5 Chapter 5

-The Next Day-

In a lush green area, where the morning winds blew gently causing the green blades of grass to sway back and forth. The same winds also making the hair and clothes of three genins, Menma, Sasuke, and Sakura, sway in the same direction. Menma, with a scowl on his face, leaned against a tree that was positioned a little further away from the other two. He had his arms crossed in front of him, indicating his disinterest in what's happening around him.

Sakura, who stood beside Sasuke, seemed to be trying to initiate a conversation with him, perhaps to get closer to him. Sasuke, on the other hand, remained aloof, with his hands in his pockets and ignoring Sakura's attempts at conversation. The contrast between the three genins is evident in their body language and the way they carry themselves.

The atmosphere was calm and peaceful, with the morning sunlight filtering through the trees and illuminating the greenery around them. The sound of rustling leaves and the chirping of birds in the background further adding to the tranquility of the setting.

This did not last long though, "He's late." Sasuke thought as his coal black eyes scanned the surrounding area for their silver haired jonin instructor, Kakashi.

Sakura's stomach rumbled softly as her face became slightly red with embarrassment. Menma remained silent while Sasuke just continued to ignore her existence.

Soon after, Kakashi appeared in a whirl of leaves. Flashing his three genin a closed eye smile, "Haha, sorry I'm late," he said rubbing th snack of his head sheepishly.

Menma's scowl deepened, Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly irritated by their instructors behaviour.

"Why are you so late!?" Sakura shouted at Kakashi who responded, "Well, you see this old lady was having trouble crossing the street, and I couldn't just leave her there, could I?"

Sakura sighed in frustration, while Sasuke and Menma both remained silent.

"Anyways," Kakashi said as his eyes fell upon each of his genin, a small smirk playing on the corner of his lips, not that they could see it under his mask, "It is time for the test."

Kakashi took out a clock and two bells, "Your task is to take these bells from me before noon." He said as he set the clock down on a tree stump.

The genins looked at the bells and the clock with intensity, understanding the gravity of the task at hand. Menma pushed himself off the tree and walked up to join the other two, his scowl not leaving his face. Sasuke's eyes flickered towards Menma for a moment, noting the change in his body language, but didn't say anything.

Kakashi continued, "However, there is a catch. I will only give these bells to two of you. The one who doesn't get a bell will be sent back to the village for more training."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock and panic, realizing the high stakes of the test. Menma remained stoic while Sasuke's expression didn't change, but his eyes sharpened as he focused on the task ahead.

Kakashi explained further, "This is not just a test of strength, but also of strategy and teamwork. You have one hour to come up with a plan, and then the test will begin."

With that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the three genins to strategize and prepare for the task ahead. The tension was palpable as the three genins stood in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, trying to come up with a plan that would allow them to pass the test and prove themselves worthy.

Sakura glanced between Menma and Sasuke slightly nervous.

'We can do this! Cha!!!' Sakura's inner self motivated her as she took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves and focus on the task at hand.

Menma continued to remain stoic, while Sasuke's eyes remained sharp and focused as he observed his surroundings.

The lush green surroundings seemed to take on a new intensity as the genins began to formulate their plan,

"So, umm..." Sakura started, Menma spared her a glance while Sasuke just looked at her with an unreadable expression.

Sakura felt pressured by their gazes, "I-I was thinking we umm, start with a surprise attack." She stuttered forcing herself not to avert her gaze.

As she spoke, Sasuke's expression remained unchanged, but Menma's scowl deepened further. He spoke up, "That's a terrible idea. We need to analyze our surroundings and come up with a more calculated approach."

Sakura's shoulders slumped as she realized her idea was shot down. Sasuke finally spoke up, "I agree with Menma. We need to assess the situation and plan accordingly."

Menma raised a brow at the Uchiha's behavior, usually Sasuke would never agree to anything he said as they did not like each other.

This must be one of those rare moments where the Uchiha used his brains instead of acting childish Menma assumed.

Sasuke spoke again, "In a place like this where there are trees and bushes everywhere, a pincer attack or an ambush could work." He suggested.

Menma nodded, acknowledging the validity of Sasuke's suggestion. "I'll scout the area and create a map of our surroundings," he said as he walked off, his scowl still present on his face.

Sasuke watched him go before turning to Sakura, "You stay here and analyze the bells. See if you can figure out any weaknesses that we can exploit."

Sakura nodded eagerly, happy to contribute to the plan.

With their roles established, the three genins set out to execute their plan. Menma carefully surveyed the area, taking note of all the potential ambush spots, and sketching out a map of their surroundings.

