"But, Teacher, there are only two Bells... and there are three of us..." Hinata voiced her hesitation, not daring to think about the suspicion in her heart. Did one of the three of them have to be sent back to the Ninja Academy? Naruto and Sasuke were both so outstanding, so... was she the only one who would have to return to the Ninja Academy? The more Hinata thought about it, the more dejected she became.
"Hinata, don't overthink it. Let's get the Bells first," Naruto said, patting Hinata's shoulder in comfort.
Naruto... Hinata looked at him and nodded firmly. "Mm."
"That's right." Kakashi held the Bells and tied them around his waist. "Though I'm sorry to say it, I only have two Bells. One of you will have to go back to the Ninja Academy."
He pushed up the Headband covering his left eye. "Still, I'll have to stay fully alert from the very start." Kakashi opened his crimson left eye... the Three Tomoe Sharingan!
Just then—
Whoosh! Sasuke became a blur as he charged straight at Kakashi, drawing his sword!
Clang!
Kakashi somehow produced a short blade and blocked Sasuke's opening strike. "I haven't said start yet, Sasuke," he said calmly. With a twist of his blade, he knocked Sasuke back with a palm strike.
Hinata nervously assumed a stance where she stood.
Naruto remained where he was, scratching his head awkwardly, as if something had occurred to him.
How could Kakashi know that Sasuke had inadvertently done what Naruto was supposed to do? He nodded. "Very good. It seems you're all ready... Then, begin!"
Whoosh, whoosh! Sasuke and Hinata leaped away and concealed themselves.
Naruto was still standing in place.
"Oh? Are you planning to face me head-on?" There was not much surprise in Kakashi's tone. Having Naruto, the strongest fighter, hold him off from the front while the other two searched for an opportunity from the shadows... it was a good plan.
"After all, no version of me is particularly good at conventional ninja combat..." Naruto grinned, but his gaze remained intensely focused.
Teamwork. They had to rely on teamwork to get the Bells so Hinata could pass.
Naruto's resolve was unwavering.
In the shadows.
Sasuke hid behind a large, dense tree, while Hinata concealed herself in a patch of bushes. Their eyes were both fixed firmly on the two Bells at Kakashi's waist.
A breeze swept through the field.
The alarm clock's minute hand ticked forward.
Naruto instantly threw three shuriken. Coated in sharp Wind Style Chakra, they spun rapidly toward Kakashi in a triangular formation.
Electric current coursed across Kakashi's short blade as he swung it repeatedly. Clang, clang, clang—the three shuriken were all knocked away, scattering across the nearby ground.
Fortunately, this was the short blade once used by his father, the White Fang. Its quality was exceptional, so Naruto's shuriken had not chipped it.
By then, Naruto had already closed in, throwing a heavy punch straight at Kakashi's face.
How terrifying was the Three Tomoe Sharingan's dynamic vision? Kakashi calmly sidestepped and slashed backward with his blade.
Naruto raised a kunai to block.
Bang, bang, bang, bang...
The two exchanged blows with expert taijutsu, but Naruto was only twelve after all. His build and strength were still developing, while Kakashi steadily held the upper hand and suppressed him.
In a gap between exchanges, Kakashi flipped his short blade and stabbed at Naruto's abdomen!
Sshk—the short blade entered Naruto's body and emerged from behind his waist. Naruto stared blankly at Kakashi.
From the shadows, Hinata nervously covered her mouth. Sasuke merely watched calmly.
A kunai pressed against Kakashi's lower back.
Poof! The Naruto stabbed by the short blade turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished.
Kakashi glanced over. Of the three shuriken scattered on the ground earlier, one had indeed disappeared. "The Wind Style Chakra was only meant to disrupt my Sharingan's sight... The real body had transformed into a shuriken and hidden itself from the very beginning?"
Behind him, Naruto laughed. "Just as expected of Teacher Kakashi—"
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
Naruto lowered his head. Three Explosive Tags beneath their feet were already burning on the ground! Startled, Naruto hurriedly retreated.
Boom, boom, boom! The Explosive Tags detonated beneath Kakashi, and billowing smoke engulfed his figure.
From the shadows, Sasuke's Three Tomoe Sharingan was open wide. What was going on? He had not seen Kakashi make any move to evade the explosion...
A figure shot out of the smoke, electric arcs flashing around his body. In the blink of an eye, he reached Naruto, who had just landed.
He crouched and kicked.
Bang! Naruto was kicked into the air.
This?! Sasuke was startled from the shadows, instantly recalling the kicks he had taken years ago.
He hadn't been touched by the Explosive Tags at all? In midair, Naruto had noticed in that brief instant that there was not a single mark on Kakashi's body. Suddenly, he recalled what Kakashi had said before the start—"because of a recent breakthrough in my personal training"—
Could it be?!
Kakashi had already leaped behind Naruto.
Front Lotus?
Boom... Golden flames instantly enveloped Naruto! An arm of Golden Chakra extended from his back. With nowhere to brace himself and no way to evade, Kakashi could only be sent flying by that shameless punch, while Naruto was also propelled forward by the force.
An opening! Sasuke leaped through the trees. After finding his position, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... his hands swung repeatedly, sending five or six shuriken in arcs toward Kakashi in midair.
Sasuke pulled his arms up, down, left, and right, then yanked hard. Snap! The Steel Wire attached to the shuriken had formed a great net, surrounding the immobile Kakashi in the air and instantly tightening!
The Steel Wire fell slack.
How was that possible? It missed? Sasuke was startled, his mind full of questions.
Naruto, who was falling through the air as well, noticed the scene. Just as I thought... The moment he landed, Naruto shot toward Kakashi with a bang like a golden cannonball!
A blue sphere of Chakra instantly condensed in Naruto's right hand. His physical abilities, greatly enhanced by Golden Body Mode, allowed him to reach Kakashi in a breath and slam out his right hand.
Rasengan!
At the same time, a massive fireball came hurtling at Kakashi from the side.
It was Sasuke's Great Fireball! Six years of tacit understanding let Sasuke instantly judge Kakashi's escape route and seal it off!
But...
Both the Rasengan and the Great Fireball struck nothing. Kakashi had remained standing in the same spot.
"Gentle Fist!"
Hinata seized the opportunity as well. She leaped high into the air in coordination with them and drove a palm down at Kakashi, only for it to pass through him as well.
Clink, clink—the Bells at Kakashi's waist rang crisply.
What was going on?! Sasuke and Hinata were both filled with questions as they looked at Kakashi. Attacks that should have hit without fail had all missed? It was as though Kakashi had just... not existed?
"Was it a genjutsu?" Hinata did not dare relax. Maintaining her Gentle Fist stance, she asked nervously.
Sasuke activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan. The tomoe spun rapidly in his pupils, but to no avail.
He shook his head. "No."
"Of course it wasn't a genjutsu..." Naruto rose to his feet and turned back toward Kakashi. "Right, Teacher Kakashi?"
"Ah..." Kakashi turned around as well. At that moment, the Sharingan in his left eye had changed into the shape of a strange triangular shuriken:
"That's right."
Before you continue