Chapter 13: Lava Release or Wood Release – Choose One
Afternoon, classroom.
The three of them sat idly in the classroom, bored out of their minds as they waited for their jonin instructor. Naruto, well aware of Kakashi's habit of being late, had long since sprawled out on his desk and fallen asleep.
Sasuke sat by the window, his long, slender fingers interlaced as he leaned forward on the desk, his gaze wandering over the lush treetops outside.
Sakura kept her head lowered, staring at the desk, looking somewhat dejected.
Although she had been comforted by her teammates earlier, once the room grew quiet, a wave of uncertainty washed over her once again.
No one knew how long had passed when the classroom door finally swung open.
The jonin instructor of Team 7 arrived fashionably late. The moment he stepped into the room, his lazy voice followed.
"Yo. Sorry, sorry, I accidentally ran late."
"I'm your jonin instructor, Hatake Kakashi."
The self-proclaimed Kakashi looked young, perhaps in his early twenties. His shock of silver hair stood up like a withered leek, and he wore a black mask covering his face, with one eye obscured beneath his forehead protector slanted over it.
Dressed in a black combat outfit layered with a green jonin vest, he spoke with his visible eye curved like a crescent moon.
Naruto had already woken up when he heard the voice.
All three turned their eyes to Kakashi, a mix of emotions flashing across their faces.
"Sensei, you're way too slow!" Naruto was the first to complain.
"Well, I had to help an old lady cross the street on my way here, so…" Kakashi scratched his head, coming up with an utterly ridiculous excuse.
"Liar!" Sakura said flatly.
Kakashi looked a bit awkward, let out a dry laugh, and forcibly changed the subject.
"Anyway, come with me. Let's talk somewhere else."
With that, the three of them rose to their feet in unison and followed Kakashi out of the classroom. Throughout the walk, an unspoken silence hung over them.
Kakashi had already reviewed some of their files from the Third Hokage. One was the lone survivor of the Uchiha clan massacre. Another was the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki.
Uzumaki Naruto, huh?
Twelve years old. Judging from his birth date, if he were from the red-haired Uzumaki clan… but he was blond. The implication was clear enough. The Fourth Hokage's…?
Kakashi, walking ahead, felt a slight headache coming on.
The decisions of this village's higher-ups were incomprehensible—making such choices back then, and now raising these two kids as shinobi.
He sighed inwardly, then took a deep breath and shook off his thoughts.
The next day, before dawn.
Dressed in casual clothes, Sakura emerged from a narrow alley and paused briefly under the bright lamplight, seemingly trying to get her bearings.
"Over here!" Naruto waved to her.
She waved back with a smile.
As she drew closer, Sakura realized Naruto was standing outside a small diner. Last time they'd shared intel over barbecue, and now it was another eatery.
"Didn't Kakashi-sensei say we shouldn't eat breakfast?"
"He said it's best not to—because you might throw up," Naruto said nonchalantly. "But hey, better to puke it out than fight on an empty stomach."
Sakura blinked in surprise, about to refuse, but seeing that both Naruto and Sasuke had already ordered, she found herself nodding despite herself and took a seat.
After breakfast, the three headed to the designated meeting spot to wait.
They waited for hours. By the time the sun was high overhead and the summer heat oppressive, Kakashi finally arrived—once again, fashionably late.
"Well… there was a little girl who got lost on the way," Kakashi said shamelessly, grinning as if punctuality had never been an option.
"Honestly, Kakashi-sensei, you're too much!"
"Yeah! Lame excuse."
"Tch."
The three voiced their complaints in unison, their routine grumbling revealing they'd already eaten. This actually surprised Kakashi—clearly, they weren't hungry as intended.
His plan foiled, Kakashi let it slide. Pulling out two bells from his pouch, he dangled them in front of the trio.
"Alright, let me explain the rules of the test."
"I only have two bells here. Only those who manage to grab one before noon will qualify to become genin. In other words, one of you will be eliminated."
"Eliminated?" Sakura's body tensed. "Kakashi-sensei, what happens to the one who's eliminated?"
"Heh-heh!" Kakashi's visible eye curved into a crescent. "Too bad for them—they fail the test, won't qualify as a ninja, and will be tied to a post until sunset."
"If none of you manage to get a bell, then all of you go back to the Academy."
"During this exercise, you're free to use any means necessary. Don't worry about injuring me—at your current level, that's nothing but a dream."
With that, Kakashi paused, then hooked the bells back onto his waist.
"Now… is that clear enough?"
None of them replied. Sakura's face had gone pale.
Actual combat? Her strengths lay in theory and intelligence analysis. Combat was her weak point. Forget taking a bell from Kakashi—even approaching a jonin would be nearly impossible.
If someone had to be eliminated, then without a doubt…
Naruto stood silently off to the side. Ever since their chat at the barbecue restaurant, he hadn't shared any further intel. Some things were better left unsaid—no point in spoiling everything.
The true purpose of this bell test was to evaluate teamwork. But after yesterday's talk, the bond between them had already grown stronger.
Still, when forced to make a choice, who knew what would happen?
That's why Naruto had stayed silent. He wanted to keep them from straying too far off track—but not carry them on his back.
Besides, he wanted to see how they'd respond when faced with such a choice.
Suddenly, the familiar mechanical voice echoed in his mind again.
[Option One: Go all out to seize the bells, then give them to Sakura and Sasuke. Reward: Lava Release Ninjutsu.]
[Option Two: Do nothing, lie down in front of Kakashi, and willingly be tied to the post. Reward: Wood Release Ninjutsu.]
Naruto nearly spat blood at the sight of the system panel.
Lava Release and Wood Release?
Holy crap!
Two top-tier bloodline abilities at once?
How was he supposed to choose? The Four-Tails' Lava Release was insanely powerful. If he got that…
But Wood Release—though rare—wasn't something he could easily master to the level of the First Hokage, Hashirama.
This time, the system hadn't specified the level of proficiency for Wood Release. It was probably just the basic chakra nature.
Lava Release would let him showcase his strength and camaraderie in front of Sakura and Sasuke. But taking a bell from Kakashi wouldn't be easy—he could fail.
If he chose to do nothing, Sasuke would be left to face Kakashi alone. The chances of them succeeding were slim to none.
As he hesitated, Kakashi's voice cut through the air, announcing the start of the test.
Almost instantly, with a swish, Sasuke and Sakura vanished from sight, leaving Naruto standing alone, lost in thought.