The morning sun cast long shadows across the Academy classroom as students filed in for what would be their final gathering in this familiar space. Tomorrow, they would be genin in truth—assigned to teams, given jonin instructors, beginning their real careers as ninja of Konoha.
Naruto arrived early, sliding into his usual corner seat with the same mechanical precision he applied to everything. His new hitai-ate sat on his forehead, the metal plate cool against his skin. He had already received several surprised looks from classmates who had witnessed his failure yesterday—their confusion at seeing him with a headband was almost palpable.
He ignored them, as he ignored most things.
The classroom slowly filled, conversations buzzing about team predictions and instructor rumors. Naruto observed it all with detached interest, noting the social dynamics at play without any desire to participate.
Then the door slid open, and four familiar figures entered.
Satsuki led the group, her dark hair bouncing with each enthusiastic step, her curvaceous figure drawing stares from every direction. She spotted Naruto immediately, her face lighting up with a brilliant smile.
"Naruto-kun!" She bounded toward him, heedless of the desks and students in her path. "You're here! And—" Her eyes locked onto his hitai-ate, widening with surprise and delight. "You graduated?! When did that happen?!"
Before he could answer, she had closed the distance and thrown her arms around him, pulling him into a crushing hug that pressed his face directly against her generous chest.
"I knew it!" she exclaimed, her voice slightly muffled by his hair. "I knew they couldn't keep you down! Tell me everything! What happened?!"
Behind her, Sakura, Ino, and Hinata had also noticed the hitai-ate. Their reactions varied—Sakura's eyes went wide with happy surprise, Ino let out an excited squeal, and Hinata brought her hands to her mouth, tears of joy already forming in her pale eyes.
"Naruto-kun passed!" Sakura rushed forward to join them. "But how? Iruka-sensei was supposed to talk to the Hokage today—"
"Yeah!" Ino added, flanking Naruto's other side. "What happened? Did they give you another test? A different jutsu?"
"N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata's soft voice came from behind the group. "I'm so happy for you..."
Naruto extricated himself from Satsuki's embrace with some difficulty, the dark-haired girl reluctant to release him. Once he had enough space to speak, he gave a brief, emotionless summary of the previous night's events.
"Mizuki stole the Scroll of Seals. I intercepted him. The Hokage awarded me graduation for capturing a traitor and recovering the scroll."
Silence.
Then, all at once:
"You WHAT?!"
"Mizuki-sensei was a traitor?!"
"You fought a chuunin by yourself?!"
"A-Are you hurt?! Did he injure you?!"
The four girls crowded around him, their concern and amazement mixing into a cacophony of overlapping questions. Naruto weathered their attention with his usual blank expression, answering what he could and ignoring the rest.
"I'm fine. He wasn't difficult to defeat. The scroll was recovered."
"But—but—" Sakura sputtered. "How did you beat a chuunin?! You couldn't even—" She stopped herself, wincing. "I mean, not that you're not capable! You're amazing! I just—"
"He was overconfident and unskilled," Naruto said flatly. "His position as an instructor was apparently based on deception rather than merit. When faced with actual combat, he was inadequate."
Satsuki's eyes had gone hard during his explanation, a dark fury simmering beneath her bubbly exterior. "Mizuki," she said quietly, her voice carrying an edge that made several nearby students inch away. "The one who smiled at you all the time. The one who seemed so friendly."
"Yes."
"And he tried to kill you."
"Yes."
Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Where is he now?"
"In custody. The ANBU took him for interrogation."
"Good." The word was cold, at odds with her usual cheerful demeanor. "If he'd escaped, I would have hunted him down myself."
No one doubted that she meant it.
The tension was broken by Iruka-sensei's arrival, the scarred chuunin entering with a sheaf of papers and a somewhat frazzled expression. His eyes found Naruto immediately, widening slightly at the hitai-ate.
"Ah. I see the Hokage has already informed you." Iruka's voice was carefully neutral, but there was something beneath it—surprise, perhaps, or recalculation. "Congratulations, Naruto. Your actions last night were... commendable."
