Chapter 26: Genin Naruto Uzumaki

"Young man, your youth is truly blazing!" The "Youthful Old Boy" gave a thumbs-up, praising Naruto.

The glare from those blindingly white teeth made Naruto's eyes ache, but he had no words to retort. Having run 500 laps, he was now completely collapsed, finding it difficult to even move a finger.

How could this Youthful Old Boy still be so full of energy? Could a bowl-cut and a green spandex suit truly be the secret to eternal youth? The mere thought of dressing like that—ugh, absolutely not. However, looking at the sprightly old man, Naruto began to doubt his own eyes.

He checked his status panel.

[Muscle Explosion: 90 (3/10) → 92 (8/10)]
[Stamina: 90 (1/10) → 92 (2/10)]

His attributes were the same as ever; even without much exercise, his SSSSSS-rank talent had naturally pushed them to 90. The recent "life explosion" from the run had even caused his stats to surge by over two full points. These attributes were quite high—surpassing most Jonin, in fact. This old man was definitely not normal.

"Oh? It’s my dear friend Kakashi! Let us have a youthful duel!"

Following the old man's gaze, Naruto saw the great pervert... no, his respected teacher, Kakashi. Kakashi ignored Guy, his eyes fixed on Naruto with a complex expression. He had heard of Naruto’s reputation as the "King of Pranks," a boy who caused trouble throughout the village, and today, he had finally witnessed it firsthand. But pranks were usually played on others; he had never seen someone pull a prank on themselves. Having lived for twenty-five years, Kakashi felt he had truly seen something new today.

"Teacher Kakashi, I’ve completed the mission," Naruto hinted.

Kakashi refused to take the bait. The kid had impersonated him to issue this mission, and he decided to use this opportunity to teach the prankster king a small lesson. "Oh? Was there such a mission?"

"Isn't this a mission you issued, Teacher Kakashi?" asked Sasuke, who had just arrived, panting heavily.

Sasuke’s question made the atmosphere turn chilly. Kakashi didn’t answer, instead staring intently at Naruto, waiting to see how he would explain himself. Naruto’s response would determine his attitude. Even the ever-enthusiastic Teacher Guy sensed that something was off.

Sakura arrived shortly after. Seeing Kakashi, the exhausted Naruto, and Sasuke, she assumed she had failed her assessment. She was on the verge of tears, feeling as though Sasuke was already slipping away from her. "Teacher Kakashi, have I failed the assessment?"

Kakashi continued to stare at Naruto, as did Sasuke. Sakura, oblivious to the subtext, only wanted one last look at Sasuke. Seeing this, Naruto decided to initiate his... Plan B.

"Fine, actually this was all my—"

Before he could finish, Kakashi interrupted. "This was indeed a mission I issued."

Seeing Naruto take responsibility, Kakashi didn't intend to hold it against him forever. The actual content of the assessment didn't matter; what mattered was understanding teamwork. But this answer surprised Naruto. *Wait, buddy? I was already on my backup plan, and you pulled me back? You could have said that sooner!*

Ignoring Naruto’s inner thoughts, Kakashi scanned the other two. Each of them was fighting their own battle, showing no sense of cooperation. He said coldly, "But the result is: all three of you fail! You should not be ninjas!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura: "?"

"What did you think this assessment was about?" Kakashi didn't give them a chance to speak, answering his own question: "It was about teamwork! If the three of you had run together, supporting one another, you could have finished the 500 laps despite the difficulty."

Glancing at the tearful Sakura, Kakashi recalled what he had overheard them discussing the previous afternoon. His tone remained flat. "But all I saw was each of you fighting for yourselves. Do you even know what it means to be a three-man squad?"

"Teamwork, sharing in glory and disgrace!" Sakura shouted. This was the only question she felt she could answer; it was her only hope.

"Correct, but look at you." Kakashi fell silent for a long time, perhaps letting them reflect. Sakura sobbed quietly. Sasuke furrowed his brow, scanning Kakashi and Naruto with suspicion, sensing something strange between them. Naruto kept his eyes on Kakashi, feeling there was more to be said.

