"I think he over did it," Naruto mumbled as he looked at his surroundings. He made sure Sasuke hadn't seen him. He didn't want the Uchiha to ask him for help, but then again, Sasuke didn't seem like someone who would ask for help even if he needed it. That boy never bothered Naruto in the slightest, but he did seem a bit... full of himself.

That's only one of the things that bothered Naruto since they've become team seven, unofficially, of course. There will not be a team seven for all I know, and at this rate, there's a big chance there really isn't going to be one. He normally wouldn't have cared, but in this situation...

[-]

"Also, did anyone give you a hard time? You broke a sweat," the blonde-haired boy asked. He noticed that Kakashi came without his nose in the book, instead he came to Naruto and then took out his book. That was surely proof that Kakashi was forced to be a bit serious, the Jōnin never put that book down for anything else.

"No, I just got surprised by the Uchiha's actions. Thats all," he replied hesitantly, knowing Naruto's... teasing side. Thats something he doesn't want to go through again, the blonde knew what buttons to push.

"Is that so? You underestimated them, did you not?" Naruto pushed.

"No, I know they will lose and fail, then I will send them back to the academy. I bet you that much."

"I bet that they will pass," Naruto said with his head held high, which he doesn't do very often. He didn't know what came over him at all. Though he did see some potential in them, that was for certain.

"Right, then would you be going back to academy with them even though they would be the ones to fail. You could've remained on the team anyway."

[-]

Naruto dreaded the thought of going back to that academy and putting on a mask again, he would get a lot of unwanted attention, something he absolutely hated even since he was a child. He had agreed anyway, he usually was right about his statistics, he wasn't going to doubt himself. If they figured out the meaning of the test that would be enough for them to pass, although, it seemed to be a really big if at this point.

"He was forced to use ninjutsu?" The blonde whiskered boy mumbled as he examined the scene before him. Uchiha Sasuke was trapped underground, the only thing actually showing he was there was the boys head, and by the look on Sasuke's face, it was clear he wasn't amused. It was quite laughable really, but then again, Naruto wasn't the giddy type.

Naruto soon found his female teammate somewhere close to Sasuke's location. "Genjutsu." It was clear what had happened as Naruto looked at Sakura's unconscious form. "I think he over did it a bit, but she has to learn to see through these things. She studied it in class, how could she still not see it coming," Naruto said in a monotone, yet slightly disappointed sounding voice. "Though the Uchiha must have given Kakashi a hard time if he had to use ninjutsu," mumbled the blonde.

As he stood there silently, the pink haired girl got up without a sound. Naruto honestly didn't expect her to wake up so soon, he just stood there, waiting to hear her response to the situation. Her eyes were half open and she felt a bit dizzy, then her eyes were wide open once she processed what just happened in the genjutsu.

Sasuke, he was on the verge of... No! She instantly regained her strength and awareness, worried about her crush. "Sasuke! No! You got to survive! Please!" Sakura exclaimed, not realizing that Naruto was there and saw her screaming to the sky.

Naruto crossed his arms and looked down, avoiding eye contact from her. She still didn't notice him. He awkwardly stood there, finally deciding to catch her attention by clearing his throat loudly so she heard it over the screaming. She jumped up with a scream as she whipped her head towards the noise, only to be met by the gaze of blue eyes that never sparkled since he took off his mask.

"Naruto?" she exclaimed in surprise, not expecting him to be there. Naruto didn't answer, instead, he gestured his hand to point to a direction, about northwest of where he stood opposite of her. "Huh?" she questioned his actions with that simple word.

"You're looking for him, right?" Naruto said, only then having Sakura understand what he meant by the gesture.

[-]

He's stronger than I am, I can't get around that, Sasuke thought in annoyance, a slight scowl on his face.

Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration, but soon grew confused when he heard sounds in the bushes in front of him. Out of the bushes came a sprinting Sakura, she stopped running right away once she saw Sasuke's head. Her eyes widened and they both stared in silence. Sakura was frozen in her stance as she processed what she saw, thing all of it was just a horrible nightmare Sasuke was still, ever so slightly, surprised to see her. He decided to speak, but soon regretted the choice.

"Sakura."

She screamed in horror, her eyes growing wide and frightened. "Sasuke's just a head without a body and he's talking!" She fainted out of the blue as Sasuke looked at her weirdly. "...and that's my partner," he said with a sigh, still not free from the ground. He then heard a ruffle in the bush once more, this time it was Naruto who came out, calmly walking towards them. "Oh, she fainted," is all he said once he turned his head towards the weird scene now before him. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the blonde.

What kind of reaction is that?

