Team 7 Begins

So it had all been Sasuke's plan.

Sasuke knew that with their current strength, there was no way they could defeat Kakashi. Rather than trying to solve the problem with brute force like an idiot such as Naruto—

It was better to outsmart him and use a plan to get hold of the bells directly, wasn't it?

And thus, this scene came to be. Josuke, lurking in the shadows like a sneaky bystander, could only cover his face and snicker. Another iconic anime scene had been born.

Sasuke smiled. It looked like he was going to win.

Sasuke secretly rejoiced, only for Kakashi to catch him instead and shove him straight into the ground.

The iconic scene of Sasuke sticking his head out of the ground nearly made Josuke laugh himself to death.

With that, Team 7's clash with Kakashi ended in defeat. Kakashi tied Naruto to a post, woke Sakura up, and pulled Sasuke out.

Josuke also quietly slipped out of the woods on his own.

Kakashi looked at Josuke and smiled faintly.

"Finally came out?"

Josuke scratched his head and said apologetically,

"It was only because you didn't come after me, Sensei. Otherwise, I would've been caught long ago."

He casually found a stump to sit on, picked up a lunch box, and started eating. As a Naruto fan, he naturally knew what would happen next, so Josuke simply watched quietly as Kakashi put on a show.

Watching the three of them eat their lunches, Kakashi slowly said,

"Do you know why I tied Naruto up?"

The three of them shook their heads. Kakashi then said,

"Because while we were fighting over the bells earlier, he secretly ate one portion of lunch. That's why he was tied up."

Sakura and Sasuke both looked at Naruto with disdain upon hearing that. Only Josuke continued concentrating on his meal.

Kakashi then abruptly changed his tone.

"Since you failed to complete the bell-grabbing challenge this morning, we'll continue this afternoon. Rest after you finish eating, then we'll continue."

The members of Team 7, Josuke excluded, all looked helpless.

Naruto, tied to the post, could not stand it any longer and began to complain.

"This isn't fair! I'm so hungry..."

He started throwing a tantrum, looking pleadingly at Kakashi. But Kakashi pretended not to see him and picked up Make-Out Paradise to read.

"Damn it..."

Naruto lowered his head and looked at his rumbling, empty stomach.

Josuke knew it was time for him, the supporting character, to do his job. He stood up, picked up his lunch box, and walked over to Naruto.

"I ate some rice balls this morning, so I'm not that hungry. You can have this chicken leg."

Kakashi looked at Josuke, filled with surprise. It was as though he saw the shadow of an old acquaintance in him...

Sakura could not sit still either. The moment Kakashi said that, she had wanted to give Naruto something to eat, but she had been hesitating.

Josuke's actions gave her the push she needed, so she handed over her lunch box as well. Sasuke, who had been diligently eating beside them, naturally saw this too. Though he said nothing, he still offered his boxed lunch.

"Hurry up and eat. We still have to 'continue' afterward."

Seeing this, Kakashi's emotions showed through. He walked over to the four of them and said with a smile,

"Bingo! Congratulations, you passed the test! Congratulations!"

"Huh?"

The three of them were utterly shocked, so Kakashi explained,

"Today's test was meant to bring out your ability to work as a team. As ninja, when you face powerful enemies on the battlefield, what you rely on to protect your back is a trustworthy teammate.

"Your actions at the start could hardly be called coordinated. It would be more accurate to say you each fought on your own, which disappointed me. But now, I'm very satisfied with what you just did.

"You showed that you can care about your comrades, so you've passed the test. I look forward to working with you."

It took the three of them quite a while to process Kakashi's words.

But just then, Kakashi added,

"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum. But those who do not cherish their comrades are worse than scum."

Naruto, still tied up, deeply remembered those words and engraved them in his heart.

And so, Team 7 was officially established and began!

(I can't be bothered to write about fighting Zabuza, Haku, and all that here. We'll just skip straight to after the Land of Waves arc. I don't want to write the Land of Waves either, since too many people have already done it. Let's just skip it ε=(´ο｀*)))

After the Land of Waves arc ended, Josuke had truly benefited greatly. If Haku and Zabuza had not begun on opposing sides, perhaps they really could have become friends... Josuke could not say for sure.

Without dwelling on it, Josuke's trip had been quite fruitful. Through his Sharingan, he had copied Kakashi's Chidori. (There was some debate here—did Sasuke learn Chidori or Lightning Cutter?)

He had also finally learned the Shadow Clone Technique. He had tried it recently and could create seven or eight copies of himself at once, which was already quite impressive.

This mission had even been an A-rank mission. It seemed the money they received would only be more, not less.

After returning to the village, Josuke fell asleep the moment he lay down. These past days had truly been exhausting. He had not gotten a single peaceful night's sleep. Though he knew he would not die in the Land of Waves, he had still feared some kind of butterfly effect.

Now that he thought about it, his earlier caution had not been unwarranted.

Before long, the Konoha Crush Plan would begin. Once the Third Hokage died, it would be about time for him to flee the village too. Whether he would go with Orochimaru or Jiraiya was something he still could not figure out.

But one thing was certain: he was definitely going to become a rogue ninja. Not even Jesus could make him stay.

Heh heh... Slashing a line across his forehead protector was probably every Naruto fan's dream. After all, it was a mark of strength.

Still, Josuke had not been idle these past days. During this time, something happened that left him with bonds in the Hidden Leaf Village that he could not bear to abandon.

That day—

Josuke was walking down the street, buying some ninja tools.

A little girl in the distance spotted Josuke at once and immediately ran toward him.

"Josuke!!!"

Hearing the voice, Josuke was somewhat happy, though he did not show much of it.

"Ino, what a coincidence. What are you doing out on the street too?"

Ino's little face reddened. Of course, she would not reveal that tiny secret in her heart.

"I was just wandering around too, and then I happened to see Josuke~"

With that, Ino boldly grabbed Josuke's arm and began acting cute. Josuke's face flushed, and he quickly pulled his hand away, laughing heartily.

Sometimes, he really wondered what Sai had that made him so special. Damn it, he was just one of Danzō's brats. Wouldn't it have been better for him to just stay in Root?~

Seriously. Still, Josuke merely thought about it and did not take any further action, because he did not want to ruin the original story and cause some kind of butterfly effect.