Chapter Text
Kakashi glanced down at the list of students he had been assigned by the Hokage, maintaining his normally relaxed perspective. The names listed to him were Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno, which didn’t particularly surprise the jonin considering the village's habit of putting the dead last with the top students. He, like the other jonin present, had spent the last week observing the newly minted genin, in order to get an idea of their skills and in case the jonin wanted to change groups. Despite his supposed lazy habits, such as being late and putting in minimal effort, few people understood that this was mostly a ruse in order to bring people’s guards down. Besides, getting a good idea of each of his potential students was important. He already knew he would get the Last Uchiha, and had the Hokage decided to honor his request Naruto Uzumaki should he pass.
As the Kakashi glanced back up the Hokage asked, “Will these teams work for the 3 of you.” Asuma cigarette sitting in its usual spot nodded his head, as Kurenai, the youngest of the three jonin, confirmed quietly.
Kakashi sighed and said in his usual laidback tone, “I want to switch Sakura Haruno with Hinata Hyuga.”
The Hokage raised his eyebrows as Kurenai protested, “You already have the Last Uchiha as well as the…” She trailed off remembering the rule placed by the Hokage nearly 13 years ago, before continuing, “Besides what’s wrong with Haruno? Besides with your usual attitude I’m concerned you won’t take the young girl’s training seriously”
The Hokage nodded and replied, “Not to mention it is common to put the two top genins with the dead last Kakashi, it would be quite the change in tradition.”
Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly and said, “That’s true, but Haruno shows a high aptitude in Genjutsu, and while I have some skill in the field, she would likely become much stronger under a Genjutsu specialist like you Kurenai. Besides, I have concerns about her and Sasuke considering how the two interact.” He gave his friendliest smile hoping the newer jonin wouldn’t probe further. In honesty while the young girl’s specialization certainly played a role in his request he only confirmed it after seeing two things. One was the girl’s obsession with the last Uchiha, which he had already observed often interfered with her training as she saw the boy’s affections more important than training her skills. Two was Hinata Hyuga herself, he noticed quickly that the girl clearly held some affection for Naruto, however unlike Haruno she allowed these feelings to increase her strength. Not to mention it was pretty clear Haruno got under Sasuke’s skin potentially even more than Naruto did. Asuma shook his head, chuckling to himself as he watched the discussion with mild amusement.
Kurenai sighed as the Hokage clearly noted Kakashi was holding something back before asking, “That is a good point, would you be okay with this Kurenai.”
Kurenai gave the Hokage one last look, before sighing in defeat and replying, “Fine Hatake, but you owe me big time.”
Kakashi gave his usual smile before nodding, “It's much appreciated Kurenai, I’ll be sure to pay you back.” He offered the female jonin Sakura Haruno’s file, before trading it with the Hyuga heiress’.
Kurenai looked as though she already regretted the decision as the Hokage said, “Alright I’ll make sure the academy knows of the change, and with that everyone but Kakashi are dismissed.” With that last comment the two special jounin used shunshin, disappearing from the room.
As Kakashi remained in the office the Hokage sighed and said, “I have a request of you for this team Kakashi,” The Hokage waited for Kakashi to nodded before stating, “I want you to turn these three into the best shinobi possible, sending them back to the academy is out of the picture when you consider the three who now make up this team.” Kakashi could understand why he said that, considering his team has the Heiress of the Hyuga Clan, the Last Loyal Uchiha, and the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi.
The Hokage continued, “I have high hopes for all three of them, and I’m allowing you to take whatever measures necessary to train them, as many resources you need, as well as exempting them from D-ranks if necessary.” Kakashi smiled at that, realizing that the Hokage wanted from this group.
Kakashi nodded and said, “I will certainly fulfill your request Lord 3rd to the best of my ability.” Kakashi glanced down at the three that now made up his team, reminding him of his own former team. Specifically Sasuke and Naruto, and perhaps that was why he was so eager to drop Sakura Haruno onto Kurenai, to hopefully avoid another… No, it's best not to think about that. He just had to make sure that these three were all prepared for the horrors of the Shinobi world so they would not fall victim like his team did.
Lord 3rd smiled sadly and said, “You are dismissed as well Kakashi.” With that Kakashi used shunshin to leave the room, deciding he had a few more places to visit before he greeted his new minions.
.--.