[-]

Sakura opened her eyes, finally waking up from her deep slumber. Sasuke wasted too much time waiting for her to wake up and he didn't even know why he stayed, even though Naruto was there too. Sakura woke up to see Uchiha Sasuke sitting right next to her. She was quite overwhelmed, so much so that she almost forgot Naruto stood beside Sasuke with his hands in his pockets. She completely forgot once she realized that her beloved was okay.

"Sasuke!" Naruto heard Sakura exclaim for what seemed like the hundredth time, only counting today day. It was even getting tiresome just hearing her voice at this point. Nevertheless, this was his teammate, and he had to prepare himself to spend time with her, meaning it was best to deal with it and get used to it. It would probably get better over time, right?

The girl sat up immediately giving the boy on her side a bone crushing and very unwanted hug, the unwanted part only emphasized by Sasuke's clearly uncomfortable and agitated look. "You're okay!"

Sasuke tried pushing away, but it was of no use. How she fell for that genjutsu when she's so smart is a mystery to me, Naruto thought as he looked at them with a blank look. "Hey, cut it out. Let go! Let go!" This time Naruto anime sweat dropped. And how her grip is so strong yet she can't handle herself in combat? I will never understand these people even if I try. Naruto shook his head as his arms remained crossed, a very quiet sigh leaving his lips.

Sasuke got up, finally breaking free of his teammate's grip. "I have to get a bell before lunch. That doesn't leave much time," he spoke his mind, ready to leave immediately and attempt to get the bell again.

The cherry blossom of the group got up from the ground. "Sasuke, you're still trying to get one of those bells?" She couldn't understand why, it was clearly useless.

"I touched one just a while ago, next time I'll get one for sure," he said full of confidence and a bit of anger as well, since Sakura decided on her own that the bells weren't important enough to get. Naruto, on the other hand, thought it was quite smart of her, knowing the time limit is near its end, meaning that the bells are nearly impossible at this point. Naruto did have a few tricks up his sleeves, however.

Sakura praised Sasuke for his efforts, complimenting him as though the Uchiha had just saved a child. Naruto took out something from his pocket. "Well, then, that means that Haruno~San would be the one to leave our little group," Naruto caught their attention with his normal tone of voice, something which both his teammates weren't completely used to yet.

"Huh, what do you mean by that?" Sakura was angered at his statement, but her confusion at the statement showed the most. She was not going to be separated from Sasuke, this was her dream team. Well, I guess Naruto too, but he's so mean with his new personality that came out of nowhere! Sakura yelled in her head.

"Look for yourself." He opened his right hand to reveal a shiny silver bell. Naruto, though he succeeded to shock them, never smiled or felt pride. He was just trying to keep his cover up, that was the main reason he was taking part in the test at all. It was also a good way to motivate these two, especially Sakura. He already figured the reason why she wanted to pass... Though, in his defence, he stole it from Kakashi without him noticing, so he was technically taking part.

"You got a bell!" Sakura exclaimed in shock, clearly not expecting that. Sasuke's eyes widened significantly. How?

"Thanks to both of you whom distracted him. I got it quite a while ago," Naruto stated as if it weren't a big deal, and it really wasn't, for him at least. He was speaking the truth, when Sasuke and Sakura were talking to Kakashi he stole it from the Jōnin.

Sakura then tried to persuade Sasuke to try with her next year, but Sasuke just gave her a death-glare that shut her up. The wind blew quietly, rustling the leaves as Naruto watched Sasuke, who looked to be deep in thought. "I'm the only one who can destroy that person," he spoke his thoughts out loud. Naruto could tell all of this was getting to him, Naruto getting a bell before him, Sakura giving up, all of that was getting to Sasuke.

Naruto didn't say anything, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Though what confused him was that Sasuke thought he was the only one able to take revenge, there was no way that Sasuke could defeat Itachi of all people, that man was one of the best and brightest in the village.

Who told him that? His way of thinking isn't his own, did Itachi brain wash him? Naruto asked himself as he looked up at the sky, watching the clouds pass by through the thick foliage, somewhat listening to Sakura and Sasuke exchange words. This way of thinking is bad. I have to do something about this before it corrupts him completely.

He glanced at them as he heard the timer go off in the distance with a screech. "I wasted too much time," Sasuke groaned angrily as he walked towards the spot they had to meet. Sakura followed after him, leaving Naruto behind as he looked at Sasuke's retreating figure.

Maybe I should reveal the truth to him. About his clans demise, why they were killed, why Itachi was the one to do it. Should I... tell him? Naruto very lightly grimaced at the options he was faced with as he followed his teammates, silently awaiting the judgement that was to come from Kakashi.