Naruto’s words instantly irritated Sasuke and Sakura, who were hiding in the forest.
However, neither of them stepped out to argue with him.
They still firmly believed in what they had learned at the Ninja Academy.
And the reason for that was simple—
They had absolutely no understanding of just how enormous the gap between themselves and a Jōnin truly was!
Kakashi knew Naruto was right.
But Sasuke and Sakura weren’t exactly wrong either.
After all, their actions perfectly matched the standards expected of competent Genin.
As for Uzumaki Naruto…
He wasn’t really operating at Genin level.
“Although what you said isn’t wrong, do you really think you can take the bells from me in a head-on fight?” Kakashi asked.
“We’ll know once we try.”
Naruto intended to test himself using only Chūnin-level strength.
Seeing that Naruto was actually planning to fight Kakashi directly, Sasuke cursed him as an idiot in his heart.
Yet despite that, he stepped out from his hiding place.
“Sasuke-kun?”
Sakura stared at him in surprise.
Did Sasuke actually think Naruto had a point?
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance.
Without saying a word, both moved at the same time.
They rushed Kakashi from opposite sides while simultaneously throwing shuriken to cover their approach.
Still reading his book, Kakashi casually shifted left and right, easily avoiding the incoming shuriken.
By then, Naruto and Sasuke had already closed the distance.
They attacked with taijutsu at the same time.
Punches and kicks came one after another as the two continuously targeted Kakashi’s blind spots, all while trying to snatch the bells hanging from his waist.
For a moment, even Kakashi found himself hard-pressed.
After two minutes of fighting, Kakashi—limited to using only one hand—finally exposed an opening.
Naruto seized it immediately and kicked one of the bells away!
“Now!”
Sasuke’s eyes lit up as he rushed toward the bell.
Unfortunately, Kakashi was even faster.
The moment he used Jōnin-level Body Flicker, there was no chance Sasuke could reach the bell first.
Kakashi picked it up.
But the unwilling Sasuke didn’t retreat.
Instead, he charged straight toward him.
In less than two seconds, the hand seals were complete.
“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”
[Ding! Detected the Great Fireball Technique. Your Fire Release talent has worked hard and awakened this ninjutsu. Current mastery: Skilled.]
Kakashi’s pupils contracted the moment he picked up the bell.
Under the gazes of all three students, the massive fireball swallowed him whole.
“Kakashi-sensei!”
Sakura, who had remained hidden, couldn’t stop herself from shouting.
Cold sweat appeared on Sasuke’s forehead.
He cursed himself for going too far.
Had he accidentally killed his own Jōnin instructor?
Only Naruto turned his gaze toward a nearby tree.
“That Substitution Jutsu was pretty smooth.”
A moment later, the flames disappeared.
Where Kakashi had been standing, only a charred log remained.
Seeing the log, Sasuke and Sakura both breathed sighs of relief.
Thankfully, he wasn’t dead.
“Watch out!”
The instant Sasuke relaxed, Naruto rushed forward and shoved him aside.
In exchange, Naruto’s ankle was suddenly grabbed by Kakashi, who burst out of the ground beneath him.
Naruto was dragged down into the earth, leaving only his head exposed.
Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!
“You’ve got some real camaraderie.”
Kakashi emerged from the ground and praised him.
By now, the book in his hand had already been put away.
Seeing Naruto trapped because he had saved him, Sasuke felt both guilt and disgust toward his own weakness.
“He actually did that to save me… Damn it!”
Sasuke slammed a fist into the ground.
He knew that with Naruto trapped underground like this, Naruto had effectively lost his qualification to continue.
He no longer had any chance of competing for the bells!
Naruto had sacrificed his own opportunity to preserve Sasuke’s.
If this had been a battlefield…
Sensing Sasuke’s frustration, Sakura stepped out of the forest and approached him.
“Sasuke…”
“Get lost, weakling!”
Sakura had intended to comfort him, but Sasuke cut her off with a cold voice.
In Sasuke’s eyes, Sakura’s reputation as one of the academy’s top students was completely undeserved.
If Sakura had been as strong as Naruto, then perhaps the three of them might already have had a chance to take the bells.
This was all Sakura’s fault!
Sakura felt so wronged that she nearly cried.
Even she had to admit that compared to Naruto and Sasuke, she was far too weak.
If only two of them could become official ninja, then those two spots would undoubtedly belong to Naruto and Sasuke.
“What are you two doing~?”
Kakashi scratched his white hair helplessly before looking toward a tree not far away.
“Naruto, stop hiding. Come out.”
Hearing Kakashi’s words, Sasuke and Sakura froze.
Then they followed Kakashi’s gaze.
A Naruto was actually hiding in the tree!
“What is going on?” Sakura murmured.
Kakashi explained, “The Naruto buried underground is a clone. The real one hid in that tree a while ago and was waiting for a chance to ambush me.”
“Right, Naruto?”
Naruto, sitting in the tree, gave a sleepy yawn.
“Right… and wrong.”
“?”
Just as Kakashi became confused—
A shuriken suddenly flew from the Naruto buried underground!
At that moment, Kakashi’s attention was focused entirely on the Naruto in the tree.
Naturally, he had stopped guarding against the Naruto he had already buried.
The shuriken pierced straight through the cord of the bells Kakashi had just returned to his waist and carried them away, pinning them to a nearby tree trunk.
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura all turned around.
At some point, yet another Uzumaki Naruto had appeared behind that tree!
Ignoring their stunned expressions, Naruto calmly pulled the two bells from the tree.
“I got the bells, Kakashi-sensei.”
Kakashi: “…”
Sasuke: “…”
Sakura: “…”
So what exactly just happened???