Chapter 4: Training Ninjas

-Four Years Later-

Hatake Kakashi looked up from the dossiers in front of him, one eye covered by his customary forehead protector. Despite a face that was more hidden than not, his skepticism was plain to see.

"Sir... This is what you wanted me for?"

The Hokage grinned to see his reaction. Hiruzen had aged a fair bit in just the last four years, but the amusement filled his wrinkled face with life. "Yes, I rather think you'll like this bunch, Kakashi."

"Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and… Uzumaki Naruto…" He frowned for a moment before stating his thoughts. "Sir, this is a suspicious assignment."

"Oh? Why would you think that?"

"The two boys?" queried Kakashi.

"Hmmm? Is something wrong with them?" The Hokage asked, pleasantly puzzled.

So, thought Kakashi, it was going to be like that, was it?

"Weren't they the ones who convinced those two Chuunin that one of the Inuzuka family hounds was actually an agent from Hidden Stone wearing a, quote, 'clever disguise?'"

"Oh, yes, certainly. Certainly very good training for the discernment of our teams."

"But they were also the ones who made a habit of sneaking bird-shit onto the robes of visiting dignitaries?"

"Children's games being what they are..." The Hokage chuckled and waved a dismissive hand, "Surely you know they stopped when we asked them?"

Their game had not actually ended, as such; the two had just started a business charging other kids for the pleasure of participating in the game and awarded money out of the pot for successful runs. One look at the Hokage's unwavering smile told him he wasn't going to get anywhere pushing on that front, though. Kakashi launched another desperate attack.

"They were the ones who diverted the Daimyo's biennial inspection tour into the red-light district."

"Oh, you know nothing was never proven!" Hiruzen's smile seemed rather strained, suddenly.

"Naruto burst into the Academy offices and admitted it himself."

"Why, young boys will admit to anything if they think it makes them seem on top of the world." The Hokage gently shook his head.

"I know for a fact they told all those girls that everyone with a Byakugan or Sharingan can see through their clothes," Kakashi added, more as a forlorn hope than anything.

The Hokage sighed loudly. "Kakashi, I-" he paused to rub his wrinkled forehead, "Look, I trust you. You know that."

Kakashi nodded. Nothing more needed to be said. In a world where trust was normally a fleeting and tenuous thing, the Third had every reason to trust him implicitly. "I assume that this is about the Nine-Tails?" he asked, warily.

"Yes, and no. True, that's part of it, but… well, to be frank, we do manage to keep a few secrets around here, and I've been sitting on a couple of good ones. Long story very short is that the boy Naruto is the child of your mentor, Minato. I believe that this is unknown even to the boy himself."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. Honestly, once it had been said it seemed almost obvious. It had just never really come to his attention before now.

"Kakashi, I hardly need to tell you that as the son of the Fourth and the newest Jinchuriki for the Nine-Tails Fox it is crucial that he learns the skills he needs to help the village."

"And the Uchiha boy?" He glanced down. "Is he just there as a friend?"

The Hokage chuckled bitterly to himself for a moment. "No, not quite, though there is that as well. The truth is that young Sasuke has inherited a rather troublesome item from his older brother, and would benefit well from your… unique experiences."

It was a moment before Kakashi made the connection. Uchiha Itachi. The rest was easy to figure out.

"He got his brother's eye? Really?"

"Yes, and it's a very special one indeed. The Mangekyou, famed kaleidoscope of the Uchiha. Not that I need to tell you that. When he received it, it was in the process of changing into… something else, but the poor boy didn't have the chakra to sustain the transformation. Happened the night of the attack, what a tragedy it was..."

With a small grunt, he stood up from his desk and walked over to his window before he continued talking.

"Now, I've tried to make life easier for the boys, but it's not just about me. No medicine to cure pig-headedness, as you know, what with all of the anti-Uchiha sentiment in the council. It's just not my jurisdiction. I'm a ninja, not a nurse-maid, after all. Still, now that they're graduating the Academy, it finally becomes my jurisdiction rather neatly, doesn't it?" He grinned, looking back over his shoulder. "You know, young Sasuke is named after my father?"

"I didn't know that, sir."

"I have high hopes that he will bring honor to the name."

This gave Kakashi pause. That kind of statement was fairly difficult to ignore in this context. He probably had to at least try with this group. Still, he had to know.

"The girl? Sakura?"

The Hokage shook his head. "Just a normal girl for her age. Good grades."

"Just a normal girl?"

"Just a normal girl… Good grades."

Kakashi looked down at the dossier again. The Hokage spoke.

"I can see you're already thinking. Good. I won't keep you here any longer, but please give this your best effort."

Kakashi left the office with a grimace.

