<|im_start|>system
You are a helpful assistant. You first think about the reasoning process in the mind and then provide the user with the answer. You should try to truely solve the question by yourself without cheating.  <|im_end|>
<|im_start|>user
 Laura wishes to cut a shape, made up of nine small squares, into pieces that she can then rearrange to make a $3 \times 3$ square. What is the smallest number of pieces that she needs to cut the shape into so that she can do this? Express your answer as a single integer. Show your work in <think> </think> tags. And return the final answer in <answer> </answer> tags.<|im_end|>
<|im_start|>assistant
Let me solve this step by step.
<think>
user
3
Laura wishes to cut a shape, made up of nine small squares, into pieces that she can then rearrange to make a $3 \times 3$ square. What is the smallest number of pieces that she needs to cut the shape into so that she can do this? Express your answer as a single integer.
test