A New Path

Ever since she was young, Sakura knew she wasn’t born with anything special. Her family name, Haruno, wasn’t a legendary clan but a clan of regular villagers. This made them unimportant—just regular people living their lives, not fighting for their village. Sakura, however, showed no signs of being a simple villager. She was born with the natural talent of charka control; she showed signs of being a shinobi, so her parents had no choice but to put her in the Ninja Academy. At first, Sakura blended with the crowd; she wanted to have friends, but she didn’t want to stick out like Naruto.

But blending in the crowd made her realize she knew nothing about herself, all because of one question. 

What’s your goal in life?

Sakura didn’t know why the question had stuck with her, but it did because Sakura didn’t have any goals; she was wasting her skills because of the desire to blend in with other people. All her life, she’s been told she wasn’t special and wouldn’t amount to anything. Sometimes by her classmates, even her parents, who spoke too carelessly to hear how awful their words sounded. But Sakura was special, and after that, she focused on her education, learning jutsus outside of school and forming her own fighting style. She wasn’t born with the gift of a kekkai genkai, so she would have to make do with what she had. Sakura had something to prove; she had to prove that just because she was born with an ordinary clan name didn’t mean she wasn’t as talented as anyone else. That’s her goal, to prove that she is special.

She had to thank Harry for his question that had changed her view on life forever, but it seemed she wasn’t the only person he had changed. He seemed to have changed Naruto’s personality because he hadn’t played any pranks and didn’t try to continue his one-sided rivalry with Sasuke. Overnight, it seemed Naruto had matured. Good for him. Anyway, today was the day she would meet her ninja team, she hoped it wouldn’t be Ino, she couldn’t stand her and her insults about her appearance. Sakura had no idea what happened; suddenly, they were friends, and then they weren’t. But she didn’t worry over it and continued with her life, Sakura opened the door to the classroom and saw Sasuke sitting there. Sasuke glances at Sakura, and he gives her a polite nod.

Sakura nods back politely as she takes a seat herself, and the two of them sit in comfortable silence. There wasn’t much to say, considering they’d never spoken with each other in the Academy. So they wait for the last teammate and their sensei. They didn’t have to wait long as the sounds of footsteps came approaching, Sakura perked up with interest while Sasuke glinted with anticipation in his eyes. They wouldn’t be disappointed as the door opened and two people stood there, Harry Potter and Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto looked like he was dressed up in a new outfit with curious white and blue colors, it must’ve been representing something… Maybe his clan? But the Uzumaki colors are different, so it had to be something else. On his hip was a sheathed, custom-made kunai… Wait a second…

“Is that the Fourth Hokage’s kunai?” Sakura blurts out the question; she could recognize it anywhere since they did a history lesson on all the Hokages the Hidden Leaf has had. The Fourth Hokage’s legendary weapon, Hirashin kunai, was well known. It didn’t look to be a copy; it was the real thing!

Naruto blinks, and he glances down like he is just noticing it, “Eh? Oh yeah,” Naruto responds with a nod. Sakura gestures for him to explain, and he explains it rather simply, “I’m The Fourth Hokage’s son, dattebayo.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders, which… Yes, it’s rather obvious since he looks exactly like the late Fourth Hokage.

Harry slides the door closed as he glances at Naruto, “Y’know, I don’t think you’re supposed to go around saying that.” Harry points out, but Naruto dismissively waves his hand, sticking his tongue out at Harry. Harry only rolls his eyes, and he goes to sit down, “Good morning, Sasuke.” Harry said, and surprisingly, Sasuke responded with his voice instead of a gesture.

“Good morning.” Sasuke said politely, but his monotone voice couldn’t hide the hint of a smile on his face. It looks like he had a slight soft spot for Harry. Curious. 

Naruto sits by Harry’s side, taking up all the space, as usual, “How long have you guys been waiting here?” Naruto questions with a raised eyebrow while kicking his feet up on the desk.

“Only for a few minutes,” Sakura said as she twirled her hair around her finger absently, “Our sensei should be here any second now.”

Seconds passed, slowly turning into minutes, which then transformed into an hour. Sakura began to fidget, Harry counted the number of desks in the classroom, Naruto tapped his feet together on the table, and even Sasuke began to tense up. It wasn’t long before Naruto’s patience broke. He got up from his seat and stormed towards the door.

“Naruto! Where are you going?” Harry questions with a wary expression. He’s aware of how bad Naruto’s temper could be.

“Somewhere!” 

