Chapter 36: Water

Floating Garden

Kakashi sat across from the three genin, a slight headache brewing as he observed them. Sasuke wore an expression of deep-seated resentment, Naruto was glaring at Sasuke with obvious displeasure, and Sakura seemed completely unfazed by the bickering pair.

"Let's start with self-introductions," Kakashi said. "Tell me your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future... Who wants to go first?"

"Me, me! I'll go first! My name is Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto, ever the showman, immediately jumped at the chance. "I like eating ramen. I hate Sasuke. And my dream is to become a ninja who surpasses even the Hokage, so that everyone will acknowledge me!"

"Okay, next," Kakashi said, his headache growing a little stronger upon hearing Naruto's dislike of Sasuke.

"Sasuke Uchiha. I don't have anything I particularly like, and nothing I really dislike. My dream is to revive the Uchiha clan," Sasuke said coldly.

"Well, I guess I only learned your name, Sasuke," Kakashi said, a bit helplessly. "Next."

"I'm Sakura Haruno. I like traveling the world and tasting different foods. As for dislikes... I don't have any at the moment. My dream is to open a restaurant in Konoha," Sakura said. Three years with Tsunade had turned her into a serious foodie, and she was steadily progressing down that path.

"Alright, you three certainly have… unique personalities. Now, starting tomorrow, we'll begin carrying out missions," Kakashi said.

"Sensei, we still don't know your name," Naruto pointed out, dissatisfied.

"Oh, right, sorry. My name is Kakashi Hatake. From now on, I'm your jonin instructor, and I'll be guiding you from rookie ninjas to full-fledged, independent shinobi," Kakashi said, a bit embarrassed. "So, tomorrow we start our first mission."

"Kakashi-sensei, what kind of mission is it?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Survival training. A survival exercise with just the four of us. This exercise will test whether you're truly qualified to be genin. If you fail, you'll be sent back to the Ninja Academy," Kakashi said, his voice taking on a sinister tone.

"What?! But we already graduated! Why do we have to take another test?" Naruto immediately shouted at Kakashi.

"That was just an exam to select those who might have the potential to become genin. To actually become genin, you need to pass this test. Out of the 27 graduates, only 9 will be recognized as genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy for more training," Kakashi continued in his ominous tone. "This exercise has a failure rate of over 66%. Be prepared to be sent back."

"Gulp," Naruto swallowed hard, intimidated by Kakashi's menacing expression.

"Kakashi-sensei, if there's nothing else, can we leave?" Sakura asked, sounding utterly bored. She wasn't the least bit intimidated by Kakashi's act; it was only Naruto who'd fallen for it.

Kakashi looked at Sakura and felt a wave of defeat wash over him. Was it really a good idea for him to be leading Tsunade-sama's disciple? His carefully crafted atmosphere was completely ruined. He stood up, a bit dejected, and said, "Meet me at the training grounds tomorrow, 5 AM sharp. Remember to bring your ninja tools. Oh, and don't eat breakfast. You'll throw up. Dismissed."

"Sakura-chan, aren't you worried at all?" Naruto asked, watching the completely relaxed Sakura after Kakashi had left.

"Oh, haha~ I am worried. I'm worried Kakashi-sensei will be late tomorrow. He was late today, so who knows if he'll be on time tomorrow," Sakura teased Naruto.

"Aaaah~~~~ Sakura-chan, I barely managed to graduate! I can't get sent back like this!" Naruto clutched his hair in distress.

"Instead of worrying about it here, you should go and train. Hmph, it would be better if you did get sent back. That would mean one less person dragging me down," Sasuke taunted, seeing Naruto's distress.

"What did you say, Sasuke?! You wanna fight? We haven't settled things from earlier!" Naruto rolled up his sleeves, ready to brawl with Sasuke.

"Hmph," Sasuke ignored Naruto, turning and disappearing with a Body Flicker Technique.

Sakura watched Sasuke provoke Naruto and then leave, a bit puzzled. For some reason, she sensed a hint of encouragement in Sasuke's words, as if he were trying to motivate Naruto to train harder.

"So, Naruto, what ninjutsu have you learned these past few years?" Sakura asked. She wasn't sure if Naruto had learned the Shadow Clone Technique yet. If he hadn't, she might have to pull some strings, using Tsunade-sensei's name to get it for him from the Third Hokage.

"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, let me tell you, I learned a super awesome ninjutsu! Watch this!" Naruto, hearing Sakura's question, became excited again. Heh, his mood sure changes quickly.

Naruto made a hand seal, and suddenly, many Narutos appeared. "Hehe, Sakura-chan, these clones are all real. It's a really advanced ninjutsu, the Shadow Clone Technique! Pretty cool, right?"

Seeing the multiple Narutos, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She wouldn't have to intervene after all. "Naruto, I'm leaving. You should train hard. Make sure you use the advantages of this ninjutsu," she said.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, aren't you going to train with me?" Naruto had expected Sakura to be shocked, but her reaction was far from what he'd anticipated, leaving him a bit disappointed.

"Naruto, our styles are different. You need to practice on your own. This ninjutsu is the foundation for you to become Hokage. Go for it, Naruto! I believe in you," Sakura said with a smile. In reality, she wanted to hurry home. She hadn't seen her parents in years, and since returning to the village, she'd been busy with becoming a genin. She wanted to spend some time with them, but she didn't want to discourage Naruto, so she kept that to herself.

"Hehe, alright then, Sakura-chan. See you tomorrow," Naruto said, watching Sakura's retreating figure. He felt a bit lonely again, left to himself. But this feeling didn't last long. Remembering Sakura's words about this ninjutsu being his path to becoming Hokage, he cheered up again.

The next day.

Sakura, of course, didn't arrive early, nor did she skip breakfast. She slept in comfortably, had a refreshing wash, and then enjoyed a delicious breakfast before heading to the training grounds. When she arrived, Sasuke and Naruto were already there, sitting listlessly.

"Sakura-chan, you're finally here! Kakashi-sensei hasn't shown up, and you weren't here either. I'm starving," Naruto greeted her, his voice weak and lacking energy.

Sakura saw that Sasuke was also looking listless, but he remained silent as usual. She smiled and took out the food she'd packed from the breakfast shop. "You two haven't eaten breakfast yet, right? Here, this is for you."

"Sakura-chan, can we eat this? Didn't Kakashi-sensei say not to eat breakfast?" Naruto asked, his eyes glued to the food, his stomach growling even louder.

"Didn't Kakashi-sensei also say to meet at 5 AM, and he still hasn't shown up? It's fine. Sasuke, this one's for you," Sakura said, handing Sasuke a portion of the breakfast.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, but ultimately took it. The exercise was about to start, and if he didn't eat, he might not have enough strength.

Sakura sat down on the ground, waiting for Kakashi's arrival while continuing to accumulate chakra in her Yin Seal. Finally, as it was approaching noon, Kakashi arrived, fashionably late.