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei."
The flatness of his response seemed to unsettle Iruka, but the instructor moved on, calling the class to order.
"Alright, everyone. Settle down. It's time to announce team assignments."
The classroom quieted as students found their seats, anticipation thick in the air. Naruto remained in his corner, the four girls having arranged themselves around him in their now-familiar formation—Satsuki to his left, Sakura to his right, Ino in front, Hinata behind.
Iruka began reading from his list, announcing teams in numerical order. Each team assignment was met with varying reactions—groans of disappointment, cheers of excitement, resigned acceptance.
"Team Seven," Iruka announced, glancing up from his papers. "Uzumaki Naruto."
The four girls leaned forward, holding their collective breath.
"Haruno Sakura."
Sakura's face split into a brilliant smile, her green eyes shining with barely contained joy. "Yes!" she whispered fiercely. "I'm with Naruto-kun!"
"And Uchiha Satsuki."
Satsuki let out an actual squeal of delight, bouncing in her seat in a way that drew the attention of most male students in the room. "We're all together! Well, mostly together! This is perfect!"
But not everyone was happy.
Ino's expression had fallen, her earlier excitement crumbling into obvious disappointment. "What? But—I wanted to be with Naruto-kun too!"
Hinata's reaction was quieter but no less distressed. Her pale eyes had dimmed, and she seemed to shrink in on herself, her brief confidence evaporating in the face of separation. "Oh..." was all she managed to say.
Iruka continued, seemingly oblivious to the drama unfolding in the back of the room. "Team Seven's jonin instructor will be Hatake Kakashi."
He moved on to the next team, but Naruto wasn't listening anymore. His attention had been caught by the names of his teammates—and more specifically, by the reactions of the two girls who hadn't been included.
Ino was pouting openly, her arms crossed beneath her impressive chest in a way that was clearly meant to draw attention. "This is so unfair," she muttered. "Sakura and Satsuki get to spend all day with him, and I'm stuck with..." She trailed off, waiting for Iruka to announce her assignment.
"Team Ten. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji. Your jonin instructor will be Sarutobi Asuma."
Ino's pout deepened. "Great. The lazy genius and the chip addict. Just perfect."
Hinata's team was announced shortly after—Team Eight, with Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino, under the instruction of Yuhi Kurenai. The pale-eyed girl accepted the news quietly, but the glances she kept shooting toward Naruto spoke volumes about her feelings on the matter.
When the assignments were complete, Iruka dismissed the class for lunch, instructing them to return afterward to meet their jonin instructors.
The lunch break was spent on the roof of the Academy, the five of them having somehow migrated there as a group despite now being on three different teams. Ino had insisted on spending as much time with Naruto as possible before they were separated, and Hinata had silently followed her lead.
"It's not fair," Ino complained for what must have been the twentieth time, lounging on the roof tiles in a way that emphasized her curves against the sunlight. "Why couldn't they put all five of us on one team? We work well together!"
"Teams are three genin and one jonin," Sakura pointed out reasonably. "Five genin wouldn't work with standard formation."
"Then they should make a special exception! We're special!"
"Ino." Satsuki's voice was patient but firm. "We'll still see each other. Joint missions, training sessions, free time. It's not like we're being sent to different villages."
"But you two get to be with Naruto-kun all day every day," Ino whined, gesturing accusingly at Sakura and Satsuki. "While Hinata and I are stuck with other people."
"W-We could ask for transfers," Hinata suggested quietly. "After we've established ourselves. Sometimes teams are reorganized..."
"That takes months!" Ino flopped back dramatically. "Maybe years! I'll waste away from Naruto-kun deprivation!"
Throughout this exchange, Naruto sat silently, eating his bento without any apparent interest in the conversation. The girls' distress over being separated from him was noted and filed away, but it didn't evoke any particular response. They were upset. That was observable. But their upset didn't translate into anything he could feel.
Satsuki noticed his silence and scooted closer, pressing her side against his in a gesture that had become habitual over the past day.
