Kakashi stood at the edge of his Training Ground, arms crossed, watching his students slowly gather again.
Naruto came running in first, flailing his arms.
"Kakashi-Sensei! Are we training together? I thought you were only gonna train Sasuke! Hpmh."
Sasuke arrived just behind him, calm and quiet, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Tch. You complain too much."
"Shut up, Sasuke!" Naruto snapped, puffing his cheeks.
Sakura finally joined them, her hands on her knees, panting. "Sensei… you didn't say that we still had training today…"
Kakashi gave them a lazy smile. "Well, I didn't say we wouldn't be either. You all have grown very strong, so we're doing something different today. I've been training Sasuke one-on-one, yes, but today is for all three of you."
"Eh? Really?" Naruto brightened.
Kakashi nodded.
"You three will have to work together on more than C-rank missions eventually, so real missions will require much better teamwork. And if you can't work well as a team, your individual strength won't matter."
Sasuke looked intrigued. Sakura straightened her back.
"Alright," Kakashi said, undoing his seal and revealing his Sharingan eye.
"Here's the challenge. Try and land a hit on me. You've got until sundown. Work together or not. I'll be holding back, but not too much. Also, you are not allowed to use serpent seal or kyubi chakra, or most of your other jutsu." He said as he looked at Naruto and Sasuke.
"Oh yeah! Let's go, guys!" Naruto grinned.
"This'll be interesting." Sasuke just smirked.
"Uhh… are you sure we won't die?" Sakura looked nervous.
"I'll keep the killing intent to a minimum. Promise." Kakashi said with a smile.
As Kakashi finished speaking, Naruto dashed forward instantly, forming several shadow clones.
"Kakashi-sensei! Eat this! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Twenty Naruto charged Kakashi from all directions.
Kakashi sighed. "Still the same, huh?" He moved like the wind, smoothly dodging and swiping the clones apart. "Predictable."
Sakura was hiding behind a tree, trying to figure out a plan. "We're not gonna beat him head-on…"
Sasuke, meanwhile, was already preparing a fireball jutsu. "Naruto, draw his attention!"
"Already doing it!"
Sasuke leaped into the air and blew out a large stream of fire. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
The flames engulfed the area Kakashi was standing in, but he had already substituted with a log, reappearing behind Sakura.
"You'll have to be faster than that," Kakashi said calmly.
Sakura shrieked and jumped back, chucking an explosive tag.
Boom!
"That's better," Kakashi said as he landed lightly on a nearby branch.
After multiple failed attempts, the trio sat panting under a tree. Kakashi stood casually on the branch across from them.
"This is so unfair…" Naruto groaned.
"He's reading all our moves before we do them," Sakura muttered. "It's like he's in our heads."
"We're attacking individually… like fools." Sasuke gritted his teeth.
"Wait. You mean… we gotta fight together for real?" Naruto sat up, blinking.
"Exactly. We're not gonna land a hit unless we actually cooperate." Sasuke nodded.
"Okay! I'm in. Sakura-chan, are you ready?" Naruto grinned.
"Yeah. Let's go." Sakura smiled.
They started with Naruto charging forward again, but this time it was different.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The clones spread out, creating a cloud of chaos. Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Again?"
But from the side, Sakura quickly made hand signs and used a genjutsu Kurenai taught her. "Genjutsu: Mist Mirage!"
Kakashi's vision blurred for a second, just enough for Sasuke to leap in with Chidori sparking.
"Chidori!"
Kakashi spun to block, but the charge passed right by, slicing a tree behind him. It wasn't aimed to hit, it was a distraction. While Kakashi was occupied, the real Naruto appeared behind him, aiming to stab him with a kunai.
"Gotcha!"
But Kakashi caught his wrist, spinning Naruto into the dirt with ease.
Still, he paused. "Better. Much better."
Sakura and Sasuke ran over.
"Still didn't hit you," Naruto grumbled, face-first in the grass.
"No, but that was teamwork," Kakashi said. "You made me work for it that time."
….
By sundown, they hadn't touched Kakashi even once, but all three looked more confident, more in sync with each other.
"You three improved," Kakashi said as he dropped from a tree. "Remember this. In real missions, power helps, but trust and timing matter more."
"Man, I'm starving." Naruto stretched.
"You always are," Sasuke muttered.
"Let's go eat something." Sakura smiled.
As the sun went down, Kakashi and Team 7 walked back toward his house. The air was cooler now, and the sky had turned a soft orange and Naruto was still complaining loudly about his stomach.
"I'm dying, Kakashi-sensei! You made us train all day and didn't even give us snacks!" Naruto wailed dramatically, dragging his feet like a zombie.
"You just said you weren't tired five minutes ago," Sasuke muttered.
"I'm not tired. I'm hungry. There's a difference, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto snapped.
Sakura rubbed her temples. "Why do I feel like I babysit two kids instead of being part of a team?"
Kakashi chuckled quietly. "Well, good news. Dinner's already taken care of. Kurenai cooked."
"For real?! She's the best!" Naruto's eyes sparkled.
As they entered Kakashi's home, the scent of grilled fish, miso soup, and freshly steamed rice filled the air. Kurenai stood at the kitchen counter, still in her shinobi clothes, hair tied back. She looked over her shoulder and smiled.
"You brought the children home. Good," she teased.
"They're not children!" Naruto and Sakura shouted together. Sasuke stayed quiet, but the twitch in his eyebrow showed he agreed.
Anko was already seated at the table, helping herself to pickled vegetables. "Took you long enough," she mumbled with her mouth full. "I nearly ate everything."
Naruto panicked. "NOOOO!"
"Sit down," Kurenai said calmly. "I made extra because I knew Naruto would act like the world's ending."
"Thanks, Kurenai-sensei!" Naruto cried, diving into a seat.
They all sat down. Kakashi took his spot between Kurenai and Anko, content to watch his team eat with rare peace in his expression.
Sakura politely thanked Kurenai for the food before eating. Sasuke quietly nodded, but the way he reached for seconds said more than words.
Anko watched the kids, leaning toward Kakashi. "They're louder than I remember."
"They're stronger than they look," Kakashi replied, picking up his chopsticks.
Kurenai glanced at them all, Naruto stuffing his face, Sakura scolding him, and Sasuke acting like he wasn't paying attention while clearly listening to everything.
"They're starting to feel like a family," she said softly.
"Yeah. They really are." Kakashi gave a warm smile.