She found a secluded spot and soundlessly slipped toward the place where Team 7 usually gathered.
Soon she reached the edge of the familiar training ground and perched in a thick-branched tree that offered a perfect view.
As expected, the atmosphere on the field was electric.
Kakashi Hatake still looked half-asleep, dead-fish eyes lazy, explaining the rules in that uniquely annoying tone of his.
"…Which means, if you don't come at me with intent to kill, you won't get these bells."
He jingled the two small bells at his waist.
Below him, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura wore very different expressions.
"Well then… start!"
The moment Kakashi's voice dropped, Sasuke and Sakura leapt aside and vanished.
"Good. Concealing your presence is basic for a Ninja—nice work—huh?"
Just then Kakashi spotted someone still on the field: Naruto.
"Let's settle this right now!"
Kakashi: … Naruto roared and charged. Kakashi pulled out — icha icha paradise!
"Suppressing recoil while fighting and still keeping a straight face—talk about contrast."
"I'm adding you to the 'silent-type' tag."
Naruto instantly felt underestimated.
"I'll make you regret that!"
Naruto's fists and feet flew; Kakashi blocked one-handed, flashed behind him.
"A Ninja never shows his back to the enemy, idiot."
As he spoke, Kakashi formed hand seals.
"That seal… the Tiger. Using such an Advanced Ninjutsu on Naruto is overkill," Sakura muttered from hiding.
"That's Fire Release," Sasuke said, face grave.
"Naruto! Run! You'll die!"
Sakura shouted frantically.
"Huh?" Naruto glanced back, puzzled.
"Too late! Konoha's secret taijutsu Profound Truth!"
"A Thousand Years of Death!"
Naruto was sent flying.
"Hgn, hgn, aaaaargh!"
He traced a graceful arc through the air, screaming all the way until he splashed into the lake.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"This is exactly what I came for!"
Hinata laughed so hard her whole body shook. "…What the heck, it wasn't even a jutsu…" Sakura blushed scarlet.
Sasuke: … I can't take these two super idiots.
Kakashi suddenly heard laughter nearby and glanced toward it.
Was it Sakura or Sasuke? No, their hiding spots weren't over there.
He narrowed his eyes and saw a white-clad figure sitting in a tree, smiling down at them: Hinata.
She hadn't bothered to hide; this wasn't a secret mission, after all.
Kakashi wondered—every graduate Genin should be undergoing their Jonin test right now. Why was she here?
Before he could ponder further, two shuriken shot from the water; Kakashi caught them easily.
Then seven Narutos burst from the lake where the "death" had sent him.
Kakashi eyed the Clones.
"That must be the move that beat Mizuki… but you can't keep it up, Naruto—"
He hadn't finished when a Clone behind him wrapped him in a tight hold.
"Haha! Ninja shouldn't show their backs! I'm giving that back!"
"Fool, you could've just returned the favor with a Thousand-Year Kill right then."
Just as a fist was about to smash Kakashi's face—
"Poof."
The Kakashi in the Clone's arms turned into Naruto, who punched himself.
"Ah…"
Naruto froze, then it clicked.
"Hey… you're Kakashi, aren't you?!"
The Clones started brawling with each other in total chaos.
At last one yelled to dispel them; the backlash left the real Naruto bruised and swollen.
Kakashi had toyed with him like an old man teasing a toddler.
"Substitution sure is handy, though Late Stage Ninja barely use it."
What followed was Kakashi deliberately dropping the bells—only a fool would fall for such a trap.
And fool Naruto did, ending up strung from a tree.
Sasuke tried a shuriken sneak-attack; it hit, but the figure became a log—Substitution again.
Kakashi then used a genjutsu to show Sakura a dying Sasuke; she fainted on the spot—eliminated.
"Tsk, with emotions that wild, give her Uchiha blood and she'd awaken a Sharingan."
Finally Sasuke faced Kakashi one-on-one.
Sasuke struck with lethal precision far beyond his age, putting Kakashi under real pressure.
"No time to read now…"
He tucked icha icha paradise away; this one really was a monster unlike the other two.
Kakashi saw Sasuke's pride, but Kakashi had been wilder, once challenging Minato himself—he knew that road ended nowhere.
Sasuke's hands flashed through seals; Kakashi recognized Fire Release—impossible for a Genin, yet Sasuke hurled it out.
Kakashi neutralized it easily and buried Sasuke with Earth Release: Head Hunter, only his head above ground.
"Nice, Indra's Reincarnation planted like a ginseng—Konoha's got the firepower."
After that, nothing changed: the three were lined up at the posts, Naruto tied.
"Go back to the Academy."
Kakashi smiled.
Naruto and Sakura lit up, thinking they'd passed.
"All right!"
Then Kakashi's face darkened, tone sharp.
"I mean you have no right to call yourselves Ninja. All three of you—never be Ninja again."
"666, dude's got a second personality."
"What do you think Ninja are? The title isn't for looking cool; death and injury are daily fare."
"You're a team, yet you have zero team awareness."
"Sakura, your head's full of Sasuke; you ignore Naruto completely."
"Naruto, you charge like a bull with no thought for teamwork."
"Sasuke, you're arrogant and look down on comrades."
"A squad like yours will get people killed."
Kakashi lowered his eyes, just like in the old days… [Ding! host has fully witnessed and recorded the A-rank classic "Konoha Secret Taijutsu: A Thousand Years of Death" in its debut, and the formation of Team 7.]
[Reward: 888 points]
Hinata was speechless; she'd only come for the gag, mainly to see the Thousand-Year Kill—never expected so many points.
Well, the founding of Team 7 was a big deal in its own way.
With the mood now somber, she slipped away.
Why is every generation's Team 7 packed with people who can shake the world?
The first: Hiruzen, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane—today's top brass. The second: the legendary Sannin—Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru.
No need to elaborate, especially Orochimaru—Uncle Snake, master of core tech.
Later came Minato, Kakashi, and Obito—another Team 7.
Obito nearly destroyed the world; Kakashi became Hokage and turned Konoha into a cyber-city.
How did those old geezers assign teams so precisely, funneling every top fighter into the same class?
Or maybe Kishimoto's just obsessive-compulsive about symmetry.