Naruto grumbled curses under his breath as he slid the door open and ran right into their sensei, Naruto fell right on his butt as he stared up at the wall of a man he ran into. There stood a tall man with silver hair, his leaf headband tilted to cover his left eye, and half of his face was covered by a neck gaiter, the only thing visible was his right eye. Naruto quickly stands up to his feet and stares up at the sliver-haired man with surprise. The silver-haired man peers down at Naruto with an unreadable emotion, and then he observes the other children, they all sat not too close but not too far from each other, there was a comfortable tension in the air. One that wasn’t filled with hidden hatred, jealousy, or anger. The silver-haired man’s dark eye lights up like the stars in the night sky.

“Good morning, students. I apologize for being late, I had to help an old lady across the road,” The silver-haired man’s voice was calm and laid-back, it wasn’t what the children had expected from their new sensei, “Now, come on, we’ll be doing our introductions somewhere else.” He turned around and walked away, obviously expecting them to follow. The children all looked at each other, then back at the place where their sensei stood, they saw no other option but to follow him.

The silver-haired man led them to the rooftops, and that’s where they introduced themselves to him, “State your name, what you like, and what you dislike, and what your dreams for the future,” The sliver-haired man said, and he gestured with his head towards Naruto, “You can go first.”

Naruto straightens up his posture, “My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen, training, and my family. I dislike studying and being underestimated! My dream is to help people who can’t help themselves, dattebayo!” Naruto declared as he puffed his chest out.

Hm, a heroic dream, The silver-haired man notes with a thoughtful twinkle in his eye. He Has a bit of an ego but a heart of gold… That’s to be expected.

Naruto elbows Harry to go next, Harry pushes Naruto’s elbow away as he introduces himself, “My name is Harry Potter, I like learning about new things, cooking for other people, and cleaning. I dislike, well… Not much of anything, I suppose. My dream for the future is to be free.” Harry said as he fixed his glasses, they got crooked because of Naruto elbowing him.

Ah… I may have to keep an extra eye on this one. The silver-haired man thought warily. Usually, freedom leads to a rouge ninja, but he hoped that's not the case with Harry.

“My name is Sakura Haruno,” She spoke with a great bit of pride for her name, “I like to study, my family and friends, I dislike people who behave superior. My dream for the future is to become a medical-nin.” Sakura finishes with a smile

Hm, a simple dream, but rather specific. The silver-haired man takes note of what Sakura dislikes. She hates superiority, a common behavior in well-known clans. She’s confident in herself and her skills. A good thing to have in the shinobi world.

Last but not least, Sasuke introduced himself, “My name is Sasuke Uchiha,” He was a bit monotone, his voice blank but not cold, “I don’t particularly like anything, nor do I hate much. My dream for the future will be a reality; I’ll avenge my clan and kill my older brother,” Sasuke said with a hard glare, then he added quietly, “And have a family again.”

Oh. I didn’t expect that. I thought he would be fully focused on revenge, but it seems not. The silver-haired man cocked his head to the side, lost in his thoughts of the four students he now has. These four have shown to be at the top of their class. It was a surprise that Danzo hadn’t attempted to put them in the Anbu, considering the potential they’ve shown in their scores. Well, it didn’t matter now. The silver-haired man notices the expectant eyes staring at him.

Oh, they’re waiting for his introduction.

“I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate… I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future… never really thought about it. As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies.”

The students deadpanned at his mysterious and vague introduction.

“You basically only told us your name.” Sakura remarks as her eyebrow twitches.

Kakashi chuckles slightly at their annoyance, “I’m not much of an oversharer.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders and peered down at the four children. It was a flimsy excuse at best, yet Kakashi went on to the next set of instructions before any of the children could push him for information. He didn’t share much, only warning them of a test tomorrow and that they should be up early without any breakfast. Suspicious. Once he was done, the meet-up was over, and the students were sent on their way.

Harry clears his voice and elbows Naruto pointedly, then glances at Sasuke and Sakura with his eyes. Naruto scowls and reluctantly asks, “Do you guys want to train for the test tomorrow? I have a training field at my house.” 

Sakura blinks with surprise, but she nods her head, “Sure.” Sasuke, on the other hand, only responded with a slight nod of his head. 

Naruto grumbles under his breath while Harry smiles brightly, “Ugh, c’mon, I’ll lead you to it.” Naruto said with a lazy slump of his shoulders, different from the skip in Harry’s step.

Hayato ears catch the sound of noises coming from outside of the back of the house, curiously, he heads to the source of the noise and peeks outside the window. In the training field, there were Naruto and Harry with two other children Hayato didn’t recognize, but he assumed it was their teammates. Hayato smiles at the sight of their training, and he closes the curtains, leaving them to their training.

