"Sasuke-kun! I'm so glad that we ended up in the same team! The change in teams is the best thing that has ever happened to me!" Sakura chattered in a high-pitched voice, hovering around Sasuke.

"You can speak normally, you know? There isn't anything wrong with Sasuke's ears," Naruto pointed out.

Sakura glared at him and hissed, "Shut up. I wasn't talking to you."

Then she turned around, her attitude making a hundred-eighty flip as she went back to gushing over Sasuke.

Pointedly ignoring the fangirl, Sasuke brushed past her to sit next to Naruto.

"Why did they suddenly reshuffle the teams?" Sasuke asked Naruto expectantly.

"Because true love prevails!" Sakura cheered, accidentally saying it out loud.

Naruto gave her an odd look, but Sasuke grabbed his head and turned it.

"Don't encourage her idiocy," Sasuke said in warning.

From the corner of his vision, Naruto could see Sakura scowling resentfully at him -- probably out of jealousy rather than the irrational hate of most others.

"Sasuke, your gayness is showing. Look, she's upset," Naruto reminded, contemplative.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'm not even going to get mad anymore. It's a waste of energy."

"I'm serious here. I am telling you out of consideration for your love life," Naruto said soberly.

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow.

"Me, with that girl?" he questioned, his incredulity showing.

Sakura blushed, suddenly finding Naruto not so bad after all. If Naruto became their wingman... Sakura could see him in a more pleasant light. A gentleman considerate of a maiden's feelings was a decent person. Regardless of Naruto's past "transgressions", she would forgive him.

With her selective recall, she did not consider the person who dropped her on Naruto to be the culprit -- she always blamed Naruto for supposedly molesting her.

"I would rather remain celibate for life. There are still descendants of the Uchiha clan elsewhere. I won't do it even if it's to revitalise my clan," Sasuke said gravely.

Naruto placed a sound-warding barrier to preserve whatever was left of Sasuke's image.

"Drama queen," Naruto taunted. "I'll help you give birth asexually if you continue this nonsense."

Sasuke paled and looked at Naruto pitifully.

Naruto could not possibly be cruel enough to do that, right?

Ah, if it was about the lack of descendants and thus children to reincarnate in...

"Asura will most certainly do it!" cackled Kurama, his words almost audible to Sasuke.

"I will have children at some point," Sasuke amended his hasty words. "But nii-san can also..."

Naruto's blank stare stopped Sasuke before he could say something that he would regret.

"Ah, Izumi-nee-chan," Sasuke said in realisation. "Is he... over it yet?"

"He's healing, but he wouldn't be meeting any girls in his current organisation. Unless you plan to introduce a few to him?" Naruto asked quizzically.

"There aren't any worthy of my nii-san," Sasuke declared with conviction.

"Then what? Will you volunteer yourself?" Naruto challenged.

Sasuke spluttered, turning crimson as he pointed shakily at Naruto.

"That's incest, you dumbass!" he squawked.

"Stop kicking up a fuss. You probably married your brothers and sisters a few times to keep the bloodline pure anyway. It's better than an inter-species relationship and genetic mutation wouldn't be an issue since you are descended from the Ōtsutsuki clan," Naruto scoffed.

"That's... I don't remember such a thing," Sasuke replied.

"You do remember how you were paired up with a younger Uchiha girl before you were of age, right? She was your first cousin," Naruto helpfully jogged Sasuke's memory. "They cancelled it after she was crippled during the war."

Sasuke was bamboozled.

"How... How did you know that?" he questioned, slightly intimidated by how much Naruto knew.

"Tobi used to follow your gossip. He would use such things to convince me that the Uchiha clan is evil and irredeemable. The Senju clan was not as proud of our bloodline, though the Uzumaki had similar practices to keep their pure scarlet hair. Every two generations, pure Uzumaki would marry within the clan to ensure their offspring retain that dominant gene. Of course, Tobi would not care about that while waxing poetic about the despicable and corrupted Uchiha clan. It was funny," Naruto reminisced about his highly prejudiced younger brother.

Sasuke shook it off.

