I Don't Need to Be a Ninja

Naruto stared at the two bells at Kakashi's waist, then glanced at Sakura and Sasuke beside him.

His brain was spinning at top speed.

Two bells, three people; this rotten teacher was clearly trying to make them fight each other.

But have him eliminate Sakura or Sasuke? Impossible.

Then the only option was to snatch the bells together and punch this rotten guy in the face.

Sakura's fingers brushed over the handle of her kunai, and she bit her lip, wondering how to coordinate their roles to ensure all three of them passed.

But before the two could consult with Sasuke, Sasuke had already moved.

His right hand reached toward the ninja tool pouch on his outer thigh, his thumb flicking open the leather strap to hook a shuriken, which he whipped toward Kakashi's face with a flick of his wrist.

Then, he pushed off with both feet, his entire body trailing right behind the shuriken's trajectory as he lunged straight at Kakashi.

"You're attacking without saying a word!" Naruto leaped from his spot, the chakra on his right fist already beginning to compress and vibrate, distorting the air around his knuckles into ripples.

"Naruto, left! I'll take the right!" Sakura cut in from the side, her kunai slashing diagonally toward Kakashi's ribs.

"That's more like it!" Kakashi's head tilted slightly, dodging the shuriken.

His right arm parried Sakura's kunai, while his left hand pulled out from his pocket to casually swat away the chakra-infused fist Naruto had smashed toward him.

The three of them attacked almost simultaneously, only to be neutralized by Kakashi at the same moment.

After this round of attacks, Kakashi was left somewhat speechless.

You're telling me this group is here to take the genin exam?

Third Hokage, Jiraiya, what have you both done!

The second wave of attacks was quickly organized by the trio.

Sakura's right fist retracted, while her left fist, glowing with concentrated blue chakra, slammed toward Kakashi's waist and abdomen.

Naruto's hand-blade chopped down from above Kakashi's head.

Sasuke performed hand seals, his chest swelling as he spat a Great Fireball from his mouth, the flames directly sealing off Kakashi's retreat.

Kakashi leaped backward, his body spinning half a turn in mid-air, his toes lightly tapping the edge of the Great Fireball's flames.

While flipping, he pulled two shuriken from his pouch and flung them downward, striking the ground right in front of Naruto and Sakura, forcing them to skid to a halt.

"Good coordination." Kakashi landed three meters away, raising a hand to straighten his slightly crooked forehead protector.

"But it's not enough."

The four of them were soon tangled in combat again, the sun slowly climbing toward its zenith.

Naruto was already feeling dizzy; several times he had clearly seen his chakra hand-blade strike Kakashi's shoulder, only for that Kakashi to turn into a log.

Kakashi's Substitution Technique was terrifyingly effective.

Beads of sweat seeped onto Sakura's forehead.

She felt that Kakashi's taijutsu was more fluid than anyone she had ever seen, as if he could predict every one of her moves in advance.

Sasuke was forced back by Kakashi's elbow.

Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's wrist joint with a backhand, yanked him forward, and gave a light hook with his foot, causing Sasuke to lose his balance and tumble away.

His back slammed into the ground, kicking up a circle of grass clippings.

Naruto and Sakura immediately abandoned their offensive, retreating simultaneously to land on either side of Sasuke.

The three of them reformed their angled formation, shielding Sasuke behind them.

Kakashi didn't pursue. He stood where he was, looking at Sasuke lying on the ground, and pulled his book from his pouch to flip a page.

"Sasuke Uchiha, your taijutsu is not bad, and your Fire Release is better than I expected. But your chakra reserves—"

"Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke sat up from the ground, brushed the grass clippings off his shoulder, and cut him off directly.

"You've monitored me before, haven't you?"

The page-turning motion of the Make-Out Paradise in Kakashi's hand stopped, the page caught between his fingers.

"You know?" Kakashi's right eye narrowed.

"I know." Sasuke stood up.

"Three years ago, the Hokage had you observe me near the training grounds, right?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment, then closed the book and shoved it back into his pouch.

"So what?" Kakashi pulled his hand out of the pouch. "What do you want to say?"

"So you know I have summoning animals." Sasuke looked down at the shadow beneath his feet. "Can I use them?"

Kakashi's eyebrows arched.

But he was more interested in why Sasuke had specifically asked for his permission—when he could have simply summoned them suddenly to catch him off guard.