Out in the training field, Sakura and Harry sat on the grass as they watched Naruto and Sasuke spar with each other, right now, it looked like it would be a tie. They had all agreed not to do any ninjutsu, only taijutsu, in case they’d be tested on their skills of hand-to-hand combat. The way Sasuke fought was like a ballerina, elegant and beautiful mixed into his movement, while Naruto was the opposite: His tactics were calculated and harsh, and he was a hands-on fighter. And the way he fought with the Hirashin kunai was absolutely amazing! Sakura watches with insightful eyes as she notes the weaknesses and strengths in both of their fighting styles, she always liked to analyze the way people fought, to see their tics and the way they think put into how they fight.

The training ground was silent, save for the rustling leaves and the sharp clink of metal against metal. Naruto and Sasuke stood across from each other, kunai in hand, bodies tense. No words were spoken—none were needed.

Then, they moved.

Naruto exploded forward, a blur of motion, his Hiraishin kunai flashing as he slashed downward. Sasuke sidestepped with practiced ease, his kunai twisting to redirect Naruto’s strike with a flick of his wrist. The movement was effortless—fluid, like a dancer mid-step. Naruto didn’t let up. He crashed forward, twisting his weight mid-motion, driving his elbow into Sasuke’s guard with brutal force. Sasuke barely had time to absorb the impact before Naruto’s leg snapped out, aiming low. The Uchiha twisted, barely avoiding a sweep that would have taken him off his feet.

Sasuke retaliated, spinning his kunai between his fingers before he lunged, the blade whistling through the air in a precise, almost graceful arc. Naruto tilted his head just in time, the blade slicing a single golden strand from his hair. But Sasuke was already moving again, his footwork a masterful blend of fluidity and efficiency, his body weaving like a shadow dancing under the moonlight.

Naruto snarled and surged forward, not with grace but with overwhelming, calculated aggression. He feinted left, then twisted his wrist sharply, reversing his grip on the kunai and driving it forward in a stab meant to corner Sasuke. The Uchiha twisted out of reach, landing softly on the balls of his feet, but Naruto was already on him.

No breathing room. No wasted movement. Press. Press. Press.

Naruto was relentless. His movements weren’t pretty—they were designed to kill. A knee to the ribs. A kunai thrust to the throat that stopped just short. A sharp palm strike aimed at knocking Sasuke’s weapon from his grip. Sasuke countered each attack, but it was getting harder. Naruto fought like a storm, each strike backed by ruthless intent, a battle of inches and pressure. Sasuke fought like the wind, dodging and parrying with flawless precision, never allowing himself to be caught.

Then, the shift came.

Sasuke pivoted on his heel, kunai slipping from his grip, only to catch it with his other hand mid-spin. A feint. A trap.

Naruto’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second—too late.

The kunai pressed lightly against his throat.

Silence.

A moment passed, and then Naruto chuckled. “Looks like I lost,” he said as he sheathed his Hirashin kunai and offered his hand to Sasuke. “Good fight, but I’ll win next time, dattebayo!” Naruto declared with a determined glint in his eyes.

Sasuke blinks, and his expression softens. He also sheathes his kunai and grabs Naruto’s hand, shaking it firmly. Sasuke nods his head silently, accepting Naruto’s words. 

“Sakura! Harry! C’mon, it’s your turn!” Naruto barks as he goes to sit on the ground. Sakura blinks, having been distracted by the intense spar between Naruto and Sasuke, but she quickly gets up on her feet and goes to stand in the middle of the field. Harry stood across from her, a beautiful katana in his hand. He held it loosely in his hand and gave a respectful bow to Sakura. Sakura did the same and positioned into a fighting stance.

The afternoon sun hung high, casting golden light over the training grounds. A gentle breeze rustled the trees, carrying with it the sharp scent of steel and determination. Harry stood relaxed, katana in hand, emerald eyes locked onto Sakura. He bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, shifting his weight fluidly, his stance open and unpredictable—like a bird poised to take flight. Sakura, in contrast, was still. Observing. Calculating. Her kunai rested loosely in her grip, her pink hair swaying slightly as she studied Harry’s posture, his breathing, and the way his fingers adjusted ever so slightly on the hilt of his sword.

A moment passed, and then Harry moved.

He was fast, faster than Sakura had expected.

In a blink, he was upon her, his katana slicing through the air in a graceful arc, the blade singing as it cut toward her shoulder. But Sakura was already moving. She twisted, pivoting on her heel, her kunai flashing upward to intercept the attack at the last possible second. The clash of metal rang through the clearing. Sakura barely took a step while Harry was already shifting, flowing from one movement to the next. He moved like the wind—light, unpredictable, untouchable. His strikes weren’t brutal but precise, each step barely touching the ground before he lifted off again.

