Hell Sword

"Earth Style! Earth Style: Mud Wall!" Kakashi met Naruto's relentless onslaught with his right hand, while his left hand rapidly formed hand seals and slammed onto the ground.

The grass surged upwards, forming a thick mud wall carved with four dog heads, blocking the Great Fireball Technique.

Black smoke billowed from the point of impact, and the smell of burning filled the air.

With both of Kakashi's hands occupied, Haruno Sakura seized the opportunity, darting out from the side and slashing at the bell's string hanging from his waist with a Kunai.

The three of them working together actually put a bit of pressure on him. Naruto, in particular, was the most crucial, using his peculiar sword and taijutsu to keep him occupied head-on.

He got a little serious.

White smoke exploded.

Haruno Sakura's Kunai missed its mark; her wrist was caught by one of Kakashi's Shadow Clones.

Naruto's iron rod was severed by a Kunai infused with Lightning Release Chakra, and the electricity coursed through the rod, paralyzing his limbs.

A Jonin could easily kill Genin instantly.

Let alone Kakashi, a former Captain of the Anbu. Forcing him to counter-attack was already enough capital for the graduates to brag about.

Although Naruto had eight years of Magnetic Field Martial Arts experience, in Konoha at this moment, he was ultimately just a boy of one meter fifty with unremarkable Chakra levels.

But an intense desire to win burned in his chest.

He had made so many big boasts, and he had to live up to them!

"Chakra... Push! Hell Sword!"

Naruto's arm swung along with a roar from his chest, and a semi-solid, semi-illusory sword shadow appeared at his fingertips.

As the sword swung down, Sword Qi shot out, severing Kakashi's Ninja Tool Belt and traveling over ten meters through the air.

The bells fell, landing in Sasuke's palm as he arrived, panting after finishing the Great Fireball Technique.

Space seemed to freeze as the four pairs of eyes of different colors fixed on the bells.

Naruto laughed, an incredibly arrogant smile.

He turned and left, not caring about ownership.

Having accomplished what he set out to do was the greatest reward for him.

Sasuke clutched the bells, feeling them grow hot in his hand.

Haruno Sakura glanced at Naruto's retreating back, feeling an inexplicable loneliness, but the joy of passing the exam quickly overshadowed her sadness. She cheered excitedly, "Sasuke got the bells! We won!"

Sasuke suddenly turned his head, glaring at Haruno Sakura with eyes like knives, like a lone wolf. He tossed both bells to her.

Then he walked away in the opposite direction of Naruto.

Haruno Sakura caught the bells and looked blankly at Kakashi, the bells in her hand emitting the distinct coolness of metal.

Kakashi scratched his head, looking up at the sky with one eye. He hadn't even considered the possibility of the bells being stolen.

According to his plan, he was supposed to tie one person to a tree stump and warn the other two not to give them food, to test if the graduates would resist orders and cherish sharing food with their companions.

But now the bells were stolen, and by the three of them working together. It seemed he had no grounds to find fault.

The only thing that bothered him was where Naruto had learned the technique he used just now.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Come back," Kakashi cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted loudly, "All three of you have passed!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow and turned back. Ninjas' minds are so convoluted, so damn troublesome.

Sasuke's face darkened as he muttered, "Calling my name after Naruto's... they really think I'm weaker than him, don't they?"

Naruto stopped five meters in front of Kakashi, facing him. "Give me an explanation."

Kakashi looked at Naruto, momentarily lost in thought.

Seeing the same hair color and facial features as his master, the same prodigious talent.

He felt as if he were the one being trained.

He narrowed his eyes and smiled gently. As expected of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze's son.

"Naruto, if you were to become a team, would you protect Sakura?"

"Yes."

"Sasuke?"

"Yes."

Naruto's answers were equally swift both times. It wasn't about the person, but about himself. "The premise is that they earn my approval."

Sasuke's mentality truly collapsed. Protect? Teacher already used the word 'protect'?

Kakashi immediately turned and asked Sasuke the same question, "Would you protect Naruto and Sakura?"

"Yes." Sasuke relaxed slightly, adding, "The premise is that they don't hinder the things I must do."

Kakashi chuckled, "So you all passed."

Haruno Sakura's lips curved into a suppressed smile, her eyes encompassing both boys for the first time without focusing on Sasuke's face.

Clutching the bell, she asked, "Teacher, can I keep this as a souvenir?"

Kakashi nodded in agreement, then spun around with a flourish, pointing his thumb at the sky. "Everyone passes! Team Seven! You'll start missions tomorrow!"

Naruto's life was lonely.

He wasn't someone who could sustain his entire life through martial arts alone.

He yearned for warmth, and all his childhood actions and aspirations were aimed at gaining the approval of the people of Konohagakure.

Although he no longer needed the validation of strangers, possessing a complete personality.

He was still a person who disliked loneliness.

After completing his martial arts training and depleting over half his Chakra, he left his home at night.

Ichiraku Ramen was lit with a warm yellow glow, casting a vast doorway of light onto the ground.

He ordered his usual Tonkotsu Chashu Ramen.

Uncle Teuchi was busy, and after a brief greeting, didn't speak to him, but Naruto still felt a sense of warmth.

At least it was warmer than living alone in that dilapidated house.

Just then, an old man who had taken off his hat sat down beside him.

"Naruto."

"Third Grandpa."

In Naruto's memories as an orphan, the man, despite being the Hokage, would sometimes spend time with him, and was one of the few good people in Konoha.

"Lord Hokage!" everyone in the ramen shop stood up and bowed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said kindly, "Please sit, everyone, continue eating."

Naruto had been about to order more noodles, but since Third Grandpa had come to find him, there must be something important. He finished his last few bites, took a large gulp of soup, and proactively walked outside.

Hiruzen Sarutobi followed, and the old man and the young boy walked along the quiet townhouse streets under a sky dotted with starlight.

"Naruto, I have something I want to ask you. You can answer, or you don't have to."

"Ask away, Third Grandpa."

"You've changed a lot recently, and you've even used some Ninjutsu that doesn't belong to Konoha. Have you met a Demon Fox?"

Naruto's mind flashed with countless images like a movie, connecting a series of events. He nodded and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "That's right."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed at the moon veiled by thin clouds and sighed. "You've grown up. What did that Demon Fox say to you? Can you tell Grandpa?"

Naruto's gaze deepened. "I promised it that I wouldn't reveal the secrets between us."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped walking, his old, small body slowly turning towards Naruto.

He had come today to confirm whether Naruto had passed the Nine-Tails, and if he knew his father's identity as the Fourth Hokage.

The Hero he admired most, the one who defeated the Nine-Tails Demon Fox and saved Konohagakure.

If he knew, how much hatred would the years of concealment and Naruto's suffering turn into?

He decided to lay the groundwork first. "Naruto, the Nine-Tails Demon Fox is not to be trusted. It is a collection of hatred, betrayal, malice, and lies. Everything it does is to deceive you, to devour your consciousness."

Naruto suddenly understood. So the Nine-Tails Demon Fox was inside him, no wonder so many foolish villagers hated him.

Many questions surfaced in his mind.

He wanted to know the whole story.

He smiled innocently. "Don't worry, Third Grandpa, it's locked up tight."

"It was so lonely, so it actively sought me out to chat. We get along very well, it likes me a lot, treats me very well, and even taught me Ninjutsu! You don't need to worry."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was shocked.