"Minato-sensei, is this the power you intended to bestow upon Naruto?" Shisui thought as his Sharingan, with its three spinning tomoe, locked onto Naruto's true form.
The boy's normally bright blue eyes had transformed into scarlet, vertical-slitted pupils—unmistakable evidence of the Nine-Tails' influence. A slight tightness gripped Shisui's chest as he observed the transformation.
Before being officially appointed as Naruto's jōnin instructor, Lord Fourth had confided in Shisui about why he had sealed the Nine-Tails within his own son's body and the deeper reasons behind that momentous decision.
To be honest, Shisui hadn't fully understood his mentor's actions at the time. In his eyes—and in the estimation of nearly every shinobi in Konoha and beyond—Namikaze Minato was already the most formidable ninja in the world. The Yellow Flash of the Leaf, whose very name struck fear into enemy nations.
Yet because of some prophecy, Minato had taken extraordinary measures and accepted considerable risks to seal the Nine-Tails within Naruto. He'd instructed Shisui that he could cautiously push Naruto, gradually guiding him to tap into the Nine-Tails chakra sealed within his body.
"Because he will need to fully master this power in the future," Minato had explained, "his body must first adapt to it gradually."
This was the primary reason Minato had selected Shisui as Naruto's teacher. So long as the seal in Naruto's body remained largely intact, Shisui's Sharingan powers could restore Naruto's sanity if he ever lost control.
However, Shisui had not anticipated that the awakening of the Nine-Tails' power within Naruto would happen so much faster than expected.
At this moment, watching his shadow clones materialize across the training ground, Naruto himself was equally stunned. His chakra had been almost completely exhausted moments ago, yet now...
But true to his nature, Naruto didn't waste time wondering about the source of this sudden power. He remained blissfully unaware that the Nine-Tails was sealed within him.
An expression of pure ecstasy spread across Naruto's face as he turned toward Kakashi and Shisui, his confidence soaring.
"POOF! POOF! POOF!"
Just as he was beginning to revel in his newfound strength, the shadow clones in front of him began disappearing in rapid succession, clouds of smoke erupting with each dispersal.
"Swish!"
The moment Naruto turned around, he found himself staring directly into a pair of scarlet eyes with three tomoe spinning hypnotically.
"THUD!"
His heart pounded violently in his chest, and then his eyes, which had turned scarlet with the Nine-Tails' influence, reverted to their natural deep blue.
Naruto's concentration faltered, and one after another, the thousands of shadow clones that had filled the entire Seventh Training Ground vanished into puffs of smoke.
Although he had managed to create thousands of clones, the chakra in Naruto's body had become unstable due to the sudden overflow of the Nine-Tails' power. Once Shisui used his Sharingan to forcibly suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto's shadow clones dissipated from the resulting chakra disruption.
Shisui knew that the fewer people who were aware that the Nine-Tails was sealed within Naruto, the better. The momentary transformation of Naruto's features due to the Nine-Tails' influence was not something he wanted widely observed.
"We... we won?"
Everyone remained stunned as Sasuke's gaze shifted between Shisui and Naruto. He noticed that Shisui was now standing outside the circle's boundaries.
What exactly happened? Sasuke wondered. Was he actually forced back by Naruto's shadow clones?
Almost immediately, Sasuke dismissed this notion. With their current abilities, they weren't even in the same league as an elite jōnin like Uchiha Shisui.
Approaching Naruto, Shisui placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled warmly. "Congratulations, you have successfully passed the test."
"Huh?" Naruto's pupils dilated slightly. After a moment of stunned silence, profound joy welled up inside him.
"YES!" he exclaimed, jumping up in excitement despite having exhausted nearly all his chakra moments before.
Even though Shisui had suppressed the Nine-Tails' power, enough of that energy remained to partially restore Naruto's strength. He immediately turned toward his classmates.
Even Sasuke wore a faint smile now, while Sakura was so overwhelmed with emotion that tears welled in her eyes.
"Here, take these chakra pills—they'll help restore your physical strength. Share them with the others," Shisui said, tossing a small pouch to Naruto.
Naruto nodded excitedly before running toward Chiharu and the others.
"What happened to Naruto just now? That chakra..." Kakashi appeared beside Shisui, his visible eyebrow slightly furrowed in concern.
While Sasuke and the others might not have noticed the changes in Naruto's appearance, nothing escaped Kakashi's keen observation.
"Well," Shisui replied with a shrug, "you should ask Minato-sensei about that."
As Kakashi and Shisui continued their quiet conversation, Sasuke, Chiharu, and the others consumed the soldier pills, gradually recovering enough strength to stand.
At that moment, everyone—including Chiharu—was staring at Naruto in amazement. The thousands of shadow clones he had produced were simply too extraordinary to ignore.
Sasuke regarded Naruto with a complicated expression. He realized that if Naruto had unleashed that level of power during their previous sparring matches, he would have been completely overwhelmed.
"Brother, since when could you create so many shadow clones?" Chiharu asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Naruto shook his head. "I don't know either. I just suddenly felt this power surge through my body."
It was clear that even Naruto himself couldn't properly explain what had happened.
"Ahem!"
Shisui and Kakashi suddenly appeared before the group. The six genin immediately ceased their conversation and turned their attention to the jōnin.
"Sensei, about our assessment results..." Sakura looked anxiously toward Kakashi. Even though Shisui had already told Naruto he had passed, Shisui wasn't her assigned instructor.
Kakashi's visible eye curved into a smile. "You all performed admirably. Everyone has passed the test."
"But we hardly contributed anything," Sai admitted, a guilty expression crossing his face. He and Sakura had accomplished almost nothing during the battle, their skills significantly lagging behind the others.
"Yet you functioned effectively as a team," Kakashi countered gently. "Without each of you, the earlier combat strategy wouldn't have been executed properly, right?"
Kakashi understood their situation perfectly. Both Sai and Sakura came from civilian backgrounds, and Sai had lost his parents at a very young age. It was only natural that they couldn't compare to Naruto, Sasuke, Shin, and Chiharu, who came from prestigious shinobi lineages.
"Today's assessment was designed to test both your determination as shinobi and your ability to function as a cohesive team," Kakashi explained.
"You're all fresh graduates. No one expected you to fully achieve the stated objectives."
He spoke to the children before him with remarkable patience, reminiscent of how Minato had addressed his own team when they first formed.
"I believe that with proper training, each of you will become outstanding shinobi in the future."
"Yes, sensei!" Sakura and Sai nodded, visibly moved by their teacher's encouragement.
Sasuke, meanwhile, maintained his furrowed brow, casting an ambiguous glance toward Naruto.
"Starting tomorrow, you will begin serving as real shinobi and undertaking missions within the village," Kakashi announced with a smile.
"Yes, sensei!" Team Kakashi responded in unison.
"Our team will also commence missions tomorrow," Shisui added, looking at his own students.
Naruto, Chiharu, and Shin nodded in acknowledgment. Naruto then turned his gaze toward Sasuke, their eyes meeting across the training ground.
As their gazes locked, the fiery spirit of rivalry ignited once more in both their eyes—a silent promise of future challenges and growth.