Sakura’s eyes narrowed, her brain thinking rapidly of how she should respond. Right now, Sakura had no choice but to go on the defensive. So, she let Harry press forward, absorbing the flow of his movements. His patterns. His habits. The way he struck high before feinting low. The way his katana’s tip twitched just before a real attack.

And then, she adapted.

Harry lunged again, his katana arcing down in a swift, elegant slash—only for Sakura to dodge not backward but forward, stepping into his space.

Her kunai lashed out, not towards him, but to his katana’s hilt, forcing it off course.

Harry’s eyes widened slightly, but he recovered instantly, twisting midair to avoid her follow-up strike.

Still, Sakura smirked.

She had him now.

Harry landed, barely a heartbeat passing before he launched himself back into the fray, but this time, Sakura mirrored him. Perfectly.

When he slashed from the right, she dodged before he even finished the motion.

When he flipped backward to create space, she followed simultaneously, cutting off his escape.

She was predicting him.

Harry exhaled sharply. She’s copying me, Harry realized, and he narrowed his eyes, the emerald irises shining behind his glasses.

Fine.

He changed the rhythm.

Instead of his usual fluid movements, Harry abruptly shifted gears, his steps erratic, breaking pattern, and moving unpredictably. One moment, he was light and swift, the next, he stopped dead, forcing Sakura to react instead of anticipate. Her eyes flickered with surprise.

And Harry took advantage.

He dropped low; the movement was sudden, his katana spinning in his grip. The flat of the blade tapped against her wrist—a kill strike if he had chosen to use the edge.

Sakura froze and then sighed.

“…Sneaky.” she muttered.

Harry chuckled, standing and resting his katana against his shoulder. “You were catching on too quickly. Had to shake things up.”

Sakura rolled her shoulders, a smirk tugging at her lips. “I won’t fall for it next time.”

Harry grinned broadly, his emerald eyes twinkling beautifully, “I’ll be ready for when that happens.”

Naruto and Sasuke share various expressions of surprise and awe, “Wow! That was awesome, dattebayo!” Naruto exclaims as he stands up from his sitting position, “We’ll pass that test with ease tomorrow!” Naruto said as he vibrated with excitement while Sasuke silently nodded his agreement with Naruto’s expression. 

“I wouldn’t get too excited,” Sakura protests, her voice taking on the role of a teacher. “I can only assume that Kakashi-sensei will be testing our teamwork, so we should plan ahead to prepare.” Sakura suggests hesitantly, expecting them to dismiss her words, but surprisingly, she is met with nothing but agreement.

“Sakura has a point. We don’t know what the test will be, but it’ll probably have to do with how we work as a team,” Harry said and rubbed his chin, “Kakashi-sensei instructed us to wake up early and implied that we shouldn’t eat anything. Which must be a trick.” Harry guesses, “Maybe it’ll be like when we fought Iruka-sensei.” Harry adds with a shrug of his shoulders

From there, the children took that information and formed a plan. Each of them had their own sets of skills and things they were talented at. Harry was support, and with the way he fought, he would be able to back up whatever move they would do. Since Naruto was a hands-on person and a lot more vicious than the rest of them, he would be the distraction. The one to distract Kakashi-sensei (just in case). At the same time, Sasuke would go in for the strike, with Sakura doing the same thing. Since Sakura is capable of mimicking how a person fights, her brain works a mile to predict what a person’s move will be, going through each what-if situation that may happen. Thinking like that would hopefully catch their sensei off-guard. With that, they were officially prepared for tomorrow.

The morning sun shined down on the four kids who were waiting for Kakashi, of course, it took him forever to arrive:

“Good morning, students,” Kakashi arrived out of thin air with a relaxed posture as he was met with disgruntled expressions on his students' faces, “Sorry for being late, I was lost on the path of life.”

His excuse was met with deadpanned expressions. Kakashi chuckled lightly, and he rubbed the back of his head, “Ah, well, shall we get started?”

They went into a large field of grass with trees surrounding the area; the sun was shining much brighter now, the sky a baby blue without any gray clouds. Kakashi stood with his hands in his pockets as he explained the test today, three bells hung on the waist of his pants, “Today, only three students will be able to take these bells from me. The one who doesn’t will be sent back to the Ninja Academy,” Kakashi states with a cool expression. However, it’s hard to tell since half of his face is covered, “And not allowed any lunch either.” Kakashi added, and his dark eye narrowed, “Now, the test has started, you have only till noon to get the bells.”

"Come at me with the intent to kill."

After that, the students disappeared into the trees, hiding in the shadows.

