Sasuke Is My Best Friend

Naruto's hand had been just a little short of reaching the bell. He cursed, "Damn it!"

Sasuke changed tactics at the same time and launched a fierce attack. After landing, he kicked off the ground and shot up to Kakashi's waist, reaching for the bell.

With a swish, Kakashi vanished from where he stood, making Naruto and Sasuke's expressions change. When Kakashi reappeared, Sasuke had already taken a punch, while Naruto had been kicked.

"Sasuke! What the hell are you doing?!" Naruto shouted as he jumped back up, rubbing his chest where Sasuke's kick had hit him.

"Tch." Enduring the pain in his face, Sasuke said darkly, "You're nothing but dead weight. If you hadn't gotten in my way, I would've taken the bell already."

After Kakashi dodged their close-range attacks, Naruto's fist had accidentally struck Sasuke, while Sasuke's flying kick had likewise hit Naruto. The two were sent flying a long distance by each other's attacks.

Kakashi stood off to one side looking relaxed. He had barely needed to act, yet he had cleverly used their attacks against them and easily broken up their pincer attack.

"Naruto!" Sakura snapped. "Stop getting in Sasuke's way!"

"Shut up!" Naruto shot back. "If you're good for anything, hurry up and help us!"

"Naruto! What did you say?! Say that again if you've got the guts!" Sakura flew into a rage, throwing everything else out of her mind. She actually rolled up her sleeves and charged after Naruto.

Naruto was startled. He realized the situation was still awful. If they failed to earn Kakashi's approval, Team 7 would be disbanded, and Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura would have to return to the Ninja Academy and start over.

With Sakura charging at him viciously, Naruto could only turn and run, leaving Sasuke alone to face Kakashi.

Kakashi shook his head. This squad was hopeless trash, even worse than he had imagined. They had actually started fighting among themselves during the test.

Sasuke was secretly delighted. With neither Naruto nor Sakura around, he felt his odds had improved with only himself left.

Sasuke reached behind his back and hurled several shuriken straight at Kakashi. He then darted forward, his figure flashing as he circled behind Kakashi.

Kakashi glanced back and suddenly noticed Sasuke had thrown a kunai to the side. The kunai sliced through a rope concealed in the grass.

"A trap!" The moment Kakashi saw it, he understood that Sasuke had set a trap nearby. Now that the kunai had cut the rope, the trap had been triggered.

Sure enough, a large number of shuriken and kunai shot out of the bushes ahead, hurtling toward Kakashi's face.

Kakashi was now caught in a two-sided attack. The shuriken and kunai from the triggered trap were in front of him, while Sasuke watched him like a tiger from behind.

What was Sasuke trying to do? If I dodge, the shuriken and kunai from the trap will hit Sasuke behind me. Was Sasuke trying to take me down with him?

"No." Just as Kakashi was about to evade, Sasuke naturally would not let him have his way. His legs and fists attacked together, holding Kakashi firmly in place. Sasuke clearly had no intention of letting Kakashi move even an inch. It looked as though he wanted to take the trap head-on together with Kakashi.

No matter how fiercely Sasuke fought, he could not match Kakashi's strength. After exchanging only a couple of moves with Sasuke, Kakashi forcibly broke free and leaped backward, explosively exerting the power in his legs to retreat to safety.

The shuriken and kunai from the trap arrived in an instant. Kakashi had left the engagement, but Sasuke had no time to dodge, and all seven shuriken and five kunai pierced his body.

"This Sasuke... I can't believe he did something so stupid..." Kakashi muttered. He had thought Sasuke had some kind of follow-up move, but instead, a ninja had actually fallen into his own trap. And it had happened to Sasuke. That was a serious blow to his impression of him.

If Naruto had fallen into his own trap, I could've accepted it. But how could Sasuke fall into a trap he set himself...? Wait. It's a trick!

Sure enough, Sasuke lay stiffly on the ground after being struck by the shuriken and kunai. He was playing dead, waiting for Kakashi to approach. But after waiting for a long time without Kakashi coming near, Sasuke jumped up and pulled the shuriken and kunai from his body.

"Oh! So that's how it is." Kakashi saw that Sasuke was not actually injured. Sasuke pulled a steel plate out from beneath his clothes.

The steel plate had actually been brought by Naruto. It had also given Sasuke an idea for battle. Sasuke had secretly picked up the steel plate Naruto had discarded, placed it over his chest, and then set the trap. He had planned to risk everything against Kakashi and seize the bell in one go with the momentum of mutual destruction.

The plan had been beautiful, but unfortunately, Kakashi had not fallen for it. The reason was that Kakashi thought highly of Sasuke. He knew Sasuke was capable and would not make such an obvious mistake of mutual destruction.

If Sasuke learned that his scheme had failed because Kakashi thought highly of him, it was hard to say whether he would be happy or frustrated.

Meanwhile, Sakura had completely lost her reason. Raising her two enormous fists, she chased Naruto with a vicious expression.

Naruto hid in the bushes, feeling anxious. He knew whether they passed this test depended mainly on whether the three of them could unite. Those two bells had no value at all. Even if they had the ability to obtain them, it would be useless. If the three were not united, they still would not earn Kakashi's approval.

"Before, I was only trying to take the bells as a test, to see whether Sasuke and I could work together. I didn't expect us to have no coordination at all." Naruto said gloomily, "We're done for. If the three of us can't unite, the legendary Team 7 will be disbanded on its first day."

"I need to think of a way to get Sakura to regain her senses first." Naruto looked at Sakura below and quickly came up with an idea. He jumped down from the bushes.

"Naruto! What you said before! Do you dare say it again?!" Sakura demanded furiously, her expression terrifying.

"Sakura, you know, there's a secret I've always wanted to tell you. I only decided to tell you today."

"What?!" Sakura regained a little of her senses, but after thinking it over, her anger only grew stronger. What secret could you possibly have that I care about? I'm not interested at all. If you dare say it, I'll knock every tooth out of your mouth.

"Actually, Sasuke has always had a crush on you. Sasuke told me himself." Naruto dropped the bombshell. "Sasuke is too shy to tell the girl he likes what he feels. Sasuke is my best friend, so he told me this secret."

"Huh?" Sakura was instantly dumbfounded. She froze where she stood, her cheeks turning bright red.