Naruto: Returned From Roger's Ship

The next day, at five in the morning, the sky had yet to fully brighten.

Sakura and Sasuke, each carrying a ninja tool pouch, arrived at the meeting spot.

"Huh? Naruto isn't here yet?"

Sasuke was the first to speak up, contrary to his usual practice, which instantly lifted Sakura's originally unhappy mood for getting up early.

"Yeah, and Kakashi-sensei isn't here either."

'So, this time I'm truly alone with Sasuke-kun!'

In Sakura's heart, she was roaring with excitement like a frenzied gorilla.

This giddy, heart-pounding feeling of being alone with her crush lasted until the first rays of sunlight appeared an hour later.

Then, as the sun rose higher, her frustration grew.

'Seriously, everyone agreed on the time, but no one's here.'

'More importantly, Sasuke-kun doesn't even talk to me.'

Sakura, who had been standing around like an idiot with Sasuke for so long, tried to start a conversation several times, only to be shut down by his indifferent replies.

No matter what, she is still a little girl. So after a few more times, Sakura's excitement has almost dissipated.

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Kakashi finally showed up.

"Yo, everyone, good morning."

"You're way too late!"

Sakura no longer cared about respect for her teacher, and pointed an accusing finger at Kakashi.

However, Kakashi ignored her complaint. Instead, he glanced around with a slight frown.

"Naruto isn't here yet?"

"That dead-last, who knows if he overslept like a certain teacher."

Sasuke smirked coldly, making a pointed remark.

Hearing this, Kakashi chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head.

"Well, you see, a black cat crossed my path... No, never mind, cough."

He reflexively made an excuse before quickly regaining his composure as a serious instructor.

"Looks like one of you is already ready to pack up and return to the Ninja Academy."

Bang!

As soon as he finished speaking, a sound of falling was suddenly heard not far away.

The three people's eyes were all focused on the figure falling from the tree.

It was Naruto, who is sleeping with a sake bottle clutched in his arms.

"Huh? It's morning already?"

As if completely unfazed by the pain, Naruto stretched lazily before rubbing his eyes and standing up.

"Hey, you guys are here. I've been waiting for you the whole time."

'No, no, no, no matter how you look at it, you look like you're just drunk and passed out there.'

Kakashi's lips twitched beneath his mask as he silently compared Naruto's current state to his teacher, the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.

'They're nothing alike.'

With that thought, Kakashi decided to focus his attention on Naruto today.

'Honestly, don't underestimate what it means to be a Ninja.'

"Alright, let's set the deadline for noon today."

As he said this, Kakashi placed an alarm clock on a wooden stump, then turned back to add, "Today's training exercise is to snatch these two bells from me."

"Whoever gets a bell gets to stay. Whoever fails will be tied to that stump to watch the rest of us eat lunch, and then be sent back to the Ninja Academy."

This bell test was one of the methods his teacher, the Fourth Hokage, had once used to evaluate his team. Now, using it on Naruto felt like a kind of fate.

When the three Genin present heard Kakashi say again that he would send them back to the Ninja Academy, they all reacted differently.

The most panicked was Sakura, who came from a civilian family. She was determined not to be sent back to the Academy, otherwise, her parents would be disappointed in her.

Sasuke's expression also turned serious. Although he was confident in his own strength, he was facing a Jonin after all. It was unrealistic to say that he could defeat him.

On the other hand, Naruto, whom Kakashi paid the most attention to, just squinted lazily, as if still half-asleep, showing no reaction at all.

Seeing this, Kakashi frowned calmly, and then decided to further provoke the target.

"As you can see, there are only two bells here, so at least one, and possibly three of you, will fail."

After hearing this, Naruto finally had some reaction.

He raised his hand and lazily asked, "Kakashi-sensei, can I just forfeit?"

Kakashi was taken aback when he heard this. This answer was somewhat beyond his expectations. After all, in his initial assessment, Naruto should have been the least likely of the three to give up.

"Have you thought this through?"

"Well… if I give up, then those two can stay, right?"

As he said this, there wasn't even a hint of regret on Naruto's face.

"Don't screw around! Who needs a loser like you to sacrifice himself?"

Surprisingly, before Kakashi or Sakura could respond, it was Sasuke who snapped first, his voice sharp with irritation.

