Thank you to all the readers who have waited patiently for new chapters. I will try my best to update more often. It seems like writing is a bit hard for me now.

[NOT EDITED]

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"So.. we failed?" Sakura asked hesitantly, looking up at [Name] with mortification swirling in her eyes.

The [hair color]ette hadn't said a word in the whole time she had gathered up Team Seven's limp bodies, since she was actually wondering how she was supposed to break it to them that they didn't pass.

They didn't seem to understand the point of this whole test; it was teamwork. At first glance, those clones of [Name] would be nearly impossible to take down alone at their level.

So, in short, the test wasn't really just her testing their skills. It was also about their ability to compromise.

Sakura looked down at the grass, the silence quite deafening. She desperately wanted to know if they had passed or not, even if she did get knocked out after one punch. Could she at least get an A for effort?

Naruto and Sasuke began to stir slightly before waking up completely, both of them seeming groggy and out of it. They didn't break out of their stupors until [Name] snapped her fingers in front of their faces.

"W-What happened, 'ttebayo..?" Naruto questioned slowly, taking in his surroundings with confusion.

Sasuke didn't utter a word, nor make a sound. He was glaring at the ground in some kind of annoyance or anger.

"You do not recall?" [Name] asked, tilting her head slightly.

Naruto shook his head slowly before a hand quickly swiped up to grab it. He must be in a lot of pain after taking that, admittedly unnecessary, beat down from her clone.

"You all failed to complete your mission. Would you care to know why?" [Name] asked, tilting her head.

All three nodded simultaneously, wordlessly looking down at the grass beneath them.

"Well, first of all, I would like to know what you all thought the purpose of this test was." She stated.

"Purpose..?" Sakura questioned, a confused look showing up on her face.

"Yes. The purpose."

"I thought it was to see how good we are at fighting?" Naruto queried through his busted lips, his face overall puffy and bruised.

[Name] sighed, " The purpose of this test was teamwork. I did not expect you all, as individuals, to defeat my clones as is. If you had teamed up and worked together to create a solution, the outcome may have been different."

Naruto looked confused.

"But that's no fair! How were we supposed to know your clones were going kill us, dattebayo!" Naruto protested, leaning forward quickly.

"That is the point. It is to simulate a real mission you will have to go on in the near future. You are going to meet people who want blood, people who have real intent to kill. And not just kill anyone, but kill you." [Name] explained solemnly, a wise gleam glinting in her eyes.

Sakura got chills up her spine, her face paling more than it already was. Sasuke hadn't said a word during the whole conversation, his gaze centered on the ground.

Naruto looked shock- stricken at the [hair color] haired woman, the feeling almost making him go lightheaded. He didn't understand. Teamwork? There was no possible way in the world he could work with that teme Sasuke.

[Name] sighed, "Alright, I believe you all deserve a second chance. But if you fail this mission, you must return to the Academy."

All three students perked up, now alert and excited at what was to come. Minus Sakura.

"Another chance?! This is too much! Can't we just give up?" Sakura pleaded, still feeling the force of that clone's punch in her gut. She was scared, and the painful tingling that ran up and down her body reminded her of the many conflicts she was going to have to face eventually.

[Name] looked at the pink-haired girl, her eyes trained on her green ones.

"If you give up, then these two will all be forced to resign from their role as Genin also." She said, her eyes darting towards the two boys.

Sakura looked horrified as she glanced towards her two teammates, who stared back with wide, pleading eyes. If they were to quit now, then they'd never become ninja at all.

Sakura gulped and screwed her eyes shut, ignoring the tingling all over her body. She couldn't be the cause of Naruto and Sasuke not becoming ninja because of her. She couldn't stand the guilt!

"Okay, I'll do it!" She shouted, clenching her fists tightly.

[Name] nodded, not surprised at her proposal. "Alright, the decision has been made. I will give you some time to rest." And then she disappeared.

A loud sigh came from Sakura. "That was hard.."

"Hn. If you had to think about continuing on being a ninja, then maybe you shouldn't be one at all." Sasuke retorted bluntly, his gaze casted towards the pink-haired girl.

Sakura had this hurt puppy look on her face and tears started to well up in her eyes. She blinked them away and looked at the ground, staying silent. Sasuke didn't say anything after his harsh statement either, while Naruto was looking back and forth between them feverishly.

There was a long, long moment of silence between the three students as they sat there in the grass. [name] stood in the distance, watching as they sat there, not even talking. She pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes in concentration as her hands weaved a familiar hand sign. 

A clone appeared by the [surname], the replica standing there and waiting for an order. She nearly groaned when she noticed the clone's head was tilted slightly downwards, a sign that showed the clone was very timid. Not to mention the shy look and red cheeks plastered on her face.

[name] sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering if she should just disperse it and create another one. It would have to take the last of her chakra, and she really needed that right now. The clone fiddled with her thumbs and avoided eye contact, mostly glancing in the direction of the sulking teammates gathered around each other. [name] resisted the urge to roll her eyes—it was unprofessional—and ordered, "You, listen. I order you to act like me and pretend to want to kill them. Got it?"

The clone nearly let out a small gasp as she stared at her mirror image in horror.

"K-K-K-Kill?! I can't d-do that! T-They're only kids!" The clone fretted, clasping her hands together and crying out in despair at the thought of hurting the innocent souls.

[name] rolled her eyes—the urge was too strong, forget being professional—and roughly grabbed the clone by her shoulder, shaking her vigorously.

"That is why I said pretend!"

By now, the clone had tears running down her cheeks and snot bubbling out of her nose at the immense pressure. She simply nodded, knowing she couldn't defy her user's orders, no matter her feelings or condition.

"On my signal you will approach them with a confident front, understand?" [name] said, stressing the 'confident'.

The clone nodded slowly, her pointer fingers fidgeting together bashfully, tears gone. [name] peeked out from the side of the tree, seeing that Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had all seemed to have caught their breathe. She looked towards the clone and pointed towards them, jerking her head in their direction.

The clone nodded and disappeared, reappearing in front of the three. She nervously stood in front of them, expertly hiding her nervousness under a deadpan expression.

"Well, since it seems you are all rested, I will now.. uhm.. explain your next mission," the stutter caused some weirded out glances to be thrown her way, and [name] to screw her eyes shut and face palm.

"I will give you all four hours to find me. If you fail to complete this mission, you will not become ninjas. You have permission to use anything that you think will aid you. Good luck."

And the clone dispersed, along with the real [name].

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Uggghhh so mad at this ending. I just wanted to hurry up and finish so I just came up with some crap.