Stealing the Bells

"Masayo!"

Sasuke and Naruto shouted in unison.

Pointing at Sasuke, Naruto hurriedly said, "Masayo, Sasuke was acting all sneaky outside your house. Who knows what he was up to?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto speechlessly, then handed Masayo the wrapped gift in his hands. "Masayo, I only found out today that you became a Jonin. Congratulations."

"Huh... a Jonin? Wait, Masayo, you became a Jonin?"

Naruto had yet to process it and asked in disbelief.

With his hands in his pockets, Sasuke looked at Naruto in exasperation. "Didn't you see it in class today? Masayo took Team 12 out of the classroom. What were you doing then?"

"What? So that was it? I thought Masayo was taking them to meet their Jonin instructor!"

Naruto clutched his blond hair in frustration. When he saw Sasuke giving Masayo a gift, he completely panicked. He had not known about it, had not prepared anything, and had no idea what he should give him.

Sure, that was so Naruto!

Masayo mocked inwardly.

Masayo opened Sasuke's gift box. Inside were tools for maintaining swords: pure cotton cloth, deerskin, rustproof oil, and more. Sasuke had clearly put a great deal of thought into choosing the gift.

"Thank you, Sasuke. I can tell you chose this very carefully. I really like this gift."

Sasuke turned his head away, a faint flush on his cheeks. Masayo's praise pleased him greatly. "It's nothing. You were the one who told me that even divine weapons and sharp tools will break if they aren't cherished."

"Yes, exactly!"

Masayo drew the Light-Concealing Sword from his back. Under the moonlight, it flashed with a dazzling gleam, its transparent blade crystal-clear.

"Unfortunately, plenty of weapon users don't know anything about maintenance. They don't even understand such basic common sense, yet they still train? Hahaha..."

Masayo seemed to recall something and laughed aloud. It would have been one thing if some immortal artifact had gathered dust, but swords like the Kusanagi Sword and his Light-Concealing Sword required maintenance.

Getting off track, Sasuke chatted with Masayo for a little longer before declining his invitation to stay. He still had to prepare for tomorrow's Survival Trial. Kakashi was the Supervising Jonin of Team 7, which consisted of him, Naruto, and Sakura.

Naruto left as well, but the thought of Sasuke giving Masayo a gift kept circling in his mind and gave him a headache.

"Waaah! Sasuke actually gave Masayo a gift before I could! What should I give him? Damn it, damn it! Why didn't I think of it?"

Naruto kept thinking about what gift he should give Masayo until he gradually fell asleep. The next day, he woke up still groggy and headed to the training ground to meet Sasuke and Sakura, completely forgetting about the gift for Masayo.

After packing his things, Masayo set off for Training Ground Forty-Four. Inoue Mura, Sakiban, and Mimai had already arrived ahead of time and were waiting for him.

"Good morning, everyone!"

Masayo leaned against a wooden post and greeted them.

"Good morning, Teacher Masayo!"

Mimai politely waved at Masayo. Sakiban and Inoue Mura stared at him with blazing eyes, clearly unable to wait any longer. Whether they would become ninja depended entirely on this.

Masayo took out the two bells Kakashi had given him and hung them from his waist. After setting an alarm, he said, "Before ten thirty, you need to take the bells from me. Only then will you pass the Survival Trial. Anyone who fails to get a bell, hehe... will be sent back to the Academy to repeat another year, okay?"

Masayo's smile made Inoue Mura, Sakiban, and Mimai's hearts leap into their throats. Although Inoue Mura had gone through two Survival Trials in a row, he had still failed both times. As a result, he now utterly hated bells.

"Teacher Masayo, but you only have two bells!" Mimai hurriedly said, pointing at the bells hanging from Masayo's waist.

"That's right. Which means one of you must return to the Academy and repeat a year."

Masayo's words made Mimai and Sakiban look toward Inoue Mura. He was the one who had been sent back to repeat a year twice in a row.

"Treat this as though you intend to kill me. Any weapons are allowed. All right, Team 12's Survival Trial, ready..."

Masayo's words instantly made all three of them tense.

"Begin!"

The moment Masayo spoke, Mimai vanished and concealed herself. Meanwhile, Inoue Mura and Sakiban stood before him without any intention of hiding.

"Come and face me in a decisive battle!"

Sakiban excitedly pointed at Masayo, making Masayo's face darken. He really lacked the protagonist's abilities but suffered from the urge to be one.

"Inoue, forget Sakiban. Why are you still standing there?"

Inoue Mura's expression remained calm as he tightly gripped the kunai in his hand, though he was clearly tense and on guard. "Information is crucial to a ninja. Your self-created Wind Sense Technique can sense an opponent's presence through airflow disturbed by the wind. I'm afraid even the Hokage could not guarantee he could hide himself from you. Since that's the case, I might as well come out openly."

"Hey, what do you mean, 'forget me'? Teacher Masayo, just wait. Watch how I defeat you and take the bells!"

Holding a kunai, Sakiban charged straight at Masayo.

Masayo formed hand seals. In Sakiban's eyes, Masayo's figure scattered like flower petals. When he appeared again, he had become the thing Sakiban feared and hated most.

"Yaaah..."

Sakiban let out a shrill scream. Struck by Masayo's Hell Viewing Technique, he fainted.

Whoosh!

Just as Masayo used the Hell Viewing Technique to bring down Sakiban, Inoue Mura threw two kunai at him.

Without even turning his head, Masayo hooked the rings at the ends of the kunai with his index and middle fingers just as they were about to strike his head. The two kunai dangled from his hand.

"What?"

Masayo's move utterly stunned Inoue Mura and Mimai, who was lying in ambush among the grass.

So this is a Jonin? The gap in power is way too great. How could we possibly get those bells?

Mimai was dumbfounded by the way Masayo caught the kunai on his fingers. This was no longer a matter of skill; it was absolute overwhelming power. They were not even on the same level.

"How are you so strong?"

Inoue Mura's eyes widened as he asked in disbelief. His resolve was beginning to crumble. Masayo's current strength and performance felt like they were mocking his former overestimation of himself.

"Having failed twice, you should understand the true purpose of the Survival Trial by now, shouldn't you? Your timing just now was good, but if that's all you can do, you'll never become a ninja. By the way..."

Masayo looked at Inoue Mura curiously and asked, "How were you eliminated last time?"

Inoue Mura gave a bitter smile. "Last time, I accommodated them too much. I had no mind of my own and was eliminated along with them."