Naruto looked at his new sensei as they sat on the roof of the school building, after nearly waiting all day as well as falling for a prank Naruto had set up, he wasn't very impressed. But then again Naruto had to remind himself he wasn’t the best judge, based off of how easily he had been manipulated by Mizuki into the scroll. Heck if this guy was a jounin he would probably kick Naruto’s ass considering how he barely defeated Mizuki, even after the Chunin was exhausted from fighting Iruka. He guessed their sensei wasn’t impressed with any of them either judging from his bored expression and the fact he hadn’t even looked up from his book.
After a long period of silence the Jounin snapped the book shut and scanned his students before saying dryly, “I am Kakashi Hatake your jounin and sensei, usually I’d do introduction and I’d give you the place to meet tomorrow, but considering the people on this team I’m not sure if its even worthwhile.” Naruto wanted to yell but settled for a glare as the jounin looked over at them once more, and he even thought he heard Sasuke grumble while Hinata let out a small whimper.
Kakashi snapped his attention to Sasuke, “You are arrogant, and while yes you are talented any chunin or genin worth their salt would kick you to the curb. Not to mention your teamwork is abysmal considering the way you’ve treated your other classmates.” Sasuke glared at the jounin, who merely returned the look in kind, cowing the Last Uchiha.
Kakashi then turned to Hinata, “You have a lot of talent as well, however you’re far too doubtful of your own abilities, leading to any skill you have being totally useless.” Hinata ducked her head quickly before uttering a quiet apology.
Kakashi finally looked at Naruto, “And where to begin with you, you're nearly as arrogant as Sasuke without any of the skill to back it up, you're loud and disrespectful towards authority, you barely managed to pass the academy exam.” Naruto opened his mouth to protest before shutting it seeing the look the one eyed ninja gave him as well. He noticed Sasuke smirking at him, causing Naruto to glare at him.
Kakashi stepped forward once more gathering their attention as he continued, “But despite all that, this team certainly has potential, but only if you three do everything I say and you all work together. Teamwork will be the most important aspect you will need to learn. Compared to the other teams, the training you will endure will be utter hell. If any of you want to back out now, you’re free too.”
The three genin went silent before Naruto took a deep breath and said loudly, “Of course not, I’m gonna be Hokage one day and this is just the next step on the road to it.”
Sasuke was the next to answer with, “Hn, This is the only way forward for me.”
Hinata the final stuttered a bit over her words before stating, “Y-yes I will stay as w-well.” Kakashi smiled once more as he scanned the group once more, this time more less cold.
Kakashi looked between them and asked, “Now as you should now you guys are Team 7, do any of you understand the significance of this team in Konoha’s history.”
As the three all shook their heads Kakashi sighs and says, “Maa no respect for history, Anyways the first team 7 was trained under the 2nd Hokage and contained councilors Homura and Koharu as well as Lord 3rd. The next iteration was, as you all should know, the three legendary Sannin Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade who were trained by the 3rd Hokage. After that was Jiraiya’s and contained Minato Namikaze the 4th Hokage, Fugaku Uchiha, and another ninja whose name slips my mind. After that was Minato Namikaze’s team, containing Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, and me. And that brings me to the current team 7. So to put it simply there are quite the expectations on your shoulders for you each to perform.” Naruto noticed Sasuke perked up more at the mention of Fugaku Uchiha. Naruto on the other hand was amazed by the number of powerful Shinobi that had once bore this team's name, only to suddenly feel nervous that he wouldn’t be able to live up to the expectations of Jiji or this history. However these thoughts were quickly shoved aside as he reminded himself of his dream.
After letting that set in Kakashi said, “Alright tomorrow the three of you will meet me at Ground 12 tomorrow. Make sure not to eat breakfast or you’ll definitely puke, understand?” After receiving nods of confirmation Kakashi dismissed them as he used shunshin. Naruto stood up to leave as he considered what Kakashi had said about teamwork, wondering if he would be able to work with people like Sasuke and Hinata. Shaking his head the boy decided he would need to train as like he sensei said he was the weakest in the group even with his advanced jutsu. Even he wasn’t that much of a full when it came to his actual skills.
.--.
Sasuke made his way back to the Uchiha district more annoyed than usual. As much as the Uchiha hated to admit what his new sensei had said to him wounded his pride, not that he’d ever outwardly admit it. He gritted his teeth as he remembered Kakashi's words about teamwork, after all teamwork wasn’t going to help him kill his brother. The worst part for him was that the words of his sensei rang true somewhere deep inside him. He pushed aside those thoughts as he wondered what kind of training they would do tomorrow. As long as it would prepare him to fight his brother he didn’t care what it was. He ignored the looks of pity people gave him as he entered the district that once was filled with his clansmen before that night. As he glanced around the compound he felt an empty pit in his stomach as he quickly shuffled towards his family’s former home. As he entered inside, greeted by the empty house he considered his teammates, Naruto was loud and annoying for sure, but he would be lying if he didn’t have some respect for the boy’s determination. Hinata on the other hand, well she was pretty clearly gonna be a liability if she didn’t grow a backbone soon. Though if she did she might be a worthwhile training partner considering the Hyuga were one of the few clans who could hold a candle to the Uchiha.
