Chapter 125: Ending (II): Team 7
"An exercise?" Naruto felt that this term sounded very familiar. He scratched his chin and tried hard to remember.
"Kakashi-sensei... you're not talking about the kind of exercise where it's you against the three of us, are you?" Sakura looked at Kakashi with suspicious eyes.
As if she were contemplating how long his few pounds of flesh could last under the siege of three people.
No... she really did seriously think about it, and felt that if they went all out, the three of them should have no problem defeating Kakashi.
"Hmph, if you think you can still deal with us as easily as you did when we just graduated, then you're gravely mistaken!" Sasuke said with a faint smile. "If we were to fight with the intent to kill you, you might actually die, you know!"
"Oh my, Sasuke, why are you being so serious? Kakashi-sensei isn't an idiot, of course he wouldn't suggest something like that!" Sakura said, patting Sasuke's shoulder with a cheerful smile, her words laced with sarcasm.
No, no, no, what this girl is implying is that Kakashi is an idiot...
"Hn! Sasuke's right. Kakashi-sensei, let's not do an exercise. It's too dangerous for you!" Naruto wasn't being sarcastic, but the truth spoken unintentionally by the foolish boy was often more heart-wrenching.
Being cornered by his disciples like this, the smile on Kakashi's face immediately froze. He felt that he was being looked down upon and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Hey, hey, hey, your teacher is an elite among Jonin! I'm very strong!" Kakashi said with a wry smile, rubbing the back of his head.
However, he thought about it carefully.
Hn, I haven't seen them for two months. I really don't have a clue what level the three disciples' strength has reached now.
"...Forget it! Since you've put it that way, let's not do an exercise today... I'll test the results of your recent training one by one!"
Poof~ The white-haired youth created three shadow clones on the training ground.
"I've infused a lot of chakra into the clones, so they are all very strong. So," Kakashi scanned his three subordinates, "one for each of you. Who wants to go first?"
Sasuke directly stepped forward. "I'll go first. But forget about the clones. I want to challenge the real you directly!"
Hearing this, Naruto immediately became anxious. "What, you stuck-up Sasuke, you're trying to snatch my opponent again! You got to pick Kazahana Dotō last time. It should be my turn this time!"
"Hmph, who told you to be so slow!" Sasuke said with a contemptuous smile, dismissing Naruto's protest. "Anyway, I said it first!"
"You damn Sasuke, it was me, I thought of it first! Aaargh, don't you walk away, I'm going to duel you!"
"Tch, a duel? Who's afraid of who? The score is 116 to 74!"
"..." Kakashi was speechless as he watched the two of them start to fight amongst themselves. He then turned to the last person in Team 7. "So... Sakura, you're not going to challenge the real me too, are you?"
"I'll pass. I probably still can't win," the pink-haired girl's answer made Kakashi let out a huge sigh of relief—finally, one who was content and willing to follow the arrangements.
"Then just have all three clones come at me at once. I'm in a hurry!" Haruno Sakura said, crossing her arms. "Come on, I want to fight ten!"
Sure enough, not a single one of them is easy to deal with... Kakashi felt another drop of cold sweat on his face.
Around noon.
A bruised and swollen Naruto and Sasuke were unceremoniously thrown onto the grass like trash by Kakashi, one on the left and one on the right.
"You damn Biri Biri, if your last move hadn't electrocuted me too, I would have taken down Kakashi-sensei long ago!" Naruto, who had been beaten black and blue by Kakashi, said, still full of vigor as he lay on the ground.
"You idiot," Sasuke said, panting heavily while rolling his eyes at him. "I told you I haven't mastered that jutsu yet and to be careful not to get caught in it, but you still ran right into it! You're clearly the one who's too stupid!"
—That's right. After his clones had been, unsurprisingly, all blown up by the pink-haired girl, Kakashi had decided to step in himself and face the combination of Naruto and Sasuke at the same time.
The result, as Sakura saw it, was that Naruto and Sasuke were beaten miserably.
However, Sakura also saw that when Kakashi came back, his steps were a bit unsteady, and his mask was slightly damp with sweat. It was clear that the fight had not been easy for him either.
"You two!" Kakashi said, sitting on a wooden post, his face looking very displeased.
This is bad! Hearing that tone, Sakura's heart skipped a beat. These two are really in for it!
These two idiots broke the rules and insisted on challenging the real Kakashi. Now they're going to get a harsh beating plus an angry lecture!
And then she heard—
"You did a great job!"
The cliff-like turn in Kakashi's tone almost made Sakura choke on her own saliva.
The white-haired youth's face, in just one second, had gone from being so gloomy it could drip water to a happy smile. This face-changing skill left Sakura in awe.
The two on the grass were also completely baffled. Kakashi-sensei had started out looking like he was about to give them a fierce scolding, but the result was a huge turn from a lecture to praise?
Kakashi was clearly very satisfied with the expressions on his disciples' faces. He explained with a smile, "Naruto, Sasuke, you two have really improved a lot during this time! And it's not just that your strength has made great strides. What I'm even more pleased about is that you both have your own thoughts and understanding of your training philosophy and your own ninja way!"
"Naruto, your taijutsu has improved significantly. You've corrected many of your old bad habits and are not so rash anymore! This is the kind of taijutsu that should be used in battle. I never thought you could realize this on your own in training. Your teacher is looking at you in a new light!"
"Hehe~" Hearing Kakashi's rare praise, Naruto's eyebrows danced, and he was so happy he kept scratching the back of his head.
"And your shadow clone tactics are really getting better and better now. It's hard to tell what's real and what's fake. Even I was fooled by you. Amazing!"
Kakashi, contrary to his usual self, let out a stream of praise—this guy usually praised people with at most a "well done" and that was it.
"After the tree-climbing and water-walking exercises, as a ninja, your weak point, your chakra control ability, has now passed. But I must still remind you that the practice of chakra control has no end! Although your chakra amount is huge and can afford to be wasted, this is not a reason to refuse to train your chakra control. Do you still remember that your dream is to become Hokage? There is no Hokage whose basic abilities are not excellent! A man who wants to become Hokage cannot give up just because he feels this kind of practice is difficult and boring!"
Kakashi said solemnly, his eyes burning as he looked at Naruto.
He really rarely spoke so seriously. Even Sakura found it a little strange to hear him.
And this atmosphere, why does it feel a little heavy?
It seems that something has happened.
"Uh, Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong with you today? Did something happen?" Sakura asked cautiously, a little unsure of the situation.
"Ah... actually, it's nothing major," Kakashi's words carried a hint of melancholy. But from his tone, it didn't seem like nothing major at all.
He calmly looked at the three students of Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura.
A trace of reluctance was hidden deep in his eyes.
"Today's gathering... is probably the farewell party for our Team 7."
Kakashi said faintly.
"Team 7 will be disbanded after today."
A plain sentence, yet it set off a world-shaking wave within Team 7!
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