Jinchuriki Unite

Ch. 2

Trigger warning: explosions

'Okay, kunai, shurikens, smoke bombs, am I forgetting anything?'

You worrying too much kid. Have you eaten? Kurama asked.

'Yes. But are you sure I should have? Kakashi-sensei said not to.'

Don't let him scare you. If you don't eat, you won't have any energy. You should probably bring some food for your team. I bet that they didn't eat.

'You got a point.'

Putting a few apples in his bag, he raced off to the training ground. He knew that Kakashi would come there at 5, so there was no point in coming early.

When he got there, he found Sakura and Sasuke waiting. Both looked tired, and Sakura was clutching her stomach.

He smiled and waved. "Hey, guys!"

Sakura glared and tried to smack him, but he dodged. "Why are you so late? You're as bad as Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto shrugged. "I figured that he wouldn't be here at 5, so why would I get up so early? Did you two eat?"

Sakura scoffed. "Of course not. Kakashi-sensei said not to. A ninja always follows orders."

Naruto put his hand on his hip. "And a ninja needs to be ready for action. How is a ninja supposed to do that if they don't have any food?"

Sakura opened her mouth, then closed it. She had no rebuttal.

Naruto sighed and pulled the apples out of his bag. "Here. I figured you would need it."

Sakura hesitated, but Sasuke took the apple. "Thanks."

Seeing that Sasuke took it, Sakura grabbed the apple and took a bite. She couldn't believe how good it tasted. She wasn't eating a lot. She, as well as most of the other girls, were dieting to impress Sasuke.

At around 10, Kakashi came walking up. "Yo."

Sakura pointed a finger and screamed. "You're late!"

He shrugged. "Sorry. I got lost in the path of life."

Sasuke glared. "Why did you make us come here so early if you were going to come five hours late?"

Kakashi gave a smile. "That doesn't matter. Did you eat?"

Sakura and Sasuke didn't say anything, but Naruto interjected. "I did."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Why did you disobey my order?"

Naruto looked him dead in the eye. "Because a ninja needs food to follow orders."

Kakashi nodded. "Very good. You need to look beneath the beneath."

Naruto sighed. Kakashi put a timer on a stump. Behind it was three wooden polls.

"All right. This timer is set for noon." Kakashi pulled two bells out of his belt pouch. "What you need to do is take these bells from me by then."

Sakura shifted. "But sensei, there are three of us and only two bells."

Kakashi nodded. "Very good Sakura. 
Whichever one of you doesn't get a bell will be sent back to the academy."

The three genin stiffened.

Kakashi yelled, "Begin!"

The trio jumped away and hide in the trees. Naruto bit his lip.

'There's something off about this. Ninja teams are meant to stay together. Do you think...'

That's probably the point of the test. It's to see how well you work together.