Unfortunately, the two people who arrived on time were destined, just like in the original manga, to waste a long stretch of time waiting on the training ground with empty stomachs. After five o'clock, the hour hand moved forward little by little. At first, it was fine that their jōnin instructor, Hatake Kakashi, did not show up on time. After all, he had already been late once yesterday. But the problem was that even their other teammate, Uzumaki Naruto, also failed to appear, and as time continued to slip by, the situation became more and more unbearable.
Six o'clock.
Seven o'clock.
Eight o'clock.
Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, who had been waiting at Training Ground No. 2 without eating anything, still did not see either Naruto or Kakashi.
On the surface, Haruno Sakura still tried to maintain a relatively calm appearance, but more than an hour ago, she had already started cursing wildly in her heart.
It wasn't just because Kakashi was late again.
She was even more agitated toward her teammate Naruto.
"Being late yesterday is one thing! But why are you late today too?! Didn't you say it was five o'clock? It's already eight now! And it's not just Kakashi-sensei—why hasn't Naruto shown up either? Could something have happened? No, no… that shouldn't be possible, right?"
Haruno Sakura, who was about to be blown away by the wind, became mentally unstable due to hunger and lack of sleep.
Even Sasuke, who had initially leaned calmly against a tree with his eyes closed, began to grow increasingly impatient as time passed. When the time reached nine o'clock in the morning and Kakashi and Naruto were still nowhere to be seen, the impatience on Sasuke's face gradually transformed into clear confusion.
This was completely unreasonable.
The agreed time was five o'clock in the morning.
And now it was already nine.
A full four-hour delay.
No matter what the reason was, it simply couldn't be justified.
"Was Naruto joking yesterday…?"
Only at this moment did Sasuke and Sakura recall what Naruto had said to them before leaving the previous day.
When this possibility surfaced—
Not only Sakura.
Even the corners of Sasuke's mouth twitched uncontrollably. After all, gathering at five o'clock didn't just mean showing up at five. To arrive on time, one had to wake up early, wash up, and prepare ninja equipment in advance. If Naruto truly hadn't been joking and his reminder had been genuine, then the four hours they had already spent waiting here—no, possibly even more—were nothing but a complete waste of time, like fools standing around doing nothing.
And the moment this thought formed.
Sasuke's expression grew noticeably darker.
Wasting time itself wasn't the real issue.
But being toyed with like an idiot—
That was something Uchiha Sasuke, with his pride—or rather, arrogance—absolutely could not accept. Yet he had nowhere to vent his anger. He could only remain here and continue waiting for Kakashi and Naruto. This mixture of humiliation, frustration, and helplessness formed an indescribable sense of oppression in Sasuke's chest.
"Tick… tick… tick…"
Time continued to crawl forward.
Finally, the hour hand pointed to around ten o'clock in the morning.
Not far away, a familiar figure finally entered Sasuke and Sakura's field of vision.
Naruto appeared at last.
He was still wearing his clichéd orange outfit—after all, he didn't have money for many clothes—and he wore his usual relaxed smile. The moment Sasuke and Sakura saw Naruto, neither of them realized it consciously, but they both felt a subtle sense of relief. If no one had shown up at all, they might have genuinely begun doubting reality.
Facing one teammate who looked on the verge of breaking down and another whose face had darkened considerably—
"Yo, Sasuke, Sakura, good morning!"
Naruto raised his eyebrows slightly and greeted them casually.
"It's already late, Naruto! It's ten o'clock now! You're five hours late!"
Sakura tried to restrain herself, but seeing Naruto's calm and unconcerned expression, her emotions instantly burst out. Half restrained, half hysterical, her reaction was filled with an intense sense of contradiction. Looking at Sakura like this, Naruto nearly burst out laughing, but he barely managed to hold it in. Otherwise, who knew whether Haruno Sakura would actually lose her mind on the spot.
"Eh? Five hours? You don't mean to tell me you two really came at five o'clock, right?"
Naruto asked this very straightforward question, even though he already knew the answer. After all, he had clearly reminded them yesterday. Even if they didn't believe him, they could have asked around the village. Hatake Kakashi was a famous jōnin in Konoha, and certain aspects of his personality were well known.
Yet judging by their current state, the two of them had clearly assumed Naruto was joking and had honestly arrived at five in the morning.
Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Sakura and Sasuke with an incredulous expression.
The moment his voice fell—
Sakura's expression instantly became extremely awkward.
As for Sasuke, whose face was already dark, it now looked as black as the bottom of a pot.
"Well, um… it's not that. I just wanted to ask…"
Sakura nervously twisted her fingers together, seemingly wanting to ask tactfully—
"Why did you say yesterday that it would be better to come late today?"
Before Sakura could finish, Sasuke, still leaning against the tree, spoke first. His tone was cold, devoid of any warmth.
Naruto didn't care in the slightest. He had long been familiar with this guy's personality.
"Ah? You mean that?" Naruto scratched his head and replied casually. "That's because Kakashi-sensei is actually very famous in our village. In terms of strength alone, as a jōnin, he's one of the top figures in Konoha. But on another level—his personality is also very famous. Especially for being late. Not everyone knows, but a lot of people do. I'd heard about it before. After meeting him yesterday, it pretty much confirmed it for me."
Naruto set his backpack down and continued lightly.
"As long as it's not something extremely important, Kakashi-sensei is basically guaranteed to be late. Yesterday's meeting, today's survival exercise—these are team-related matters. Whether it's earlier or later, or even delayed by hours, it doesn't really matter to him. Being late by two or three hours is normal. Four or five hours isn't impossible either. It's not some huge secret. Anyone who pays a bit of attention can figure it out. After all, this isn't the first time Kakashi-sensei has led a team."
Naruto finished speaking in an easy tone.
And there was no deception in his words.
Hatake Kakashi really was that kind of "famously unreliable" jōnin in Konoha Village.