Uchiha Sasuke. Excellent student, at least in the practicals. Not anywhere near what his older brother had been at his age, but that probably wasn't a fair comparison. Not top of the class, but close. His teachers were of the opinion that his association with Naruto was dragging him down, but he should be an asset to any team. He'd acquired a few of the Uchiha signature fire-element jutsu, which was promising. He was also developing a bit of a following from some of the girls who liked the appeal of the 'bad boy', but Kakashi didn't think he was taking advantage of it. Speaking of...

Haruno Sakura. Good grades, true, but lacking in physical skill. Honestly, Kakashi wasn't sure what to think about her. Normal girl. Might be tricky. Kakashi had never had any experience with being a normal... well, anything, really. Given the severity of his own upbringing, it was difficult to even think of her as being a true young kunoichi, though that too was probably unfair. Still, it was hard to imagine a ninja more unlike him.

Then there was Uzumaki Naruto. Kakashi took a look at the dossier picture that showed the young kid posing in kabuki makeup, for whatever reason. Known troublemaker and loudmouth with a lack of respect for authority. Other than that, it was hard to look at his actual evaluation and think anything other than 'bland'. No special jutsu or trained fighting style. Physically, he seemed competent enough, but even his mediocre grades were probably only a result of Sasuke's good influence. Put the two of them together, he thought, and the result might turn out just a bit like his old teammate, Obito. At that thought, he brought his hand up to his covered eye.

Hatake Kakashi considered the most important virtue for potential students to be teamwork. More specifically, the ability to stick together with your team no matter what. Oh, he'd once thought that a ninja needed to be able to throw away an ally to complete the mission if necessary, but some rather serious losses had made him realize that that kind of thinking just wasn't workable in the long run.

It was amazing how many ways there were to escape from impossible situations when you stopped thinking of them as impossible. Not to mention that it was so rare that succeeding in a mission was actually worth the cost to the village of losing a skilled shinobi with decades of work put into raising them. No, it was lack of trust that your comrades were looking out for your best interests that tended to break up teams faster than even the most dangerous of missions.

Sasuke and Naruto were already friends. It wouldn't do any good to try and test that teamwork. Still, he needed ninjas that would fight for their fellows because they were teammates, not because they were friends.

Well, in that case, the answer was obvious.

-Two days later-

It was a beautiful day to be outside in Training Area Number 5. The warm air was dry, and the breeze was cool, carrying the varied scents of a village that was gearing up for lunch. Some parts of the training grounds would have made excellent places for an outdoor meal away from the Academy where one could think in solitude. Well, except for the possibility of explosions, anyway. All in all, it was a wonderful day for Konoha.

Not for the potential members of Team 7, though. Oh no, not for them. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were being put through hell on earth, and Kakashi thought it was hilarious. Oh, they had performed well enough so far, but the main event was just now starting.

Naruto and Sasuke had just returned to the main clearing to see their missing partner, Sakura, gagged and tied to a wooden pole. As they approached, the earth shook and heaved, launching the two boys into the air without warning. Sasuke barely managed to land on his feet, though Naruto hit the ground in a tumbling impact that he tried and failed to pass off as a roll. It would have gone a bit better if he hadn't slammed into the pole that Sakura was currently pinned to.

As Naruto climbed to his feet, spitting out dirt and muttering something about splinters, Kakashi appeared before them in a cloud of smoke. He looked upon his scowling charges and began his prepared speech.

"Well, I think congratulations are in order. That actually wasn't half-bad. You've got good teamwork. I've almost seen enough. Another few months of training and you two might actually be trusted to hold a kunai the right way around on the first try."

Naruto's grimace intensified, and he spat out a wet blob of dirt. Sasuke blinked, puzzled by what he had heard. After a moment, Sakura's eyes widened in understanding.

"Yes, I said 'you two' for a reason. Sakura, I'm afraid that your showing was pathetic. A shinobi can always build on strengths and compensate for weaknesses, but all of that becomes impossible if a student can't bring herself to take even basic offensive action. You were clearly out of your element out there. I'm taking you out of the test. I'm sorry, but I strongly recommend that you reconsider becoming a ninja altogether."

Sakura let out a pitiful muffled moan around the gag currently keeping her from speaking. Before long, her eyes were filling with tears of frustration and shame. It wasn't fair to expect her to work well with two boys who were already friends, Sakura thought. She didn't even know them!

Kakashi turned to regard Naruto and Sasuke. "You two. I'm out. I will be back in twenty minutes for one more try. Use that time to put together a final plan of attack. Impress me." Kakashi turned, as if to leave, then paused. "Oh, and if you're thinking of helping your failed partner there, I'd advise against it. An unprepared teammate will just get you killed. It's too late for the three of you together, but I might be able to grab a third member from another instructor. So, to be clear, if you include her in your planning then I'm failing both of you. Sometimes, the mission requires you to leave people behind. This is one of those times."

With that, Kakashi disappeared, too fast for their eyes to follow.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, jaws clenched. Naruto was the first to say what they were both thinking.

"Man, screw that guy."

