The Gap

The Red Cat's six Chakra Hearts immediately began to operate. Earlier, the Red Cat had only activated two Chakra Hearts, but now it was in its strongest state.

Crimson Chakra erupted from the Red Cat's body, and flames, ignited by the bloodline within its body, wrapped around it. The surrounding air rippled from the intense heat.

Kakashi's Sharingan could clearly see the immense amount of Chakra the Red Cat possessed. He had thought the Red Cat's Chakra was already powerful earlier, but now it was several times stronger than before.

This wasn't a mere doubling or tripling of power, but a leap in the realm of strength. The current Red Cat made Kakashi wary. Even he couldn't guarantee he could subdue it, and if he could, he would definitely be injured, possibly with even more severe consequences.

How did such a powerful Ninja Beast end up with Sasuke and Naruto? Kakashi thought to himself. There was no concrete information about the origin of Sasuke and Naruto's Ninja Beasts. However, there was a guess in the intelligence reports that pointed to another surviving Uchiha member—Yuyou Uchiha.

There must be many "stories" behind this, but Kakashi needed to resolve the current situation first.

"This Sharingan was a gift from a dear friend who has passed away. Your Uchiha clan knew I possessed this Sharingan before; it was recognized by your Uchiha clan," Kakashi said to Sasuke, pulling down his forehead protector to cover his Sharingan.

Sasuke was stunned by Kakashi's answer for a moment, then ceased his attack. He chose to believe Kakashi's words. It was due to Kakashi's reputation and standing in Konoha, coupled with the Uchiha clan's past strength, that Kakashi wouldn't lie to him.

The Uchiha clan had never taken back this Sharingan from Kakashi before, so it must have been recognized that Kakashi possessed it. Now that only two members of the Uchiha clan remained, it was best not to dwell too much on certain things. However, facing someone far stronger than himself...

Seeing Sasuke stop his attack, the Red Cat also retracted its power. Activating six Chakra Hearts placed a considerable burden on its body.

Although Slimes had near-invincible physical resistance, it didn't mean their bodies couldn't be damaged. Furthermore, Chakra wasn't physical strength; too much Chakra could cause a Slime's body to collapse.

After retracting its power, the Red Cat retreated behind Sasuke, but its pair of crimson eyes remained fixed on Kakashi. The Red Cat could sense that the person before it was terrifying. If a fight were to break out, its choice would be to protect Sasuke and flee to "God's" side.

Clap, clap, clap...

Kakashi's eyes curved into a smile as he raised his hands and began to clap. "We won't dwell on what just happened. I congratulate you again on successfully passing Team 7's test. From now on, you are official ninjas of Konoha."

"Especially your two Ninja Beasts, their strength is incredible. However, you haven't registered their identities yet, have you? Tomorrow, you should go to the registration office and register your Ninja Beasts' information. That way, they will be recognized by Konoha as official Ninja Beasts.

This will be very helpful for you in future missions. Powerful Ninja Beasts also factor into the reward. You can earn more remuneration for each mission, which is quite a fortune!"

Kakashi imparted his experience to Naruto and Sasuke.

Of course, having them register the Red Cat and Snow Charm's information was also for Konoha to better understand the strength of these two Ninja Beasts.

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a glance and nodded. They had actually had this idea for a while but hadn't acted on it. Now that they remembered, they decided to go tomorrow.

"Let's disband for now! To apologize, I'll treat everyone to a meal at a restaurant," Kakashi said to the three.

However, Sasuke only heard the first half of the sentence before turning and walking away. His impression of Kakashi was currently very poor.

"Teacher Kakashi, I have something else to do, so I won't be going," Naruto also declined Kakashi's invitation.

Naruto then left, holding Snow Charm. He had experienced a fierce battle today, and both he and Snow Charm were covered in dust. He needed to hurry back and clean them up, or Snow Charm would get angry again.

If Snow Charm got angry, that guy Nine-Tails would also get angry. If Nine-Tails couldn't suppress its anger and caused him trouble, it would be over. He now had to serve two foxes.

As for Sakura, she was like a transparent person today. She hadn't played any role in this entire battle. It was entirely a battle showcase for Sasuke and Naruto with their Ninja Beasts, having nothing to do with her.

Even if Sakura had wanted to do something, there was no place for her to intervene, as the power difference between them was too great. Forcing her way in wouldn't help and would only backfire.

So, in this test, Sakura just stood by and watched, from anxious at the beginning, to calm, and finally to anxious again.

Her final anxiety stemmed from her own weakness, which made her feel flustered. She knew Sasuke was very strong back in the Ninja Academy, but only now did she truly understand the gap between them. The feeling of helplessness was unpleasant.

And that Naruto was also very strong, not someone she could compare to.

Stepping out of the comfortable nest of the Ninja Academy and into reality, Sakura had to face the reality of being a ninja.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Kakashi, I don't want to go either."

Sakura bowed to Kakashi and then left dejectedly.

Watching Sakura's retreating figure, Kakashi stroked his chin. He actually knew what Sakura was thinking. After all, compared to her teammates, Sakura was far too lacking.

Konoha's higher-ups had decided to assign Naruto and Sasuke to the same team. Sakura was just a bonus. Because Sakura, as a girl, was close to Sasuke and Naruto, they decided to add her to Team 7.

Moreover, Konoha's small team assignments followed the principle of pairing males and females, which was a long-standing tradition.

To be honest, Yu had guessed some of this.

Kakashi didn't feel uncomfortable being rejected by his disciples. After the three of them disappeared from sight, Kakashi's expression turned serious.

The current situation had deviated far from Konoha's original plan.

Then, Kakashi formed a hand seal, and his entire body instantly vanished from his spot.