"What do you think, Naruto-kun?" she asked softly. "About the team assignments?"
He considered the question. "They're adequate. You and Sakura are both capable. The team should function effectively."
"That's not what I meant." Satsuki's voice was gentle, patient. "I mean, how do you feel about it? Are you happy? Disappointed? Anything?"
"No."
The single word hung in the air, drawing the attention of all four girls. They had heard him explain his emotional state before, but each reminder seemed to hit them anew.
"Nothing?" Sakura asked quietly. "Not even a little bit?"
"No."
Ino sat up, her earlier dramatics forgotten. "Naruto... don't you even care that you graduated? That you're going to be a real ninja now? That you'll be going on missions and getting stronger and..."
"I recognize that these are significant developments," Naruto said, his voice as flat as ever. "I understand their importance on an intellectual level. But I don't feel anything about them. I don't feel anything about anything."
Silence stretched between them, broken only by the distant sounds of other students enjoying their lunch below.
Finally, Hinata spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "Then we'll feel for you. Until you can feel for yourself again."
Naruto turned to look at her, his empty blue eyes meeting her earnest pale ones. She didn't flinch from his gaze, didn't look away in discomfort as most people did when confronted with the void behind his eyes.
"That doesn't make logical sense," he said.
"I don't care." Hinata's voice was stronger now, carrying a conviction that seemed at odds with her usual shy demeanor. "We'll be happy for you. We'll be excited for you. We'll be proud of you. And someday, when you're ready, those feelings will be waiting for you to claim them."
The other three girls nodded in agreement, their expressions determined.
Naruto looked at each of them in turn—Hinata's quiet resolve, Ino's fierce loyalty, Sakura's hopeful warmth, Satsuki's devoted intensity.
"Okay," he said.
It wasn't acceptance, exactly. It wasn't agreement or understanding or gratitude.
But it was acknowledgment.
And for now, that was enough.
The afternoon dragged on.
Team assignments had been completed before lunch, which meant the genin were supposed to spend the remaining hours meeting their new jonin instructors. Most teams had been collected promptly—Team Eight by a red-eyed woman with an aura of quiet competence, Team Ten by a bearded man who smelled faintly of cigarette smoke.
Team Seven, however, remained in their classroom.
Waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting.
Three hours after the designated meeting time, Sakura's patience finally snapped.
"Where IS he?!" She slammed her palm on the desk, green eyes flashing with irritation. "Every other team has already met their sensei and left! Are we being pranked?!"
Satsuki lounged in the seat beside Naruto, having long since given up on sitting properly. Her position draped her across multiple chairs, her head resting in Naruto's lap while she stared at the ceiling with visible boredom.
"Maybe he died," she suggested casually. "Choked on his breakfast or something. Tripped and fell off a building."
"Satsuki!"
"What? It's possible."
"He's supposed to be an elite jonin! Elite jonin don't just trip and fall off buildings!"
"Everyone trips sometimes. Even elite jonin. Especially if they're old."
Naruto said nothing, his hand resting on Satsuki's head without any conscious decision to put it there. She had guided it there herself about an hour ago, and he hadn't seen any reason to move it. The position seemed to make her happy—or at least, it made her make sounds that suggested happiness.
The door finally slid open, and a figure stepped into the room.
Hatake Kakashi was tall and lean, with gravity-defying silver hair and a face that was almost entirely obscured by a mask and a slanted hitai-ate covering his left eye. His visible eye curved in what might have been a smile, though it was impossible to tell for certain.
"Yo," he said casually, raising one hand in a lazy wave. "Sorry I'm late. I got lost on the road of life."
Sakura's eye twitched. "You're THREE HOURS late!"
"Am I? Time really flies when you're contemplating the nature of existence."
"That's not a real excuse!"
Kakashi's eye curved further. "Isn't it? Hmm. Well, either way, I'm here now." His gaze swept across the three genin, lingering briefly on each one. "First impressions... you're boring. Meet me on the roof in five minutes."
He disappeared in a swirl of leaves before anyone could respond.
