Konoha-Style Illusory Sword Technique: Secret Technique Ultimate Meaning—Illusory Flash

"Alright, everyone, disperse. Naruto, Sasuke, a word of advice: don't listen to that Jonin. It won't do you any good." After saying that, Wu Liang turned and left as well.

"What's with that? He says not to listen, so we shouldn't? He's just a substitute, okay? Why should we listen to him?" As soon as Wu Liang left, Sakura started shouting.

"I advise you to listen to him. His strength is beyond anything you can imagine. Also, the weakest one here is you. You can't even beat Naruto." Sasuke looked at Sakura and, unusually, spoke up.

"What do you mean, I can't even beat Naruto? So you think you're so great? Have you ever beaten me in a match?" Naruto immediately blew up.

"Tch, you're so annoying." Sasuke left after saying that.

"What's with that? There's clearly a substitute here, so why did he say that about me?" After Naruto and Sasuke left, Sakura muttered, "No, Sasuke must have been lying to me. He just didn't want me getting into an argument with Ryo Senju."

With that thought, Sakura Haruno's mood improved again.

Early the next morning, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura Haruno arrived at Training Ground 3 at five o'clock. Naruto and Sasuke knew the place well, and each found a tree to lie under. Although they somewhat believed Wu Liang's warning from yesterday not to listen to Kakashi, the two of them still arrived at five and even found time to eat breakfast.

Watching the two of them so naturally find trees and go to sleep, Sakura suddenly felt like a third wheel. She thought she would see what they did when Kakashi arrived, but as time passed and it neared eleven, she still saw no sign of him. It was not until Wu Liang arrived that Sakura perked up a little and said to him as he approached, "Hey, why are you always late?"

After enjoying a good night's sleep at home, Wu Liang arrived at Training Ground 3 and saw that only Sakura was waiting in the clearing, with three backpacks behind her. Only then did he notice Sasuke and Naruto sleeping up in the trees. At this point, Sakura was undoubtedly the dumbest one here. She had probably forgotten all about yesterday's advice.

"Don't tell me you've been waiting since five? Are you stupid? Didn't you see Naruto and Sasuke sleeping in the trees? Couldn't you find somewhere to sleep too? Was yesterday's lesson not enough? That Kakashi guy was late on the first day, so he was definitely going to do the same today." Wu Liang walked over to Sakura and set down his bag.

Just as Sakura was about to say something in retort, Naruto and Sasuke both woke up. Seeing Wu Liang, Naruto asked, "Hey, A Liang, how do you always know what Kakashi is thinking? How did you know he'd be late? Good thing I listened to you and ate before coming here this morning. I even caught up on last night's sleep. Waking up after a nap feels great."

Sasuke said nothing, but he nodded at Wu Liang as well.

Sakura complained miserably, "You all ate breakfast? I didn't even eat dinner last night. If I'd known, I wouldn't have tried to lose weight. I'm starving! Why didn't any of you remind me?"

"Huh? Didn't I remind you? I told you not to listen to Kakashi. Why didn't you listen?" Wu Liang curled his lip.

"Ahhh! Who would have taken your words seriously in that situation?" Sakura cried in frustration.

"No, that's not true. Sasuke and I both listened." Naruto spoke up.

"Shut up! So annoying... and I'm so hungry..." Sakura weakly slumped over her backpack.

"Oh my, good morning, everyone. You're all here. Sorry, I was a little late~~" Just as Sakura was about to complain some more, Kakashi's voice came from behind them. Kakashi, who was late by most of the day, had finally arrived.

"Sensei, this is more than a little late. Look, the sun is practically overhead already." Sakura spoke weakly.

"Ah~~ There was a reason for that. Listen to my explanation. A black cat crossed my—"

"I'm not listening, I'm not listening! Sensei, you've gone too far!" Sakura shouted in frustration.

With dead fish eyes, Kakashi took out two bells and said awkwardly, "Ahem, well, today's assignment was supposed to be taking these bells from me before noon. But because I was late, we'll change it to one o'clock." After saying that, Kakashi took out an alarm clock, set it for one, and placed it on the ground. "So, that settles it."

"But there are only two bells, and there are four of us." Sakura was still complaining.

"That means the two people who fail to get a bell won't get lunch," Kakashi said seriously. "And they'll be tied to that post and made to watch us eat our boxed lunches."

"So that's why you told us not to eat breakfast. Good thing we all ate! Hahaha, surprised? Bet you didn't see that coming!" Naruto said smugly.

This time, Kakashi was dumbfounded. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Weren't they supposed to obediently skip breakfast?

"Ahem." Kakashi coughed to hide his embarrassment, then said, "It's still the same. Anyone who fails to get a bell will be tied up there and made to watch us eat lunch. And the two who fail will be sent back to the Ninja Academy for further training. Alright, that's it. Begin."

"Ah, I forgot to tell you. I have the authority to fail all of you. If you don't come at me with the resolve to kill me, it's possible that every one of you will fail." After saying that, Kakashi drew a kunai and held it in his hand, assuming a combat stance.

