Rise of The Phoenix Sage

CHAPTER 37: Bell Test...! - Part 2

(That Evening... Senju Residence...)

"...and sensei also said about some kind of a Survival Exercise tomorrow at 5AM in Training Ground 7 and he asked us to skip our breakfast too..." Naruto explained the events of today to his family as they were having dinner.

"I am sure you will perform good tomorrow Naru..." Tsunade assured her son. Shizune and Izumi also nodded agreeing with Tsunade.

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(Next Morning... 4:30AM...)

"Huh...? I thought you said that your sensei asked you to skip your breakfast...?" Izumi asked as soon as she entered the dining room and saw Naruto eating his breakfast.

Naruto just shrugged and replied, "Only an idiot would skip his breakfast when he is about to perform an important task..."

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(6 Hours Later... Training Ground 7...)

"I feel like an Idiot for skipping my breakfast..." Sasuke couldn't help but mutter out loud as he heard his stomach growl for the fifth time since he arrived in the training grounds 6 hours ago.

"I am also hungry... Sensei is still not here..." Hinata said meekly in embarrassment after her own stomach growled for the first time since she arrived.

Naruto and Eevee who were sleeping up until now woke up after they heard Hinata's stomach growl. They both fell asleep at 5:15 AM itself to be fresh and well rested for their survival exercise when Kakashi will eventually arrive.

Naruto rubbed his eyes and said, "I packed some additional supplies... I can share them with both of you..."

"You had them and didn't tell us up until now...?" The duckbutt haired kid shouted throwing all his Uchiha dignity in the gutter.

"Hey Teme...! I just woke up and didn't know that you didn't eat your breakfast...!" Naruto defended himself.

"I didn't eat because sensei told us to skip our breakfast..." Sasuke said angrily.

"Only an idiot would go to perform a task with an empty stomach..." Naruto said sarcastically and unsealed some fruits from his sealing scroll and held them out for his teammates.

The duckbutt haired kid just grabbed the offered fruits and started eating in a hurry. Hinata also gently accepted fruits and started eating.

(10 minutes later...)

"Yo..." Came the voice of Kakashi after the Kids finished eating.

"You're late...." Naruto said very calmly which seemed odd to Kakashi as he expected the blond boy to shout at him for being late.

"Well a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way..." Kakashi used one of his usual excuses.

"Sensei, you were late yesterday too... But I let it go because it was the first time..." Naruto was still sounding calm.

"Oh...?" Kakashi rubbed his chin like he was trying to remember what happened and said, "Yesterday, I just got lost on the path of life..."

"Well then you better find the correct path soon or I will be forced to file a complaint for a disciplinary action against you for your tardiness..." Naruto gave an underlined threat.

Kakashi was initially shocked at the threat but he didn't let it show and instead gave an eye smile and said, "A Genin cannot file a complaint against his superior. If it could be filed, it would have been filed a long time ago..."

"That's because no one thought of filing a complaint against you before for being lazy and possibly endangering the welfare of your subordinates in high risk missions by not being present on time when they needed you the most... But trust me I won't hesitate to do it if you're late again..." said the blond boy.

Kakashi hid his irritation well and said, "Hmm... What would a complaint against me for being a little lazy would do to me...?"

Hinata and Sasuke were too stunned to respond by the serious turn of events between their teammate and their sensei and don't know what to do. Eevee just shook her head, disappointed at the Jounin's lack of knowledge and Naruto replied, "If you were found being lazy, then according to The Shinobi Code of Conduct you could be demoted to either Chunin or Genin... There is also a possibility that you could be completely removed from the Shinobi program..."

Kakashi narrowed his eye at the underlined threat, but he did not argue with the boy anymore because what the blond boy said was completely true. So instead of responding to the warning he said, "Well...(cough) Lets get started..."

Kakashi set up an alarm clock on a nearby tree stump and said, "Here we go... Its set for noon..." He took a small pause to activate the alarm and took out a pair of bells which made some jingling sounds and then said, "Your assignment is very simple... You just have to take these bells from me... That's all there is to it..."

"hmmm...?" was the intelligent reply from Naruto.

"If you can't get them by noon, you go without lunch... You'll be tied to those posts and you watch while I eat my lunch in front of you..." Kakashi explained.

(Hokage Cabin...)

"Iruka... Why did you wish to see me...? I don't think you came here merely to drink tea with me and chat, do you?" Hiruzen asked the Chunin.

"Naruto has been assigned to Squad 7... The Jounin in charge of that group... Just how tough a trainer is he...?" The Chunin voiced out his question.

"Kakashi you mean...? You are concerned about him...?" Hiruzen said.

"I am... I heard a rumor about his training methods..." Iruka said.

Hiruzen took out a file and extended it to Iruka. The Chunin looked at the file and asked, "What's this?"

"All the trainees who have ever been assigned to him. Those who passed and those who failed..." Hiruzen replied.

"May I...?" Iruka asked permission to look through the file and when Hiruzen nodded he took the file and began to read through it.

(Training Ground 7...)

"You can use any weapons including shuriken... If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells..." Kakashi said after he completed explaining the consequences of not getting the bells and what happens to the one who did not get a bell if the remaining two get a bell each.

"Those weapons are too dangerous sensei..." Hinata tried to say, but Naruto interrupted her by saying, "HeHeHe... Especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser..." mentioning the prank he pulled on the Jounin and Eevee also yipped agreeing.

"Class clowns are usually the weakest links... You can ignore them..." Kakashi stated making fun of the blond boy. Then he completely ignored the shout of 'HEY' coming from the boy and said, "When I say start... Come at me with the intent to kill..."

(Hokage Cabin...)

"It can't be... This is even worse than the rumors..." Iruka said in shock after he read through the file.

"Kakashi's test may be a bit more difficult than others..." Hiruzen said.

"A bit more difficult...? Not a single student has ever passed his test...!" Iruka almost shouted.

"That's true... They all tried but not one of them could live up to Kakashi's standards... So, they were all eliminated..." Hiruzen replied.