Passing the Test

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

It was not used for defense. Instead, the ground around Sasuke's body suddenly bulged upward, raising a half-arc wall of earth. This earthen wall was not a thick, solid fortress; it was more like a lid being pried open, carrying tremendous force as it forcibly propped up and lifted the soil structure that had trapped Sasuke.

"Hmm? Interesting." Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He had not expected Duanmu's earth-style jutsu to be aimed not at blocking him, but at directly affecting the soil that trapped Sasuke. This kid's understanding and use of earth-style seemed much more flexible than that of an average genin.

Buried in the earth, Sasuke felt the soil around him suddenly loosen. An upward force lifted him, and the restraints that had felt as if they were cast from steel abruptly weakened. He froze for an instant, then reacted at once. A complicated glint flashed through his eyes, but he did not hesitate in the slightest. The chakra in his body erupted, and together with the force of the rising earth wall, he wrenched himself upward with all his strength.

Boom!

The half-arc earthen wall flipped up completely, carrying shattered clods of dirt with it, and Sasuke finally broke free from underground. Though he was covered in mud and looked rather disheveled, the sharpness in his eyes, along with his earlier humiliation and resentment, had already been replaced by a complex emotion.

After landing, he staggered, then immediately steadied himself. He looked at Duanmu's back, his lips moving slightly, but he said nothing.

The moment Duanmu activated Earth Wall, he knew he had exposed himself directly in front of Kakashi. He did not look back. Instead, he shouted urgently to Sasuke and Sakura, who had just leapt down from the tree and rushed close. "Sasuke! Sakura! Now!"

His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable decisiveness.

Sakura had already run to Sasuke's side. When she saw that he had escaped, joy appeared on her face. Hearing Duanmu's command, she immediately understood. Her hands rapidly formed seals, and she forcefully threw another specially prepared Smoke Bomb, mixed with chili powder, at Kakashi's feet!

Bang! Smoke exploded once more. This time, not only was there thick smoke to block vision, but a choking cloud of chili powder also spread out.

Sasuke reacted extremely quickly as well. Though he still felt somewhat awkward about Duanmu's help, he knew very well that now was not the time to dwell on that.

Almost at the same moment Sakura threw the Smoke Bomb, he poured the chakra he had just recovered into his legs. His figure turned into a streak of black lightning, not rushing toward Kakashi, but shooting toward the place where Kakashi had earlier placed the lunchboxes and the bells!

His goal was clear—to draw attention and try to seize the bells!

Kakashi looked at the smoke and chili powder spreading before him again, then glanced at Sasuke charging toward his "spoils." The smile at the corner of his mouth deepened.

"Not bad teamwork, but unfortunately..."

With a flicker, his body appeared like a ghost in front of Sasuke. He casually extended his right hand and accurately caught Sasuke by the back of his collar, lifting his entire body up.

Sasuke struggled desperately, thrashing with both hands and feet, but it was as if he had been locked in iron pincers. No matter how he exerted himself, he could not break free in the slightest.

"Rasengan!" Duanmu controlled the Rasengan with one hand and smashed it straight toward Kakashi's arm.

Kakashi looked at the charging Duanmu and smiled faintly. "You can't save Sasuke from that far away."

The instant Kakashi finished speaking, Duanmu appeared right in front of him.

"What?!" Kakashi's pupils shrank slightly. He had completely failed to see how Duanmu had broken through his perception and closed such a distance in an instant. This was not the Body Flicker Technique at all!

There was no time to think. Duanmu's right hand, condensed with a blue chakra vortex, was already inches away, and its target was the very arm Kakashi was using to restrain Sasuke.

Kakashi's eyes sharpened. His left hand shot out like lightning, not to block, but with five fingers curled like claws, precisely clamping down toward the wrist of Duanmu's hand that held the Rasengan!

Now! A sharp gleam flashed in Duanmu's eyes. This was the exact instant he had been waiting for!

Just as Kakashi's left hand was about to touch his wrist, Duanmu suddenly flipped the wrist of his right hand, which had been holding the Rasengan. He did not withdraw it. Instead, he avoided Kakashi's grip at an extremely tricky angle, while his palm lifted upward, sending the high-speed spinning Rasengan toward the opening beneath Kakashi's armpit!

That was where Kakashi's defense was relatively weak while he held Sasuke up with one hand!

This change of move was as fast as lightning and completely exceeded Kakashi's expectations. He had not thought that at such close range, Duanmu could still execute such a delicate shift and adjustment.

"Hmm?" A trace of gravity flashed through Kakashi's eyes. His left hand had no time to change moves, so he could only rely on years of battle instinct to forcefully twist his body. At the same time, his right hand suddenly shoved Sasuke forward, attempting to use Sasuke's body as a human shield to block this sudden Rasengan!

Caught off guard, Sasuke was pushed forward. He happened to see Duanmu's blue-lit palm coming toward his chest, and his pupils abruptly contracted. A sense of mortal danger instantly enveloped his entire body!

"Duanmu! Are you crazy?!" Sasuke roared, unable to believe that Duanmu would actually attack him!

Duanmu seemed not to hear his roar. His eyes remained sharp as blades. Just before the Rasengan was about to hit Sasuke, his left hand shot out like lightning, grabbed Sasuke by the front of his collar, and yanked him backward!

