At another training ground in the distance, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura sat off to the side, bored out of their minds.
"This Kakashi-sensei is completely unreliable! He told us not to be late, yet he's been late for so long himself!"
Naruto grumbled angrily, utterly unconcerned. "Sasuke, we need to teach him a good lesson later!"
Sasuke said nothing, but he nodded in firm agreement.
They had arrived shortly after seven, and they still hadn't even had breakfast!
"Um... Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi is a Jonin... shouldn't we behave ourselves?" Sakura swallowed nervously when she heard that the two of them actually agreed on teaching Kakashi a lesson.
"Sakura, don't be scared! Sasuke and I are really strong now!" Naruto patted his chest, looking utterly confident.
Especially when he imagined showing Sakura his invincible form later, only for her to be completely captivated by him, he couldn't help grinning foolishly.
"Hey... what are you fantasizing about again? Why are you smiling so creepily?" Sasuke shot Naruto a look of disgust.
"Nonsense! I wasn't fantasizing about anything!" Naruto glared at him fiercely.
"Um... I'm very sorry. I ran into an elderly lady crossing the road, and I was late because I helped her get home."
Kakashi walked over from the distance, carrying two lunchboxes in one hand while scratching the back of his head with the other, smiling sheepishly.
"Kakashi-sensei, you're going too far! Even if you're making excuses, at least come up with a believable one! Do you really think that excuse can fool us?"
Naruto rolled his eyes. Who was he trying to fool, idiots?
Then Naruto noticed the two lunchboxes in Kakashi's hand and couldn't help asking, "Kakashi-sensei, are those for us?"
Naruto's words drew Sasuke and Sakura's attention over.
"Yes." Kakashi nodded, sweeping his gaze over the three of them with a blank expression. "But only two of you will get to eat them."
"The ones who get lunch are the ones who take the bells from me." As he spoke, Kakashi took out two bells and tied them around his waist.
The instant he finished speaking, a palm strike suddenly swept toward him from the side!
Kakashi's relaxed demeanor vanished in an instant. His pupils contracted as he flipped away to evade it.
"Alright! We're taking the bells? Perfect. I can teach you a lesson for being late too, Kakashi-sensei!"
Another Naruto stood where Kakashi had just landed, rubbing his fists together.
"A Shadow Clone! And that taijutsu... something's wrong! Very wrong!"
Before Kakashi could recover, lightning suddenly flashed alongside the howl of fierce wind!
"Wind Style: Thousand Faces Wind!"
"Lightning Style: Lightning Ball!"
Naruto and Sasuke spoke at the same time.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!!"
Kakashi rapidly formed hand seals, and an Earth Wall carved with dog heads suddenly rose up, blocking Sasuke and Naruto's ninjutsu.
However, the rising Earth Wall shattered into pieces under the collision of their techniques!
"Ninjutsu of this level! And Naruto and Sasuke have both already mastered chakra nature transformation!"
Kakashi no longer dared to let his guard down. He had originally thought they were merely three ordinary newly graduated Genin.
But now, it seemed that one mistake could cause him to suffer badly!
Whoosh, whoosh!
The sound of slicing air suddenly rang out as several Shuriken shot toward him.
But Shuriken of that level posed no threat to Kakashi. He could dodge them casually.
It was precisely the instant the Shuriken reached his side.
Bang!
A cloud of smoke dispersed, revealing Naruto! The taijutsu Yamei had taught him displayed terrifying power at that moment, actually bringing him to a standstill against Kakashi!
"What formidable taijutsu!" Cold sweat formed on Kakashi's forehead. Then, from the corner of his eye, he caught several flashes of light, and his expression changed.
Several steel wires trembled, and the scattered Shuriken suddenly flew back toward Kakashi!
The returning Shuriken stabbed viciously into Kakashi's body. Seeing this, Naruto, who had pulled back, threw a fierce punch!
"Got him!"
"Don't celebrate yet, idiot! That's a Lightning Style clone!!"
The Kakashi pierced by the Shuriken turned into a mass of lightning and vanished.
Sasuke quickly released the steel wires in his hand. The conductivity of the lightning left his body slightly numb, while his eyes continued scanning their surroundings vigilantly.
"Damn it! As expected of a Jonin, he's really troublesome!" Naruto immediately returned to a combat stance as well.
They had temporarily lost track of Kakashi, but neither of them dared to lower their guard in the slightest.
As for Sakura, she was already stunned senseless. From the moment the battle began, she had stood there blankly, at a complete loss.
So they really hadn't been joking when they said they were going to teach Kakashi-sensei a lesson!
She had always known Naruto and Sasuke had grown stronger after training with Yamei, but nobody had said they would become this strong!
Could she... still catch up to Sasuke and the others?
A trace of confusion flickered in her eyes.
Naruto and Sasuke had no idea that displaying their strength had dealt Sakura such a heavy blow.
Earthen spikes suddenly thrust toward them from all around.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dozens of Narutos suddenly appeared, and one Rasengan after another formed in their hands.
"Let's go!!"
The Narutos shouted in unison and charged toward the dense mass of earthen spikes with Rasengan in hand.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions rang out without end. In just a few blinks, the earthen spikes had been completely destroyed, while half of the Narutos remained on guard with Rasengan in hand.
Kakashi, who had concealed his presence and hidden away, was already starting to lose his composure the moment he saw Naruto use the Rasengan.
Especially when Naruto used the Rasengan together with the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique—Kakashi was honestly jealous!
"Kakashi-sensei, I found you."
At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded beside him. The instant he turned his head, he met a pair of scarlet eyes.
The two-tomoe Sharingan gleamed, and his vision changed at that moment.
"Genjutsu!"
Kakashi's heart lurched. He quickly dispelled the genjutsu, only to feel a wave of scorching heat.
"Great Fireball Technique!! Are these two trying to kill me?"
Cold sweat poured down Kakashi's forehead, because he could sense more than a dozen Narutos charging at him from behind with Rasengan in hand.
"Water Style: Water Wave!"
Water and fire collided, creating a thick cloud of mist. Taking advantage of that opening, Kakashi used an Earth Style technique to block all of Naruto's Rasengan.
The moment he retreated from the dense mist, Kakashi suddenly felt his waist grow lighter. Turning his head, he saw that the bell from his waist was in Haruno Sakura's hand.
"..."
Kakashi was momentarily stunned. Had he neglected Sakura because he was too shocked by Naruto and Sasuke's combat power?
Or perhaps he had underestimated them from the very beginning.
If he had been facing enemies, Kakashi naturally would not have been so careless.
But he had never truly intended to take them seriously from the start, which was why the sudden turn of events had caught him off guard.
"Sasuke, Naruto! I got the bell!"
Sakura called out excitedly. She could still be of help to them!
"Huh!? It's over already? I haven't had enough yet." Naruto walked out of the water mist unhappily, while Sasuke stood behind him with his hands in his pockets, looking as though no one present could match him.
Kakashi's mouth twitched slightly. Not wanting to pay Naruto any attention, he turned his gaze toward Haruno Sakura.
"There are only two bells. Sakura, how do you plan to divide them? You should know that anyone who doesn't get a bell won't be allowed to eat."
Before you continue