You Passed!

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all stunned by Su Bai's words.

Sasuke was the first to come to his senses. Only now did they realize how childish their thinking had been.

He had thought that everyone except Su Bai was dead weight and had been unwilling to cooperate with Naruto and Sakura.

Then Sakura understood as well.

She had been too indecisive, always thinking she could coast through by following Su Bai or Sasuke.

If she had thought about it carefully, she should have understood Kakashi-sensei's purpose in setting up this exercise long ago.

Naruto was the last to realize it.

"I understand now. Everyone, I'm sorry."

Naruto actually apologized frankly.

Su Bai walked over to Sasuke, who was buried in the ground with only his head exposed, intending to dig him out and discuss their next team plan of action.

Though Sasuke was frustrated, a trace of relief still flashed across his face when he saw that Su Bai had come to rescue him.

However, he soon frowned and asked, "I agree to this cooperation, but why bring Sakura along? She practically has no combat ability right now."

The moment Sakura heard that, she lowered her head, unable to hide the disappointment on her face.

As the only girl in Team 7, she had always felt like she was holding everyone back.

Sasuke's words struck right at her sore spot.

Su Bai fell silent for a moment before slowly saying, "In the ninja world, those who break the rules and iron laws are called trash."

"But," he paused, sweeping his gaze across everyone present, "those who disregard their companions are the worst kind of trash!"

As Kakashi watched from the shadows and heard those words, his eyes grew slightly hot.

Obito appeared in his mind—the boy who had been determined to protect his companions.

Obito, there are still people who acknowledge and carry on your will...

Su Bai's words made the three of them see him in a new light.

He seemed cold and indifferent, yet he deeply valued his companions.

Naruto and Sakura also raised their heads after hearing him, hope rekindling in their eyes.

This exercise did not seem to be testing ninjutsu alone. It was also testing a ninja's heart.

When faced with a goal and one's companions, what would you choose?

Su Bai's words taught everyone present a lesson.

At that moment, Sakura suddenly remembered where today's exercise was being held.

She looked around. "This is the graveyard of Konoha heroes who died in the line of duty. No wonder Kakashi-sensei chose this place for the exercise."

After receiving that piece of information, Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widened. In an instant, they understood the purpose of today's exercise.

The graveyard they stood in was where heroes who had sacrificed themselves to protect their companions and the village were buried.

Su Bai's words seemed especially striking and thought-provoking here and now.

After Su Bai dug Sasuke out of the ground, the four of them stood together.

Kakashi wiped at the corner of his eyes and slowly stepped out from the shadows.

He walked up to them, his eyes curved into crescents as he smiled. "You passed."

Naruto's eyes widened as he shouted, "Why? But we haven't gotten the bells yet!"

Kakashi explained with a smile, "The true purpose of this test was to make you understand the importance of teamwork. You already accomplished that without any instruction from me. So it is only natural to let you pass directly."

Hearing this, Sasuke also let out a sigh of relief.

Passing was undoubtedly a good thing for him.

However, Su Bai did not seem satisfied.

So far, everything had gone according to Su Bai's plan.

There was still one final step: he had to fight Kakashi himself.

He also needed Naruto and Sasuke to unleash powerful strength so he could harvest another wave of experience points.

"No need, thank you."

Su Bai said coldly, "We will definitely get the bells this time."

Naruto and Sasuke also nodded firmly. "That's right, Kakashi-sensei. We'll get the bells."

Though Sakura was somewhat confused, seeing Sasuke and Naruto's determination made her nod in agreement as well.

Kakashi smiled helplessly at the sight. "All right, then. I'll give you another chance to try."

As a genius, Su Bai clearly would not easily let go of any opportunity to become stronger.

Even though he had already passed, he still wanted to try for himself and see how many experience points he could gain from Kakashi, a jonin.

However, the other three did not know what Su Bai was thinking.

To them, Su Bai was unwilling to pass the test in such a manner.

After all, for a genius, being granted a pass out of charity was bound to feel unsatisfying.

Naruto and Sasuke were unwilling to accept that as well.

Neither of them wanted to lose to Su Bai!

After pondering for a moment, Su Bai said to Kakashi, "We'll fight again in half an hour. Give us the time before then to prepare."

Kakashi nodded in agreement.

Then he seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, you haven't eaten your lunch boxes yet, right? You can eat now."

Su Bai nodded as well. "All right, thank you, sensei."

Though it was only a small detail, Kakashi's words undoubtedly showed the care he had for his students as a teacher.

Even during a test, he had not forgotten their basic needs.

Su Bai, however, did not care much about that.

His mind was filled with thoughts of how to gain more experience points in the upcoming battle.

To perform at their best, lunch was indeed indispensable.

With Kakashi's tacit permission, Su Bai and the other three began eating their boxed lunches.

A hard battle awaited them.

But in this brief moment of peace, they temporarily set aside their tension and vigilance, focusing on what was before them.

As Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke faced their lunch boxes, they looked at one another somewhat awkwardly.

They knew that passing had been entirely thanks to Su Bai, yet Su Bai himself had no lunch box to eat. No matter how they thought about it, they felt bad about it.

For the first time ever, Sasuke handed his lunch box to Su Bai, though his words remained as unforgiving as ever. "Here, eat it. Don't say later that being hungry affected your performance."

Seeing this, Naruto and Sakura hurriedly shared some of their lunch boxes with Su Bai as well.

"Yeah, Su Bai, have some too! We only passed thanks to you!"

Naruto said with complete sincerity.

Yet Su Bai only smiled faintly and waved away his companions' kindness. "No need."

Before anyone could feel disappointed, Su Bai took out a scroll from his ninja tool pouch.

After the scroll was opened and chakra was poured into it, a cloud of white smoke rose.

A table full of delicious dishes, complete in color, aroma, and flavor, appeared out of thin air before them.

"Holy crap! You can do that?!"

Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Su Bai, did you know all along?"

Sakura asked in surprise as well.

Su Bai did not answer directly. He merely gave a mysterious smile, calmly sat down, and began enjoying the food.

Sasuke remained silent, but a trace of amazement showed in his eyes. This guy! Has everything been going according to his plan all along?

After thanking Su Bai, Naruto and Sakura happily joined in as well.

Kakashi stood quietly to the side, watching his students eat together in harmony. A pleased smile could not help appearing at the corner of his lips.

Perhaps this seemingly unruly class was quietly coming together into a close-knit group.

Wasn't that exactly what he had hoped to see?

The half-hour break passed in the blink of an eye, and a fierce battle was about to begin.

Su Bai leisurely wiped his mouth, slowly rose to his feet, and fixed his sharp, determined gaze ahead.