Sasuke worked on devising a strategy for their attack, Meanwhile, Sakura studied their sensei's habits, looking for any weaknesses they could exploit.

After a few minutes they all came together.

Sasuke glanced over at Menma who still held a scowl. Sakura smiled excitedly as she shared her findings, "I noticed that Kakashi sensei has a bad of letting his guard down when he reads that book."

Sasuke shifted his gaze to the pink haired girl as she continued, "So, I was thinking we could use that to our advantage. Maybe we can create a distraction to make him start reading it, and then use that opportunity to get the bells."

Sasuke nodded thoughtfully, "That could work. Menma, did you find any good spots for an ambush?"

Menma's eyes narrowed slightly, 'Why is he so cooperative today? He isn't acting like his usual prideful and annoying self...' he thought.

Menma nodded, "Yeah, there's a spot over there," he said, pointing to a dense thicket of trees. "We could split up into two teams, one team to create the distraction, and the other team to sneak in and get the bells."

Sasuke nodded in agreement, "Alright, let's do that. Sakura, you create the distraction with your clones. Menma and I will sneak in and get the bells."

The genins split up, with Sakura creating a few clones to create a commotion on the other side of the training ground. Menma and Sasuke slipped quietly into the thicket of trees, keeping an eye out for any traps or other obstacles.

As they moved through the trees, Menma couldn't help but think about Sasuke's behavior. It was so different from his usual self that it made him suspicious.

He decided to speak up and ask, "Hey, Uchiha, you feeling okay? You're acting different today."

Sasuke paused for a moment before replying, "I'm fine. I just realized that we need to work together if we're going to pass this test. And your plan wasn't bad."

Menma raised an eyebrow in surprise that the Uchiha had actually decided to work together and also because he had never once complimented him before.

They continued on in silence for a few more minutes until they finally reached the clearing where Kakashi was waiting. He was reading his book, just as Sakura had predicted.

Menma signaled to Sasuke to take the lead, Sasuke complied and quietly crept up behind Kakashi, reaching out to grab one of the bells.

Suddenly, Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a log in his place. Sasuke stumbled forward, thrown off balance by the sudden disappearance.

'Substitution...' Menma frowned in annoyance as he spun around him unsheathing his blade and slashing behind him.

A metallic clang could be heard as his blade collided with the kunai of Kakashi.

Kakashi seemed genuinely surprised, "Impressive," He spoke as Menma's sword struggled against his kunai.

Sasuke quickly regained his balance and lunged forward again, trying to grab one of the bells. But once again, Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving behind another log.

Kakashi reappeared a ways away on a tree branch as he looked down on the two dark haired genins, "Good try, but you'll have to do better than that." He said crouching upon his perch while flashing a closed eye smile.

Sasuke let a smirk grace his lips as Sakura's clones suddenly lunged at Kakashi, his eyes widened a fraction before quickly recovering and he dispatching the clones as the dispersed in a huff of smoke, obscuring Kakashi's vision.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Menma dashed forward, scaling the tree in seconds as he reached out through the smoke.

Menma felt a hand clench his wrist, 'Dammit,' he thought, he knew that Kakashi had caught him.

Acting quickly, Menma swung his blade in a horizontal motion aiming at the hand that bound his.

Kakashi released his grip as he jumped out of the smoke landing lazily on the green grass, his one visible eye shifting to his right.

He saw Sasuke dashing towards him in a wide arc as he flew through hand signs, Kakashi straightened himself slightly, glancing to the left, noticing the pink haired girl peeking through the foliage.

Kakashi then looked up as the smoke dissipated completely, locking eyes with the twin jinchuriki perched atop the tree, his blue-purplish blade glowing ominously under the sunlight.

Kakashi's eyebrow raised slightly at the sight of the glowing blade. He recognized it as a chakra-infused weapon, which made him more cautious.

'Where did he learn to do that? Did he teach himself?' Kakashi thought, 'It seems I'll have to take them more seriously.'

Sasuke hurled three kunai which Kakashi dodged easily. Sasuke then followed up with a shout,

"Fire style: Fire ball Jutsu!" He bellowed as he spewed a ball of flame from his lips.

Kakashi quickly weaved a set of hand signs,

"Water style: Water wall jutsu!" he called out as a wall of water materialized in front of him, extinguishing the fireball.

Menma, seeing the opportunity, leaped from the tree, aiming his glowing blade at Kakashi. Kakashi sidestepped the attack, but Menma quickly followed up with a series of swift slashes, forcing Kakashi to block and dodge.

Kakashi parried a downward slash with his kunai, followed up by kneeing Menma in the stomach.

