Training Ground Three lay north of the village, with dense woods on three sides and three wooden posts standing in the clearing at its center.
Just after the morning hour, all four of them had arrived.
Kakashi had not.
Naruto sat on a post for less than fifteen minutes before hopping down to pace around the clearing. "A Jonin who's late? How is that even a thing?"
Sakura set her bag by her feet and glanced up at the sun without answering.
Sasuke leaned against the nearest tree with his arms folded, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.
"He'll come," Kiyoshi said.
"How do you know?" Naruto stopped short. "Bro Hao, are you in on this with him?"
Kiyoshi didn't answer. The sun climbed from the treetops to overhead. Naruto tired himself out pacing and crouched beside a post to scratch at the dirt.
Sakura counted the scrolls in her bag again, then put them away.
"We're all starving. Doesn't anyone want a little something first?" Naruto asked, looking up.
"Our team leader said none of us were allowed to eat today." Sakura tightened her bag strap another notch. "You want to break the rules?"
Naruto shut his mouth and settled for staring at the shadows of the trees.
When the sun's shadow passed the third post, a figure emerged from behind a tree.
"Sorry. I was helping an old lady on the way."
Kakashi walked out with one hand in his pocket, his forehead protector slanting over his left eye.
He raised his other hand. Two bells hung between his fingers. A flick of his wrist sent them knocking together with a jingle.
"Two spots."
The breathing in the clearing changed. Naruto jumped up first. "Two? How are four people supposed to share two?"
Sakura's grip tightened around