"Hello, Uncle White Fang."
The moment Sakumo Hatake appeared, Uzumaki Rin had already sensed him.
This kind of assassination-level concealment technique might be fatal to most people, but to Rin—with his extremely powerful perception—it was completely ineffective.
"Hello, Uncle Sakumo," Asuma Sarutobi quickly greeted as he turned his head.
"Hello, Teacher Sakumo," Kurenai Yuhi greeted politely, since she wasn't familiar with him.
Sakumo Hatake wasn't surprised that Rin had noticed him. Smiling, he said, "Youth really is wonderful. You all seem full of energy… in that case, I suppose I should increase the difficulty of today's test."
"No problem!" Asuma replied enthusiastically.
Rin almost kicked him.
Use your brain, will you? White Fang was a Kage-level powerhouse. When he said he'd increase the difficulty, he wasn't joking.
"Alright then. Your task is to take these two bells from me. Whoever fails to get one… will return to the Academy and start over. You may begin at any time."
As Sakumo spoke, he took out two bells and showed them to the three of them.
Kurenai immediately grew nervous. She was the weakest among the three. If anyone failed to get a bell, it would most likely be her.
"It's fine. Just do your best, don't be nervous. If it really doesn't work out, I'll grab one for you," Rin said to her.
"Rin, don't worry. I can do it," she nodded firmly, her eyes filled with determination.
"Then let's begin."
The moment Rin finished speaking, he used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished from the training ground, slipping into the forest to hide.
Kurenai and Asuma followed suit, entering the forest as well, leaving Sakumo Hatake standing alone in the center of the field.
"Three interesting little ones…"
Sakumo glanced toward the forest and smiled.
He recalled how Hiruzen Sarutobi had personally asked him the night before to take on these three as students. At first, he hadn't thought much of it. But when he heard that Rin already possessed the strength of a Jonin, he began to take this role seriously.
At that moment, he could still sense Kurenai and Asuma's presence within the forest.
But Uzumaki Rin's aura…
had completely disappeared.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
Dozens of shuriken suddenly shot toward Sakumo at high speed.
Asuma was the first to act. After throwing the shuriken, he swiftly changed direction and charged at Sakumo from another angle.
"Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!"
Seeing Asuma move, Kurenai immediately followed up with a Genjutsu. She knew her Taijutsu was weak, so she didn't rush in.
But such attacks…
were nothing to Sakumo.
Kurenai's Genjutsu had no effect whatsoever—the gap in strength was simply too great. As for Asuma's shuriken, Sakumo dodged them effortlessly with a single Body Flicker, then kicked Asuma away as he charged in.
"If this is all you can do, then you might as well go back to the Academy—"
Before he could finish, another wave of kunai flew toward him.
This time, Sakumo's eyes narrowed.
He instantly recognized that something was different.
These were special kunai engraved with the formula of the Flying Raijin Technique.
Kid, don't think that knowing Flying Raijin means you can hit me.
Sakumo immediately drew his weapon, preparing to deflect all the incoming kunai. Once those marked kunai got close, things would become troublesome.
But at that moment, Rin's voice rang out:
"Kunai Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Whoosh—!
The dozen or so kunai instantly multiplied into thousands.
Although these cloned kunai couldn't serve as Flying Raijin markers, they completely disrupted Sakumo's judgment. He could no longer distinguish which ones were the real marked kunai.
After blocking the barrage, Sakumo found the ground around him already covered in special kunai. He couldn't help but smile wryly—he hadn't expected Rin to come up with such a method.
At the early stage of Flying Raijin, its weakness was obvious: as long as one tracked the kunai's position, half of its effectiveness could be nullified.
But now?
That weakness had been erased.
Just as Sakumo prepared to retreat from the area—
A figure appeared and kicked toward him.
"Surround him! Don't let him leave the range of the kunai!" Rin shouted while launching his attack.
"You think this can stop me?"
Sakumo blocked Rin's kick with the hilt of his blade, then swung the sheathed sword toward him.
In an instant, Sakumo released killing intent, locking onto Rin completely and preventing any escape.
Bang!
The Rin he struck turned into a puff of smoke—it was only a Shadow Clone.
At that moment, Kurenai and Asuma rushed in, attempting to hold Sakumo in place and prevent him from leaving the kunai-covered zone.
Whoosh—
After easily dealing with the two of them, Rin appeared behind Sakumo again and attacked.
Bang!
That clone was destroyed as well.
But immediately, two more Rins appeared beside him.
Bang! Bang!
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
Sakumo continuously destroyed Rin's Shadow Clones, yet instead of decreasing, their numbers kept increasing.
Meanwhile, Kurenai and Asuma rejoined the fight. Whenever they were about to be struck, Rin's clones would intercept the attacks for them.
Just like that, the three of them surrounded Sakumo for half an hour—
and still failed to obtain a single bell.
Kurenai was completely exhausted.
Asuma wasn't doing much better, bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.
Only Rin stood there, calm and composed, without even a hint of fatigue.
"Is that your limit?" Sakumo asked, looking at Kurenai and Asuma.
"No! I can still fight! I won't give up!" Asuma forced himself to stand.
"Me too," Kurenai said, barely holding herself upright.
At that moment, Rin stopped them, smiling.
"Leave the rest to me. You two take a break."
With that, two Shadow Clones carried them away—Kurenai was carried in his arms, while Asuma was dragged along. The difference in treatment was obvious.
"Oh? You're sending them away… planning to take the bells alone?" Sakumo asked with a smile.
Truthfully, he was already satisfied with their teamwork and was prepared to pass them.
But Rin stepping forward again surprised him.
He knew Rin hadn't gone all out earlier—he had been using Flying Raijin and Taijutsu the entire time.
Still, Rin had shown excellent teamwork, using Shadow Clones to shield his teammates instead of fighting alone despite his strength.
That was commendable.
"Uncle White Fang, from here on… I'd like you to use your full strength."
Rin's expression turned serious.
"I want to see… just how far I can go."
After all, having a Kage-level powerhouse like Sakumo as his instructor was a rare opportunity. If he didn't test the gap between himself and that level now, it would be a waste.
And after all these years…
he had never truly gone all out.
Sakumo was slightly taken aback, then nodded solemnly.
"I understand. I'll use my full strength."
"Thank you, Uncle White Fang."
Rin formed hand seals.
In an instant, the vast chakra within his body surged forth.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Boom—!!!
Endless torrents of water erupted into the sky, crashing down like a raging ocean.
And so—
the true battle between Uzumaki Rin and the White Fang began.