"It seems like it's not that easy to explain..."
"Remember what I said…"
"Ninjas exist to complete missions. Those who break the rules and abandon missions are called failures. However…"
"Those who don't value their comrades are even worse than failures."
Kakashi's calm yet heavy words echoed deeply in the hearts of Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata. The three of them quietly absorbed his meaning, each interpreting it in their own way. The breeze brushing through the training field seemed to grow still as the weight of his philosophy sank in.
Naruto couldn't help himself. Curiosity overflowed from his wide blue eyes.
"Kakashi-sensei… do you have comrades too?"
"Hm?"
Kakashi rubbed his nose lightly. His gaze unfocused for a moment, drifting somewhere far away, as if he were looking into the past rather than at the students in front of him. After a brief silence, he returned to reality.
"Well," he finally said, "I used to."
"A friend of mine told me those words."
Naruto swallowed, suddenly nervous. "Where… where is he now?"
Kakashi's eye curved slightly, but the smile did not reach his voice.
"He's not here anymore."
Naruto felt his heart tremble.
To lose a comrade… and yet speak of it so quietly—was Kakashi simply that strong, or had the pain carved itself so deeply into him that he could no longer outwardly react to it?
Whatever the answer, Naruto didn't dare continue pressing.
Kakashi reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair as the heavy atmosphere eased a little.
"There's no need to look so serious," he said with a gentle chuckle. "Anyway… as of today, Team 7 is officially established."
The three of them brightened noticeably.
"And starting tomorrow, you will begin taking real missions."
"At the same training ground, tomorrow morning at seven o'clock sharp."
With that, Kakashi turned around. As he walked away, he casually pulled out his beloved Icha Icha Paradise from his pouch, opened it to the bookmarked page, and resumed reading without even looking back. He waved lazily with one hand.
Naruto and Hinata stared at his retreating figure before exchanging a look.
"Hey, Hinata… don't you think Kakashi-sensei is kind of weird?"
Hinata nodded shyly.
"Yes… although he's really strong, his personality is… um… a little unusual."
Naruto pouted. "He acts all lazy and doesn't seem to care about anything."
Hinata looked at him, her lavender eyes full of gentle thoughtfulness.
"No… I don't think he doesn't care. I feel like Kakashi-sensei must have gone through something very painful. Something dark… something terrible. Maybe he acts like he doesn't care because he's suppressing all of it deep inside."
Naruto stared at her in surprise.
"Wow, Hinata! You're so thoughtful and observant! You noticed all that?"
Hinata immediately blushed and waved both hands in embarrassment.
"N-No, that's not it at all… I was just guessing…"
Before the two could continue, Sasuke walked past them with his hands stuffed in his pockets, giving them a cold, annoyed glance. He clearly had no interest in watching them talk.
Hinata blinked. "Sasuke… are you leaving already?"
He didn't answer, nor did he slow down.
"That guy!" Naruto shouted after him. "He always acts like he's better than everyone else!"
Hinata covered her mouth and let out a tiny, muffled laugh.
"What's so funny?" Naruto asked suspiciously.
Hinata looked down shyly.
"Um… Naruto-kun… even though you say things like that… you actually care a lot about Sasuke, don't you?"
Naruto immediately froze.
"ME?! Care about that arrogant jerk?! Yeah right!"
Hinata smiled gently at his flustered reaction.
"Even if you won't admit it, deep down… you see Sasuke as both a rival and a friend, right? You want to surpass him, defeat him, and prove yourself to him. But he's also the person whose acknowledgment you want the most."
Naruto's face went stiff as Hinata exposed his true thoughts with perfect accuracy.
"A-Ahaha… is that so? I guess, uh… maybe… a little..."
Hinata continued softly.
"And I think Sasuke feels the same toward you. As you saw in today's assessment, if you two cooperated… you would be truly unstoppable."
Naruto thought back to their combined jutsu:
Wind Release: Gale Palm merging with
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique—
the roaring, blazing storm that erupted was unlike anything he had seen.