Sakura stared at the space where he had been, her mouth hanging open. "Did he just... call us boring?!"
"Yes," Naruto confirmed.
"And then tell us to meet him on the roof?!"
"Also yes."
Satsuki sat up from Naruto's lap, stretching in a way that drew attention to her figure. "Well, at least he showed up eventually. Let's go see what this weirdo wants."
The roof was bathed in afternoon sunlight, the village spread out below them in a panorama of buildings and streets. Kakashi leaned against the railing, his posture relaxed, his single visible eye watching them as they emerged from the stairwell.
"Good, you made it. Have a seat."
The three genin settled onto the steps, Naruto in the middle with Sakura and Satsuki flanking him. Their positioning was automatic at this point, requiring no discussion or coordination.
Kakashi observed this with apparent interest. "Cozy. Alright, let's start with introductions. Tell me about yourselves—your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future. That sort of thing."
"Why don't you go first, sensei?" Sakura suggested, her earlier irritation still simmering beneath the surface. "Show us how it's done."
"Me?" Kakashi pointed at himself, somehow conveying surprise despite his masked face. "Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes or dislikes. Dreams for the future... hmm... I have lots of hobbies."
Silence.
"That told us literally nothing except your name," Sakura said flatly.
"Did it? How mysterious." Kakashi's eye curved in amusement. "Your turn. Let's start with you, Pinky."
Sakura bristled at the nickname but complied. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like..." Her eyes slid toward Naruto, and a faint blush colored her cheeks. "I like someone very much. I dislike people who judge others unfairly or treat them cruelly. My hobbies are studying and..." Another glance at Naruto. "Spending time with people I care about. My dream for the future is to become a strong kunoichi and to help someone precious to me find happiness."
Kakashi's visible eye flickered between Sakura and Naruto, noting the direction of her glances. "I see. Next, the Uchiha."
Satsuki straightened, a bright smile crossing her face. "My name is Uchiha Satsuki! I like ramen, training, cute things, and—" She suddenly grabbed Naruto's arm and pressed it against her chest, beaming. "—Naruto-kun! I dislike people who hurt Naruto-kun, people who are mean to Naruto-kun, and also traitors I guess. My hobbies are spending time with Naruto-kun, training with Naruto-kun, eating with Naruto-kun, and watching Naruto-kun train when he doesn't know I'm there!"
Kakashi's eyebrow rose visibly above his hitai-ate. "That's... thorough. What about revenge against a certain someone? Restoring your clan?"
Satsuki tilted her head, genuine confusion crossing her features. "Revenge? Oh, you mean against Itachi?" She shrugged, a motion that did interesting things to her figure. "I mean, I guess if I run into him I'll probably fight him or whatever. But honestly? I don't really care about that anymore. I've found something way more important to focus on!"
She hugged Naruto's arm tighter, practically glowing with happiness.
Kakashi stared at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Whatever he had expected from the last Uchiha, this clearly wasn't it.
"Right," he said finally, his voice carrying a note of bemusement. "And finally, our blond friend. The one who apparently captured a traitor single-handedly last night."
Sakura and Satsuki both perked up at this, their attention sharpening at the mention of Naruto's accomplishment.
Naruto met Kakashi's gaze without any particular reaction. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I don't have likes or dislikes. I don't have hobbies. I don't have dreams."
Silence stretched across the rooftop.
"Nothing at all?" Kakashi asked, his tone carefully neutral.
"No."
"What about becoming Hokage? I heard you used to shout about that quite a bit."
"That was before." Naruto's voice remained flat, emotionless. "I don't want anything anymore. I'm simply here because continuing to exist is the default state."
The two girls on either side of him tensed, their expressions shifting to concern. This wasn't new information to them, but hearing him state it so baldly still seemed to affect them.
Kakashi studied Naruto for a long moment, something shifting behind his visible eye. "I see," he said quietly. Then, as if shaking off a heavy thought, his demeanor lightened. "Well, that's certainly... unique. Moving on."
He pushed off from the railing, his posture becoming more businesslike.
