"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"
In an instant, a wall of earth carved with a dog's head burst from the ground, rising up to block Sasuke's massive fireball. However, many of Naruto's nearby shadow clones were caught in the inferno and instantly destroyed.
"Sasuke, you jerk! Who are you aiming at?!" Naruto roared.
Sasuke just shrugged. "Hmph. Then your clones should have dodged."
"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, we need to work together..." Hinata pleaded.
"No need," Sasuke replied coldly. He focused his chakra, gathering it in his eyes. "Sharingan!"
Crimson pupils flared to life, the two tomoe in each eye swirling with a powerful, icy energy. Kakashi was surprised yet again. *That's... a two-tomoe Sharingan? And that ocular power... it's quite mature, and chillingly cold.*
"No matter the enemy or the ninjutsu, nothing can escape these eyes," Sasuke declared arrogantly. Using his Sharingan's perception, he closed the distance and engaged Kakashi in close-quarters combat. Their taijutsu styles were similar, focusing on ruthlessly efficient and perfected skills rather than flashy movements. Kakashi couldn't help but nod in approval, even as he parried the boy's strikes.
Even so, Sasuke quickly realized he couldn't get the bells through taijutsu alone. "Very well, then..." He suddenly leaped back, forming a new set of hand seals. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Technique!" In an instant, countless small fireballs scattered across the sky like blossoms, cutting off all of Kakashi's escape routes.
*He's even mastered this move?* Kakashi thought, his shock growing. He was by no means defeated, but the level of skill was astounding. He dodged and weaved, his body moving with nimble precision to avoid every single flame. But as he landed from his final evasion, he realized his mistake.
The last of the three, Hinata Hyuga, finally unleashed her own chakra. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei. Gentle Fist Art... Eight Trigrams Palms!"
Kakashi's eyes widened in shock. His retreat had led him directly into the attack range of the Hyuga clan's signature technique. *Oh no...* In that instant, a cold sweat poured down his forehead as Hinata's attack came from behind. He had only one thought. *They're all this strong?! How am I supposed to teach them about teamwork? This wasn't part of the plan!*
Kakashi had never felt like this before. An elite Jonin, forced into a corner by three fresh genin during his own test. Hinata had seized the perfect opportunity, taking advantage of the opening created by Naruto and Sasuke to pull him into her domain.
Though Kakashi was shocked, he reacted instantly. With his years of combat experience, he twisted his body with an agile movement, managing to narrowly escape the effective range of her attack. But at that exact moment, Naruto's shadow clones rushed him again. In the brief flurry of motion, Kakashi was so flustered that he didn't even notice one of Naruto's hands brush against his waist.
*Clang.*
The crisp sound, though quiet amidst the fierce battle, sent a jolt through everyone. Kakashi reacted in time to protect the bell and repel the clone, which dissolved into smoke.
"Hey, you loser, this is my fight! Don't interfere!" Sasuke yelled, completely unappreciative of the opening Naruto had created.
Naruto was furious. "What do you mean, 'your battle'?! I started it!"
If they had cooperated in that moment, even Kakashi might have been overwhelmed. But unfortunately, they were already at each other's throats again. Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately questioned himself. *Wait, why am I relieved that they're fighting? The whole point of this test is to teach them teamwork...*
He scratched his head and, taking advantage of their argument, flipped backward onto a high branch and vanished. When Naruto looked up, he was gone. "Huh? Where'd he go?!"
Hinata immediately scanned the area with her Byakugan. "Over there!" she said, pointing to a bush not far behind Naruto.
From within the bush, Kakashi sighed. *So there's nowhere to hide from the Byakugan.* He leaped out and began methodically wiping out the remaining shadow clones with superb taijutsu.
Seeing this, the real Naruto no longer held back. "Kakashi-sensei, take this! Wind Style: Whirlwind Fist!" He formed the seals, unleashing a burst of powerful chakra that enveloped his right fist in a swirling vortex of wind, and slammed it down toward Kakashi. The power of this strike was enough to shatter stone.
"That's..." Kakashi was shocked yet again. "That's Asuma's Whirlwind Fist! Naruto has mastered a ninjutsu of this level?!"
Despite his surprise, he didn't hesitate. He appeared to move to meet the attack head-on, but in the instant before Naruto's fist connected, he twisted his body and precisely grabbed Naruto's wrist. Even so, the sheer force of the attack made Kakashi's body tremble. *Such power... This is not a genin who just graduated.*
But Naruto was even more surprised. One of his trump cards had been so easily countered. It was a harsh lesson. A single powerful jutsu wasn't enough to bridge the gap between a genin and a true elite jonin.
With his wrist caught, Naruto used offense as defense, twisting his body to unleash another of Might Guy's techniques. "Konoha Strong Cyclone!" He delivered a vicious kick from behind, forcing Kakashi to release his wrist and block the blow with an elbow strike. Kakashi pursued relentlessly, thrusting his kunai at Naruto.
*Slash.*
The kunai pierced Naruto's chest. Hinata cried out. "Naruto-kun!" Sasuke frowned. *No way...*
But the next moment, the pierced Naruto blurred and vanished in a gust of autumn wind. This time, Kakashi's visible eye finally widened in genuine shock. "What... what kind of ninjutsu was that? A body flicker? But I've never seen a technique like it."
What Naruto had used was his own most prized creation: the Wind Body Flicker. It allowed for instantaneous high-speed movement while leaving behind a whirlwind-like afterimage to confuse the enemy, creating the perfect opening for a counterattack.