"I said before, you have to try to take these with the resolve to kill me." Kakashi's eyes curved. "Summoning Jutsu is part of your strength. Use it freely."

Naruto and Sakura turned their heads to look at Sasuke simultaneously.

They knew better than anyone how troublesome Sasuke's summons were: the taijutsu coordination of the White Dog and Black Dog, the numerical suppression of the Escaping Rabbit, and the Reverse Cursed Technique of the Round Deer.

Sasuke shook his head.

"If you came here with the resolve to kill your students."

The shadow beneath his feet began to churn, and the silhouettes of three animals stepped out from within.

The Black Dog shook its fur, its golden eyes sweeping over Kakashi; it looked like it had no interest in fighting.

The White Dog grinned, its tail wagging wildly behind it, the hot breath from its red tongue dissipating into the mist.

The Escaping Rabbit tilted its head to look at Kakashi and then at Sasuke, waiting considerately for Sasuke to finish speaking.

"Teacher will definitely die."

Kakashi felt a thin layer of cold sweat break out on his forehead.

The smile that had been plastered on his face while he calmly dealt with the trio's coordination stiffened noticeably.

"You brat..."

Kakashi swallowed the words "what a show-off" that had been on the tip of his tongue.

"That's too much, am I really that weak of a teacher?"

Before Kakashi could finish, the White Dog dashed in front of him in a flash.

The Black Dog silently circled around to cut off Kakashi's retreat.

The Escaping Rabbit twitched its ears, and countless white rabbits rolled over toward the center of the clearing from all directions.

Kakashi's hair was blown back by the wind pressure from the White Dog's claws. He didn't intend to fight head-on, but just as he finished half the hand seals for the Body Flicker Technique, he realized his retreat had already been stepped on by the Black Dog.

He had no choice but to block the punch with his arm, flipping through the air before landing.

Immediately after, three more Escaping Rabbits lunged at his left leg, forcing him to lean backward to dodge.

Naruto and Sakura watched the overwhelming sea of rabbits before them, silently clenching their fists.

"Sasuke's summons... no matter how many times I see them, they feel so absurd." There was a complex sympathy in Sakura's voice.

"Exactly! It's like this every time we fight this guy! Making dogs and rabbits—"

Naruto kicked away a few white rabbits at his feet, just about to continue complaining, when he noticed a rabbit crawling up his pant leg.

It was holding a bell in its mouth.

Sakura looked down; a rabbit was also clinging to her ninja shoe, similarly holding a bell in its mouth.

Kakashi was crouching on a nearby tree branch, with several rabbits still clinging to his pant legs.

"Sigh, I've truly lost." Kakashi jumped down from the branch and stood in front of the three.

He reached out, took the bells from the rabbits' mouths, and held up two fingers.

"The rule is that grabbing a bell counts as passing, and now both bells have been taken by you, Sasuke."

"However, there are only two bells. Sasuke, you can choose one person to become a genin with you. In other words, one person must be eliminated."

Naruto stomped his feet impatiently: "You white-haired guy! What kind of rule is that? You're forcing Sasuke to abandon his teammates!"

Sakura's fingers tightened as she gripped her hem: "It's okay, Sasuke, I won't..."

Sasuke didn't wait for them to finish; he had already tossed the two bells out.

The bells streaked through the air and landed in the hands of Naruto and Sakura, respectively.

Naruto looked down at the bell, looking as if he had been stunned; his mouth opened and closed, opened and closed, before he finally managed to choke out:

"You... what exactly do you mean!"

Sakura clutched the string of the bell, her eyes beginning to redden.

"Sasuke... do you want to give up your genin qualification?"

"My goal is the Impure World Reincarnation." Sasuke interrupted her, "Not becoming an elite jonin, nor becoming the Hokage."

He turned around and looked at Kakashi.

"If I can't be a genin, I'll just go on missions with Jiraiya; the Third will still recognize my achievements."

"When that time comes, I'll still be able to obtain the Impure World Reincarnation."

"If I'm forced to eliminate someone, I choose not to be a ninja."

After Sasuke finished speaking, he stood in place, waiting for Kakashi's response.

Sakura was stunned; she looked at Sasuke, then at Kakashi: "Kakashi-sensei, it shouldn't be like what Sasuke said, right?"

"If Sasuke doesn't become a ninja, he shouldn't be able to get the Impure World Reincarnation, right?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

"What Sasuke said actually seems perfectly sound."