"Asshole," Sasuke agreed, then scanned the treeline for signs of their instructor. Seeing nothing, he joined Naruto at the post. In moments they had begun cutting the tough ropes binding their teammate. Sakura's eyes were wide and worried, and Sasuke quickly undid the knot on the gag.

"No, y-you can't do this!" she said, "You heard Kakashi-sensei. I can't- I mean, I'm not- I'm not on the team any more. If you help me then you'll both fail!"

Naruto grinned, wickedly. "What's that, Sakura? It's a little weird that you want us to keep you tied up, don'cha think?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Naruto, I know for a fact that you don't know what you're talking about, so why don't you stop bothering her."

"Hey! You don't know whether I know what I'm talking about or not, so why don't you quit pretending!"

"Oh yeah?" Sasuke grit out, working his kunai through the ropes near her feet, "Well, explain it then, if you think you're so cool."

Naruto was silent for a moment. "No way, I'm not gonna explain it in front of a girl."

"Naruto, you were just making a joke about it at her expense."

"Well, she's blushing now, so I don't wanna be mean. I can be a gentleman, too, ya know."

"Excuse me-" Sakura interrupted, "but if I'm blushing, it's because I've just had the worst day of my life, and now I'm probably going to be expelled!" She had no idea what the other two were talking about, but it sounded like they didn't either, so that was alright. "Why are you doing this? I was practically useless back there, and the teacher said I'd just get you both killed!"

"Look," said Sasuke, "I don't know what his deal is, but I've heard things about him. He's never passed a team before, and I think he's just a sour, lazy bastard who set this up to be unwinnable."

"And there's no way I'm about to listen to a guy that just dumped me in a hole and had his dog piss on me!" growled Naruto.

"Yeah, you stink, by the way."

"Oh, shut up. You didn't do much better after he stuck his hand up your ass."

Sasuke was silent. This time, Sakura really felt awkward for listening in.

After a moment, Sasuke finished cutting through the last rope, and Sakura fell to the ground, landing unsteadily. When she stood back up, Sasuke continued.

"If he really wants to fail us then he's going to do it either way. And, sorry, but if he thinks you're useless, then maybe we can use that against him. I don't really have a plan that I expect to work here, but we've got another fifteen minutes to figure one out. Everyone okay with that?"

Naruto nodded. Sakura, her face screwed up in frustration, tears still sliding down her cheeks, joined in a moment later. Together, as a team, they huddled together for one last planning session.

Their deliberation was short-lived.

With a roar of thunder, the sky darkened and the earth shook. Everywhere around them, nature expressed its fury. Half a mile away in the city, shopkeepers serving lunch shook their heads in exasperation. Ninja business. With a bucking of the earth around the terrified trio, their teacher erupted from the shattered ground.

"YOU LITTLE SHITS!" he roared at the top of his lungs.

The children looked like they'd just seen a powerful ninja that can call the thunder and break the earth in his wrath appear just fifteen feet in front of them. Exactly like that, actually. The look of sheer terror was unmistakable, and was one of Kakashi's favorite parts of being who he was.

"Did you think I wasn't paying attention?! Did you think I wouldn't NOTICE?! I told you explicitly that I would fail you all if you helped her, and you don't even wait a minute before defying me?!"

Eyes wide and stance low, for once the two boys looked completely speechless. Surprisingly, it was Sakura that stepped forward.

"No, you can't punish them!"

"I CAN'T?!" he shrieked, incredulous.

"Y-yes! Because, I- I wouldn't slow them down. I mean, I know I was useless, and I couldn't help them as- as a team member, but if this was a real mission, I'd... " she paused, swallowing, "I'd make sure they had to leave me behind. Like- like I'm doing now. You can't punish them because of me, because I forfeit!"

Naruto shot her a panicked look and opened his mouth, but it was Sasuke who spoke first.

"No, I won't accept this. We did well. You never gave us the chance to learn to work together as a team, and now you're interrupting us when we're trying to do so."

Naruto literally growled his assent. "We all graduated the Academy already. We've got what it takes. If you're just going to fail us then you'd better just do it."

"Oh, really?" asked Kakashi, his face darkening. If anything, he looked even angrier than before. "You all think you can just take this on yourselves? You think that just because you're willing to sacrifice for the team, that this is all going to turn out alright? That a little bit of sticking up for your buddies is going to make things better? Do you know what I think about that?!"

Thunder and lightning crashed again, as Kakashi's scowl deepened further.

"I think… that all of you…" his voice immediately lightened, filling with cheer, "Pass! Congratulations! No, really, I mean it! No more tests. You're alright with me. We'll work on the basics, alright?"

As Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura struggled with the emotional whiplash, Kakashi gave them a perfunctory, barely-comprehensible speech about teamwork and people, then he offered to buy them lunch and disappeared in another puff of smoke, which was excellent timing because Naruto was about two seconds from attacking him and attempting to claw his eyes out.