Makoto watched the whole scene with an amused smile, enjoying the drama unfolding before him.

He glanced at Naruto and his teammates, who were sitting around clueless, then turned his gaze to Kakashi, who was hiding behind a tree, struggling with an existential crisis.

Kakashi, realizing that Makoto had noticed him, quickly scribbled a note and tossed it in his direction at lightning speed.

Makoto opened the note and read with a knowing smile.

[Get them to eat their lunch already!!]

Looking up, he saw Kakashi making exaggerated hand gestures, pointing first at Naruto and the others and then at the untouched lunchboxes on the ground.

At this point, Kakashi looked less like a legendary ninja and more like a man desperately trying to communicate in charades.

[Uchiha Madara: Wow, is he really calling in outside help now? Doesn't he have any back up plans?]

[Senju Tobirama: I guess he was confident in his plans. That aside, If Makoto doesn't step in, Kakashi might just lose his mind.]

[Uzumaki Kushina: Don't help him! That masked fool made my baby suffer! Let him stew in his own mess!]

[Namikaze Minato: Uh, dear, you do realize that if Naruto and the others don't eat, they might fail the test, right? ]

[Uzumaki Kushina: MAKOTO! GET THEM TO EAT, NOW!]

[Uchiha Mikoto: Yes, YES! Look at Kakashi, he's about to explode from stress!]

With the two mothers in a full-blown panic, Makoto figured he might as well intervene. He wasn't expecting this twist in the story, but his presence had clearly thrown the script out the window.

Kakashi had probably envisioned a smooth scenario where the students would give Naruto food, learn a lesson about teamwork, and pass the test.

Instead, nobody was eating, and Kakashi was behind a tree, about to have a meltdown.

On the other hand, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were discussing how to tackle the afternoon assessment.

They had at least come to one important realization. If they didn't work together, they had no chance of winning. Genin were simply no match for a Jonin.

The two lunchboxes were still untouched, lying on the ground, completely ignored.

Hiding behind the tree, Kakashi was losing his patience. Why wasn't this going according to plan?

By now, they were supposed to be starving, giving in, and start eating their meals.

Then, Sasuke and Sakura were meant to share with Naruto, prompting him to make a dramatic entrance, deliver a meaningful speech about teamwork, and declare them official Genin.

Kakashi glared at Makoto, practically begging him to step in.

With a sigh, Makoto got up, dusted himself off, and walked over to the trio.

"Listen, before you worry about the test, shouldn't you at least eat first? You're already at a huge disadvantage against Kakashi. If you go into battle hungry, you'll stand even less of a chance."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all turned to look at the lunchboxes.

Sakura hesitated. "But....Kakashi-sensei said Naruto isn't allowed to eat. If we share, we'll fail."

Naruto slumped in disappointment upon hearing her words.

Sasuke, however, didn't hesitate. He grabbed one of the lunchboxes, tossed it to Sakura, then split his own in half and handed part of it to Naruto.

Sasuke muttered. "If we don't eat, we'll definitely fail. And let's be real, our chances aren't great even if we do eat. Worst case, we go back to the Academy for another year."

He gave Naruto a pointed look. "And I'm an Uchiha."

"An Uchiha doesn't sit around stuffing his face while his teammate starves."

Naruto stared at him in shock.

Because of Makoto's presence, they had all been through a lot more than in the original timeline. Sasuke, having seen Naruto's struggles firsthand, had already started to consider him a real teammate.

Listening to Sasuke's words, Sakura made up her mind. She took her lunchbox, split it in two, and handed a portion to Naruto.

"I know you eat a lot, Naruto. I don't need as much, so this works out," she said with a small smile.

Naruto looked between the two of them, eyes wide. He had fully expected them to let him go hungry.

After all, if they shared, they would all fail.

This was the rule.

But now, they were breaking that rule for him.

Naruto felt tears welling in his eyes.

To someone who had spent his whole life being ignored, insulted, and treated like an outcast, these simple lunchboxes were more valuable than anything in the world.

He turned to Sasuke, his vision blurry with emotion.

At this moment, he didn't know what to say.

He had been on the receiving end of so much hate from the villagers, but Sasuke who always called him an idiot, had never once treated him like a monster.

Sasuke had always been different.

And Naruto would never forget that.

__________________________

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