The next day.
The four members of Team 7 had been waiting at the training ground since morning.
Naruto paced restlessly in front of a wooden post. "Damn it, why isn't he here yet?"
Sasuke and Sakura were also growing impatient, while our Hongshi was, unsurprisingly, lying on the ground asleep again.
Sakura looked at Hongshi, whose face was buried in the dirt. "Seriously? He can sleep like that?"
Hongshi thought, My hundred shadow clones train twenty-four hours a day, and all their fatigue comes back to me when I dispel them. You think I have it easy?
Sasuke also looked at Hongshi, lost in thought.
At last, Kakashi appeared, looking as punchable as ever. "Yo, you're all here! You probably won't believe this, but I was helping an old lady cross the street, only to realize we'd gone the wrong way."
Sakura and Naruto said, "(งᵒ̌皿ᵒ̌)ง⁼³₌₃ You're late again!!! And how did you even come up with such a lame excuse as helping an old lady cross the street?"
Hongshi said, "(°ー°〃) Umm..."
Without saying much more, Kakashi took an alarm clock and three bells from his backpack. "I've set it for noon. You have to take these bells from me before then. Anyone who doesn't get a bell won't be allowed lunch, and will have to watch us eat!"
Sakura said, "What? So that's why you wouldn't let us eat lunch!"
Hongshi shuddered and stood up. "I think I heard something about lunch!"
Kakashi sighed. "There are only three bells here, which means one of you definitely won't get one. Whoever fails will also have to return to the Academy. You can use ninja tools, even shuriken. Unless you come at me intending to kill me, you won't get a bell."
Sakura was a little worried. "But Sensei, that's dangerous!"
Hongshi said, "Yeah, Sensei, you couldn't even handle a blackboard eraser... Wait, I don't think the blackboard eraser thing happened."
Kakashi said, "Never mind the dead last. Let's get ready..."
Naruto said, "(〝▼皿▼) I'm not dead last!"
With that, Naruto drew a kunai and attacked Kakashi head-on.
Kakashi, who had been standing in front of Naruto, suddenly moved, seized Naruto's wrist, and pushed it to the side, leaving the kunai pointed at the back of Naruto's own neck.
Naruto hadn't reacted at all. "Wh-what!"
Kakashi released Naruto. "You need to wait until I say start. All right, start!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Apart from Hongshi, the four of them leaped off in different directions to hide.
Hongshi murmured to himself, "Hmm... I'll just use low-level ninjutsu today."
With that, he slowly walked toward the middle of the training ground. "(≖_≖) Still really want to sleep!"
Kakashi searched the training ground for traces of them. "Hmm, not bad. Concealing your movements and presence is the most basic skill for a ninja. Huh?"
No sooner had he spoken than he spotted Hongshi, who had somehow fallen asleep against a wooden post again. "(≖_≖) Ah. Is he an idiot? Tetsukado actually lost to someone like this?"
Before he came, Hiruzen Sarutobi had told him that there might be more to Hongshi than met the eye, and asked him to keep a close watch.
"Come on!" Naruto jumped out from somewhere, placing himself between Hongshi and Kakashi, and shouted, "Let's settle this!"
Although it looked stupid, Kakashi saw another meaning behind it. Is he standing between us and shouting to protect Hongshi and wake him up?
Sure enough, Naruto's shouting still failed to wake Hongshi (Hongshi was actually doing it on purpose).
Seeing no response from Hongshi, Naruto broke into a sweat. "Damn it, he's still not awake! Whatever."
Hongshi kept his eyes shut and only heard:
"Multi Shadow Clone!"
"Konoha's secret taijutsu, ultimate taijutsu technique: Thousand Years of Death!"
"Aaaah!!!!!" Splash.
"Ah, Sasuke-kun! No!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Only then did Hongshi open his eyes. "Ah, time for me to make my entrance."
Sasuke said, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Kakashi said, "What? He already has this much chakra?"
Boom!
Sasuke spat a huge fireball from his mouth, sending it bearing down on Kakashi and engulfing the spot where he stood in flames.
The flames dispersed, leaving no one there.
Sasuke looked around. "Not behind me, not above me. Where is he?"
