Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Kakashi had received the memories from his clone less than a minute before the first child showed up.
The unique red hair was a dead giveaway to the child’s Uzumaki heritage, but it was clear even gathered in a ponytail as it was that it was much unrulier than his mother’s had been. The natural pallor of his skin also made it seem redder than it already was. His features, still childish, took after the boy’s mother down to the very colour of their eyes, a deep plum blue. The shape of his ears, a bit more pointed than it was natural for a human’s, were a testament to his mother’s Jinchūriki status whilst she carried them, much like Naruto’s whisker marks. All in all, Akira looked like a younger version of Kushina, only the slanted shape of his eyes reminiscent of Minato’s.
The child was closely followed by his panting brother, who he seemed to have beat in a race. Naruto was the complete opposite of Akira, from what he could see.
Naruto was taller than his brother, his blond spiky hair an almost perfect match to his father’s, along with the healthy tan of his skin. He’d taken after his father in colouring and everything else but the shape of his blue eyes, that were wider and less slanted. Much like Akira resembled their mother, Naruto looked like a small copy of their father.
Whether they took after them in personality remained to be seen.
Looking less winded than the Uzumaki twins arrived Uchiha Sasuke. The last of the Uchiha was easily recognisable by his features alone, black eyes and pale skin being all too common in that family even without adding his dark spiky hair into the mix, though his had a bluish tint where the sun hit it. He looked more like his brother at that age than the boy would be comfortable to know.
Finally, the girl came in behind Sasuke. Haruno Sakura’s long pink hair, held back by her hitai-ate, was unusual for someone from civilian background, but would not stand out so very much amongst shinobi. She was fair-skinned as well, with moss-green eyes and a wider than average forehead.
Kakashi waited for the, all to take a seat on the stairs in front of where he was leaning on the railing before speaking. He took note of how they positioned themselves, with Sakura gravitating to Sasuke’s right whilst Akira took a seat on his other side, providing a physical barrier between him and Naruto.
“Alright, why don’t you start by introducing yourselves? One by one.”
“Introduce ourselves? What are we supposed to say?”
He held onto the urge to sigh at the girl’s words. She was obviously the kind used to getting the teacher’s praise, worrying about doing anything wrong in their eyes. As if her apologising and setting the blame on her teammate for that silly prank just minutes before hadn’t spoken for itself.
“Things like… things you like, things you hate, your dreams for the future, your hobbies… You know, that kind of things.” Answered the jōnin shrugging before crossing his arms over his chest.
“Why don’t you introduce yourself first? That way we’ll see how it works.” Prompted Naruto.
“Me? I’m Hatake Kakashi.” During the small pause after his name, his eyes noticed the small frown that creased Akira’s forehead, who seemed adorably confused for a second there. Curious. Or perhaps not. He was a ninja of renown. “Things I like and things I hate… I don’t feel like telling you.” Their collectively confused faces at the standard introduction he’d given to each and every team he’d tested and failed were amusing enough. “As for my dreams for the future… I’ve never really given it much thought. And as for hobbies… I have lots.”
The four children exchanged a totally unamused look at his antics.
“So the only thing we’ve found out is his name.” grumbled Sakura, the boys all agreeing for once.
“Well, it’s your turn. You, the one on the right, you go first.”
“I’m Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!”
First sentence and he’d already discovered the blond had inherited Kushina’s verbal tic and energetic personality as he fiddled with his hitai-ate as if checking it was still there.
“I like instant ramen and the ramen at Ichiraku’s, especially when Iruka-sensei is paying. I also like my brother’s hair. I hate waiting the time it takes for ramen to be ready and when my brother makes me practise kanji. My hobbies are tasting and comparing different kinds of ramen, watering plants and brushing my brother’s hair. And my dream for the future is to be the greatest Hokage. That way, the whole village will have to acknowledge me and my brother.”
‘Interesting.’
Now he understood better why the Hokage was so reluctant to separate the twins. Each detail Naruto had shared with them about him included his brother in some way, shape or form. When the Hokage said they were each other’s world, he hadn’t been exaggerating.
Although it was understandable in their circumstances that they would latch onto the only other person who’d been a constant in their lives up to that point, Kakashi couldn’t help but think that dependence was a problem when both of them had chosen life as shinobi. Even now, not yet true genin, they were at risk of being split apart.
It was something they’d have to remedy, especially with all the risks involved with those two particular boys.
