Wood Release Emerges! Kakashi Is Shocked!

Wood Release Emerges! Kakashi Is Shocked!

At Training Ground Three, Kakashi Hatake had one hand in his pocket and held three bells in the other, casually shaking them twice.

"The rules are simple. Before noon, take the bells from me."

Naruto stared at the two bells and immediately spotted the problem. "There are four of us. Why are there only three bells?"

Kakashi Hatake's eyes curved as his tone remained lazy. "Because only three people can stay. Whoever fails to get a bell will be tied to a wooden post and watch the others eat lunch."

Sakura Haruno's expression shifted slightly.

Two bells for three people—this rule had been forcing them to guard against one another from the very beginning.

Chenshu Senju glanced at Kakashi Hatake. The bells at his waist were merely bait; the real test clearly was not about taking the bells.

"Begin."

The moment he spoke, Sasuke and Sakura Haruno quickly scattered and hid in the surrounding woods.

Chenshu Senju likewise retreated several steps, vanishing behind the bushes.

Only Naruto remained where he was.

He raised a hand and pointed at Kakashi Hatake, his face full of confidence. "I'll defeat you fair and square, then take all three bells!"

Kakashi Hatake pulled out a book and lowered his head to open it.

"Is that so? Then good luck."

A vein throbbed on Naruto's forehead as he clenched his fists and charged forward.

But the instant he approached Kakashi Hatake, his wrist was seized, and his entire body spun halfway through the air.

Bang.

Naruto landed face-first in the grass, with only his legs sticking out.

Hidden behind a tree, Chenshu Senju's mouth twitched.

The unexpectedness of the unpredictable ninja really did mostly target himself.

A few minutes later, Sasuke seized the opening while Kakashi Hatake was reading and launched a sneak attack from underground.

Fire Style and shuriken sealed off his escape routes one after another. The coordination was already quite impressive.

But Kakashi Hatake avoided the attacks with nothing more than the Substitution Technique, then appeared behind Sasuke and kicked him flying.

Sakura Haruno's situation was even simpler.

Kakashi Hatake used just one genjutsu, and she saw Sasuke lying before her covered in blood. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.

In less than half an hour, all three had been defeated in succession.

Kakashi Hatake closed his book and looked toward where Chenshu Senju was hiding. "Still not coming out? Your three teammates have all lost their ability to fight."

The woods fell silent for a moment.

A shuriken suddenly flew out from behind Kakashi Hatake, heading straight for the bells.

Kakashi Hatake sidestepped it, but a second shuriken struck the first, instantly changing its direction.

Clang.

A kunai blocked the shuriken. Just as Kakashi Hatake was about to retreat, Chenshu Senju had already leaped down from a tree and swept a kick toward his shoulder.

Kakashi Hatake raised an arm to block, and his arm sank slightly.

That strength far surpassed that of an ordinary genin.

Chenshu Senju did not pause. After landing, he closed in again, his fists and elbows striking at Kakashi Hatake in rapid succession.

There were no unnecessary movements in any of his attacks, forcing Kakashi Hatake to retreat again and again.

"Has your taijutsu suddenly gotten stronger too?"

Kakashi Hatake seized an opening and grabbed his wrist, only to find that Chenshu Senju before him turned into a puff of white smoke.

A clone.

At the same time, three shuriken shot in from different directions, sealing off Kakashi Hatake's left and right.

Chenshu Senju rushed out from the front, reaching for the bells.

Kakashi Hatake twisted his body, dodging the shuriken while raising his knee into Chenshu Senju's abdomen.

Chenshu Senju blocked the attack with his forearm and used the force to retreat two steps.

The gap really was enormous.

His enhanced taijutsu and ninja tool throwing were enough to suppress ninja academy students, but against a battle-hardened elite jonin, they could only serve as a distraction.

Kakashi Hatake took out that book again, though his eyes had gained a hint of seriousness. "That's enough. For a genin who just graduated, your performance has already been quite good."

"Who said it was over?"

Chenshu Senju formed hand seals with both hands, and the chakra within him rapidly flowed into the ground.

The moment Kakashi Hatake saw that hand seal, his gaze froze.

Before he could think further, the earth beneath his feet cracked open, and several thorn-covered vines burst from the ground.

Wood Release: Thorn Binding.

The vines lashed toward Kakashi Hatake from all sides at incredible speed.

Kakashi Hatake sprang backward. One vine grazed his right leg, its sharp thorns slicing open his pant leg.

He landed several meters away, lowered his head to glance at the torn fabric, then raised a hand and pushed up his forehead protector.

The crimson Sharingan slowly spun.

Sasuke, who had just regained consciousness, froze when he saw the vines. Sakura Haruno stood there with her mouth open as well, unable to speak for a long while.

Naruto crawled out of the grass and stared at the vines covering the ground. "What kind of ninjutsu is this?"

Kakashi Hatake did not answer. He merely stared intently at Chenshu Senju.

Wood Release.

It was the bloodline limit the First Hokage had used to quell an age of chaos.

Since the First Hokage's death, the Senju Clan had never produced a second true Wood Release ninja.

Yet now, it had appeared in a newly graduated member of a Senju branch family.

Chenshu Senju released the technique, and the vines stopped growing. "Do you still want to continue?"

Kakashi Hatake fell silent for a moment before pulling his forehead protector back down.

"No need."

He put the three bells away in his ninja tool pouch, his gaze sweeping over the four of them in turn. "All of you have passed this survival exercise."

Naruto immediately jumped up. "But we didn't get any bells at all!"

"The bells were never the point." Kakashi Hatake's eyes curved. "In the ninja world, those who break the rules are called trash. But those who do not cherish their comrades are worse than trash."

Sasuke glanced at Chenshu Senju but offered no rebuttal.

If Chenshu Senju had not forced Kakashi Hatake to reveal his Sharingan, the outcome of this test likely would not have been so simple.

The system notification sounded at that moment.

[Challenge completed: Team 7 survival exercise.]

[Obtained ten draws.]

[Forced elite jonin Kakashi Hatake to fight seriously. Obtained five draws.]

[Used Wood Release in actual combat for the first time. Obtained one rare draw privilege.]

Forty-six ordinary draws, plus one rare draw.

He was still fifty-four draws away from the guaranteed reward at one hundred consecutive draws.

Chenshu Senju looked at Kakashi Hatake's torn pant leg, his tone calm. "Kakashi-sensei, do I need to pay for your pants?"

Kakashi Hatake: ...

A few days later, Team 7 received their first escort mission outside the Hidden Leaf Village.

Mission rank: C.

At the same time, amid the thick fog at the border of the Land of Waves, a bandage-wrapped hand gripped the Executioner's Blade, its edge slowly rising.

Chenshu Senju did not yet know that this seemingly ordinary escort mission would cause his name to appear on the desks of the Hidden Leaf Village's upper ranks for the first time.

[Dear godfathers, please add this to your bookshelf, tap for updates, and leave a five-star review.]

[After storing your brains, your balance +∞, your partner count +∞, and your little brother +5 cm. Don't get too proud.]