Chapter Text
That was the first official meeting of the members of the newest team 7, composed of Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto and the recently returned to the village Uchiha Sasuke, now training under the supervision of their jonin instructor, Hatake Kakashi.
"All right, why don't you introduce yourselves? One at a time,” the sensei asked, after taking his students to the rooftop of the academy. "I want to know what you like, things you hate. Dreams for the future. Hobbies. That kind of stuff."
"Hey, why don't you go first, Sensei? You look kind of suspicious,” Naruto yelled. He is sooooo annoying, Sasuke considered rolling his eyes. Nothing in the Akatsuki files on the Bijuu mentioned that Uzumaki Naruto could be such a brat.
“Ok, ok,” the sensei stopped him. “My name is Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate… I don’t feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future… never really thought about it. As for my hobbies… I have plenty of hobbies.”
"That was totally useless. All he told us was his name,” Haruno Sakura, the Kunoichi of the group, whispered to her teammates.
Meanwhile, Sasuke seemed lost in his thoughts. So, this is the famous Hatake Kakashi Itachi praised so much. He sighed. Can’t say I’m impressed, but if Nii-san thinks so highly of him, he is probably something else. Plus he has a sharingan… The boy issued a series of very discreet hand gestures that passed unnoticed by both Naruto and Sakura, but to Kakashi they were a clear message. Nice to meet you, Kakashi sensei, my name is Uchiha Sasuke. My brother sends his regards. For the moment, however, the white-haired instructor decided to ignore him.
"Alright, your turn,” Kakashi pointed straight at Naruto.
"I’m Naruto Uzumaki! I like instant ramen, and I like it even more when Iruka-sensei treats me at Ichiraku! I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them!” Meanwhile, Sasuke went on with his silent observations. I’ve never met someone so addicted to ramen before. I hope he starts eating healthier foods soon cause an overweight jinchuriki wouldn’t be so interesting to capture. “And my dream… is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I’m somebody!" Sasuke smiled quietly. Now you are talking boy! And I would love to be around to see how far you will get.
"Interesting. Next,” Kakashi continued, staring at the young pink-haired kunoichi.
"I’m Sakura Haruno!” The girl began. “What I like—I mean, the person I like is…” Her eyes move straight at Sasuke. For a moment, he felt like she was trying to see right through his soul. Scary, Sasuke thought. Since his mother's death five years ago, the closest female figure in his life has been ‘aunt Konan’, still she has been way more like a big sister than a romantic interest. “My hobby is…heh” that glance again, Sasuke noticed. If she is half the stalker I think she is, I’ll really have to keep a low profile to hide my secrets. “My dream for the future is…” Ok, she is crazy. The young Uchiha had had enough. Maybe I should just put her under a genjutsu to make her forget her crush on me. Yikes.
"And what do you hate?” Kakashi wondered, not really curious.
“Naruto!” Sakura put it bluntly, much to the Uzumaki and the Uchiha kids' surprise.
"What?! Why me?!” Naruto replied. Yeah, why? If someone here was supposed to hate him it is me, not you. Sasuke theorized, with both curiosity and a little bit of fear.
Before Sakura could explain her feelings, Kakashi interrupted. To Sasuke, even their teacher felt genuinely tired of Sakura’s intense feelings. “And last, the one on the left.” The sensei looked straight into Sasuke’s eyes.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything.” It was now time for Kakashi to resume their secret conversation. Ah, the famous little brother Itachi personally asked me to train. Nice to meet you Sasuke. I’m eager to see what you can do. The black-haired teenager dropped the shadow of a smile. What else could he say? He prided himself on being his Nii-san’s student and for everything he learnt with the Akatsuki over the years. "What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I am going to restore my clan… and I am going to destroy a certain someone.” That last statement shocked both Sakura and Naruto. For Kakashi, however, it answered some of his oldest doubts. Interesting. I always had the feeling that the Uchiha massacre was an inside job from the village. Since Sasuke is obviously not trying to kill his brother, I wonder who was actually the mastermind behind it.
"Good. You’re each unique and have your own ideas. We’ll have our first mission tomorrow.” Kakashi said once Sasuke was done talking. Naruto and Sakura seemed visibly curious and excited. For Sasuke it sounded just like a daily routine.
"No way! What kind of mission is it going to be, Sensei?” A super excited Naruto questioned.
"It’s a survival drill,” Kakashi answered calmly.
"A survival drill? Cool!” Naruto exclaimed.
Baka, Sasuke thought to himself. If you think this is going to be an easy exercise you are sorely mistaken.
"I thought we were supposed to have a real mission, not more practice. We already did all that stuff at the Academy. That’s how we got here.” Sakura commented. Sasuke simply smirked. For someone with such a peculiar stalking skill, she is certainly very naive.
"This is not like your previous training,” Kakashi explained, aware that Sasuke was the only one apparently unimpressed by his explanation. Well, I bet Itachi didn’t take easy on anybody. Not even with his little brother. "Of the twenty-seven graduates who just came here, only nine will actually be accepted as Genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the Academy. In other words, this is a make-it-or-break-it, pass-fail test. And the chance that you’ll fail is at least 66%.” Then, the sensei completed the explanation with some subtle hand gestures. In your case, Sasuke, the drill serves only to test your abilities. Just try to keep it along with the other two, ok? The young Uchiha nodded, silently.
"That’s crazy! We worked hard to get here! What was the graduation exam for anyway?!” Naruto’s anger was visible to everyone. Once more, Sasuke sighed. So what? The academy does not actually teach you how the real world works. Better be ready before the world kicks you back to school.
"Oh, that? That was just to select candidates who might become Genin. Or not. Anyway, I decide whether you pass or fail,” Kakashi explained, putting Sasuke’s thoughts into words “Be at the designated training spot at five a.m., and bring your ninja gear.” The black-haired kid considered which weapons to bring to the fight. He was sure that the conventional training kit would do the trick, especially considering that he had to keep a low profile. However should he take his katana too? Maybe it is too much for a drill. Better not draw attention upon me, not for now.
"That’s it. You’re dismissed. Oh, tomorrow you’d better skip breakfast. Or else... you’ll puke. See ya.” Kakashi said before teleporting somewhere else. As each student walked back home, Naruto and Sakura were ultimately worried about the no breakfast rule. Sasuke, on the other hand, was seriously considering taking some ninja pills to the battlefield. They keep you fed for hours, and yet don’t cause collateral damage. Maybe I should share some with Naruto and Sakura? Or maybe not. The answer however would have to wait for the next morning.