Kill a certain man!

The classroom was empty.

Team 7 remained, sitting in total silence as they waited for their mysteriously absent sensei. The room had an eerie stillness to it, the kind that made time feel slow and unbearable.

Naruto was sprawled out across his desk, arms dangling off the sides like a dying man. "Hhhhhhgggggggghhhhhh… how long has it been?"

Sasuke, seated with his arms crossed, didn't even bother answering.

Sakura, perched in her chair with effortless composure, remained silent. Her posture was perfect. Her breathing was even. The hood of her combat hoodie cast a faint shadow over her eyes, adding an extra layer of mystery to her presence.

Her shinobi flak jacket was still pristine.

Her senbon twirled lazily between her fingers, the metallic glint reflecting faintly in the classroom's dim lighting.

Naruto groaned again. "This is the worst. We're literally the last team here! What kinda Sensei makes their new team wait this long?!"

Sasuke let out a barely audible "Tch."

Sakura adjusted her sleeve.

Ding!

[Aura System]

+2 Aura Points gained.

(Farming Method: Passive Coolness in the Face of Annoyance.)

Naruto suddenly sat up, a devious glint in his eye. "Alright, you know what? If our sensei's gonna be late, we might as well get him back!"

Sasuke didn't react.

Sakura tilted her head slightly. "…Oh?"

Naruto grinned and darted toward the door, grabbing the eraser from the chalkboard ledge. He stood on his tiptoes and wedged it carefully at the top of the doorframe, balancing it just right so it would fall the moment someone opened it.

Then, he jumped back, cackling. "Hah! There! When he finally shows up, bam! Chalk to the face!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That's stupid."

Sakura exhaled quietly, the faintest trace of amusement flickering through her otherwise unreadable expression.

She could warn him.

But… where was the fun in that?

She leaned back in her seat, arms crossed, completely calm.

Naruto noticed. "Ohhhh, I get it! You're in on it too, huh?"

She didn't answer.

She just smirked.

Ding!

[Aura System]

+5 Aura Points gained.

(Farming Method: Smirking Mysteriously Instead of Answering.)

Sasuke, who had been watching, frowned slightly.

That smirk… why did it feel so annoying?

He didn't like this. He didn't like this at all.

Their sensei better show up soon.

The eraser sat precariously at the top of the doorframe, Naruto's masterpiece of a prank.

But what Naruto didn't know—what neither he nor Sasuke had noticed—was that Sakura had already upgraded the trap.

It was subtle. Silent. 

Executed flawlessly while Naruto was too busy gloating and Sasuke was too busy pretending to be annoyed.

A single senbon had been embedded into the wooden doorframe, placed at just the right angle. Attached to it? A strand of ninja wire, nearly invisible unless you knew where to look.

The wire extended across the doorway, looped in a precise pattern that led to a second senbon, which was delicately suspending a chalkboard eraser soaked in powdered ink.

An item which she had long since perched into the door frame whilst the others were distracted.

The moment someone triggered the first eraser? The second, much worse eraser, would drop as well.

One prank, secretly doubled in severity.

And now… it was time.

The door clicked.

A soft creak echoed through the classroom as the door slowly slid open.

For a fraction of a second, there was nothing. Just silence.

And then…

*PLOP*

The first eraser, Naruto's original trap, fell.

There was a light thump as it bounced off the head of an unfamiliar man, landing on the floor. A moment of stillness followed.

Then, just as the man tilted his head slightly…

*FWUMP*

The second, ink-soaked eraser dropped from above, hitting him squarely on the top of his silver-haired head. A dark cloud of fine, inky dust exploded into the air, covering his entire face mask and hair in pitch-black powder.

Silence.

Naruto froze.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

The man stood still, letting the dust settle, before slowly, very slowly, reaching up and wiping away just enough powder to see.

Sakura, who had already settled comfortably into her chair again, sat in complete, undisturbed silence.

Ding!

[Aura System]

+5 Aura Points gained.

(Farming Method: Ninja Trap Precision & Absolute Lack of Reaction.)

The Jonin sighed. "...My first impression of you all?" His voice was flat, nearly emotionless.

"…I hate you."

Sakura's smirk was barely perceptible.

Sasuke turned his head slightly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

Naruto, on the other hand, was too busy laughing his ass off. "HAHAHA! NO WAY! IT WORKED EVEN BETTER THAN I THOUGHT!"