"Anyway, I don't like nii-san in that sense. I now know that the Sharingan gene is not just some dominant gene anyway. It's a form of alien genetic product unique to the Ōtsutsuki bloodline," Sasuke told Naruto.

"You don't have to feel so embarrassed. Selective breeding is present in both of our bloodlines," Naruto said in amusement.

"You've changed," Sasuke said abruptly. "You used to find it absurd that humans inbreed just for select traits, just like they force animals to do. You thought it was inhumane to force siblings and cousins to intermarry just to preserve a kekkei-genkai."

Naruto chuckled, "No, this is how I think as the ancestor of the silly children who thought they needed to do such things to remain as close to me as possible. If I denied them and everything they worked so hard for, it would be too cruel."

Sasuke was taken aback.

Unlike him, his brother was not taking the stand of Hashirama or even Naruto. It might be due to his early recovery of the memories of his past lives but Asura was dominant in the personality he portrayed. Asura lacked the time to grow as Naruto and was only influenced by the conditions of this new life.

Indra, on the other hand, only remembered their past when Sasuke was eight years old. By then, Sasuke already held an independent opinion. Asura was right. He did not change his philosophy.

It was him. He was the one who has grown close-minded due to a life raised within a greenhouse of the Uchiha clan. Hashirama did have such thoughts and Naruto probably did not approve of it either, but he would not blatantly reject it as Asura.

"I cannot solely behave as Indra," Sasuke admitted in defeat. "I remember everything, but I do not relate to that life as much as you can."

"And I can't possibly blame you for that," Naruto informed, deactivating the seal barrier.

Sasuke looked around them.

The classroom was devoid of students.

The three of them were the only ones left unclaimed.

"That Hatake Kakashi... How is he so late?" Sasuke asked in astonishment.

Naruto turned to look out of the window and answered, "If you let him, he'll only show up later."

Sasuke took a bit longer to understand what Naruto meant.

His eyes widened as he went to open the window.

The faint sounds of the wind rustling through the leaves above and the children shouting as they trained below reached his ears.

Alongside the vague sound of flipping pages and low breathing.

If not for the man's excitement while reading the erotic novel, he might not have been so easily discovered.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke called out in exasperation, "stop slacking off and come in already. The others have already left."

Kakashi glanced up, carelessly flipping the page before continuing to read.

"Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise. "You're late!"

Kakashi did not seem quite bothered by this fact.

"Oh dear, it seems I have been discovered," Kakashi said in regret.

"Sensei, if you dare try to shunshin away from that spot..." Naruto threatened, brandishing a kunai with a seal tag.

"Maa, maa. Now, aren't you overreacting? I'm just heading over to the front door..." Kakashi had to stop speaking to avoid a kunai aimed at his beloved book.

"Just come in through the window," Sasuke advised, understanding that Naruto was not going to let the silver-haired jōnin off so easily.

Sakura, the biggest Sasuke-fangirl, bobbed her head agreeably as she said, "Sasuke-kun is right! We don't mind if you enter from the window, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi carefully put the erotica away, his eyes trained on Naruto the whole time, and leapt into the classroom agilely.

"Let's..." Kakashi began, only to change his words when he saw Naruto pull out a brush, "have our introductions here!"

Naruto put the brush away calmly but continued fiddling with a seal tag.

Kakashi sweat-dropped, continuing stiffly, "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like team workers. I hate sweet things. I currently don't have any dreams for the future. My hobby is reading."

There was an awkward silence.

"Uh, can someone tell the Uzumaki to put that dangerous thing away?" Kakashi spoke with difficulty.

He had yet to recover from a previous fiasco -- Naruto left a disastrous seal on him that caused everything he touched to turn orange or green. It was also very particular shades of the colours that caused his self-proclaimed eternal rival's eyes to brighten up. That was not even the worst part. Every time this would happen, the scarecrow shinobi sparkled.

The overjoyed Gai dragged Kakashi off on a marathon, screaming into the sunset that the other has been granted enlightenment by the power of youth.

