Seizing the Bell!

A strike that hits its mark.

Kakashi headed straight for the real body.

Throughout the preceding battle, through careful observation and precise judgment, Naruto had been clever. He hadn't committed all his forces, nor had he left only one figure stationary. Instead, he deliberately chose several figures to refrain from attacking. This way, he could protect his real body while making it difficult for Kakashi to discern which one was the original. But Kakashi was Kakashi, after all; the truth was found in the details. Not moving didn't mean Kakashi couldn't tell. The hand seals before the attack and the subtle emotional shifts during the subsequent assault were things only the real body could manifest. It was precisely because of the slight, albeit inconspicuous, change in Naruto's expression during the recent attack that Kakashi had caught on, instantly identifying this figure as the real Naruto. Without a moment's hesitation, he erupted with lightning-natured chakra, accelerating his speed.

He closed in on the real body.

"In the future, you really should learn to control your expressions, Naruto."

Looking at the somewhat dejected Naruto before him.

Just as Kakashi was about to wave his right hand and increase his force to knock Naruto unconscious.

The Naruto in front of him suddenly looked up, a brilliant smile spreading across his face.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'll tell you this too: don't underestimate a Genin!"

"What!?"

The words fell.

"Poof!"

In less than a tenth of a second.

The figure suddenly turned into a puff of white smoke and dissipated.

"Damn it!"

Before Kakashi could fully react.

"Got you!"

From behind him.

On the left and right, Sasuke and Naruto closed in, having used the white smoke from the Shadow Clone that Naruto had deliberately dispelled as cover.

Their figures leaped up.

In their right hands, both held a razor-sharp Kunai.

Arms raised, power surging through them.

Bodies pressing downward.

Relying on the advantage of their angles, Naruto and Sasuke moved in with the posture of a standard javelin thrust, a cold glint sweeping through the air.

The sharp sound of friction against the air squeezed away all of Kakashi's remaining room to dodge.

To snatch the Bell, one had to engage in close-quarters combat; this was the only conclusion Naruto had reached during the earlier fight.

Ranged attacks?

That would simply give Kakashi the chance to pick them off one by one.

This was the opportunity they wanted!

Using Sasuke's maneuvering to distract Kakashi, then using the acting of the clones to lure him in—this was the opening for an attack they had created!

The final chance!

They had to take down Kakashi right here!

Naruto, leaping forward in a frontal assault, looked at Kakashi before him, and beside him, Sasuke's eyes grew even sharper with determination.

Facing such a fierce assault.

Kakashi was stunned for only a split second (mainly because he had been deceived by Naruto and misidentified the real body).

He reacted immediately afterward.

He didn't even adopt a defensive stance.

Since his "cute" students had chosen to engage in direct close-quarters combat.

As their teacher, he couldn't choose to back down here!

Lowering his center of gravity, he shifted into a stance that was half-defensive and half-offensive.

"Clap!"

The figures crossed paths.

Kakashi first swung his right arm, directly parrying Sasuke's strike from the right.

Then, forcing his weight downward, he flipped his left hand, drawing a sharp Kunai to meet the attack head-on.

"Clang!"

A heavy impact rang out.

Sparks erupted into the air.

"Hmm!?"

With the strength of just one hand, he easily parried Naruto's fierce assault.

Then, with a flick of his hands, he neutralized the force and deflected the attack.

He gave neither Naruto nor Sasuke a chance to react.

Before the two could even finish flying backward, he extended his hands again, pressing forward to grab them both at once.

In an instant, Naruto, having lost his balance in mid-air, could not easily adjust his posture, so he flicked his right hand, sending a Kunai flying out.

It seemed he hoped to force Kakashi back in this way.

However, Kakashi merely tilted his body, easily dodging the Kunai.

With a clamp of his arms, he effortlessly tucked both Naruto and Sasuke under them.

"Heh, Naruto, Sasuke, this is as far as—"

The soft chuckle fell once more.

But!

Before Kakashi could finish his sentence, an unexpected change occurred.

"Poof!"

From the side, where that Kunai had originally flown, a soft sound erupted, and white mist rose from thin air.

The Kunai vanished, and a second Naruto appeared in its place.

"!?"

This time, Kakashi finally failed to react in time, unable to make any other effective move.

Naruto smiled lightly.

"Gotcha!"

He reached out his right hand, grabbed the Bell, and gave it a hard tug, using the momentum to spring away.

"Bang!"

He landed steadily, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Poof!"

At the same time, the Naruto tucked under Kakashi's left arm vanished into a puff of white mist, and the other Naruto clones on the field disappeared in unison.

Not far away, the real Naruto stood shaking the Bell in his hand, looking at Kakashi with a confident smile.

"Kakashi-sensei, mission accomplished, right?"

Naruto arched his brows, wearing a rare, smug grin as he spoke.

Seeing this, Kakashi could only set down Sasuke, who was still tucked under his arm. He then performed a hand seal to dispel the Genjutsu on Sakura. After shrugging, he looked at Naruto in the distance and spoke with a tone that was both questioning and certain.

"Was it the Multi Shadow Clone from the start? You used the smoke to transform yourself into a Kunai, didn't you?"

He hadn't understood it before, but as a Jonin, the moment he saw the Kunai turn into Naruto, he was able to connect it to the previous combat scenes.

Kakashi could deduce Naruto's entire plan in an instant.

"Yeah! That was originally my last resort. I used Sasuke to draw your attention, Kakashi-sensei, and the clones to lure you in, so that Sasuke and I could launch the final strike. I thought we'd be able to snatch the Bell, but you're just too monstrous, Kakashi-sensei. Good thing I had this final trick, or there really would've been no way to get it."

Naruto nodded, sounding both proud and relieved.

Watching Naruto, even someone as critical as Kakashi had to admit he was impressive. To come up with such a tactic in such a short time, and to coordinate so well with a teammate to achieve the objective—even by Kakashi's standards, Team 7 had passed the exam with flying colors.

Although Sakura was a slight flaw, the teamwork between Sasuke and Naruto was already outstanding.

At the very least, based on Kakashi's past experience, he couldn't find anyone better than those two.

However, even though they had completed the task he set, Kakashi still wanted to try one small test.