A few minutes earlier...
Naruto's clone had managed to grab Kakashi tightly from behind, holding him in place.
Meanwhile, the real Naruto remained hidden above the trees. His eyes were fixed on the battlefield below as he began channeling all the demonic qi inside his body into his right hand.
He knew his body could not endure such concentrated power.
But he still did it.
To increase the force even further, he borrowed Kurama's demonic chakra. The moment the two energies mixed, the power inside his arm surged violently. Demonic qi and chakra fused together, making the energy far more dangerous than before.
His right hand began glowing with an ominous red light.
Chakra leaked from his arm uncontrollably.
Thin cracks slowly spread across his skin.
The pain was sharp, but Naruto ignored it.
On the ground below, Kakashi suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving behind only a wooden log.
Both the real Naruto and his clones were momentarily surprised.
Before they could react, two hands emerged from the ground beneath one of the clones.
Seeing that, the real Naruto and his clones smiled.
It was a creepy smile.
Almost like a lunatic who had just seen his plan succeed.
...
Present time.
Now fully prepared, Naruto leapt down from the tall tree.
His descent was fast and heavy.
The moment he landed, his right fist slammed into the ground with a loud impact. One knee bent beneath him as he struck the earth, his posture almost like a beast forcing its power into the land.
The ground cracked beneath his fist.
A shockwave spread outward in a small circle.
Then Naruto released even more energy.
The cracks expanded.
The earth split wider and wider, spreading across a much larger radius. The once calm training ground began to tremble violently.
Kakashi, who was still underground, was caught off guard by the range and intensity of the attack.
The chakra was dark.
Ominous.
And strangely familiar.
It reminded him of the Nine-Tails.
His mind immediately began racing.
'Is the seal getting weak?'
'Or did Kurama influence Naruto?'
Kakashi wanted to rush to the surface and confront Naruto at once, but another surge of energy exploded through the ground and forced him to stop.
Above him, Naruto released all the power he had been holding back.
The ground shook even harder.
His aura became strange and intimidating, almost ethereal, as blood dripped from his right hand. More cracks appeared across his arm, and his hand twisted slightly under the strain, as if the flesh itself was struggling to hold together.
The training ground no longer looked flat.
It looked like the aftermath of a small earthquake.
Fissures spread in every direction, and the earth had become uneven and broken.
From a distance, Sasuke stared at the destruction with wide eyes.
"What kind of technique is this? How can it damage such a wide area?"
He clenched his teeth.
'When did Naruto become this strong?'
Sakura was equally stunned.
Her voice came out as a whisper.
"Since when did Naruto become this powerful?"
Underground, Kakashi quickly formed hand signs and activated an earth defense technique to protect himself from the remaining force. Even then, a few faint scratches appeared on his body from the residual chakra.
The ground above and below him was filled with that strange demonic energy, making it difficult to clearly sense Naruto or his clones.
When the energy finally began to fade, Naruto looked at his right hand.
A bubbling red chakra covered it like a jelly-like layer, slowly healing the cracks and damaged flesh.
Kurama's chakra.
Naruto's smirk returned.
Then he silently ordered one of his clones to dive underground and search for Kakashi.
Moments later, Kakashi hurried toward the surface.
Only half of his body had emerged from the ground when Naruto's clone moved.
Kakashi was still focused on the destruction around him and the condition of Sasuke and Sakura. For that brief moment, the bells were no longer his priority.
That was all Naruto needed.
The clone slipped in quickly and snatched both bells from Kakashi's waist.
Kakashi froze for a second, then forced himself to calm down as he scanned the area. Sasuke was standing at a distance. Sakura was unharmed. Naruto was also still standing, though his right arm looked damaged.
Only then did Kakashi's eyes move toward the ruined training ground.
The destruction was far beyond what he expected from a genin.
He muttered under his breath, "How can someone his age perform a jutsu with this much wide-range destruction?"
His gaze returned to Naruto.
The situation had become more serious than a simple genin test.
Still, Kakashi kept his composure.
"The test isn't over."
Naruto smirked.
Then he clapped his hands.
Clap.
Clap.
One of the Naruto clones walked toward the real Naruto and presented the bells.
Kakashi immediately checked his waist.
The bells were gone.
For a moment, he simply stared.
Then he sighed.
"Looks like I lost."
He quickly composed himself and looked at the three students.
"Now, who's passing, and who's failing?"
Naruto grinned and swung the two bells in his hand.
"Sensei, you said the ones who take the bells from you will pass. So I should pass!"
Then he turned toward Sasuke.
"Sasuke!"
He threw one bell to him.
Sasuke caught it.
Naruto then turned toward Sakura.
"Sakura!"
He threw the second bell to her.
Sakura caught it with surprise written all over her face.
Naruto looked back at Kakashi with a smirk.
"Since they have the bells, they should also pass."
Kakashi blinked.
For a moment, he was actually speechless with Naruto's reasoning.
Sakura slowly looked at the bell in her hand.
Then she looked at Kakashi.
"Sensei, you didn't intend to pass just two of us, did you? You wanted to pass all three or fail all three. The real test was to test our teamwork, right, sensei?"
Kakashi's visible eye curved with approval.
"Correct. That was the true purpose of this test. Well done, Sakura. No wonder you had the highest written scores at the academy."
Sakura shook her head, smiling faintly.
"It wasn't me who figured it out, Sensei. It was Naruto."
Naruto said casually, "There's nothing great about it. Luck just knocked on the door."
Kakashi's surprise deepened.
'I expected Sasuke or Sakura to uncover the purpose of the test... but Naruto?'
His gaze shifted toward Naruto's injured arm, which got completely healed.
'And that chakra... I need to speak with the Hokage about this.'
With a sigh, Kakashi finally announced, "Well, you three pass. Your teamwork exceeded my expectations. Tomorrow, you'll begin your first mission as genin. Now I have an important task. I'll meet you three tomorrow."
With that, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
The group disbanded soon after, and all three went their separate ways.
Naruto returned to his father's house.
After reaching the hidden residence, he trained his body rigorously once more before taking a bath. Once he was done, boredom slowly crept in.
Since he had not fully explored the house yet, he decided to continue searching through it.
Eventually, he entered his parents' bedroom.
Beside the bed, he noticed a book.
Curious, Naruto picked it up.
It was a diary.
His mother's diary.
Kushina's diary.
Naruto opened the first page.
The words written there immediately caught his attention.
"Anyone else besides me and my husband who dares to open this... a demon will always be by your side!"
Naruto stared at the line for a moment.
Then he chuckled darkly.
"Hahaha."
A demon?
His smile widened.
"I am a demon, and I've got another one inside me. Which demon dares to walk beside me?"
He flipped through the pages.
There were pictures of his parents attached inside the diary. Some pages contained Kushina's daily experiences, written in her energetic style.
Naruto kept turning the pages quickly.
Most of it was just personal writing about her life, emotions, and experiences.
He had little interest in that.
But just as he neared the final pages, his fingers suddenly stopped.
Three words caught his attention.
His eyes narrowed.
For the first time, surprise flickered across his face.
He had not expected to find those words in this ninja world.
What were those three words...?
(To Be Continued...)
A/N:
This is an action scene, so there is more description in this chapter. I will make him a true cultivator soon.
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