Kakashi went straight home after Gai finally released him from the unbreakable genjutsu of youth and suffered through the traumatic experience of turning his entire apartment into those two colours before finding a small seal printed on his elbow. It was barely visible on the dark fabric of Kakashi's favourite shirt and he had no choice but to burn it to stop his hair from sparkling. Unfortunately, the green and orange colouring remained even after the shirt was burned, causing him to suspect that there was still some other seal he did not manage to find among his belongings.

Kakashi had no idea how he managed to send Naruto on a rampage against his home.

Little did Kakashi know, his only crime was keeping his Sharingan covered.

"Naruto! Stop threatening Kakashi-sensei," Sakura admonished the blond.

Kakashi secretly admired her guts.

Naruto stared at the seal tag in his hand with a blank look, as if he was not expecting to see it there.

The others did not realise, but he never meant to intimidate Kakashi. The terror he unleashed on Kakashi's apartment was a once-off thing. It was not even permanent -- each activation of the seal would stain for an hour. The seal was not even supposed to be set off so easily and would self-destruct after one day. It was quite impressive that Kakashi managed to overlap the effects so many times that the colouration remained for so long afterwards.

'Only Shika would ever understand,' Naruto lamented, putting away the seal tag.

"Brave pinky, let's start with you." Kakashi pointed at Sakura.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes are..." she peeked at Sasuke and giggled. "I dislike perverts." Sakura gave Naruto the stink-eye. "My goal is to become Sasuke-kun's..." She squealed, holding a hand over her racing heart. "My hobby is..." She snuck another glance at Sasuke and blushed harder.

"Interpretation?" Kakashi asked the other two genins.

Naruto said helpfully, "Sakura likes Sasuke, dislikes me and wants to become his wife. Her favourite pastime is, well, anything related to Sasuke."

"A fangirl," Kakashi noted, dutifully writing it down in a notebook.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow -- this man was not so diligent just the day before.

"So let's have the bluish-black duck... I mean love interest next," said Kakashi.

"They don't even sound similar," Naruto remarked, fidgeting with a red string.

Kakashi was just glad that Naruto did not seem about to use fūinjutsu on him for accidentally speaking his true thoughts.

"It is pretty similar though," Naruto mumbled, staring ponderingly at Sasuke's hair.

Naruto dodged when Sasuke's fist came sailing towards his head.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like training and," he avoided Sakura's grabby hands, "I don't like it when people try to touch me. I also hate it when incompetent people try to tell me what to do. My hobbies include taking walks and chakra practice."

Kakashi waited for several beats, but Sasuke did not seem to want to continue.

"What dreams do you have for the future?" Kakashi probed.

Their session the day prior was less than informative since none of the three genin disclosed anything -- following his example.

Sasuke smirked and spelt out slowly, "World peace."

Kakashi wanted to cry.

How was he to know if this genin of his meant what he said?

Nonetheless, he penned it down.

"Last but not least, could our blond Uzumaki tell us more about himself?" Kakashi ushered Naruto to speak.

Perhaps only Sakura did not know the oddity of a blond Uzumaki.

It was quite impressive, actually. How did Namikaze Minato's yellow hair overpower Uzumaki Kushina's trademark scarlet hue? There must have been some magic in that, Kakashi thought severely.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like fūinjutsu and dislike prejudice and conflict. My dream for the future is world peace. As for hobbies, I don't really... Oh, but my favourite pastimes include reading and botany," Naruto honestly revealed.

Kakashi rubbed his chin.

Were his students really so altruistic or were they just pulling his leg?

Ah, now that he thought about it, there was something he still had to clarify too.

"Is fūinjutsu not your hobby?" Kakashi asked, curious.

Naruto frowned in dissatisfaction.

"It is not a hobby. Fūinjutsu is an art and a lifestyle. How can one master fūinjutsu with such a shallow mindset?" Naruto passionately rebuked.

Kakashi nodded understandingly -- though he could not fathom what Naruto was nitpicking at. Debating the importance of fūinjutsu was not something he dared to do with a member of the Uzumaki clan. It was best to accept, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, and move on.

"Shall we move on and regroup in an hour at the Third Training Ground?" Kakashi decided, casually as ever.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura responded punctiliously.

