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Inside the Hokage's office.
"So what are you planning to do? Maybe… try having a little more patience with Kakashi."
The Third Hokage looked over at Jiraiya.
Kakashi was the biggest problem child of them all.
And yet—
He was gifted. The Third really didn't want to see that talent go to waste, and he still hoped Jiraiya would cut the kid some slack.
But Jiraiya only said, "If things really end up going the way we don't want… then I guess it just wasn't meant to be."
"I'm off."
He waved casually and vanished from the office.
The Third let out a long sigh, the worry on his face refusing to fade.
…
The next day, at Training Ground 7, deep in the Forest of Death.
Kurenai arrived early, only to notice that both Leo and Kakashi were already there, sitting under a tree resting.
She tiptoed closer, not daring to disturb them.
She wanted to sit too…But her mind just wouldn't stop spinning!
Kurenai stared up through the branches, her emotions all tangled up.
After a long while—
"Sorry, sorry! Had something come up on the way. Got delayed."
Jiraiya scratched his cheek and chuckled.
"Lord Jiraiya, you're way too late!" Kurenai glanced at the time.
Another hour and it'd be lunchtime.
But when Jiraiya actually looked at the three kids in front of him, his smile instantly froze.
One wore a mask, cold and distant.
The other two looked completely calm.
"Well… you three seem awfully in sync. Seeing that, I'm feeling a lot more confident you'll pass this test."
Jiraiya gave a light cough and pulled a pair of bells from his waist.
"Kakashi, I don't know what your first test was like, but my version is simple: steal the bells, and you pass."
Clink.
The bells chimed as they bumped together.
He hooked them back onto his belt.
"Any questions?"
"If we get one bell, does that count? Or do we have to get both?" Kakashi asked.
"Considering the difference between your strength and mine," Jiraiya said, "you only need to grab one to succeed. But whoever performs the worst will be hung up without lunch and will have to do a solo exam this afternoon."
Kakashi drew a breath and stayed silent.
Jiraiya looked to the other two.
"And you two?"
"No problem," Leo said.
"Great. Go ahead and plan out whatever strategy you want."
Whoosh!
In an instant, all three disappeared.
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes."Running off in different directions? Don't tell me…"
His heart sank.
He had high hopes for Leo—but if the kid's sense of teamwork and overall instinct were that shallow, it'd be disappointing.
Meanwhile—
"Leo, are we really… just ignoring Kakashi?" Kurenai whispered.
"Of course not. We work together and build a plan; we just leave a gap for him to use. He's a chunin—if he refuses to cooperate on his own, that's on him."
Kurenai let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"So… how do we fight this?"
"You and I handle the frontal distraction. Use traps and illusions to work with Kakashi's positioning and ambush. If we can take a bell, great. Basically, you support with genjutsu, and then—"
"Got it."
…
"Alright, here we go. Before this hourglass runs out, you need to steal my bells. Otherwise, you fail."
Jiraiya flipped the hourglass over.
Then he quietly felt out the chakra around him.
"Not bad hiding."
He smirked.
These three kids… say what you will, but their fundamentals were solid.
But—
One of them still left a gap.
Jiraiya casually walked forward, though every step was carefully placed.
Crack.
A huge log, rigged with rope, swung out horizontally.
Jiraiya flickered aside instantly.
But—
For the briefest moment he saw a distorted shadow in front of him, dissolving away.
Kurenai?
Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death!
The name of the jutsu flashed through his mind, and he immediately disrupted his own chakra flow.
He snapped out of the illusion in the next heartbeat—
And a barrage of traps came flying at him from every direction.
Jiraiya vanished again.
The next moment he crouched atop a tree branch, eyes sharp.
These brats…
Not one of them could be underestimated!
He never would've guessed that little Miss Yūhi could already use a B-rank illusion.
Before he could observe further, two figures attacked.
Kakashi coming in with a blade—Leo shooting upward from below.
Jiraiya's grin returned.
