Survival Exercise (2)

"But sensei, there are only two bells... and three of us..." Hinata said hesitantly, not daring to voice the guess in her mind. Would one of them really be sent back to the Ninja Academy? Naruto and Sasuke were both so outstanding, so... would she be the one to go back? The more Hinata thought about it, the more disheartened she became.

"Hinata, don't overthink it. Let's just grab the bells first," Naruto said, patting her on the shoulder to comfort her.

Naruto... Hinata looked at him and nodded firmly. "Mm."

"That's right." Kakashi held the bells and fastened them to his waist. "Sorry about this, but I only have two bells, so one of you will have to go back to the Ninja Academy."

He pushed up the forehead protector covering his left eye. "Still, I'll have to be on full alert from the start." Kakashi opened his crimson left eye... the Three Tomoe Sharingan!

Just then—

Whoosh! Sasuke turned into a blur, charging straight at Kakashi, drawing his blade!

Clang!

Kakashi, producing a short sword from somewhere, blocked Sasuke's first strike and said calmly, "I haven't said start yet, Sasuke." With a twist of the blade, he sent Sasuke stumbling back with a palm strike.

Hinata nervously took a stance on the spot.

Naruto stood still, scratching his head awkwardly, probably reminded of something.

Kakashi had no idea that Sasuke had inadvertently done what Naruto should have. He nodded. "Good, looks like you're all ready... then, begin!"

Whoosh, whoosh! Sasuke and Hinata leaped away and hid themselves.

Naruto stayed right where he was.

"Oh? Going for a frontal assault?" Kakashi's tone held little surprise. Having the strongest fighter, Naruto, hold the front while the other two waited for an opening from the shadows... that was a decent strategy.

"Well, none of me is really good at conventional ninja tactics anyway..." Naruto grinned, but his eyes remained sharply focused.

Teamwork. He had to rely on teamwork to get the bells, so Hinata could pass.

Naruto's resolve was firm.

In the shadows.

Sasuke hid behind a thick tree, while Hinata concealed herself in a bush. Both kept their eyes locked on the two bells at Kakashi's waist.

On the field, a breeze blew.

The minute hand of the clock moved.

Naruto instantly threw three shuriken, coated in sharp Wind Style chakra, spinning rapidly in a triangle formation toward Kakashi.

Kakashi's short sword crackled with lightning as he swung it repeatedly. Clink, clink, clink—all three shuriken were deflected, scattering on the ground nearby.

Luckily, it was the short sword his father, White Fang, had once used—top-quality—so it wasn't chipped by Naruto's shuriken.

By then, Naruto had closed in, throwing a heavy punch straight at Kakashi's face.

How terrifying was the dynamic vision of the Three Tomoe Sharingan? Kakashi calmly sidestepped and slashed back with his sword.

Naruto parried with a kunai.

Thud, thud, thud, thud...

The two exchanged blows in close-quarters taijutsu, but Naruto was only twelve, still growing in size and strength, so Kakashi steadily held the upper hand, suppressing him.

In a gap, Kakashi flipped his short sword and thrust it at Naruto's abdomen!

Shink! The blade pierced through, emerging from Naruto's back. Naruto stared blankly at Kakashi.

In the shadows, Hinata covered her mouth in shock; Sasuke watched calmly.

A kunai pressed against Kakashi's lower back.

Poof! The Naruto stabbed by the sword turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished.

Kakashi glanced around. The three shuriken scattered on the ground—one was indeed missing now. He said flatly, "The Wind Style chakra was just to disrupt my Sharingan's vision... so the real body turned into a shuriken and hid from the very start?"

The Naruto behind him laughed. "As expected of Kakashi-sen—"

Zzzzzt...

Naruto looked down. Beneath their feet, three Explosive Tags were already burning on the ground! Startled, he quickly leaped back.

Boom, boom, boom! The Explosive Tags detonated under Kakashi's feet, and a plume of smoke swallowed him up.

In the shadows, Sasuke's Three Tomoe Sharingan widened. What was going on? He hadn't seen Kakashi dodge the explosion...

On the ground, a figure shot out from the smoke, sparks of lightning flickering over his body. In the blink of an eye, he reached Naruto just as he landed.

He crouched and kicked.

Bam! Naruto was sent flying into the air.

That's—! In the shadows, Sasuke was startled, instantly recalling the kicks he'd taken years ago.

He wasn't even touched by the Explosive Tags? Midair, Naruto noticed in that brief instant that Kakashi's body bore no marks at all. Suddenly, he remembered what Kakashi had said before starting: "Because of a recent breakthrough in my personal training"—

Could it be?!

Kakashi had already leaped behind Naruto.

Front Lotus?

Boom... golden flames instantly engulfed Naruto! Golden Chakra arms extended from his back, and with no foothold, Kakashi had no way to dodge, forced to take that cheap punch and get sent flying, while Naruto was propelled forward by the recoil.

Opportunity! Sasuke leaped through the trees, found his spot, and swish, swish, swish, swish... his hands flicked in rapid succession as half a dozen shuriken arced through the air toward Kakashi, who was suspended midair.

Sasuke pulled his arms in every direction, then yanked hard. Snap. The Steel Wire connecting the shuriken had formed a net, instantly tightening around Kakashi, who couldn't move in the air.

The Steel Wire went slack.

How was that possible? Empty? Sasuke's shock was laced with doubt.

Naruto, also falling through the air, noticed this too. Just as I thought... Thud. The moment he hit the ground, Naruto shot toward Kakashi like a golden cannonball with a boom!

A blue Chakra sphere coalesced in Naruto's right hand. His Golden Body Mode vastly enhanced his physical abilities, letting him close the distance to Kakashi in a single breath as he pressed his right hand forward.

Rasengan!

At the same time, a massive fireball hurtled at Kakashi from the side.

It was Sasuke's Great Fireball! Six years of tacit understanding let Sasuke instantly predict Kakashi's escape route and seal it off.

But...

Both the Rasengan and the Great Fireball hit nothing. Kakashi stayed right where he was.

"Gentle Fist! "

Hinata seized the moment too, leaping high and pressing a palm down toward Kakashi. It passed straight through him—a clean miss.

Jingle, jingle. The bells at Kakashi's waist chimed clearly.

What's going on?! Sasuke and Hinata were both baffled, staring at Kakashi. An attack that should have landed for sure—and it missed? As if Kakashi just now... hadn't been there?

"Is it a genjutsu?" Hinata asked tensely, keeping her Gentle Fist stance.

Sasuke activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan, the tomoe spinning frantically in his pupils. Useless.

He shook his head. "No."

"Of course it's not a genjutsu..." Naruto stood up and turned to look at Kakashi. "Right, Teacher Kakashi?"

"Ah..." Kakashi turned around too. His left Sharingan had now shifted into a strange, three-pronged shuriken shape:

"That's right."