Naruto was much more important than getting the bells. Concentrating your chakra, you fashioned several shadow clones and sent them hurtling towards Kakashi as a distraction. You instructed one of them to toss one of the kunai that was on the ground at you, because you didn't have any left. While your clones confronted Kakashi, you jumped onto the memorial stone beside Naruto.

"Hey, [Name]-chan!" he said brightly. "You've come to rescue me?"

"Yeah," you replied, panting. You tried to sever the ropes binding his body, but it was difficult to cut through the thick fibres without ending up hurting Naruto in the process. You had to do it slowly and carefully. "How did you end up like this anyways?"

He blushed. "Well, sensei was pretending to be me ever since I was tricked by those bells under the tree. He put me under a genjutsu, and when I escaped, I found lunch." He pointed at the bento boxes stacked neatly on the memorial stone beside him.

"I see…he had me fooled the entire time," you muttered, hacking through the last of the ropes and freeing Naruto.

"[Name]!" Kakashi's booming voice from behind made the both of you jump violently.

"Y-yes sensei?" you asked timidly, turning around. You flinched. Kakashi looked absolutely furious.

"Naruto broke the rules by trying to eat lunch in secret, and I tied him up for a reason. You're supposed to focus on getting these bells, not helping those who don't listen!"

"I'm sorry, sensei!" you squeaked, shielding your face with your hands. "You see, Naruto and I were working together, and I can't just leave him behind…"

A flicker of emotion crossed the visible part of Kakashi's face, but it was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. "That's no excuse," he said flatly.

You hung your head, your kunai slipping from your slack grip. "I'm sorry," you repeated. "I didn't know Naruto broke the rules, and I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to help him."

"Sorry [Name]-chan," Naruto said quietly. "It's all my fault."

The alarm went off.

"Time's up," Kakashi said conversationally. "Naruto, you'll be tied to the stump for trying to eat lunch early. And [Name], you'll also be tied to the stump for trying to help him."

-:-

You squirmed in your bindings, disliking the feeling of the coarse ropes chafing against your skin. You wished Kakashi would hurry up and finish talking, so that Sakura and Sasuke could eat their lunch. Then, you would be untied. Hopefully.

"None of you will need to return to the Academy."

"Really?!" Naruto cried, delighted.

Your eyes widened. "But you said if we ended up tied to the log, we would fail! Does that mean…"

"What? But all I did was scream and faint," Sakura said, her eyebrows raised. "Was that okay?" A smile lit up her face and she began to jump joyfully up and down.

"Yeah…you four," Kakashi said, smiling slightly. "Are being dropped from the program!"

You and Sakura froze. Sasuke stopped breathing.

"W-what do you mean?" Naruto ventured, looking positively furious. "We couldn't get a bell, but why?!"

"Because you are just kids who don't deserve to be ninjas."

From beside you, you felt Sasuke stiffen. In a flash, he had leapt to his feet, running at Kakashi and radiating an aura of killer intent.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura gasped.

Kakashi flicked Sasuke aside, pinning him to the ground in effortless ease. "See? You four are just kids."

"Don't step on Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screeched, waving her arms around madly.

Kakashi ignored her protests, still holding Sasuke's arm at an uncomfortable angle behind his back. "Do you think being a ninja is easy? Why are we training by breaking up into groups of three, and in our case, four? You don't understand the answer to this test. Naruto and [Name] have barely scratched the surface, but that's not enough. Going halfway in a real mission will never cut it! Don't you understand why you're in a group of four?!"

"So…what about it?" Sakura asked, her voice trembling slightly. "W-we've been meaning to ask you, sensei."

"Teamwork. Not just partial teamwork, but for all of you to cooperate, as a genin squad! But it's too late for you to notice now. If you four had come at me all at once, you might've stood a chance. This test tries to put you all against each other, by there only being three bells when there are four people. This training exercise is meant to select genin with one specific trait – those who can prioritize teamwork before themselves. Sakura!" Kakashi barked, causing her to jump. "All you cared about was Sasuke, and you didn't bother yourself with Naruto and [Name]'s well being when they were right in front of you."

Sakura hung her head, ashamed.

"Naruto and [Name]! All you did was work together as a pair, not considering the rest of your team in the process." You and Naruto slumped guiltily in your respective restraints.

"And Sasuke!" Kakashi looked down at the Uchiha trapped under his foot who gave him a scathing glare. "And you decided to do everything by yourself, because you believed that the others were too weak and would only burden you. Missions are done in groups, because teamwork is more important than individual ability. The inability to cooperate can lead to severe consequences, such as the injury or the death of a teammate. For example…Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke dies!"

