Bell-Taking Battle

"What? Go back to the Ninja Academy?"

"Teacher Kakashi, you're not joking, are you?!"

Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened instantly. At that moment, Sakura no longer cared about maintaining the image of a proper young lady. Being sent back to the Ninja Academy to start over would be an absolute disaster!

She would be mocked to death by so many friends and relatives!

That was something Sakura could never accept.

Naruto felt the same.

Sasuke's expression turned icy as well, his gaze fixed firmly on Kakashi.

He had even less desire to return to the Ninja Academy and waste time.

He still had an enormous distance to close before he could reach that man. Every minute and second from now on was precious!

Is it coming? The Bell-Taking Battle!

Menma rose to his feet as well, his expression serious.

"Hehe, joking? Do you think I'd joke about something like this? These are the established rules. Don't think that passing the Ninja Academy graduation exam means you can call yourselves ninja. Every graduate assigned to a team must undergo a second assessment. Only by passing can you truly graduate. If you fail, then sorry, you can only go back and study again. And by the way, the pass rate for this test is only thirty percent. I won't be going easy on you!"

Kakashi's face hardened as he deliberately spoke with a stern expression.

His purpose was to put psychological pressure on Naruto, Menma, Sakura, and Sasuke.

Sure enough.

As soon as Kakashi finished speaking,

the expressions of all four visibly tightened.

However, among the four of them, Menma's expression was almost entirely an act. Others might not know it, but how could Menma? Other teams did indeed have a high chance of being sent back to the Ninja Academy to study again, but the odds of Team Seven being sent back could not be said to be absolutely zero—only infinitely close to impossible. The main reason was that Team Seven's makeup was rather complicated.

Especially since Uzumaki Menma was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, one of the village's major sources of Combat Power. From the perspective of the entire ninja village's interests, the Third Hokage had to cultivate Menma as quickly as possible. Only then would there be a chance for him to fight to protect Konoha in a critical moment.

So Kakashi's words were clearly meant to intimidate the four members of Team Seven!

Of course, understanding that inwardly was one thing.

On the surface, Menma still had to act a little more convincingly.

Otherwise, he would seem out of place.

"Hmph, then we just have to pass, right? Go on, Brother Kakashi, tell us what the test is. I won't lose to anyone else!"

Naruto quickly adjusted his mindset, thumped his chest hard, and spoke with great confidence.

Sasuke also revealed an unprecedentedly serious expression.

Menma remained calm.

Only Sakura was truly filled with unease. She was genuinely worried that she would fail the assessment and be sent back to the Ninja Academy!

"Hehe, confidence is the best thing. The test is simple: a special survival exercise. Here, this is it. Before twelve o'clock, you need to take these bells from me. No matter what method you use, as long as you seize a bell, you pass the test. But if time runs out and you still haven't taken one, then obediently go back to the Ninja Academy and study. That will prove that you are not qualified to become ninja yet!"

Kakashi first took a clock from his pocket and set it aside. Then he pulled out three bells and fastened them to his waist, speaking in a serious, solemn tone.

"Remember, if you don't try to take them with the resolve to kill me, you won't succeed!"

"But, Teacher Kakashi, don't you have too few bells? There are only three?"

Sakura, who cared the most about this assessment, immediately noticed the three bells fastened at Kakashi's waist. She raised her hand and spoke timidly.

"Hehe, that's right. There are only three. Out of the four of you, at most three can graduate successfully. What you do is up to the four of you."

Kakashi smiled faintly.

To Sakura, it sounded like the whisper of a demon.

In an instant, her heart turned cold.

Never mind the pass rate.

There were only three bells.

No matter how she looked at it, she was the weakest member of the team. There was no way it would be her turn to seize one, was there?

At that moment, Sakura felt as if she could already see her future!

Naruto's eyes widened, and just as he was about to say something—

"Alright, the assessment officially begins! If you keep wasting time, all of you will be going back to the Ninja Academy to study!"

Kakashi leaned forward slightly and delivered those threatening words.

Then, with a wave of his Right Hand—

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

Menma, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all instinctively sprang away, scattering beyond the field and hiding among the surrounding bushes and trees.

A survival exercise.

This had been one of the courses they took most often at the Ninja Academy over the past few years. They could not have been more familiar with the necessary procedures!

Teamwork sounds easy, but actually putting it into practice is still quite difficult. After all, this is just a newly formed makeshift team!

Menma hid at a neither-too-near-nor-too-far position, watching Kakashi stand leisurely on the grass at the center, and silently thought to himself.

Still, it was not as though they had to display flawless coordination. As long as they showed the right spirit, that would be enough. Kakashi could not possibly treat them as real opponents. A Jonin against Genin was simply a one-sided slaughter!

Kakashi would definitely hold back. As long as they managed to create the most perfect ambush possible for their current level of strength,

Kakashi would definitely let all four of them take the bells.

The key is how to form an effective attack. Still, having someone test the waters first isn't bad!

Watching Naruto, who was almost exactly the same as in the Original Work—making no attempt to hide and simply standing face-to-face with Kakashi—Menma's Pupils gleamed faintly.

"Hey, Naruto, I already said this was a survival exercise, didn't I?"

Kakashi looked at Naruto with a hint of helplessness.

"Hehe, you call it a survival exercise, but isn't it really just about taking the bells? You dodged every sparring match before this, Brother Kakashi. This time, I'm definitely going to defeat you fair and square. Take this, Brother Kakashi!"

Naruto grinned.

"Boom!"

Then he sprang forward.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

His figure flashed out as he rapidly threw more than ten Shuriken.

They formed a half-encirclement as they shot toward Kakashi's position.