Uzumaki Naruto was cooking.
Which was already a terrible sign.
There was flour on the ceiling.
A spoon lodged in the toaster.
And something—something—was hissing ominously in a frying pan.
He stood proudly in front of his "masterpiece" pile of slightly-burnt but enthusiastic pancakes.
"Breakfast of champions!" he declared.
Michio stared at the pancakes.
"…They're smiling at me."
"They're happy to see you, dattebayo!"
Sasuke, already seated and sipping tea he made himself, glanced over.
"They're not smiling. They're screaming."
Naruto glared. "I worked on this, you know!"
"Did you test it?"
"No?"
"Exactly."
---
Kakashi arrived twenty minutes late.
Holding a scroll.
Reading his book.
Unbothered by the cursed pancakes.
"Morning, kids."
"You're late," Sasuke muttered.
"I got caught in a tragic whirlpool of paperwork," Kakashi said.
Naruto squinted at the scroll. "What's that?"
Kakashi looked at it. Then looked at us.
"Ah. Right."
He unrolled it.
"Congratulations, Team 7. You've been recommended for the Chūnin Exams."
…
Dead silence.
Naruto dropped his fork.
Sasuke froze mid-sip.
I choked on orange juice.
"We're what now?!" Naruto shouted.
---
Ten Minutes Later
Naruto: pacing. "Chūnin Exams?! ALREADY?!"
Sasuke: sharpening kunai. "Good."
Me: checking my system. "Is there a mode for 'panic cardio'?"
Kakashi: still reading.
"Look at it this way," he said lazily. "You just took down a rogue swordsman, survived assassins, and saved a nation's economy. This'll be fine."
"FINE?!" Naruto yelled. "What if Gaara's there?! Or—OR—Neji?! He's got veins in his eyes, Kakashi-sensei!"
Sasuke was smirking now.
"Oh no. Naruto's scared of veins."
"I'M NOT SCARED—I'M JUST RESPECTFULLY PARANOID."
---
The Scroll Had Details
— Report to the Academy in two days.
— All three team members must agree to participate.
— Once you begin, you can't back out.
Naruto looked at us, suddenly quiet.
"You guys want to do it?"
Sasuke nodded. "I want to test myself."
I smiled. "We're strong. But we're not finished yet."
Naruto looked between us.
Then grinned.
"Alright! Team 7 is gonna rock this!"
And burn some pancakes along the way.
---
Journal Entry 8:
> We've been chosen.
The Chūnin Exams.
This is the big league.
But if we're gonna crash and burn…
We'll do it together.
(Note: Never eat Naruto's cooking. Ever. Again.)