Chapter 44: Young Eagles
"Teammates…"
Sasuke pursed his lips and turned his head slightly, feeling a little embarrassed to look directly at Sakura.
Seeing Sasuke acting a bit tsundere, Sakura glanced at Naruto on the other side and said:
"Cleaning the garbage in the river can wait. Let's try tree climbing first."
After all, it was just a D-rank mission. They could easily finish the training and then take care of the task.
Besides, it was just tree climbing and water walking. With Sasuke and Naruto's talents, it wouldn't take them long to master it.
"Alright!"
Naruto immediately dashed toward the riverbank, excited and full of energy. Sasuke followed close behind.
Kakashi watched the two run off, his face forming a bitter expression. He moved closer to Sakura and said awkwardly:
"Um, Sakura… about the mission~~~"
Sakura shot him a slightly displeased look and said:
"If I hadn't brought it up, when exactly were you planning to start training them?"
"Uh, ha, hahaha, I was just trying to build their patience, you know~~~"
Kakashi laughed awkwardly, trying to dodge the issue, but the little girl in front of him frowned, clearly unconvinced.
"Kakashi, you're their teacher. It's your responsibility to train them."
"Besides, the Chunin Exams are just around the corner. If you keep this lazy attitude, do you really want to see them defeated by some no-name genin?"
Sakura frowned deeply as she stared at the white-haired man who was clearly trying to pass the buck.
Kakashi had no words to respond. Looking at Sakura lecturing him like a teacher scolding a student, he couldn't help but feel a little helpless.
Were Naruto and Sasuke weak?
To be fair, at the genin level, they weren't weak at all.
Naruto had the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. With his sheer number of clones, he could wear down many opponents of his level.
Sasuke was skilled in the Uchiha clan's throwing techniques and already knew Fire Style jutsu. That alone could let him beat many genin.
But Sakura wasn't comparing them to ordinary genin—she was comparing them to Neji, Rock Lee, and Gaara.
Against any of those three, Naruto and Sasuke were bound to be overwhelmed.
Even if the two of them teamed up, they might still lose.
"…."
Kakashi's eyes wandered, feeling awkward under Sakura's steady gaze.
The moment he heard that Sakura would be placed in Team 7, he knew something like this would eventually happen.
He just didn't expect it to come so soon.
"…Alright, alright, I get it."
Kakashi finally gave in with a resigned sigh.
It seemed with Sakura around, his days of taking it easy were over.
Sakura crossed her arms and looked at Naruto and Sasuke, who were both secretly competing to see who could climb higher.
"Teach Sasuke the Chidori."
"I'll go talk to the old man and get the Rasengan for Naruto."
Kakashi was stunned. He quickly turned to Sakura, eyes wide.
"Sakura, are you serious?"
"Chidori is an S-rank jutsu!"
"You really want to teach it to him at this stage? Isn't that a bit too soon?"
Sakura's jade-green eyes met his, calm and steady as she replied:
"The Fourth Hokage saved his future wife from the Cloud ninja at twelve."
"You invented Chidori at twelve."
"I was already a squad leader in the ANBU at twelve."
"So why do you think it's too early for them? If you ask me, it's the perfect time."
Kakashi was speechless.
The Fourth Hokage was a genius like no other. Sakura was the Third Hokage's most trusted protégé. And Kakashi, not to brag, was an elite among elites by that age.
Was Sakura really comparing Naruto and Sasuke to people like them?
Did she believe in their potential that much?
Kakashi thought back to the mission report involving Mizuki.
Did Sakura genuinely believe Naruto had inherited the will of the Fourth Hokage?
"Naruto I can understand, but…"
"Why do you believe in Sasuke so much?"
Kakashi's gaze shifted to the boy who had just fallen off the tree from too much chakra output, only to climb up again right after.
"Sasuke is different. You and I both know the kind of hatred he carries."
"If we don't make him stronger, he'll chase power by any means necessary."
Sakura looked at the boy, who was now almost at the top of the tree, only to crash down again from overexertion.
"As he pursues strength, we must guide him toward the path we want him to take."
Her tone was calm, but Kakashi felt waves rise in his heart.
"…Are you saying…"
Sakura continued:
"This Chunin Exam is a large-scale joint event hosted by the Hidden Leaf, Sand, Stone, and several smaller villages."
"Once a fledgling eagle has seen the vast sky, how can it remain confined to a tiny nest?"
Kakashi fell silent, staring at the stubborn boy in the distance. After a long pause, he finally said:
"Sakura… Is this how you really see it?"
"You think the Hidden Leaf—the first of the Five Great Ninja Villages—is just a small eagle's nest?"
Sakura looked at Kakashi like he was an idiot and said plainly:
"That depends on the person. I got lucky and earned the old man's favor."
"For Sasuke, maybe it is a cage. But for me, it's a chessboard—a place where I can make my moves."
"Make your moves…"
Did Sakura already see herself as a player capable of changing the fate of the entire ninja world?
Kakashi suddenly felt that Sakura's self-confidence was both arrogant and dangerous.
But Sakura didn't linger on the subject. She turned to Kakashi and said:
"So are you going to teach them or not?"
"Even if you don't, I can still get Chidori from the old man myself—it'll just be more trouble."
Kakashi looked helplessly at the little lady in front of him and finally said with a tone of surrender:
"Fine."
"I'll teach them, alright?"
"But only after Sasuke improves his chakra control. It's still an S-rank jutsu, after all."
Sakura raised an eyebrow at the tired-looking Kakashi.
Honestly, this guy really was the king of slacking.
In the original story, before the Chunin Exams, Kakashi taught his three students only two things—tree climbing and water walking.
And even that only happened during a life-or-death mission in the Land of Waves, when they were up against Zabuza and Haku.
Then, before the Chunin Exams, Kakashi taught them nothing—until he found out Sasuke was going to fight Gaara. Only then did he scramble to teach him Chidori at the last minute.
As for Naruto and Sakura? They got absolutely nothing.
Naruto got lucky because Jiraiya happened to return to the village around then.
And Sakura… well, the only reason she hadn't punched Kakashi yet was probably out of respect for his teacher, the Fourth Hokage.
"For our next mission, let's pick something more challenging."
"I just checked the mission list. Isn't there a Zabuza mission in the Land of Waves?"
"Let's ask the old man to reclassify it as a C-rank mission. Let Naruto and Sasuke get some real combat experience."
"After all, with you and me there, we've got it covered."
Sakura's words sounded light and casual, but in reality, she had already decided Naruto and Sasuke's path.
Kakashi couldn't help but feel exasperated. No matter how he looked at it, Sakura was the one truly leading Team 7…
(End of Chapter)
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