Dark Phoenix of Konoha by White Angel of Auralon

Part 5 - Bell Test

Bell Test

The next morning saw Sasuke and Sakura waiting for their sensei with empty stomachs. Naruto sat a bit away from his team, dozing under a tree with a full stomach. He knew that if you had the chance, you always ate before you had to fight to have enough energy to last through the fight. And if you didn't have much time, that's what energy bars had been made for. Being a ninja took energy, so following Kakashi sensei's suggestion or not seemed to be another test.

They had to wait for two hours until Kakashi came. Now Naruto was doubly glad he had ignored the advice. Sasuke and Sakura were obviously really hungry now.

"Good morning, team." Kakashi greeted.

"You're late!" Sakura screeched.

"You see, on my way here I saw an old lady that had to carry a heavy bag with her groceries, so I had to help her and carry her things home." Kakashi said.

"Liar!" Sakura shouted.

Naruto just shook his head. She let him rile her up even before the test started. Not a good way to show your skill. But then again, she didn't have real skill.

"Well, you know why you are here. Your genin test. To pass this test you have to get these two bells from me." Kakashi explained, showing them two little silver bells, which were chiming in his hands.

"But, Kakashi sensei, there are only two bells for the three of us." Sakura said.

"Correct. That means one of you won't get a bell. The one that doesn't get a bell will be tied to the post and I will eat lunch before his eyes." Kakashi said,

Two stomachs grumbled. Kakashi looked at Naruto.

"You seem to have eaten breakfast, Naruto; care to tell your team-mates why?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, you idiot. Didn't Sasuke tell us yesterday that ninjas have to follow their superior's orders?" Sakura yelled at him.

"A ninja needs to detect hidden meanings and tests. You only said we better not eat because we would only throw up. That isn't an order the way your worded it. It's more a bit of advice. But against a jonin like you we would never have a decent chance to pass any test if we didn't eat. Therefore I didn't take your advice." Naruto calmly said. "A ninja has to be able to decide which information is relevant for his mission and which is not."

"That is correct, Naruto, it wasn't an order. How would you have solved the problem if I had ordered not to eat before coming here?" Kakashi asked.

"I would have brought an energy bar to eat once I am here." Naruto answered.

Kakashi nodded appreciatively. That was the way a ninja should think.

"Good thinking, Naruto. You should all think how you can interpret orders so you get the best possible result for you and your team. Orders are not always set in stone, they allow us flexibility to fulfil our missions, otherwise there would be no need for ninjas to think and each mission can be compromised by bad information. That is one lesson you should always remember. A ninja needs to see underneath the underneath. Never take things at face value." Kakashi lectured.

Sasuke nodded. It made sense to him. He should have expected another test after the traps yesterday. He would be better prepared in the future. And obviously he needed to newly evaluate Naruto. He was in no way as stupid as he had seemed in the academy. Perhaps he wouldn't be only dead weight slowing him down. But first he needed to see how strong Naruto was to accept him as a team-mate.

"Additionally to not getting to eat, the one or ones who don't get a bell will be sent back to the academy for retraining." Kakashi announced.

This shocked Sasuke and Sakura. Going back to the academy? Naruto stayed calm. He had expected something like that. He would see what he could deduct once he wasn't under Kakashi's scrutiny. Then Kakashi took out an alarm clock, which brought a tick mark on Sakura's forehead.