Three Super Invincible Idiots

The next day, the four of them arrived at the training ground early.

As expected, Sasuke and Sakura hadn't eaten breakfast, while Jimo had dragged Naruto off for two bowls of ramen before coming.

Everyone had been waiting here since six-thirty in the morning, and four hours had passed—Kakashi still hadn't shown up.

"Good morning, everyone!"

Kakashi arrived late.

"You're late, hey!" the three youngsters complained in unison.

Kakashi ignored the complaint as usual, pulling an alarm clock out of his ninja tool pouch.

"What you need to do is snatch the bells from my hand before noon!"

Only then did everyone see two bells dangling from Kakashi's hand.

"Let me tell you in advance—if you don't get the bells within the time limit, you don't get lunch. You'll also be tied to the throwing targets over there and watch me eat my bento."

He'd expected a big reaction from them.

"Uh... I ate too much last night, I'm still not hungry..." Sakura said, covering her stomach with a red face—she'd eaten the most snacks and treats yesterday.

"Same here... who knows how many high-calorie things that guy Jimo put in the food yesterday..." Sasuke said, equally unconcerned.

Naruto even shouted his luck. Since Jimo had insisted on dragging him to eat in the morning, he wouldn't mind even if he went hungry until night.

"Uh... what an over-budget kid..." Kakashi sighed helplessly as he looked at Jimo, who still hadn't thrown away the skewer of meatballs in his hand. He began to take this student more seriously.

"I only have two bells here. That means two of you will be tied to the stakes. If you get tied up, I'll send you back to the ninja academy!"

These words finally got their attention.

"You can use any method you know—even ninjutsu and shuriken are fine, you know? If you don't have the resolve to kill me, you won't get the bells."

Naruto was just about to mock him about getting hit by the blackboard eraser when Jimo stopped him.

Seeing this, Kakashi added another line.

"That brat over there, weren't you shouting about becoming Hokage? Or can you only talk big? The less skill you have, the more you like dreaming about unrealistic things." Then he turned to the other three. "Forget it, don't mind this dead last. Let's get ready to start."

When Naruto heard the words "dead last," he instantly broke free of Jimo's arm, pulled out a kunai, and lunged at Kakashi.

Only when the blade of the kunai pressed against the back of his own head did he realize Kakashi had already twisted his arm behind him, using his own kunai to subdue him—and he hadn't even started running yet.

"No way, I can't see his movements at all..." Sakura was so scared she lost control of her body.

Sasuke was also drenched in cold sweat.

Jimo was deeply shocked inside too... he couldn't see Kakashi's movement trajectory either, and this definitely wasn't Kakashi's top speed.

"Tch... looks like my current level can't reach him yet..."

"At least wait until I say 'start'—do you want to kill me that badly? Seems like you've already accepted me as your teacher. That execution isn't bad; I'm starting to like you guys."

Then, with a single "start" from Kakashi, everyone scattered out of his attack range.

"As ninja, hiding your presence and dodging are the basics... looks like everyone's doing well." Kakashi muttered praise to himself in the middle of the training ground.

"Let's settle this!"

"?!"

Naruto stood with his arms crossed over his chest, looking at a speechless Kakashi with full confidence.

"That super idiot..." Sasuke hid in a tree, covering his face, equally speechless as he watched Naruto.

"Hey hey! It was agreed I'd go first!" Jimo appeared behind Kakashi as well.

"Now there are two super idiots..." Sasuke couldn't figure out how Jimo planned to win.

Naruto ignored Jimo's words and charged forward on his own. After swinging a punch into empty air, he lost sight of Kakashi.

"Hey hey, is it really okay to leave your back to the enemy?"

Sasuke and Sakura saw Kakashi form the Tiger hand seal and both shouted for Naruto to run.

Sasuke guessed the technique was most likely a Fire Release.

"Konoha Ninja Art Secret Taijutsu Technique—One Thousand Years of Death!"

Kakashi thrust hard, and Naruto flew into the river clutching his rear.

"Th-this counts as an ultimate technique? Isn't it just... just a poke..." Sakura blushed, lying in the grass, full of embarrassment.

"Now there are three super idiots..." Sasuke had lost count of how many times he'd been speechless today.

Naruto crawled out of the river, spitting out a few small fish.

"Tsk tsk, and you want to surpass the Hokage like this?"

"I just let my guard down!"

Kakashi turned around—judging by Naruto's state, he should be out of strength.

"Carelessness leads to big mistakes. Never heard that?"

Before he finished speaking, seven Narutos jumped up from the river.

"Seven shadow clones? At your level, you can only hold that for about a minute." A flicker of surprise appeared in Kakashi's eyes—this kid's chakra reserves were truly enviable.

Just as he moved to act, a shadow clone silently wrapped its arms around him from behind.

"Hehe, what now? You can't escape."

Several shadow clones swarmed in, locking onto Kakashi's limbs.

"Check out my new jutsu!"

A blue orb of light slowly took shape in Naruto's hand.

"Hehe, even if it's not up to Jimo's level, it's more than enough for you!"

Kakashi actually sensed a hint of danger from that orb of light.

"Chakra Jade!"

Naruto hurled the orb of light toward Kakashi. A deafening roar rang out, and the explosion kicked up a layer of dust.

When the smoke cleared, it left behind a crater and a log split into splinters.

"That kind of power... Is that really Naruto's jutsu?" Sasuke stared at the crater in shock.

"Dammit, he used the Substitution Technique!" Naruto shouted in frustration.

"Dodge! Jump into the river!" Jimo yelled at Naruto, his hands flying through hand signs at lightning speed.

Though he didn't know why, Naruto obediently plunged headfirst into the river.

"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive wave of flame engulfed the spot where Naruto had just stood, and a figure retreated at top speed.

"Hey hey, what kind of monster is this kid... What's with a Fireball Jutsu of this power?" Cold sweat finally broke out on Kakashi's forehead. It seemed the Third Hokage's intel was off—this kid not only had astonishing physical strength, but his chakra reserves were no less than a full-fledged genin's.

A Fireball Jutsu with such a wide range required extremely precise control over chakra output.

Sasuke and Sakura, lying in wait on the sidelines, were also stunned by the power of Jimo's ninjutsu.

"Is this really a Fireball Jutsu?" The Second Pillar frowned. Unless he exhausted all his chakra, there was no way he could release a Fireball Jutsu with such a massive range.