"Tomorrow, we'll have a survival exercise. Meet me at Training Ground Three at five AM. Oh, and don't eat breakfast—you'll just throw it up."
"A survival exercise?" Sakura asked. "What kind?"
"You'll see." Kakashi's eye curved in what was probably a smile. "Just know this—of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will actually become genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. This exercise determines which group you fall into."
He let that sink in for a moment, watching their reactions.
Sakura looked alarmed. Satsuki looked determined. Naruto looked exactly the same as he had before—blank, empty, utterly unaffected by the threat.
"Get plenty of rest," Kakashi advised cheerfully. "You'll need it."
And then he was gone, vanishing in another swirl of leaves.
That night, Naruto didn't sleep.
He rarely did anymore, so this wasn't unusual. But instead of simply lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, he spent the hours training—using shadow clones to accelerate his progress with the techniques he had copied from the Scroll of Seals.
The Rasengan was coming along. He still couldn't complete it in one hand, but he had discovered a workaround—using a shadow clone to help with the shape manipulation while he focused on the rotation. It was inefficient, requiring two sets of hands instead of one, but it worked.
More importantly, he could feel his chakra control improving with each attempt. The shadow clones' memories, feeding back to him every time they were dispelled, were accelerating his learning exponentially. What might have taken months of normal training was being compressed into days.
By the time the first light of dawn crept over the horizon, Naruto had made significant progress. His arsenal had expanded considerably, and his control over his massive chakra reserves had improved noticeably.
He dispelled his remaining clones, absorbed their memories, and prepared for the day ahead.
Training Ground Three. Five AM. A survival exercise that would determine whether they became true genin or returned to the Academy.
Naruto felt nothing about the upcoming test—no nervousness, no excitement, no determination to succeed. He would participate because that was what was expected. He would do his best because doing otherwise required a conscious decision to fail.
And whatever happened would happen.
Training Ground Three was a large open area dotted with trees and featuring three distinctive wooden posts in its center. A small stream ran along one edge, and the morning mist gave the entire space an ethereal quality.
Naruto arrived precisely at five AM and found Sakura and Satsuki already waiting. Both girls looked tired—they had clearly followed Kakashi's advice about getting rest, but five AM was still painfully early.
"Naruto-kun!" Satsuki immediately perked up at his arrival, bounding over to embrace him despite her obvious fatigue. "You're here! I was worried you might oversleep!"
"I don't really sleep," Naruto said, which was true.
"Oh." Satsuki blinked at this information, then filed it away with a determined expression. "We should work on that. Everyone needs sleep. It's important for health and growing and stuff."
Sakura joined them, stifling a yawn. "So we're all here. Where's Kakashi-sensei?"
They waited.
And waited.
The sun rose fully, burning off the morning mist. Birds began their dawn chorus. The temperature climbed from cool to comfortable.
Still no Kakashi.
"You've got to be kidding me," Sakura groaned, slumping against one of the wooden posts. "He's late again?!"
"Probably on the road of life," Satsuki said, mimicking Kakashi's lazy tone. "Contemplating existence or whatever."
It was nearly ten AM when Kakashi finally appeared, strolling into the training ground with his hands in his pockets and his single eye curved in what might have been a smile.
"Good morning, everyone! Sorry I'm late—I had to help an old lady cross the street. And then help her cross back. And then cross again because she forgot where she was going."
"THAT'S EVEN LESS BELIEVABLE THAN THE ROAD OF LIFE!" Sakura shouted.
Kakashi ignored her outburst, pulling a timer from his pocket and setting it on one of the wooden posts. "Right then, let's begin. The rules are simple."
He held up two small bells, the metal glinting in the sunlight.
"Your task is to take these bells from me before noon. If you can't get a bell, you don't get lunch—you'll be tied to one of these posts and forced to watch while the others eat in front of you. And since there are only two bells, at least one of you is guaranteed to fail."
He let that sink in for a moment.
"The one who fails will be sent back to the Academy."
Sakura's face paled. Satsuki's eyes narrowed. Naruto's expression didn't change.