He held a kunai to Sasuke's throat and eyed Sakura, gauging her reaction. She flinched, her hand flying to her mouth. Naruto made a choked sound and tried to scoot as far away from her as possible in the limited space set by the ropes.

"That's what will happen," Kakashi said serenely, retracting the blade from Sasuke's neck.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, I thought you were serious."

"If someone is taken hostage, you will be faced with a difficult situation. Someone will die. In every mission, you put your life on the line." Kakashi pointed at the memorial stone. "Look at all the names carved into this stone. They are all praised as heroes in this village. But they're not normal heroes…they are those who are K.I.A."

He paused, letting that sink in. A horrible feeling of realization washed over you. Something must have happened…for Kakashi-sensei to be so strongly adhered to the idea of teamwork. Your eyes closed of their own accord.

"The names of my closest friends…are carved here as well."

You stared at the ground, pity filling your heart. What would it have been like, to suffer through that? "Kakashi-sensei…" you whispered.

He turned, and his visible eye was like flint, hard and cold. "I'll give you one more chance. However, this test will be much harsher after lunch. Eat only if you are up to the challenge. But Naruto and [Name] are not allowed to eat. It will be their punishment for breaking the rules. If anyone feeds either of them, that person will immediately fail. I make the rules here, got it?" He added, seeing everyone's stricken faces.

Kakashi turned on his heel and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Sakura and Sasuke lifted their bento boxes gingerly from the ground and opened them. They ate in silence, and Naruto and your stomachs grumbled loudly as background noise.

"I'm okay, even if I don't eat! I can go without food for days!" Naruto declared, but his stomach growled again, and his shoulders sagged. Sasuke paused, then handed him his bento.

"Here."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Huh…?"

"But Sasuke-kun, sensei just said –" Sakura objected, her chopsticks poised mid-bite.

"Don't worry, I don't sense him nearby. Naruto, when you're done, give it to [Name]. The four of us are going to have to get the bells together. It's only going to slow the team down if you two go hungry."

Sakura bit her lip and looked at you, her expression softening. "From the looks of it, Naruto probably needs all the food he can get. Here, [Name]. You can have mine."

Your eyes widened at the unexpected generosity. "Are you sure…?"

She nodded. "I'm on a diet…I mean, well, I don't eat that much anyways. Just take it, hurry!"

Glad that your hands were free, you took the bento gratefully in your hands and took a tentative bite of rice. At the same time, Naruto bit into Sasuke's meal and a strong gust of wind blew across the field, blowing the box of food out of your hands. The four of you shielded your faces as an unnatural cloud of smoke burst from the ground, and Kakashi's face emerged, looming in front of you.

"You four!" he growled. "You broke the rules. Are you prepared for your punishment?" He performed a series of hand seals and the clouds in the sky darkened ominously. "Any last words?"

The ground began to tremble.

Read Chapter 23, then return to this page.

"Because the four of us are one…" You heard Sakura say, her voice trembling but filled with determination. Your eyes fluttered open.

"Kakashi-sensei, what did you do to [Name]-chan!" Naruto's voice was frantic, jarring you awake. "Tell me, what did you –"

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke's irritable voice came from somewhere to the left. "She's awake."

"That's your excuse?" Kakashi asked threateningly. "The four of you are one?"

"We're all in this squad, and we're all in this together," Sasuke stated, his voice hard. Naruto gave a vigorous nod.

"You pass."

Kakashi must have seen the shock in all of your faces because he went on to explain that Team 7 was the first squad to have ever passed. You listened quietly, something tugging on your heart.

"We'll start our first mission tomorrow," he finished, tossing a kunai at you. "And free yourself and Naruto will you?"

You nodded, catching the knife precariously in one hand. Then you proceeded to slash through the thick ropes, feeling relieved.

"I did it! I'm a ninja!" Naruto declared importantly, squirming in his bindings.

"Stop moving, Naruto," you complained. "It's hard enough trying to cut these ropes without you wriggling around."

"Ah, sorry [Name]-chan," he apologized.

"[Name], come on!" Sakura called. She was waiting for you, but drifting away as Sasuke moved farther and farther into the distance.

"Coming!"

Which one of the following applies to you, to a greater degree?

Missions shmissions, you’d much rather be spending your time elsewhere. You'll complete them if necessary, but it doesn't mean you like it. Go to Chapter 72.