"But isn't that too dangerous? What if we hurt Sensei? That wouldn't be good," Sakura said awkwardly after her initial shock.

"You're overthinking it. He's a Jonin. You can't hurt him. Alright, let's go." After speaking, Sasuke nodded at Wu Liang and Naruto before instantly disappearing into the woods.

Wu Liang and Naruto also vanished into the forest in an instant, leaving Sakura standing there alone, frozen and at a loss.

Kakashi sensed the situation in the woods and remarked, "Ah~, your teamwork is pretty good. So, are you the bait?"

"Huh? Of course not! Sensei, I need to hide right away. Bye!" Sakura ran toward a nearby bush after saying that. Now, only Kakashi remained in place, on the defensive.

Suddenly, four shuriken shot out from the forest, aimed directly at the bells hanging from Kakashi's waist. Sasuke had made his move.

Kakashi easily dodged Sasuke's shuriken. "Not bad. Attacking right off the bat, huh?"

But just as he was about to locate Sasuke, a pair of hands reached out from the ground and grabbed for his legs.

Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu

"Got you—wait, this isn't solid. A Shadow Clone? When did—"

Wu Liang had been delighted to land a hit so quickly, but the Kakashi in his grasp turned into smoke and vanished. He immediately realized it was Kakashi's Shadow Clone, meaning the real body had to be nearby and preparing to attack. Earth Style: Underground Projection Fish Technique

Whether Kakashi would counterattack or not, Wu Liang immediately burrowed away after missing his strike, fleeing toward the nearby woods.

"Oh my, quite sharp. You retreated underground the instant your attack failed. Not bad. Looks like everything in that ninja evaluation was false." Kakashi emerged from behind a large tree opposite Wu Liang's intended escape route and praised him.

"Hehe, look behind you." Wu Liang was not bothered in the least and looked at Kakashi with a grin.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique

A massive fireball hurtled toward Kakashi. Kakashi had originally intended to mock Wu Liang, but he sensed danger within the Great Fireball and could only escape with the Substitution Technique.

When the Great Fireball Technique ended, only a burning log remained. Sasuke spat on the ground and said, "Tch, he got away pretty fast."

Wind Style: Severing Pressure

Kakashi was about to emerge from his hiding place, but Naruto's Wind Style immediately forced him back. He could only sigh, "These brats work together pretty well. One after another. Too bad their natures are all different, so they can't coordinate perfectly."

After the Wind Style passed, Kakashi stepped out from his hiding place, clapping his hands with a smile. "Not bad. You're just a little short."

"Is that so? Then I'll show you something."

Wu Liang came down from the tree as well, drew Certain Kill Sword from his waist, and said, "Kakashi-sensei, I wonder if you can withstand this strike."

Wu Liang charged at Kakashi with a swing of his blade. A mysterious glimmer flickered across Certain Kill Sword. Konoha-Style Illusory Sword Technique: Secret Technique Ultimate Meaning—Illusory Flash

Kakashi watched Wu Liang swing his sword and instantly vanish. He was stunned. "Hm? A genjutsu, or—"

Just as Wu Liang's first strike was about to pierce Kakashi, Kakashi finally realized, "Genjutsu Release!"

The moment Kakashi dispelled the genjutsu, Wu Liang's sword tip was already less than ten centimeters from him. He immediately used the Substitution Technique, but after it took effect, another wave of dread came from behind him, as if he would die if he failed to evade it. He tried to flee, but it was already too late. Wu Liang had placed Certain Kill Sword against his throat, while the bells at his waist had long since been cut into four pieces and fallen to the ground.

"This is Konoha-Style Willow from Kosuke-senpai..." Kakashi stood there blankly and muttered.

Hearing Kakashi's words, Wu Liang smiled. "No, it's an illusory sword technique derived from Kosuke-senpai's Konoha-Style Willow. I created it myself. I remember giving a copy of the training method to the Third Hokage. Didn't you know?"

Kakashi slowly sighed after hearing that. "I never expected you to be such a powerful swordsmanship master. I really underestimated all of you. With that move alone, ordinary Jonin probably wouldn't be your match. Now I finally understand why the Third Hokage insisted on putting you in my class. I see. You were born too late. If you had been placed in the wartime era, you would surely have shone as brilliantly as Sensei."

Hearing Kakashi say that, Wu Liang sheathed his sword and said embarrassedly, "I only won because you let your guard down. If you revealed your eye, my illusory sword technique might not work on you. After all, your spiritual power is very strong too. You didn't completely evade my first strike, but that was still impressive."

Wu Liang still had great faith in his own genjutsu. After all, he had yet to encounter a Jonin whose spiritual power surpassed his.

Kakashi was silent for a moment before asking, "You know about my eye?"

"As long as someone is willing to look through the records, they can find clues from a few traces. I investigated you a long time ago." Wu Liang grinned.

Looking at the smiling child before him, Kakashi felt a little admiration. He was so powerful at such a young age; he must have trained diligently every day. After all, in these peaceful times, there were not many people so hardworking. It reminded him of a certain watermelon-headed boy.