Disclaimer:
Dialogue
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 11: The Bell Test
He arrived at the training ground number three with a good ten minutes to spare.
His other two teammates were already there.
Sasuke was resting his back against a tree with his eyes closed, while Sakura was sitting under the next tree, looking at him with a smile on her face.
Her smile diminished when she saw him arrive.
Naruto wasn't sure if it was because he had disturbed her alone time with the other boy or because she just didn't like his presence.
'This is going to be a problem…' He had spent many hours thinking about the subject of this particular test.
The most likely scenario was… a compatibility test.
The academy had already tested their individual skills. The fact that they graduated proves they had the knowledge to be genins.
The only thing that remained unknown was… if they could work together.
He had read many books in the short period of time he had been awake in this world.
Although he still had much to learn, there was one thing he was sure about...this ninja village puts a lot of value in camaraderie and teamwork.
Working with these two was going to be difficult.
Sasuke was obviously the type who wanted to prove himself by accomplishing everything without help.
He could easily recognize this because in the past… he had been exactly like him.
Their ultimate goals may have differed, but the way to get there was the same.
As for the girl… she has no respect for him and would not listen to anything he could say. She would only listen to Sasuke.
'I may fail this…' He did not want to spend another year surrounded by young students.
His immediate goal was to become a ninja and gain more independence. Then he would be able to train without being bothered.
He also needed to learn more about this world. Information could be considered equivalent to power… and he had little to none at the moment.
Becoming a high-rank ninja would certainly help with that.
'I need to pass this test somehow. Besides, something tells me that I will not find a more qualified instructor than this Kakashi if I let this chance go.'
Naruto said a quick good morning and sat down next to a more distant tree.
Sasuke opened his eyes for a few seconds, stared at him, and closed them again.
Sakura just showed him a gesture of disdain before returning her attention to the other boy.
'Difficult… indeed.'
Naruto closed his eyes and began to meditate.
He didn't know if Kakashi was going to pull the same one from yesterday and arrive three hours late again.
He didn't want to waste time, and this was a great place to cultivate.
His consciousness went back to his Mind Palace where the golden book and the pool of chakra were located.
He had not returned to the room with the demon fox again. He had nothing else to say to that demon for the moment.
Instead, he focused on cultivating his body with the method gifted to him by the Golden Scripture.
The reason why everyone was after this Divine Treasure was because it was always able to give its users the most efficient cultivating method. No matter who it was or what it was, or...where it was.
In his past life, he was given a Divine Technique called the Crimson Dragon Ascend.
This was because his body had been especially attuned to the fire element, and his core had an affinity for dragons.
Had he been a demon or a ghost, the Golden Scripture would have been able to provide him with the absolute best possible technique available.
And now it had done the same.
Cosmic Assimilation… that was the name given to his current breathing method.
In this world, people circulate both yin and yang energies through their bodies to use their techniques.
With this method, he was able to infuse part of those energies into his body in a permanent way.
And he could do this with any type of energy he could somehow circulate through his chakra veins.
This included the powerful yang energy seeping out of a certain fox demon sealed inside his body.
A small amount of demonic yang was always leaking through his body. This was an intended design of the sealing method used on him.
Now, while he cultivated, some of that energy would remain with him and make his body more powerful instead of returning to the demon.
Naruto didn't know how long it would take because the demon had a tremendous amount of chakra, but one day, as he continued to absorb his energy… the demon would disappear… and become his strength.
'He said he was an eternal being… I'll show him who is eternal.'
"Naruto…"
He opened his eyes and saw Kakashi standing in front of him.
'The sun is in a very different position… I must have lost track of time…' He got too absorbed in his meditation.
"Hehe, sorry… I fell asleep." He said in an apologetic way while scratching his head.
"Naruto, you idiot! How can you sleep at such a moment!" Sakura was quick to scold him.
Kakashi's uncovered eye was sharply fixed on him. "It didn't seem like you were sleeping… but fine." He turned to look at the other two. "Gather around… I will explain your test."
"Are you not going to tell us why you were so late again?" Sakura asked.
"As you can see, I have two bells here." Kakashi said, while ignoring Sakura's question and proceeded to show them the two bells. "When I give the signal, we will start. Your objective is to get one of these bells from me, using whatever method you want, before the timer runs out."
He then tied the two bells to his belt.
"Wait, there are only two bells!" Sakura pointed out.
"I can see why you were number one at the academy." Kakashi nodded.
"Hey!"
"Only two can pass." Sasuke said.
Kakashi did not answer him and instead just went to place the clock down at the shade of a tree.
"How much time do we have?" Sakura asked.
"Normally, you would have five hours… but since we began a bit late… you have two." Kakashi told them.
"But that was your fault!" Sakura screamed.
"That's fine by me. I just have to get one of those bells…" Sasuke smiled. "Any method you said?"
"That's right… ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, shurikenjutsu… or anything else that you can think of. You can use anything that you want. As long as you get the bell within the time limit… you win." Kakashi said calmly before kneeling down to tap on the clock. "And the time begins… now!"