He's Kage-Level

Kakashi frowned slightly.

The moment Sasuke revealed his Sharingan, a shiver ran through Kakashi's heart for no apparent reason!

Although Sasuke was currently nothing more than a Genin.

Being scrutinized by those Sharingan eyes.

Suddenly made him feel an indescribable sense of unease.

No, could it be my imagination?

Why do I seem to sense a trace of killing intent in this kid's Sharingan?...

Kakashi pondered secretly.

Despite the doubt in his heart, his expression returned to normal in an instant, and he said calmly:

"Good, very good!"

"A romantic soul, no wonder you're so handsome, right? Hahaha..."

Kakashi was very experienced.

With just a few words, he instantly brought the freezing atmosphere on the field back to life.

Hearing this, Naruto gritted his teeth again.

Seriously, Kakashi-sensei, he thought.

Can't you praise me properly in front of my goddess?

Not only do you not do that, but you keep praising that guy Sasuke!

Sigh! My goddess is drifting further and further away from me; what am I supposed to do now?...

"Being with the person I like?..."

"Is Sasuke implying something by saying that in this situation?...

Twisting her fingers together, Sakura's cheeks grew even redder, and her head sank lower and lower.

Combined with her pink hair, she looked truly charming!

Through the insight provided by his Sharingan into Kakashi's momentary expression just now.

Sasuke roughly determined that he had been overthinking things.

As he slowly let out a sigh of relief in his heart.

He suddenly clutched his forehead, stumbled back two steps, and hurriedly pretended to be oblivious as he responded to Kakashi:

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei, my Sharingan just awakened, so I'm not quite used to it yet."

"Plus, my chakra reserves are really low, so my old problem flared up again..."

Seeing this, Sakura immediately stepped forward to support Sasuke, her face full of concern.

To cover up the fact that he had been spying with his Sharingan, this was the first time Sasuke did not refuse Sakura's kindness, deliberately putting on a display of physical exhaustion...

Old problem?

Kakashi paused for only a moment before he realized what it was.

It must be that incident Iruka told me about, where he fainted after using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique?...

This kid...

He sighed inwardly.

But he didn't dwell on it any further.

Instead, as if finally getting to the point, he said in a deep voice for the first time:

"I called you all here today for two reasons."

"First, to get to know everyone."

"Second, to tell you about a small test for tomorrow's Genin promotion."

"A small test?...

Upon hearing this, Naruto instantly shifted his attention from his hostility toward Sasuke to this.

In truth, he knew very well that his chakra control was extremely unstable.

He hadn't held much hope for the graduation exam earlier.

He hadn't expected to graduate in a daze and even end up in the same squad as his goddess, Sakura.

So, hearing that there was going to be another test, he instantly lost his nerve...

"Yes..."

Kakashi nodded toward Naruto and continued to explain:

"This is a special project that every graduate who advances to Genin must undergo."

"The bell-snatching test."

A few minutes later, Kakashi roughly explained the rules of the bell test.

It was actually quite simple.

The three members of Team 7 just needed to work together to touch the bells hanging at Kakashi's waist.

The moment a bell rang, the trial would immediately come to an end.

Only then would the three members of Team 7 truly be able to become Konoha Genin.

However, while it sounded simple, the actual execution was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Who was Kakashi?

He was an elite Jonin of Konoha!

He was a renowned figure throughout the entire ninja world.

And who were the three members of Team 7?

They weren't even Genin yet!

Even though the content of the assessment was merely to touch a bell, if an elite Jonin didn't go easy on them, they probably wouldn't even be able to get close to him, let alone complete the task.

Naruto was well aware of the severity of the situation.

Despite the boy's seemingly foolish demeanor, his brain was not slow at all when it came to critical moments.

Upon hearing this, he asked with a cheeky grin:

"So, Kakashi-sensei, will you go easy on us? After all..."

As if he knew what Naruto was about to say, Kakashi waved his hand to interrupt him:

"No. Every ninja has gone through this, and I believe you all can do it too..."

Hearing this, Naruto twitched his mouth, then rolled his eyes and asked again, unwilling to give up:

"But, Kakashi-sensei, was your teacher back then also an elite Jonin like you?..."

This question was nothing if not tricky.

After all, elite Jonin weren't like ramen; they weren't just everywhere...

If Kakashi admitted that his teacher back then was merely an ordinary Jonin, he would fall right into Naruto's trap.

If he then insisted on not going easy on them, it would be impossible to justify.

Suddenly hearing Naruto's words, Kakashi was stunned for a moment. Then, looking at Naruto, his thoughts seemed to drift into the distant past as he murmured:

"No."

"Hahaha!..."

Hearing Kakashi's answer, Naruto jumped for joy, exclaiming excitedly as if his scheme had succeeded:

"Hahaha, if even the teacher's teacher wasn't an elite Jonin, Kakashi-sensei, doesn't that mean you should lower the difficulty of our test tomorrow?..."

For the first time, even Sakura gave Naruto a thumbs-up.

As for Sasuke, he remained indifferent, as if the matter had nothing to do with him, his expression calm and unruffled.

Just as Naruto thought his clever little scheme had succeeded, half a minute later, Kakashi murmured again:

"My teacher was not an elite Jonin, but he possessed Kage-level strength. I believe he was no less capable than the Third Hokage himself..."

"What!..."

Naruto and Sakura both cried out in shock!

A few seconds later, Naruto slumped down onto the ground behind him in despair.

At this moment, he only hated himself for having a mouth!

He had clearly wanted to secure a better chance of passing the test.

And now look at this.

Not only did he fail to trick Kakashi into lowering the difficulty, but he had been outmaneuvered by Kakashi instead!

The key was that Kakashi-sensei had just said his teacher possessed Kage-level strength.

That was a level even higher than an elite Jonin!

So, not only was there no hope of lowering the difficulty, but whether Kakashi would increase the difficulty because of Naruto's reminder had now become an unsolved mystery.

After a long while, it seemed as though Kakashi had received some sort of order.

The next moment, without even a word to the three of them, his figure flickered and vanished from where he stood.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, what should we do now?..."

Earlier, while Sasuke was pretending to be unconscious, Sakura had stepped forward to support him.

They were somewhat familiar with each other now.

Consequently, she hurried forward and grabbed Sasuke's arm, shaking it back and forth as if she were a lover acting spoiled.

Watching from the side, Naruto's face turned green in an instant.

"What should we do?..."

Shaking off Sakura's fair hands, Sasuke responded with nonchalant indifference:

"No need to worry. Tomorrow, I will make my move..."

Sakura: "Huh?..."

Naruto: "Damn it! This guy is showing off again!..."