No Snatching Bells, Let's Gang Up

The next morning, three figures were already waiting in the grove.

"Naruto, why isn't Kei here yet? Didn't he say he'd be here at seven?"

Sasuke paced back and forth irritably, glancing up at the path from time to time.

There...

Not a single person was in sight.

"Exactly! He can't even keep his own word! How can someone like that be our teacher?"

Sakura looked admiringly at Sasuke before speaking angrily.

Naruto, however, wasn't surprised.

He had been a bit taken aback when Kei said he'd be there at seven yesterday.

From what he knew of Kei, could he even wake up early?

Impossible, not in this lifetime.

Even when on missions, he'd sleep until he woke up naturally.

Let alone now.

"If you don't want to wait, you can go back first."

Sasuke paused, then sat down where he was after thinking for a moment.

He wasn't leaving.

Compared to getting stronger, what was waiting for a little while?

"Sasuke, why don't we go first? Let's get something to eat, I'm so hungry."

Sakura was a little unhappy, rubbing her rumbling stomach.

"No."

Sasuke closed his eyes slightly.

Seeing that Sasuke wasn't paying her any attention, Sakura pouted.

That damned Uchiha Kei.

Turning to look at Naruto on the other side, Sakura's anger flared even more.

"Hey, go buy us something to eat."

Naruto blinked, pointing at himself.

"Me?"

"Yes! Who else if not you? Hurry up!"

Naruto looked at Sakura's pretty face, his heart aching.

He sighed and turned to walk towards the path.

In his impression, Sakura shouldn't have been like this.

"Where are you going?"

A figure suddenly appeared in front of Naruto.

"Kei!"

Naruto looked up and saw a familiar face.

"Yeah, I'm asking you, where are you going?"

Naruto turned to look back at Sakura behind him and thought for a moment.

"I'm hungry and want to go buy breakfast."

"Are you hungry?"

Uchiha Kei stared at him intently.

Naruto's heart tightened.

That look again...

In the past three years, he had faced that look countless times.

Every time he lied under that gaze, he was completely exposed.

"Yes!"

Naruto answered, steeling himself.

He knew.

Lying in front of Kei would result in punishment.

But he was thick-skinned and had gotten used to it over the years.

Sakura's words...

He wouldn't be able to take it.

Uchiha Kei let out a scoff and turned his gaze to the other two.

Erzhuzi startled and quickly scrambled in front of Uchiha Kei.

Sakura hesitated, but still followed.

"Naruto just said he was hungry, is that right?"

Uchiha Kei looked at the two of them.

Erzhuzi thought for a moment, glanced at Sakura, and decisively shook his head.

Brother had said that no matter how big a mistake was made in front of Kei, as long as it was admitted, there wouldn't be a major issue.

But if he lied...

"Yes, I told him not to go, not to go, he just had to, it was so annoying."

Sakura immediately threw the blame onto Naruto.

Naruto glanced at her, growing increasingly disappointed in Sakura.

"Oh? Is that so? Then you, Naruto, will have to be punished."

Naruto lowered his head.

"For the class entry assessment, I originally intended for you to simply snatch a bell, just a formality."

"But now..."

Uchiha Kei smiled meaningfully.

Swish!

The three of them stared, dumbfounded, at the three figures that had suddenly appeared.

Shadow Clone Jutsu!

Uchiha Kei could actually do it without hand seals!

"If you can defeat these three Shadow Clones of mine, your class entry assessment will be considered complete."

"What if we can't defeat them?"

Sakura stepped forward, her gaze fixed on Uchiha Kei.

"Can't defeat them?"

Uchiha Kei smiled happily, leaned forward, and drew closer to Sakura.

"You wouldn't want to know."

He straightened up and looked back at Naruto.

"What do you say, Naruto?"

Seeing Uchiha Kei like this, Naruto instinctively shivered.

Scenes of punishments from the past three years flashed through his mind.

Sasuke looked at Naruto's reaction, and a bad feeling arose within him.

"Are you ready?"

