Kakashi Was Stunned! Just How Much Was This Kid Hiding?

"Or have you finally understood the real purpose of this test, and you're ready to announce a result... that everyone will be happy with?"

Shengu Xuan's question exploded like a thunderclap in Kakashi's mind.

He looked at the boy before him. Those pitch-black eyes seemed able to see straight through people, stripping away all his pretenses and lectures.

Yes, he had been judging these children from a position of superiority from the very beginning, using the pain of his past to set a self-righteous standard.

Yet in the end, the boy he found hardest to read and feared most had taught everyone a lesson in the most direct, most brutal way.

With an undying legion, he had shown them "despair"; with unfathomable speed, he had shown them "overwhelming superiority"; and finally, by willingly giving up the bells, he had shown them "breadth of vision."

Kakashi took a deep breath. The fear Shengu Xuan inspired in him was gradually replaced by a more complicated feeling-reverence.

He slowly straightened up and walked over to the three wooden posts. His gaze swept across the three, each wearing a different expression, before finally settling on Shengu Xuan.

"The test... is over."

A trace of the steadiness befitting a Jonin returned to Kakashi's voice.

"The result is..."

Naruto swallowed nervously. Sasuke also raised his head from where he was buried in the earth, a barely perceptible hint of anticipation in his eyes.

"-Everyone passes!"

"Yeah!!!" Naruto sprang back to life on the spot, dancing with joy, completely forgetting that he had just faced elimination.

Sasuke visibly relaxed, but his gaze grew even more complicated as he looked at Shengu Xuan. He knew that this "pass" was something Shengu Xuan had "handed out" to them.

"From today onward, Team 7 is officially formed!" Kakashi announced.

With that, he walked over to Sasuke, released the Earth Release technique, and pulled him out of the ground. Then he woke Sakura.

When Sakura woke, she saw the bell in her hand, then saw Sasuke and Naruto up and about, and looked utterly bewildered. After Naruto gave her a rough account of what had happened, the contempt and wariness in her eyes as she looked at Shengu Xuan turned into pure... fear.

"All right, dismissed. Meet in front of the Hokage Building tomorrow morning. We'll start taking missions." Kakashi waved a hand. Exhausted in body and mind, he just wanted to hurry somewhere quiet and then report this matter, which could overturn everything Konoha thought it knew, to Lord Hokage.

"Oh, one more thing." Kakashi turned, preparing to leave with the Body Flicker Technique, but stopped again. Looking at Shengu Xuan, he spoke with unprecedented seriousness. "Shengu Xuan, thank you."

Without waiting for Shengu Xuan to respond, he vanished in a puff of white smoke with a pop.

The Hokage's office.

The sunset's lingering glow dyed the entire room golden, yet the atmosphere was as oppressive as the calm before a storm.

Clack.

The pipe in Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth fell onto his desk for the third time. Scalding ash scattered over valuable Hokage documents, but he remained completely oblivious.

The shock and horror written across his face were ten times greater than when he had witnessed that scene in the crystal ball yesterday.

"Kakashi... say that again." The Third Hokage's voice was a little dry. "You said... Shengu Xuan... summoned an army of... hundreds of shadows that couldn't be killed and were immune to most ninjutsu?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Kakashi stood before the desk, his face pale. Even recalling it left him shaken. "Each shadow's strength was somewhere between Genin and Chunin, but they fought fearlessly, coordinated seamlessly, and could regenerate endlessly. Under their assault, I barely even had time to form hand seals. In just a few minutes, I used up nearly thirty percent of my chakra."

The Third Hokage sucked in a sharp breath.

An undying army! He understood what those words meant better than anyone!

If that army appeared on a battlefield, it would be every ninja village's nightmare! Killing machines that needed no logistics or supplies, never died, and never tired!

"That wasn't even the most terrifying part." Kakashi's voice grew more strained. "The most terrifying part was his speed."

"His speed?"

