Kakashi fully shamed all three of them for not acting like a team and made them understand the gravity of the situation.
Realising that his words were enough to affect their psyche, Kakashi finally added, "I'll give the three of you another chance. However, after lunch, I'll make the test even more difficult for you all.
Those who still wish to take the test can eat the lunch, but don't you dare give anything to Naruto."
"Huh? Why?!" Naruto exclaimed.
"That's the punishment for trying to eat by yourself. If anyone gives him any food, then they'll fail immediately. Understand?" Kakashi glared at Sasuke and Sakura before disappearing from his spot.
BRRRRrrrrrrrrr
Naruto's stomach growled loudly the next moment.
"Hah! Who needs food anyway? I can go without food for a month." Naruto tried to portray a strong front in front of Sasuke and Sakura, but the reality was obvious to the two of them.
"Let's eat then," Sasuke muttered.
"Yes..." Sakura picked up her lunchbox and opened it the next moment. The mouth-watering smell spread to her surroundings and further raised Naruto's appetite.
Seeing the content inside the lunch box, a trace of saliva escaped from the sides of Naruto's mouth. However, he soon sucked it in when Sakura turned towards him.
'Well...I feel a bit guilty, but since Kakashi sensei told us not to give him any food...I can't help it. With that thought, Sakura took the first bite and started eating her lunch.
"Here," Sasuke's voice rang out in Naruto's ear as he turned towards the other side, only to be surprised.
"What are you surprised about? Hurry up and eat," Sasuke said as he grabbed an egg roll from his chopsticks and moved it next to Naruto's mouth.
"Sasuke! Kakashi sensei told us not to give him any!" Sakura exclaimed in fright and looked around to check whether he was nearby or not.
"Naruto, you and I are a team now, Sakura. It doesn't matter if Kakashi Sensei catches us and fails us all. He told us to act like a team, so isn't this how teammates take care of each other? Or should we just pretend to act like a team when the test starts?"
"This..." Sasuke's words made Sakura question herself aswell.
'He's right...teamwork isn't something which is limited to just tests or missions,' Sakura's understanding widened thanks to these words, and a trace of respect for Sasuke welled up inside her.
She too stood up the next moment and just like Sasuke, passed her egg roll toward Naruto.
"You guys..." Seeing two egg rolls being held by chopsticks right in front of his face, Naruto couldn't help but tear up a bit. There weren't a lot of moments he had experienced this feeling in his life.
"If you're thankful, then quickly eat up before Kakashi sensei comes out," Sasuke snorted with a joking smirk on his face.
"I won't be polite then," Naruto chuckled and with just a single bite swallowed both their egg rolls.
"Yuck! Why couldn't you just take one bite at a time?! My chopstick is all covered in your saliva now," Sakura said in a disgusted manner.
Sasuke's expression also wasn't very good as he saw his chopsticks from which Naruto's Saliva was dripping down.
Sensing the glare from the two people, Naruto realised his mistake and said in an embarrassed manner, "Oops...I lost myself for a moment there...sorry about that,"
Seeing his apologetic expression, the two of them could only sigh. While doing so, Sasuke and Sakura's gaze met, and they couldn't help but lightly smile at their fate.
"Let's just eat with our hands instead," Sasuke suggested.
"Yeah, let's do that," Sakura agreed.
However, before the two of them could even begin, Kakashi's figure popped up in front of them like a ghost, and while their minds were lost in thinking about the aftermath, he exclaimed loudly.
"PASS!"
"WHAT?" Naruto and Sakura couldn't decipher what he meant and couldn't help but ask again.
"You all have passed my test. Congratulations! Everyone always did what I told them to do, and ended up failing my test. They failed to see what was underneath the surface.
It's true that a ninja who breaks the codes of the ninja world is trash, but those who don't care about their comrades are lower than trash.
'We passed...we didn't fail!' Naruto gazed towards Sasuke in delight and was met with a similar delightful expression.
"We passed!" Sakura too exclaimed in joy when she heard this and looked towards Sasuke.
'Thanks to already knowing what was going to happen, I've managed to bring all of us a bit closer as a team,' Sasuke thought to himself as he met Naruto's and Sakura's gaze.
Seeing this, Kakashi couldn't help but develop a higher evaluation of Sasuke in his head.
'I thought that he was just a self-centred brat driven by revenge from what the Hokage had told me...but that doesn't seem to be the case,' he thought to himself.
"All right, everyone! Starting tomorrow morning, Team 7 will begin its official duties, so be sure to reach the administration building at ten in the morning.
Goodbye!" Kakashi said and disappeared once again. He wanted to report to the Hokage about his observations on Naruto and Sasuke.
"Uhmm, so can you two undo my ropes?" Naruto asked all of a sudden, remembering that he was still bound to the tree's trunk.
Hearing this, Sasuke met his gaze with Sakura and said, "Let's first finish our food."
"Alright," She nodded enthusiastically and sat next to Sasuke the next moment to eat her lunch.
'Yay! Not only did I pass, but I also got the opportunity to eat lunch with Sasukeee~' Sakura thought delightfully.
Naruto, seeing that the two of them were not paying any attention to him anymore, couldn't help but gnash his teeth and muttered, "How heartless..."
However, knowing that Sasuke too had feelings for Sakura, he decided not to spoil the moment for the two of them and just muttered his misgivings under his breath.