Stealing the Bells

"On the way here, we ran into a black cat blocking the road, so we kindly took him home," Naruto said, casually making up an excuse.

"Bastard, do you think I'm going to believe that?"

Sasuke grew even more furious, feeling like he'd been tricked.

"Our teacher still hasn't shown up either. What's the rush?"

Naruto was speechless.

Seeing that Kakashi hadn't arrived yet either, Hinata breathed a sigh of relief.

"That kid's up to something." At that moment, Kakashi slowly walked over from a distance.

"Kakashi-sensei, why are you only getting here now?"

There was a hint of resentment in Sasuke's voice.

"Haha, I helped an old lady cross the street on the way," Kakashi said, making something up on the spot.

Sasuke was speechless, feeling like a complete idiot.

"All right, enough about these little things."

Kakashi checked the time.

"There's still some time before noon. Your task is to get these two bells before then. Those who pass can stay; those who fail will be sent back to the academy."

Kakashi took two bells from his hand.

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"There are only two bells?"

Sasuke frowned.

"That's right. Only two of the three of you will pass."

Kakashi's voice was calm.

He looked at the three of them. Naruto's expression was placid, Sasuke frowned with concern, and Hinata's gaze was resolute.

What a boring trick.

Naruto only believed in strength now.

I have to stay. Sorry, Sasuke.

Hinata's little face was set with determination. She had finally ended up on the same team as Naruto, and she absolutely didn't want to go back.

"All right, begin. And Naruto, this is just a test. Don't use that power."

Kakashi seemed to remember something and gave a warning.

"Don't worry."

Even if Kakashi hadn't said anything, Naruto wouldn't have used it.

Sasuke quickly retreated and hid.

Naruto and Hinata took up fighting stances.

They were both taijutsu specialists.

"Hmm. You two might actually make this worth watching."

Kakashi couldn't muster much interest in the children before him. He reached his right hand into his ninja tool pouch.

"Is he going to use a weapon?"

Sasuke and Hinata immediately became wary.

Naruto alone wasn't worried at all.

Kakashi pulled a little orange book from his pouch.

The atmosphere fell silent.

"You really do underestimate us."

Naruto was speechless.

He thought for a moment, then took two Kunai from his back.

Kakashi's pupils contracted.

"That's..."

The shock in his eyes was impossible to hide.

Naruto flung the Kunai and rapidly formed Hand Seals.

[Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique]

Hundreds of Kunai rained down.

Kakashi dodged, still unable to hide his disbelief.

"Flying Thunder God?"

His body vanished in an instant.

Naruto charged in with a punch.

Kakashi flipped through the air and landed some distance away.

"How do you know that technique?"

Naruto didn't seem to care.

As expected, it's still a bit awkward to use in combat.

Unlike Minato, Naruto could perform the technique, but he couldn't do it with the same fluidity.

"What kind of technique is that? It's so fast." From the corner, Sasuke stared in shock.

Naruto continued his attack. The technique had already been registered with the Hokage, so he didn't have to worry about using it now.

Besides, this was a chance to fight out in the open, and Naruto had no intention of holding back.

Unfortunately, Naruto really did lack combat experience.

His attacks, combining taijutsu with the Flying Thunder God Technique, couldn't keep up.

"Whew, you really gave me a scare." Kakashi soon noticed Naruto's weakness.

Minato could attack seamlessly the instant he appeared. Naruto, on the other hand, froze for a second or two before striking.

That was enough to overwhelm an ordinary ninja, but against an experienced fighter like Kakashi, it was a glaring flaw.

"This is a bit too much for me."

Naruto sighed and stopped using taijutsu to attack.

"Giving up?" Kakashi asked, surprised.

Naruto started forming Hand Seals, but the way he did it made all three of them shake their heads.

Hand Seals were basic. Nearly every ninja could form several in a second, but Naruto was the complete opposite.

He had never practiced Hand Seals growing up. In fact, he no longer needed them, but it wasn't the right time to reveal that.

[Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere]

Naruto blew transparent air from his mouth.

Kakashi's expression changed, and he quickly dodged.

What was going on? How did Naruto know such a dangerous technique?

Kakashi was stunned. This was a high-level Wind Style technique.

After firing dozens of shots and still failing to hit Kakashi, Naruto finally gave up.

The two watching from a distance were already dumbfounded.

"I'm out of options. Hinata, why don't you give it a try?"

Naruto shrugged, looking helpless.

"Uh, all right."

Hinata finally snapped back to her senses. She'd known Naruto was strong, but she hadn't realized he was this strong.

Her gaze turned serious. She raised her hands into position and rushed forward.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Naruto's mouth.

Kakashi was about to use taijutsu when he suddenly noticed Naruto's smile. He instinctively grew wary, but of the wrong person.

Hinata struck with her palm.

Kakashi raised his hand to block.

A surge of chakra flowed along his arm from the point of contact and entered his body.

It immediately began damaging the chakra pathways in his hand.

Kakashi's expression changed, and he leaped back.

His chakra burst forth in an instant.

The chakra in his arm was dispelled, but Kakashi now regarded the cute little girl in front of him with apprehension.

What was that? It wasn't Eight Trigrams Palms.

Hinata didn't really understand what had happened, but she charged forward again.

Kakashi didn't dare let Hinata touch him now. He had no desire to experience that again.

Only Naruto knew what had happened.

Martial arts. The Hyuga Clan is unusual. Their technique is to strike pressure points, sending chakra into an enemy's body to seal the flow of chakra through their pathways. It's deadly to ninjas. Another technique, Eight Trigrams Palms, sends chakra into an enemy's body to damage their internal organs.

The ability was much like martial arts. The essence of martial arts was to damage the enemy, but the deadliest part was the internal energy driven into their body.

Naruto had many such techniques.

They could all be considered forms of martial arts.

So he had taught this method to Hinata.

This method was simple for ordinary martial artists. During combat, their internal energy would automatically protect them.

Ninjas were different. Their attacks relied entirely on techniques, leaving their bodies vulnerable.

So when faced with this kind of attack, all they could do was evade.

If Kakashi hadn't reacted quickly, his arm would have been ruined.

Hinata had only ever fought Naruto, so she had no idea how strong she really was.

Facing Hinata, Kakashi naturally couldn't use ninjutsu.

He dodged left and right, no longer daring to block with taijutsu. Helpless, he pulled a Kunai from his ninja tool pouch.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, is it really necessary to use a weapon against Genin? Isn't that a bit much?"

Naruto was speechless.

"Damn it, why are those two so strong?"

From a distance, Sasuke looked grim.