.--.
Hinata made her way back to the Hyuga compound nervous as she thought about the words of her new sensei. She always knew she had confidence issues, it was part of the reason he admired Naruto so much. After all, it's why her father passed her up for Hanabi as the future clan leader. She walked past the guards who hardly acknowledged her presence as she made her way to her home. As she stepped inside she was coldly regarded by her father, as she made her way to the room to wait for dinner. As she stepped into her room she felt some elation flood her body as the events of today set in. Not only was she officially a ninja and including that she was actually on a team with Naruto. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Sasuke being on her team. Unlike the other girls in class she never really was interested in the boy nor did she really understand why he was so popular with the other girls. She laid out on her sleeping mat as more thoughts floated through her mind.
.--.
As morning came, Kakashi was pleasantly surprised to see all three of his minions. Hinata and Sasuke arrived first as expected, though much to his surprise Naruto, notoriously late, actually arrived before the time. Perhaps it was a testament to his conversation he had with them yesterday, or perhaps even the kids' determination to succeed. Kakashi fiddled with a pair of bells in his hand as he decided to wait to join his students. Like most jounin, he planned to test the team before he officially chose to be their sensei. Little did his minions know their test had already begun, not that Kakashi would let them know, after all shinobi should always be able to see underneath the underneath. He sighed slightly as he watched an awkward silence set into the group after they exchanged greetings. He waited a bit longer to see if anything would change, before he sighed in disappointment he used shunshin.
As he appeared in front of the group and said, “Good morning you guys.”
Just as he finished Naruto pointed an accusing finger before yelling, “What the hell sensei, you told us to be here at 7 in the morning and you were an hour late!” Sasuke merely looked at the jonin with disinterest while Hinata gave a shy wave to him, looking like she wanted to say something but maintaining her silence.
Kakashi gave his best surprised look and said, “Maa sorry I was busy helping my elderly neighbor get her groceries.”
Sasuke grunted and said, “Hn, how are we supposed to believe what you said yesterday when you can’t even arrive on time on the first day?”
Kakashi internally smirked at the boy’s comment before saying, “Well moving on today you guys will be taking your final exam to officially become genin.”
Naruto's face went from anger to shock as he yelled, “What the hell?! I thought we passed the final exam during the graduation test.” Hinata nervously nodded shifting her feet uncomfortably as Sasuke glowered annoyed.
Kakashi smiled with his one exposed eye and said, “Well you see while yes you did pass the graduation exam that doesn’t mean you're totally fit to be a shinobi after all. Don’t worry this will be an easy test. You just have to take one of these bells from me.” He held out the two silver bells jingling slightly.
Naruto seemed at a loss for words as Hinata finally spoke up, “B-but if that’s the case… then one of us will have to go back.”
Kakashi nodded sagely and said, “That’s correct, after all it would be way too exhausting trying to train 3 genins. Once you guys get the bells we’ll stop for lunch.” The three were left confused at the total 180 from what the man says is necessary.
The three took prepared stances as Kakashi said, “Alright GO!” Kakashi jumped back, taking his eyes off his students. When he looked back he saw that only Naruto was left, not particularly surprising Kakashi.
As the blonde kid drew his Kunai as Kakashi asked, “Not going to hide Naruto? That’s surprising, do you really think you can beat me head to head?”
The blonde placed his hands in a cross seal and said smiling, “Probably not if you're really some crazy powerful jonin. But I can try to buy some time for my teammates. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu !” In a burst of smoke Kakashi was quite surprised to see 10 Naruto’s standing in the field. It took Kakashi by surprise for all of 5 seconds, he had heard from Iruka that Naruto could make an insane amount of clones and that he had mastered Shadow Clones. Considering his body’s roommate though that was also not so surprising. Kakashi boredly yawned as he pulled out his book, hearing an annoyed grunt from the boy. He easily deflected a kick from one clone easily popping with a quick strike. Another clone was easily dispatched by a kick as they jumped for his leg. As the two clones were dispatched so easily the other 8 clones backed off clearly trying to determine their next move. Naruto glared at him when Kakashi, seeing the boy wasn’t going to rush him again, jumped forward quickly drawing some shuriken. With 8 quick throws the shuriken easily hit the clones as he watched Naruto substituted with a log using kawarimi. He then spun around drawing his kunai, blocking a shuriken thrown by Naruto from his new spot under a tree. As Kakashi confirmed the other two students' locations he easily dodged out of the way as a kunai that was thrown from who he assumed was Sasuke.
