But what Kakashi didn't expect happened—Mokgetsu in front of him turned into white smoke and vanished, just like his own Shadow Clone earlier, without dropping the bell.
"It's a Shadow Clone!"
Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply, ready to strike backward immediately, but just as he had the idea, a cold kunai was pressed against his neck.
"When you're using a Shadow Clone strategy, you should consider whether the enemy might be using the same tactic." Mokgetsu, who appeared behind Kakashi, said.
"After all, I'm not in your line of sight at every moment, am I?"
Kakashi was silent, having just advised Obito not to be reckless, and now it was his turn to be educated.
Hearing Kakashi getting criticized, Obito rushed over to the scene to mock him.
"The enemy had disappeared from your sight, and you charged in without careful observation. If Teacher Mokgetsu were the enemy, you would already be dead," Obito said bluntly.
Seeing Kakashi fail too, Obito felt his own pain lessen significantly.
If he failed, it didn't matter, as long as Kakashi didn't succeed either.
"At least I took down Captain Habu's Shadow Clone, which is better than you getting knocked down without even touching him," Kakashi retorted instantly, unable to hold back after hearing Obito use his own words against him.
Mokgetsu smiled without saying anything, considering that with the current Kakashi, Obito, and Might Guy, he could easily handle them with just his Shadow Clone if he didn't go easy on them.
Since Kakashi was specially assigned by Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mokgetsu felt that Hiruzen wouldn't be bored enough to spend hours watching them grab bells, but to be cautious, he didn't reveal too much of his strength to prevent Hiruzen from seeing something through the Telescope Jutsu.
He had already used the Byakugan and Perception Ninjutsu in advance to ensure there was no Anbu surveillance around.
"After all, Kakashi isn't his son, right? He shouldn't be that concerned," Mokgetsu thought to himself.
"Because I wasn't dealing with a Shadow Clone at all. When I was up against Teacher Mokgetsu himself, I held on for a while. As soon as Teacher Mokgetsu showed up, you were finished," Obito countered.
"Maybe the one who took you down at the start was also a Shadow Clone." Kakashi sneered.
"Absolutely not!" Obito resolutely denied Kakashi's words.
"Right, Guy?" Obito tried to pull Might Guy into his camp when he saw him come over.
"It doesn't make sense to argue over this, does it? Everyone failed," Might Guy responded.
He figured it didn't matter if it was a Shadow Clone or the real body; in any case, they all got defeated and didn't get the bell, the same as everyone else.
Guy's response was unexpected to Obito; Guy simply didn't side with anyone and remained neutral.
"It's good to summarize failures, but it's more important to focus on where you fell short," Mokgetsu stopped their debate.
"There's still some time before the sun sets, and you have another chance."
"You're not weak compared to others your age. Why not try teamwork? The power of collaboration can make one plus one greater than two," Mokgetsu advised.
The bell-grabbing exercise is essentially a test of teamwork. As long as the students show cooperation, the guiding teacher will usually go easy on them. After all, there's no way three freshly graduated genin could snatch something from a Jonin.
Mokgetsu used this classic exercise hoping that Kakashi and Might Guy would communicate more with Obito, making Kakashi realize how his teammates were no longer the same as before.
Upon hearing Mokgetsu's words, the relatively mature Kakashi pretty much understood the underlying message. He had been a Chunin for over two years and was already quite aware of these things.
"Looks like I have no choice but to cooperate." To complete the bell-snatching task, Kakashi decided to cooperate grudgingly and complete the task first.
Meanwhile, Obito, though unwilling, quickly adjusted his attitude internally, walked over to Kakashi, and said:
"Kakashi, now you should realize that doing it alone isn't going to work, right? Let's work together. The three of us will make our move together."
"Let's burn our youth together!" Might Guy also extended an invitation to Kakashi.
"We can work together, but I have to be the one to draft the battle plan." Kakashi said expressionlessly, ignoring Obito's previous remarks.
"Why should it be you? Can't we discuss it together?" Obito said, somewhat dissatisfied.
"Is my two-plus years of being a Chunin enough for you?" Kakashi replied nonchalantly.
"Your plans are too rough. If Captain Habu hadn't been serious, you wouldn't have had any chance at all."
Kakashi directly used ninja rank to pressure him, and Obito couldn't find a retort for the moment. He just wished he had met Mokgetsu earlier; otherwise, he would at least have been a Chunin by now.
However, getting Obito to fully accept Kakashi isn't possible, so Obito said:
"Just don't lose after using your plan."
"Well, let's talk about it if we lose," Kakashi replied calmly.
If they go this far and still lose, Kakashi can only say that Mokgetsu never intended for them to pass this training from the start.
Next, Kakashi instructed Obito and Might Guy to set up traps, then meticulously explained the following battle plan to them.