"Right beneath you," Kakashi's voice rang out. A hand reached out of the ground and grabbed Sasuke's ankle. "Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu."
"Aaah!" Sasuke was dragged into the earth, leaving only his head exposed.
Kakashi crouched down and looked at Sasuke. "This is ninja combat lesson three! Ninjutsu."
Whoosh! Just then, several shuriken flew at Kakashi from behind.
"Hmm?" Kakashi easily leaped out of the way. Sakura stood behind him. "Oh? You broke the genjutsu? Interesting."
"Let's settle this!"
Just as Kakashi landed, three Narutos charged out of the nearby bushes.
The three clones grabbed Kakashi and hurriedly shouted, "Got him!"
Kakashi was rather surprised. "Still not giving up?"
Poof! The shuriken on the ground burst into smoke, revealing Hongshi, who was now forming hand seals.
"Tiger, Boar. Earth Release: Earth Prison!"
Two hemispherical earthen walls rose around Kakashi and Naruto, closing together to trap them inside.
Hongshi then turned toward Sasuke and used another ninjutsu. "Tiger, Dragon, Snake. Earth Release: Rising Earth Technique."
A section of earth centered on Sasuke's body rose, freeing him.
Sasuke was no fool either, and formed hand seals again. "Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique."
Another fireball appeared and hurtled toward the Earth Prison.
Boom! The fireball blasted the Earth Prison apart.
Kakashi leaped out of the Earth Prison with some dirt clinging to him, his expression turning serious. "You're pretty capable, Hongshi. I'll have to get serious too."
Although Earth Prison and Rising Earth Technique are only the lowest-level Earth Release techniques, using them in succession still takes a certain foundation. Has he been training in secret? Kakashi thought.
"Prepare to die, Kakashi-sensei!" Just then, Naruto appeared again, holding a rope, and bound Kakashi from behind. "Now you can't move!"
"You think this can hold me?" Kakashi spun around and kicked Naruto.
Poof!
"What! A shadow clone?"
"Tiger, Ox, Dog, Boar. Earth Release: Four-Pillar Pincer!"
Four curved stone pillars rose around Kakashi, pinning him between them.
Hongshi kept his hands in the Boar seal. "Naruto-kun, get the bells!"
Naruto charged out again and reached for the bells at Kakashi's waist. Kakashi tried to break free, but it was already too late. Naruto snatched all three bells.
"Sakura, Sasuke! Catch!" Naruto tossed one bell to each of them.
Kakashi forced his way out of the earthen pillars. Looking at Hongshi, he drew a kunai and charged straight at him. "Time isn't up yet. Let me see just how good you are!"
Naturally, Kakashi wouldn't use his true strength against them.
Watching Kakashi charge toward him, Hongshi smiled inwardly. Then I'll play along too.
"Ox, Rabbit, Tiger. Earth Release: Rock Gauntlet!"
Clang, clang, clang.
Knowing that speed wasn't Hongshi's strong suit, Kakashi instinctively slowed down, but he was surprised to discover that Hongshi could counter his attacks at the very last moment. This fighting style-he's so calm! And what's with all that chakra?
Hongshi seized an opening. "Earth Release: Lowering Earth Technique."
The ground beneath Kakashi's feet suddenly sank, pitching him forward.
No hand seals? Kakashi was even more surprised. Hongshi had already used nearly ten D-rank ninjutsu by now. This was not an amount of chakra a genin should possess.
Kakashi lost his balance, and Hongshi punched at the same moment, striking him in the head.
Naruto and the other two were already watching in a daze.
Sakura said, "Naruto, just who is Hongshi? He's so strong!"
Naruto said, "That bastard was hiding his strength. He's this strong?"
Sasuke said, "..."
Sakura said, "Look! Kakashi-sensei got sent flying!"
Poof!
It turned out that the one fighting Hongshi all along had only been Kakashi's shadow clone. After being struck, it vanished in a cloud of smoke.
Ring, ring, ring!
It was noon.
Kakashi jumped down from a nearby tree and looked at Hongshi. "Hongshi, not bad! But you don't have a bell, so... you all pass!"
"Hahaha, great!"