Kakashi had moved to the center of the field and the children were stationed fifty meters from him.

 

"Okay, I think we should work in tandem to take the bells. Sasuke will-" Mikoto was cut off before she could continue speaking.

 

"Don't get in my way. I'll take a bell for myself and the other two can fight among themselves." Sasuke dashed towards Kakashi, shuriken in hand.

 

"How am I not surprised? Naruto and Sakura, just follow me closely while I back Sasuke up. If you see a chance to reach for a bell, do it." Mikoto dashed off after Sasuke and quickly caught up to him.

 

Over the next couple of seconds, Mikoto and Sasuke had already arrived on Kakashi's position. Mikoto stationed herself behind Kakashi in a spot where she could still see Sasuke. Kakashi hadn't moved an inch and was simply choosing to watch the boy as Sasuke launched thirty shuriken toward him. In a flash he pulled a kunai from his hip pouch and deflected all thirty shuriken without taking a step. Half of the shuriken were redirected towards Mikoto, who easily dodged them by swaying her body. While Kakashi was taking action, Sasuke had already appeared at his feet. Sasuke lunged up with a kunai in hand. Kakashi was forced to fling his head back to avoid being impaled. Sasuke flew into the air and began prepping a jutsu at the height of his jump.

 

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Sasuke shouted out and a large fireball formed at his lips. He blew the fireball at Kakashi and it quickly approached the standing instructor.

 

"Hoh, impressive. However, it still isn't enough-" Kakashi quickly dodged out of the way as three kunai passed by him. One passed by his head, another by where his heart had been, and the last passed by his hip. It impaled itself to a tree across the field and a jingling sound could be heard from it. Mikoto had launched a kunai that successfully robbed Kakashi of one of his bells. The field was in silence, all staring at the bell hanging from the tree.

 

"Mikoto, that was impressive that you managed to assist Sasuke in a way that took a bell, but unfortunately one of them will need to get it themselves for it to count. We'll be starting over. However, hopefully this will be proof to the rest of the team that Mikoto is skilled enough to assist you." Kakashi started walking towards the tree before it dislodged itself and flew towards Mikoto's outstretched hand. She caught the kunai and tossed the bell back towards Kakashi. He caught the bell and moved back to his starting position.

 

"Okay, so as I was saying, Sasuke should take Kakashi-sensei's right and bombard him with shuriken like he did earlier. Sasuke, if you're running low after last time, I brought extra. You have the best shuriken technique out of you three, so you should be able to add significant pressure with your attack. Naruto, you should summon some shadow clones to add extra pressure to Kakashi-sensei, you should focus on his front, back, and left. What side you're on doesn't really matter, I'm sure you saw shuriken being redirected towards me earlier. Do your best to stay out of Sasuke's line of attack but don't be afraid to rush Kakashi-sensei if you see an opportunity. Sakura, you should add pressure with kunai and shuriken. You have good knowledge of battlefield theory and I'm going to trust you to select the optimal points to attack. The most important thing to note is that if you see an opportunity to grab a bell, do not hesitate to grab it but don't rush in if it's going to throw your teammates off." Mikoto gave a basic plan to the three.

 

"And what are you going to do? Sit back until you can take another bell, forcing us to start over again?" Sasuke glared at her.

 

"Sasuke, just because you're frustrated that you weren't able to get a bell just now, it doesn't mean you can avoid teamwork. Also, you wouldn't have been able to get a bell on your own anyways. Do you seriously think that a genin would be able to best a jonin in one-on-one combat? In an ideal situation, I wouldn't even be here in the first place. Why else do you think I'm not allowed to attack normally?" Mikoto casually brushed off Sasuke's remark while simultaneously giving him a reality check.

 

"…Whatever."

 

What an obnoxious test.

 

Tell me about it.

 

"Alright, on my mark… Go!"

 

The three ninja launched themselves towards Kakashi. Sasuke dived right, launching shuriken after shuriken at his teacher. Kakashi reacted very similarly to the first time Sasuke attacked, the only difference being that Kakashi redirected the shuriken towards Naruto, who was in the midst of summoning shadow clones. When he saw the shuriken flying towards him, Naruto dove out of the way, interrupting his jutsu. Owing to his quick reflexes, Naruto quickly restarted the jutsu and summoned ten clones. The clones fanned out around Kakashi, surrounding him on all sides.