"I have a Shadow Clone keeping watch on Captain Habu all the time. Who's sitting over there is a Shadow Clone; my real body has already hidden. Later, I'll have the Shadow Clone lure Captain Habu's Shadow Clone over; his real body will definitely follow, and then we will..."
"Be careful, don't do anything unnecessary," Kakashi warned after explaining.
Then Kakashi had Obito and Might Guy hide, and he also hid his real body, commanding the Shadow Clone to lure Mokgetsu.
When the Shadow Clone Mokgetsu was lured into the trap zone by Shadow Clone Kakashi, shurikens from all directions flew towards both Shadow Clone Kakashi and Shadow Clone Mokgetsu.
Knowing its mission, Shadow Clone Kakashi didn't dodge but directly turned back and used Lighting Release Ninjutsu to delay Mokgetsu, and instantly, both Shadow Clones were pierced and dispersed.
"That was quite a tactic. It could have been dangerous if they weren't Shadow Clones." Mokgetsu quietly said to Kakashi, who was observing the surroundings.
Heaven knows how shocked Kakashi was at that moment; Mokgetsu had managed to sneak up on him silently again!
Kakashi used an Instant Body Jutsu to quickly distance himself from Mokgetsu, that compliment just now had scared him into a cold sweat.
However, Mokgetsu didn't rush his attack, instead leapt onto a tree and continued to smile: "This time was great, learned the lesson from last time."
Though things seemed dire, Kakashi, having faced real life-and-death crises, was able to remain calm. He carefully observed Mokgetsu and immediately shouted:
"This isn't the real body, it's a Shadow Clone, don't come out yet, keep waiting for the right moment!"
He remembered Mokgetsu had rested on the grass, and even though the grass roots and dust had been removed, it couldn't be so clean as to have not a speck of dust. Yet the Mokgetsu in front seemed to be wearing a brand-new set of the same clothes.
Then Kakashi cautiously kept his eyes on Mokgetsu, whether it was the real body or the Shadow Clone, Mokgetsu wasn't easy to deal with, he was too fast.
"Can you really handle this alone? Have you forgotten how you failed not long ago?" Mokgetsu continued to rush toward Kakashi with a punch.
Mokgetsu was fast and strong, even with Kakashi going all out, he struggled and quickly took two punches and a kick, appearing quite bedraggled.
"Coming out now will result in failure, as long as they stay hidden they still have a chance to snatch the bell." Kakashi retorted.
If they exposed everyone's positions just to defeat the Shadow Clone, their well-prepared combo attacks would be useless. In a direct fight, they stood no chance of winning.
It was better for him to keep Mokgetsu's Shadow Clone occupied, allowing Might Guy and Obito to continue hiding and searching for Mokgetsu's real body, having a slim hope of victory.
Kakashi thought this was a good plan, but keeping Mokgetsu occupied turned out to be more difficult than he thought.
His rich combat experience and the fast and precise knife techniques completely lost their effect in front of Mokgetsu, as if Mokgetsu could see through all his attacks. Kakashi couldn't even touch Mokgetsu's clothes, enduring countless attacks instead.
Mokgetsu was much stronger than Kakashi anticipated, so powerful that Kakashi couldn't fathom why such a skilled ninja would be a teacher at the Ninja Academy; with this capability, he could be earning a fortune doing missions.
Kakashi was growing more fatigued, whereas Mokgetsu's onslaught only became fiercer, gradually becoming overwhelming for him.
Even as the dust on his body increased, Kakashi still had no intention of calling Obito and Might Guy out.
He held onto the idea that not coming out left a possibility for success, coming out would mean ruining everything and only result in failure.
For the mission, he could abandon his teammates, and he could also abandon himself, not to mention this wasn't even a real fight to the death.
Pat-a!
Mokgetsu seized an opening in Kakashi's defense, knocking the short blade from his hand, then delivered a punch towards Kakashi.
Just as Kakashi braced himself for heavy impact, a passionate voice rang out.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
Unknown to Kakashi when Might Guy snuck over, he delivered a swift Tornado Kick towards Mokgetsu, forcing him back and saving Kakashi from a dangerous position.
Having been rescued, Kakashi didn't smile but frowned and asked:
"Didn't I say not to come out? Exposing your position now means there's no hope for success."
"I don't understand what you're saying, but I know this: I am not cultivating for the sake of cultivating, this power is meant to protect what I want to guard!" Might Guy said, keeping a close watch on Mokgetsu.
"Fire Release: Mighty Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
Then a ferocious fire dragon suddenly appeared, flying straight towards Mokgetsu, turning as Mokgetsu dodged, successfully forcing Mokgetsu back once again.
"Are you kidding me? If it's a victory gained by giving up a comrade, I, Uchiha Obito, don't want it!" Obito exclaimed, continuing to shoot shurikens at Mokgetsu.
Seeing Obito come out too, Kakashi's frown deepened, he felt this training was doomed to end in failure.
But he wouldn't give up directly, since it's already like this, might as well go for one last attempt,