Survival Exercise IV

No matter what Kakashi thought, the three had clearly formed a siege. Sakura and Sasuke did not attack from directly opposite sides, since that could easily hurt an ally. Instead, the two deliberately formed a triangle with Naruto, each positioned roughly one hundred and twenty degrees apart. That way, none of them stood directly in another's line of attack, and even if the enemy dodged, they would not injure their comrades.

Once the encirclement was in place, none of the three attacked. Naruto and Sakura waited for Sasuke's signal, while Sasuke waited for Kakashi to take out his book and read. He hoped Kakashi would keep underestimating them, giving them a chance to complete the task. Of course, completing the task was secondary—what mattered most was testing his own combat strength.

Kakashi reached into the Ninja Tool Pouch at his lower back, and all three of them tensed at once. Sure enough, Kakashi pulled out a book titled Make-Out Paradise. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and attack," Kakashi said as he read.

"But, but..." Naruto stared wide-eyed at Kakashi, about to speak, but Sasuke did not wait. He immediately flung out a Kunai. Seeing the signal, Naruto shut his mouth and charged forward. Kakashi merely extended one finger through the ring at the end of the Kunai, making it spin nonstop on his finger. Naruto rushed in and began close-quarters combat, while Sasuke charged in as well. Sakura remained where she was, continuing to guard.

Naruto's attacks were easily dodged; he could not touch Kakashi at all. With a flick of his finger, Kakashi sent the Kunai flying toward Sasuke instead. Sasuke swung the Kunai in his hand upward, knocking away the incoming weapon and sending it flying into the sky. Sasuke did not slow his charge. He closed in and began attacking Kakashi from behind. If Naruto attacked high, then he attacked low. He had no intention of taking the Bells at all; he only attacked Kakashi. Kakashi began blocking with one hand and both legs, the exchange moving at a rapid pace. Suddenly, the instant Naruto was forced back, Sasuke retreated as well. Kakashi froze for a moment, then dodged sideways at the sound of wind above his head. It was the Kunai Sasuke had knocked into the air, now falling back down.

Seizing the opportunity, Sasuke flung out several Kunai at once. Under the sunlight, the gleaming Wire Strings reflected a cold light as the Kunai attacked Kakashi's upper, middle, and lower body from different directions. Kakashi immediately began retreating. At that moment, Sakura threw Shuriken for the first time, several spinning Shuriken flying toward Kakashi's back. Kakashi could only leap into the air. Naruto jumped up as well, attacking his waist. Kakashi flipped through the air, grabbed Naruto's arm with one hand, and hurled him into the distance. By the time Kakashi landed, all of Sasuke's Kunai had missed, but their landing positions had surrounded him.

"Fire Release! Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" Sasuke unleashed Fire Release. Firebirds burst along the Wire Strings around Kakashi, instantly surrounding him. "Fire Release! Great Fireball Technique!" A massive fireball smashed toward Kakashi. But it was not over yet. "Water Release! Water Disruption Wave!" After the explosive burst of Fire Release, he would use the powerful impact of Water Release to create high-temperature steam. It counted as a pseudo-combination ninjutsu.

"Ah, Sasuke, you're too cruel! You're going to kill the teacher!" Naruto shouted.

"Idiot, focus on defense. A Jonin won't be that easy to deal with. Sakura, watch out too." Sasuke did not dare let his guard down. He had practiced this chain of ninjutsu attacks before, so he could unleash them quickly, but they should have been completely ineffective against Kakashi. Of course, he had not used them blindly. At the very least, they could pose a slight threat to Kakashi. The three immediately focused their attention. When the steam cleared, Kakashi was gone. Sasuke immediately realized he was underground. "He's underground. Defensive formation." As he spoke, he jumped toward the center. Running away was not an option; from the air, they could also observe the ground. The other two had just jumped when a hand reached out from beneath Naruto's feet. Sasuke immediately threw two Shuriken.

After the three landed, they stood back-to-back in a defensive stance. This was a defense method often used in the Land of Waves in the anime.

"Oh, not bad at all. You've really opened my eyes." After a cloud of smoke dispersed, Kakashi appeared. However, it seemed that he had put away his book.

"Teacher, aren't you reading anymore?" Sasuke asked.

"Mm, I really can't underestimate you anymore. As expected of a genius of the Uchiha Clan. Your strength has surprised me a little."

"What genius? I only surprised you a little." Sasuke curled his lip. If he really considered himself a genius, then he would not be far from death. Konoha's geniuses generally did not end well.

"I don't quite understand. During your attacks, you had no intention of taking the Bells. You were only attacking the whole time. Why?" Kakashi asked.

"Why would I take the Bells? If I really did that, then I would fall for the trap." Sasuke explained helplessly. The Bells were a trap.

"That's an interesting idea. Don't you want to graduate?"

"Teacher, don't keep talking. Sasuke analyzed it yesterday. We can't trust what you say today," Sakura hurriedly said, promoting Sasuke's insight.

"I'm rather curious about that. Why can't you trust what the teacher says today?"

"I know, I know! Sasuke said the teacher wanted to test us and prevent us from graduating, so we had to treat the teacher as an enemy. That's why we ate breakfast before coming this morning, and we even took a nap before coming. We slept until eight o'clock before waking up." After saying that, Naruto realized something was wrong and hurriedly covered his mouth. Sasuke and Sakura looked at him helplessly. Sasuke thought, How did an idiot like you become the protagonist? Could it be that fools have fool's luck?

"Haha, not bad, not bad. You've truly surprised me. It seems you already know the purpose of the test. So, who wants to explain it?" Kakashi asked, folding his arms as he looked at them.

Naturally, Sasuke had to explain it. Otherwise, those two might not truly understand it clearly. "It was naturally a test of our teamwork. The two Bells were obviously a trap, meant to divide our team using them. If we started fighting among ourselves, then we would fail. When facing a Jonin, only by standing united do we have a chance. If we split up, we can only be defeated one by one. Ninja operate in squads, and what matters is teamwork. Only when facing stronger opponents do we have a chance to survive. At the same time, squad members can make up for each other's shortcomings. Konoha also tries to place students who graduate together in the same squad. At the academy, they observe each student's traits, then form combinations upon graduation. The clearest example is the new generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio."

Clap, clap. Kakashi applauded. "Very good. Your analysis is extremely thorough. I also hope you can achieve this in the future. Now I declare that you have passed."

"Huh? We passed just like that?" Naruto asked in confusion. Sasuke covered his face with one hand. It was too embarrassing. Still, making Naruto understand something this complicated was truly difficult.

"All right, dismissed. Starting tomorrow, you will officially become Team 7 and begin taking missions." With that, Kakashi left. However, he did not seem to have said where they were supposed to gather.