"My Haruno Sakura, my hobbies are... well, I mean, the person I like is... and my dream is to be with the person I like... ah!!!"
Third Training Ground, Sakura introduced herself while letting out a soft scream, her face full of shyness.
This scene left Kakashi, on the other side, feeling utterly helpless.
'As expected, girls this age care more about ninjutsu and strength...'
"Okay, okay, I got it. Next is..."
His gaze shifted and landed on Naruto, who was wearing a black trench coat and had his hands and feet bound with black bandages. His expression was solemn.
" Uzumaki Naruto's hobbies are ramen, training, and contemplating life. His dream is to bring true peace to this war-torn Ninja World."
The voice was gentle and calm, but the meaning behind its words caused Kakashi's expression to change slightly beneath his mask.
" Naruto, the price you'll have to pay for this ideal will be beyond your imagination. It's somewhat similar to Minato-sensei's experience, but even more so."
Suppressing his surprise and worry Kakashi glanced towards the end, and Sakura followed suit, her face full of anticipation.
" Uchiha Sasuke, there's nothing I'm particularly interested in. Dreams... I should answer with ambition. My ambition is to revive the Uchiha and kill that man."
The brief introduction left Sakura frozen in place. Kill that man? Who?
'Avenger, trying to achieve revenge on your own is incredibly difficult, especially considering your opponent is the enigmatic Itachi.'
After a moment of silence, Kakashi nodded slightly.
"I have a general first impression of you all. Next up is the real graduation assessment, tomorrow..."
Before Kakashi could finish speaking, Naruto coughed twice, interrupting him.
" Kakashi-sensei, please don't waste time. It would be better to proceed directly with the ninja exam. In terms of strength, Sasuke and I are not inferior to you, sir."
This blatant act of provocation immediately prompted Sakura to stop it.
"Wait, Naruto! I know Sasuke-kun is strong, and you're excellent at the Ninja Academy, but Kakashi-sensei is a Jonin. How could we possibly be a match for a Jonin right now?"
"That's a good suggestion. I also want to know how much my current abilities differ from those of Konoha's Anbu."
Suddenly, Sasuke stood up with him, full of fighting spirit, leaving Kakashi with a helpless expression.
' Uchiha Huayue, although I had suspected it for a while, I really didn't expect him to mention me to them. None of them seemed like opponents I could handle while reading.'
Upon hearing this, Sakura was even more shocked.
" Anbu elites? Kakashi-sensei is Anbu member? That's the Lord Hokage's direct subordinate unit, there's no way we could be..."
"That's all in the past. Now I'm just a Jonin. I was planning to let you guys go hungry, but he'll probably just laugh it off."
As he spoke, Kakashi slowly took out two bells from his ninja tool bag and hung them on it.
"Alright, two bells, three students, and I don't need to say anything more. If you can grab one, you pass; if you can't, you go back to the Ninja Academy. Dismissed!"
As soon as he finished speaking, three afterimages scattered. Just as Kakashi nodded in satisfaction, a golden-haired afterimage flashed towards him.
"So eager to get started, why not gather some intelligence first?"
Each move was fierce, and the sharpness of the Kunai and Kakashi's keen eyesight made him decide whether to provoke the others further and instead resort to the tactics of Icha Icha Paradise.
"Intelligence gathering? Isn't that already underway?"
"Is that so? Then I'll get serious too. One of the key points of ninja techniques: Taijutsu!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kakashi's expression changed, and his attack speed increased even more, each move sharp and fierce, creating a gust of wind.
For a time, Naruto could only barely manage to fight using Taijutsu alone.
"As expected of Kakashi-sensei of the Anbu, his combat experience is indeed far inferior to that of a true Jonin. He needs to improve..."
Bang!
The White Mist swirled around, replaced by an Explosive Tag ignited with tiny white lights.
" Shadow Clone?!"
The next second, smoke and dust rose, accompanied by scorching Huo Guang and heat waves, and another White Mist rose up, and the scene was silent.
Sakura, who was silently observing everything from the bushes, instinctively gasped and quickly covered her mouth, her eyes filled with astonishment.
"Both of them are Shadow Clone? While I know Naruto is strong, to fight Anbu like that... is a bit much..."
He couldn't help but recall the first and last battle they fought at the Ninja Academy when they were children.
Meanwhile, atop a distant tree, Kakashi surveyed his surroundings, a serious look creeping into his eyes.
" Shadow Clone allow you to gather intelligence while fighting enemies. Naruto has certainly inherited Minato-sensei's talent."
Looking around, apart from Sakura, whose hiding place was known from the beginning, Sasuke and Naruto had not yet revealed their positions.
"Mr. Huayue, you've really trained two extraordinary individuals. This isn't the level students at the Ninja Academy should be at. No wonder..."
Whoosh whoosh!
A whooshing sound rang out as several shuriken, accompanied by Smoke Bomb, hurtled towards them.
As the storm raged, it instantly enveloped the area where Kakashi was.
" Naruto? No, this Taijutsu is..."
The sound of the taut steel wire echoed, and a dense array of shuriken weaved through the smoke, countless shuriken flashing with cold light as they came hand in hand with the steel wire.
" Sharingan Manipulation - Spider Web Assault!"
" Sasuke!"
The sound of the explosion quickly drew Sakura's attention. She turned around and cheered, then looked back with a worried expression.
"That's amazing Shurikenjutsu, but wasn't it a bit too heavy-handed?"
Dust and smoke drifted away with the wind. Kakashi, bound between the steel wires, struggled incessantly until the shuriken struck, instantly shattering a section of the Substitution Log into pieces by countless steel wires.
"Tch, Substitution Technique."
With a bang, another wisp of White Mist dissipated, Sasuke vanished from his spot, and Kakashi appeared with a helpless expression.
"At this rate, they haven't gathered any intelligence, while much of my intelligence has been exposed. They're all quite capable, but..."
His eyes were lowered; this was not what he wanted to see. If he wanted to see these people work together as a team, he would have to show some real skill.
He picked up the Forehead Protector covering his left eye, and his Sharingan beneath the scar caught his surroundings.
"It seems we need to resolve this as quickly as possible."
In the shadows, Naruto closed his eyes slightly and murmured to himself.
'As expected of the Anbu Captain, his Taijutsu are flawless; we can only rely on speed and strength to overwhelm him, maximizing his strengths and minimizing his weaknesses.'
'Although we haven't seen their ninjutsu, it's definitely not to be underestimated. Therefore, our only chance of victory lies in our chakra reserves and stamina; let's work together.'
Upon hearing this, Sasuke, who was hiding in the stream, leaped up, his hand seals changing rapidly.
" Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"