Two Bells

"Naruto, what is that guy spacing out for right now!" Sakura propped herself up in the grass, her face full of anxiety.

The exam had already started, so what was the deal with him just standing there?

Sasuke stood on a tree with dense branches and leaves, frowning as he observed. For a moment, he didn't know what Naruto was planning.

Kakashi, with his eyes narrowed and a smile, stared at Naruto and asked.

"Are you planning to forcibly take the bells?"

Naruto didn't speak. Neither of the two options the system gave him seemed viable.

If he wanted to forcibly take the bells from Kakashi, he would need to reach at least the Special Chunin level. This meant he would inevitably have to use the Nine-Tails' power.

However, if the condition for passing the exam was that the team passed as long as one person got the bell, then he could try.

But Naruto knew Kakashi's intention wasn't that. Instead, he wanted to see them demonstrate their spirit of cherishing comrades and cooperating before letting them pass.

To put it another way, after getting the bells from Kakashi, how would they be distributed?

If he gave them to his teammates, there were only two bells.

But knowing Kakashi's personality, if he just lay there and did nothing, it was very possible he would be judged as failed due to his passive attitude.

Mastering the rare Wood Style Kekkei Genkai might also bring a series of troubles. Danzō wouldn't let him off, and the Third Hokage wouldn't let him go either.

Since that was the case, he should use all his abilities! Sooner or later, he would have to use the Nine-Tails' power.

After all, the higher-ups like the Third Hokage valued his Uzumaki Clan's chakra constitution and his identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, intending to brainwash him into a staunch supporter of the village.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have deliberately set up a situation for him to steal the forbidden scroll, and even prepared the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu for him.

This thing wasn't of much use to others. Without enough chakra, it was no different from a regular Shadow Clone.

[Nine-Tails' Recognition 2.2%]

This was the power he could currently use.

"Get the bells!" Naruto slightly bent his legs, assuming a stance to exert force. "As long as I get the bells, it's fine, right?"

"Of course," Kakashi said, flicking the bells at his waist. "Get one, and the exam is passed."

"Then I want two!"

Kakashi felt that Naruto had suddenly changed, like a different person. A very familiar feeling emanated from him.

Red chakra coiled around him, obscuring Naruto's features.

His small body shot out like an arrow released from a bow, erupting in the instant Kakashi's pupils widened. The grass beneath his feet was kicked up, raising fresh, moist soil.

Naruto's speed was too fast. With the boost from the Nine-Tails' chakra, his body was agile to a shocking degree.

In almost the blink of an eye, Naruto threw a punch, which Kakashi dodged by tilting his head. Missing the first strike, Naruto swept his elbow, his body twisting violently in mid-air.

As his elbow strike missed, his left leg heavily chopped down.

"Naruto! He!" Sakura was stunned, her mouth agape in the grass.

A thought flashed through her mind, and she suddenly realized something. To snatch the bells from a Jonin, it would be even more impossible without Naruto.

Now that Kakashi's attention was drawn to Naruto, she had to do something!

It was just a thought, but her body moved involuntarily. As she circled around Kakashi, her hand reached for her ninja tool pouch.

At the same time, Sasuke, on the tree, threw six shuriken. The six shuriken spun at high speed, cutting through the air and sealing off Kakashi's escape routes in six curved directions.

"Kakashi, with a relaxed expression, suddenly accelerated his body, swiftly dodging the six shuriken thrown by Sasuke.

With a sharp whistle, three more kunai attacked. Sakura had already supplemented Sasuke's offensive rhythm, even though her positioning was immature and too close to Kakashi.

Thud, thud, thud. The three kunai pierced the trunk of a large tree, all missing their target.

"Genjutsu!" Sakura, seeing Kakashi approaching, frantically formed hand seals.

"Genjutsu!" Kakashi formed hand seals first, returning the favor with his own technique. Of course, it wasn't a very advanced Genjutsu.

It was just that the Genjutsu, at the level Sakura could use, was cast on her first. Sakura, caught in the Genjutsu, froze and fell straight onto the grass.

"Too slow," Kakashi commented, while tilting his head and dodging a spinning kick from Naruto without even looking.

And at that moment, he reached out, grabbed Naruto's leg, and threw him heavily.

Naruto didn't let out the scream he expected upon landing. Instead, with a poof, he turned into white smoke. Kakashi was stunned. A Body Replacement Jutsu?

He hadn't even noticed it was a Body Replacement Jutsu. Although Kakashi wasn't taking it too seriously, he had indeed grabbed Naruto's leg, and the sensation had fooled him!

A Body Replacement Jutsu used by a kid who wasn't even a Genin, and its perfection was comparable to that of a battle-hardened Jonin.

"Not bad," Kakashi said with some satisfaction.

But he quickly realized something. He looked down and saw that Sakura, caught in the Genjutsu not far away, had already been picked up and carried away by Sasuke.

"Caw!" Crows flew overhead, their blood-red eyes overlooking the grass below, having witnessed the entire scene.

Kakashi stood alone on the grass. The surroundings were silent. There was no trace of Naruto and the other two.

"Was it just to distract me? The goal was to let Sasuke rescue Sakura." Kakashi stretched his neck, making a crisp cracking sound. Unhurriedly, he took out a Make-Out Paradise from his ninja tool pouch.

After a quick glance, Kakashi drawled lazily.

"Well, that's more like it."

After speaking, he walked towards the riverbank, calling out to the surroundings.

"Well, if you want the bells, you'll have to show me some real skill."

From the bushes, Naruto looked at Sasuke and said irritably.

"Why are you looking at me? I can't break genjutsu."

Before he could finish speaking, Sakura opened her eyes on her own. Her pupils first dilated sharply, then contracted. It wasn't until she saw Naruto and Sasuke in front of her that she finally calmed down.

"Teacher Kakashi's hand seals were too fast," Sakura said, still shaken.

Seeing Naruto and Sasuke looking at her, Sakura blinked, then looked back. Seeing no one behind her, she asked confusedly.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"How did you wake up on your own?" Naruto asked.

"Genjutsu can be broken," Sakura explained. "I happen to be good at it, so it just took me a little time to break it myself."

"Mainly, Teacher Kakashi held back and didn't use his full power."

Naruto fell silent. Sakura was truly the limit for an ordinary person. Without any special bloodline, she had come this far purely thanks to her sharp mind.

Perhaps it was because she had been discouraged yesterday, but she seemed much calmer. There was a hint of forcedness in her smile, and her face was full of exhaustion.