"You'll need to come at me with the intent to kill," Kakashi continued, his tone deceptively casual. "Otherwise, you won't stand a chance. Ready? Begin!"
Sakura and Satsuki immediately scattered, disappearing into the surrounding trees to hide and strategize. Standard Academy tactics—conceal yourself, observe your opponent, wait for an opportunity.
Naruto didn't move.
He stood exactly where he had been, his empty blue eyes fixed on Kakashi with an expression that might have been mild curiosity.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "You know, in the ninja world, those who don't follow the conventional wisdom are often the first to die."
"I know," Naruto said.
"And yet you're just... standing there."
"Yes."
Kakashi's eye curved in amusement. "Not going to hide with your teammates? Formulate a plan? Attack me from the shadows?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Naruto tilted his head slightly. "Because hiding would be pointless. You're a jonin. You could find us regardless of where we concealed ourselves. And attacking from the shadows would only work if you weren't expecting it, which you clearly are."
"So your plan is to just... stand there?"
"My plan is to take the bells."
Kakashi's amusement grew. "And how do you intend to do that?"
Naruto's hands came together, forming a familiar seal.
"Shadow Clone Technique."
The training ground exploded with white smoke, and when it cleared, Kakashi found himself surrounded by over a hundred copies of Naruto. Each one wore the same blank expression, each one stood in the same relaxed stance, each one watched him with those empty blue eyes.
Kakashi's visible eye widened fractionally. "Shadow clones? That's a jonin-level technique. Where did you—" He stopped himself, connecting the dots. "The Scroll of Seals. You didn't just recover it. You copied it."
"Yes," all hundred Narutos said simultaneously.
"And learned the techniques inside."
"Some of them."
Kakashi was silent for a moment, reassessing the situation. A genin who had mastered shadow clones was unexpected. A genin who had potentially learned multiple techniques from the Scroll of Seals was... concerning.
"Well then," he said, his voice carrying a new note of seriousness. "This should be interesting."
The fight that followed was unlike anything Kakashi had experienced in years.
It started conventionally enough. The shadow clones attacked in waves, using standard taijutsu and basic tactics. Kakashi dispatched them efficiently, his superior skill and experience allowing him to destroy multiple clones with each movement.
But for every clone he destroyed, two more seemed to appear. And they were learning.
That was the truly alarming part. Each wave of clones came at him with slightly better tactics, slightly improved form, slightly more effective combinations. They were adapting in real-time, using the memory transfer of the shadow clone technique to pass information between themselves.
Kakashi destroyed ten clones and found himself facing a coordinated pincer attack from twenty more. He eliminated those and was immediately assaulted by clones using chakra-enhanced strikes that hit harder than any genin should be capable of.
And through it all, the original Naruto stood at the edge of the clearing, watching with those empty blue eyes. He wasn't participating directly—instead, he seemed to be coordinating the clones somehow, directing their actions with subtle gestures and adjustments.
"Impressive," Kakashi admitted, destroying another group of clones with a sweeping kick. "But shadow clones alone won't be enough to—"
He stopped.
The clones had all frozen in place, creating a momentary stillness in the chaos of battle. And in that stillness, Kakashi heard a sound that made his blood run cold.
A high-pitched whining, like the scream of wind through a tunnel.
He spun to face the source and found Naruto—the real Naruto—standing ten feet away with his right hand extended. And in that hand, spinning with barely-contained fury, was a perfect sphere of condensed chakra.
A Rasengan.
"That's not possible," Kakashi breathed, his eye wide with shock. "The Fourth's technique—it takes years to master—"
Naruto didn't respond with words. He simply charged.
Kakashi had a split second to make a decision. Block the Rasengan with his own technique? Dodge and counterattack? Retreat and reassess?
He chose to dodge, spinning to the side with jonin-level speed.
But Naruto had anticipated this.
A shadow clone appeared exactly where Kakashi was dodging to, its own Rasengan already formed and driving toward his chest. Kakashi twisted mid-dodge, barely avoiding the technique, only to find another clone attacking from his new position.
