were the ones who deserved to pass, not her, who had been taken out right at the start.
Sakura thought to herself in silence.
It hurt, but it was a fact she had to accept.
That was what Sakura believed.
Sasuke also thought Naruto would make that choice—or rather, he thought it was the most sensible one. The team had only just been formed, and he had no particular feelings for Sakura. If anything, he found her a little annoying. She had no strength and was boy-crazy.
Kakashi, on the other hand, thought Naruto might surprise him again.
Though he might need to think things through a little more.
But the next moment, Naruto's actions once again surprised everyone present, especially Kakashi.
He didn't hesitate or waver.
Just seconds after Kakashi finished speaking,
Naruto smiled faintly, then pulled the two bells apart with a little force. To Sakura and Sasuke's utter astonishment, he tossed one toward each of them.
Before Sasuke and Sakura could even react, they both caught the bells.
"Then I'll just give the bells to Sasuke and Sakura."
Naruto chuckled, looking straight at Kakashi, who wore an equally startled expression.
"Naruto, why are you giving me the bell? You should give it to yourself and Sasuke. Just like Kakashi-sensei said, I didn't help at all. You and Sasuke-kun got the bells together, so you two should be the ones who pass!"
Kakashi hadn't even spoken yet,
when Sakura, who had caught a bell, spoke up with a determined look.
The moment she caught the bell,
a flicker of excitement and hope had risen within her, but it had lasted only a second before being snuffed out. Sakura knew Naruto was giving it to her; she hadn't earned it through her own strength. She might be weak, immature, and even boy-crazy, but she wasn't stupid. She knew what she should and shouldn't do.
She didn't deserve this bell.
So she couldn't keep it.
She wanted it so badly and hated to give it up, but she couldn't accept it.
In that instant,
Sakura made her decision. She wanted to toss the bell back to him,
but before she could throw it,
Naruto stopped her.
"No, Sakura. If I give it to you, we can all graduate together. Right, Kakashi-sensei?"
Naruto waved to Sakura, who stood a little way off.
Sasuke furrowed his brow slightly, while Kakashi looked on with a smile. Naruto spoke with a confident grin.
"Eh? Graduate together?"
Sakura stood there, stunned, as if she hadn't understood him.
Sasuke's brow creased, then a glimmer of understanding seemed to cross his mind. His frown slowly relaxed, but now he looked at Naruto with a complicated expression.
"Oh? Why would giving the bells to Sasuke and Sakura mean I'd let all of you pass, Naruto?"
Kakashi folded his arms across his chest. A hint of amusement seemed to cross his face as he stared at Naruto and asked with a smile.
"Because the main point of this survival exercise is to see whether the three of us can work as a team! Whether it was the fight to get the bells earlier or dividing them up now, what you wanted to test was whether the three of us could become a real team! We've only met your expectations if we can do that. Otherwise, even if we got the bells, we'd still fail if we just fought on our own! And Sakura decided to give her bell back to me, which proves she has team spirit. So all three of us pass! Right, Kakashi-sensei?"
Naruto lifted his chin slightly and spoke clearly to Kakashi, who stood in front of him.
His insight, boldness, composure, and decisiveness when it mattered.
His remarkable perceptiveness.
And most importantly, he believed in himself and in his teammates.
Kakashi had to admit,
Naruto had far exceeded his expectations.
Looking at Naruto,
Kakashi couldn't help but think of his own former Jonin teacher, Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage—Namikaze Minato.
"Sensei, your son has really grown up."
Kakashi looked at Naruto, his eyes reflecting a mixture of pride, wistfulness, and nostalgia. But it lasted only an instant before he hid those feelings away. Then he turned to face the three of them, each wearing a different expression.
At last, Kakashi stopped keeping them in suspense and nodded.
"Mm! All three of you pass!"
Naruto and Sasuke showed no change in expression at Kakashi's calm declaration.
Sakura, however, stood frozen for a moment before her face lit up with disbelief and joy.
She passed!
She had finally passed too!
She didn't have to go back to the Ninja Academy! She could keep being on the same team as Sasuke!
At that moment,
Sakura couldn't—or perhaps didn't want to—hold back her feelings.
Her gaze turned to Naruto, filled with gratitude.
It was thanks to Naruto that she could graduate.
Sakura understood that perfectly.
And with Kakashi's decisive announcement,
this year's graduating class had its Team 7 officially formed!