The three Shadow Clones instantly vanished from their positions.

"Begin!"

Among the three, Naruto reacted the fastest, and several shuriken instantly appeared in his hands.

With a leap, Naruto sprang onto a large tree, warily scanning his surroundings.

Sasuke's reaction was also quick; as Naruto leaped onto the tree, he also found a large tree and climbed up.

On the lush green grass, only Sakura was left standing there, dazed.

"What... are you guys doing?"

As soon as she spoke, a figure had already appeared behind her.

"Careful!"

Naruto roared.

He appeared beside Sakura like lightning, and shuriken flew from his hand towards the figure.

Clink.

A crisp metallic collision sound rang out.

Naruto grabbed Sakura and was about to dart away.

"What are you doing! Let go of me!"

Sakura startled and flailed her hands, hitting Naruto.

Naruto frowned, and his speed immediately slowed.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, I'm really curious how you graduated from the Ninja Academy."

A voice came from beside Sakura.

At the same time, a slender hand pressed onto Naruto's chest.

"And you, did you learn everything I taught you to the dogs?"

The voice was icy, like ten thousand years of frozen ice.

"Pfft!"

Blood trickled from Naruto's lips, and his body was sent flying backward at an even faster speed.

Sakura stood there, dumbfounded as if she had been scared silly, watching Naruto fly out.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke, perched on a tree, seized the opportunity. His hands formed seals, pressed against his mouth.

A thin, fiery red line spewed from his mouth, expanding violently as it neared the Shadow Clone!

"Boom!"

A pit about half a meter deep instantly appeared on the ground, its edges scorched black.

Sasuke looked up and suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He instinctively leaped down from the tree.

A similarly slender figure appeared in his original position.

"You're quite fast."

The Shadow Clone chuckled and, under Sasuke's horrified gaze, melted away like water.

This... this is a Shadow Clone?

And it can melt?

"Cough, cough."

Naruto leaned against a large tree, the suffocating feeling in his chest making him extremely uncomfortable.

Jing's attacks are truly ruthless...

As soon as the thought formed, Naruto leaped up and punched behind him.

"Snap."

His fist was caught by a hand.

"Your reaction is okay, but it's a shame..."

The Shadow Clone shook its head in disappointment.

Naruto's pupils contracted sharply.

He felt...

a sharp gust of wind from behind!

"Rasengan!"

A ball of sky-blue chakra condensed in his hand.

"Not bad, just a little slow."

The Shadow Clone behind him praised, its palm swiftly pressing onto Naruto's back.

"Thump!"

The moment the palm landed on his back, Naruto turned into a section of a log.

"You fell for it, Jing!"

The real Naruto appeared behind the Shadow Clone, a smug grin on his face.

The Rasengan in his hand gradually became oval, surrounded by white whirlwinds.

"Wind Style: Rasengan!"

The Shadow Clone indifferently turned its head, watching Naruto's Rasengan approach.

"Good, you've improved."

The Shadow Clone smiled happily.

"But... you still lack experience."

"I'm not..."

"alone!"

The Shadow Clone that had been holding Naruto's hand suddenly appeared before him.

It lifted its leg, brought up its knee, and kicked out!

Naruto's chest took a heavy blow, the Rasengan in his hand dissipated, and his body shot out like a cannonball.

"We aren't alone either!"

Sasuke descended from the sky, throwing a shuriken with steady, accurate, and fierce aim at the shadow clone.

The shadow clone shook its head, and a pitch-black shuriken appeared in its hand.

"Even your brother wouldn't dare play this in front of me."

With a flick of its wrist, the pitch-black shuriken vanished instantly.

Clang!

The two shurikens collided in mid-air.

The difference was that Sasuke's shuriken was directly flung away, embedding itself in a nearby tree.

However, the shadow clone's shuriken, after the collision, slightly altered its trajectory.

It continued flying towards the falling Sasuke.

Sasuke's face turned to one of horror.

Mid-air, he...

Couldn't dodge this shuriken!