Chapter 17: A Trio of Deception
Naruto's blunt assessment of their strategy was a direct insult to everything Sasuke and Sakura had learned at the Academy. From their concealed positions, they both seethed, biting back the urge to leap out and argue. They clung to the doctrine drilled into them: stealth, patience, and striking from the shadows were the ways of the shinobi. Their failure was a simple lack of comprehension—they could not yet fathom the vast, oceanic gap between their own skills and those of a seasoned jōnin.
Kakashi knew Naruto was, in essence, correct. A direct, coordinated assault was often the only way to pressure a superior opponent. But Sasuke and Sakura weren't wrong, either; their actions were textbook for a genin. The problem was that Uzumaki Naruto... was no ordinary genin.
"While your logic isn't flawed," Kakashi countered, his eye still on his book, "do you truly believe you can take these bells from me in a frontal assault?"
"Only one way to find out," Naruto replied, a lazy confidence in his voice. He decided he would test Kakashi using only the strength of a capable chūnin.
Watching Naruto prepare to challenge Kakashi alone, Sasuke cursed the blond's idiocy internally, but a different impulse took over. He emerged from the foliage, his movements silent and deliberate.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura whispered, bewildered. Had Sasuke been convinced by Naruto's reckless plan?
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a brief, wordless glance. A tacit understanding passed between them. In perfect sync, they burst into motion, flanking Kakashi from left and right. A volley of shuriken flew from their hands, not meant to hit, but to disrupt and confine.
Kakashi, still seemingly engrossed in his book, swayed and sidestepped with minimal, almost lazy movements, the shuriken embedding themselves harmlessly in the ground around him.
By then, the two boys were upon him. Their taijutsu was a whirlwind of coordinated offense—kicks aimed at his legs, punches targeting his torso, all while their free hands constantly darted for the bells on his hip. For a full two minutes, Kakashi, using only one hand to defend himself, was genuinely pressed, his movements becoming sharper, more focused.
Then, Naruto found an opening. He feinted high, drawing Kakashi's guard up, and swept a low kick that connected perfectly with the jōnin's wrist. The force of the kick sent the two bells flying from Kakashi's grasp, spinning through the air.
"Now!" Sasuke thought, his body already lunging for the glinting silver.
But Kakashi was faster. In a blur of movement that was pure instinct, he used the Body Flicker Technique, appearing where the bells were about to land. It was impossible for Sasuke to reach them first.
Seeing his chance slip away, Sasuke didn't retreat. Instead, he pushed forward, his hands a blur as they flew through a sequence of seals.
Ram → Snake → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive orb of roaring flame erupted from his mouth, rushing to engulf Kakashi.
[Ding! The Great Fireball Technique has been detected. Your Fire Style talent is awakened. Current proficiency has reached the Skilled Level.]
Kakashi's visible eye widened in genuine surprise. He had no time for further hand seals. The inferno swallowed him whole.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura screamed from her hiding spot, her hands flying to her mouth.
Sasuke stared, horrified, cold sweat beading on his forehead. 'Did I... did I just kill him?'
Only Naruto remained unnervingly calm, his gaze fixed on a nearby tree. "His Body Replacement was flawless," he murmured.
As the fire dissipated, all that remained where Kakashi had stood was a charred, smoldering log.
Sakura and Sasuke both let out shaky breaths of relief.
"Be careful!" Naruto's voice cut through the tension. He lunged, shoving Sasuke hard to the side. The moment Sasuke tumbled away, a hand erupted from the earth where he had been standing, grabbing Naruto's ankle and yanking him down into the soil until only his head remained above ground.
Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!
Kakashi emerged from the ground a few feet away, brushing dirt from his vest. His book was now stored away. "Good instincts," he praised Naruto, his tone serious.
Sasuke stared at Naruto, trapped and helpless. A wave of guilt and self-loathing washed over him. 'He saved me... and I was too weak. Dammit!' He slammed a fist into the dirt. Naruto had sacrificed his own chance to continue, preserving Sasuke's qualification. On a real battlefield, it would have been a life for a life.
Sakura, seeing Sasuke's distress, rushed to his side. "Sasuke—"
"Get away from me, you useless weakling!" Sasuke snarled, his voice cold and sharp. In his eyes, Sakura, for all her top grades, was dead weight. If she had been even half as capable as Naruto, they might have secured a bell. This was her fault.
Tears welled in Sakura's eyes, a mixture of hurt and the crushing realization of her own inadequacy. If only two of them could pass, it would be Sasuke and Naruto.
"What a troublesome scene," Kakashi muttered, scratching his head in exasperation. Then, his gaze lifted, focusing on a specific tree in the near distance. "Naruto, the game's up. You can come out now."
Sasuke and Sakura froze, then followed his gaze. There, perched on a branch, was another Naruto, watching them with a bored expression.
"What... how?" Sakura stammered.
Kakashi explained calmly, "The one in the ground is a Shadow Clone. The real Naruto hid in the tree, waiting for the perfect moment to strike when my guard was down. Am I right, Naruto?"
The Naruto in the tree yawned widely. "Yes. And also, no."
Before Kakashi could process the contradiction, a shuriken shot out from the head of the buried Naruto. Kakashi's attention had been fully on the Naruto in the tree, leaving him completely unguarded from the one he had supposedly captured. The shuriken flew true, its ring perfectly threading through the strings of the two bells on Kakashi's hip, wrenching them free and pinning them to a tree trunk several meters away.
All three—Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura—whirled around. There, leaning casually against the tree, was a third Uzumaki Naruto. He plucked the two bells from the bark, holding them up so they jingled in the morning light.
"I've got the bells, Kakashi-sensei," he announced.
Kakashi: "..."
Sasuke: "..."
Sakura: "..."
A profound, bewildered silence descended upon Training Ground 7.
(End of Chapter)