Menma stumbled back as Sasuke took over, charging in equipped with a kunai, engaging Kakashi in combat. Their weapons clashed, Sasuke attacking with swift but rushed strikes in contrast Kakashi blocked with experience and practiced grace.

Sakura watched from the sidelines, unsure of how to contribute to the fight. 'What should I do.' she thought as she watched Sasuke being suppressed in combat by their sensei, 'Come on Sakura think!' She screamed internally, as Sakura was racking her brain for ideas, she noticed a small opening in Kakashi's defense. It was a small gap, but it was there. She knew that she had to act fast.

Without hesitation, Sakura charged forward, throwing a punch at Kakashi's exposed side. But she was ultimately denied as Kakashi easily dodged her attack and pushed her to the side.

Sakura stumbled, but quickly regained her footing. She knew that she had to do more to contribute to the fight, but she couldn't think of anything. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.

"Sasuke, Menma!" she called out to her teammates. "Focus your attacks on Kakashi's left side! He's been favoring his right this whole time!"

Menma's eyes twitched slightly in annoyance at her voice and at her ignorance, 'Idiot, she doesn't even realize he left that side open intentionally to draw her out.' he thought as he analyzed Sasuke's bout with Kakashi.

Sasuke nodded as he changed his strategy, focusing his attacks on Kakashi's left side. Kakashi smirked beneath his mask as the young Uchiha took the bait.

Kakashi shifted his stance, deflecting Sasuke's strikes effortlessly. He then spun around, delivering a kick to Sasuke's stomach that sent him flying back.

Menma took advantage of Sasuke's distraction and charged at Kakashi from behind, swinging his glowing blade. Kakashi anticipated the attack and swiftly turned around, blocking Menma's strike with his own blade.

Their blades clashed, creating a shower of sparks as they exchanged blows. Menma was relentless, attacking with fierce determination, while Kakashi was calm and collected, blocking and countering with ease.

Sakura watched as the fight unfolded, her mind racing for a way to help her teammates. She noticed a small rock on the ground and quickly picked it up. With a flick of her wrist, she threw the rock at Kakashi's head, hoping to distract him.

Kakashi, however, was unfazed by the rock and continued to parry Menma's attacks. Sasuke quickly recovered and joined in, attacking Kakashi from the other side.

Kakashi was now facing attacks from both sides, but he remained calm, analyzing their movements and searching for an opening.

Suddenly, he saw an opportunity. Menma had overextended his attack, leaving himself open for a counterattack. Kakashi took advantage of the opening, striking down Menma's blade with his own. But what he didn't expect was for Menma to abandon his sword before he even touched it.

"I've got you," Menma said as a trumphant smirk graced his face, Kakashi's visible eye widened as Menma snatched one of the bells from his waist.

Menma quickly darted back towards Sakura, handing her a bell. He turned around to see Sasuke had been knocked back.

Sakura quickly took the bell from Menma, realizing what he was trying to do. She ran towards Kakashi, shaking the bell loudly to distract him.

Kakashi turned his attention to Sakura, giving Sasuke and Menma an opportunity to attack from behind. Together, they managed to disarm Kakashi and grab the remaining bell.

Kakashi chuckled as he admitted defeat, impressed by his students' teamwork and determination.

"Well done," he said. "You've passed the test."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief, feeling proud of what they had accomplished together. She looked over at Menma and smiled, grateful for his quick thinking during the fight.

"Thanks for the help," she said to him.

Menma scowled as he picked up his blade, ignoring Sakura. He might have helped them though it was unavoidable, but that didn't make them friends all of the sudden, he still didn't like them.

After the test, Menma and Naruto met up at Ichiraku Ramen for dinner. They talked about their day as they satiated their hunger.

"So, how's your team?" Naruto asked, slurping up his noodles.

Menma scowled, "They're... tolerable," he said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Sakura is clueless and Sasuke... He was behaving different today." He said as his scowl deepened further.

"He wasn't like the usual arrogant and prideful Sasuke. It was like he's a different person all together." Menma finished.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Really? That's strange," he said, looking thoughtful.

"Yeah, I don't like it," Menma grumbled. "It makes me uneasy. Plus, I don't trust them."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "I get it, but you still have to work with them, so we can accomplish our goal."

Menma nodded, "Yeah, I know. I'll just have to keep my guard up around them," he said, determination clear in his voice.

Naruto finished his bowl of ramen and leaned back, stretching his arms. "We'll get our revenge, Menma. We just need to be patient and wait for the right moment," he said with a fierce look in his eyes.

Menma nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we'll make them pay for what they've done to us," he said, his own eyes narrowing in anger.

The two boys sat in silence for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. The only sound was the clinking of their chopsticks against their bowls as they finished their meal.