Ten minutes later.
"Well, well, you really are a handful!"
Kakashi was a sorry sight.
The glove on his right hand and his flak jacket were both ruined.
Worst of all, when he had kicked away Sasuke's surprise attack a moment earlier, he had discovered an Explosive Tag stuck to the sole of his shoe. He had no idea when it had gotten there. Now he had lost a shoe, too, and could only stand on the grass with one foot bare.
The three of them surrounded Kakashi in a triangular formation.
Sasuke's Three-Tomoe Sharingan was active in both eyes, excitement written across his face; cold light gleamed off Sakura's Kunai; and Naruto wore a sly smile as he slowly pulled a brand-new novel from his Ninja Tool Pouch.
The moment he saw the cover of the latest volume of The Lustful Ninja Chronicles of Shimura, Kakashi's visible eye went wide.
He distinctly remembered hiding that book at the very bottom of his Ninja Tool Pouch!
"No way!"
Kakashi hurriedly raised his hands in surrender, his voice cracking.
"The test is over! You all pass!"
Sasuke and Sakura exchanged bewildered looks, completely unable to understand why the sight of that book had sent Kakashi into such a panic.
Only Naruto kept smiling as he waved the novel in his hand, the gold-stamped words "Limited Edition" on its cover glaring in the sunlight.
After taking the book from Naruto, Kakashi immediately retreated into the shade of a tree beside the Training Ground, then smiled and pointed at the lunch boxes on the wooden post.
"Hungry, aren't you? Go ahead and eat."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. Here came the real finishing move.
Killing Three Warriors with Two Peaches.
Three people, two lunches.
Even without having them fight over bells, Kakashi still had