The force of the pull was enormous, and combined with the momentum from Kakashi's shove, Sasuke's body spun half a turn through the air like a top, barely avoiding the Rasengan's direct impact. Duanmu's right hand, borrowing the force of that pull, extended another inch forward, and the Rasengan grazed past Kakashi's ribs!

Rrrip!

Although it was only a graze, the high-speed spinning chakra of the Rasengan still tore through Kakashi's forehead protector and part of his sleeve, drawing a thin line of blood. Though the injury was extremely light, Kakashi's eyes turned completely serious.

He had not expected that this seemingly calm boy could use an A-rank ninjutsu like the Rasengan to such an extent, and in a close-quarters clash with him, display such astonishing battle intelligence and adaptability!

"Nice teamwork. Unfortunately... still too slow." Kakashi's voice carried a trace of praise, but even more so, the composure of the strong.

His right arm, which had just been grazed by the Rasengan, suddenly sank, and his elbow came crashing down toward Duanmu's chest like an iron whip!

This elbow was fast and ruthless, sealing off every route Duanmu could use to dodge!

Duanmu's pupils shrank. He could clearly feel the tremendous pressure from the wind of the elbow, and the hairs on his chest stood on end. He knew he could not possibly take this blow.

Is this as far as I go? A trace of unwillingness flashed through Duanmu's heart.

Thud!

A muffled sound rang out, but the expected agony did not come. Duanmu only felt a force yank him backward, throwing him to the ground. He looked up and saw Sasuke standing in front of him, having taken Kakashi's elbow with his back. At that moment, Sasuke let out a muffled groan, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. He was clearly badly hurt.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out in alarm and hurried forward to support the swaying Sasuke.

Duanmu also froze. He stared at Sasuke's back, his heart a jumble of emotions. This guy, who had always been proud and disdained accepting help from others, had actually taken the initiative to block this blow for him?

Sasuke turned his head and glared viciously at Duanmu, his voice hoarse from the pain. "Don't get the wrong idea... I just didn't want to owe you a favor!" After saying that, he could no longer hold on. His vision went black, and he fainted.

Kakashi looked at the unconscious Sasuke, then at Duanmu on the ground and Sakura, whose face was full of worry. The movement he had originally prepared to continue the pursuit stopped. He withdrew his elbow, his gaze sweeping over the three of them before finally landing on Duanmu, his eyes complicated and unreadable.

"Duanmu," Kakashi asked, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

Duanmu climbed up from the ground, walked to Sasuke's side, and helped Sakura support him.

"Who taught you the Rasengan?" Kakashi's gaze fell on Duanmu's right hand, where a faint trace of chakra fluctuations still remained.

Something stirred in Duanmu's heart. He knew this question would be hard to answer. Come to think of it, Kakashi didn't seem to know he could use the Rasengan, so he could only say vaguely, "I figured it out and practiced it on my own in my spare time."

Kakashi looked deeply at Duanmu, his gaze seeming as if it could pierce straight through a person's heart, making Duanmu tense up unconsciously. He knew his vague explanation would probably be hard for this jonin to believe.

"You figured it out and practiced it on your own?" Kakashi repeated, his tone flat, making it impossible to tell whether he was questioning him or accepting it. "The Rasengan is an A-rank ninjutsu created by the Fourth Hokage. In all of Konoha, only a handful of people can fully master it. You're a genin who just graduated, and you trained it to this level just by figuring it out yourself?"

Kakashi's voice was still calm, but Duanmu could feel the scrutiny hidden beneath that calm.

Duanmu did not avoid Kakashi's gaze. He knew any lie at this moment could be easily exposed, so he could only choose a relatively vague explanation. "I... happened to read some theoretical books about chakra shape transformation in the Ninja Academy library and got some inspiration from them. Then I tried practicing on my own, failed a lot of times, and only managed to grasp a little of the basics by luck."

He deliberately emphasized "a little of the basics" and "by luck," hoping it would ease some of Kakashi's suspicions.

"Oh? The Ninja Academy library?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, clearly not entirely convinced by this answer. But he did not keep questioning him. He only gave Duanmu a deep look, as if to say, "I'll find out."

After that, Kakashi's gaze turned to the unconscious Sasuke and the worried Sakura, his tone returning to its previous indifference. "All right. The test is over."

"The test... is over?" Sakura asked uncertainly. She looked at the unconscious Sasuke, then at Duanmu, not knowing what this result meant.

Kakashi nodded. "All three of you pass."

"We pass?!" Sakura's eyes widened in surprise, almost unable to believe her ears. Even though the process had been so difficult, and Sasuke had even gotten hurt, they had actually passed Kakashi-sensei's genin test?

Duanmu also let out a sigh of relief, his taut nerves finally relaxing. He glanced at Sasuke leaning in his arms, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curving into a faint smile. This awkward guy—though he had said he did not want to owe anyone a favor, that desperate block just now carried more weight than any words.

Kakashi walked over to his bento box, took down the two Bells that symbolized their passing, then walked back in front of the three of them and handed the Bells to Duanmu and Sakura respectively.

"Take these bells." For once, Kakashi's voice carried a trace of gentleness. "From today onward, you are official members of Team 7, led by me, Kakashi Hatake."