Advancing to Genin

Ding-ling-ling!

The sound of bells jingling finally rang out across the field.

That also announced that the test had ended in just a few short minutes.

But the bells hadn't rung at Kakashi's waist, as his earlier instructions had specified.

They were ringing in Sasuke's hand instead.

"Th-this means Sasuke won?..."

Uzuki Yugao's slender fingers curled slightly, mist gathering in her beautiful eyes.

She didn't know why.

At that moment, she suddenly felt like crying.

Sasuke had only managed to snatch a pair of bells from Kakashi.

But right now,

it felt as if Sasuke had defeated Kakashi with Konoha-Style Swordsmanship—a feeling of pride and excitement.

"Good, good, good! As expected of the greatest genius in Konoha Style swordsmanship! Good! Cough, cough, cough..."

Gekko Hayate said "good" several times in a row.

He was so excited he was dancing around!

He knew Konoha Style swordsmanship was going to rise again!

And it would all start with the rising star Sasuke, right here and now!

"Sa... Sasuke, could an ordinary girl like me really be worthy of a man like him?..."

"Come to think of it, Ino isn't bad-looking either. If she makes the first move, might Sasuke..."

The breeze lifted the handsome man's hair.

He was like a work of art sculpted by the heavens, flawless and perfectly natural.

Any more, and he'd look too frivolous.

Any less, and he'd lack masculinity.

Just looking at him made Sakura feel flushed and terribly restless.

At the same time, an inexplicable sense of crisis rose within Ino.

She swore silently to herself:

She would train hard and catch up with Sasuke.

Sasuke was hers. Sakura would have him no matter what.

Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't stop her!

As for who had been the most pathetic in this match?

That would have to be Naruto!

To understand why, we had to go back to when Kakashi went after Sasuke, who had transformed into Naruto.

When Naruto saw Kakashi reach for another Naruto who looked exactly like him,

his mind had completely blanked. He was utterly confused.

How was there another Naruto?

Who was he?

Where was he?

Why hadn't Kakashi-sensei come after him, and why was he going after a clone instead?

As time passed, the answer soon became clear.

But a new problem came up.

Naruto suddenly realized that no one there was paying any attention to him.

Not even Sakura.

Even Gekko Hayate, Uzuki Yugao, and Kakashi

had merely glanced past him, as if he were air.

This...

The field was silent.

Everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts.

Seeing this, Naruto didn't dare say a word. He could only keep his questions to himself for the time being, standing stock-still.

But just then,

Sakura was the first to come out of her reverie.

Then, as if she'd noticed something, she suddenly asked in confusion:

"Wait, that's not right. Nar... Naruto's disappeared..."

At Sakura's startled shout,

everyone finally realized that Naruto had somehow vanished.

..

But just then,

they heard Sasuke laugh from not far away as he jingled the bells in his hand.

At the same time, he changed his hand seals.

Bang!

White smoke burst out from a patch of bushes.

A nondescript rock that had been crouching there transformed into Naruto in the blink of an eye.

Naruto stood there looking utterly bewildered, like a complete idiot...

"Tr-Transformation Technique!..."

Kakashi was so shocked he nearly jumped!

What kind of battle IQ was this?

And how much chakra did he have?

Was he really a Genin?

At that moment, Kakashi suddenly remembered what Iruka had told him about Sasuke:

"Kakashi, I swear!"

"That kid named Sasuke is absolutely the best student I've ever had!"

"No one before him, and no one after!"

"Believe me, if you miss out on this promising kid, Konoha might never see another genius this talented! You'll regret it for the rest of your life!..."

"Is he really as incredible as you say? You're not pulling my leg, are you?..."

"Hey! Believe it or not, it's up to you! If we weren't both working under the Third Hokage, I absolutely wouldn't share such a good thing with you for free!..."

The memories flashed past one after another, like slides in a projector.

But in Kakashi's mind, every detail remained clear as day.

"Looks like Iruka might actually have understated things back then..."

Kakashi furrowed his brow and thought.

"It's over?"

"Did the test really end just like that?..."

Only when he turned back into his true self did Naruto finally understand, and even then, the whole thing felt unreal.

It was supposed to be a team effort.

How had the test ended before he and Sakura had even made a move?

He looked at his goddess, Sakura.

But Sakura's cheeks were flushed, and her emerald eyes were fixed on Sasuke, full of undisguised affection.

At the sight, jealousy surged through Naruto.

Without a second thought, he rushed up to Kakashi and shouted:

"Kakashi-sensei, Sakura and I haven't even done anything yet!"

"That guy got to hog all the glory!..."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and asked, apparently without much interest:

"The rules were clear. A win is a win, and a loss is a loss. Do you have a problem with that, Naruto?..."

Naruto gritted his teeth and replied, clearly dissatisfied:

"Yes! I demand a rematch!"

"Sasuke shouldn't get to hog all the glory!"

"Oh?... Are you sure?..."

Kakashi asked with a serious expression.

Then, as if by chance, he glanced toward Sakura.

"Of course! How can we take something like this lightly? Besides..."

Naruto hadn't finished speaking

when Sakura called out from nearby:

"Naruto, stop fooling around."

"Is it so hard to admit that someone else is better than you?"

"If you really want another match,

then you can have one with Kakashi-sensei by yourself, just like Sasuke did."

"Sasuke and I are going to celebrate at Ichiraku Ramen. We were going to bring you along, but who knew... sigh..."

As soon as Naruto heard he might get to eat with Sakura, he instantly forgot that he'd just demanded a rematch.

He hurried over to Sakura with a silly grin and said:

"I'm going! I'm going! When did I say I wasn't going?!..."

Sasuke: "..."

"Kakashi-sensei, Gekko Hayate, Uzuki Yugao-senpai, why don't we all celebrate at Ichiraku Ramen?"

"Today's a big day—we've all been promoted to Genin."

"Sounds great! We're hungry too..."

Sakura was sweet-talking them.

Besides, Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao already had a close connection with Sasuke.

So,

the six people soon reached an agreement. They decided to head straight to the Ichiraku Ramen Shop to celebrate, and while they were there, hold the ceremony to award their Konoha Headbands and mark their promotion to Genin...