Sasuke said the same thing in Uchiha-speech.

"Don't be late," Naruto advised smilingly. "I do not appreciate people who will make efforts to waste my time."

Kakashi laughed and spoke, tightly, "I have no such plans, Naruto."

"I would be grateful if you held to that," Naruto laughed merrily with Kakashi.

~♡~

"We will first do a survival training exercise as a team. It's different from the training you've done at the Academy. This time, I -- a jōnin -- will be your opponent. It is also... a little special," Kakashi explained with a chuckle.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Naruto.

This was almost a word-for-word repeat of Kakashi's speech to their previous group of three. The only thing that changed, perhaps, was the fact that Nara Shikamaru has been replaced by Haruno Sakura. A downgrade, if anything, but they would make do.

"What's so funny, sensei?" Sakura asked warily.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Ahem... I mean, if I told you, kids, you'll freak out. Of the twenty-seven graduates, nine will ultimately be chosen as genins. The rest will be sent back to the Academy! This is a very difficult test -- it has a failure rate of over sixty-six per cent!"

Naruto raised his eyebrows.

'Kakashi never mentioned this part when Shika was here. Perhaps he knew saying so much to a Nara would be equivalent to shooting himself in the foot. After all, telling Shikamaru this would make it too easy. There are no more than eight children of shinobi parentage amongst the graduating class. With the addition of the Kunoichi of the Year, that makes three teams -- nine genins,' Naruto mulled it over.

"You'll be showing off your skills in combat. I would presume you have all of your shinobi tools. This is the first lesson I will teach you as shinobi. Preparedness is a virtue. You would never go wrong if you prepare for every possible scenario," Kakashi educated them as he placed an alarm clock on a tree stump.

He adjusted the dials on its back and turned back to face the three genins.

"Alright, it's set. I will give you three hours. By that time, if you haven't gotten a bell, you will fail this test," Kakashi explained cheerily. "The timer will start in thirty minutes. Use this time to prepare yourselves."

Kakashi shooed them off and returned to reading his Icha Icha.

"The key to passing this test is teamwork," Naruto stated, handing his spare weapons pouch to Sakura -- it was obvious that she would not have brought hers.

"Eh? But there are only two bells!" Sakura protested in disbelief.

"A setup. We'll get the bells and give it to you," Sasuke said curtly.

"Just cooperate with us," Naruto informed with a toothy grin. "We'll first hide around Kakashi-sensei. On my signal, you will shoot kunai and shuriken at him. Intersperse it with Sasuke's attacks and run around to throw off his senses. Sasuke will regroup with you and you'll work together to aim at Kakashi from afar while I distract him. Kakashi will surely try to lure you two out, so you must make sure to stay close and remain out of sight. If you see a chance, dive in and grab the bells."

Sakura nodded pensively.

It was just an altered version of one of the most common guerilla tactics against a stronger opponent.

"Now, in the time we still have, scatter!" Naruto instructed, vanishing from his spot.

Sakura stared at the recently-vacated space in stupefaction.

"There isn't much time left," Sasuke warned as his figure blurred and disappeared too.

Sakura robotically shuffled off into position, still stunned by the revelation that both of her teammates were on a much higher level than herself.

As the clock's ticking sound faintly echoed through the woods, Kakashi put away the book he was so focused on.

"Let's begin," Kakashi spoke, his voice echoing throughout the training ground as though he broadcasted it through a speaker system.

He walked around the clearing, rubbing his neck as he scrutinised his surroundings.

"The most important thing for a shinobi is to be able to hide oneself..." said Kakashi.

He had to admit that the three were hidden very well. Other than Naruto, he was unable to detect them at all... This seemed wrong.

Sure enough, in the next moment, Kakashi found himself immobilised by some fūinjutsu trap laid below him.

He looked down and blanched when he saw the ground littered with seal tags.

Fortunately, they did not seem to form a complex matrix that would trap a jōnin like him indefinitely. Unfortunately, they blocked every possible path of retreat. Kakashi zoned in on a faraway rock and used Kawarimi no Jutsu.

