Kakashi watched Lin Fan's clone vanish from the Earth Style: Earth Wall and couldn't help shaking his head.
The combat experience and talent this kid had shown at the age of twelve were truly astonishing.
He could even be said to be no worse than Uchiha Itachi had been at the same age.
If he received proper training, his future would be limitless.
As soon as Kakashi had that thought, the world around him began to spin.
He had cast the Earth Style: Earth Wall with the resolve to defeat Lin Fan.
Now, however, his chakra was completely depleted.
On top of that, the intense pain caused by Illusion of Reality was rapidly draining what little strength he had left.
His consciousness grew hazier by the moment, and he was about to collapse to the ground.
Just as Kakashi's legs gave way and he started to fall, he suddenly felt himself being lifted.
He immediately used the last of his strength to open his eyes and look around.
Naruto and Sasuke were supporting him with their arms.
They were also holding up Lin Fan, who had been just as thoroughly exhausted.
Although the genjutsu Lin Fan had used this time had felt incredibly real, it had also drained almost all the chakra from his body.
To complete the guidance task and defeat Kakashi, Lin Fan had staked everything on this Memory Illusion.
He knew that his combat experience was nowhere near Kakashi's. If he had faced Kakashi head-on, he wouldn't have been sure of winning.
His only hope was to catch Kakashi off guard, pull him into the genjutsu, and exhaust all his stamina and chakra.
After Kakashi broke free of the illusion, Lin Fan used two clones and Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique.
That had been Lin Fan's final attempt to catch Kakashi off guard after the genjutsu left him with little chakra.
But even after all his careful planning and putting everything on the line, Lin Fan had only managed to drag them both into a mutual defeat.
Hatake the 50/50 truly lived up to his name.
[ Ding! Congratulations, Host, on completing the guidance task. Reward: Chidori Lv. 1. ]
When Lin Fan heard the system confirm that he had successfully defeated Kakashi, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
My genjutsu still falls far short of Itachi's Tsukuyomi.
Maybe that's the weakness of my Three-Tomoe Sharingan right now.
Lin Fan sighed inwardly, then passed out.
"Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei and Big Brother Lin Fan are both unconscious. So that means Team 7 won the exercise, right?"
Naruto sounded almost unable to believe it.
"Yeah. Lin Fan did all of this. We should hurry and take them to the Medical Unit."
Sasuke quickly removed the bells from Kakashi's waist and tossed one to Naruto.
Staring at Lin Fan, who had fallen unconscious, his eyes widened in shock.
His teammate had gone toe-to-toe with an elite Jonin, while he could only stick his head out of the ground and watch from a distance.
The gap between their abilities left Sasuke with a tangled mess of emotions.
Naruto and Sasuke hurriedly helped the two of them up and headed for the village's Medical Unit.
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage's office in the Hokage Building...
Hiruzen Sarutobi had watched Team 7's bell-stealing battle from beginning to end through the Crystal Ball, and couldn't help feeling deeply moved.
Kakashi was one of the leading elite Jonin in their village.
With his strength and intelligence, he could one day succeed to the Hokage Position.
But this twelve-year-old boy, who had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy, had managed to force a draw with Kakashi?
What an incredible talent.
It seemed another peerless genius had emerged from the Uchiha Clan's surviving members.
The Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe with a smile and murmured.
At the same time, he resolved to protect Lin Fan at all costs.
Though the Shinobi World was currently at peace, tensions among the Five Great Nations continued to flare.
The alliances between the nations seemed solid, but in truth, they were far from unbreakable.
If Lin Fan received careful training and remained loyal to Konoha...
Then the Land of Fire would surely be able to maintain its position as the strongest of the Five Great Nations.
A few hours later, Lin Fan slowly opened his eyes after receiving treatment.
He immediately stretched his arms and legs. Nothing felt wrong.
Most of the chakra in his body had recovered, too.
Lin Fan couldn't help marveling at how incredible his Uzumaki Constitution was. He recovered so quickly.
He then saw Naruto and Sasuke sitting on either side of the bed, keeping watch.
"Big Brother Lin Fan, you're finally awake! You have no idea how scared Sasuke and I were when you passed out."
The moment Naruto saw Lin Fan wake up, his face lit up with a grin.
"I didn't. I wasn't. Lin Fan, don't listen to this dead-last."
Sasuke, as usual, gave his three-part denial with an arrogant expression.
Lin Fan chuckled, then asked, "How's Kakashi-sensei? Has he woken up?"
"Thanks for asking, Lin Fan. Your teacher's not dead yet."
As the screen beside the bed was slowly drawn back, Kakashi appeared on the next bed alongside his best buddy, Might Guy.
Kakashi's injuries were clearly more severe than Lin Fan's.
Still bedridden and feeling completely drained, he needed Might Guy's help just to turn the pages of his beloved My Neighbor's Aunt.
"Yosh! Well done, Lin Fan!"
"To defeat Kakashi, who's managed to beat me once, at such a young age... Your future is limitless!"
"Kakashi definitely won't be getting out of bed today. How about training with me? I can take you running beneath the sunset, and we can burn through our fleeting youth together!"
When Guy finished, he gave Lin Fan a thumbs-up and flashed his trademark dazzling white teeth.
"Hey, Guy, weren't you here to visit me? Why are you trying to poach my student?"
"Lin Fan hasn't even fully recovered yet. Training with you now would only make his injuries worse."
Kakashi rolled his eyes and immediately went into protective mode.
"Kakashi-sensei, do you admit that we've passed the exercise and become Genin?"
Naruto's eyes narrowed with excitement as he asked.
Kakashi fell silent for a moment.
Then he finally smiled. "Of course. You two got my bells, and Lin Fan put his teacher straight in the hospital. You all pass."
"Congratulations, you three. You've passed the exercise and become Genin."
"Take tomorrow off. The day after, Team 7 will meet outside the Hokage Building at nine in the morning to receive our team's first mission from the village!"
Naruto pumped both fists and shouted excitedly, "Hooray! I'm finally a Genin!!!"
Sasuke's expression remained icy. "Dead-last, be sharp when we go on missions together. Don't hold Lin Fan and me back."
(Thanks for all the gifts and positive reviews. I appreciate it.)
[You provided Naruto: Infinite Skill Points as a Starting Reward by the great author Shenqi Xiao Sima.]