And another.
And another.
Each clone that appeared had a Rasengan. Each clone attacked from a different angle, cutting off his escape routes one by one. It was like fighting a hydra—for every head he avoided, two more appeared.
Kakashi was forced to reveal his Sharingan, the spinning tomoe in his left eye tracking the movements of multiple attackers simultaneously. Even with the legendary doujutsu, he found himself pressed harder than he had been in years.
The genin before him was fighting at jonin level. Perhaps beyond.
Finally, Kakashi created enough distance to perform a substitution, replacing himself with a log and appearing on a tree branch thirty feet away.
He was breathing hard. Actually breathing hard. Against a genin.
Naruto stood in the center of the clearing, his Rasengan dissipating as his clones formed up around him. His expression hadn't changed throughout the entire fight—still blank, still empty, still utterly devoid of the joy or excitement that combat usually brought to fighters.
"You're holding back," Naruto observed, his voice flat. "You haven't used any ninjutsu. You've avoided revealing your full capabilities."
Kakashi stared at him, his Sharingan still spinning. "And you've been testing me. Probing my defenses. Learning my patterns."
"Yes."
"You have more techniques, don't you? From the scroll."
"Yes."
Kakashi was silent for a long moment. Then, slowly, he reached down and retrieved the two bells from his belt.
He threw them to Naruto, who caught them without apparent surprise.
"Congratulations," Kakashi said quietly. "You pass."
Naruto looked at the bells in his hand, then back at Kakashi. "The test was about teamwork. I was supposed to realize that the only way to succeed was to work with Sakura and Satsuki. To understand that those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."
Kakashi's visible eye widened. "You knew?"
"The two-bell system is a classic psychological test designed to create conflict between team members. By making it seem like one person must fail, you encourage competition rather than cooperation. The actual lesson is that we should work together regardless of the apparent rules."
"And yet you still fought me alone."
"Because working together wasn't necessary." Naruto's voice carried no arrogance, just simple statement of fact. "I was capable of taking the bells by myself. Forcing Sakura and Satsuki to participate would have been inefficient."
"That's..." Kakashi trailed off, unsure how to respond. The boy before him had completely subverted the purpose of the test—passing not through teamwork, but through overwhelming individual power.
And he didn't seem to care about the lesson at all.
From the treeline, Sakura and Satsuki emerged, having watched the battle unfold from their hiding spots. Both wore expressions of stunned amazement.
"Naruto-kun..." Sakura whispered. "That was..."
"AMAZING!" Satsuki threw herself at Naruto, wrapping him in a crushing hug despite the bells still in his hands. "You just beat a jonin! You used the Rasengan! You were incredible! I'm so proud of you!"
Naruto stood motionless in her embrace, his expression unchanged. He had accomplished the objective. He had demonstrated his capabilities. He had passed the test.
And he felt nothing.
Kakashi watched the scene, his Sharingan still exposed, seeing things that perhaps the others couldn't. The emptiness behind Naruto's eyes. The complete absence of satisfaction or pride. The hollow void where emotions should have been.
This boy had power that exceeded most chuunin, approaching jonin level in some respects.
And he was broken in ways that power couldn't fix.
"We'll discuss training schedules tomorrow," Kakashi said finally, covering his Sharingan and returning to his usual lazy demeanor. "For now, Team Seven passes. All of you."
He turned to leave, then paused, looking back over his shoulder at Naruto.
"Those techniques you learned from the scroll," he said quietly. "The Hokage will want to know about them."
"I assumed as much."
"You're not concerned about the consequences?"
Naruto tilted his head slightly. "Should I be?"
Kakashi didn't have an answer to that. He simply disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving the three genin alone in the training ground.
Satsuki was still hugging Naruto, and Sakura had joined her, both girls clinging to him as if afraid he might disappear. They were speaking—praising him, asking questions, expressing their amazement and admiration.
Naruto listened without really hearing, accepting their affection without feeling it.
He had passed the test.
He was officially a genin.
And the void inside him remained as empty as ever.