He executed it to textbook precision and was safely deposited beyond the range of the seal tags... or so he thought.

By the time he got there, a talisman was already waiting for him.

"Oh no," Kakashi mumbled, but it was too late.

A large explosion erupted and the jōnin could not escape unscathed.

He emerged from the dust cloud, worse for wear, and tripped over the sneaky protruding roots of a tree that he could have sworn had no reason to be there. His gravity-defying hair had transformed into an afro -- which he half-suspected to have been intentional. There was no major damage and he did not suffer any injury, but it was a dreadful experience nonetheless.

Perhaps that line could describe all of the seals that Naruto has used on him thus far.

From afar, Sakura and Sasuke took this as their cue. Kakashi was caught off-guard and pelted with shuriken and kunai, the source of which was hard to determine. Kakashi almost mistook them for even more seal traps at first.

Cursing under his breath, Kakashi reached Naruto's side. He knew it was possibly a trap that Naruto did not conceal himself, but he felt that he needed to face the Uzumaki head-on. It was better than allowing Naruto to lead him around in circles the whole time.

"You've found me, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted, excessively alarmed.

Kakashi did not believe his exaggerated act for a moment.

"What did you want me here for?" Kakashi queried, lackadaisically.

"I thought you were never going to come!" Naruto grumbled, doing several handseals in succession.

Kakashi backpedaled to make a strategic retreat, but found himself trapped by (no surprise here) a seal square.

Naruto dodged as Sasuke said, "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu."

Kakashi started racing through hand seals to save his sorry life.

A large fireball sailed over Naruto's head and he timely added, "Fūton: Daitoppa!"

The fireball grew into an inferno, continuing scorchingly towards its target.

Kakashi was tempted to surrender to the insane blond before him, but there was no time for him to do so. With complementary C-rank jutsus aiming for his life, Kakashi did not have a chance to wave a white flag. He would just have to stomach it and defend himself properly.

"Doton: Doryūheki!" Kakashi uttered and, while the earth barrier still held out, made his escape with a low, "Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu."

Thankfully, the seal barrier was only two-dimensional and did not extend underground.

Kakashi soundlessly shot out of the ground behind Naruto, aiming a chop to the back of Naruto's neck. His movement was interrupted by a narrowly-missed kunai from Sakura. His distraction gave Naruto time to react, slipping away from danger and maintaining the distance between them.

The silver-haired jōnin could not possibly miss the fact that Naruto was avoiding close-range combat this time. He almost made it glaringly obvious, keeping a distance and retreating as Kakashi came too close. The vulnerability was, in fact, so glaringly obvious that even Sakura noticed it.

It would be wrong for a shinobi to fail to capitalise on such a weakness.

"Shinobi lesson number two: Never show your weaknesses to an enemy. How strange. Your files never seemed to say that you were bad at taijutsu. What's wrong with our Rookie of the Year?" Kakashi mocked, rushing in with an uppercut towards Naruto's lower jaw.

He knew that there was a possibility that the blond was feigning weakness to lure Kakashi in again, but there was no harm in playing along even then...

Naruto reacted so swiftly that Kakashi was reluctantly impressed, taking a side-step to dodge the blow fully and leveraging on the momentum to flip Kakashi over his shoulder. Kakashi was also quick on his feet, regaining his balance midair to toss a kunai with deadly precision. Naruto deflected the attack with his own weapon and sprang off the ground, left fist sailing towards the man's abdomen. The hit connected, but Kakashi caught Naruto by the wrist and spun around so that the boy was the one who would crash land first.

Naruto struggled to retract his hand, but the jōnin held strong.

To Kakashi's horror, right before they landed, Naruto self-destructed.

Before Kakashi could figure out what exactly was going on, a concealed Sakura sprinted in and snatched the bells during the gap.

Kakashi stared at his empty hand with a hollow gaze, his mind blanking as the sound of his blood rushing through his head became the only thing in his ears.

"We won! That means we passed, right?" Sakura screamed in excitement.

'Again. The ones I love, dying in front of me,' Kakashi thought despairingly.

