As The Kyuubi no Yoko in Naruto

Training Ground Three was quiet in the early morning light. Sakura arrived first, followed by her teammates. The wait stretched on, filled with awkward attempts at small talk that quickly died out.

When Kakashi finally appeared two hours late, his eye crinkled in what might have been a smile. "Good morning, my cute little genin. Ready to start working as a team?"

"You're late!" Sakura accused, grateful for something else to focus on.

"Maa, well, I saw a black cat and had to take the long way around." He pulled out three small bells. "Today's exercise is simple. You'll be working together to get these from me."

"But there are only three bells," Sakura pointed out.

"Are there? How interesting." Kakashi's tone suggested this was exactly the point. "The exercise ends at noon. Come at me with everything you have."

Something in his voice made it clear this wasn't just about the bells. The way his eye tracked their movements, especially Naruto's, suggested far more serious evaluation than a simple training exercise.

"Begin."

The three genin scattered - or rather, Sakura did. Sasuke and Naruto moved together, something that didn't escape Kakashi's notice.

"Interesting choice," he commented, visible eye studying their dynamic. "Though not unexpected."

He reached for his weapons pouch, but instead of a kunai, he pulled out... a book. The orange cover was familiar to anyone who knew of Konoha's most notorious reading material.

"Aren't you going to attack?" he asked casually, turning a page.

Sakura, hidden in the bushes, felt her eye twitch at the casual dismissal. But she noticed her teammates hadn't moved yet, hadn't rushed in as she might have expected.

Especially Naruto - the old Naruto would have charged straight at such an obvious provocation.

Instead, both boys remained still, watching. Waiting.

"Well then," Kakashi sighed, "if you won't come to me..."

He disappeared in a blur of movement.

The first attack came from behind Sakura's position - Kakashi appearing suddenly, forcing her into the open with a casual sweep of his leg.

"Lesson one: Taijutsu," he announced, still reading his book.

But instead of following up on Sakura, he turned his attention to where Sasuke and Naruto stood. His visible eye narrowed slightly, assessing their unusual coordination.

They moved in tandem - Sasuke leading with a fire technique while Naruto flanked from the side.

It was practiced, deliberate, suggesting hours of training together that academy records didn't account for.

"Interesting," Kakashi mused, dodging both attacks effortlessly. "Your teamwork is surprisingly developed. Though perhaps not surprising given your... living arrangement."

Sakura, recovering from her ungraceful emergence from the bushes, watched with growing confusion.

There was something off about how they moved, how they fought. Like they were holding back, or waiting for something.

Kakashi seemed to notice too. His book disappeared into his pouch as he focused more intently on his students' performance.

"Your coordination is good," Kakashi noted, deflecting another synchronized attack. "But you're being too cautious. Too controlled."

His words carried weight beyond simple combat advice. Sakura, attempting to circle around for a better position, noticed how Naruto tensed slightly at the observation.

"Sometimes," Kakashi continued, his visible eye fixed on Naruto, "holding back too much is as dangerous as not holding back enough."

The morning sun cast long shadows across the training ground as they continued their dance.

Sakura tried to integrate herself into her teammates' rhythm, but there was something about their movements she couldn't quite read - like they were communicating without words.

"Sakura," Sasuke called suddenly, "left flank."

She moved automatically, surprised by the direct instruction. As she did, she caught a glimpse of something - a moment when Naruto's movements seemed to flow with unnatural grace, before snapping back to rigid control.

Kakashi noticed too. His eye narrowed thoughtfully.

The bells remained untouched at his waist, jingling softly with each movement. But somehow, Sakura was beginning to suspect this exercise wasn't really about the bells at all.

"Perhaps we should increase the stakes," Kakashi said casually, his hands suddenly forming seals at blinding speed. A massive fireball - far larger than any academy student should face - roared toward Sasuke, who had been trapped by an earth jutsu binding his legs.

The attack was clearly meant to provoke a response, not to actually harm. But it served its purpose.

Red chakra exploded outward from Naruto, wild and violent. The force of it cracked the ground beneath his feet, dispersing the flames and sending waves of caustic energy rolling across the training ground. His eyes blazed red, a snarl twisting his features as he positioned himself between Sasuke and their sensei.

"NO!" The voice didn't sound entirely human.

Sakura stumbled backward, the sheer pressure of that ancient chakra making it hard to breathe. This wasn't like anything she'd ever felt before - raw power that felt older than the village itself.

Kakashi's eye widened slightly, his body tensing in genuine reaction to the untamed energy now flooding the clearing. This was what the reports had described - pure instinct, wild and uncontrolled.

The earth around Sasuke's legs crumbled under the pressure of the chakra, freeing him. But Naruto remained crouched, that terrible red energy whipping around him like something alive and angry.

"Naruto." Sasuke's voice cut through the chaos. He stepped forward despite the caustic chakra.

"Stand down, Sasuke," Kakashi ordered, but there was something evaluating in his gaze as he watched the Uchiha approach.

The red chakra whipped violently around Naruto's form, but for just a moment, his eyes seemed to assess the situation - a flash of clarity in the apparent berserker state.

"Tch. Stop overreacting, dobe," Sasuke said, his tone carrying the same irritation he always used with Naruto. "I'm fine."

The red chakra began to recede, pulling back as Naruto's features relaxed. He straightened up, though he stayed close to Sasuke's position.

Sakura watched in stunned silence as her normally aloof teammate handled the situation with practiced indifference, as if this wasn't the first time. As if this was exactly why he'd been assigned to their team.

Kakashi's eye took in every detail of the interaction, understanding dawning in his gaze as he put away the Jiraiya's paper seal, that he received from the Hokage.

Now he knew why the Third had insisted on keeping these two together.

Only Sasuke could make Naruto's "episodes" seem normal.

"Well," Kakashi's voice remained deliberately casual, though his stance was still alert, "that was certainly energetic."

Sakura stood frozen, trying to process what she'd just witnessed. 

"Perhaps we should take a break," Kakashi suggested, his eye moving between his students. "Sakura, why don't you get some water from the stream?"

The dismissal was obvious - they wanted to talk without her present. As she walked away, she could feel the weight of unspoken things hanging in the air behind her.

"That was quite a reaction," Kakashi noted once she was out of earshot. "To a clearly telegraphed attack."

Naruto kept his eyes downcast, playing the part of someone struggling to maintain control. Sasuke remained close, his presence a statement in itself.

"Maa," Kakashi sighed, pulling out his book again in a show of casual dismissal. "We'll need to work on your... emotional responses, Naruto. Can't have you reacting like that to every threat."

The implied evaluation was clear - he was testing how Naruto would handle the reference to his 'condition.'

"I'm trying," Naruto mumbled, letting his voice waver slightly. "Sometimes it just... comes out."

"Hn," Sasuke added, his tone carrying just the right amount of familiar irritation. "Like everything else you do, dobe."

The normalcy of their interaction seemed to satisfy something in Kakashi's assessment. His visible eye curved in what might have been approval.

"Well then," he tucked his book away as Sakura returned with the water, "let's continue. Though perhaps with less... intensity this time."

The rest of the morning passed in more standard training exercises.

The two boys had shown exactly what the village leadership needed to see - a potentially unstable asset that could be managed through careful team dynamics.

The bells remained untouched at Kakashi's waist, their original purpose long forgotten.