Sasuke walked along the road home.
"You can't even be bothered to fake it anymore, huh?"
"There's no point. I don't want to waste my time playing stupid ninja games," Sasuke said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Team 7's situation is complicated. If Kakashi actually had the guts to send us back to the Academy to repeat a year, maybe I'd even look at him a little differently."
The shadow beside him keenly picked up on Sasuke's negative emotions.
"You seem to have a serious problem with Kakashi."
"Damn right I do. I despise anyone associated with Uchiha Obito. Whatever he cares about, I hate by principle." A twisted smile curled at Sasuke's lips, dark malice surging behind his eyes. "And besides, Kakashi himself isn't exactly what you'd call a respectable person."
Sasuke hated Kakashi. Some of it was prejudice born from Obito's shadow, but digging into Kakashi's past had only made that hatred deeper.
Kakashi loved to repeat one particular line: "In the ninja world, those who break the rules and laws are trash. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."
He'd even failed several groups of Academy graduates over that principle — because they didn't "value teamwork" or "cherish their comrades."
But here was the problem: the Academy had always taught the opposite. The ninja regulations were crystal clear — the mission was paramount.
It was ridiculous. Students spent years memorizing the textbook "right answers," only to be thrown out into the field and told the answers were all wrong. Worse still, their teacher didn't have the patience to explain — just immediate elimination if they didn't meet his personal standards. 'Not good enough? Back to school you go.'
The unlucky graduates Kakashi had flunked had simply drawn the short straw. Ordinary kids who had no choice but to follow the mainstream doctrine — mission first. After all, the last guy who publicly challenged that system (the White Fang) had been driven to death.
Kakashi's tragic past didn't mean others had to pay for it. In this rotten world, who wasn't struggling? Who wasn't pitiful?
At the end of the day, it all came down to background. Ordinary civilian ninja without any powerful backing? If they got sent back to the Academy? Too bad. No one would bat an eye.
But things were different now. Team 7 wasn't something Kakashi could handle however he pleased. Sasuke and Sakura might have been disposable — but Naruto absolutely was not.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had long since thrown away any pretense. He was openly rigging things to favor Naruto. Otherwise, how could Naruto have gotten his hands on the Scroll of Seals?
The favoritism was blatant. Anyone with half a brain could tell how important Naruto was to the Third Hokage. And there was no way Kakashi would dare cross Hiruzen.
The Scroll of Seals wasn't just a collection of high-level jutsu — it symbolized the village leadership's tight grip over "knowledge."
Most ordinary ninja could risk their lives for decades and still never touch the techniques inside that scroll. But Naruto? All he had to do was steal it, and he immediately learned the most suitable jutsu for him.
That's how the world worked.With Minato Namikaze's achievements, Naruto could sneak a peek at that scroll a hundred times and no one would dare truly punish him.
"How considerate of the Third Hokage," Sasuke thought sarcastically.
Truthfully, he couldn't understand Hiruzen's thinking when it came to Naruto — any more than he could understand Rasa's methods with Gaara.
Their ways of raising a Jinchūriki were simply... beyond comprehension.No normal person could make sense of it.
...
Sasuke spent the whole day holed up in the underground chamber.The next morning, a frantic pounding sounded at the Uchiha clan's door.
Sasuke adjusted his expression before answering.
"Iruka-sensei. What is it?"
"The Third Hokage wants to see you," Iruka said, wearing a complicated, almost resentful look.
"What for?" Sasuke asked coldly.
Iruka's mouth twitched. He took a deep breath.
"Sasuke... you and Sakura are good kids. Why did you two get a complaint from your jōnin instructor on the very first day? Don't you realize what kind of impact that could have on your futures—"
Sasuke cut him off, bored.
"Sensei, you don't have to worry so much."
Iruka blinked in confusion. "???"
"I'm the last Uchiha in Konoha. And Naruto... well, I'm sure you've noticed he's special, too." Sasuke's voice was calm, even a little mocking.
"No matter how many complaints Kakashi files, the Third Hokage will prioritize us. He'll drop Kakashi before he sends us back to the Academy."
Sasuke's confidence was unshakable.
"The one you should really worry about... is Haruno Sakura. She doesn't have the same safety net."
He gave Iruka a sidelong glance.
"Sensei, have you visited Sakura yet?"
Iruka opened his mouth, closed it, struggling for words. He wanted to argue, but he couldn't — because Sasuke was right.
When they reached the Hokage's office, Naruto and Sakura were already there.
Iruka had originally intended to plead for them, to stop them from being sent back to school. But remembering Sasuke's words along the way, he stayed silent. In this kind of situation, any protest from a powerless Academy teacher would only make him look pathetic.
Naruto opened his mouth to shout a greeting when he saw Sasuke — but froze when he caught sight of Sasuke and Sakura's identical, emotionless expressions.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his desk, looking absolutely exhausted. Kakashi stood quietly to one side.
Iruka bowed. "Third Hokage-sama, all three members of Team 7 are present."
He stepped back without another word.
Hiruzen cleared his throat. "I heard that yesterday, you three refused to obey your jōnin instructor's orders and failed to assemble at the designated location?"
"That's not true at all!" Naruto immediately jumped forward to defend them. "We got there early and waited for ages, but Kakashi-sensei never showed up. That's why we left!"
At that, Hiruzen looked even more miserable. He'd almost forgotten — not only were Naruto and Sasuke problem children, but Kakashi himself was practically a grown-up problem child.
"If Kakashi-sensei has a problem with Team 7," Sasuke said coolly, "there's no need for these petty tricks. We have no issue switching instructors. And frankly, I have no problem going back to the Academy."
Kakashi's brow twitched.
"You little brat. You sure seem to have a lot of complaints about me."
Kakashi felt himself getting irritated at Sasuke's snide attitude. But what he didn't realize was — this was Sasuke being polite. After years of dealing with the shadow's venomous tongue, Sasuke had picked up plenty of sharpness himself. Against simple-minded ninja like this, he barely had to try.
Sasuke almost spat out, "Only cheap people act so dramatic." But he swallowed the words at the last second.Konoha's countdown had already begun. He could afford to let them indulge their dramas a little longer.
Kakashi opened his mouth, ready to snap back — but Hiruzen cut in first.
One after another, all of them were too headstrong. Hiruzen didn't want any more complications. He immediately finalized it: Kakashi would officially be Team 7's instructor.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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