“Alright, next.” He said already looking at the kunoichi of the group, whose eagerness only served to accentuate his first impression of her.
“I’m Haruno Sakura. What I like… I mean, the person I like is…” cue in a giggle and a shy look in the Uchiha’s direction. “My hobby is…” more of the same. “My dream is…”
She actually squealed and Kakashi almost facepalmed. He’d already figured she was a fangirl when he’d been watching her class in the morning along with the other jōnin-sensei’s, but it seemed like Sasuke was her one and only reason to have pursued a career as a kunoichi. He almost felt insulted by her shallow attitude in the name of the strong kunoichis he was acquainted with. It was ridiculous.
“What else?” he asked, hoping against hope for any redeeming qualities. “Something you don’t like?”
“Naruto!”
That earned her a wounded look from said boy and a scowl from Akira.
“Right, next.” Said the jōnin turning his attention to the Uchiha.
“My name’s Uchiha Sasuke. I hate lots of things and I like nothing in particular.” Said the child, ignoring the looks his teammates sent his way. The mood seemed to darken bit by bit as he spoke. “I don’t have a dream, because it’ll come true. I will rebuild my clan and destroy a certain someone.”
‘Just like I thought.’
Sakura didn’t seem to have truly listened to what her crush had said, or at least didn’t look like she understood what he meant. He was glad to notice that the other two boys had a much healthier reaction to their teammate’s words, with Naruto’s look of worry at the twelve year old and Akira’s disturbed expression as he inched closer to his brother and away from the black-haired boy.
“Fine, only one left. Go on.” He encouraged the redhead.
“I’m Uzumaki Akira.” Started the child in a calm voice. “I like spending time with my brother and dogs.” Kakashi felt a small smile tilt up the corner of his lips as he thought of his own ninken. “I hate people who are mean to my brother. My hobbies are reading and training. My dream is…”
The child trailed off when he got to that part, a small frown appearing on his face.
“Your dream is…?” prodded the jōnin.
But the redhead simply shook his head, shoulders slumped and eyes sad.
“Don’t worry, you’ll find a dream soon!” exclaimed Naruto throwing an arm over his brother’s shoulders. “Maybe you can be Hokage after me!”
The redhead smiled a little at the blonde’s enthusiastic attempt to cheer him up, but said nothing. At the very least, it served to lighten the mood after the Uchiha’s short speech.
“Well, you’re all unique individuals and have distinct ideas. We’ll have our first mission tomorrow.”
They all seemed to perk up at the mention of a mission, though he didn’t miss that the little redhead was, again, looking intently at him with a frown.
“Great! What kind of mission is it?” asked the orange-clad child.
“It’s a task we’ll do all together.” He said, letting the expectation drag on.
“What? What? What?”
“A survival exercise.”
“A survival exercise?” repeated Naruto.
“I thought we’d be going on a real mission, not more practice. We already practiced enough at the Academy.” Protested Sakura. “That’s why we’re here.”
The indignation in their faces amused him greatly. Strangely enough, Akira’s frown had disappeared and he was suddenly looking… relieved? No matter, if he thought it was just a typical survival exercise he would soon learn otherwise.
“This is not like the exercises you did at the Academy.”
“What kind of exercise is it, then?” frowned Naruto.
Kakashi released a low laugh, knowing it would only serve to infuriate them.
“Wait, that’s actually a reasonable question. What’s so funny?”
“If I tell you the answer, you’re not going to like it.” Said the jōnin smiling behind his mask. “Out of the 28 graduates who got this far, only nine are usually accepted as genin. The remaining candidates will be returned to the Academy. In other words, this test will determine whether you fail or succeed in becoming genin and, with a 66% failure rate, your chances are already rather low.”
Kakashi gave them a moment to assimilate his words, taking in their varied expressions.
“See? I said you wouldn’t like it.”
“That’s crazy!” exploded Naruto. “We’ve all worked hard to get to this point, dattebayo! What was the graduation test for!?”
“To wheedle the ones with no chances to make it and select the candidates to becoming genin.”
“Exactly.” Nodded Kakashi. “That’s how it works. I decide if you pass or not.”
“What?” exclaimed Naruto, looking a mix between angry and horrified.
“Meet me at the designated area at 5 am tomorrow; bring your ninja gear. That’s all. You can leave. Oh, and don’t bother eating breakfast unless you want to puke it.”