Just then, the last person to arrive at the entrance of the training ground came, with his signature loud shouts and a series of hurried, chaotic footsteps approaching from afar.
"I'm sorry for being late!!"
Obito Uchiha sprinted over at top speed, also covered in sweat, his goggles askew, his face filled with anxiety and frustration.
Rushing forward, he almost hit Kakashi because he braked too slowly. He quickly steadied himself and bowed apologetically: "I'm so sorry, Minato-sensei! On my way here, I saw an old lady whose cane had fallen into a ditch. She had difficulty bending over, so I helped her pick it up. But she said she couldn't see the road and asked if I could help her cross the street. After we crossed, the old lady said she couldn't find her way home. She's old, and her memory isn't good, so I helped her carry her things and asked people along the way based on her vague description. It wasn't easy to get her home!"
"Then, on my way here, a black cat suddenly jumped down from the wall and stood in front of me, staring straight at me. No matter how I tried to get around it, it was blocking my way, which delayed me for a while..."
After listening quietly to Obito Uchiha's detailed description of his act of helping others, Minato Namikaze smiled and said, "Alright, Obito, rejoin the team."
Obito Uchiha straightened up as if he had been granted a pardon, wiped his sweat, and quickly stood next to Rin, even secretly making a face at the expressionless Kakashi.
Tsunade, arms crossed, glanced at her three students who had finally all arrived, then at class 7, who were already gathered nearby. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she raised an eyebrow and said, "Minato, testing separately is boring. How about we have our two teams do a joint test?"
"A joint test?"
Minato paused slightly, then looked at Tsunade.
Tsunade called Minato aside and whispered a few words to him. After hearing Tsunade's suggestion, a hint of hesitation flashed across Minato's face, but he finally nodded and handed one of the two bells he had prepared for his team to Tsunade.
The two then returned to the front of the group. Tsunade stepped forward, cleared her throat, and sharply scanned the six young faces before her, some calm, some nervous, some excited, before proclaiming in a clear voice: "Listen up, kids from team 7 and team 10! The test rules are very simple!"
Tsunade weighed the bell tied with a red string in her hand, and Minato also raised the one in his hand.
"See these two bells? Minato and I will each keep one. Your task is to snatch them from us within the allotted time!"
"There are only two bells! The person who grabs the bell passes the test immediately! If a team manages to grab both bells at the same time, then everyone in the team passes!"
At this point, Tsunade's voice suddenly became more forceful: "As for the other team that doesn't get a bell, all members are eliminated! Get back to the Ninja Academy, spend a few more years studying, and think carefully about whether you're actually suited to be a ninja!"
After saying that, Tsunade turned around decisively and disappeared into the woods at the edge of the training ground in a few leaps, leaving the heavy atmosphere and the difficult problem to the boys and girls present.
Minato Namikaze, who remained where he was, also lost the gentle smile on his face.
He looked at the three students in his team, then at team 10 across from him, and said, "Alright, the rules have been clearly stated. There are only two bells, and there are six of you. How do you devise a strategy? Do you prioritize cooperating to snatch the bells from Tsunade-senpai or me, or do you have some other method? You can discuss and decide for yourselves."
He paused, then added a special reminder: "However, be careful of Tsunade-senpai. Her strength is far beyond what you can currently imagine. Any rash, head-on attack will have no chance of success. Make good use of this last bit of preparation time."
After saying that, he also flashed away, using the Teleportation Jutsu to leave the spot, leaving the space completely to the six young ninjas from the two teams.
For a moment, the two teams in the center of the training ground exchanged glances and fell into a subtle silence.
Obito Uchiha was the first to lose his composure. He grabbed his messy black hair, his face filled with anxiety and struggle: "This... this rule is too cruel! We have to grab the bell, but there are only two bells! We're not on the same team! I... I don't want to attack my comrades, but I don't want to go back to the Ninja Academy to study again! That would be too shameful!"
Rin Nohara stood beside him, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, her eyes also filled with worry.
She glanced at the people from team 10 across from her, then at Kakashi and Obito beside her. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something to ease the tension or offer advice, but in the end, she just sighed softly and swallowed her words.
Kurenai and Shizune exchanged a glance, both seeing seriousness in each other's eyes.
Kurenai took a deep breath, stepped forward, and spoke in as calm and clear a voice as possible, "Minato-sensei is right. The two teachers are far stronger than we are; acting alone, we have almost no chance of winning. I believe the most sensible choice for our two teams right now is to cooperate temporarily. Let's concentrate our efforts and try to take the bells back from the two teachers. As for who gets the bells afterward, we can..."
"There's no need."
A cold voice cut her off.
Kakashi Hatake stepped forward, his gaze sharp as a knife, fixed directly on Shinichi Higashino.
"Shinichi Higashino."
Kakashi said, without any probing, "The rules are clear: whoever gets the bell passes. Wasting time on pointless cooperation and maneuvering will only reduce efficiency and increase the risk of being picked off one by one by the teachers."
"They can't keep up with our pace. In front of Tsunade and Minato, they are just distractions and obvious openings. The two of us working together have the highest chance of getting the bell. The others are just dragging us down."
"You bastard Kakashi! Who are you calling a burden?!"
Obito Uchiha instantly bristled, his face turning bright red as he pointed at Kakashi and roared.
Kurenai and Shizune also looked grim, and Rin Nohara looked anxiously at Kakashi, whispering, "Kakashi, don't say that..."
However, Kakashi ignored Obito's roar and the ugly expressions on his companions' faces; at this moment, his gaze could only accommodate one person.
"Kakashi, I will not abandon my comrades."
Shinichi shook his head, rejecting the offer directly.
Kakashi frowned and said in a cold voice, "I thought that now that you are a Chunin and have experienced missions, you should be able to understand reality more clearly. In the face of an absolute difference in strength, meaningless bonds and burdens will only lead to total defeat. I didn't expect you to still be holding onto such naive ideas."
His gaze swept over the other four again, and he said calmly, "These newly graduated Genin are just a burden in this level of combat. Acting on emotion will only make things worse..."