"Yes, a kind of speed... I couldn't comprehend." Kakashi's Sharingan began turning involuntarily. "My Sharingan couldn't follow his movements at all. In front of him, I was like a sluggish puppet. He could easily appear in any blind spot behind me. Never mind me... even the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God might not surpass him in sheer movement speed."

"What?!" The Third Hokage shot to his feet, both hands braced on the desk, his body trembling slightly with agitation.

Speed beyond the Flying Thunder God?!

An immortal, indestructible army?!

And raw strength comparable to a tailed beast's!

This was no longer something an "extremely mutated kekkei genkai" could explain! This was nothing less than... the power of a god!

"I understand..." The Third Hokage slowly sat down and picked up his pipe again, but could not get it lit no matter how he tried. The image of "Konoha's treasure" in his mind had now become an unknown existence that left him at a complete loss, and even a little afraid.

He had thought he had obtained an unparalleled piece of uncut jade, one that could become the Strongest Shield protecting Konoha with careful polishing.

Only now did he realize that what he held in his hands might be... a nuclear bomb that could detonate at any moment and blast the entire world to pieces!

"Hiruzen, you're far too naive." A cold, sinister voice abruptly rang out from a corner of the office.

Leaning on his cane, Shimura Danzō slowly emerged from the shadows, undisguised fervor and greed gleaming in his single eye.

"This kind of power is not something your 'Will of Fire' can win over! It belongs in the darkness, in 'Root,' by its very nature! Only by using the harshest methods to erase his humanity and forge him into an emotionless weapon can we truly put him to use for Konoha!" Danzo's voice was full of persuasion.

"Enough, Danzo!" The Third Hokage slammed a hand on the desk, his authority as Hokage erupting. "Shengu Xuan is a ninja of Konoha, a living person, not one of your disposable tools! I will never allow you to make another move against him!"

"Hmph. Softhearted fool." Danzo sneered. "Hiruzen, you'll regret this. Leave this uncontrollable power in the village, and sooner or later, it will become a great calamity! You cannot control him. One day, he'll turn on Konoha!"

With that, Danzo argued no further. He turned and melted back into the shadows.

Only the Third Hokage's heavy breathing remained in the office.

Harsh as Danzo's words were, they had struck at his deepest concern.

Could Shengu Xuan truly be controlled?

Looking at the deeply troubled Third Hokage, Kakashi could not help asking, "Lord Hokage, what... should we do next? Should I still lead Team 7?"

The Third Hokage remained silent for a long time, then took a deep drag of nonexistent smoke. His eyes grew resolute again.

"Continue!"

"Not only must you continue, you must do everything you can to forge a genuine bond with him! Use comrades, missions, everything in Konoha to keep him here and give him a sense of belonging to this village!"

The Third Hokage's voice was firm and decisive. "Kakashi, this is a long-term S-rank mission I'm assigning you! Watch him and understand him, but more importantly, guide him and make him a true comrade!"

"We cannot make an enemy of him. Absolutely not!"

Kakashi's heart tightened, and he nodded solemnly. "Yes, Lord Hokage!"

He walked out of the Hokage Building and looked at the lights coming on in countless homes throughout the village below, his heart heavy.

Guide someone... who might be even stronger than a god?

Was that really a mission a human could accomplish?

He looked up at the moon. Shengu Xuan's eyes, as still as an ancient well, surfaced in his mind, along with the words, "My dream is longevity."

Perhaps, from the very beginning, what that boy sought had been on an entirely different plane from what mortals like them pursued.

Kakashi suddenly asked, "Then what if... I can't keep him under control?"

The Third Hokage's expression instantly darkened. He walked to the window and looked down at the prosperous village, his voice frighteningly low.

"Then pray that before he loses control completely, no one else, especially Danzo, goes out of their way to provoke him." The Third Hokage's gaze seemed to pierce through layer upon layer of earth to that gloomy base below. "Kakashi, think about it. If Danzo had an army that couldn't be killed, what would he do with it?"