Kakashi Hatake Makes His Entrance, Planning to Give Them a Wake-Up Call?

"Pretty annoying."

Kakashi's lazy voice was like a bucket of ice water dumped over the heads of Team 7's three little brats.

Naruto's smug grin froze.

Sakura's inner monologue came to an abrupt halt.

Sasuke simply opened his eyes, his brows tightly furrowed.

Only Sen in the corner remained completely still, as if his soul had already left his body.

"Alright, follow me."

Kakashi gave them no time to react before turning and heading outside.

"Meeting place: the rooftop."

Naruto and the other two exchanged looks. Though they were thoroughly displeased, they could only obediently follow.

Before leaving, Naruto specifically ran over and shoved Sen's lounge chair hard.

"Big bro! Big bro, wake up! That white-haired teacher is here!"

"Mmph..."

Sen grunted impatiently, rolled over, and continued sleeping.

With no other choice, Naruto and Sasuke lifted him and the lounge chair together from either side like they were carrying a pig, then followed Kakashi.

A gentle breeze blew across the Academy rooftop.

Kakashi leaned against the railing, holding a suspicious-looking little yellow book and reading it with great interest.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stood in a row like three criminals awaiting judgment.

Sen's lounge chair had been placed in the sunniest spot nearby, while he himself was still sleeping like the dead.

"Alright, before we officially begin our ninja careers, let's introduce ourselves."

Kakashi finally looked up from his book, his dead-fish eyes sweeping over the four of them.

"Tell me your names, what you like, what you hate, and your dreams for the future."

"Me first, me first!"

Naruto was the first to jump up, eagerly pointing at himself.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like Ichiraku ramen when Iruka treats me! What I hate is having to wait three minutes for instant ramen!"

He clenched his fists and stared resolutely at Hokage Rock in the distance, his voice ringing out.

"My dream is to become a Hokage greater than every Hokage before me! I'll make everyone in the village acknowledge that I exist!"

A flicker of barely perceptible complexity passed through Kakashi's eyes as he looked at Naruto.

"Next."

Sakura immediately took over, cupping her flushed cheeks in both hands. Her eyes were filled with stars, and her gaze kept drifting toward Sasuke.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. What I like is... What I hate is Naruto! My dream is... Ah!"

Before she could finish, she let out an embarrassed squeal.

Girls this age have nothing but romance on their minds, Kakashi thought helplessly.

"Your turn, black-haired one."

Sasuke coldly raised his head. His black eyes were as deep as a pool of stagnant water.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are many things I hate. Things I like... none."

His voice was icy and piercing, carrying a hatred far beyond his years.

"I have no dream, because it will become reality."

"I have only one goal: to restore the Uchiha Clan, and..."

Sasuke's gaze instantly became razor-sharp.

"To kill that man!"

The temperature on the rooftop seemed to drop several degrees because of those words.

Sakura was too frightened to speak, and Naruto could feel the suffocating killing intent as well.

Kakashi's expression grew complicated again. He knew that every student in this class was a problem child.

He sighed, and his gaze finally fell on the guy who had been asleep from beginning to end.

"Hey, you lying down."

Kakashi raised his voice.

"Your turn."

Sen's sleep mask twitched as though he were struggling to wake up.

"Haa... so sleepy."

He slowly sat up, took off his sleep mask, and let out a long yawn, tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes.

He looked around at his three properly seated teammates, then at the white-haired man by the railing who wore an annoyed expression.

"Oh, my turn."

Sen cleared his throat, reclined back into his lounge chair, and found a comfortable position.

He crossed one leg over the other and rested his hands behind his head, his tone as lazy as if he had just finished a marathon.

"My name is Sen Senju."

"What I like... sunshine, sleeping, and red bean cakes."

"There are a lot of things I hate, like cloudy days, rain, overtime, meetings, and people shouting while I'm sleeping."

As he spoke, he gave Naruto a meaningful sidelong glance.

Naruto immediately shrank back guiltily.

"As for my dream for the future..."

Sen paused and looked up at a white cloud drifting lazily through the sky, his eyes becoming somewhat distant.

In an exceptionally yearning and sincere tone, he said—

"My dream is... to retire as soon as possible."

"Then find a little island with sunshine, beaches, and spring weather all year round."

"Build a small wooden house, grow flowers, fish, bask in the sun, and live out the rest of my life peacefully."

"Preferably somewhere with no people within a hundred miles, where not even a fly can get in."

Dead silence.

The rooftop fell into deathly silence once again.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all stared at Sen as though he were an alien.

Was that really the kind of dream a ninja should have?

That was clearly the life plan of some seventy- or eighty-year-old retired grandpa preparing to be buried!

The veins on Kakashi's hand, which held the little yellow book, bulged.

He felt his temples throbbing.

This brat was even more decadent than he was!

At least he came up with excuses for being late. This guy had practically written "I want to be a slacker" all over his face!

"Ahem!"

Kakashi forcibly suppressed the urge to kick this guy off the rooftop and coughed heavily twice.

He put away the little yellow book, his expression instantly turning extremely serious as the oppressive aura of an elite jonin slowly spread out.

"Very good. All four of you have plenty of personality."

Kakashi's voice became low and dangerous.

"But personality alone won't make you qualified ninja."

He looked at the four problem children before him, a sinister smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"So tomorrow, we'll conduct a special survival exercise."

"The location will be the Seventh Training Ground."

"Assembly time: five in the morning."

Kakashi held up one finger and waved it before them, his tone filled with malicious warning.

"Oh, and I advise you..."

"Don't eat breakfast."

He deliberately drew out his words, amusement glinting in his eyes.

"Otherwise..."

"You'll throw up."