The Red Maelstrom

[5] Pass!

"Quit as ninjas! What do you mean!" Naruto was practically hollering in the loudest volume Kohana had ever heard, but she tried to pay no mind to this for she was too busy glaring at Kakashi and wondering why only three of them would be returning. What about the fourth? Did they pass or not? If Kohana were to vote on who had the most likely chance to stay a genin, it would be Sasuke. He was the best candidate in their team, at least. 

But either way, she wanted everyone to stay together. She had been convinced that Team 7 was already on its way to its own beginning, regardless of how dysfunctional they were as a unit. 

"Okay, okay! We didn't get the bells, but... why do we have to quit? And what about the other person who doesn't have to?"

Kakashi seemed to ignore that last question when he said, "You're punks who don't deserve to be ninjas."

This infuriated Sasuke who charged at Kakashi before Kohana could even think to hold him back. 

...Not like Sasuke would be able to do anything against a seasoned ninja like Kakashi. 

Before everyone could register Kakashi's movements, he was already sitting on Sasuke, a foot on his head and one hand pinning Sasuke's dominant arm against his back. 

 "That's why you're a punk."

Sakura gasped. "No! Don't step on Sasuke-kun!"

During that, Kohana was quick to react. She had thrown a kunai by then, only for it to be caught by Kakashi.

"Are you guys underestimating ninjas, huh? Why do you think that you were divided into teams?"

"Huh? What does that mean?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi sighed heavily. "You guys aren't understanding the answer to this test. One of you did, but it doesn't even look like they knew they were doing what I expected from all of you in the first place."

"Answer?" Naruto questioned further as Sakura added another question: "Who got it?"

"Yes, the answer that helps you pass this test," Kakashi said, answering Naruto's question and once again, avoiding the question about the fourth person.

"When are you going to tell us?" Kohana asked, a question that Sakura was exactly thinking.

"Geez..."

Naruto had already run out of patience by then. "Ahh, damn it! What's the answer already?"

Kakashi sent them all a cold glare.

"The three of you working together may have gotten the bells."

Realizing this, said three, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all turned to a shocked and confused Kohana. Somehow, they all looked apologetic, even Sasuke.

Kohana looked at all of them before pointing to herself. "Eh? Me?"

Sakura turned back to Kakashi. "But wait a minute! What do you mean by teamwork? There are only two bells! Even if we worked together and got the bells, one of us would still fail. What teamwork? That just makes us fight each other."

"Um... Sakura, I think that's the point of the test..." Kohana murmured as she lightly stroked her chin and stared at the ground with her "thinking face" on.

"Exactly. Kohana got it again." The said girl's head shot up and her eyes widened. Her being right about something she knew almost nothing about twice in a row was completely shocking to her. If she were to be honest, it freaked her out.

"Really?"

"The purpose is to see whether you can forget about your own interest and successfully work together under these designed circumstances. Yet... Sakura!" the girl flinched when Kakashi pointed at her. " Instead of helping Naruto, who was right in front of you, you were only obsessing over where Sasuke was.