Sakura realised something was wrong and tentatively called out, "Sensei? Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi's shoulders began to shake, causing Sakura to panic.

"W-What is wrong, sensei? Are you feeling sick? We'll bring you to the infirmary..." she said in a hurry.

She turned around and shouted, "Sasuke-kun! Naruto! You can come out now! Something is wrong with Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi said through gritted teeth, "Naruto can't come. He's..."

He saw a tinge of yellow appear within his vision that was misted over by tears.

"Umm, Kakashi-sensei? Don't go killing me off so easily. That was just Bunshin Daibakuha," Naruto piped up, scratching his cheek.

How was he to know that their sensei cared more about him than he showed? What was more bizarre was that a shinobi as perceptive as Kakashi was fooled until the end. When he was learning about this useful little trick from Itachi, Naruto was told that it was possible for an enemy to discover that it was a clone and escape in time. Besides, a shadow clone leaves no remains. If Kakashi just thought it over, he would know that Naruto could not explode like that.

Kakashi seemed to be suffering from mental issues of his own.

Naruto was stunned when he was suddenly caught and hugged tightly.

Was there something about his constitution that called people who were usually inclined to avoid physical contact to squeeze the life out of him? He did not suppose he looked particularly cuddly or soft. First, it was Sasuke and now Kakashi? Why did everyone come to him for free hugs? He certainly could not remember hanging a "hugs for everyone" sign around his neck.

Well, he could not possibly say something so irresponsible when Kakashi was crying on his shoulder.

Sakura thought she saw discomfort on Sasuke's face as he watched this from the side with his fists clenched.

Little did she know, he was thinking darkly, 'That pervert... who does this man think he's clinging on to? That's my brother!'

It was just instinctual, brotherly overprotective tendencies.

Sakura did not have such qualms.

"So... we pass, right?" she asked hesitantly.

Kakashi sniffled, wiping his tears.

"Yes," he replied, then frowned at the sodden mask on his face.

Sakura did not dare to expose her joy.

"We'll meet here again tomorrow morning at six," Kakashi claimed.

Naruto chimed in before Kakashi could leave, "As long as you make it in time, that is. Don't be late!"

Kakashi chuckled, sounding almost fond as he answered, "If you manage to find me, then."

He disappeared in a classic leaf shunshin.

~♡~

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura groaned in frustration.

Sasuke lightly rapped Naruto on the head.

"Historical facts time. Uzumaki are often born as natural sensors. Naruto here is particularly sensitive to chakra. If he tried, not even jōnins can hide from him," Sasuke dully explained.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows.

"They don't teach us that in the Academy. So Naruto is actually the heir to an extinct clan? Like Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said ponderingly.

"He's royalty. He would have been a prince of Uzushiogakure if it was still around," Sasuke intoned. "If not for his hair colour, he would have been the crown prince."

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I'm technically the crown prince now. All of the cousins, uncles and aunts ahead of me in the line of succession are dead. If the rest of the survivors were gathered, Uzushio would rise again. I am just the only descendant of royal blood remaining," he remarked dully.

Sakura's jaw was slack.

'Naruto is a prince?' she thought numbly.

"Uzushiogakure could be said to be older than Konohagakure, as the Uzumaki have settled there before the concept of hidden villages came to be. Other than merchants, shinobi and civilians only started settling in Uzushio when they declared themselves one of the hidden villages after allying with our Konohagakure. The royal titles are from the era where Uzushiogakure was a kingdom. In it's recent history, the leader of the Uzumaki was known as the Uzumaki Patriarch, similar to patriarchs of other shinobi clans. What is different is that the Uzumaki Patriarch also held the role of the village leader. There is little remaining evidence of their method of address for the individual who held both of these roles. For all I know, he was referred to as their king still," Naruto recited the facts.

Since the destruction was so thorough and plants did not migrate like humans or animals, he knew nothing about what Uzushio citizens called their leader. He had no plans of becoming their king either. Regardless of his legitimacy as heir, Naruto did not intend to be anything more than a spiritual leader for the clan. He would leave the role of official ruler and commander for someone else.