 

Naruto dashed in, each clone varying its speed to keep Kakashi from dispatching them all at once. Kakashi was still capable of defeating each clone while fending off Sasuke's attacks. However, as Kakashi prepared to strike the original Naruto, the boy suddenly stopped and clasped his hands together.

 

"I hope you like my patented Sexy no Jutsu!" Naruto's body was covered in a cloud of smoke. Replacing him was a nude woman and although the important bits were covered in smoke, Kakashi was distracted enough for Sakura to launch an attack.

 

A kunai came flying from the trees and slashed one of the bells off of Kakashi's waist. As it fell towards the ground both Naruto and Sasuke dived for it. Unfortunately for them, Naruto was hit with a swift kick to the stomach and Sasuke found his face firmly planted in the dirt. Naruto bounced back several feet, got to his hands and knees, and promptly lost his late breakfast.

 

"My, my, it seems like somebody cheated. That was a good attempt, Sakura; if your teammates were slightly more skilled, it would have worked. Still, we'll take a lunch break for now. Just remember, Naruto isn't allowed to eat." Kakashi appeared next to Naruto a tied the boy up in a flash. Carrying Naruto like a sack of flour, he brought the group over to a small collection of logs, where three boxed lunches were waiting. He tossed Naruto to the ground and passed the lunches out to everyone. "I'll be back in a bit. I have something to take care of."

 

"Well, that could have gone better…" Naruto's eyes were downcast. "Sorry, guys. We could have gotten a bell if I was just a little faster."

 

"No, you could have gotten a bell, not us. It doesn't matter anyways, Kakashi-sensei was just toying with us the entire time. There's no way a genin could pass this test." Sakura was angrily gnawing at her lunch while speaking.

 

"That makes no sense, though! Why would Kakashi-sensei make a test we couldn't pass?"

 

"He wouldn't." Mikoto finally chimed in.

 

"And what would you know about Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke spoke up as well.

 

"I know a whole lot more than you. Maybe you should take a look at the bigger picture. Does it make sense for a team to be formed and then immediately split up because of a test? Even then, think about everything you've heard regarding this test and decide what every action taken by Kakashi-sensei has led to you thinking. Really think about it. I won't say anymore because I doubt Sensei would appreciate me revealing any more than that. You should figure out the rest yourselves, you might as well go back to the academy if you-" Mikoto's speech was interrupted by the growl of Naruto's stomach. Instead of continuing, Mikoto chose to stop speaking.

 

The three fell silent in contemplation- at least, they attempted to. Every few seconds they were graced with Naruto's stomach serenade.

 

"I'm really sorry, I'll try to shut it up-" Naruto himself was interrupted by both Sasuke and Sakura shoving a spoon in his mouth.

 

"Shut up this way instead. If Kakashi-sensei really doesn't know how to manage a test or a team we might as well go back to the academy."

 

"Exactly! Sasuke's right, Naruto. I can't really stand you, but I still can't sit and watch you suffering here."

 

Mikoto started laughing, confusing the rest of her team.

 

"Good job, guys. It wasn't intentional, but you figured it out. Kakashi-sensei, you might as well stop hiding."

 

"I really don't like how perceptive you are, plus what you said was already too much…" Kakashi appeared on top of the log Naruto was leaned against. "Still, congratulations, kids, you passed! As for Mikoto, I would argue that you were a little too helpful, but I guess I have to let it slide. You've passed as well."

 

"Wait, we passed? All that happened was Sakura and Sasuke fed me, though?"

 

"Exactly. The only thing worse than a ninja that can't follow orders is a ninja that would endanger or abandon his team. If you cause the death of a teammate, you're the scum even among scum." The seriousness in Kakashi's voice caught everyone off-guard, ensuring they took his words to heart. "Now then. There's not much else to do since you've passed, you'll receive your first mission tomorrow. Arrive in front of the Hokage's office no later than 8:00 a.m. sharp. I will be there on time as well, so don't expect anything like today. Dismissed!"

 

"Yes, sensei!" The team replied enthusiastically.