The bell operation (2)

Was this guy really not afraid of killing their teacher?!

Watching the battle with his Byakugan, Hayato Hyuga silently swallowed when he saw how ruthlessly Madara Uchiha attacked. Before the fight, he had actually had the nerve to tell Madara not to hold him back.

"You're absolutely right. Then let me teach you one more thing: never let your guard down before the dust settles!"

After Madara Uchiha's Short Sword cleaved into Kazuhiko Sarutobi's body, Kazuhiko dissolved into a puff of smoke. What Madara had struck was merely Kazuhiko's Shadow Clone. Another Kazuhiko emerged from the ground and immediately seized Madara, twisting both his arms behind his back and restraining him.

Bzzzz!

Just as Kazuhiko Sarutobi restrained Madara Uchiha, a swarm of insects swept toward him from the west. At the same time, fist-sized pink worms rained down from the branches above. These insects fed on ninja chakra without distinguishing friend from foe. Sōsuke Aburame, who had remained hidden until now, finally made his move, including Madara among his targets.

He included his own Teammate in the attack?

Although sacrificing a teammate to complete a mission was sometimes necessary under extreme circumstances, Sōsuke Aburame's readiness to abandon a comrade still left Kazuhiko Sarutobi a little uneasy.

Carrying Madara Uchiha, Kazuhiko Sarutobi began dodging the worms and Kikaichū. Chakra surged around his body, pushing his speed up another notch. He had never imagined these brats would actually force him to go all out.

Just as Kazuhiko Sarutobi was thinking this, Hayato Hyuga threw a shuriken. Its target was not Kazuhiko, but Madara Uchiha, whom he was holding.

This time, Kazuhiko Sarutobi made no attempt to save Madara Uchiha. He simply released him. The shuriken pierced Madara's body, and he, too, dissolved into a cloud of smoke.

Although the Kikaichū and pink worms had also targeted Madara Uchiha, taking those attacks would not have killed him or caused irreversible damage. Hayato Hyuga's attack, however, had been aimed squarely at killing him. Attacking a teammate was one thing, but these brats would never have the courage to kill one. Almost instantly, Kazuhiko Sarutobi saw through Hayato's attempt to mislead him and deduced that the Madara he had restrained was merely a Shadow Clone.

"Your file clearly stated that you could use Shadow Clones, but seeing how young you look, I still overlooked the fact that you'd already learned such an advanced ninjutsu. Uchiha Itachi, you really are exceptional."

The instant Madara Uchiha's Shadow Clone vanished, the real Madara, who had remained concealed in the shadows, struck. Holding a kunai in his left hand and a ninja Short Sword in his right, he crossed the two weapons and once again plunged down at Kazuhiko Sarutobi from above, driving the vicious attack with his own weight.

With his body still relatively weak, Madara Uchiha had no choice but to commit everything to an attack like this if he wanted to threaten a Jōnin like Kazuhiko Sarutobi.

Uchiha Itachi may be an even more outstanding young talent than Shisui Uchiha. I hope you'll guide him well and keep him from falling into the Uchiha Clan's embrace.

The words Hiruzen Sarutobi had spoken when assigning him to teach genin resurfaced in Kazuhiko Sarutobi's mind.

An even more outstanding young talent than Shisui?

Having witnessed Shisui's levelheaded nature and exceptional abilities, Kazuhiko had not entirely believed the Third Hokage's words. Yet now, he, a Jōnin, was being run ragged by three brats who had only just become genin. Madara Uchiha's contribution was certainly not to be underestimated. At that moment, Kazuhiko truly understood the weight of the words "an even more outstanding young talent than Shisui."

Kazuhiko Sarutobi sidestepped Madara Uchiha's attack while drawing a kunai to block his slash. Just as he moved to restrain Madara again, taking advantage of the moment when Madara adjusted his posture to soften his landing, a silent kunai came flying from behind him to one side. As Kazuhiko successfully grabbed Madara just after he landed, the shuriken swept past his waist and took all three bells with it. At the same time, the Madara before him once again dissolved into smoke. Guided by a concealed thread, the kunai carrying the three bells returned to Madara's hand.

Holding the three bells, Madara Uchiha strode proudly up to Kazuhiko Sarutobi. Behind him followed the silent Sōsuke Aburame and Hayato Hyuga, who was jumping with joy. Keeping nothing for himself, Madara readily shared the bells with his two teammates. In truth, he was confident he could have taken the bells on his own, but wasn't the point of the test to see whether the students could work together? Having seen through its purpose, Madara had deliberately assigned tasks to his teammates. He also wanted to keep concealing his strength, and even under that restriction, he had achieved his goal.

"Teacher Kazuhiko! Teacher Kazuhiko! Does this mean we passed the test?"

"Congratulations. You've successfully passed the test, which means Team One is now officially formed. From now on, I'll lead you on missions. I hope you'll remember the mindset you had when you worked together to pass this test. As ninja, you must always remember to cooperate and make the most of every team member's strengths."

Kazuhiko Sarutobi sighed helplessly. He had never expected to lose to three genin. Worse still, Madara Uchiha and Sōsuke Aburame seemed completely unmoved by having defeated him, which only deepened his sense of failure. Only Hayato's excitement offered his pride a little consolation.

"Teacher, were you going easy on us? It felt so easy to take those things from you. Are you really a Jōnin? Come to think of it, your name's Kazuhiko Sarutobi, right? Are you from the Sarutobi Clan? What's your relationship with the Third Hokage? Are you relatives? Does that mean I might get a chance to receive instruction from the Hokage if I stick with you? After all, you're not that strong. Once I surpass you, you won't have anything left to teach me, will you?"

Wonderful. Even that little consolation for his pride was gone.

"We'll meet here tomorrow morning at eight. Once everyone's here, we'll head out on our first mission."

Suppressing the urge to give Hayato a thorough beating, Kazuhiko Sarutobi announced Team One's schedule for the next day and practically fled. He felt wronged. It really wasn't that he was weak; Madara Uchiha was simply far stronger than he had any right to be. Kazuhiko genuinely suspected that, given enough time to prepare, Madara might even be able to ambush and kill a special Jōnin sent in his place.