Chapter 6: The Test Begins
"Don't worry, go ahead and attack. After all, I'm, well, moderately strong!"
Kakashi Hatake looked at the suspicious gazes of the three and explained casually. After speaking, he even pulled out a novel to start reading.
Of course, it wasn't 'Make-Out Tactics'; it was a novel randomly drawn from the ones she bought at the bookstore earlier. The cover read: 'Rebirth: The Hokage Who Fell in Love with Pig Farming.'
Naruto and the others were stunned. Wait, what was he doing?
"Um, Kakashi-sensei, what are you...?" Naruto asked, somewhat confused. Were they still fighting or not?
"Maa! Don't mind me. Just attack however you planned to," Kakashi replied without even lifting his head.
"Damn it, stop looking down on people!"
When Naruto heard that, he instantly exploded with anger. He immediately charged toward Kakashi, swinging his fists. Another person treating him like the dead last—he absolutely had to teach this guy a harsh lesson!
However, Kakashi didn't even look. He simply sidestepped suddenly, avoiding Naruto's punch, then stuck out his leg and tripped him.
Naruto, who fell flat on the ground in a face-plant, was completely bewildered.
At that moment, looking at Naruto sprawled on the ground with his rear end sticking up, Kakashi suddenly thought of the Konoha Taijutsu secret technique: The Thousand Years of Death.
But she quickly dismissed the idea internally. After all, doing that would severely damage her beautiful girl image.
So, she directly changed tactics, lifted her leg, and kicked Naruto flying into the river ahead.
Seeing this, Sasuke and Sakura also reacted and immediately scattered, running backward.
At that moment, two shuriken suddenly flew out of the river, tracing an arc in the air, and headed straight for Kakashi.
In response, Kakashi casually extended two fingers and caught the shuriken in her hand.
Simultaneously, a completely drenched Naruto finally climbed out of the river.
Kakashi thought, if she remembered correctly, Naruto's specialty at this stage was the Shadow Clone.
There must be more of Naruto's Shadow Clones in the river. The real body came up to lower her guard so the Shadow Clones could launch a sneak attack?
But it didn't matter; what if she sold him a flaw?
So, Kakashi turned around and started walking back.
Bang, bang, bang—
Soon, splashing sounds came from the river surface. Several Narutos rushed out of the water and charged straight at Kakashi.
"Ninja Tactics Handbook, Part One: Taijutsu," Kakashi said slowly while turning around. Immediately after, she vanished from her original spot in an instant.
Vanished?
The real Naruto behind them suddenly froze, followed by a series of thudding sounds. Before he could react, he felt a blur in front of his eyes.
"So fast!"
Sasuke and Sakura, observing secretly from a distance, were equally shocked.
They saw Naruto instantly pinned against a tree by his collar with one hand by Kakashi.
"To instantly defeat Naruto's Shadow Clones with Taijutsu and grab the real body behind them, pinning him to a nearby tree—the speed was so fast it was impossible to see. Is this the strength of a Jonin...?"
Uchiha Sasuke was astonished in his heart. His heart sank. A Jonin already possessed this level of strength! And that man, who wiped out an entire clan possessing numerous Jonin in one night, his strength was far beyond that of a Jonin...
This massive gap in strength made him despair.
But soon, he rallied again. Hadn't he long known the difficulty of killing that man? No matter what, he had to do it, even if it took every means possible!
Thinking of this, Sasuke's gaze sharpened. He immediately noticed that Kakashi, currently pinning Naruto with one hand while facing away from him, was the perfect opportunity to launch an attack!
So, he quickly pulled out a shuriken and threw it at Kakashi with extreme speed.
However, in the next second, he saw Kakashi's figure flash, and the few shuriken seemed to "pass through" her body, embedding themselves in the grass nearby.
Seeing this, Sasuke was shocked again. After reacting, he immediately fled the scene. "Damn it, the speed is too fast; I can't hit him at all!"
Although what he saw wasn't very clear, he knew that Kakashi had released Naruto's collar at incredible speed, moved back a distance, and then instantly returned to the original spot, grabbing Naruto's collar again.
"Huh! What happened?"
At the same time, Naruto finally reacted. Wait, why was he suddenly grabbed by the collar and pinned against a tree?
What exactly just happened?
"When facing an enemy several times stronger than yourself, the first thing you must do is hide and secretly look for an opportunity, not foolishly attack head-on."
At this moment, Kakashi pulled out a bundle of rope from who knows where. While speaking, she quickly tied Naruto to the tree.
After finishing, she turned and left, planning to find Sasuke and Sakura.
"Damn it, I was just careless! Let me go if you have the guts, and we'll do it again!" Seeing this, Naruto immediately struggled and shouted loudly.
Unfortunately, Kakashi ignored him and quickly disappeared from his sight.
Not long after, Kakashi found Sakura, who was frantically looking for Sasuke.
"Ninja Tactics Handbook, Part Two: Genjutsu."
Should she use the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique? Kakashi hesitated internally. In the original story, Kakashi used this move to easily defeat Sakura.
Forget it, she might as well use the Genjutsu of the Sharingan. It was a good time to try out her Sharingan anyway.
...
On the other side, just as Sakura was hurriedly searching for Sasuke, she suddenly saw a flash of red light.
Before she could wonder what that was, she heard Naruto's voice, which startled her. Did Naruto escape from the teacher?
"Damn it, that teacher's strength is something we can't defeat alone. So, Sasuke, let's cooperate."
Sasuke?
Hearing Naruto mention Sasuke, Sakura's face lit up with joy. Just as she was about to rush over, she heard Naruto's voice again, which made her subconsciously stop in her tracks.
"We only have two bells, so we'll each take one then," Naruto said cheerfully, slinging his arm around Sasuke's shoulder.
"What about Sakura?" Sasuke turned his head and glanced at him.
"There are only two bells; it can't be helped. Sakura will have to try again next year," Naruto replied dismissively.
Sasuke said nothing more, tacitly agreeing with his statement.
How could this be?
Hearing this, Sakura, hiding in the bushes, felt like the sky was falling.
How could Sasuke cooperate with that annoying guy Naruto? And abandon her?
Pfft~
At this moment, another movement came from ahead. Sakura looked up blankly, and in the next second, her pupils suddenly dilated.
She saw Naruto ahead, who had, at some unknown time, suddenly pierced Sasuke's chest with his hand.
Sasuke also turned his head stiffly, his face filled with disbelief.
"Idiot Sasuke, how could I possibly cooperate with you? Once I deal with you, I can be with Sakura. Don't worry, after Sakura and I pass the test, we'll come to your grave to offer flowers every year."
At this time, a twisted smile appeared on Naruto's face, and he slowly withdrew his hand from Sasuke's chest.
With that, Sasuke finally collapsed powerlessly!
"Aaaah—"
Sakura, who had witnessed everything secretly, could no longer hold back her terrified scream!