"You little brat." Kakashi didn't get angry at Naruto's words. Instead, he smiled, "Then, you have to go back to the Academy."
"Going back is fine, I don't mind either way. I will still be the strongest one in my grade when I go back." Naruto said nonchalantly, resting his head on his arms.
"No way! He can't go back!" Sasuke protested in an unusually strong voice for the stoically quiet Uchiha. He walked up to Kakashi, and took out his bell, "I'll give him mine!"
"No way, Sasuke. Neither you nor Naruto can go back!" Sakura handed over the bell she had just received, "Kakashi-sensei, I'll give mine to Naruto."
"I didn't help much anyway. It's was Naruto and Sasuke who did everything."
After that last outburst the surroundings became eerily quiet. Even the air remained solemnly still.
"Everyone passed." Kakashi broke the tense atmosphere.
"Eh?" Sakura was stunned and the bell in her hand fell to the ground.
Ding ling!
"Pass?" Sasuke was dumbfounded.
"Yes, everyone passes!" Kakashi reiterated.
...
Hokage Tower.
"That's the situation, Hokage-sama." Kakashi placed three files on Sandaime's desk.
Hiruzen didn't say anything. His eyes were fixed on Naruto's file which was placed at the top, puffing on his pipe with each drag.
After a long while, Hiruzen put down his pipe and spoke, "Kakashi, what do you think?"
"Hokage-sama, the performance of these three today was acceptable, for a bunch of brats. Among all the Genin Teams I've tested, they were the only ones to implement teamwork without being told to do so."
Kakashi said in his canonically lazy tone. while slouching in front of the Sandaime's desk with his hands on a copy of his infamous Icha-Icha paradise.
"Naruto seems to be able to use a small amount of Kyubi's Chakra. Uchiha Sasuke has mastered the Fire Release Ninjutsu typical of the Uchiha clan and sakura demonstrated a strong talent in chakra control. Sakura has the potential to become either an adequate genjutsu practitioner or a competent medic-nin."
"So I would like to requesting additional personnel for Team 7 to speed up their training. the faster they make chunin the sooner i can be rid of them."
"Kakashi, you are too impatient." Sandaime gently declined Kakashi's request, "One is an Uchiha child, and the other is the village's Jinchuriki."
"Sasuke and Naruto are both important companions of the village. Rather than letting them become independent sooner, it's more important to cultivate their bond with the village."
When Sandaime said this, Kakashi understood Sandaime's meaning and said no more.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Sandaime watched Kakashi slowly leave the office, only sighing deeply once the door was closed. He then picked up the three files again, and examined them closely.
On the other side, Naruto was lying on his bed, shaking a bell in his hand. This was a bell Kakashi gave to Naruto later, just as a memento.
The breeze rustled outside the window, the bell in Naruto's hand tinkling in response.
In life, one tree alone can't support a forest.
In the future, Naruto would have to carry out missions with Sasuke and Sakura, and bonds would inevitably form. He also hoped that Sasuke and Sakura would become stronger, making missions easier.
But regarding this village… Naruto didn't have much feeling for it. Being a Shinobi was just a job, and working hard was just for food. He saw himself as an independent contractor who was currently using the village as his liaison to requisition tasks.
With a click, Naruto gripped the bell and casually placed it on the headboard of his bed.
'But there is no point in thinking so much, I'll just take it one step at a time. At least I should earn money for food first, and deal with other things as they came.'
With that thought, Naruto closed his eyes.
Time passed in a flurry of D-rank missions and self training, Naruto introduced the other two to the tree climbing and water walking exercises. Since Naruto's Chakra disorder problem had been solved, he was able to master each at a fraction of the time the original Naruto had.
The three of them trained together during the time they would have spent waiting for Kakashi in the anime, and separately after or before their scheduled meeting time. Occasionally, they would do some D-Rank missions, which was also a mandatory requirement in Konoha.
Before Genin Team can accept C-Rank missions or higher, they must complete a certain number of D-Rank missions, which is somewhat like gaining experience.
D-Rank missions are simple, but the rewards are meager, and the money they can actually get is not much.
Naruto had never thought of relying on the system for mastering the basic chakra control exercises. After all, it was still necessary to work hard on some basic things.
Since obtaining the system he has managed to eliminate the disruption to his chakra control caused when the nine tails chakra was integrated into his system via seal. He obtained master level fishing skills and gained the ability to mix fire and earth style chakra into lava release. Although he gave up the Multiple Shadow Clones Technique, with the use of the system he was sure he would not lose out in terms of raw power when compared to the original Naruto.
He can just ask the village for that Ninjutsu when he becomes stronger. At worst, he felt that learning the single use shadow clone will be enough.
....
July.
Naruto, who was sleeping soundly, vaguely heard a knocking sound. He groggily opened his eyes, and the knocking sound became clearer.
'Someone was really knocking on the door. Who would come at this time?'
Knock, knock, knock!
The urgent knocking was accompanied by a female voice.
"Hey! Naruto, open the door!"
"I knew you would forget! We agreed on this! You promised!"
Naruto, who was still half asleep, went to open the door. When he saw the person in front of the door, he couldn't help but feel a little confused.
"Sakura? What are you doing here?"
"Ah!" Sakura was about to explode in anger, " You promised me a few days ago. I already reminded you yesterday, and you still forgot!"
"Yesterday?" Naruto really couldn't remember anything. After thinking carefully, he finally recalled it and asked tentatively, "Sasuke's birthday?"
"Yes." Sakura turned her head away, looking a bit embarrassed at the mention of her long time crush.
"Good thing you remembered Young Master Sasuke's birthday." Naruto yawned.
"It's all in the file!" Sakura said as she stood at the door to the corridor, "Sasuke-kun's birthday is July 23rd, Leo. You're October 10th, Libra."
"Uh." Naruto was a little surprised that Sakura actually remembered his birthday, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.
"See, it's easy to remember, right?" Sakura asked.
"So, Sakura, when's your birthday?" Naruto asked.
"March 28th, Aries, it's already passed." Sakura replied, "But boys probably don't care about these things."
"Well, if I knew, I wouldn't have agreed to this." Naruto said casually, "I have been training and doing missions without a break since the team was formed. today was my long awaited rest day."
Sakura wasn't even paying attention to him at this point. She was too busy thinking of ideas to get her broody team mate to pay attention to her.
"Alright, let's go. Come with me to pick a gift for Sasuke-kun. I don't know what to choose on my own." Sakura urged, "As a reward, I'll treat you to barbecue."
"Okay." When Naruto heard that there was food, he mustered his energy and went back to his room to change clothes.
Team 7 had completed enough mandatory d rank missions, and their performance was quite good. Kakashi had submitted a request to the village higher-ups for C-Rank missions, but the review would take two days.
For this reason, Team 7, for the first time in a month and a half, got a two-day break. Unless something unexpected happened, after the break, they would have to take on missions again.
At this time, the drunken Tazuna, the bridge-building expert from the Land of Waves, has arrived at Konoha Village.