The Meaning of the Bells

However, White Fang's kick looked effortless, yet it sent Qingyun flying several meters away.

"Minato, Yoshihime! Teacher White Fang is strong! He won't be easy to deal with!" Qingyun had never seen the power of a Kage Level shinobi, and he had indeed underestimated his opponent.

He had thought that even while keeping his trump cards hidden, he could still gain the upper hand against White Fang. In truth, he'd been overconfident. It didn't matter how strong his abilities were if he never got the chance to use them.

White Fang's blade was very short, and Qingyun had assumed it was unsuited to direct combat. Only now did he realize that the shorter the blade, the faster it could kill.

"I told you, you have to be prepared to kill me if you want to take these bells," White Fang said again.

"We have to work together wholeheartedly, Qingyun, Minato." Yoshihime set aside her earlier prejudices. She wanted to work with them to snatch a bell from the hands of White Fang, a legend of the Shinobi World.

"Smoke bombs!" Minato seized the opportunity and immediately threw several smoke bombs. The three of them vanished from sight.

"These kids are all very strong. With proper training, they should all become fine gems." Hatake Sakumo remained where he was, watching the direction the smoke had spread.

By then, Qingyun and his teammates had already settled on a plan.

The tactic carried some risk for Qingyun, because this time he would have to use the Flying Thunder God Technique, which he hadn't mastered very well!

Qingyun had also marked the other two with Flying Thunder God Formulas.

"Let's go!" Once he was ready, Qingyun immediately called to Minato.

"Shadow Clone Technique!" Qingyun and Minato used the Shadow Clone Technique together, creating numerous clones that charged out of the smoke.

"Splitting up their strength? What are they planning?" Sakumo was curious about their plan.

The Shadow Clones of Minato and Qingyun naturally charged toward White Fang. White Fang stayed where he was, then swung the White Fang Blade in his hand once more, cutting down the Shadow Clones before him.

"Swish!" Just then, Yoshihime suddenly charged out. She leapt into the air and came down from above, pressing her palms together and shouting, "Wood Style: Lesser Deep Forest Emergence!"

Countless trees immediately erupted from the ground, climbing up from beneath the earth and wrapping around White Fang's legs.

White Fang swung the White Fang Blade and easily cut through the vines coiled around his legs. Just then, Qingyun and Minato's real bodies charged at him from the front.

At the same time, Yoshihime came down from above.

So that's it. A feint, followed by attacks from different directions? White Fang thought.

White Fang was about to kick Minato and Qingyun away before dealing with Yoshihime when he saw Minato grab Qingyun's arm and throw him at White Fang.

They're using the force of the impact? Ridiculous. I can neutralize all of this with a little finesse, White Fang thought.

"Armament Haki!" Qingyun's hands turned black as he charged at White Fang.

White Fang decided to ignore Yoshihime's relatively weak attack from above for the moment and deal with Qingyun, who was stronger in close combat.

But just as the three of them were about to collide, Qingyun vanished right in front of White Fang with a whoosh.

"What!? The Body Flicker Technique?" White Fang was startled. He didn't think he'd ever heard of a Body Flicker Technique that didn't require Hand Seals.

"The bell! We've got it!" Qingyun shouted, drawing White Fang's attention. He had used Flying Thunder God to move above him.

"Not so fast!" White Fang once again wielded his terrifying swordsmanship, knocking Qingyun and Yoshihime away with the back of his blade.

Just then, Minato smiled faintly, and White Fang sensed something was wrong.

"Poof!" The Qingyun and Yoshihime White Fang had knocked away were both Shadow Clones. They vanished when struck, and smoke filled the surrounding area.

"Damn it!" White Fang immediately looked at his waist and saw that the bell in his pouch had disappeared.

By then, Qingyun had appeared in the training ground. He tossed the bell from hand to hand and said, "Teacher White Fang, we've got the bells."

"So we can graduate now, right?" Qingyun said with a smile.

White Fang instantly understood the logic behind their battle. Everything they had done was meant to distract and hold him back. They must have taken the bell while he was attacking the Shadow Clones.

White Fang had been so confident that he hadn't tied a cord to the bell. All they had to do was touch it, and they could easily snatch it away.

Qingyun had taken advantage of Flying Thunder God, his chakra-sensing ability, and his teammates' cooperation to steal the bell.

"Impressive. You really live up to your name, Qingyun. As for the other two, I'm afraid you'll have to return to the Ninja Academy and study some more." White Fang still pretended to look regretful.

Qingyun merely smiled. "All right, Teacher White Fang, you can stop pretending. This bell-stealing test was never going to send us straight back. Teacher Sarutobi used the same method to test Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru."

"The point of this test was for the three of us to bond, understand one another, and get familiar with each other's fighting styles. Don't worry, Teacher White Fang. We'll work hard to grow stronger from now on!"

Not only had Qingyun and his teammates managed to take the bells, he had also seen right through every rule of the test. Even White Fang was at a loss for words.

"It seems you're not only powerful, you understand these things very well, too. Since you've grasped the meaning of this test, I won't say anything more." White Fang finally relaxed his stern expression.

"So that means...?" Minato and Yoshihime both smiled with satisfaction.

"That's right. You've officially become Genin, and from now on, I'll be your temporary team leader." Hatake Sakumo continued, "As your teacher, I have only three requirements."

"First, whatever I tell you to do, you do it."

"Second, whatever I tell you not to do, you don't do it."

"Third, if you have any objections or other ideas, tell me immediately. If you say nothing, that means you have no objections. And if you have no objections, you must carry out the first two requirements. Any questions?"

Qingyun thought it over briefly and realized White Fang was an open-minded superior.

Shinobi naturally had to obey their superiors' orders, and White Fang's first two requirements were the most basic expectations of any shinobi. As for the third, it showed that White Fang welcomed dissenting opinions and was willing to communicate with them. Where could they find a better superior than that?