Originally, it was only supposed to be three people: Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. However, due to the sudden arrival of Harry, there was no choice but to add him to a set of to-be ninja teams. And because The Third Hokage had ordered it so as well. An odd occurrence, but no one questioned it. Kakashi sighed as he brought out a book, “Icha Icha Paradise,” an adult novel, one that managed to capture Kakashi’s interest. But before he can read it, he notices Naruto’s presence.

“Eh?”

No one else was around, but Naruto stood there, hands on his hips, as he glared at Kakashi, “You look like a cyclops, dattebayo.” Naruto stated bluntly, with the cross of his arms. Kakashi squinted his eye, he felt slightly offended at the creative insult, and he lowered his book slightly.

“Shouldn’t you be hiding right now?” Kakashi questions with slight suspicion because Naruto’s just standing there, no weapon in hand, he’s just there. How odd…

Naruto huffs with a scowl, “No, ‘cuz I’m no coward, dattebayo!” The words fell from Naruto’s lips arrogantly, which was out of character from the way he behaved yesterday. Suddenly, Naruto’s lips spread in a wide grin, “You should probably look behind you.” He advises, then disappears in a puff of smoke. A clone. Kakashi's eye widens as he hears the sound of something heading his way behind him, he turns around and sees Naruto’s foot heading for his face.

With a burst of speed, Naruto swung his leg in a sharp, precise kick aimed straight at Kakashi’s head.

It should have hit.

But Naruto’s foot met empty air.

His heart skipped a beat.

Kakashi had ducked at the last second, so low he almost seemed to sink into the ground. His single visible eye curved into a pleased expression. “Nice try.”

Naruto’s world spun as Kakashi grabbed his ankle mid-kick and yanked.

WHAM!

Naruto hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the wind out of him. His clones vanished in puffs of smoke.

From the trees, Sasuke’s sharp gaze narrowed. Now.

While Kakashi was distracted, Sasuke sprang into action. He moved like a shadow, silent, deadly, kunai glinting in the morning light. His feet barely touched the ground as he closed the gap. Kakashi turned at the last second, blocking Sasuke’s kunai with his own. The clash of steel rang through the clearing. Fast, Kakashi noted. Almost too fast. Sasuke pressed forward, each strike more precise than the last, pushing Kakashi into a defensive stance. But the Jōnin never lost his footing, never broke his casual demeanor.

That was when Sakura moved.

With practiced precision, she analyzed every movement and every reaction. She had been watching, studying Kakashi’s counters, his dodges, his moments of distraction.

Now she acted.

She struck low, aiming for Kakashi’s exposed ribs—predicting exactly how he would block Sasuke next. Kakashi barely dodged in time, flipping backward to create distance. That was a mistake.

Harry was already there.

Like a bird in flight, he struck from above. The gleam of his katana flashed in the air as he descended, blade angled downward in a precise arc. Kakashi’s eye widened slightly—a fraction of a second before the steel met flesh.

But Harry never felt contact.

His katana cut through white smoke.

A log dropped where Kakashi had been. Harry flipped mid-air, landing softly, his emerald eyes flicking around the battlefield. A substitution? Where is he now—

Too late.

A hand shot from the ground, grabbing his ankle.

“Below you.”

Before Harry could react, Kakashi yanked him down, burying him waist-deep into the dirt.

Sakura and Sasuke barely had time to process what happened before they felt it—the unmistakable chill of metal against their necks.

Kakashi stood behind them.

Not winded. Not ruffled.

Just holding the three bells in his hand.

Silence.

Then—jingle.

Kakashi tucked his book away, eyes smiling. “You’re better than I expected.”

Naruto groaned from the dirt. “Yeah? Then why am I the one eating dirt?”

Kakashi chuckled. “Because you’re still too reckless.”

Sasuke tensed, fists clenched. “Tch. We still lost.”

Kakashi held up a finger. “Maybe. But…” His gaze softened slightly as he looked at them. “…you worked together. And that’s why you all pass.”

Four stunned faces turned to him.

Naruto gasped. “Wait—WHAT?!”

Harry, wiping dirt off his sleeve, grinned. “Not bad.”

Sakura breathed out a sigh of relief, and Sasuke exhaled through his nose, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

Kakashi turned, hands in his pockets. “Meet me tomorrow for your first mission. Oh, and…” His eye crinkled mischievously. “Harry, Naruto? You might want to take a bath.” With that, he was gone.

Naruto frowned. “I’m not that dirty—”

Harry plucked a twig from his hair. “…Sure, mate.”

Sakura giggled with amusement at the scene, while Sasuke just shook his head.

And from that moment on, Team 7 had officially begun.