"Kakashi-sensei!!"
"You're awful!"
The bell he'd almost gotten had slipped away. Naruto shouted furiously, on the verge of a breakdown.
"Heh... This is the price of growing stronger!"
Moving at high speed through the air, Kakashi looked down at the furious Naruto and smiled faintly.
"This exercise should be about over."
It was almost time for lunch. To move on to the real test, Kakashi planned to land and show them a Jonin's strength, defeating Sasuke, Naruto, and the others.
"Kakashi-sensei, the bell is ours..."
Just as the thought crossed Kakashi's mind, a faint voice suddenly reached his ears.
"What? Th-this... How is that possible?"
Kakashi's eyes widened in shock.
"Jingle~"
The wind howled past his ears. Kakashi felt a tug at his waist, then saw Sasuke vanish like a phantom, the bell in his hand.
Did Sasuke just use the Body Flicker Technique? No, that's impossible. How could someone his age have learned it?
After landing safely, Kakashi immediately looked toward Sasuke, who had taken the bell, and muttered to himself.
"Sasuke, you were amazing!"
"Ha ha, we got the bell!"
While Kakashi tried to figure out what technique Sasuke had used to get the bell, Naruto and Haruno Sakura were already surrounding Sasuke, cheering excitedly.
Sasuke was thrilled, too. The three of them had practiced their battle plan all afternoon yesterday, but things could always go wrong in a real fight. Luckily, they'd managed to get the bell without a hitch.
Of course, Sasuke understood that getting the bell didn't mean they were all that powerful. If Kakashi hadn't let his guard down, they might have been completely wiped out within five minutes.
Never get arrogant in victory, and never lose heart in defeat!
It was one of Sasuke's favorite sayings.
After their brief celebration, Sasuke picked up the ninja tool belt from the ground, then walked with Naruto and Haruno Sakura toward Kakashi.
"What's that?"
After Sasuke picked up the belt, Kakashi noticed what looked like a dent in the ground where it had been.
The strange thing Sasuke had done earlier—unfastening the belt and tossing it onto the ground—slowly came back to Kakashi.
It's just a belt. Why did Sasuke take it off before the fight?
Kakashi narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the belt around Sasuke's waist. Then, in an instant, his left eye widened as he realized the truth.
Sasuke's "belt" wasn't an ordinary belt. It was a training tool that could be adjusted to increase or decrease its weight.
Kakashi took a deep breath. He finally understood: Sasuke had indeed used his Body Flicker ability to snatch the bell, but he hadn't used the Body Flicker Technique. He'd used the Body Flicker Taijutsu technique.
Those carefully laid-out attack plans all seemed to have been led by Sasuke...
Thinking back over the whole process of stealing the bell, Kakashi suddenly realized something else.
He can use Fire Release Ninjutsu and has even mastered Body Flicker Taijutsu. Sasuke really is full of surprises...
Kakashi knew very well that for someone Sasuke's age to master so many things meant he had terrifying potential.
Given enough time, Kakashi believed Sasuke would surpass him and might even reach the level of the Hokage.
"Kakashi-sensei, here's your bell!"
Once they reached Kakashi, Naruto proudly jingled the bell.
As Naruto and the others watched, Kakashi was silent for a moment. Then he let out a soft laugh.
"All right, guys. Today's combat exercise is over. You pass. Starting tomorrow, we'll officially begin taking on missions!"
Although they hadn't completed his test, Kakashi was still very happy. The team had already proved everything by working together and defeating him. The extra tests were no longer necessary.
"That's great! We're ninjas now!"
Naruto and Haruno Sakura finally couldn't contain their joy and cheered loudly.
Nearly three months of grueling training, day and night, had finally paid off. How could they not be happy?
"Sasuke, I didn't know you could use Body Flicker Taijutsu. Getting the bell was impressive." Kakashi patted him on the shoulder in praise.
Sasuke smiled. "Kakashi-sensei, getting the bell was the result of everyone's hard work."
Kakashi nodded silently. Sasuke was humble and didn't take all the credit. That wasn't easy; some ninjas got arrogant after completing just a few missions.
"All right, you can go have lunch."
Hearing Naruto's stomach growling nonstop, Kakashi smiled.
"Then I'm going to Ichiraku Ramen."
He hadn't eaten anything that morning, and the fight had worn him out. Naruto was starving. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and hurried off first.
"Sasuke, let's go too!"
After Naruto left, Haruno Sakura gave Sasuke a sweet smile.
"There's something I need to discuss with Kakashi-sensei. You go ahead."
Sasuke smiled.
"All right, then. I'll head off first. See you tomorrow!"
Haruno Sakura waved to Kakashi and slowly walked away.
After Haruno Sakura had disappeared from sight, Kakashi looked at Sasuke and asked quietly, "Sasuke, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Snake—Hare—Ox."
Sasuke didn't answer. He brought his hands together and formed the three hand seals in quick succession.
"What? That's..."
Kakashi stared in astonishment at the large amount of chakra gathering in Sasuke's hand. His mouth fell open, and then his eye suddenly widened.
The reason Kakashi was so shocked was that Sasuke was performing the Chidori, the jutsu Kakashi himself had created. He had never taught it to anyone. In other words, no one in Konoha or anywhere else in the shinobi world should have been able to learn it.
"Sasuke... How do you know this jutsu?"
Kakashi did his best to calm the turmoil in his heart before asking quietly.
So Kakashi would ask about this after all...
Knowing Kakashi would ask, Sasuke let the chakra in his hand dissipate, then took a deep breath. "My older brother, Itachi, knew I had a natural affinity for lightning chakra, so he taught me this jutsu."
"Itachi taught it to you? But how did he know this jutsu?" Kakashi asked, puzzled again.
"Heh, Kakashi-sensei, you've forgotten that my brother has the Sharingan too. Maybe he saw you using the Chidori." Sasuke blinked and smiled.
"I see!"
Hearing Sasuke's explanation, Kakashi nodded.
Itachi had joined the Anbu and served on Kakashi's team. While accompanying Kakashi on missions, he could indeed have used his Sharingan to see through the jutsu. As the Copy Ninja, Kakashi understood that well.