Would Kakashi really send them back to the academy? Impossible. No one would deny the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the last of the Uchiha a chance to be ninjas. *Teacher Kakashi, just serve it up already.*

As expected, Kakashi spoke again. "It’s not as if there isn't a second chance."

Sakura looked up in surprise, and Sasuke grew even more confused. Naruto wore an "I knew it" expression. Seeing this, Kakashi narrowed his eyes, though he kept his intentions hidden.

"However, there is a condition. Naruto!" Kakashi planned to punish this prankster king who lacked discipline and had dared to impersonate him.

"Yes?"

"You seem to like running upside down?"

Naruto, unsuspecting, replied, "It's alright... actually, I quite like it." Noticing the threatening glint in Kakashi’s eyes, he quickly changed his tune.

"Excellent. Since you like running so much, you will run another 500 laps alone—no, 5,000 laps. Once you finish, I will give you all a second chance tomorrow."

*Huh?* Naruto realized that Teacher Kakashi was punishing him. He had thought Kakashi was a decent guy for covering for him earlier, but he hadn't expected this. *You thick-browed, big-eyed man, you’re actually so cunning! And here I thought you were cool yesterday.*

"Starting now!" Kakashi pulled a stopwatch from nowhere. The expression, the gesture—Naruto felt a sense of déjà vu. Before he could think it over, Kakashi began the cold countdown.

"Three... two... one. Start."

"Damn it!" Naruto let out a roar and immediately began crawling upside down. *Consider it a punishment, then. I'll secure a chance for those two. 5,000 laps... that's all. Nothing more.*

"Add some effort!" A voice called out from behind him before he had crawled far. "Don't slack off, I’ll be watching you the whole time."

This specific warning finally helped Naruto solve the mystery. The despicable Kakashi was using his own prank tactics against him. Kakashi was really good at playing "Kakashi."

Watching Naruto crawl away upside down, Sakura felt nothing but sympathy. 5,000 laps—he’d be running until tomorrow.

"The two of you, you can go," Kakashi said. With a *whoosh*, he vanished, presumably to supervise Naruto.

"Hmph." Sasuke let out a cold snort, having mostly figured it out. Yet, for some reason, he kept thinking about that look in "Kakashi's" eyes. Such an oppressive gaze—was that really Naruto? He had sensed something during the earlier run, but now he felt it clearly. Was the gap between them really that large? Sasuke didn't want to believe it, but the facts left him no choice.

"Sasuke-kun, let's go eat," Sakura said, her eyes sparkling. Although she didn't fully understand what had happened, they had avoided disaster, and she still had a chance to be with Sasuke. Plus, without Naruto the "lightbulb" around, it was a perfect opportunity for them to be alone.

"I don't have time."

Sakura then watched as Sasuke began to walk on his hands, running forward to catch up with Naruto. Sasuke’s face was expressionless. He was doing this only because he didn't want to lose to Naruto—not because Naruto was running 5,000 laps to secure a chance for him, not because of the teamwork Kakashi mentioned, and certainly not because of the "glory and disgrace" discussed yesterday. Yes, that was it.

"Sasuke, Sasuke!" Sakura chased after him.

A while later, Naruto, having finished a lap, saw the two of them and found it strange. "What are you doing?"

Sasuke responded with a cold snort.

"Oh, I get it. That's right, we're a team! We share in glory and disgrace!" Seeing Sasuke didn't object, Sakura seemed to grasp the situation. Naruto suggested again, "How about we give our group a cool name?"

Sasuke was too exhausted to answer. Naruto, who still had plenty of energy, continued to talk. "We should pick a name early, before someone gives us one. 'The Three Ninjas'? Listen to that—it lacks uniqueness and style."

"If you ask me, we should be called 'The Hokage Legends'! Eh? Teacher Kakashi, why are you waiting here for us?"

Kakashi's eyes curved into crescents as he smiled. "Congratulations, you all pass!"