Kakashi ran a hand through his completely ruined hair, inhaling deeply. Then, without another word, he turned on his heel and walked back out.

"…Meet me on the roof in five minutes," he said, before vanishing.

A beat of silence.

Naruto was vibrating with joy. "THAT WAS AMAZING! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! HE FELL FOR IT SO HARD!"

Sasuke, meanwhile, was staring directly at Sakura.

His Sharingan hadn't awakened yet, but even without it, he knew one thing for sure.

There was no way in hell that had been Naruto's prank alone.

His gaze bored into her, searching for any kind of confirmation.

Sakura, completely unbothered, adjusted her sleeve and stood.

Ding!

[Aura System]

+5 Aura Points gained.

(Farming Method: Pretending Not to Notice You're Being Watched.)

"…Let's go," she murmured, and without another word, she walked out of the classroom.

Naruto scrambled after her. "RIGHT! Time to meet our new sensei!!"

Sasuke lingered for a second, still deep in thought.

Then, he followed.

By the time Sakura had reached the roof, Naruto was already yelling something at Sasuke, the contents of his disagreement being something she had no concern over.

Such auraless behaviour… it was beneath her.

Kakashi was perched onto a railing, with a book open in one hand, its title clear to all who bestowed upon it even the slightest second of attention.

Icha Icha Paradise.

The trees scattered around on the rooftop, planted years ago by older graduated classes swayed with the wind, leaves scattering.

Sakura's hair lazily moved with the wind, the Presence pill still affecting everything about her. It lasted for the entire day meaning that her passive aura farming was still in progress.

Eventually they all arrived at the rooftop, sitting as Kakashi leisurely read his smut in peace.

Being strong enough to read such a book in a public place… in front of minors no less.

Sakura closed her eyes and smirked.

Truly the pinnacle of Aura. She clearly had much to learn

"Now… how about you all introduce yourselves?"

"How about you introduce yourself?" Naruto huffed.

Sasuke scoffed, seeming to be carrying the sentiment that the Jonin sensei they had been assigned to was completely useless.

Such ignorance.

Kakashi carried on, seemingly unaware of the impressions he'd given the two.

"Hm? Me?" He tapped his chin thoughtfully, then shrugged. "Well… I'm Kakashi Hatake. I don't feel like talking about my likes or dislikes, to be honest. As for my dreams…" He paused for a moment, as if contemplating something deep. "I have a few hobbies."

Sasuke didn't react, his eyes narrowing slightly, probably thinking this was the most pointless introduction he'd ever heard. 

Naruto, on the other hand, scratched his head in frustration. "He said a lot of words, but none of them mean anything…" he muttered under his breath.

Sakura didn't respond, keeping her eyes focused on Kakashi whilst he lazily blinked his eye.

"Now it's your turn." He instructed.

Of course, Naruto spoke first.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like cup ramen but I like the ramen at Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei bought for me more. I hate the three minutes I have to wait to boil up the ramen. My hobby is to eat and compare ramen. And my dream…"

Sakura exhaled lightly as she closed her eyes. The air almost seemed to shift.

"... is to become the Hokage! And then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last!"

Kakashi and the rest of them stayed silent as they let his words sink in.

The words of a protagonist, inspiring. 

And then Kakashi nodded his head for the next one to speak.

Sasuke looked like he was about to speak next, but before he could open his mouth, Sakura spoke, her gaze unwavering.

"I'm Sakura Haruno," she said, her voice calm but sharp. "What I like and what I hate isn't important right now. My goal…" She paused, letting the words settle in the air. "My goal isn't just a dream. It's an ambition."

Sakura clenched her fist, her eyes narrowing as a breeze whipped through her hair, creating an almost cinematic effect. 

The shadows seemed to deepen around her, and her eyes gleamed with a cold, focused intensity.

"I aim to surpass…" she began, her tone darkening even further, "… and to kill a certain man."

The entire rooftop fell silent.

Naruto blinked, confusion spreading across his face, while Sasuke stiffened ever so slightly, his eyes narrowing in disbelief.

Wait—what?

A few seconds passed in stunned silence. Kakashi, of course, didn't miss a beat, his expression unreadable as always.

But Sasuke… Sasuke was the one who's eyebrow twitched in frustration.

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