new Team 7

Chapter 9

Naruto jumped from side to side, up and down, screaming and spinning wildly around in circles, declaring to the entire world that he was going to become Hokage and no one could stop him. Hinata stood shyly gazing at him with admiration for his undefeatable attitude; she aimed to follow in his steps as she pressed the little bell inside her fist.

Sasuke Uchiha struggled against the ropes that bound him feeling fury more intense than he had ever felt before in his entire life. He shook with rage as he watched Naruto rub it in his face that he possessed the little bell in his hand while Sasuke was tied to a log just as Kakashi had warned would happen if they failed their survival training.

"Who is the loser now huh? Huh?" Naruto taunted from a few steps away, dangling the bell before Sasuke, making it jingle. "The last ones will be the first ones, DO-BE."

"Just shut up!" Sasuke grunted. His sinister mood made everything around him seem darker. "This doesn't prove anything!"

"It proves I'm better than you. Loser." Naruto stuck his tongue out at him.

Sasuke wished with all his heart that he wasn't tied to that trunk. He would have beaten him to death had he been free.

"Send me a post card from the Academy." Naruto went on as Sasuke fumed.

"Ok, ok… That's enough," Kakashi said, sighing as he stood in front of the three kids. "Let's see… what do I think of this whole exercise?" He placed one of his hands over his chin as he carefully thought about what he was going to say next. "Naruto is loud, very noisy, he doesn't know how to perform anything except for clones and his impulsive behavior could put the entire team in danger if he doesn't learn how to control it."

Naruto crossed his arms defiantly. "Even so, I still got the bell."

"On the other hand, Hinata is too nervous and she gave up even before we started. However, something made her change her mind as the training went on. By teaming up with Naruto they were able to trick me, something I'll try to erase forever from my memories. Well done, Naruto, Hinata. You may eat now." He gave each of them a little wooden box that contained food. "Sasuke, you can watch them eat, because… well… you failed."

"An Uchiha doesn't fail!" he bellowed, completely infuriated by his words. There was a limit to the things he would put up with. "Fight me now! I'll show you I'm much more talented than those two!"

"I don't doubt you are." Kakashi admitted as he shrugged lightly. Naruto's face turned blue. "You are much smarter than Naruto and way stronger than Hinata. Do you even understand why you are tied up to a log and they aren't?"

"Why don't you just say it yourself and stop wasting my time with riddles!" He screamed back at him.

"You said… 'I'm not like those two', when you tried to take the bells away from me," Kakashi continued, standing in front of Sasuke, leaving Naruto and Hinata behind him. "And it's true. You are better skilled, far more clever and intelligent, stronger, faster, and more determined than your teammates. However, you assumed that those two would be a nuisance if they worked with you and so you went ahead and did everything on your own. Ninjas that work like that, alone, with arrogance, forgetting about their teammates and depending only on themselves… are trash."

"Say that again!" Sasuke dared him.

He wasn't going to take anyone calling him trash. Naruto had to cover his mouth with both of his hands to avoid laughing out loud and Hinata watched the entire scene filled with sadness. Sasuke hated the way she was looking at him.

"Itachi worked by himself his whole life and he was the best ninja of his entire generation!"

"And those are the steps you want to follow? Become like Itachi Uchiha? Resemble the man you dream about killing?"