The next day, inside the Ninja Academy classroom.
"Sanada Kazama, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura—you four have been assigned to Team 7. Wait here for your team leader."
Kazama was over the moon when he heard he'd finally been placed in the same squad as Naruto, just as he'd hoped.
"Sweet! During the mission in the Land of Waves, I'll get my chance to absorb Naruto's Kyūbi (Nine-Tails) power. Then, I can settle the score with Danzō," Kazama thought to himself, smirking.
While Kazama was lost in his scheming, Naruto had grabbed a chalkboard eraser and headed to the door.
"No idea who our team leader is, but they're super late! Time for a little punishment, heh heh!" Naruto chuckled.
"Yo, Naruto, forget the eraser. Why not stick a hot kettle up there instead?" Kazama teased.
"A hot kettle? Isn't that a bit too much?" Naruto replied, scratching his head.
As Kazama and Naruto were joking around, Sasuke stormed over, radiating hostility.
"Kazama, I challenge you to a duel!" he declared.
"Huh?" Kazama groaned, already feeling a headache coming on.
He didn't have time to keep dealing with Sasuke's drama.
"Didn't we already fight before? And I'm pretty sure we settled who won," Kazama said, trying to brush him off.
"Quit talking nonsense! I wasn't at my best last time. If you've got the guts, face me again. I, Uchiha Sasuke, refuse to lose to a dead-last loser like you!" Sasuke snapped.
"Yo, Sasuke, that's way outta line!" Naruto jumped in, stepping up to defend Kazama.
"Shut it, you loser! Sanada Kazama, if you're man enough, fight me again!" Sasuke barked, his face twisted with anger.
Kazama sighed, seeing how worked up Sasuke was. "Man, I didn't expect Sasuke to be this intense. One loss, and he's throwing a fit."
With a lazy stretch, Kazama stood up. "Fine. I was gonna let you save face, but if you're begging to lose again, I'll humor you."
"Kazama, hit him with your taijutsu ultimate move!" Naruto chimed in, grinning.
"Taijutsu ultimate move?" Sasuke's eyes widened as he shot a surprised glance at Kazama.
"What, you learned some taijutsu even stronger than the Shishi Rendan (Lion Barrage)?" he asked, skeptical.
"You bet!" Kazama said with a sly grin, exchanging a mischievous look with Naruto.
"Jerks! Don't think some fancy new taijutsu will let you act all high and mighty in front of me! The Uchiha clan never loses to anyone!" Sasuke growled.
"Mi–Hitsuji–" Sasuke began forming hand signs, his fingers moving quickly.
"The Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Great Fireball Technique) again? That move can't even touch me," Kazama said, scratching his head in boredom.
"Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)!"
In a flash, Kazama vanished from where he stood.
Before anyone could react, he reappeared right behind Sasuke.
"And your hand signs are way too slow!" Kazama taunted.
"What?!" Sasuke gasped, stunned.
His Katon (Fire Release) signs weren't even complete, and Kazama had already slipped behind him without a sound.
That ghostly speed was almost unbelievable to Sasuke.
But whether he believed it or not, Kazama had the upper hand now.
"And now, my taijutsu ultimate move—Sennen Goroshi (Thousand Years of Death)!"
"AAAAH!" Sasuke let out a pained wail.
His body sailed through the air in a perfect arc, courtesy of the humiliating strike.
"You jerk! Using such a cheap, dirty trick!" Sasuke yelled, scrambling to get up and salvage his cool, composed image.
But the Sennen Goroshi had done its job—Sasuke could only curl up in pain, unable to stand straight.
"Doesn't matter what the move is. If it beats the enemy, it's a good move," Kazama said with a shrug.
"Haha, Kazama, you're so right!" Naruto howled with laughter, doubled over.
He'd never seen Sasuke look this pathetic before, and it was hilarious.