Then—
Clang!
His kunai intercepted Leo's blade perfectly.
Leo didn't pause. He flickered away and landed atop another tree.
But—
"Nice tactic."
Jiraiya's voice sounded right behind him.
The "Jiraiya" he'd just fought dissolved into smoke.
A shadow clone.
Jiraiya struck immediately, fast as lightning.
In just a few seconds, he and Leo exchanged three punches and two kicks.
This kid's taijutsu…
Jiraiya was genuinely impressed.
Leo's moves… for a genin, he was elite-level—maybe even better than plenty of chunin.
Jiraiya stepped up the pressure—
And—
Pop!
Leo turned into a log.
The real one had already escaped to a different position.
Little brat's got good instincts!
Jiraiya's eyes flashed in approval.
It wasn't just his speed, substitution technique, or flicker movement—Leo's judgment was sharp. The instant Jiraiya got serious, he'd bolted.
Calm and decisive.
Impressive.
"This way!"
A massive log swung down from above, aimed straight at Jiraiya.
Kurenai had cut another trap loose to cover Leo's retreat.
But—
Jiraiya simply punched it apart.
"If this is all you've got, there's no way you're passing."
"Move!" Leo shouted.
He knew perfectly well—
Jiraiya still wasn't fighting seriously.
If this were real combat, the man could've used Wild Lion's Mane already, and his speed would be much higher.
He was one of the Sannin, after all.
Right now Jiraiya's speed was just barely above his own—a deliberate handicap.
He needed traps or teamwork to escape.
That was the real test.
But—
He'd finally led Jiraiya exactly where they wanted him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Spiked wooden stakes shot toward the airborne Jiraiya from every direction.
At the same time, two clones rushed in.
One looked like Leo.
The other had transformed into Kakashi.
Both sprinted toward Jiraiya.
Up in the trees, Kurenai formed hand seals.
In a blink, four or five traps and two "people" all reached Jiraiya at once—
His hair exploded outward, growing wildly and lashing around him, catching the first flying stakes and grabbing for the two attackers.
Boom!
Both clones burst apart.
Kurenai's signature illusion—Naraka Clone, an upgraded clone technique with added effects.
Jiraiya had been deliberately keeping his chakra scrambled, so he wasn't fooled—But while he focused on that, the remaining stakes twisted midair and transformed—
Into people.
Kakashi dropped toward him, hanging from a rope, blade flashing like a fang as he dove at Jiraiya.
Clang!
Jiraiya blocked with a kunai—
But—
A breeze brushed the back of his neck.
Leo?
That speed!
Jiraiya's eyes widened—
He'd known Leo's flicker technique was impressive, but seeing him go full speed up close was a shock.
Seven years old, and he could move like this?
Unbelievable.
And not just speed—His punches, kicks, center of gravity… everything was polished way beyond his age.
Only Kakashi and that other prodigy could compare.
And on top of that—
There was another "Kakashi" attacking him.
Blades, kunai, fists—
Plus blossoms from Kurenai's illusions drifting through the chaos.
The coordination was dazzling.
The next moment, blade and fist struck at once.
"Watch out!"
Leo felt it the instant his fist connected.
The texture was wrong.
And honestly—
Did they really think their half-baked skills could actually hit Jiraiya?
Sure enough, "Jiraiya" melted into a pile of mud.
A mud clone.
"Above!" Kurenai yelled.
Kakashi didn't need the warning—he slashed upward—
A huge net dropped from above.
Around it, the stakes Jiraiya's hair had grabbed earlier came flying inward again.
Rip—!
Kakashi tore a huge gap through the net.
But before he could recover, Jiraiya was already on top of him.
And—
Leo blurred into place right in front of him.
Boom!
Their fists collided solidly—
Crash!
Leo shot downward from the impact, but in mid-fall he shouted:
"Lord Jiraiya! You wouldn't want people finding out that every day you're busy doing—"
"....."