He heard another loud Kage Bunshin no Jutsu as Kakashi began to spin, surprised that Naruto summoned at least 19 clones this time. As the 19 Naruto’s charged towards him, he noticed that one Naruto was missing. He actually set down one of his books as he looked around for the missing blonde, when he noticed an orange blur appear behind him delivering a punch. He grabbed Naruto’s fist, before swinging the blonde into his other clones before tossing the boy up and kicking him, sending him hard into a nearby tree. With a loud grunt Naruto slumped against a tree, as he stumbled to his feet he growled clearly annoyed that his team still hadn’t made a move. Then the boy smirked as he ran towards Kakashi. Kakashi then felt a rush of wind as he quickly dodged another hand. He jumped away from the fist, seeing a second Naruto catching him by surprise as he swore he took out all of his shadow clones. The apparently still living clone charged as another 4 clones joined the charge. It was when the clone arrived Kakashi noticed why he hadn’t noticed that clone.
The clone entered a gentle fist stance meaning Hinata had used a transformation jutsu to try and catch the jonin off guard. Kakashi shifted his stance and began blocking the flurry of attacks the girl began to deliver. This only proved to be a problem when the other Naruto clones grabbed on his legs to trap him. This threw off Kakashi as the transformed girl made a go for the bells. As Kakashi went to stop her with her hands another blur jumped from the trees.
The blur flashed Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, and Tiger yelling, “ Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu .” Kakashi’s eyes flashed up seeing the Uchiha concerned the boy was going to hit his teammates. If that was the case Kakashi might actually have to send him back to the academy, however this was quickly dropped as he saw the fireball was aimed behind the teacher and students, forcing the jonin to move forward. Using the smoke left by the fireball, 2 the two remaining clones jumped forward clamping around Kakashi’s arms. Kakashi was left with no choice as he quickly flashed through hand seals and vanished from sight. Substituting with Naruto’s real body, he watched as Sasuke landed deftly one the ground as Hinata crashed into Naruto as he remaining clones popped. They heard the jingle of the bells and the three spun towards their jonin as Kakashi smiled, giving them a peace sign.
As the group nervously looked between each other unsure what to do as Kakashi said, “You guys… pass!” The three genin stood there stunned, as Kakashi wondered for a second if they didn’t actually figure out the goal.
Naruto pumped his fist in the air, just as Kakashi wondered if he should change his mind, and said, “Alright I knew something was up with how you were acting today.” Sasuke smirked slightly and Hinata nodded nervously.
Kakashi smiled once more and said, “Alright, the three of you eat lunch, then meet me at Ground 44.” With that the jonin vanished from the training ground. Left to their own devices a silence settled on the field. The three awkwardly grabbed their lunches and began to dig in.
.--.
The three genin arrived at Ground 44 mildly surprised to see their sensei already there. Kakashi quickly formed a hand seal and two more Kakashi’s appeared. Kakashi smiled and handed the clones each a separate bag.
Kakashi nodded to the clones and said, “Hinata and Sasuke go with one of the clones.” Left alone with Naruto he pulled out another bag and tossed it to the boy.
As Naruto looked confused as Kakashi said walking over to the boy, “There are three scrolls in there as well as 2 weeks worth of food supplies.” With that he grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt.
Kakashi smiled evilly and said, “Welcome to your new home Naruto. The Forest of Death.” Naruto’s face flashed with confusion followed quickly by panic as he was flung into the forest easily. With that Kakashi chuckled as his other clones dispelled, as he vanished from sight into the forest excited to see how his genin will do.
.--.
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Shadow Clone - B-Rank - The user summons a number of solid clones, while they are easily defeated. This leads to the jutsu mostly being used to distract opponents. However if someone can summon enough clones they can easily overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu - Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu - C-Rank - The user summons a large fireball and fires it towards an opponent, a mainly offensive jutsu however does have it's drawbacks due to the required range
Shunshin - Body Flicker - D-Rank - The user is able to travel quickly usually supplemented by smoke. Due to the high speed of travel an opponent can often predict where the user is headed as it is difficult to make quick turns.
Kawarimi - Substitution Jutsu - D-Rank - The user switches places with a nearby object in order to avoid an attack, this is usually supplemented by smoke.