Kakashi picked up the two lunch boxes and held them out to Naruto and Sasuke.
"This is your lunch. Rest for one hour. At one o'clock this afternoon, the survival exercise continues."
Then his gaze swept across the two boys, the warning in it unmistakable.
"Remember this well. The rules are still in effect. You are not allowed to give any food to Haruno Sakura. If you do, I'll fail you on the spot. Break the rules, and you can forget being genin—go straight back to the Academy."
With that, Kakashi stopped looking at them. He shoved the lunch boxes into Naruto's and Sasuke's hands, then vanished in a puff of white smoke.
The training ground fell into dead silence.
The sun beat down mercilessly. Sakura sat tied to the wooden post with her head lowered, tears and sweat dripping together into the dust below.
Sasuke silently opened his lunch box. Inside was a generous portion of rice and side dishes.
Remembering Kakashi's evaluation, he felt unwilling to accept it—but he also knew Kakashi had not been wrong.
After a glance at Naruto, Sasuke said, "Kakashi was right. We had no coordination at all before. Eat first, recover our strength, then we'll discuss tactics for this afternoon."
He completely ignored Sakura tied to the post, as though it were only natural that she accept her punishment.
Or perhaps, in his eyes, the priority was obvious: pass the afternoon test and take the bells from Kakashi. Everything else could wait.
Hearing Sasuke say that, Sakura felt a huge wave of grievance and disappointment rise inside her.
She knew she had performed badly. She deserved the criticism. She deserved to be tied here.
But to be ignored so thoroughly by the very person she cared about so much—the very person she had rushed out to protect without regard for her own safety—
That pain hurt a hundred times more than Kakashi's harsh words.
Did all her worry and effort really mean nothing in his eyes?
Sakura bit down hard to stop herself from crying aloud, but her shoulders still trembled uncontrollably.
Then Naruto moved.
Instead of sitting down and opening his lunch like Sasuke, he carried his box over to Sakura and crouched in front of her.
Under Sakura's and Sasuke's stunned gazes, Naruto opened the lid, picked up the largest piece of grilled fish with his chopsticks, and held it out to her lips.
"Sakura-chan, after everything this morning, you must be starving. Here—open up."
His voice was calm, but there was a firmness in it that left no room for refusal.
"Naruto! What are you doing?!" Sasuke shot to his feet and barked, "Kakashi already said it—if you feed her, that's breaking the rules! You'll lose your qualification!"
Sakura stared at the fragrant piece of fish in front of her, and her throat moved on instinct.
But then she remembered Kakashi's warning—and Sasuke's words.
She hurriedly shook her head.
"N-no, it's okay, Naruto. You should eat it yourself. Kakashi-sensei already said the rules… Sasuke-kun is right. We can't break them…"
Naruto, however, looked her straight in the eyes and said each word clearly:
"Maybe breaking the rules means I can't become a ninja. But if the alternative is abandoning a comrade, then I'd rather not become a ninja at all."
Sakura froze.
Then tears poured out of her eyes.
Sasuke stood there staring at Naruto, the words he had just spoken echoing again and again in his head.
A moment later, encouraged by Naruto, Sakura finally stopped resisting and parted her dry, chapped lips just slightly.
Naruto carefully fed the piece of fish into her mouth.
Then, after a brief struggle of his own, Sasuke walked over as well. He picked up some food with his chopsticks and held it out awkwardly toward Sakura.
His movements were stiff, and his expression was just as unnatural, but he still did it.
"Idiot… hurry up and eat," Sasuke muttered, turning his face away.
Looking at the two boys before her—so different in temperament, yet choosing the same thing at this moment—Sakura chewed through her tears.
This was probably the warmest meal she had ever eaten in her life.
And also the most complicated.
Not far away, hidden against the trees, Kakashi watched everything.
When he saw Naruto break the rule without hesitation and say those words about comrades, that determined side profile overlapped almost perfectly with the image of a certain goggle-wearing boy from long ago.
"Obito…"
A complicated emotion flashed through Kakashi's exposed eye.
And after Sasuke chose to step forward and join Naruto in feeding Sakura, Kakashi took a deep breath and seemed to let out something that had been weighing on his chest for years.
In the next moment, he flickered back into the clearing.
"You three!"
Kakashi's voice was cold, carrying crushing pressure as his sharp gaze swept over Naruto and Sasuke.
"So you really treated my words like they meant nothing. You openly broke the rules. You should know exactly what the consequences are."
Naruto and Sasuke immediately stood and moved to shield Sakura behind them.
"Kakashi-sensei, it was my fault!" Sakura hurriedly cried out. "They didn't do anything wrong!"
Naruto stepped forward, standing in front of both Sakura and Sasuke, and met Kakashi's gaze without flinching.
"I was the one who decided to feed Sakura! If you're going to punish someone, punish me alone! Let the other two pass!"
"Stop trying to play hero, dead last."
Sasuke grabbed Naruto and yanked him behind himself.
"I'm the strongest here. Even if I get sent back to the Academy, I'd graduate again soon enough. If someone has to take responsibility, it won't be you."
Kakashi looked at the three young teammates now trying to protect one another, and the cold pressure around him suddenly vanished.
Then, like a magic trick, he pulled out another lunch box.
"Congratulations."
His eyes curved into a smile as his gaze passed over their stunned faces.
"Team 7—"
"All of you pass."
"What?!" all three shouted at once.
As he untied Sakura, Kakashi explained, "The purpose of this test was never to eliminate someone. It was to see whether you could understand the meaning of teamwork."
He looked at Naruto.
"Naruto, from the very beginning, you tried to communicate. During battle, you were willing to act as bait. And in the end, you were even willing to give up your qualification to protect a teammate. Well done."
Then he turned to Sasuke.
"Sasuke, you started out acting alone and relying only on yourself. But in the end, you were able to change and make the right choice after being influenced by Naruto. That's growth too."
Lastly, he looked at Sakura, whose eyes were still wet.
"Sakura, you still have a lot to learn—especially when it comes to overcoming fear. But at the very least, you do care about your teammates. That means you have the foundation to improve."
He took out the bells and set them on the wooden post, his tone turning heavy and sincere.
"What Naruto said just now was good. I once had a close friend who said something similar: In the ninja world, those who break the rules are called trash…"
He paused.
"But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."
After saying that, Kakashi clapped his hands once.
"All right. Now you can eat your lunches in peace. Don't forget the mission briefing this afternoon."
The sunlight was still bright, but the atmosphere on the training ground had completely changed.
Sakura laughed through her tears. Sasuke still wore his usual cool expression, but his eyes had softened.
And Naruto, looking at the system prompt in front of him, let the corner of his mouth lift into a faint smile as well.
[Ding!]
[Story Mission — Survival Exercise completed.]
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