He knew Hinata and Kakashi were right. But of course, admitting it would be another matter entirely.
"Who would cooperate with a proud, stuck-up guy like him?!" Naruto declared loudly.
Hinata giggled.
"By the way… Naruto-kun… since we're officially comrades now… we should work well together too."
Blushing furiously, she gathered her courage and reached out her small hand.
"So… please take care of me, Naruto-kun."
Naruto's expression softened as he grasped her hand.
"Yeah! You too, Hinata!"
Her face turned completely red, her heart pounding so fast she could barely stand it. She pulled her hand back in a panic and ran off.
"G-Goodbye, Naruto-kun! See you tomorrow!"
Naruto stood there, dumbfounded, his hand still extended.
"Hinata… sometimes she's really weird…"
He placed his hands behind his head and began casually strolling out of the training ground. But despite his relaxed gait, his mind was full and restless.
The memories of the battle, Kakashi's words, and Hinata's gentle observations replayed over and over again.
The loser he used to be… the one everyone ignored… had now become a recognized ninja, even praised as a genius by some.
Only Naruto knew how much suffering, how much sweat, how much life-threatening training he had endured to get here.
And he hadn't done it alone.
Iruka-sensei… Hinata… Lee… Guy-sensei… Asuma-sensei… and, annoyingly enough, even that jerk Sasuke.
Sasuke… if he weren't around, would I have pushed myself this far?
Would I have trained this hard?
And if they worked together…
Would they really be unbeatable?
That astonishing power created when Wind and Fire merged… it still amazed him.
"Damn it… Sasuke…"
Naruto muttered to himself as Sasuke's smug face popped into his mind.
"That Double-Tomoe Sharingan… whatever it is, it must be crazy strong."
"Looks like that bastard has gotten way stronger."
"I can't let myself fall behind!"
At the same moment, Sasuke was having almost the exact same thoughts.
"Shadow Clone… Multi Shadow Clone… his Taijutsu… his Wind Release…"
"That failure… that idiot… he's growing stronger. Terrifyingly fast."
His fists tightened.
"I will not lose to him. Never."
Back on his way home, Naruto suddenly sneezed.
"Hah-choo! That jerk Sasuke must be bad-mouthing me again…"
After returning home, Naruto ate a hasty lunch and prepared for the next important step:
his official ninja registration.
Now that he had passed Kakashi's bell test and become a Genin, he needed to have his information formally recorded. It was required so he could take missions in the future.
Since becoming a ninja was a major milestone, the registration had to be personally approved by the Hokage.
Despite gaining so much strength, Naruto's basic personality remained unchanged.
When taking his identification photo, he made a silly face and drew ridiculous doodles on it.
When he handed the ID to the Hokage, he proudly expected praise.
Instead, Hiruzen took one long look at it, pipe in his mouth, brows deeply furrowed.
"Take it again."
"WHAT?! Why?!"
Hiruzen spoke sternly.
"Ninja identification, information, and records are extremely important. These documents represent your qualification to accept missions in the future. You must treat them seriously."
He puffed his pipe once and added,
"You, Sasuke, and Hinata passing Kakashi's test is indeed impressive. That man has… destroyed several teams in a row, after all."
"But that does not mean you are allowed to act irresponsibly."
Naruto huffed. "Do I really have to retake it?"
Then a mischievous idea lit up in his eyes.
He prepared to use the Sexy Technique right there—
But before he could do anything—
"Grandpa! Let's fight to the death!"
A small figure rushed forward holding a shuriken, screaming bravely.
Before he got anywhere close, his long scarf wound around his legs and sent him crashing face-first into the floor.
"Ow ow ow…!"
He clutched his head dramatically.
"As expected of the Hokage! Such a devious trap!"
Naruto stared at him blankly.
Just then, a ninja in dark clothing appeared behind the boy.
"Konohamaru-sama! You must not disturb the Hokage's work!"
And so, Naruto's peaceful registration came to an abrupt end.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)