His expression was deadly serious, almost aggressive, as if Naruto's 'pity act' had struck a nerve.

When Kakashi saw this scene, he secretly gave Sasuke a thumbs up in his heart. He had been wondering how to provoke Naruto into taking this seriously.

"Exactly. And even if you quit, Naruto, if neither of them gets a bell, they'll still fail."

"Eh? So troublesome…"

Realizing that quitting wouldn't change anything, Naruto simply plopped down onto the grass, lazily propping his head up with one hand.

"Fine, fine. Let's just get this test started already."

As he spoke, he waved his hand dismissively, as if he was a kindergarten teacher who was forced to play with the children.

'This brat!'

Even Kakashi, who is usually unflappable, felt a vein throb beneath his forehead protector.

"You can use ninja tools, and I will counterattack accordingly."

"Begin!"

The moment he gave the signal, Sasuke and Sakura instantly vanished from sight, leaving Naruto alone, still sprawled lazily on the grass.

Since Kakashi had specified he would only counterattack, he could do nothing but watch as Naruto lay there, completely open.

'If I had known, I would've said I'd attack first.'

Time passed by little by little, the sun climbing higher as noon approached.

But in the clearing, Naruto and Kakashi still remained motionless.

The other two Genin, who were hiding in the bushes and treetop, were getting restless.

In the end, Sasuke couldn't hold back and launched the attack first.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

More than a dozen kunai and shurikens flew through the air and hit Kakashi accurately.

But he turned into a wooden stake in a puff of smoke.

"Substitution Technique?"

Seeing that his attack was ineffective and his position had been exposed, Sasuke immediately relocated.

From the shadows, Kakashi's gaze swept the area, tracking both Sakura and Sasuke with ease.

'Who should I take out first?'

His eye flickered, but he still didn't forget the instructions given to him by Hiruzen.

With a flick of his wrist, two shuriken, faster than Sasuke's earlier attacks, flew towards the sleeping Naruto.

The shuriken were wrapped with nearly invisible wires, ensuring that even if Naruto failed to react, Kakashi could still retract them at the last moment.

Just when the shuriken was less than ten centimeters away from Naruto's face, so close that even Kakashi was about to pull back-

Naruto, as if sleepily adjusting, suddenly slipped his hand from under his head and rolled onto his back, snoring soundly on the grass.

The two shuriken missed entirely, embedding themselves into the ground instead.

'A coincidence? Or...'

Thinking of this, Kakashi's fingers twitched, and the wires tugged the shuriken back into the air, sending them flying toward Naruto once more.

This time, Naruto shifted again, turning onto his side as if uncomfortable, perfectly dodging the attack once more.

'Sure enough, this kid is not simple.'

Just as Kakashi was thinking this, a confident voice rang out behind him.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

With a light shout from Sasuke, a massive fireball erupted from his mouth, engulfing Kakashi's figure.

Due to his limited Chakra reserves, the technique only lasted a brief moment before fizzling out.

But Sasuke was confident that even a Jonin would be injured if caught off guard by this move.

Though it might have been excessive, he had a reason he couldn't afford to fail.

"Look behind you."

The sudden voice froze the smirk on Sasuke's face.

As the flames dissipated, there was no sign of Kakashi in front of him.

Instead, Kakashi was crouched right behind Sasuke, hands forming the 'Tiger' seal as he lunged forward.

"Konoha's Secret Technique! Strongest Taijutsu: One Thousand Years of Death!"

The moment the attack struck its target, even a cold and composed boy like Sasuke couldn't maintain his usual icy expression.

"Too bad. I was originally planning to use this on Naruto."

Watching Sasuke collapse to the ground, clutching his butt, Kakashi retracted his fingers with an air of melancholy.

"Oh? Then how about you look behind you now?"

'When did he…?!'

Just like Sasuke, Kakashi was also startled when he heard the sudden voice next to him.

But he was a Jonin after all, and at the critical moment, he used Lightning-attribute Chakra to stimulate his legs, bursting out with a speed far beyond his usual speed.

Of course, this was also because Naruto hadn't been serious in the first place.

The end result was that Kakashi, who is now covering his butt with one hand, turned to look at Naruto with a wary look on his face.

Meanwhile, Naruto stood there casually, lifting his right hand, which had two bells hanging on it.

"Well then, I guess this means the exercise is over, right?"