Of course, this was not something he could so blatantly reveal in front of Sasuke.

"So where is Kakashi?" Sasuke steered them back on track.

Naruto pointed at a tree five metres away from them, right in his blind spot.

"He only hid from me -- quite telling. His scent is masked and his chakra was suppressed. I'd think he wanted us to find him by sight alone -- or not at all," Naruto explained briefly.

"Maa, you misunderstood me. Naruto, I simply had to test your observational skills. The next time, you should not speak up -- your sensory is practically a cheat," Kakashi replied with an eye-smile.

"In that case, hiding your chakra, scent and trail and using camouflage at the same time should be disallowed. You can use genjutsu, but the other options would not apply then," Naruto bargained, reckoning this was as good a time as any to train Sakura's deductive skill.

As for Sasuke, the guy has always relied on his supernatural ability to detect enemies. His special sixth sense made him especially adept at finding hidden things -- people included. He would have died a hundred times over in the Warring States Period if not for this trait. The mysterious skill even extended to poisons and hidden weapons.

If Asura was lucky, Indra was fortunate.

Similar, but not interchangeable. Naruto was unfortunate, born into a role that determined his future as the village pariah, yet was lucky and always encountered the right conditions. Sasuke was fortunate, having everything one could ask for. He had a loving family, one that cared for him despite their apparent apathy. Born with a golden spoon, he had status and wealth and lived a life to be envied. However, he was unlucky in the rolls he got in life. If he was more lucky, the Uchiha coup d'etat would have been suppressed peaceably. Perhaps the traitors would have been expelled, and there would be no need for their extermination. He was fortunate, even then. He had a brother, one who cared for him unconditionally. Itachi sacrificed himself, becoming the scapegoat for the massacre of his own clan, all to protect his precious younger sibling.

While they could not be any more different, they brought the same results.

Naruto and Sasuke were both orphans lacking the protection of their clans, in the end.

Another example of how this can manifest will be that Naruto will win the lottery and Sasuke will discover a treasure trove. Both will result in an increase in material wealth. However, it was also a double-edged sword... Unless the two united and stood on the same side, at least.

Konohagakure, the development of the hidden villages and much more were made possible by their cooperation.

Of course, Sasuke would not know what he was sensing. He differentiated between foes and other objects based on chakra and intent -- hidden treasure did not usually have killing intent and caution should be taken if it did. It would be hard for him to find a person who was simply hiding from him until he upturned every spot in the vicinity. Unless, of course, he manages to sense the person's chakra.

Naruto did not doubt Sasuke could find Kakashi eventually, but allowing him to do so would be inefficient.

"Then it's a deal," Kakashi agreed, similarly considering the benefits of training his genin team in this aspect.

The best part was that Naruto would no longer interrupt his reading sessions.

~♡~

"D-rank missions, the bane of my existence," Sasuke said in dread as they trudged to the Hokage's Office after completing yet another set of the damnable requests.

Naruto teased good-naturedly, "You're whining -- that's out of character."

Sakura, desensitised to these interactions, no longer glared at Naruto for hogging Sasuke's attention. Her crush paid her no heed regardless and being mean to Naruto would, conversely, cause Sasuke to get mad. She was not delusional enough to think that Sasuke was jealous of Naruto for her attention.

They did not go out of their way to include her in their conversations. Even so, they very naturally integrated her into their seamless teamwork. She did not feel completely out of place within her current team despite having joined later. She was the only kunoichi here and was far below the two boys in skill, but they did not talk down to her much. She was curious, however. Why did they assign them in such a manner, even going as far as to go back to reorder the teams?

They arrived at the Hokage's Office, where Hiruzen held an empty pipe in his mouth with a look of dejection.

"Naruto-kun, could you please return it?" he asked, looking at Naruto searchingly.

"I won't stop you from smoking tobacco, Hokage-jiji, but drugs is a no-go. You don't suffer from withdrawal symptoms anyway. Just quit. They cloud your judgement," Naruto admonished, placing a tin containing a unique tobacco blend on the desk. "This should be to your tastes."

Hiruzen sighed, staring at the empty well of his pipe.

"You don't understand, Naruto-kun. This is what helps me push on. It's my way to escape from the harsh and painful reality," Hiruzen spoke sombrely.

"If you have depression, go see a specialist," Naruto replied. "Drugs is not the answer. You do dumb things under its influence."

Hiruzen reluctantly took the tin and placed it with his pipe in its drawer.

"I will see Inoichi-kun later," he relented. "I will send Team Kakashi on a C-rank escort mission. There is reason to suspect that the true level of this mission has been concealed. It should be classified A- or B-rank. You are permitted to abandon the task should you determine that it is beyond your abilities, but I hope that you will see it done. If Nami no Kuni was indebted towards our Konohagakure no Sato, it would benefit us in establishing a trade route. I will reimburse you for your losses due to the inadequate pay from your employer."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" the three other shinobi answered dutifully.

Naruto levelled Hiruzen with a stare.

"If you dare contact your supplier during that time..." he warned, leaving his threat hanging.

Hiruzen laughed it off shakily.

"Also, there was a request to assassinate the shipping magnate, Gatō. Since you're heading to Nami, I will leave the mission details for the B-rank assassination mission with Kakashi-kun. It's a very well-paying job, so do handle it with care. Konoha's intelligence has found a vague connection between these two tasks, but your mission should still prioritise the safety of the protection target," Hiruzen informed them.

"So... who is the protection target?" Sasuke questioned.

"He's only a high-profile person in Nami, so he may not look like much, but this man is key to the success in bridging Nami to the rest of the world," Hiruzen explained, mincing his words.

"A plain old bridge builder, then," Sasuke said succinctly.

Hiruzen chuckled, "That would be correct."

Kakashi browsed through the documents, then distributed the "C-rank" mission briefing attached with Gatō's documents.

"Open the envelope when you're alone and burn the contents thoroughly after you have finished reading them. Do not make copies of the information here -- no one in this village can know of this mission. We will meet at our usual spot at the usual time, proceed to collect our protection target and begin our escort task," announced Kakashi, clapping his hands together.

"Umm..." Sakura bashfully raised her hand.

Hiruzen chortled at the student-like behaviour.

"You no longer have to do that now that you are no longer in the Academy, Sakura-kun. If you have something to say, you just have to state your intention," Hiruzen kindly advised.

Sakura blushed and requested formally, "Permission to speak, Hokage-sama?"

The elderly Hokage beckoned for the girl to continue.

"Our employer is an important person, right? Do we have to use honorifics when speaking to him?" Sakura asked.

"That is a good question. You don't have to show excessive respect for him since we are doing Nami a favour through this move, but politeness gives others a better impression of our shinobi," Hiruzen clarified patiently. "You don't have to worry about approaching him. I'll have an operative in disguise inform your protection target that he has been assigned an escort. He shall cooperate with his escort as long as he wishes to reach Nami safely."

"I understand now. Thank you, Hokage-sama!" Sakura said with a bow.

"If there are no more pressing questions, you three should retire for the evening and rest up before our long journey. You should spend about one month in Nami. Prepare everything that you might need, but remember that we aren't going on a vacation," Kakashi lectured, eyeing Sakura as he said the last part.

Sakura looked down in embarrassment, feeling as if she was being called out -- she planned to bring all of her hair products and cosmetics along.

Kakashi eye-smiled, then leaned slightly closer and stage-whispered to her, "There is a useful thing we have that is known as storage seals. You can buy such scrolls in the Shinobi market or ask for one from your Uzumaki teammate."

She turned to Naruto with bright eyes.

He casually handed her a simple scroll with a reusable storage seal.

"Keep the things you need at a moment's notice on hand," Naruto advised. "It is the most basic of reusable seals, so you need chakra to store and retrieve items."

"Those things cost a fortune in the shinobi district. You should be grateful to have a fūinjutsu specialist on your team. Currently, the most expensive shinobi essential is the all-purpose storage scroll," Kakashi explained.

Naruto blinked owlishly.

"Kakashi-sensei... If you wanted one, you just had to say so," Sasuke said, sweat-dropping.